Franz to Queenstown - 1st March 09
We set off from Franz Josef in the pouring rain, and when I mean pouring, I mean with the screen wipers full-on. We were hoping to nip back to Lake Matheson if it had been great, but no need, obviously... Our hostm, before we set off, had warned us of sandflies, saying that they will 'eat you alive' when you get out of the car so you need to shut the door pretty quick when you step out of the car otherwise they get in and drive you nuts whilst you're driving. In fact, he even said that the reason why it took so long for the white men to conquer NZ was because of the sandflies... they'd settle for a few months and then leave as they just couldn't take the itching any more. NOT hugely promising... we just covered ourselves in DEET basically and hoped for the best.
Our first stop was at Ship Creek, it had a lovely swamp walk (slight drizzle still) and it was just my type of scenery -- massively lush with moss over every tree. Trees look quite strange around there, a bit eerie in fact, as if they had a soul... they also have some trees that are covered in grass-like plants and I call them the 'yeti' trees as they look like the abominable snow man ! :)
We then eventually got to Mont Aspiring National Park and it was quite spectacular, again. Lots of peaks and valleys and the road following the rivers and lakes, with mist rising from the trees as it was still quite drizzly... it was frustrating not to see it in its full glory, but the mist did add a certain charm to it, making the whole scenery much more atmospheric somehow. There seemed to be countless shades of greens and greys. The roads, as usual here, were deserted. I even think I could drive pretty confidently here: no traffic lights, no round-abouts, and only the odd camper van to overtake (most are kind and will put over in the many designated areas for a few seconds to give you a chance to overtake them but if you get stuck behind someone selfish, you can be stuck for a long time as the roads are quite twisty making it difficult to overtake safely). Following a camper van is just enough to slow you down from 100km/hr to 80km/hr and add an extra 45mins to your journey.
We followed the Haast River all the way and went through 3 types of beautiful landscapes: temperate rainforest, beech forest and high country grassland.
We stopped in Mokuera (?) for a quite bite to eat... another halmet with just 10 houses, I joked that 'it was great for an hour but I couldn't see myself spending 10 years here' and the girl behind the counter said 'believe it or not, we have a member of staff who has lived here 10 years, it's probably why drinking is his favourite hobby'... :)
We then got to Lake Hawea (next to Lake Wanaka), one of the prettiest lake drives I'd ever done. By then the weather had improved quite a bit I haste to add (our host, who was always 'spot on' with his predictions, it has to be said) had hoped it'd happen as the Haast Pass (high up in the mountain range) can act like a weather barrier he said and stop the rain. And it made such a difference to the colours in the water to have some sun above our heads. I took some of my best shots of NZ so far along this stretch.
We also decided to stop at Arrow Town before getting into Queenstown (19kms away). It had been highly recommended by my friends and by every guide book for the South Island. It is the best preserved mining town in NZ and is also very very quaint. Janet & I spent a beautiful evening there, browsing through the gorgeous little shops and soaking up the atmosphere. It's only a one street halmet (yet again) but it did look like you'd stepped back in time, to 1862 precisely when the first miners arrived. They also had a whole section that had been used by the first Chinese migrants and made very sad reading... how only 1 in 8 managed to go back and how they lived in these terrible sheds with no light at all. We enjoyed a full hour there, it was the 'golden hour', it was warm and so pleasant... happy bunnies we were.
We then got to Queenstown and checked into the Gold Ridge Hotel, and we have a room overlooking the lake, with a nice little balcony (handy to let our clothes drip dry !) but not quite central enough. We are 5kms away from all the shops so still need the car to go out and eat.
When we went out for a stroll in Queenstown early evening I realised why I loved it so much here. It definitely is my favourite NZ city; it is called 'Queenstown' because the earlier English settlers felt the location was 'fit for a queen' (their Queen being Victoria at the time). There are a lot of pedestrian streets here and lots of places where you can sit outside to have a drink or meal, most on a 'wooden' theme, making it look extra cosy. I think that if I had to live in NZ for 6 months, Queenstown would be my choice. I really like the atmosphere here.
Queenstown is 'the adventure capital of the world' and has a usual resident population of 10,422; however, this number can swell up to 45,000 in peak visitor periods. Most people come here to experience extreme sports. I guess that bungy-jumping was invented in NZ and now they are into body surfing in rivers (instead of white water rafting, you do it on a board so that you are *in* the water), I've also seen videos of people jumping off planes on their bikes ! (both attached to a rope I may add). They have 'canyon jumping', etc. It's a place to try mad, mad, mad things, if you have the guts for it... needless to say, none of this 'mad' stuff was on our cards !
It does rain an awful lot in the summer though, so, strangely, it seems that their winter is the best time to visit NZ (much cheaper accommodation, no need to pre-book everything in advance, and less rain !). But fewer daylight hours I guess...
After an Indian meal Janet & I went off to bed and I had to take a sleeping pill to try and sleep straight through. I haven't been able to get much sleep in the last few nights... not sure why, I guess it's because I'm on a high being visually stimulated all day long ! :) That's GOOD though. I'd rather that than be bored....
We set off from Franz Josef in the pouring rain, and when I mean pouring, I mean with the screen wipers full-on. We were hoping to nip back to Lake Matheson if it had been great, but no need, obviously... Our hostm, before we set off, had warned us of sandflies, saying that they will 'eat you alive' when you get out of the car so you need to shut the door pretty quick when you step out of the car otherwise they get in and drive you nuts whilst you're driving. In fact, he even said that the reason why it took so long for the white men to conquer NZ was because of the sandflies... they'd settle for a few months and then leave as they just couldn't take the itching any more. NOT hugely promising... we just covered ourselves in DEET basically and hoped for the best.
Our first stop was at Ship Creek, it had a lovely swamp walk (slight drizzle still) and it was just my type of scenery -- massively lush with moss over every tree. Trees look quite strange around there, a bit eerie in fact, as if they had a soul... they also have some trees that are covered in grass-like plants and I call them the 'yeti' trees as they look like the abominable snow man ! :)
We then eventually got to Mont Aspiring National Park and it was quite spectacular, again. Lots of peaks and valleys and the road following the rivers and lakes, with mist rising from the trees as it was still quite drizzly... it was frustrating not to see it in its full glory, but the mist did add a certain charm to it, making the whole scenery much more atmospheric somehow. There seemed to be countless shades of greens and greys. The roads, as usual here, were deserted. I even think I could drive pretty confidently here: no traffic lights, no round-abouts, and only the odd camper van to overtake (most are kind and will put over in the many designated areas for a few seconds to give you a chance to overtake them but if you get stuck behind someone selfish, you can be stuck for a long time as the roads are quite twisty making it difficult to overtake safely). Following a camper van is just enough to slow you down from 100km/hr to 80km/hr and add an extra 45mins to your journey.
We followed the Haast River all the way and went through 3 types of beautiful landscapes: temperate rainforest, beech forest and high country grassland.
We stopped in Mokuera (?) for a quite bite to eat... another halmet with just 10 houses, I joked that 'it was great for an hour but I couldn't see myself spending 10 years here' and the girl behind the counter said 'believe it or not, we have a member of staff who has lived here 10 years, it's probably why drinking is his favourite hobby'... :)
We then got to Lake Hawea (next to Lake Wanaka), one of the prettiest lake drives I'd ever done. By then the weather had improved quite a bit I haste to add (our host, who was always 'spot on' with his predictions, it has to be said) had hoped it'd happen as the Haast Pass (high up in the mountain range) can act like a weather barrier he said and stop the rain. And it made such a difference to the colours in the water to have some sun above our heads. I took some of my best shots of NZ so far along this stretch.
We also decided to stop at Arrow Town before getting into Queenstown (19kms away). It had been highly recommended by my friends and by every guide book for the South Island. It is the best preserved mining town in NZ and is also very very quaint. Janet & I spent a beautiful evening there, browsing through the gorgeous little shops and soaking up the atmosphere. It's only a one street halmet (yet again) but it did look like you'd stepped back in time, to 1862 precisely when the first miners arrived. They also had a whole section that had been used by the first Chinese migrants and made very sad reading... how only 1 in 8 managed to go back and how they lived in these terrible sheds with no light at all. We enjoyed a full hour there, it was the 'golden hour', it was warm and so pleasant... happy bunnies we were.
We then got to Queenstown and checked into the Gold Ridge Hotel, and we have a room overlooking the lake, with a nice little balcony (handy to let our clothes drip dry !) but not quite central enough. We are 5kms away from all the shops so still need the car to go out and eat.
When we went out for a stroll in Queenstown early evening I realised why I loved it so much here. It definitely is my favourite NZ city; it is called 'Queenstown' because the earlier English settlers felt the location was 'fit for a queen' (their Queen being Victoria at the time). There are a lot of pedestrian streets here and lots of places where you can sit outside to have a drink or meal, most on a 'wooden' theme, making it look extra cosy. I think that if I had to live in NZ for 6 months, Queenstown would be my choice. I really like the atmosphere here.
Queenstown is 'the adventure capital of the world' and has a usual resident population of 10,422; however, this number can swell up to 45,000 in peak visitor periods. Most people come here to experience extreme sports. I guess that bungy-jumping was invented in NZ and now they are into body surfing in rivers (instead of white water rafting, you do it on a board so that you are *in* the water), I've also seen videos of people jumping off planes on their bikes ! (both attached to a rope I may add). They have 'canyon jumping', etc. It's a place to try mad, mad, mad things, if you have the guts for it... needless to say, none of this 'mad' stuff was on our cards !
It does rain an awful lot in the summer though, so, strangely, it seems that their winter is the best time to visit NZ (much cheaper accommodation, no need to pre-book everything in advance, and less rain !). But fewer daylight hours I guess...
After an Indian meal Janet & I went off to bed and I had to take a sleeping pill to try and sleep straight through. I haven't been able to get much sleep in the last few nights... not sure why, I guess it's because I'm on a high being visually stimulated all day long ! :) That's GOOD though. I'd rather that than be bored....
posted by Sylvie at 4:52 AM
<< Home