December 12th-13th, 2019
From Mount Cook I backtracked to Wanaka. I’d hoped to get another paragliding flight
in and then the plan was to take the Haast Pass to the west coast. Unfortunately, I already knew that the road
was washed out near the Franz Josef glacier, north of the Haast Pass, but I
wanted to head out there just the same to check out some of the coast.
Nearing Wanaka:
Arriving in Wanaka around midday I headed straight towards Treble
Cone. As I passed through town, I saw some
of the results from the past week’s rain that I had run away from. The main road along the lakeside was still
closed to traffic and the shoreline was littered with driftwood. A few park benches were still half submerged
in the lake water. Treble Cone is about
10 km out of town and halfway there I saw signs saying “Road Closed”. Oh dear.
I kept going and eventually there were some pylons blocking half of the
road and I could see that three quarters of the road up ahead was flooded. I pulled over but then watched a few cars
cruise through the water. After some
humming and hawing, I decided to give it a go…and no problem. I reached the landing zone and watched a
tandem pilot come in and land. A few of
the pilots that I met last week were there, Nicks and Richard and I met a
relatively new pilot Chelsea who was originally from Hawaii but was currently
living in Alaska. Unfortunately, it was
the last run of the day for their tandem bookings so there wasn’t a shuttle going
up to launch.
The partially flooded road:
Chelsea’s van was in the garage so I gave her a lift back
into town. Then I headed to the frisbee
golf course that I decided not to play in the rain the week before and instead visited
Puzzling World. I wasn’t sure where to
park so I opted for a spot where I saw a few cars parked under some trees. I could see a couple of baskets and a few
disc golfers but I wasn’t sure exactly where to start. There was a young man in his early twenties
with a large spry dog so I asked him where the course started. “Do you want to join me?” Sure, why not. It was actually hole 10 where I started, but who
cares. Oscar had just finished his first
year of a three year finance program in Oamaru on the east coast. His father lives in Wanaka so he was working
at the local grocery store for the summer and plays a lot of disc golf. His dog Wilbur was having a great time
running around and luckily he has no desire to chase after frisbees. After the round of 18 holes I offered Oscar a
beer from my van and then we headed off to another course just a few blocks away
that was only 9 holes, shorter and more technical (read: more trees). Oscar said he’d be playing around the same
time tomorrow and I was welcome to join him…nice fellow.
I stayed at Lake Hawea again as there was another Canucks
game against another Canadian team. The
last time I stayed there it was the Edmonton Oilers, this time the Toronto
Maple Leafs. Part of the reason I camped
there was that there was free wi-fi in the pub.
Last time I was there the wi-fi cut out for the third period and wouldn’t
you know it, this time going into the third, the power cut out for the whole
area for about half an hour. Luckily it
came back on for the end of the game.
The next morning, I decided to make the run for the west coast. The road is known as the Haast Pass as the
small town of Haast is at the end of it.
The views along Lake Hawea and then through “the Neck” over to Lake Wanaka
were gorgeous. Actually, most of the
journey was scenic and there were numerous stops along the way for waterfalls or
other attractions like a small suspension bridge over a river known as Blue
Hole since the glacial water was a lovely turquoise colour.
Lake Wanaka:
The next morning, I decided to make the run for the west coast. The road is known as the Haast Pass as the
small town of Haast is at the end of it.
The views along Lake Hawea and then through “the Neck” over to Lake Wanaka
were gorgeous. Actually, most of the
journey was scenic and there were numerous stops along the way for waterfalls or
other attractions like a small suspension bridge over a river known as Blue
Hole since the glacial water was a lovely turquoise colour.
I love this "international" sign of the bridge capacity:
The Blue Hole:
Looking out from the bridge:
As I approached the coast the cloud base got lower and you
could just sense that this was an area that receives a ton of rain, 7 meters
per year in some parts! The “Wet Coast”…just
like back in Canada. Most weather
systems approach New Zealand from the west and the mountains of the Southern
Alps causes most of the moisture to be dumped along the west coast. It’s definitely a temperate rainforest as the
greenery was vibrant and plentiful.
I started heading north up the highway and there was next to
no traffic. Thanks to the road closure
further north, lots of vacationers just weren’t bothering to come out to this
section of the coast. Fine with me,
kinda nice to have a reprieve from the hoards of tourists (not that I should
complain as I am one of them).
I stopped for a short hike at Ship Creek. It was right on the beach and there was a
small lookout tower over the dunes and back towards the swampy area around the
creek. There were a few different short
hikes and I ventured on the swamp one and it was definitely worth the price of admission
(free). This was a temperate rain forest
in its glory…very lush with lots of birds singing. Certain sections required a boardwalk
otherwise you’d be walking in water slightly disguised amongst the moss.
The view from the lookout tower:
The swamp hike:
A temperate rain forest:
The beach boardwalk:
Arriving at the campsite at Lake Paringa, I was slightly
surprised to be the only one there. I
figured it would be relatively quiet, but to be the only one?!? It was only mid-afternoon and more people
could show up but I didn’t mind. There
was a lovely little creek flowing down to the lake so I set up my camping chair
and enjoyed the afternoon sun listening to the babbling brook.
My afternoon office:
Looking good Betty 2.0!
In the evening, one other campervan arrived up and the rain
began to fall but also the sandflies came out in full force. I retreated into Betty 2.0 for dinner and
didn’t even venture outside to do my dishes at the sink by the toilets. In Canada we have bad mosquitoes in some
regions, and there are mosquitoes in New Zealand, but it’s the little pesky sandflies
that have most people irritated. They
are generally easy to kill, but their bite is quite itchy and in some spots
where I have camped their numbers are just unbearable.
Strangely that night I was continually woken up by, not
sandflies, but mosquitoes. One after
another. I’d turn on my light, put on my
glasses, kill the little bastard and then go back to sleep. But that cycle repeated probably 10
times! After the fifth time I would
scour my campervan with my flashlight, maybe find one or two more but then
think I was clear…but no, another would bite me or buzz my ear as I dozed
off. I checked my windows and doors, all
closed. I hadn’t left any door or window
open for long earlier either but somehow they must have found a way inside. Odd.
Rain the next day...
The next morning was rainy and it was time to backtrack the
way I had come. I drove back along the
Haast Pass and stayed one more night at the same place in Lake Hawea. There was another hockey game on, an NFL game
and I have to admit, I like their burgers!
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