Westcoast Wonders

It was a gorgeous crisp morning in Queenstown, so decided to take a stroll along Lake Wakatipu and spotted the historic coal fired steam ship, TSS Earnslaw, arriving for the day's tours. A fresh load of coal slid off the hopper-truck making a satisfying rumbling noise for its refuel. We found our way back to Fergbaker to pick up a few pastries and coffees to enjoy beach-side as our breakfast. Two meals in a row, can't go wrong! A busker was strumming his guitar and singing. His best friend 🐕 howled along to some sections 🎶😊, adding to the unique experience.

Our drive east took us through the undulating grasslands. Early on, we opted for the scenic route up the Crown range road, and down on to the Cardrona Valley; definitely a route for motorcycles with all the twists and turns! We settled for the zooming of our Hyundai i30 😂

Eventually we met back up with the main highway, following along Hawea and Wanaka lakes towards the Hasst Pass. We stopped at the Blue Pools site for a walk to see them, but only managed the forest walk as the suspension bridges were closed as they are end-of-life 😕 Some folks were wading across the knee-deep river water, but decided not to join them.

As we neared the coast, the forests became denser, and a lot more moss and ferns. The exposed coastline forests looked pretty embattled from the numerous storms they weather. The more protected forests looked almost primeval.

Late in the day we arrived in Fox Glacier town site for the evening. The motel was basic, and the walls were paper thin 📄 (Micro-waterfall 🚹🚽sounds from the neighbor 💦 🤣) Dinner at the nearby Cook Saloon was quirky and delicious: J had the Lamb shank, and A the Salmon.

The next morning we drove down the road to Lake Matheson, and walked the 3km loop trail. We were fortunate that the warm sun was out, and the clouds mostly cleared revealing the peaks Aoraki and Minarets.

If you're ever looking for some expensive gasoline, try Franz Josef: $303.9nzd /L! 😱 We suppose it feels good helping the local economy 😔. Our path continued Northwards, weaving inland and following the coastline, and crossing multiple sections of very wide mostly dry river beds.

Midday found us in Hokitika, where we had a picnic at the beach front park. We joined a lovely older lady and her dog at the picnic table. We shared a few stories about ourselves. It was her first road trip with her dog. Happy to be away from her retirement home. We hope they knew she was on this multiday adventure 🤔.

We continued northward, but eventually our route took us east, back inland towards Lewis Pass. A found us a hot spring resort for the night!Read more