• Franz Josef/Waiau and Wanaka

    1–5 Okt, Selandia Baru ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We left pretty Punakaiki in very unpretty, wet, windy weather, and drove south to Hokitika, where we took a glance at Sunset Point before retreating into the Hokitika Museum.

    There, we read about the Arahura Deed of Purchase, whereby the white people bought 7.5 million acres of the West Coast for three hundred pounds - about $NZ45,000 (or less than a cent per acre) today.

    Actually, the agent who did the deal was sent out with four hundred pounds, but managed to beat them down. It didn’t matter so much, though, as of the fourteen signatories to the agreement, two were women, so they didn’t get anything anyway.

    On a chilly, four-degree morning, we took a scenic walk out to Franz Josef glacier.

    The track took us to a viewing platform right next to the glacier. Oh, wait - that was in 1910!
    The glacier has now retreated three kilometres back into the hills, mainly thanks to the actions of we pesky humans.

    Actually, the lack of close-up glacier contact was more than made up for by the peaceful, still atmosphere. There were very few people around and the only sounds we could hear on our walks in the area were birds and the occasional gurgle of a nearby stream.

    Later in the day we drove the twenty kilometres or so to Fox Glacier, for a very distant, but scenic, view.

    Oh, we also saw a couple of kiwis, at the West Coast Wildlife Centre, in Franz Josef/Waiau. No photos, unfortunately, but we were so taken with these cute fluffy animals, poking around in the foliage with their stick beaks, that we went back the following day for another look.

    Then we headed south, and across the mountains through the Haast Pass.

    Roaring Billy Falls. Thunder Creek. Fantail Falls. The Blue Pools. The trip was a succession of walks along immaculately-maintained tracks to churning aquamarine streams and waterfalls, all with the imposing snow-capped peaks looming above.

    Soon enough, we were in Wanaka, a pleasant, buzzing town with a long, picturesque frontage on to its eponymous lake. After the relatively empty west coast, we were also a bit stunned to be back amongst crowds.

    Unfortunately, we had pretty bad weather for our visit and had to time our sightseeing between showers of rain.

    We managed a couple of walks along the scenic foreshore, a trip out to Glendhu Bay and a look at Wanaka Station Park.

    “That Tree at Wanaka” sits proudly in the lake and gets so many photos it might have a Banksy painted on its trunk.

    Next stop, hopefully drier, will be Queenstown.
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