Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand

All of the photos are here or you can see each regions photos using the links in the relevant sections below.

1. Mount Cook National Park/Aoraki/Twizel/Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo:

Mount Cook National Park, Aoraki, Twizel, Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo area photos are here.

We didn’t spend much time in this area 15 years ago … that was a mistake … it’s absolutely incredible! We based ourselves in the small, pleasant but not desperately exciting town of Twizel which was a 3½ hour drive from Christchurch airport. We had flown into Christchurch from Auckland after our side-trip to Great Barrier Island (our first destination in New Zealand). The route from Christchurch passes through the small valley towns of Geraldine, Fairlie (famous for its pies – which were very good) and the historic heritage village of Burkes Pass before reaching Lake Tekapo.

Both Lake Tekapo and neighboring Lake Pukaki have luminous milky turquoise waters caused by rock flour which is created as glaciers moved down the surrounding slopes. The glacial flour is so fine it cannot sink but instead remains suspended in the lake water creating the incredible hue. In perfect light the lake waters are also highly reflective creating breathtaking vistas with the snow-capped Mount Cook reflecting in the lake water from many miles away. Lake Tekapo is most famous for its pink, white and purple lupins growing wild at the edges of the lake – an Instagram favorite with the brightly colored flowers against the backdrop of the famous milky teal lake.

On route 80 from Twizel to Mount Cook Village (where most of the hikes start in Mount Cook National Park) Peter’s Lookout is the most famous, most unmissable, and one of the most impressive viewpoints over the lake looking north towards Mount Cook.

Throughout summer (we were here mid-December) the lupins grow along the lakeshore, throughout rocky river beds and in meadows – literally in their millions – in hues of yellow, pink, white and purple. They are in reality invasive non-native weeds here but they are breathtakingly beautiful – especially against the backdrop of the lake waters and the mountains of the Southern Alps. If you want to wander through the lupins alone without sharing them with hordes of tour bus passengers at Lake Tekapo, you need to find and follow any dirt track in your 4WD down to the lakeside as far away from town as you can possibly get. If you stop in the town centre and only plan to meander through the lupins around the very famous “The Church of the Good Shepherd” on the lakeshore then it won’t be a particularly tranquil, pleasant or peaceful experience. Hot tip – we followed the Godley Peaks Road towards Lake McGregor Campsite and turned off right before the campsite following a dusty track down to Lake Tekapo where we wandered alone amongst the lushest, most enormous lupin beds we’d ever seen. Far more magical than fighting for a parking space with 1,000 other cars in town 😉

Whilst the lupins are a definite highlight of the region during December and January we were here for the hiking and the most iconic and spectacular hike which gives you the greatest return for your effort is the Hooker Valley Track. To be honest, it is not a hiker’s hike. We saw people walking it in wholly inappropriate footwear and the usual flowing, flowery Instagrammer’s dresses. It is not an inherently hard hike because much of it is on boardwalk – although it is reasonably long for a non-hiker. You get some sense of its enormous popularity not only with hardy hikers but also with tourists disgorged in their hundreds from tour buses as you approach Mount Cook Village. The car park must have been full by 8am. The jagged peaks of the snow-capped mountain range loomed ahead and cars and camper vans were abandoned on grass verges at least half a mile back up the entry road.

The 7 mile return hike is fairly easy which makes it popular. If you’re lucky you might find some brief periods of peace and quiet to enjoy the jaw-dropping scenery but often you’ll be subjected to the incessant chatter of gaggles of tourists. Your ability to tune out everyone else will probably determine how much you enjoy this fabulous place! The hike passes through rocky terrain, over long, bouncy swing bridges crossing fast-flowing icy rivers. You traverse boardwalks and past freezing grey glacial lakes. The views over Mueller Glacier are incredible. Large yellow-centered white daisies and abundant delicate wild flowers grow in the alpine vegetation visible from the track. The track ends with an overlook and picnic tables at Hooker Lake but we continued down to the edge of the water where Geoff chose a rock to clamber up so that we could sit in peace with our picnic away from the crowds at the overlook. The Hooker Valley Track is unmissable – easily one of the top hikes of our 3 months in New Zealand – but you do need to accept the crowds who are coming along with you for the ride.

There are several other beautiful short hiking trails which start in Mount Cook Village.

The Blue Lakes (for the record they are green!) and Tasman Glacier View Track are just a couple of miles in length – out and back – part steps and part rocky terrain but when you pop out over the top of the Tasman Lake with the Glacier ahead of you and blue-hued icebergs floating in the glacial waters, you don’t get much better for a view to go with your morning coffee!

There are 2 well-known ball-buster hikes from the Village: Sealy Tarns and Red Tarns.

Sealy Tarns is a 3.3 mile return hike considered challenging. It is known as the “Stairway to Heaven” hike for good reason. The elevation gain over the course of the 2,200 steep steps is 1,791 feet. I’m sure the views over Mount Cook are absolutely epic but that sounded like 2,000 steps too far 😉

So, we chose Red Tarns which was still a significant ball and lung buster! A short hike at only 2½ miles round trip but it still had an 1,100 feet elevation gain. For anyone who doesn’t do a lot of hiking, this means you’re on a giant StairMaster from ground level to summit with no reprieve whatsoever climbing 1,100 feet/335 meters uphill in 1¼ miles. Once you’ve reached the summit of the hike and recovered with lunch at the viewpoint over the spectacular mountain views reflected in the red-colored ponds (due to the red pondweed) you then have to take the same StairMaster back down 1,100 feet. It probably would have been less onerous a task had we not already completed 2 hikes that morning before deciding to tackle it!

Our glutes certainly knew they’d had a workout by the end of the day so it seemed only right that we should spend the following afternoon out in the boonies at Omarama Hot Tubs where we luxuriated in our own private sauna, dipping in and out of a spring water fed wood-stove heated hot tub overlooking a pond where black swans and ducks glided amongst the reeds. Absolutely blissfully quiet and super relaxing!

Since we’re self-catering we can’t really recommend anywhere for dining. Fairlie Bakery’s famous veggie pies were very good; we tried the reputedly 5* fish and chips at Better Batter cooked in a tiny food truck at Lakeside Drive in Lake Tekapo. It was good but the hour-long wait sitting at a bench overlooking the lake was a touch long. We bought fresh salmon at High Country Salmon outside of Twizel for Christmas dinner which was extremely good. We had curry at FishTail in Twizel when we arrived which was very good if you can’t be bothered to cook after a hard day of hiking.

Other than these the grocery store options and restaurants were a bit thin on the ground! Four Square (the only grocery store in these parts) has its limitations in terms of quality and variety but were sufficient. After the awful grocery store on Great Barrier Island the week earlier and discovering that we’d be stuck with Four Square (which is just a touch more sophisticated than a 7-Eleven) in the Canterbury/Twizel/Tekapo region, we were beginning to really miss our Florida WholeFoods stores!

2. Wānaka:

Wānaka area photos are here.

This popular, trendy, lakeside adventurers town tried very hard to kill us!

During a reasonably energetic hike to the summit of Rocky Mountain I bashed my elbow so hard clambering through rocks it was black and blue for a week. To add insult to injury I lost half a pint of blood in the process 😉 which I didn’t notice at first because I was hopping around in so much pain. I suddenly realized I was spray-painting the rocky outcrop red and blood had pooled in my palm and was dripping onto my hiking boots! Well worth the injury though for the 365° views overlooking Lake Wānaka and Cattle Flat in one direction and over the Mount Aspiring Range in the other. Where better to lick one’s wounds (figuratively speaking) and have a picnic overlooking snow-capped mountains than the top of Rocky Mountain? This is a figure of 8 shaped hike which passes the reflective black waters of Diamond Lake at the start of the hike and then climbs relatively steeply to various viewpoints along the way (all worth seeing) before arriving at the flat rocks at the summit. Handy hint – hike counterclockwise. There is a steep, narrow rocky section which is far easier to climb up than it would be to clamber down. It’s a moderately strenuous hike where hiking poles would be of benefit – except in avoiding bashing elbows 😉

The following day, I twisted my ankle half a mile into an 8 mile return hike on the Rob Roy Glacier Track (which was utterly awesome). The journey to the Raspberry Flat carpark at the start of the hike was an adventure in itself. About 20 minutes outside of Wānaka on the Mount Aspiring National Park road you leave the tarmac behind you and spend the next 40 minutes or so on a dusty, dirt track through privately owned farmland where road maintenance is perhaps understandably not high priority. Geoff navigated through 9 fords in our Nissan XTrail 4WD without getting washed into the freezing, teal waters of the Matukituki River (it had rained the day before so some may have been deeper than normal but in spring or fall you might expect to drive through many more fords than that). Lesser vehicles and camper vans were abandoned at the side of the dirt track where their drivers had wisely left them and walked to the start of the hiking track instead. Not hard to imagine that some vehicles would be at risk of grounding or floating off downstream. For the record GPS says it takes 2 hours to get to the car park from town. It took us an hour … for anyone familiar with Geoff’s driving this might not come as a huge surprise 😉

The hike starts in a spectacular valley where the river glints silver in the sunlight and you are surrounded by towering mountains. It quickly weaves through the forest. There are some narrow rocky trails, some steep steps but for most of the hike (until you get to the Lower Lookout) there are only glimpses of what is to come. After the Lower Lookout you climb steps and pass over sections with steep drop-offs to the side and ultimately emerge at a huge dry riverbed. We picked our way over small wobbly rocks and huge uneven boulders which wasn’t the easiest to traverse with a twisted ankle! I probably shouldn’t have been walking on it at all – but nothing was going to stop me from seeing Rob Roy Glacier since I’d flown half way around the world to see it! The view at the Upper Lookout was simply extraordinary – it was an amphitheater of waterfalls and banks of snow and ice glistening in the sunshine. We found a rock to perch upon for lunch. We were speechless – it was so spectacularly beautiful. It is an unmissable hike and one which should absolutely be prioritized on a cloudless blue sky day.

The second highlight of our week in Wānaka was vastly more adrenalin-fueled, terrifying and infinitely more exhausting! To set the scene – Geoff is paralyzed with terror at any height above 5 feet off the ground and I’d rather die than go rock climbing. What better then but to book a 4 hour vertical climb up the side of a waterfall with Wildwire Wanaka?! Despite all the odds, and after many, many almost life-changing moments during which we surreptitiously glanced at each other (and I apologized for booking the climb in the first place 😉) we survived the 1,050 foot/320 meter “Via Ferrata” up the side of Twin Falls Waterfall. Several times I shuddered at the forthcoming single plank-width bridge swaying in the wind or the sheer cliff face looming above us. In theory it should have been easier than it actually was but it turned out there were fewer iron rungs drilled into the rock face on the Via Ferrata route than we’d have liked which translated into considerably more actual rock climbing without either iron handholds nor footholds! Kudos to Geoff who made it across long, wobbly plank bridges dangling 1,000 feet above ground without passing out and a somewhat nerve-wracking single wire bridge where I absolutely refused to look down since I knew it would culminate in my certain and untimely death. We were more than twice the age of the other climbers and we soon discovered that hauling our own body weight up a rock face with gnarly obstacles getting in the way and iron rungs placed farther apart than either our actual arm or leg spans was going to prove the most terrifying and exhausting 6 hours of our lives. We managed it without embarrassing ourselves too much and made it down to ground level with a not inconsiderable sense of pride in our personal achievements for 2 oldies. By the end of it, the rest of my already pretty battered body (courtesy of the 2 hikes above) was now also covered in bruises, my other arm was bruised, and both knees were grazed and bruised. An exhilarating experience which we were elated to have survived but never again! 😁

We were owed a change of pace after all of the excitement and stayed at ground level to visit the Wānaka Lavender Farm which was considerably less dangerous. The Farm is spacious with beautiful gardens, a cafe and sweeping lavender fields which were in full bloom at the end of December. Since the Farm is an Instagrammers’ darling we arrived at opening time which had 2 advantages – firstly, we were the only people there which meant I could do my very best Instagrammer pose 😉 in front of the famous purple door without lining up with the tour bus hordes … and secondly, the early morning light at 9am was perfect. It’s lovely there – tranquil and relaxing listening to the bees buzzing around the lavender and the birds singing in the trees.

We also walked the waterfront when we hadn’t the energy to do anything more exciting to the (inexplicably world famous) #ThatWanakaTree – a willow tree growing in the lake just off shore. It’s popularity knows no bounds at sunset and sunrise. You will be fighting for a space at the water’s edge to photograph it with at least 50 other people which, with hindsight, made me laugh. Once we’d taken a few snaps we left everyone behind us and continued along the shoreline towards the waterfront Edgewater Hotel where we spotted at least 3 or 4 other willow trees finding their watery feet offshore. Maybe not as large yet as #ThatWanakaTree – but equally pretty.

If you continue further around the lakefront you will end up hiking the Glendhu Bay Track. This is a very long and hilly hike. We took the cheats option one cloudy, drizzly morning and parked at Ruby Island car park to start our walk from there. On a nicer day it might have been more appealing to do the whole walk, but it wasn’t a nice day, so we gave up, detoured to our favorite bakery (reputedly New Zealand’s best bakery) Pembroke Patisserie in the suburb of Albert Town for critical bakery supplies. Don’t miss it – the sourdough is incredible – as are the pastries. Since we had arrived in town a few days before Christmas the bakery was also the source of our fruit mince pies (a UK staple at Christmas and thankfully, as it turns out, a Christmas staple in New Zealand too!). We did have to fight for one of the last 3 boxes though … and lined up outside for at least 30 minutes to buy them … tense moments! 😉 They were undoubtedly the most expensive mince pies we’ve ever bought at $27 for 6 but they were worth every cent … Christmas was saved!!!

Almost as wonderful as finding Pembroke Patisserie – we discovered we’d not have to buy any more groceries in another depressing Four Square supermarket because Wānaka has a brand new, squeaky clean, huge and well-stocked New World supermarket which, as far as grocery stores go in New Zealand, was fabulous! 😉

3. West Coast/Franz Josef/Southern Alps:

West Coast, Franz Josef and Southern Alps area photos are here.

Our 4 hour drive from Wānaka through the normally incredible scenery of the Haast Pass to the West Coast was less than inspirational in the pouring rain. It rained for the entire journey past Lake Hawea and Lake Wānaka all the way until we passed over the mountains of the Southern Alps and dropped down into the valley and headed north along the coast road itself. So, no point in stopping at any of the waterfalls nor the famous Blue Pools en route which was unfortunate. The river bed of the Haast River which winds through the valley is wide and quite dry in many places at the end of December. Tall pink foxgloves sprout along the shore and there were cream pampas grasses growing in their thousands forming islands of pampas and reeds in the dry rocky river bed. I lost count but the route to Franz Josef crosses at least a dozen single-lane bridges and the road switchbacks across the mountains throughout almost the entire 4 hour drive.

The first stop of any note was Knights Point Lookout which has a view over a rocky headland and rainforest to the south which you’ll share with every tour bus passenger en route to the glaciers.

In Franz Josef town, we were booked into Rainforest Retreat into one of their Deluxe Tree Lodges (for the record $520 NZD per night is pretty pricey for the quality of the accommodation offered which was far less deluxe than it was utterly average). Still, most people stay in camper vans, in tents, on caravan sites or in one of the other even more depressingly average motels in town, so it’s all relative!

After a long journey we soaked for an hour in one of the heated tubs at Waiho Hot Tubs – fresh mountain stream water heated by a wood-fired stove and surrounded by rainforest undergrowth – ferns and giant fern trees and tiny flowers – bliss! We listened to songbirds chirping in the trees around us and the constant, rhythmic hum of helicopter blades taking visitors on scenic flights up to the glacier far above us. It was $130 NZD well spent, in fact, it was so good that we made a booking for our last evening too. Whilst it was very pleasant soaking in a tub in the sunshine there was something far more magical about it in the rain. The helicopters are grounded in low cloud so it was almost silent other than the soft drip of raindrops onto the leaves of the verdant rainforest around us and on the umbrella overhead. Highly recommended!

Visitors come to Franz Josef for a number of reasons – and all of them are to get closer to the glaciers of the Southern Alps. People come to hike, take a scenic helicopter flight and make a brief snow landing on Fox Glacier or, for the slightly more adventurous, to Heli Hike on Franz Josef Glacier itself.

We came to do both of the latter but the weather wasn’t entirely playing ball. This isn’t unusual in this region of the South Island which receives on average 29 feet/9 meters of rain per year … it’s pretty damp …

After some frantic negotiations between 2 helicopter companies we managed to shift our long-ago booked Heli Hike for New Years Day to New Years Eve so that we could do it on the one full day of blue sky and sunshine forecast during our 3 days in town. Given it costs $800 NZD per person for the Heli Hike we were keen to ensure we didn’t have to go up there in gloomy cloud, or even worse, have the trip canceled altogether because it was too dangerous to make the helicopter landing.

So, having re-scheduled our activities, at 10am we hopped on a 30 minute Glacier Helicopters Twin Glacier Snow Landing flight over Franz Josef with a 10 minute landing on Fox Glacier. It’s an iconic and very popular activity with just enough time for a quick snowball fight and a few holiday snaps with the windswept glacier in the background. It’s a pricey 30 minutes of spectacular scenery with awe-inspiring views over the 2 glaciers which runs at $445 NZD per person.

The highlight of our stay in town, however, was the Franz Josef Glacier Guides “Glacier Heli Hike” with Glacier Country Helicopters. The weather forecasts are pretty accurate in New Zealand so we were very excited that we’d been moved to the one sunny day available to us. After a quick turn around of an hour back at the Lodge after the 30 minute scenic flight and landing, we were at the base lodge for the Heli Hike being kitted out for the 1pm departure to hike on the glacier. Issued with gigantic snow boots, crampons, mittens, woolly hat, helmet and an oversized and very unflattering blue windproof jacket and we were finally ready for the safety briefing which instructed us in great detail of all manner of ways in which we would, without doubt, be killed sometime during the afternoon … earthquake, landslide, collapsing ice sheets, avalanches & falling into a crevasse … and the possibility we might be marooned up there all night in emergency tents if the clouds suddenly descended and the helicopter couldn’t land safely to collect us … and so on … 😁

In fact, we didn’t die during our 2½ hour ice hike despite the dire safety warnings and signing away all of our rights, instead, it was an awe-inspiring experience and breathtakingly beautiful trudging through the blue ice surrounded by brilliant blue sky, craggy rock faces and views over 3 glaciers other than the one we were actually standing on. Their own advertising states that “you might find yourself sliding through narrow crevasses, navigating between staggering ice towers, squeezing through ice caves or if you are lucky, all three!” We did all 3. It’s fairly energetic – there are steep steps in some areas, and you have to stretch over wide gaps and crevasses in other areas. You might find yourself with only a narrow foot width to wedge your boot into with a crevasse beneath. As before, when we were hanging by our fingernails 1,000 feet above ground over the waterfall in Wānaka, we were at least twice the age of our fellow ice-climbing adventurers but we would do it again in a heartbeat!

Back at ground level in the Franz Josef/ Fox Glacier area there are 2 easy walks for stretching your legs:

After a short 10 minute drive from town along the Waiho River towards Franz Josef Glacier car park, Peters Pool is a 20 minute round trip stroll to the viewpoint over a tiny pond with a huge view. If you’re lucky and it’s a calm day, snow-capped Franz Josef Glacier and its surrounding rainforest mountains are reflected in its dark waters.

Lake Matheson is another famous lake calm enough for reflections of Tasman Glacier and Mount Cook on a good day … it was very hazy when we visited so not my best photographic achievements! The sandflies were also gnawing at my naked ankles so you won’t want to hang around for long at any of the viewpoints unless it’s a windy day … in which case you won’t see any reflections at all!

The 2¾ mile walk around the lake and through the rainforest was beautiful and, for once, I concentrated on the close-up views of the vegetation rather than the expansive landscape views. Here, moss in all of its forms flourishes – soft, spongy moss sprouts other mosses which then sprouts its own lichen with tiny flowers – moss and lichen in all shades of green from lime to emerald. It’s an incredible world of tiny-leaved beauties if you take the time to look. Award-winning Matheson Cafe at the start (and end) of the circular walk serves great coffee and cakes and the pesto mushroom with halloumi on sourdough was so good for breakfast that we made the 30 minute drive out there from Franz Josef twice just to repeat the experience.

For the entirely sedentary, a visit to the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef township is very informative. You can pay for a VIP Pass for a more personal guided tour which we might have done if they had had any baby kiwi chicks, but they didn’t so we just bought the standard entry where you enter a dimly-lit manmade forest environment which emulates a nocturnal wooded landscape. Here, once your eyes have adjusted to the subdued lighting, you can watch their current 2 resident kiwis foraging in the undergrowth with their disproportionately long and pointed beaks. They are very nervous creatures so you have to be quiet and they don’t appreciate flash photography or cellphone videoing so you can’t photograph them. The flightless kiwi is New Zealand’s national bird. It has soft, loose feathers, long legs and is roughly the size of a chicken. It is a highly endangered species, the Rowi Kiwi is now found only in the wild in the Okarito Forest north of Franz Josef and the Haast Tokoeka Kiwi is found in a small forested area near Haast. Conservation efforts are focussed on eradicating invasive and non-native predators such as possums, rats and the number one culprit – the stoat. The birth rate and survival rate of chicks is so low it’s a surprise that they’ve survived at all after the devastation to populations caused by humans and predators over the years … which is very sad because they’re very cute …

Restaurants in Franz Josef – do yourself a big favor and don’t bother with Monsoon at Rainforest Retreat unless you like bar food … it redefines the description of average for its food and sticky-tabled ambience… instead go to trendy Blue Ice Bar and Restaurant which is positively upmarket (for the West Coast) with excellent food. Alice May Restaurant is more rustic but equally good.

4. Mount Pisa:

We passed through Mount Pisa for a night between the West Coast and Queenstown in the hope that we’d have the opportunity to spend more time in the Haast Pass exploring … but the rain was pouring just like it had been on the outward journey. Mount Pisa is only 40 minutes outside of Wānaka but is quite different in terrain. The Central Otago Valley region is renowned for its vineyards which line the roadside and spread up onto the surrounding undulating hillsides. Cherry tree farms and orchards are interspersed between the vineyards and wild flowers grow along the roadsides. It’s a pretty area. There were farm stands along the roadside and we stopped at Poplar Estate and bought homemade raspberry jam and a large punnet of cherries, plums, apricots and peaches which were amazing. It is more arid here and highly fertile ground for orchards and wineries. We stopped for dinner at Moorings Restaurant in Mount Pisa which lacked ambience but more than made up for it with its food.

5. Queenstown:

Queenstown area photos are here.

From Mount Pisa we followed the winding route 6 through the dramatic Kawarau Gorge emerging in yet another terrain reminiscent of rural California. The landscape is much more verdant with lime green willow trees, dark green cypress trees and spectacular vineyards against backdrops of the rugged foothills. We reached Arrow Junction and because the morning light was so beautiful we took a detour to the historic settlement of Cardrona via Cardrona Valley and the Crown Range Mountains. The views were breathtaking from the Summit and towards Queenstown from the various lookouts on Crown Range Road which is the highest elevation road in New Zealand. Cardrona is tiny but famous and if you get there early like we did (10am) you might not have to wait in line for a photo in front of the famous hotel … goodness knows how busy it would get on a sunny afternoon with tourists traveling between Wānaka and Queenstown. The Cardrona River passes through the valley – it is more a stream than a river – and either side of the stream and lining the banks either side of the road there are millions of yellow, pink and purple lupins. The drive is absolutely spectacular at this time of year.

Ahh … Lake Wakatipu! One of my favorite lakes in New Zealand and the country’s longest lake at 50 miles. The city of Queenstown sits on its shores and both the city and the lake are surrounded by The Remarkables (the famous ski resort) and the Hector Mountains. I love Queenstown – not for its facilities as a city as much as for its location – on the shore of the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu and close to beautiful, tranquil rural scenery and the vineyards of nearby Gibbston.

Bob’s Cove Track runs through native bush until its reaches the beach at Bob’s Cove which is a popular swimming spot. The track continues around the cove past a wood jetty and winds uphill onto the peninsula affording views over Bob’s Cove to the left and a huge sweeping panorama over the width of Lake Wakatipu to the right. It is a relatively easy track with some rocky inclines and descents. We didn’t hike the whole of the 6¾ miles to Twelve Mile Delta Campsite because we really didn’t think we’d see anything more impressive than the view we inadvertently found over Rocky Beach. We had stopped just beforehand at Rocky Beach itself with its crystal clear waters and red flowering Pōhutukawa trees growing on the headland. One more uphill haul and we spotted a narrow opening in the scrub to the right. The view from the craggy overlook over Rocky Beach far below was fabulous – the best place for lunch and we had it all to ourselves!

No trip to Queenstown is complete without driving out to beautiful Glenorchy at the far end of Lake Wakatipu where the Dart River drains into the lake. Glenorchy is also one of the gateways to Mount Aspiring National Park (previously visited above during our week in Wānaka). In 2008 when we last visited New Zealand we took a 2 hour Wilderness Jet Boat ride with Dart River Adventures based in Glenorchy. It was almost surreal slipping and sliding at great speed across the shimmering transparent teal waters grazing the river rocks of this famous braided river. The river weaved upstream through forests and snow-capped mountain ranges. This is the land of Lord of the Rings! This time, as soon as we’d jetted out from the blue waters of the lake we noticed that the once transparent blue river was grey with silt. It turns out that in 2011 there was a huge land slide in the National Park and ever since the main river channels have run grey with the silt of the mountain which collapsed 13 years ago! The smaller channels either side still run clear and bright and where the grey silt meets the blue water there were spectacular effects in the shallows. It is far more tiring than it sounds to spend 2 hours gripping onto the handle bar whilst you’re spun in circles, drenched in freezing river water and then zipped along at great speeds tilted at 45°. Excellent fun but dress warm unless it’s a balmy 85°F/29°C day … which it probably won’t be this far south 😉

The final iconic adrenalin-fueled activity (for which Queenstown is renowned) is, of course, the 30 minute Shotover River Jet Boat ride. There are moments when it’s hard to keep your eyes open as you hurtle through the high canyons missing the rock faces by mere inches as the boat skids over shallow rocky riverbeds and throws itself into wild 365° spins at 56 MPH/90 KPH. Riders cling onto the handle bars, digging their feet into the bottom of the boat in an effort to prevent being launched into the water as the boat lurches from side to side. There is screaming, giggling and whooping. Thirty minutes later you are dripping wet but have had the ride of your life. It’s the best $100 USD per person you’re ever going to spend for 30 minutes of high octane fun 😁

If you have the energy afterwards you can also take a stroll through the Morning Star Reserve through the bush down to the Morning Star Reserve Beach where you can watch the jet boats fly past you to the waterfall. Not as much fun as being hurtled through the canyon but considerably more relaxing for a lazy stroll! If you time it correctly you will see whitewater rafters pop out from a tunnel in the rocks over a waterfall at the end of their own watery excursion.

In an hour and 20 minutes from our apartment in Arthurs Point, Queenstown you can almost be in (literal and actual) Paradise! However, our journey took us just south of the village of Paradise where the road from Glenorchy turns west and crosses over the Dart River (the same section of river which we had skidded and slid over on a jet boat a few days earlier). We passed through farmland with sheep wandering along the roadsides and followed a washboard dirt track to the start of one of New Zealand’s most iconic Great Walks – the Routeburn Track. Obviously we weren’t joining the backpackers hiking 30 miles one way and camping in the wilderness … our 10 mile round trip day hike was only taking us as far as the Routeburn Flats Hut from the Routeburn Shelter car park (which was already almost full at 8.15am in the height of summer). The Routeburn Flats Hut track isn’t a hard track to hike (unless you’re still nursing a twisted ankle from hiking on the Rob Roy Glacier in which case 10 miles is quite tiring 😉). It only has a 1,000 foot elevation gain which is nothing over the distance of 5 miles and much of it is in the shade of an ancient beech forest, so it’s pretty easy going as far as terrain is concerned. The moss grows thick and spongy in the shade of the forest, the emerald green ferns are huge and birdsong is very often the only sound you will hear above the rushing of the river below. Swing bridges cross deep turquoise rivers and streams so luminous it’s hard to believe they are real. We stopped at Forge Flat briefly – mesmerized by the color of the water. It was early in the morning so we were alone enjoying the peace and tranquility. We stopped there later during our return hike which was much busier with hikers swimming in the chilly glacial waters and sunbathing on the rocky shoreline. The journey to Routeburn Flats Hut was almost as beautiful as the destination. Routeburn Flats is at the valley floor where you can have lunch with epic views over the mountains and glaciers in the distance in Mount Aspiring National Park. A shallow stream runs through the valley and if the breeze dies down you can catch glimpses of reflections of the snowy mountaintops in the water. The meadows in the valley have long golden grasses and wild flowers. We continued just past the Routeburn Flats Hut itself which was busy with hikers and continued on for a few more minutes alongside the stream until we reached a picnic table hut near the campsite so that we could be alone in the peace and quiet. There is an extension from the Flats Hut uphill on a very steep section to Routeburn Falls Hut – another 1,000 feet in a mile or so but my ankle was not going to welcome that detour so the valley was the end of the line for us! Well worth the drive out from Queenstown 😁

On our final lazy day in Queenstown we drove 15 minutes to Arrowtown – a very popular tiny tourist town known for its immaculately-preserved historic buildings – including New Zealand’s second oldest (but undoubtedly most cute) post office. It was a gold-mining town back in 1862 built on the banks of the Arrow River. It is very pretty and I’m sure it’s a shopper’s paradise if that is your thing! We had mid-morning coffee (not good) at the most popular cafe in town – Provisions of Arrowtown – thankfully the orange and almond cake made up for the coffee. If you want a table outside in the lovely garden you’ll have to be prepared to wait for the privilege. If you are in the mood for a lazy afternoon wandering the main street or meandering down by the river then it’s a good choice as a quick visit from Queenstown despite the crowds and the tour buses!

For those days when you want to expend even less energy Sao Thai Massage in the city is absolutely unbeatable for some much needed pummeling at the knots in your shoulders and mangled thigh and calf muscles.

6. Te Anau/Milford Sound/Fiordland:

Te Anau/Milford Sound/Fiordland photos are here.

And so on to Te Anau!

It takes between 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours to drive the scenic road from Te Anau through Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound (add a few minutes if you’re looking for that classic shot at Mirror Lake). If you’re lucky, and there isn’t a puff of wind first thing in the morning, then you will see a mirror image of the Earl Mountains reflected in the lake waters … the ducks paddling across the pond might have other plans for you but it’s definitely worth a stop and it’s only a 2 minute walk from the roadside parking. There are plenty of other famous stops along the way – Eglinton Valley, Lake Gunn, Pop’s View, Monkey Creek (good for a picnic stop at a shallow stream with mountains all around), Falls Creek waterfall with it’s iridescently blue pool and various other roadside pull-ins with expansive vistas across the mountain passes with glimpses of the road ahead weaving like a ribbon through the valley. The mountainsides are deep green with the glossy leaves of the scarlet flowering rātā trees and ancient beech forests. Gertrude Valley Lookout is just before the Homer Tunnel which is a single lane ¾ mile long tunnel through the mountains. Work started on its construction in 1935 initially with only 5 men, their pickaxes and wheelbarrows and was ultimately completed in 1953 after years of delay, an earthquake, a world war and many more men and more useful equipment for excavating than a few pickaxes!.

For the purpose of visiting Milford Sound, we based ourselves in the small lakeside town of Te Anau (only slightly more exciting now than it was 15 years ago when we last visited and spent Christmas Day cruising the fjord and enduring the worst Christmas Dinner in living history at the then only hotel in town). The accommodation options are far better with rental houses on the rise but we’re not convinced that the dining options have likely improved with time. Out of our 4 nights/3 days in Te Anau we planned to spend most of it in the Fiordland National Park. We booked Cruise Milford on Milford Sound – a 1 hour 45 minute boutique cruise – on a smaller vessel than most of the other companies which means fewer people, plenty of space to wander around the boat and the ability to maneuver closer to the waterfalls and wildlife (which on our cruise comprised solely of fur seals lounging on rocks). The light at 8.15am when we arrived in Milford Sound was just beginning to penetrate the deep mountain sides of the fjord, catching the tops of the peaks on the eastern side of the fjord and lighting the star of the show – the iconic Mitre Peak. Since it was early morning and the wind hadn’t picked up we caught near-perfect reflections on the Foreshore Walk between the parking lot. FYI paid parking at $10 NZD per hour was a lot closer than the free parking is to the ferry terminal (which is at the Visitor Centre where you have to check in). A 9.45am cruise departure means an early morning even from Te Anau. They tell you to arrive an hour before departure to park, walk to the ferry building and check in 30 minutes before sailing. It was freezing cold … icy winds in the shade but in the sun on the water it was lovely and warm all the way to the end of the fjord where it flows out into the Tasman Sea. When the vessel turns back inland the wind howls and whips your hair into a frenzy – anything not tied down will fly – until you are back in the protection of the mountains. It was a very odd thing – the waterfalls for which Milford Sound is justifiably famous were bone dry. There are 2 permanent waterfalls in Milford Sound – Lady Bowen Falls (the tallest waterfall at 531 feet/162 meters) which is immediately to the right when you exit the wharf and Stirling Falls (the second tallest waterfall at 492 feet/151 meters) further into the fjord but the skinny trails running in their hundreds down the rock faces and the billowing spray from water all around which would normally drench you on a Milford Sound cruise, was entirely missing. It hadn’t rained in Fiordland since December; 3 weeks without a drop of rain and the waterfalls had simply disappeared – almost unheard of!

The weather was unusually sunny and fabulous (it generally rains 2 out of every 3 days here) so, although we didn’t see the veils of waterfalls which we were looking forward to, we made a last minute decision to take advantage of the sunshine and took a helicopter flight over the mountains instead. Not a cheap last minute decision since we squeezed in between 2 other tours for an hour on a private tour for the 2 of us with Milford Helicopters. 2 seats for the price of 4! 😉 We flew over the fjord of Milford Sound and spectacular Harrison’s Cove, past sheer cliffs and up to the Tutoko Glacier for our third snow landing in as many weeks! The flight follows parts of the Milford Track (one of the Great Walks) through the Arthur Valley, over the top of the (now famous) Sutherland Falls which plunge 1900 feet/580 meters to the valley below. The pilot made an alpine landing at the side of the dark blue waters of Lake Quill – a tarn – and the source of the spectacular Falls. According to our pilot the falls and the lake were used as a filming location for one of Tom Cruise’s most famous stunts in the 2018 Mission Impossible movie – unsurprisingly since it’s one of the most incredible mountaintop lake locations we’ve seen. If you’re fleeing flush it’s definitely worth the trip!

Back in Fiordland National Park the following day we parked at The Divide car park for a morning hike on the Key Summit Track with views over Lake Marian in the distance. It is part of the Routeburn Track with panoramic views over the Humboldt and Darren Mountains. The track starts through a shady beech forest before it pops you out above the tree line with a bird’s-eye view over forested mountains in one direction and rocky cliff faces in the other. Mosses grow thick and spongy at the summit in shades of lime green and deep reds. There are small red tarns with reflections of the snow-capped mountains and rocky outcrops where you have to watch your step so that you don’t tread on tiny white alpine orchids. We found a rock to eat our picnic with a distant view over Lake Marian. One of our favorite hikes of the trip!

Our final down day in Te Anau and what could be more relaxing than getting up close and personal with the larvae of New Zealand’s famous fungus gnats deep underground at the Te Anau Glowworm Caves?! We were regretting our decision to buy last minute tickets to fill a few hours when we lined up to board the RealNZ ferry across Lake Te Anau. Thick grey cloud blanketed the lake and we were surrounded by half a dozen families with bored teenagers and noisy toddlers. It turned out that it was well worth our time to clamber underground ducking under rocks and through tunnels in a 12,000 year old (young) cave with an underground stream rushing below our feet. The underground waterfall with crystal clear water was beautiful and deafening. The highlight was drifting in absolute silence in the pitch black on a small boat into a grotto lit only by the bioluminescent pinpoint blue light emitted from an organ near the tail of the larvae, otherwise known as glowworms! The light draws unsuspecting insects towards it and they are caught in a web of ‘fishing line” sticky silk threads just in time for the glowworm’s dinner! An enchanting almost mystical experience with the glowworm “lights” shining brightly sometimes no more than a foot above our heads. So we weren’t as disappointed as we feared we were going to be … it was actually pretty cool 😉

After our month exploring the lakes, mountains and glaciers from Mount Cook to the West Coast and from the famous tourist towns of Wānaka to Queenstown and finally Fiordland and Milford Sound we are very reluctant to leave this region of the South Island. We have had an amazing time and love it here. Now we have to continue on our journey to the coastal region on the east coast and north to the vineyards and finally to Abel Tasman National Park.

We have achieved so much more and experienced so many more incredible adventures than time allowed us 15 years ago. If nothing else we’ve also discovered that we can hike icy glaciers at 58 and rock climb 1,100 feet up the side of a waterfall navigating swinging plank bridges and single wire bridges like professional trapeze artists without dying two and a half months into our retirements … 😉 😁