It’s 10.30 am in the Cardrona Valley and ahead of me Bob teeters precariously atop
an extremely well-behaved Appaloosa which picks its way sedately along a trail to
the top of a ridge. The views of the dry, rounded, tussock-filled landscape below
are incredible.
“This isn’t so bad,” he says, in reference to the ride. “I’m glad I gave it a go!”
Bob left his comfort zone to join me on this ride with Backcountry Saddle Expeditions
but somehow I think it was the well-timed comments of our guide, Debbie Thompson,
about western saddles and cowboys that really piqued his interest. Debbie, an intriguing
southern belle who appears in Kevyn Male’s book, Grassroots Kiwi, amuses us on the
descent with her lively banter. Apparently she and her husband (none other than
the Speights billboard man!) bought the business when he grew tired of dragging
home deer he’d shot in the bush. A horse was required and when they went to find
a suitable steed, they ended up with several Appaloosas. “I’ve been riding ever
since,” says Debbie as we depart, well satisfied with our ride.
After enjoying lunch overlooking Lake Wanaka, we check into our accommodation, then
Bob and I go our separate ways. He drives to the Wanaka Transport and Toy Museum
where there’s an interesting collection of rare and unusual aircraft, trucks, motorcycles,
fire engines, tractors and military vehicles. It’s also the site of the Southern
Hemisphere’s bestregarded vintage air-show, Warbirds over Wanaka, held bi-annually
over Easter. Meanwhile I venture to Puzzling World to put my grey matter to the
test with its array of crazy architecture and brain teasers. Then, once I’ve had
my fill, I walk back into town and relax at our accommodation by the lake.
^ back to top
Day Two
Wanaka to Franz Josef
We leave Wanaka early and drive north on SH6, past the still, reflective waters
of Lake Hawea and on through thick rainforest in the magnificent Haast Pass. True
to form it’s raining – cats and dogs!
“Wow,” says Bob, opening the window then shutting it abruptly as he’s hit by a deluge,
“this really is RAINforest.”
We continue on to Haast keeping the windows firmly closed and just as we ready ourselves
to dive into the information centre the rain stops as abruptly as it started and
out comes the sun. It’s perfect timing: just in time for a spin in a jet boat on
the Waiatoto River. Before we board, our skilled jetboat guide Roger Crow passes
out lifejackets and swandries – a warm woollen jacket favoured by NZ farming folk
– and we climb aboard. It’s a thrilling ride packed with spins and whitewater excitement,
and en route Roger names the mountains of the Haast and the Selbourne Ranges and
provides a commentary on the local area. We pass several interesting sites including
the alpine fault line where botanists have discovered trees growing slower than
elsewhere, and a place where Haast kiwi, the only alpine species, are protected
then released into the wild by Dept. of Conservation.
Afterwards we eat filled rolls at Fantail Café then cross the Haast River Bridge,
the longest single- lane bridge in NZ. Before the bridge was built travellers would
set off explosives to attract the attention of a rower, who would fetch them across
the river. Local legend tells of the rower being held hostage by those isolated
in the north who were keen to catch up on world news!
And there’s no doubt that we’re in a remote corner of the world. Few other cars
pass and those who do, wave. Bob gets into the spirit of things and pre-empts their
greetings on the drive to Lake Moeraki, where we stop to stretch our legs then continue
on through towering kahikatea forest to Fox Glacier township, nestled in the shadow
of the glacier’s icy tongue. We call into the DOC centre where there are some extremely
informative display boards describing the forming of the glaciers, and then, after
checking into our accommodation, we hike the Chalet Lookout Walk crossing several
streams to a viewpoint that gives magical views of the lower icefall. On our return
we debate whether to do a guided glacier hike on Fox or Franz Josef Glacier – in
the end Franz Josef wins out. Back in the village, we pick up takeaways then drive
to Lake Matheson for a picnic dinner. Here we admire perfect sunset views of the
summit of Mt Cook and Fox Glacier mirrored in the waters of the lake before carefully
making our way back through still forest in the dark, guided by our flashlights.
^ back to top
Day Three
Franz Josef to Hokitika
In the morning we take SH6 north and half an hour later arrive in Franz Josef. It’s
somewhat larger and definitely busier than its nearby cousin and as rain threatens,
we dash into Franz Josef Glacier Guides to check that the glacier hike is still
on. It is, and so we emerge wearing standard glacier hiking gear: a Gore-Tex jacket,
socks, boots and gloves. A short bus ride leads us to the start of the track. Back
in 1930 this was the base of the glacier; today it’s a threekilometre hike!
En route our informative and friendly guide, Rob Knox, tells us that Franz Josef
is the world’s steepest and fastest-flowing commercially guided glacier. “The glacier’s
head receives enormous amounts of snow which ‘drive’ the glacier at speeds of up
to ten metres per day,” he says.
The weight of the snow compresses into glacier ice, which melts and forms tunnels
which carry the ice-melt away.
At the base of the glacier – it looks really slippery – we strap ‘Ice Talonz’ over
our boots for grip. Bob dances on the spot then topples as his feet touch and the
Talonz catch.
Slowly and with an ungainly gait, we begin to make our way up the face of the glacier.
At first it’s pretty scary, but we gain confi dence and before long we’re scruffing
our Talonz firmly into the ice and walking “positively” as instructed by Rob.
And it’s just as well for soon the descent begins through stunning, icyblue tunnels
and past deep crevasses which emit incredibly intense shades of blue – even on a
dull day like today. It’s such fun that our four-and-a-half hour tour seems to pass
by in a flash and before we know it we’re back in town.
After hungrily wolfing down lunch at Beeches we drive past Lake Mapourika (famous
for its trout and salmon) and Lake Wahapo en route to Whataroa, which boasts NZ’s
only nesting colony of white heron.
Here we join a small group aboard a jet boat and after following the Waitangitaona
and Waitangiroto Rivers, we land at a small jetty surrounded by towering kahikatea
forest. Our White Heron Sanctuary Tour guide, Deon, leads us along a boardwalk to
a hide from which we have perfect views of these magnificent birds sitting on their
nests across the river. Amongst other interesting facts, Deon tells us that the
herons arrive in early September to breed and the nearby Okarito Lagoon provides
a plentiful supply of food.
Spotting a rare royal spoonbill Bob thinks it’s a heron with a deformed beak. “Oh
no,” laughs Deon, “we’ve also got 30 royal spoonbill nests.” At 3 pm we hit the
road again, driving north to the small township of Harihari, past Lake Ianthe and
on to Ross, home to the famous Ross Goldfields. NZ’s largest gold nugget was unearthed
here in 1909. It weighed 3.6 kilograms and was presented to King George V as a coronation
present. We stretch our legs on the tailings by the river and then continue on to
Hokitika where we treat ourselves to a stay at Villa Polenza, high on an escarpment
overlooking the town and an endless stretch of ocean.
Our true-blue West Coast hosts, Russell and Trina Diedrich, serve us a perfect dinner
of skewered whitebait fritters (the best I’ve ever tasted), followed by French racks
of lamb marinated in fresh rosemary, crushed garlic and olive oil, washed down with
a bottle of Centago Pinot Noir 2002, grown on Trina’s family’s vineyard in Alexandra.
After dinner we relax amid lavender and topiary beach-stone gardens, in a pair of
Kermitgreen gas-fired bath tubs overlooking the ocean. “Bliss,” says Bob, as we
watch the heavens for our chance to wish upon a falling star.
^ back to top
Day Four
Hokitika to Greymouth
Today it’s a short drive from Hokitika to Greymouth and so after a light breakfast
in-house we spend the morning exploring the jade galleries and studios of Hokitika’s
talented artisans. The town’s range of raw materials – jade, gold, timber, clay,
shell, bone and fibres – combined with its inspiring surrounds has produced a vibrant
arts community and we join others who zigzag between the studios of glassblowers,
jewellers, woodturners and potters.
We enjoy coffee on a sunny pavement outside Café de Paris, then after viewing the
displays at The West Coast Historical Museum, housed inside the historic Carnegie
Complex, we pop into Jacquie Grant’s Eco World to see – amongst other creatures
– her rare collection of NZ long-finned eels, most of which are over 100 years old.
Before leaving town we enjoy a tasty possum stew at Trappers, Hokitika’s original
wild food restaurant, where Bob learns all about the town’s annual Wild Foods Festival
held in March. It’s well known for its untamed gastronomic creativity and the festival
provides all manner of culinary delights – everything from eel stew to worm sushi
is up for grabs!
Then we drive towards Greymouth, crossing rivers that are lined with the tell-tale
huts of whitebaiters, and turn off for Shantytown, shortly after Kumara Junction.
“Wow,” exclaims Bob, as we’re transported back to the 1860s gold rush in this replica
West Coast settlement. There are more than 30 historic buildings to see including
a sawmill, stables, bank, hotel, barber’s shop, miners’ hall, printing works and
blacksmith.
We take a ride on one of Shantytown’s steam trains, the 25-ton Kaitangata, built
in 1897. Its tracks follow the route of an old sawmill tramline, and like many of
the first bush tramways in NZ, it was originally wooden railed and worked by horses.
Steel rails and steam locomotives became common from 1900, when bushmen began to
work steeper country further from the mills.
On the return journey Bob’s eyes light up when he spots an opportunity to pan for
gold even though he had more than his fair share in Central Otago. Scott Arnold
provides expert instruction but Bob’s already well versed; however when he discovers
Scott’s a champion gold panner and can shake a Shantytown pan down in nine seconds
flat (which he proves) Bob goes hard out to try and beat his time – to no avail!
It’s another ten kilometres into Greymouth and here we end the day at Monteith’s
Brewery, where we watch every step of the brewing process from malting through to
bottling. The highlight comes at the end when we get to sit down and taste Monteith’s
range of thirstquenching and naturally fermented beers.
“It’s a great way to end any day on the West Coast,” says our tour guide to Bob,
who responds by taking a deep slug on his glass of Monteith’s Black. He then wipes
its froth from his bristling upper lip with a quick brush of his sleeve like a wild
West Coast goldminer of old, and growls: “Sure is.”
Click here to read the next New Zealand Driving Holidays sample chapter, Greymouth to Nelson.