Returning to the South Island, New Zealand - part 1

I am now finally back in the UK and the less I think about that 40 hour trip whilst wearing a face mask the better.  Instead, I'm going to think of something for more enjoyable, and that is the trip we took to the South Island just before we returned to the UK, this time to see more of the middle and the west side of the island.  Due to the time of year, the route we wanted to take, and the activities we were planning on doing (Covid-19 had also reduced some of the services) it made sense for us to hire a car rather than rely on public transport (unfortunately).  We managed to get a pretty good deal using a website called transfercar.co.nz.  What car is available is pretty pot luck but we were able to find a pretty small and efficient car which was able to take all our luggage, was insured, allowed two drivers, and was with us for 10 days of our trip for around $150.  Not bad at all.

The first part of the trip was pretty similar to the last time I travelled south, with driving through the centre of the North Island to Wellington (where we stayed with friends) and then catching Interislander to Picton so I won't go over that part again.  You can find it in my first blog about the South Island here.  We stopped off at Oxford to spend some time with my partner's family and then headed to our first actual tourist stop - Aoraki/ Mount Cook.

Stopping off at Lake Tekapo on the way, which was definitely worth that extra time.

We had managed to get a good price for staying at the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook, but even so, it was still quite a splurge on our part.  However, it totally worth it as it ended up being much too cold to actually stay in the tent at that time and I have to admit having that little bit of luxury was very welcome.  As we arrived mid-afternoon we decided to first walk up to the Red Tarn before checking in, giving us a pretty good view of Mount Cook and it's surrounding peaks, as well as the Mackenzie Basin.  It also gave us a really good view of the weather rolling in and we decided to head back down before that reached the valley.  We also didn't have the right equipment to carry on any further up the mountainside in winter conditions, and there was also the traumatising fact that lockdown has definitely helped reduce our fitness levels quite considerably.

Though we had initially planned to go there in March, when the weather would have been much milder, there was something very beautiful about seeing the landscape all covered in snow not to mention the extra cosy feel of getting to watch a snow blizzard through the window of your warm room.

We only really had one short day to spend at Mount Cook and, as the conditions didn't match our equipment we decided to take the safer lowland routes that day.  I say safe, there was literally ice the whole way along one of the tracks, including the bridges, but I guess you have to get your adventures where you can.  

Our first destination was the Hooker Glacier, which was absolutely stunning especially in the winter light we had and definitely worth the sort of ice skating we had to do to get there.  There were more people there then we were expecting, but the reduced numbers from what is probably normal in summer, and possibly a Covid free winter as well, was an added bonus to the winter visit.

Next was the Tasmin Glacier walk which passes the Blue Lakes (kinda more like ponds).  Aa much easier walk with no ice but straight up a steep hill.  The view might have been slightly less impressive, but it was still worth the visit and there were a lot fewer people than at the Hooker Glacier.  The Blue Lakes aren't actually blue anymore, more of a green colour, but apparently this is due to the fact that they were named during the 1800s when the Tasmin Glacier reached over the surrounding peaks and feed these lakes with its meltwater.  Now, this glacier doesn't even fill the valley it sits in and the lakes only receive water from rainfall.

After that, we drove to Omarama where we were staying the night in a very different type of accommodation, including only having 5 minutes of hot water for both of us to shower in.  However, I got a really yummy vegetarian meal and some good beer at the Boots and Jandals Hotel (not the place we were staying in).  There isn't a whole lot of things open at Omarama during this time of year, and also probably due to Covid-19, but we did manage to book a section at HOT Tubs Omarama from 8.00pm to 9.30pm, which meant soaking in what looks like a giant cauldron whilst getting a really clear view of the stars and listening to Pukekos.  You can also book these during the day, but I would definitely recommend going at night instead.  I would also recommend not eating as much as we did an hour before getting in, made it ever so slightly less comfortable then it should have been.

The following day saw us driving to Wanaka, mainly to visit more of my partner's family.  This time we decided to camp as we had already been pushing the budget just a little bit and needed to save some money.  We went for the campsite right beside the centre of town called the Wanaka Lakeview Holiday Park and it turned out to be a really good choice with great facilities.  It also helped that they gave us a good spot right beside those facilities ensuring we were only a hop, skip, and a jump from the loos and (more importantly) the warm lounge.  After initial hellos to the family, we headed off to set up camp and then visited the 'Wanaka tree' that you see on all those Instagram photos.  It is a beautiful tree in a great setting, but I'm not sure if I'd go as gaga about it as some people do.  

We were also lucky in that we had unintentionally arrived on Matariki, Maori New Year, where we were entertained to a couple of bonfires on the beach, a band, and some fireworks.  There was also hangi, which normally contains meat but they did a vegetarian option giving me the chance to get an idea of the flavours.

The following day we were meant to start with a walk, but the night before had been much colder than we had been expecting and ended up being pretty sleepless.  So instead, we enjoyed snoozing as the morning sun warmed up the tent.  Then it was a quick but wonderfully warm shower before we pottered around Wanaka town centre.  It's a very nice town with a good number of outdoor shops and cafes.  However, the type of shops and prices definitely shows the wealth of the area.  That afternoon we drove up to the Treble Cone ski centre for more family time, though we didn't do any skiing ourselves.  However, perhaps the highlight of the trip was getting to see a couple of Kea not exactly in the wild, but definitely not in captivity.  The orange of their underwing feathers is really striking and it's really enjoyable watching their mischievous behaviour.

And then we were off further to Southland for more site seeing and walking, but I will save that for the next blog.