NEARING THE END
NEARING THE END
Wanaka was only a short distance from Arrowtown, but the journey was spectacular. Along the route, we stopped at the A.J. Hacker Bungy site. Hacker did not invent the Bungy, but he sure did commercialise it (see video right). There was also a zip wire at the site, but surprisingly no jet boat. Did he miss a trick? Following along the river, we came to the Gibbston Valley, which is a notable pinot noir wine area. Then, a little further along, we came to some water falls at a place known as Roaring Meg. Now, this is interesting because there is a wine that we are both fond of called 'Roaring Meg'. There is a story that two prospectors were escorting two ladies of the night across the river. One of them didn't stop hollering and shouting and kicking up a fuss. They called this woman Roaring Meg. Her friend was known as Quiet Annie and there is also a small stream nearby named after her.
We arrived at our lodgings in Wanaka and were slightly surprised by the layout. Throughout our trip we had stayed at B&B's and Motels, most of which offered as a bedroom, small kitchen diner and bathroom. This was the first to offer us a simple bedroom, but it provided breakfast on a communal basis - there was seating for about 16. There was also a lounge with sofas and armchairs if you wanted to sit somewhere quietly. Upstairs was a TV lounge and outside a hot tub, although this was not working. We reckoned that this was mainly set up as a skiing lodge, because there are a number of ski runs around Wanaka. However, it was friendly as far as the staff were concerned, but the guests felt a little inhibited. Wanaka, in some ways, is a smaller version of Queenstown and the fear is that it might be developed. However, it has a nice lake where we took a boat ride to Ruby Island, named after a lady of the night who held drunken parties there during the period of prohibition in Otago (familiar story?). Also, it has a nice golf course we were advised by the owner of our Korean restaurant who was playing there next day with her family. However, we went to a wine tasting instead at Maude Wineries. There was also a farmers market, where we made a few purchases and then discovered an incredible walk by the lake, where local inhabitants had recorded important dates in history on tiles from the birth of Jesus up to the second millenium - a walking history (see picture above).
We left Wanaka for the longer drive to Lake Tekapo. This was wonderful. We could see the Southern Alps all along the way and, in the distance, they were mostly snow covered. Our journey took us to Twizel (pronounced like it rhymes with eye). This was a small town, originally for workers as a hydro construction town. Now, it is just south of Lake Pukaki and a gateway for Mount Cook. When we reached Lake Pukaki, we were amazed at the light blue colour of the water. This was due to the glacial feed to the lakes from rocks that have been pounded by the glaciers (see picture right).
We drove along the right of Lake Pukaki, keeping the magnificent Mount Cook, on the other side, in our sights.We arrived at Lake Tekapo mid-afternoon and this lake also had the same colouring as it was glacier fed. Our hosts this time were Zita and Walter and they provided a delightful bright room for us with a view over Lake Tekapo. We had gone there to visit Mount John, for a dark sky experience. That area of New Zealand is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its low light pollution.
Our visit didn't take place until 11.30 pm that night and it wasn't until 2.30 am that we got to bed, but it was worth it! The view of the stars to the naked eye was incredible, the Milky Way was so clear, but then we view far off constellations through the telescopes and we even saw a 'ghost star' - who knew? Next day, we arose late, but this was the day we planned to go to the hot pools. Lake Tekapo is similar to Hanmer Springs, but not as good. They only have three pools and the hotest is only 38C against Hanmer Springs 42C. On our last day at Tekapo, we took a coach trip to the Mount Cook Village. We were so close to the mountains and the snow and yet the temparature was over 20C, When we were there, we booked a trip on the Lake Tasman Glacier Lake, which had icebergs on it. We were persuaded by the French girl who sold us the tickets that it would be cold on the lake and we were improperly dressed. She suggested we needed warm weather fleece jackets so we bought them, only to find that it was very mild on the water. However, that didn't impinge on our experience. Linda has been close to glaciers before and seen icebergs, but this was all new to David. However, neither of us had actually tasted an iceberg before! What a stunning finish to our three days at Lake Tekapo. If you're ever in the area, you must go there.
Next day we drove to Christchurch for our final stop in New Zealand.
Wanaka was only a short distance from Arrowtown, but the journey was spectacular. Along the route, we stopped at the A.J. Hacker Bungy site. Hacker did not invent the Bungy, but he sure did commercialise it (see video right). There was also a zip wire at the site, but surprisingly no jet boat. Did he miss a trick? Following along the river, we came to the Gibbston Valley, which is a notable pinot noir wine area. Then, a little further along, we came to some water falls at a place known as Roaring Meg. Now, this is interesting because there is a wine that we are both fond of called 'Roaring Meg'. There is a story that two prospectors were escorting two ladies of the night across the river. One of them didn't stop hollering and shouting and kicking up a fuss. They called this woman Roaring Meg. Her friend was known as Quiet Annie and there is also a small stream nearby named after her.
We left Wanaka for the longer drive to Lake Tekapo. This was wonderful. We could see the Southern Alps all along the way and, in the distance, they were mostly snow covered. Our journey took us to Twizel (pronounced like it rhymes with eye). This was a small town, originally for workers as a hydro construction town. Now, it is just south of Lake Pukaki and a gateway for Mount Cook. When we reached Lake Pukaki, we were amazed at the light blue colour of the water. This was due to the glacial feed to the lakes from rocks that have been pounded by the glaciers (see picture right).We drove along the right of Lake Pukaki, keeping the magnificent Mount Cook, on the other side, in our sights.We arrived at Lake Tekapo mid-afternoon and this lake also had the same colouring as it was glacier fed. Our hosts this time were Zita and Walter and they provided a delightful bright room for us with a view over Lake Tekapo. We had gone there to visit Mount John, for a dark sky experience. That area of New Zealand is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its low light pollution.
Our visit didn't take place until 11.30 pm that night and it wasn't until 2.30 am that we got to bed, but it was worth it! The view of the stars to the naked eye was incredible, the Milky Way was so clear, but then we view far off constellations through the telescopes and we even saw a 'ghost star' - who knew? Next day, we arose late, but this was the day we planned to go to the hot pools. Lake Tekapo is similar to Hanmer Springs, but not as good. They only have three pools and the hotest is only 38C against Hanmer Springs 42C. On our last day at Tekapo, we took a coach trip to the Mount Cook Village. We were so close to the mountains and the snow and yet the temparature was over 20C, When we were there, we booked a trip on the Lake Tasman Glacier Lake, which had icebergs on it. We were persuaded by the French girl who sold us the tickets that it would be cold on the lake and we were improperly dressed. She suggested we needed warm weather fleece jackets so we bought them, only to find that it was very mild on the water. However, that didn't impinge on our experience. Linda has been close to glaciers before and seen icebergs, but this was all new to David. However, neither of us had actually tasted an iceberg before! What a stunning finish to our three days at Lake Tekapo. If you're ever in the area, you must go there.Next day we drove to Christchurch for our final stop in New Zealand.
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