Haast and more

We spent the night in Hawea - after stopping off in Cromwell for a family walk.  We attempted to find the river walk which started a lot further on than we thought so we scrambled down hills and over fences before arriving at a path. The next day was a long drive over the Haast Pass. First stop was a view point looking over Lake Hawea then across the summit to Lake Wanaka.

Lots of stops along the way and walks to pools and waterfalls before arriving at Jackson Bay.

Nothing like fish and chips on a windswept beach. At $25 for blue cod and chips we enjoyed every morsel. Nothing much at the Bay, except the wharf and of course the deep blue ocean. Back along the way we came and a stop at Lake Paringa. A possible freedom camping spot we thought. Sheltered, sunny park looking over the lake. After a snack and snooze we set off to explore our campsite. DOC said please pay $15 each per night and with no where to go unless you have a boat we decided to move onto a powered site at Fox. And a good thing we did. Perfect and still early evening we decided to go to Lake Matheson - renowned for its reflections of Aoraki Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. A rare evening was spent racing to each of the view points before the sun set.

Next morning we walked up to the Fox Glacier.  Although seeing the glacier was something

 special the bush walk up was just as beautiful. Moss and lichen hung from the trees. We even saw a native orchid in flower. This and Kepler are my picks for outstanding native bush this holiday.  

After a little detour to Okarito (too windy to paddle the lagoon) we had a soak in a hot tub and walk to Franz Josef - a bit of a disappointment as most of the track was closed and you could only see the

 tail of the Glacier with some imagination and good eyesight. 

Manapouri

 Driving back up to Te Anau was quick as we didn't have anywhere else to stop. Had a pie from the pie shop I had spied on our town walk two nights before and then headed towards the beginning of the Kepler track. What a delight. Mosses, ferns, bird life and lots of fallen trees to climb over. We lunched at Brod Bay with all the locals who had come over on boats for a barbeque and then walked back again. There must be a women's race on soon as a number of runners decked out for a long run past us in both directions. We landed in Manapouri the night. Quaint camping ground - old but clean - and lots of personality as well as heaps of tuis, sparrows, kereru. Looks like the Aussie opossum which the camping ground is named after doesn't live here anymore.

On our way to Milford

Goodbye Cromwell and family. Hello Te Anau.  We weren't really sure how far we would get along the road today but with light traffic (60 cars passed us going in the opposite direction over 58 kms - yes we were so surprised that we decided to count). Pretty easy trip alongside Lake Wakatipu, around Kingston, through small little towns and red tussock country towards snow capped mountains.  After a relax helped along with raspberry buns we enjoyed a stroll along Lake Te Anau foreshore - it was getting towards sunset.

We woke up to a frost - and discovered the van had a heater and after filling up with water and emptying the grey water we left for Milford. Actually we didn't empty the grey water, we found the tap had been knocked and it had been emptying itself - no help needed. Perfect morning for going to Milford. Sunny and calm. A few photo opportunities and Wow moments as we stopped at lakes and waterfalls. The area is still recovering from the February storms and two of the spots we were keen to visit were closed from falling trees and road subsidence. Homer tunnel was fun and just as I remembered it the last time.  (I was at primary school then, Dad drove our Ford Prefect into the tunnel and stopped to tell his friends behind that he couldn't see anything - the lighting was slightly better this time round.)  Milford Sound was fantastic - some tourists like us but nothing like the 34 bus parks and 25 cubicles in the girls toilets might suggest pre pandemic.  We enjoyed the boat cruise moving around the boat to escape the cold breeze and managed to catch sightings of dolphins and babe, two small seals and three little penguins. In the evening we walked back from the camp (excellent and reasonably new) to Milford for our last sighting of Mitre Peak.

AORAKI MOUNT COOK

 The wind seemed to have died down a tad so we decided to drive to Aoraki Mount Cook. We passed a campervan on its side- blown over yesterday - and a caravan sharing the same fate. The mountain was on full view - a perfect sight seeing day.  We wandered up the solidly made stairs to view the Tasman Glacier and blue lakes that are now green  (rain water fed now rather glacier fed). If you don't believe in global warming then take a look at our glaciers and how they have retreated.  Then onto the Twizel supermarket. We skipped the walk across the Mackenzie basin due to high winds and headed for the clay cliffs just outside Omarama. Closed we couldn't believe it. But then we realized how close the cliffs are to the Ohau fire and 

understood. So we decided for a hot tub and soaked in the hot pool and watched planes leaving heavily laden with fire retardant and returning empty, only to take off once again after refueling.  We are now settled happily in the camping ground and looking 

forward to some r and r. Later on in the day we wandered around Omarama - saw the impact of COVID in mothballed hotels and closed cafes. 

The wind died down in the morning and the rain set in. Fire fighters must be pleased but I was a tad disappointed as we drove through the Lindis Pass in heavy rain. By the time we got to Bendigo the skies had cleared and so we drove up to the ruins of the old gold mining towns Welshtown and Logantown. We spent a leisurely couple of hours wandering around the sight imagining what it would have been like 130 years ago.  

We also cast our special votes in Cromwell. Pretty impressed with the process, which didn't take much time and the electoral officers seemed to know what they were doing. After a couple of days having fun with family we head south tomorrow.