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.
No comments:
Post a Comment