NZ Adventures #10: "Resting" in Wanaka

Earth Date:  Friday, November 23, 2018

We are in Wanaka and it's a good day to rest... except for the wee stroll Mr. Endicott thought it would be nice to take.  This is pretty much how I felt about that plan:

When we checked into the condo the nice lady at the front desk gave us the suggestion that Mt. Iron would be a leisurely walk if we wanted light activity on Friday.  Oh yeah, sure.  Don't trust the thin and fit New Zealanders.

After sleeping in and wondering what to do this fine day (I advocated for a rest day on the couch gazing at the lovely view from our condo), at Jayme's urging and my #wemustseeallthethings neurotic completer/finisher disposition, we set out for Mt. Iron.  Mt. Iron was NOT a stroll.  It was an uphill battle, and I was tired and maybe I was cranky, too.  Ok, so honesty requires that I tell you that I was indeed cranky, and I wasn't quiet about my preference for couch time.  Jayme just smiled, and onward we trudged.

Though the path was 100% up, the views were gorgeous.

It was like 0 to 545 meters up in four switchbacks.  For a weakling like myself, that's tough.  We were passed by everyone - soccer moms in their athletic wear, hiker girl with a huge pack, dudes walking their dogs, runners.  All the peoples passed us as I moaned and groaned each step of the way up Mt. Iron.

But, as we "strolled" I couldn't deny that Wanaka is a pretty cute little city.  It's like the upscale suburbia of the South Island.

Here you can see both Lake Wanaka (right) and Lake Hawea (left) off in the distance.

 And finally the summit for even lovelier views.

Our friends shared that many folks move to Wanaka for retirement.  I can see why.

After "the stroll," we ventured into the city proper to explore and find lunch.  What's perfect after burgers at Speight's Alehouse?  Right!  Gelato at Patagonia Chocolates.   We nabbed a delish scoop each (I recommend a dark chocolate and berry sorbet combo), then wandered down to the lake front.  It was a beautiful day, and folks were out and about.

Finally, it's time to rest, sit on the couch and stare at the lovely mountain views afforded from said couch.  And there may have been a delightful nap involved.

That evening we caught a movie at Cinema Paradiso, which is hilarious.  It's a series of ramshackle buildings strung together to create a theater.  Seating is a mish mash of couches, theater seats, chairs, etc.  The screen is like a home theater version over a black sheet, and they put an intermission in every movie so that you can pick up the warm cookies you ordered before the show began.  Clever, Paradiso, clever.  We watched The Girl in the Spider's Web.  It was a fun way to relax.

Tomorrow we are heading to the adventure capital of the world.  Adventure + The Endicotts = ?

NZ Adventures #9: Waterfalls in Haast Pass

Earth Date:  Thursday, November 22, 2018

Agenda:  Frans Josef ➜ Haast Pass ➜ Wanaka

Warning:  This post contains explicit videos of stunning scenery and bewitching waterfalls.  May not be suitable for curmudgeons.  Oh wait...

We are on day nine.  We are tired and it's starting to show.  We take our time heading out.  We have a lovely, but long drive (3.5 hours is a long drive on an island) through Mount Aspiring National Park to Wanaka (we say Wan-a-ka, because we 'mericans down here in the south pro-nou-nce things pho-net-ic-al-ly + a few add-i-tion-al syl-la-bles).  But, our friends laughed at us.  It's Wah-na-ka.  Yes, you see our difficulty.

Anyways, today is waterfall day.  Because, like unicorns, you just can't have too many waterfalls.  It's physically impossible.

We pass Fox Glacier and tip our proverbial hats, then pass on by.  

But, as weary as we are, I'm in the zone of #wemustseeallthethings... every possible thing in NZ.  So we turn off Highway 6 at Fox Glacier heading towards the coast to Lake Matheson, which supposedly on very magical days offers a stunning view of Mount Cook reflected in the perfect lake.  It's partly cloudy.  I'm an idealist.  Plus I read there's a great gift shop.  All those folks from Frans-Josef, they have the exact same idealism, and finding parking was an adventure of it's own.  Which just makes us more tired.  We get as far as the cafe and gift shop, note all the tourists also looking for the awesome pic, and decide we should just be on our way.  I resolve to rein in my #wemustseeallthethings neurotic completer/finisher disposition.

Haast Pass

It's back to Highway 6 to make our way south, passing through inland forest at the base of the Southern Alps then drifting back towards the coast, for lovely views.  At some point Hwy 6 has become Haast Highway.  I mean it's still Highway 6, but it's also Haast Highway, which is code for "there will be many waterfalls you'll want to see along this road."  I like Haast better, it's brief.  Thank you, NZ.

First stop is King's Point Lookout, just as the "highway" turns along the coast.

Hello, gorgeous.  It's also relevant to note that Knight's Point was named after the fur-friend (that's what Jayme calls them) of the surveyor who worked on the Haast Highway construction team back in the 50s.  Huzzah.  In addition to the views of azure waters and lush foliage available at Knight's Point, tourists stop especially to visit the monument erected to celebrate the completion of the "highway" connecting Westland and Otaga.   It's an obelisk (that means it's a phallic shape).  We neglected to get a picture of it, because, I don't know -- azure waters next to azure sky framed by lush, green foliage vs recently-erected obelisk.

And we're walking... back to the car to make a stop at Ship Creek.  Haast has promised the waterfalls, just wait.  Geez, greedy much?  Can't we enjoy the lovely blue waters and tropical forest first?

This is supposedly what the natural shoreline of New Zealand was like before the trusty Europeans altered the vegetation to suit their fancy and settled in.   It's an ancient kahikatea swamp forest.  Kahikatea is a coniferous tree native to New Zealand.

We climbed a rickety tower trading off use of the ladder to go up or down with the bus tourists that also stopped for a look-see.  Because it's a tower and we should climb it.  Plus, the views were beautiful.

It's at Ship Creek where we also make the acquaintance of sand flies, and we really didn't care for them.  They bite, and it's itchy.  As soon as we noticed our legs were covered in them, we decided it was time to haasta la bye (#seewhatIdidthere?)

And we're driving... heading inland towards the Southern Alps and Mount Aspiring National Park.  What a cool name for a park.  It's named after the landmark peak in the park, you guessed it, called Mount Aspiring.  Māori Peoples call it Tititea (glistening peak). Ancient  glaciers shaped it into a rough four-sided pyramid.

We won't see Mount Aspiring up close, as we skirt the northern end of the park towards Lake Wanaka and by lake Hawea.  But first, waterfalls.

Roaring Billy Falls

And now we're walking... towards Roaring Billy Falls.

Do you see it?  Yes, thanks, it's a cool hat.  But we're focused on the waterfall, Friend.

It's a cascade-type waterfall, falling 30 meters to the Haast River.  Amazing turquoise waters.  Yet there's more... let's go!

Thunder Creek Falls

Thunder Creek Falls is a 28 meter high horsetail-type waterfall that is the end-point of Thunder Creek as it falls majestically into the Haast River.

The Haast River canyon was formed as Haast Glacier melted about 20,000 years ago.  Melting ice gouged out the canyon, also smoothing it to create the river area, carrying rock and debris downstream.

Check.  Another gorgeous waterfall.  And now we enter the majestic Gates of Haast as we wind our way slowly toward Wanaka.  Prepare for wonder and amazement:

BAM!  The Gates of Haast.

And now another waterfall.

Fantail Falls

Fantail Falls is neat.  It's a 23 meter segmented-type waterfall fed by Fantail Creek.  While likely named after the creek, I can see a fantail shape there.  Or maybe the creek was named after the waterfall.  An interesting tidbit about this waterfall:  it was used for hydroelectric power as they were building  the Haast Pass road.  There was a waterwheel at the base of the falls at one time.  

But you know what's also cool about Fantail Falls?

The little cairns people create with the river stones when they visit.  We added our touches, too, and it kinda felt like you were adding to the peaceful, fascinating landscape.

The river here is clear, calm and lovely.  Peaceful.  Oh, I said that already.  Is it naptime?  zzzzzz

Sadly, the land of the waterfall has come to a close.  We're on to Blue Pools.

Blue Pools of Haast

A pretty green-blue pool is what you get when sunlight refracts on the icy-cold, snow-fed waters of the Blue River.  At the Blue Pools, the Blue River meets the Makarora River after flowing the entire length of Mount Aspiring National Park.

A swing bridge spanned the gorge with tremendous views into the Blue River Canyon.

Folks frolicked on the small beach, stacking rocks and wading into the lovely waters.  

We trekked around a bit, then headed back to the car, ready to head into Wanaka.  We have about an hour's drive ahead of us.

It's lovely views from every angle as we made our way through the eastern side of Mount Aspiring National Park on highway 6.

We come to Lake Wanaka, then shortly after, Lake Hawea, which is separated from Lake Wanaka by a thin strip of land called The Neck.  On through farmland to Wanaka, where we discover a neat condo, where we can wash clothes and rest up.  Plus, this view from the back windows...

My goal is to veg on the couch looking out at this lovely scene.  Peace out.

Tune in to see just how much vegging occurs on our rest day, here.