Explore NZ - Day 13 - 20 April 2018 - Greymouth to Wanaka

It had rained. It had poured. And it was still raining and pouring when we woke up. Ever since we returned from the short drive to the breakwaters and retail store last evening it had rained. The lady at the reception told me that this sort of weather normally happened in May, but was advanced a month or so this year. The effect of climate change? The sky was so dark even by 6.45 am that we thought it would just be a drive to Wanaka this day without being able to step out of the car to see the sights on the way, especially the glaciers – Franz Josef and Fox.

After breakfast of muesli and milk, with fruits, we loaded the luggage in heavy drizzle. As the reception was not yet open we dropped the key in the designated tray and left by 8 am. The stay in Apostles View Motel had been comfortable. We were unable to enjoy the views of the Apostles Range because of the wet weather. With dark, heavy rain and pools on the road we made our way through Kumara and Hokitika towns. The latter was one of the popular towns with flourishing commerce in the 19^th century, thanks to the gold rush. Ross was another such town, used as a base for prospecting gold. Hari Hari was a logging settlement in the past with bush tramways in the neighborhood. The name of the town has Maori connotations – coming together in unison, is one. Whataroa is primarily an agricultural and farming town south of Ross. We passed the St Ann’s church on the way on SH6.

The drive to the Franz Josef Glacier was through fern festooned mountain ridges and a magnificent experience. With the rain, it felt as if we were in a rainforest, so thick was the vegetation on either side of the road. The mountain tops were all covered in thick blankets of mist and narrow slivers of waterfalls could be seen in a distance. Every moment was a photo click moment. In Franz Josef town we enquired in the information center about a trip to the glacier. We were unsure if we could drive up to any place near the glacier to enjoy her natural sight. There were many shops and tour outlets announcing helicopter flights and we thought that that may be the only way to enjoy the glacier views. The amiable lady in the information center told us that we could park our car 5 kms ahead and take one of the two walks from there – one which could be done in 30 minutes and another that would take us to within 750 meters of the glacier but would take about 90 for the return trek.

The rain eased by the time we were at the car park, which was crowded; it took time to locate a spare lot. It was windy and cold. We fortified ourselves with additional layers of clothing to do the longer trek of about 4 km. By the time we were into the first km the first layer came off – the brisk walk improved blood circulation and it started getting warmer. There was not a drop of rain. A miracle from above, surely. We crossed shallow rivulets, passed by small waterfalls, took in the sights of the wide drain of the glacier waters into the Waiho River and made our way up the friendly assent to the glacier tip. The area around the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers is a World Heritage Site. The Maori legend around the tragic love story of Hine Hukatere and her lover, the brave Wawe, is poignant. The glacier is said to be the frozen tears of the beautiful, heartbroken Hine Hukatere when she lost Wawe in an avalanche. The 12 km long glacier is one of the main attractions in the South Island and when we reached the last point to which tourists were permitted we realized why it was so. The climb had be energizing and views of the glacier and the surrounding areas were truly superb. However, I felt that glacier views in India could be promoted better and they are definitely more awe inspiring than the one before us.

As we were making our way back rain started once again and by the time we were about halfway through the skies opened up and we were sitting ducks. We bore the brunt of the icy cold showers and made our way to the car, where we shed the first layer and put the AC on heating mode. It was a tough half hour before we felt comfortable. The car was full of soaked clothes. In a half hour we reached the town of Fox Glacier. No one had the stomach for another glacier experience but the stomach was growling for food. We stopped at The Last Kitchen for lunch, which turned out to be a very long one. It was raining heavily when we were in the restaurant. The girl taking the orders and serving seemed to be Indian. It took quite a while for the order to arrive. But, when it did, the food was supremely tasty. I had opted for a lamb dish while the other took vegetarian options, including a woodfired pizza. Time was going by but we thought we needed a coffee infusion before commencing the journey. That was a big mistake. It took nearly 30 minutes for three cups of hot chocolate to be served. In that time I cancelled my order of latte.

We passed the Fox Glacier access in pouring rain. The views of Bruce Bay and Paringa Lake had to be given a miss because of the weather. The Haast Highway is a 120 km stretch of SH6 that links Fox Glacier with Haast. The scenic drive is described as one of the dangerous roads to drive on in the world with sheer drops and gravity defying curves. The forested portion passes through Mount Aspiring National Park. It is also said to be one of the most scenic coastal drives in the world. The Great Coast Drive is certainly a better experience; the Haast Highway presents different driving challenges. Once past the Haast Highway, the weather also substantially cleared.

Greeting us on the last lap of our drive for the day was Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. The two together is one of the most pristine river sights I have seen. It stays alongside the heavenly views of Pangyong Lake in Ladakh. Lake Wanaka is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake and is over 1000 feet in depth. Lake Hawea is even bigger and deeper than Lake Wanaka. Together they provide the most glorious setting to the township of Wanaka. We could not really enjoy the heavenly sights as much as wanted because we were cold, running short on fuel and vantage positions on our side of the road were few.

We fueled up and stocked up on grocery before registering in YHA Wanaka. The hostel was full to capacity and there were young boys and girls everywhere. They were very organized in cooking for themselves and loud while feasting on it. We wouldn’t have minded small portions of what they had cooked, particularly the dessert, which looked yummy. The en suite bedrooms were comfortable and we badly needed the rest for the day had been long and wet. The feet were aching too because they had been enslaved in wet socks for many hours.