Te Anau to Lake Mahinapua

Before leaving Te Anau we paid a short visit to the Te Anau Wildlife Refuge where we met up with Kathleen, the caretaker of the birds who live there.  Our timing was perfect as Kathleen was just getting ready to feed her charges. And we didn’t just watch her feed the birds, we were invited into the enclosures with her to experience the birds up close and personal.

Until humans arrived in New Zealand, the only land mammals living here were bats.   The native birds had no natural predators and some (kiwi, takahe, kakapo) grew large and lost the ability to fly.  And then came the Australian brush-tailed possum and the weasel-like stoat and rats.  Some, like the rats, arrived unintentionally on boats; others were purposely introduced to control the burgeoning rabbit population (also introduced).  When beech tree seeds are in short supply, these rodents turn to bird eggs, nestlings and the birds themselves for food. With no ability to fly, these birds are easy prey.  (The Kiwi is especially beloved – it is only found here in New Zealand and it is a national icon.  The residents even refer to themselves as ‘Kiwis.’)

The Takahe were thought to be extinct.  But in 1948 they were rediscovered high in the Murchisons Mountains near Lake Te Anau. 

The flightless Takahe

The Pukeko shares the same coloring as the Takahe but has longer legs, a lighter body and can fly rather awkwardly but only for a very short distance. The resident Pukeko is free to leave the pen but chooses to stick around anyway.  We have seen many of these birds in the fields all around the South Island.  There is even a series of children’s picture books starring Perky, the Pukeko.

Pukeko

The Kea is the world’s only alpine parrot.  Very inquisitive by nature, the Kea loves to peck on rubber windshield wipers and window gaskets.  We saw a few of these green, cheeky parrots along the Milford Road.  They build their nests on the ground making their eggs and chicks easy prey.

Kea

Kathleen shared with us the many conservation efforts underway to save New Zealand’s endangered birds.  The controversial 1080, a biodegradable poison dropped as bait pellets, and shoebox-sized stoat traps placed on the ground throughout the forests are making some inroads.  A group of thousands of dedicated volunteers regularly checks and rebaits the traps.  Along the Milford Road, Ray pointed out the fluorescent pink ribbons and paper triangles tacked to tree trunks marking the placement of these traps.  It seems like a valiant but futile exercise in the eradication of millions of stoats.

Knowing the origins of the possum and stoat problem gave us an understanding of these signs spotted in shops in Dunedin.

 

Many clothing items (socks, hats, mittens, vests) are made of a
blend of merino and possum - they are not inexpensive. 
Willy warmers made of all possum are more reasonable :-)

Our next stop – Frankton where we picked up the new Mastercard that had been Fedexed to the Kea Campervan Depot.  Then on to an overnight at Twelve Mile Delta Campground on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown, established during the gold rush of the 1860’s, is located on Lake Wakatipu.  Leaving the Kea campervan parked along the Lake Esplanade, we walked along Queenstown Bay to Earnslaw Park and the Steamer Wharf where the TSS (Twin Screw Steamer) Earnslaw is berthed.  Built in 1912 to service the sheep stations along the lake, the 166-foot long Earnslaw could carry 1,035 passengers or 1,500 sheep!  Today she plies the lake as a tourist boat for luncheon and dinner cruises.

What a climb up Rees Street and its steep staircase to Brecon Street where the Skyline Gondola awaits!  The gondola rises vertically 1,476 feet above Queenstown at an angle of 37 degrees to Bob’s Peak.  From here you have a panorama view of Coronet Peak to the north, the Remarkables Mountain Range to the east across the lake, and the Cecil and Walter Peaks to the southwest.

A view of Queenstown from atop Bob's Peak

 

Adventuresome souls will never be bored in Queenstown, the self-proclaimed adventure capital of the world.  Hang gliding, downhill skiing, tandem skydiving, tandem paragliding, mountain biking, bungy jumping – an adventure seeker’s playground.  New Zealander A.J. Hackett bungy jumped from the Eiffel Tower in 1986 and now anybody with a few hundred dollars can take a leap from The Ledge at Bob’s Peak and plummet by their ankles towards the earth.  We watched as paragliders launched from the grassy slopes but there were no bungy jumpers to be seen.

 

 

One odd thing about the upper terminus of the Skyline Gondola was the abundance of Jelly Belly – the jelly beans.  There was a large Jelly Belly shop and a huge Jelly Belly mascot prominently positioned on a bench outside.  A map of the world comprised of 25,000 Jelly Belly and an interpretation of American Gothic comprised of 20,000 Jelly Belly hung on the walls of the gondola terminal building.  We have no idea what the connection was between Jelly Belly and Queenstown, but it was an amusing display.

 

The downtown outdoor pedestrian mall was filled with shops selling clothing, souvenirs and ski equipment, bookstores, Starbucks, KFC, McDonald’s, upscale boutiques (Louis Vuitton) and dozens of restaurants.  Despite the chilly 50 degree temperature, al fresco dining was popular with the lunchtime crowd in Queenstown.  We opted for indoor dining at PJ’s where we had fish and chips before heading out of town.

We set our sights on Boundary Creek Scenic Reserve on the northern shore of Lake Wanaka.  We chose the ‘easiest route’ option of the GPS and found ourselves on Crown Range Road winding our way through the Crown Range Mountains.  The steep, steep, narrow road with plenty of hairpin turns had the campervan straining much of the first 12 miles of the trip.  Of course, we encountered the requisite sheep farmer droving his sheep across the highway on the downhill side in the Cardrona Valley.  When we finally arrived at the campsite at Boundary Creek the winds were buffeting the campervan and whipping up the waves on Lake Wanaka.

Lake Wanaka

 

A light mist was falling the next morning as we drove north on Highway 6 through Mount Aspiring National Park.  Signage warned of a ‘major slip’ up ahead and at Diana Falls there was a fifteen minute wait as a small work crew worked on repairs in the 40 degree weather.  A good stretch of the southbound lane had recently fallen over the cliff!  Further along, the one lane bridge over the Haast River was undergoing ‘seismic improvements.’  This road trip was off to an interesting start!
 

As the road approached the shore of the Tasman Sea outside the small town of Haast, it became the Glacier Highway.  Haast is well-known for its whitebait (herring) patties and even though Tourism Radio did its best to make this delicacy sound yummy we were not biting.

Tourism Radio is a neat little gadget that came with the campervan rental.  It attaches to the windshield like a GPS unit and, since it has satellite navigation built in, it always knows where you are.  When it senses that you are approaching a point of interest, it interrupts the music with a ‘doing, doing, doing, doing’ sound.  A friendly voice comes on to fill you in on the local sites.  The music is good – a mix of The Eagles, Elton John, Elvis, Beyoncé, The Beatles – and the commentary is informative but laced a bit too heavily with advertisements for souvenir shops and accommodations.

The map shows the Glacier Highway hugging the Tasman Sea – in reality, it twists and turns and climbs up the cliffs overlooking the Tasman Sea.  How can such a straight line on the map denote such a wickedly twisting road??  We stopped at Knights Point Lookout for a beautiful view of the Tasman Sea.

 

From there the Glacier Highway turned eastward away from the sea and ran through the rainforest separating the Tasman Sea from the Southern Alps.  On cue, it started to rain.  We were surrounded by lush ferns and a wide variety of trees with moss-covered trunks.  And then, in the midst of the rainforest, was a sign pointing the way up a gravel road to the Fox Glacier. Part way up the gravel road we encountered another sign stating that this road was not suitable for campervans – really? This sign couldn’t be placed at the start of the road???  Luckily, there was a conveniently located turnaround and we made our way back to the highway.

There's a glacier up this road???

Undaunted, we found another road up to Fox Glacier.  From the parking lot, we trekked a good half hour uphill over a gravel path to the terminal end of the glacier.  There are signs along this path warning hikers ‘no stopping’ – really?  I am expected to make this steep, steep climb without ever stopping to catch my breath??? I took my chances in this rock slide zone and made numerous stops along the way.

 

Located in the Westland/Tai Poutini National Park, the Fox Glacier and its neighbor, the Franz Josef Glacier, are unique in that they both descend from areas of almost perpetual snowfall to a rainforest close to the coast.  These are the only two of 140 glaciers in the park that are easily accessible.  After thirty minutes of strenuous uphill climbing, we reached the end of the safe hiking area with a view of the deep crevasses and terminal face of the Fox Glacier.  I am no glacier aficionado, but having seen glaciers in Alaska and Glacier National Park, I would rate this one a ‘6’ on a scale of 1 – 10.  Frank said I was being too judgmental and that what we were seeing was just a small part of the lower glacier.  He must be right because there are many scenic heli-flights to the upper snow fields and ice falls.

Made it to the top of the climbing track

Fox Glacier

 

Rather than continue down the road to the Franz Josef Glacier, we stopped early in the small village of Fox Glacier.  This is the base camp for guided treks onto both glaciers as well as helicopter flights and snow landings.   The rest of the village caters to the adventurous tourists – cafes, bars and small lodges.  A sweet little blonde-haired girl whose name was “G-E-O-R-G-I-A!” and her grandma registered us at the Fox Glacier Campervan Park, our home away from home for the night.

And then the rain came.  It should have come as no surprise since this area of the west coast averages about seven feet of rainfall per year!  The rain dictated a change of plans – there would be no trekking to the Franz Josef Glacier today.  The rain soaked roads made for an even more tension-filled ride than usual.  And along our route, another short stretch of the southbound land had fallen away over a cliff!  Near the dairy farming village of Harihari the cows began to outnumber the sheep.

The town of Hokitika along the Tasman Sea is a haven for New Zealand arts and crafts.  Master carvers open their workshops so visitors can see them expertly craft pounamu (greenstone, jade) into pendants and jewelry.  The Maori used this tough, very hard stone for war weapons, carving and cutting tools, and articles of personal adornment.  At Westland Greenstone on Tancred Street we watched as a carver shaped pounamu into fish-hook shapes and triple twists (Kumara).  This carving symbolizes the intertwining of the sweet potato and vine – a bonding of friendship for all eternity.  I am now the proud owner of one such Kumara pendant in the Kako-Tea shade of pounamu.

A pile of pounamu waiting to be carved into jewelry.
After carving and polishing, it is transformed into beautiful jade jewelry.

No trip to Hokitika would be complete without a visit to ‘the world famous Hokitika Sock Machine Museum.’  Yes, there is such a museum!  This is where they manufacture ‘the world’s best and most innovative circular sock knitting machines – the NZAK – auto knitter.’  A visit here was almost as exciting as a visit to the Jello Museum in upstate New York.  And we can say that we’ve been to both!

If we had only planned our visit to Hokitika better we would have arrived in March when the town hosts the Wildfoods Festival.  This festival celebrates food with a fear factor.  Past offerings have included bull penis, goat testicles, venison tongue, fish eyes, and wasp larvae ice cream!  Makes those whitebait patties sound yummy!

After purchasing my pounamu and paua shell pendants, we backtracked along Highway 6 to Lake Mahinapua Scenic Reserve to spend the night.  While there, we had the pleasure of meeting Les and Ellie from the North Island town of Masterton.  It was their last night on their campervan before returning to Christchurch.  He stopped by to bring us the last of his toilet chemicals – we invited them for wine!