Migrating South
Time for the big trip South. Rather than moving from Auckland to Christchurch in a straight line, we took a longer path south. Leaving Saturday, we drove through Taupo towards Wellington where we could catch the Interislander ferry on Sunday evening. Arriving in Picton, we set off on Monday for Westport, then down towards Franz Joseph. We spent the whole day Wednesday in Franz Joseph and then took Arthur's Pass eastward finally arriving in Christchurch Thursday afternoon.
Huka Falls
In Taupo we dropped by Huka Falls and as the sun went down we visited the Spa Park Hot Pools, one of the highlights. The hot pools are in a public park, flowing into the mouth of the river. We spent some relaxing time with the small pool area mostly to ourselves.
The Interislander
Take it from our experience. You should book the ferry trip well in advance. We booked about a week beforehand, to find that the only space they had left was Sunday night. Luckily it fit okay with our plan anyway, but all trips Saturday, Sunday morning and Monday through Wednesday were booked out. We got a little lucky... It was a pretty fun experience driving bachie onto the boat. We found a nice free campsite about 15 minutes outside Picton once we arrived.
Boarding the Interislander
We spent the next morning getting ready to drive to Westport and freezing our toes off. From now on, we only wore shoes. No more thongs (or should I say "jandals").
The drive from Picton to Westport was stunning. We spent a dew hours driving across a large plane, before entering the valleys between snow-capped mountains. It's a drive we likely won't forget. There's no justice done by the following photo, but we should include it anyway.
At luch we stopped at a nice alpine town called St Arnaud. Luckily Alex pointed out a sign towards the lake; Lake Rotoiti. Possibly the best location that we have eaten lunch in our lives. The clear, flat lake was wedged between two mountains. The sky was perfectly clear and the mountain peaks were smeared with white.
Lake Rotoiti
Lunch with a view
Westport
Westport is a small isolated town that felt like a small isolated town. After arriving we left straight for the nearby seal colony at Cape Foulwind. See if you can spot the seals in the next photo. There are probably around 50 of them.
New Zealand Fur Seal colony
The next day was the only day of rain we saw. Lucky for us we were driving between Westport and Franz Joseph, so it was no big deal. We stopped at pancake rocks, before arriving at Franz Joseph in the evening.
Pancake rocks
On the road to Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph
In the afternoon we walked to the base of the Franz Joseph Glacier. In the past few years it has been receding so far, that it is now quite a long walk to the base. The walk was rewarded with some majestic views.
The approach
Alex took this photo. It nearly looks fake
Here it is.
Just as we were leaving Alex called me back and I saw an ice block crumbling of up near the top. Unfortunately Alex missed it, but it goes to show how quickly such a massive thing can change...
On the walk back, we barely noticed a waterfall on one of the valley's walls. It was the kind of thing that we would've taken a day trip from Wollongong to see, but in this setting we barely even noticed it. The landscape here is breathtaking. The scale is massive.
Day 2 at Franz Joseph, as an early birthday present for Alex, we took a helicopter tour of the area. Luck was on our side and it was a clear day (the first one they had had in a few days). We flew up Franz Joseph Glacier, had a snow landing and then returned past Aoraki (Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ) down Fox Glacier.
Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier
The afternoon we spent at the West Coast Wildlife Centre quietly watching kiwis rummage around in their enclosures before taking a walk to Callery Gorge Bridge (Maximum Load 5 Persons). Alex was getting good at a fancy feature of her phone, the 360 photo. See if it works from this link: If it does, you should be able to look around by clicking and dragging the mouse around the photo.
Callery Gorge
Arthur's Pass
Finally it was time to cross the country, from West to East. We were in for a final treat: Arthur's Pass.
Another 360 photo:
Christchurch
Finally we arrived in Christchurch. Riddled with bike lanes, construction, bumpy roads and broken buildings. This is where we'll be until December.
Christchurch Cathedral remains
We've settled into an apartment in Central Christchurch. 868 Colombo St if you're interested in looking it up. We've found some good frisbee and we are looking forward to some more weekend travels.
Our spacious space
Until next time.