Inland Scenic Route 72

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After two days around Mount Cook we were underwhelmed. Still, it was better than retracing our Highway 1 route back to Christchurch. Rakaia Gorge was spectacular because normally on the Canterbury plain the rivers wiggle their way across vast beds of gravel, (which is interesting but not 'scenic'). Lyn didn't want to walk far at Rakaia Gorge, and then, suspicious of 'midges', wore too many clothes.

From there it wasn't far to Christchurch. We returned our hire car with its exasperating air conditioning. (It only worked at full blast.) Then we shuttled to the airport and killed time.

Overall, we agreed, a lovely trip. Lyn's best day was Te Papa because she saw the 'Entombed Warriors'. This isn't a very Kiwi experience but you never know what travel will bring. For me, the sights around Mt Cook were breath-catching. We probably underestimated the time we could have spent in Wellington, Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs. Still, there is still next time...

Hooker Valley Track

No. Red light districts are not on the agenda. That is its real name and it is the most popular walk in the region because it takes you to the glacier lake at the foot of Aoraki Mt Cook. There is a second lake at the foot of Mt Sefton and the two lakes and numerous minor torrents feed into a wild river crossed by 3 suspension bridges. It is a spectacular 5kms out and 5kms back.

Looking back toward Mt Cook Village and Lake Pukaki

Lyn said, “I’m surprised at the lack of wildflowers and then we rounded a corner…

Mt Sefton and The first lake

Lyn not enjoying a crossing

The river swollen by yesterday rain

First good view of Aoraki

The end of the trail

Icebergs

Proving I was there

A last look

Lyn did a creditable 7km, enjoyed it, but didn’t push on to the end. I did, and felt privileged to see these places on such a beautiful day.

When Lyn returned to the start of the track there was a woman doing a survey. They got chatting and Lyn learned about the ill-prepared tourists who get in trouble here every day through exhaustion, dehydration, stupidity and lack of sunscreen. Perhaps somebody should explain that when Kiwis grade a 10km walk as “easy”, they mean it is a well-made track with a gentle gradient.

Independently we both observed many examples of the ill-prepared and discourteous. My vote for ‘person most likely to need rescuing’ was a woman twirling for an ‘instagramable’ photo in high-heeled black boots. My  biggest gripe was the habit of Asian tourists, and some young women in gym gear, of walking 2-3 abreast with zero consideration for those walking in the opposite direction.

We had lunch with a half bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and not surprisingly slept a large chunk of the afternoon away. Then we drove to the Tasman Valley short walk. Unfortunately it is “short” but also a very stiff climb with stairs. Lyn chose discretion and I chose the stairs which climb up the huge moraine which holds the lake. From the top I had a view in both directions. The glacier itself is retreating rapidly so I’m glad I saw it.

These are the Blue Lakes. Blue no longer because they are no longer fed by glacial meltwater.

The view back down the valley the way we had come

Lake in the foreground and glacier at the far end

This is our last night in New Zealand. Time to eat and drink our last supplies.

Mackenzie Country

From Geraldine we drove to Fairlie where we stocked up on supplies. Research had suggested that civilisation around Mt Cook included restaurants but not supermarkets. Driving on we entered Mackenzie Country: mountains, sheep, blasted tussocky grass, the odd pine tree, and the largely invisible farmers and border collies who run this part of the world.

It all looked spectacular till we rounded a bend and there was Lake Tekapo.

Facing the lake is the little Church of the Good Shepherd. The congregation have no paintings above the altar - just a window.

There is a sculpture by the lake honouring border collies.

Our next jaw-dropping moment was buying coffee nearby. $4.50!

If we thought the waters of Lake Tekapo were a brilliant blue, the sight of Lake Pukaki was downright otherworldly.

Top right of this picture you can see that the north of the lake was enveloped by cloud.

The last part of our drive to Aoraki Mt Cook took us into torrential rain. As the Alps closed in, so did the cloud. By the time we reached our hotel, great sheets of rain were blowing sideways across the landscape. Mt Sefton reared up just outside our bedroom window - we hoped to be able to see it by evening.

And just as the weather report said it would, the rain and clouds lifted at 8.00 pm.

Once again, the photos today give you no real sense of what it felt like to look at these places. It looks ‘pretty’ in the photos but they cannot give you the chill wind on your face or the sense of awe.

Driving South

We changed plans today and instead of bypassing Christchurch we decided to visit and see how the city had changed since 2012. First stop was the ferry bridge over the Waiau River.

Then we drove into Christchurch and took the tourist tram, visited the white wall by the river which is the memorial to the Canterbury earthquake victims, and stumbled upon the beautiful old wooden St Michael’s Church, where Lyn lit candles.

South of Christchurch was the boring straight drive along Highway 1 across the flat South Canterbury plain. It was blowing a gale and the scenery was often obscured by a weird dust haze. We took a stretch break at Ashburton which boasts a beautiful park which includes an aviary and a rose garden.

We stopped for the night at a little town called Geraldine. It was still windy and hot. Rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Seals and springs

We drove south along the coast towards Kaikoura. This is the route closed until last year by earthquake damage. The road and railway follow a narrow path between mountains and sea. When the earth shakes the mountains fall on the road…

At Oahu, there were cars pulled up on the side of a road. We stopped and discovered a seal colony at play. At Kaikoura we did a short coastal walk but, surprisingly, no more seals. We did continue our bird watching achievements. I spotted a Yellowhead and Lyn pointed out a Fantail.

Our other achievements in Kaikoura were that Lyn replaced my lost hat and we ate Kaikoura’s famous fish and chips.

We took the inland route to Hanmer Springs where we luxuriated in the pools at the spa/resort.

Biggles and blotto in Blenheim

I’d explained to Lyn that our busy day meant we needed to be on our way by 9:00 am to fit in the day’s activities. I provided scrambled eggs courtesy of McDonalds to facilitate this difficult task, and lo, we were moving by 9:15, a creditable result.

At Omaka, Peter Jackson (he of Lord of the Rings), has contributed his personal collection of artefacts to an aviation museum. To a lad brought up on Biggles the collection of aircraft and artefacts on display was bliss. Surprisingly, Lyn enjoyed it too. I lost her and looked frantically for her everywhere, only to discover her studying Eddie Rickenbacker’s flying suit. We even got a good coffee and friand, complete with a bonus aircraft-shaped lolly.

Lyn was most touched by the 5000 crocheted poppies in remembrance of the centenary of the Armistice.

I liked the Battle of Britain pilots’ hut: the squadron’s flight order on the blackboard, newspaper, cups of tea and playing cards left abandoned, radio playing...

We bought supplies for lunch and then were collected from the hotel for our Marlborough wine tour. We were a group of 6 plus our driver and guide, Nic. We visited stunning cellar doors and yarned with a Dutch flower farmer and his daughter, and two Russians from Sydney, he was a computer guy and she was a surgeon (she found it impossible to get work in Australia with Russian qualifications).

We will have a quiet night in.

Mail boat

We had booked ourselves on one of those experiences people rave about on TripAdvisor - a cruise around Marlborough Sound on the mail boat. It delivers mail to the various farms and lodges dispersed in this watery labyrinth. It also takes tourists along for the trip.

It was a sunny day and the pictures I hope give a sense of the beauty of the area. The boat was equipped with everything except a sound system adequate for the task of providing commentary. There was a great deal we would have loved to have known about the area but we really didn’t get told much, and a good part of what we were told was inaudible. (Although I did learn that Ernest Rutherford was a local boy. The local products are brains and mussels...)

It was very windy, which explains Lyn’s ‘tousled’ look above. I ventured onto the top deck and a gust blew my cap overboard. Sort of ironic that I should lose it on this trip - it was my souvenir from the ‘Titanic’ museum in Belfast. Never mind, ‘My Heart Will Go On’.

We ate our packed lunch on a working sheep farm. The tour there wasn’t much but we got a good sense of the sort of isolation that meant homeschooling your kids till you sent them away to boarding school. The place featured the jawbones of feral pigs and a caged possum.

At one point we did a short bushwalk and met up with the boat again at the next pier.

By late afternoon we were back in Havelock, jumped in the car and made our way to Blenheim. Dinner at the pub and then washing to do.