Alpine flowers |
Deer ranch in Maktukituki Valley |
Alpine flowers |
Deer ranch in Maktukituki Valley |
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Episode 5: Page 2 of 2 Wanaka to Queenstown
Tuesday 29 January 2002, Queenstown NZ Pancakes, Ice and More Peaks Continued from Episode 5: Page 1 Greymouth to Makarora The next day, Friday 25 January, we were off to Wanaka, a small resort town at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, which starts just outside Makarora. That meant we had a pleasant one-hour drive along the shores of the lake. If these lakes were in North America, they would be ringed with cottages, but NZ does not have the population to overcrowd their recreational areas. All we passed were pastures of sheep and cattle and the occasional farmhouse. However, we had not realized how popular Wanaka is and none of the backpacker hostels had a double room available. Once again, we were lucky. The campgrounds in NZ often have cabins to rent as well as tent and caravan sites. The Wanaka Holiday Park, on the edge of town also had a lodge, set up with backpacker type rooms and all the facilities under one roof. We were very comfortable there. Mountain bike races were been held that weekend in the hills around Wanaka and several of the contestants were staying at the same place we were. Ray talked to a young man who rides for the NZ team and was entered in the downhill on Saturday. He had been in town all week, training for the event. We saw him after the race. He survived, but the tough conditions took its toll on his bike. He broke his derailleur on a rock and put himself out of contention. We met another contestant, a young lady who was racing in the cross-country event on Sunday. She must be one gutsy lady, as she was missing one hand. We didn't stay long enough to hear how she did, but we wished her good luck before we left. We had a great day hike on Saturday. Several people on our Gillespie Pass tramp had recommended we go to see the Rob Roy Glacier. To reach the trailhead, we drove around Lake Wanaka and followed a dirt road for 40 K beside Raspberry Creek in the West Maktukituki Valley. The ride itself was worth it, with views of Avalanche Glacier and all the other mountains of Mt Aspiring National Park. You travel through a huge sheep and cattle station where the livestock roam at will, kept from straying too far by cattle guards across the road. There were five streams to ford before we reached the car park, but luckily none was deeper than a few inches and Alice didn't object.
The trail to reach Rob Roy Glacier was a gradual uphill climb for 1 1/2 hours through the forest beside the rushing Rob Roy Creek. Just above the tree line we came out to a point to see the glacier just on the other side of the creek. We got our lunches out and sat admiring the snowy site. It was huge, reaching up the valley far above us. Waterfalls, starting as rivers under the ice, shot out of the sides of the rock below the glacier, cascading 100 M down to the Rob Roy Creek. We were not close enough to walk on it, but we were close enough to hear the thunder of chunks of ice falling off the glacier somewhere up in the ice fields. A word about Keas; these are alpine parrots, about the size of a large hawk. They are considered a pest for they will steal anything bright and shiny they spy. We had seen warnings at each campsite warning tramper not to feed the Keas, but we had never seen one up close. We had our chance at the Rob Roy Glacier. As soon as we arrived, the Keas came to visit. They didn't just visit, they thought they were invited for lunch and landed right next to us, hoping for a handout. They didn't even budge when we got our cameras out to take their picture. One young man had passed us, running up the trail. He was resting near us with his shoes off and his bright blue T-shirt over his head, shading his eyes from the sun. One of the Keas hopped over and tried to steal the T-shirt. Over and over again, the Kea would gently tug at the T-shirt and the young man would wave his arm to get him away. When that didn't work, the Kea tried to nibble a bare toe. That was enough to get the young man to finally shoo the bird away.
After our lunch we decided to hike farther up the creek to get even closer to the glacier. We followed a vague trail, bushwhacked through prickly shrubs, and picked our way across scree for almost an hour until we were another 300 M higher up. We had an even better view of the ice fields and heard continual thunder rolls of cracking ice. On our return down the valley, we refilled our water supply from the creek. It was deliciously cold and kept us hydrated all the way back to the car. This was one of the best one-day walks we have done.
Sunday was another perfect summer day. We had a leisurely drive to Queenstown. We took the direct, but scenic route past Cardrona, a ski field where the downhill mountain bike races were held the previous day. Just out of Wanaka we stopped to take pictures of 'Roy's Last Stand'. Some wag had started a collection of women's bras and there were about thirty of them strung along a fence beside the road. A competing collection of men's underwear did not stand a chance, as there were only three pairs on display. Just past another road sign indicating a steep downhill for the next 40 K, we stopped again to look out over the valleys leading to Queenstown. The hills we were passing through were much drier and were mainly treeless, just covered with grass tussocks or low shrubs. The landscape changes so fast in this country. We made a detour to Arrowtown, a nice touristy little place that started life as a gold mining town. Several of the original buildings and miner's cottages have been restored, but it seemed to be mainly the shopping that drew the tourists, us included. We managed to find several items to buy as souvenirs or gifts. We ate our lunch in a little park in the center of town and continued on to Queenstown. Queenstown is a larger version of Wanaka, on a bay at one corner of Lake Wakatipu. The lake must be about 100 K long. It is shaped like a Z on its side and surrounded on all sides by towering, mostly treeless peaks. Queenstown is the only town of any significance that we could see on the lake. In fact, the road doesn't extend all around the lake and there were hardly any houses to be seen, except for the area around Queenstown. We learned our lesson in Wanaka and we had reserved a room at Scallywags hostel. We are pleased with our choice, especially as it is a nice quiet location on a hill overlooking the lake on the west edge of town.
The Routeburn, one of NZ most famous tramps and it starts not far from Queenstown. We had read all the descriptions and because the tramp requires you took take a long four-hour journey back to the start, we planned to do the Kepler Tramp instead. As an alternative, we found out we could drive to the start of the Routeburn and do part of it as a day hike. Sunday started out with clouds covering some of the peaks but it quickly developed into another beautiful day. We drove 44 K to the western end of Lake Wakatipu, then another 26 K on a gravel road to the trailhead. We picked up a young couple hitching a ride with their packs on their back. They had missed the shuttle to the trailhead. It seems the young have trouble getting up in the morning. Since they had already reserved and paid for the tramp, they were hitching. They were only too glad to accept our offer of a ride. The first section of the trail was almost too easy. It was advertised as taking anywhere from 1-1/2 hours to 3 hours to walk to the Flats Hut, the first hut. It took us only 1-1/2 hours, but all we had to carry was our daypacks with our lunch and water. The trail had been upgraded sufficiently to suit several commercial companies that run guided trips on the route. You have a choice of a day or an overnight hike and you only have to carry a daypack. Everything is all flown in by helicopter for you. The trail ran through a beech forest, beside the Route Burn stream. It was broad enough for us to walk side by side for most of the way, and it didn't have any long climbs. We had lunch at the Flats Hut, in a grassy valley surrounded by forested mountains.
We decided to carry on up the trail to the Falls Hut. It was a more interesting walk of an hour with rougher terrain, more uphills and better views. There were actually two large huts at this stage on the trail. DOC runs one, with 40 bunks and a private guiding company runs the second. Just above the Falls Hut we came out of the trees and saw the namesake waterfalls. They were impressive, splitting into multiple cascades over the rocks. A little farther up we got a view of the Harris Saddle leading into the next valley. It would have taken another hour to reach the saddle and thinking of our return trip, we decided we had gone far enough. Maybe another year we will do the Routeburn all the way. Anyway, it was another great one-day hike. Today, Tuesday, we are finishing up our chores in preparation for moving on. We have come to the point in our trip where we have to plot out our days and decide what we must eliminate from our itinerary. I can't believe we only have a month left. Where does the time go? Tomorrow we drive to Milford Sound, where we will take an overnight cruise in the fjords. Then we will do the Kepler Tramp in three days. We are looking forward to both trips. You will hear more of them in the next Episode. |
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