“Drivetime” – Franz Josef to Wanaka

Franz Josef to Wanaka (click to enlarge)

28th April 2006AD

There’s a Tommy Emmanuel track from his ‘Only’ album called ‘Drivetime’. It has a really funky and catchy rolling bass line and a very cool melody over the top of it – and as the song is titled, it is perfect driving music. Well, at least it is for me!

So when we took off from Franz Josef to drive to Wanaka, ‘Only’ was the CD of choice. And the feel of ‘Drivetime’ aptly captured the journey.

Again the Shtes woke up early to check out and head onto the open road. The girl at the front counter of ‘Glenfern Villas’ seemed a little cold (and not just in the physical sense) which left us with a slightly off taste in an otherwise fantastic time in Franz Josef. As previously, the morning air was chilly and I had to spend a few moments wiping off the morning dew from the car – lest we begin the journey with fogged windows unable to see oncoming traffic.

The road to Haast was beautiful. The initial part of the drive from Franz Josef to Fox Glacier (that other glacier about an hour down the road) was slow and twisty. This was probably one of the more scary drives throughout the trip as the road hugged the side of the mountains, so Shte1 made sure I took my time during this stretch! I certainly didn’t want to make any mistakes.

Around the bend and we decided to pull over in Fox Glacier to grab some caffeine for the rest of the ride. The town itself was a little bigger than the Franz Josef Township and we were pleasantly surprised at the cost (and quality) of our coffee and tea. I’m becoming dependant on a good short-black to get me going in the mornings…

The rest of the drive to Haast gave us plenty of different views. The glacier territory was full of thick rainforest type of foliage. The road leading to Haast also took us to the Westcoast where we literally drove next to the ocean. At this point palms and other ‘beach’ type of foliage lined the roads. Heading more inland and we were greeted with Pine trees and the like in a more woodland type of setting. Amazing changes, with such diversity in scenery, all within about 2 hours of driving.

Then around a bend we turned into ‘Bruce Bay’. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked – so of course I hopped out to take some photos. A couple of snaps later and back into the car is where I discovered that I had inadvertently let in some sandflies, which would trouble us the rest of the way! Sorry Shte1!

Gorgeous 'Bruce Bay'

A couple of hours later we found ourselves in Haast. I needed to refuel and was shocked, again, to see fuel prices up at around the $1.89/L mark. We decided to stop here, as well, to grab some lunch before heading off down the ‘Haast Pass’ – there would be no further stops along the way to Wanaka so we needed to load up beforehand. Haast was pretty windy and cold by the time we got there and our lunch was not all that impressive either (plus relatively expensive). There wasn’t much else to do in Haast except read some of the tourist info about the place. Meh.

'The Gates of Haast' (cue snicker...hehe!)

Haast River, very nice

However the journey down the ‘Haast Pass’ proved to be the most rewarding drive of the entire trip. Absolutely stunning woodlands, snow covered mountain tops, half-full river beds with sky blue water flowing through… this is why people do self-drive tours! Again, I wish I took some more photos, but oh well :)

Nearing Wanaka we stopped by Lake Hawea for a look around – and to skip stones (which Shte1 did a few years ago with MChung on their last visit). The sandflies started to gather in numbers so we didn’t stay too long.

Beautiful lake...mountains in the background...who could ever tire of this?!

Further up the road we also had to pause to allow some cattle past. Shte1 attempted to take a video of the action, but a memory card error on the camera meant it was not captured. What a funny (and smelly) experience to be a in a car, standing still, and surrounded by cattle!

About 5 minutes out from our destination we stopped by Stuart Landsborough, which is famous for ‘Puzzling World’. We spent a couple of hours having afternoon tea as well as running around the maze. I’m still scratching my head over the ‘Monkey Puzzle’ – see the picture. I also had a bit of fun taking photos near the toilets where they have a perfect-perspective mural on the back wall.

The monkey puzzle: how can a monkey climb up the tree? The leaves are very sharp...

This picture was taken off-centre. If you were to stand centre-on then you'd have a perfect perspective.

Just chatting with the guys. I asked to borrow the soldiers brush but he wouldn't have anything of it...

After some general tomfoolery at Puzzling World we headed off to our destination – Wanaka. Finding our B&B (Te Wanaka) we checked in and rested a little before heading out on the town for some retail therapy. Wanaka is one of those gorgeous little towns that most locals know about but few tourists take a look at. That in mind, it’s still a busy little town but as our ex-Australian B&B managers informed us Wanaka was like Noosa (where local people go for their holidays) and Queenstown – our next stop – was like the Gold Coast (a lot more touristy). We would later find out how true the comparison was. For now, though, we headed out into the town to see what we could find.

A short stroll from our lodgement there was a small creek where we found trout swimming upstream for the spawning season – what a sight to see these +40cm fish heading up stream.

Is it just me, or does this just keep getting better?!

The town itself had a number of little shops which we poked our heads in. Nothing spectacular, but the general place was still nice. The lake being so close and the laidback feel added to our thoughts that in the future we would like to return to spend more time here. Dinner was recommended at Relishes Café and we certainly were not disappointed. Shte1 ordered the fish of the day – Blue Cod with a ginger and chilli dressing on top of roasted kumara (sweet potato/yam) and I ordered venison on top of a kumara stack along with a classic Central Otago Pinot Noir. We were impressed with the setting at the café and the food was delicious – it was a pity (again) that I did not whip out the camera to take a photo of the food. Still getting use to carrying a camera around I guess.

Back to the B&B and the most comfortable bed we’ve slept on so far and the next day’s adventure lay ahead of us.

Welcome to Te Wanaka...

...where rest and relaxation come with the package!

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Next up - Queenstown: Gibbston Valley Wines, a visit to the bungee jumping place (but no jump...), Dart River Safari, and Romney Sheep!