Fox Gl. - Wanaka. Am. cloud. Amazing journey along southwest coast. Fantastic trees & plants. Haast for lunch - picnic. Then over pass. Landscape changes from lush tree ferns to dryer rocky mountains with grass by the road. Many places to stop & take photos. Waterfalls and Lake Hawea - V. blue. Studio Appt. at Wanaka, OK. Talked to 2CV6 people from Belgium. Went for beer in town. Lovely evening.
My take on the same journey:
In fact neither of our 'notes in the moment' do justice to the journey down the west coast and over Haast Pass, it has to count as one of the best drives on the planet. Directly south of Fox Glacier Highway 6 heads away from the sea and snakes its way through the coastal hills a few miles inland.
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| across the Karangarua river |
The coast road becomes even more spectacular as you approach the Haast river; Highway 6 snakes across the densely wooded headlands high above the southern ocean. There are very few places where it is safe to park. At Knights Point Lookout there is a small rest stop where can pause to appreciate the expanse of the ocean. By this point you are further south than Tasmania, if you sailed directly westwards from here you would pass to the south of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope, the first land you would reach would be a southern province of Argentina, over 10,000 miles distant.
As for Haast itself, it is little more than a scattered settlement of cottages and farms with a permanent population of less than 300. Adventure tourism has put it on the map, but other than campgrounds there are few facilities.
A chuck wagon was on hand in the car park to serve the occupants of the campervan gathered there. Whitebait fritters are the local speciality. I was not tempted, a fry-up of small fry may be delicious but personally I felt a bit queasy at the prospect.
From here highway 6 leaves the coast, following the valley of the river Haast inland. The route follows an ancient Maori track linking the central plains of the Otago with the west coast. It is challenging terrain; the metalled road was only completed in 1965.
Where we could we stopped to take photos of the mountains and waterfalls. The hills are covered in beech forest which continue the whole way to the watershed. On the eastern side the road follows the course of the river Makarora which feeds Lake Wanaka.
At first the lake looked dark and foreboding but the clouds lifted and by the time we had crossed 'The Neck' and Lake Hawea came into view the sun came out and the water shimmered bright blue.
Our plan was to stop in Wanaka for two nights before heading for Queenstown. I needed a break from driving. The west coast route from Kaiteri to here was almost 500 miles, we have covered it in three days. Is it the most spectacular road trip we have ever taken? Probably, though our journey through north Queensland and the trip from Las Vegas to L.A. through Death Valley were equally epic; however the mix of coastal scenery, snowy mountains and unique ancient forests here on the South Island probably tips it towards being the best ever drive, and we had more to come.
It was great to get to the motel. There is always something surprising about New Zealand, one thing we did not expect to see in the car park was a row of 'deux chevaux'.
The Australian branch of the owners club had arranged a rally in New Zealand. One couple were from Belgium, they had shipped their beloved 2cv all the way from home - the trip was a retirement present to themselves. And we thought we were intrepid!
Time for a beer....
