Friday 6th February 2009

Happy New Zealand Day (or Waitangi Day). It's a public holiday here today and, as a consequence, a little tricky to find accommodation. We drove into Wanaka, which reminds us a little of Keswick, a town which sits on the edge of a lake surrounded by the mountains of the Mount Aspiring Range (including peaks with the names Mt. Awful and Dreadful!), with trepidation as the no-vacancy signs went up but the local Information office found us an apartment for two nights, with laundry, balcony, spa and views for only $40 more than the backpackers! We spent today enjoying the scenery and strolling around the town, after the scenic drive down the valley from Makarora and several very busy days! On Tuesday, we woke to reasonably fair weather in Arthurs Pass so our ascent of Avalanche Peak was on. It's just about the most popular walking peak in NZ notwithstanding the dire warnings from the park authority about it's difficulty. It involves, Tryfan-like, an immediate scramble of an ascent, through bush, for 600m, then Striding-edge like terrain for another 500m to the summit. As we approached the summit, the cloud started to build up from the west and it became decidedly chilly. Good views of Mt. Rollinson and it's hanging glacier and the hamlet of Arthurs Pass looking like toy-town below. A brief stop - due to the chill and a group of Keas(mountain parrots) who, whilst posing for photos make an assault on your belongings which could teach the Artful Dodger a thing or two. Apparently, cameras, clothing, food, phones are stolen from unwary visitors all the time! We must be fitter than we thought as we completed the round trip in less than 5hours and were in the "Wobbly Kea" bar by 1pm, a pint of Monteiths and the largest bowl of chips we have ever seen! Later in the afternoon we braved the chilly wind on the railway station to watch the arrival of the Tranz-Alpine Express train which travels the scenic route between Greymouth and Christchurch. The Youth Hostel offered a log fire; we needed to light it that night. Wednesday was a travel day - we had a long hop south to Makarora - some 8hours of driving. We stopped en-route in Fox to view the glacier. Most fascinating were the signs which marked where the glacier reached in certain years. It has receded as much in the last 50 years as in the previous 200. The gouge marks on the cliffs bear witness to the power of the ice. We stayed in Makarora Wilderness Resort; in an A-frame cabin with its own kitchen and our own outdoor loo! We terrified a nesting pigeon in the tree next to the loo every time we went for a pee! The drive through the Haast Pass to reach here (which was only metalled in 1985) was breathtaking - snow topped peaks and Bombay-Sapphire blue water . Yesterday was our big splurge of the trip. A scenic flight over the Mt. Aspiring range,(see photo) landing in the Siberia valley followed by a 3-hour hike through the bush, then a jet-boat ride back down the Wilkin river. Thankfully, the day dawned clear and sunny; perfect weather. What can we say but that it was worth every cent. To take off, in a six-seater plane from a field to fly over amazing scenery and to land on a strip of grass in the middle of nowhere was exciting enough. We enjoyed the walk but the best came last! We are now addicted to jet-boats. For those who don't know, they are speed boats which use the water in the river to create a jet which powers it, so it can move very fast over water. It can also manouvre very quickly and spin 360deg spraying those in the back with water. What a way to travel on crystal clear water through such amazing scenery. We were so breathless with excitement we needed a beer afterwards!!