Farewell to the wild west coast …..

Monday 30th January
Overnight, the weather has undergone a drastic change, with heavy rain now diminished to a drizzle. Gone are those glorious views of the last few days, but we’re so lucky to have had them. 

It’s warm and muggy as we make our way through the township, leaving behind the cabin that has been our home for the last two nights. We take the road towards Franz Joseph glacier, stoping first at Peter’s Pool - a short walk through the forest to a small reflecting lake, its mirror today reflecting the blackness of the lower mountains draped atmospherically with clouds. 

From here, we take the walk up to the glacier viewpoint - 3000m from the end of the glacier, the path now ending here due to the river changing course. We stand at a point where the glacial actually ended just over a century ago; the retreat of these ice rivers is both dramatic and frightening. 

We continue to Fox Glacier, deciding against the longer walk up to its viewpoint, opting instead for Lake Matheson, famed for its mirror images of Mount Cook and Tasman. Of course, drizzle and low cloud mitigate against a good result, and in any case we’re way off the peak viewing times of dawn and dusk, but I’m hoping there may be something interesting to photograph. In fact, by now there are breaks in the cloud with rays of sunlight streaking through the podocarp forest - and I’ve become obsessed with taking shots of this wonderful vegetation. As for reflections, however, there are none; Lake Matheson is certainly not mirror-like today. We satisfy ourselves with coffee and a shared slice of Hummingbird cake - previously unknown to us, but highly recommended! This is the Jamie Oliver recipe, but ours had passion fruit rather than lime in the frosting. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/hummingbird-cake/

Fortified, we continue towards Haast, the final stretch of our west coast journey. We stop at Bruce Bay, admiring the masses of ‘driftwood’ washed ashore - and here I’m referring to huge uprooted trees as well as the usual branches. The whole beach is littered with natural sculptures of bleached and twisted wood, as well as those in which there’s been a human intervention. 

From Knights’ Viewpoint, there’s one last chance to see the rugged cliffs and stacks of this stunning coastline, before a longer stop at Ship Creek where we complete both swamp and dune walks, giving us further insights into the area’s landscape and vegetation. 

Onwards to Haast,  probably the most remote area we have visited. Almost inaccessible except by sea until the completion of the Haast Highway in 1962, the 2018 population was only 84, relying on farming, fishing and tourism. We’re staying at the Haarst Beach Motel; I’m not optimistic, but it’s surprisingly good - obviously recently refurbished and with lots of thoughtful touches. Food wise, there’s a limited choice; it’s either ‘The Frontier bar’ or the ‘Hard Antler’ - there’s obviously a macho hunting vibe here. We go for the former as it’s closer - basic, pool tables taking up half the barn-like room, but G says his venison pie (well, it had to be ….) was excellent, and my vegetarian pasta dish is actually pretty good. 

Tuesday 31st January 
The evening rain prevented us from walking the few hundred metres over to the beach, so in the dryness of the morning we accomplish it. This is our very final sight of west coast wildness - rolling breakers, miles of beach, a whole sculpture park of driftwood. Wistfully we watch a while before returning to the car. 

Today we drive to Wanaka, along the most isolated section of our route so far. There is not a single garage or coffee stop along the way - though as always in New Zealand, there will be essential toilet stops linked to named walks and tracks. 

The first part of our journey is punctuated by waterfalls - first Roaring Billy, then Thunder Creek, finally Fantail Falls. Each involves a relatively short forest walk, ending in a view of tumbling water. Then we reach the start of the Haast Pass proper, stopping at its base for a view of the rushing turquoise-blue water tumbling through the narrow chasm. Below us are the collapsed remains of earlier roads; what feats of skill, courage and sheer hard work went into constructing these important links. 

Once over the pass, our final stop is the evocatively named ‘Blue Pools’. By now I’m tired - one of those days where things are catching up with me, but the DOC (Department of Conservation) description is irresistible: ‘Nestled among mature beech and podocarp forest, these pools of deep, clear water flowing into the Makarora River offer a moment of tranquillity’. We begin to have our doubts when we see the amount of human traffic on the path - and it’s clear that for many, the pools will be a swimming spot. Sure enough, when we finally arrive, it’s as tranquil as a British beach in summer - a great place for families and groups, just not what we were hoping for. The water’s certainly clear, but not as blue as in the Hokitika Gorge, for example, and for the first time on this trip, we feel a little let down by the scenery.

So it’s onwards to the final stage of our journey. Suddenly, we’ve left the heavily forested areas of the west and we’re in the drier, hotter alpine area. It’s a definite shock to the system suddenly seeing hills devoid of trees, greens replaced by golds and browns. Everywhere looks parched, and we learn when we arrive in Wanaka that this has been the driest summer that our hosts remember. 

We skirt the lake - amazed by its sheer size, then slip over ‘The Neck’ to follow 
Lake Hawea. Adapting to the different scenery, we’re drawn in by the jagged shapes of peaks, the regressive shades of blue as they become more distant. This is a different kind of beauty. 

Eventually, we arrive in Wanaka and our accommodation for the next two nights - the gorgeous Kauri House. Rather than describe it, here’s a link: 
https://www.kaurihouseapartment.co.nz
Needless to say, we absolutely love it! 

The mundanities of laundry dealt with, we head for the town and Nolenne’s recommended restaurant, Kika, which serves up the best food we’ve had since Bay of Islands. I think we’re going to like it here!  

For today’s main, I’ve gone for black and white, emphasising the desolation of this part if the coast, with a colour extra, a collage of some of our last views of the glacier region. 

Thanks so much for your kind response to yesterday’s white herons, and for simply sticking with me on our long journey through this wonderful country.