Fox Glacier, Lake Matheson, Mountains and Forest.

Boots, warm clothing and a packed lunch were the order of the day as we were going to explore the Fox Glacier and Lake Matheson. When we left camp it was promising to be a good day weather wise but the West Coast can be so unpredictable.

The top of the Fox Glacier.

Once off the State Highway the road up to Fox Glacier was unsealed with dense native bush flanking both sides. At certain points were signs indicating where the glacier had been in earlier  times which showed how far back the glacier has receded. Arriving at the base car park the mountain view all around us made one feel quite miniscule. Some of the boulders or rocks that had broken away and come tumbling down to the valley floor were as big as houses.

What looks like an ice cave in the Glacier

The Department of Conservation staff have to review the situation daily to ensure that it’s safe for the public to venture up the valley to the base of the glacier. Only guided tours are allowed up onto the glacier itself due to unfortunate accidents in the past were people have been killed probably due to their own stupidity.

Notice the the ice colour on Fox Glacier.

The 40 minute walk took us to within a couple of hundred metre’s of the glacier where everybody wanted to have their photo taken with the glacier in the background. The area set aside for viewing wasn’t that big so it was a bit of a jostle to get a photo within the designated area. After a short time we headed back to allow more people to get up close to the glacier.

You won't want to be around when this one shifts. About the size of a double garage.

We then travelled around to the other side of the valley to a different view point. This one was high on the hillside but gave us a different aspect of the glacier which couldn’t be seen from the first view point.

An optical illusion as that rock is about the size of a house.

By this time we were getting hungry so we headed back to Lake Matheson where if the conditions are right you can get reflections of Mt Cook on the water. Today wasn’t that day as cloud had rolled in from the Tasman Sea and shrouded the mountain tops completely.

Lake Matheson Reflections

The walk through the forest to the viewing platform was interesting just seeing how dense the vegetation can be. At one point we were joined by a cheeky little Tomtit who flitted all around us and sat at Dot’s feet quite uncaring. After catching a few insects which we may have disturbed in passing he flew away just as quick as he had arrived.

Cheeky little Tomtit in the forest.

After walking some 5 kilometre’s or more uphill and down dale we were pretty weary by the time we got back to camp where a brew up seemed more important than a beer. At least on this side of the ranges there were no clouds and the sun was still shining giving us a good view of the mountain tops.

Franz Josef.

There are a few of these suspension bridges on the West Coast.

It was a cool start to the day but it turned out to be another beauty with no cloud and full on sunshine. It was only a short run of 58km’s but as it’s Easter week-end we wanted to be sure to get sites at the NZMCA park at Franz Josef. We needn’t have worried as there was plenty of sites available. Not long after we arrived 2 campers left and needless to say they had been in the best sites so as they left we moved into the vacated sites.

Waiho River Bailey Bridge.

As todays drive had been quite torturous with about a third of the distance being a twisting and windy road with many “U” bends of very slow speed limits it was decided that a quiet afternoon would not be out of place.

Franz Josef village.

After lunch we walked into town which was only 10 minutes away for some supplies and a look around. We visited 2 churches, one of which had a view of the Franz`Josef glacier from the altar window. This church was threatened by flooding a few years ago in which the SH6 road bridge was washed away. Hopefully the embankment that has been built alongside the church will keep it safe and out of harms way. In the meantime the bridge has been replaced by a Bailey bridge until  a new bridge is forthcoming.

Annual rainfall figures makes interesting reading.Franz Josef is the 5th from the left. Wellington is the 2nd from the left.

Defiance Hut. Built in 1916 and moved twice on the mountain. Now restored as a tourist attraction in Franz Josef.

Looks like the road to nowhere!

Fishing village of Jackson Bay on the West Coast.

Today we left the vans behind at the Haast campsite and headed down the 40km stretch of road to Jackson Bay. This is the last stretch of sealed road on the West Coast. After Jackson Bay the land becomes the Fiordland National Park which is only accessible by sea all the way down to Bluff and Invercargill.

The wharf at Jackson Bay.

Travelling through what is Beech and Podocarp forest along with native Rimu and Rata tree’s gave us some idea what the early settlers would have seen upon their arrival to the new land. In the 18th and 19th centuries this area was settled by sealers and whalers who didn’t use or need much land. In 1874 there was an assisted immigration programme of many nationalities to settle what was to be Arawhata township. The settlers who may not have been too familiar with breaking in bush land into arable land found conditions very difficult. What with the isolation and flooding separating families many were forced to give up within the first 2 years after crop failures due to the excessive wet weather that this coast is renowned for. They measure rainfall in this area not in inches but in feet having the highest rainfall in New Zealand.

A beautiful piece of volcanic rock.Pioneer cemetery at Jackson Bay. A wooden headstone and cross.

These days Jackson Bay is a small fishing community with a few houses and refrigerated storage for the fish and lobsters the fisherman land.There is a cafe called the Cray Pot which is reputed to be the best sea food cafe on the coast but we couldn’t wait until opening time to put the story to the test.

A cafe with a reputation but we didn't have time to wait for opening time.

Returning to camp and picking up the vans it was time to head off to our next stop over at Jacobs River. We called into Ship Creek and Knights Point to take in the scenery. At the former we decided to stop for lunch but we were forced into the safety of the vehicles as the sand-flies decided it was their lunchtime also, US. Several brands of insect repellents had no success in keeping the little devils at bay. Needless to say we didn’t hang around longer than necessary.

White Baiters platform suspended out over the water.

Knights Point has a memorial celebrating the opening of the road between Westland and Otago. In the 1930’s everything had to come into Westland by air or sea. In 1960 the road was opened across the Haast Pass to Jackson Bay but the rest of Westland had to wait until 1965 before the road was completed. The last 10 kilometre’s took 2 years to complete due to the rain, flooding and unstable land. Needless to say the West Coast has broken the backs and hearts of many a good man who has tried to tame this land.

Knights Point World Heritage Highway, West Coast.Commemorating the opening of the Westland to Otago road via Haast.SH6 along the sea front North of Haast.Pet Red Deer hind at Pine Grove Motel and Motor Camp.

Haast.

Lake Wanaka, from the neck between the two lakes.

This morning arrived with the promise of an early start.Dream on! We eventually got a text from Tony to say we should get to his yard about lunchtime, so much for an early start.

One just can’t get enough of these views of Lake Wanaka.

Along with Robin we headed into Wanaka to empty our waste tanks and take on fresh water and diesel before heading around to Tony’s yard.  Arriving there we were told the truck was at the airport just 10 minutes away. OK, so how come it took the driver another hour or more before he finally delivered our batteries? lunch of course. He could have waited another 10 minutes couldn’t he?

Haast River above the Gates of Haast Bridge.

In the meantime Robin and I had got our old batteries ready for quick removal to try and save time when the batteries did finally arrive. We then found out that the Battery supplier in Christchurch had sent the wrong batteries, they were suitable but $100 each dearer. Tony had to get back on the phone to the supplier and give him an earful. To their credit they then said that as we had been waiting for 2 days and had been generally stuffed around we could have the batteries for the same price as the one’s that were ordered. Hurrah, something finally went our way.

Gates of Haast Bridge.

Tony quickly had the batteries installed and we were finally underway heading over the Haast Pass to the West Coast. A BIG thank you to Tony of Wanaka Auto Electrical for excellent service and a good deal. They are familiar with motorhome requirements and we can personally recommend them.

Gypsy Rover and Romany Rambler at the Gates of Haast Bridge.

It was a good trip in beautiful sunshine with more amazing scenery. There was a bit of snow on the Southern Alps that glinted in the sunshine. Between Wanaka and Franz Josef there is not a great deal of places where we can camp so don’t have a great deal of choice. Tonight we are at the Haast Motor Lodge just a few kilometres out of town.

Good coating of snow on the Southern Alps on a beautiful day

Treading Water.

Lake Hawea.

What a performance. Today we headed back to the Auto Electrician with the promise of our batteries arriving about lunchtime. We were duly waiting when a Mainfreight came into the street. He ignored us and went further down the road to off load some gear. On his way back I stood out in the road to attract his attention with a got anything for me gesture only to get a NO nod from the driver.Tony the Auto Electrician was straight onto the phone to find out what was going on.

He was rather annoyed after learning that the batteries had left Christchurch and been dropped off at the Cromwell depot for onward transport to Wanaka. Unfortunately the Wanaka truck was carrying food so was not allowed to carry dangerous goods so they got left behind. Great! Another phone call to the Cromwell depot to get a promise of delivery first thing tomorrow (Wednesday). So it was back to the camp at Lake Hawea. Ah well, it could have been worse.

Lake Hawea control dam.Found this fella on the banks of Lake Hawea.Lake Hawea control dam out flow.What a fantastic view from our campsites overlooking Lake Hawea.

Heavenly Hawea.

This morning Robin and I had an appointment with the Auto Electrician to get our battery problems sorted out. Tony of Wanaka Auto Electrical had his guys on the job promptly and soon had it sorted. Robins batteries were not up to the job despite what the salesman had told him when he replaced them less than 12 months ago.

All lined up for the view over Lake Hawea.

After a thorough check over, it transpired that one of our batteries was dead and the other was on it’s last legs. B***er! Unfortunately between us we needed 4 batteries and Tony only had 1 in stock so a quick phone call to his supplier in Christchurch and 3 more will be couriered overnight. So we cannot venture too far today. We checked out one site just 2km up the road but that was $14 per night with only toilets supplied. We made a group decision to travel another 10km to Lake Hawea where we are now camped.

Lake Hawea and our motorhome on the top of the hill.

This site is magic with a view over lake Hawea and for a $10 donation we have toilets and showers and washing machines at $2 a go. Perfect, absolutely perfect.

Lake Hawea taking on it's Autumn tones.

Walking through Wanaka.

The hills around Lake Wanaka.

As the camp site at Locharburn is way out in the country and Robin is having electrical problems with his caravan a decision was made to move on this morning to Wanaka. Hopefully here he can find an Auto Electrician first thing tomorrow morning.

Mount Aspiring overlooking Lake Wanaka.

We are now parked up at a motor camp close to the shoreline of Lake Wanaka just a 10 minute drive to the Auto Electrician. Depending on how Robin gets on will determine tomorrows movement plans. I may well get the Electrician to do a load test on our batteries as they don’t appear to be holding up as well as they should.

Beautiful park alongside the lake in Wanaka.

Being a beautifully sunny Autumn afternoon we took a walk along the lake front and took some photographs of this amazing part of New Zealand.

House boat on lake Wanaka.Wanaka shopping centre.Lovely modern housing overlooking Lake Wanaka.