Drive Across New Zealand – 2015 – Page 2 – The Bald Heretic

New Zealand Day 14 – Franz Josef Glacier To Queenstown

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Sadly, The Fanz Josef and even the Fox Glacier were a bust. Rain was coming down pretty steady and it was just not conducive to making the trek out to see them. Even the helicopters were grounded. We had a long drive ahead of us and decided to make our way to our next destination which was Queenstown.

Despite the rain and gloom, there was still some amazing sites to see, especially the clouds and mist as it came over the mountains.

The rain did begin to subside as we moved on and we made a few stops along the way, like this one to see the Thunder Creek Falls

As we drove down the Haast River we had our first Lupin sighting

Our midpoint on this leg of the journey was Wanaka where I wanted to see the most photographed tree in New Zealand

We also saw some purple lupins, Cynthia’s favorite.

We then made our way up New Zealand’s highest sealed road, Crown Range Road which rises up to 3530 ft above sea level

We then descended into Queenstown just as the sky began to clear.

Also, today is Cynthia’s birthday. To celebrate we had dinner at an amazing restaurant called the Blue Kanu which serves food that mixes both Pacifica and Asian style, and blending the two cultures it aims to create a style and feel that they call “Polynasia”. Simply put, it was fantastic.

Tomorrow we explore Queenstown.

New Zealand Day 13 – Punakaiki To Franz Josef Glacier

Today started out pretty good, but the weather turned rainy as we made our way to Franz Josef Glacier. The drive was interesting, especially all the one lane bridges. This one also doubled as a train bridge.

bridge
(Photo by Cynthia)

We got checked in to the hotel and are taking the opportunity to do some laundry. The rain is falling steadily so it doesn’t look like we’ll get to see the glacier.

Tomorrow, Queenstown

Milky Way In Punakaiki

Took some time to try my hand at some astrophotography. The Milky Way was setting soon after the sunset so it was low on the horizon. Not perfect, but I am happy for my first attempt.

New Zealand Day 12 – Nelson To Punakaiki

Today the weather was as good as it gets. Cool temperatures and blazing blue skies. We drive from Nelson to Punakaiki via Westport and Cape Foulwind.

Heading west we drove along Buller Gorge which is a very scenic drive where we had the opportunity to stop by the longest swing bridge in New Zealand. Oddly enough, Cynthia was terrified of the bridge. Still, she managed to work up her courage and made the crossing and was very proud of herself.

From there we drove to Cape Foulwind, which was not as foul as the name might imply.

From there we drive a short distance to see the Seal Colony at Tauranga Bay

After enjoying these sites we continued down the coast to our final destination of the day, The Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki.

New Zealand Day 11 – Abel Tasman National Park

We were not holding out much hope for today as it the forecast called for rain and possibly hail. But when we woke up there was some sunshine and a patches of blue sky. We decided we would go for it and make the drive some 60 miles to Abel Tasman where we had a cruise and hike booked for the day.

We made our way to Kaiteriteri and checked in and quickly boarded our boat, a medium sized catamaran that would take us up the coast to a series of secluded bays.

We were scheduled to get of at Bark Bay and do some exploring, but the weather was still “iffy” so we opted to stay on the boat and just ride the route till we got back to the point of origin. We did see some nice things like a seal colony

And Split Apple Rock

We ended the cruise about mid-day and drove back to Nelson and explored a bit before having dinner.

Tomorrow we drive to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks and the weather looks to be great.

New Zealand Day 10 – Wellington To Nelson

ferry

Today we woke up early to return our rental and catch the Interislander Ferry from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island. The whole process was pretty straightforward and soon we were underway.

The sky was overcast and there was some rain, but the 3 hour voyage was pleasant and uneventful. We sat with group of elderly Kiwis that were on holiday and they were great fun to talk to and they shared a wealth of information about New Zealand with us and the ferry ride passed quickly as a result.

car

We picked up our second rental car and proceeded to make our way to the next stop, Picton. The drive was very windy and took us along the sound and well up into the mountains. And though the skies were overcast, the views were quite spectacular

On the way to Picton we stopped in Havelock for lunch. Havelock is the green tipped mussel capital of the world and we ate at a place called the Mussel Pot.

musselpot

For lunch we had the sampler plate for two that included mussels served in a variety of ways. It was all quite delicious.

mussels

While we were there we noticed there were a number of soldiers moving about. Turns out there was a joint military training exercise happening this week.

We made it to our hotel and got checked in. The weather is a bit gloomy, and we are not overly optimistic about tomorrow when we are scheduled to visit Abel Tasman National Park. We’ll see how it goes.

New Zealand Day 8 – Rotorua to Tongariro National Park

Today we bid farewell to Rotorua and all of its burbling, steaming oddness and made our way to Tongariro. Fortunately, I had my trusty co-pilots and navigators with me.

navigator

As you can imagine, the drive was amazing. We were blessed with more sunshine so everything looked fantastic.

We stopped and Huka Falls which is easily accessible from the main road. These falls are a spectacular blue color and very fast moving.

After only a few hours we reached our accommodations at Tongariro National Park. We arrived a bit early so we were unable to check in right away. This afforded us the opportunity to go see the Tawhai Falls which were only a 20 minute trek off the highway. I carried my tripod and filters to take some long exposure shots of the falls.

jayfalls2

We got ourselves checked into the hotel and found we had the most spectacular view of Mount Ngauruhoe, the mountain that was used for Mount Doom in the Lord Of The Rings movies.

Tonight we had dinner and are taking it easy as we prepare to drive to Wellington and on from there to the south island.

New Zealand Day 7 – White Island and Wai-O-Tapu

We woke up to a glorious sunny day which was good, because our plan was to fly by helicopter to White Island, an active volcano off the coast of Rotorua.

We got up and had some breakfast and found our way to the lake shore and the offices of Volcanic Air Safaris, the company that we had bookd for our adventure.

Besides Cynthia and myself, there were two other people who had booked the tour so that meant a small group headed to the island. And, as luck would have it, they were also photographers so they would not be impatient while I took my time photographing the island.

We took off a little before 9:00a am for our 35 minute flight to White Island and the view was simply spectacular.

We circled the island and then landed in an open area, not far from the crater lake

We spent the next hour and half hiking around while our guide told us the history of the island.

Cynthia was very pleased with herself for overcoming her fears of flying in a helicopter and of walking on an active volcano. Truth be told, we both agree that this was the most amazing thing we’ve done on any of our travels.

When we returned to the city we went back to the hotel and quickly went back out to visit the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Mostly I wanted to see the Champagne Pool…the rest I was not so enthusiastic about which was a good thing, too, because we were fairly tired after the previous adventure.

The Champagne Pool, named for the tiny bubbles the fizzle and pop on the surface, did not disappoint.

Tomorrow we’re headed to the Tongariro National Park and hoping for more good weather.