Road Trip part III: Takaka and Abel Tasman Natl. Park 12/14/12 - 12/17/12

From the West Coast we headed north and ended up in Takaka with plenty of time to set up and head out on a evening walk before dinner, so we went to the Rahiti Caves.  It was one of those off the beaten track walks, and after going through a few gates and driving through a privately owned pasture we started our ascent up the mountain.  It was a pretty steep climb for about 30 minutes, but it was well worth it because when we arrived to the huge cave entrance it was magnificent.  It was also cool because it felt like we were the only ones to have visited the place in about a month.  It was very remote and quite the "hidden gem".  The cave was said to be over a million years old and was full of stalactites (which were huge and colorful) and stalagmites.  

We had been wanting to kayak all through the South Island, but never found exactly what we were looking for.  However, we knew there was kayaking near Takaka in Golden Bay along the west side of Abel Tasman National Park.  So the next morning we headed to Golden Bay and rented a kayak for a half day and started our paddling in the bay/ Tasman Sea.  There were times that the sea was a bit rough and the wind strong, so it wasn't as peaceful and relaxing as we wanted, but it was still gorgeous scenery and a great day to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

That afternoon we visited Te Waikoropupu Springs, aka "Pupu" for short, right outside of Takaka.  Sounds like poo-poo, yet the spring water here was the complete opposite and famous for being the clearest water in the world (the only thing clearer is the Weddell Sea in Antarctica).  Underwater optical tests have shown the underwater visibility to be 63 meters!  It was crazy how clear the water was.

Afterwards, we continued to the most northern point on the south island and had a view of the Farewell Spit, the longest sandspit in NZ.  We also went to the nearby beach, Wharariki beach.  This beach has impressive sand dunes from the intense winds, and the erosion of the rock cliffs not far from shore is also pretty interesting.

After an easy day the next day and asking around about kayaking along the coast of the other side of Abel Tasman, we decided instead to just do a walk.  We weren't convinced that the sea waters were any calmer than the previous day.  Abel Tasman National Park consisted of beautiful, bright blue water coastlines right next to lush forests.  Our walk was a nice 3.5 hr walk along the coast 
through the forest.  After our walk, we continued our road trip north.

Road Trip part II: Wanaka, Glaciers, and West Coast 12/10/12 - 12/14/12

Our next stop was Wanaka, which is actually just north of Queenstown; we had to make the first part of our road trip a circle in order to see the sights we wanted to see.

The coolest thing for us here was Puzzling World, a really neat mind boggling place.  The inside was full of mind games, illusions, trickery, art, and puzzles.  We had just as much fun as the kids!

Outside was a life size maze that tests patience and skill.  We lack a little of both at this point in traveling, but we conquered it (maybe just a little longer than the 1/2 hour it should've taken).  The hardest part was getting back to the start (where the exit was) once we made it to the end destination.

From there we made a quick stop at Lake Hawea, a gorgeous, still, blue lake, and then headed up the West Coast section of NZ to the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.  Along the way there were some cool spots to stop and check out, including a few rivers with crystal clear blue glacier water.

The Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are two of New Zealand's largest glaciers and most easily accessible.  We contemplated purchasing a helicopter trip to see the glaciers, but the weather wasn't great and we decided to make it a day of walking instead.  Of course, from all reports we heard and saw, the experience you get with a helicopter is well worth  it and makes for a remarkable time.  However, as we did not do that, what we saw was interesting, but dirty, and nothing in comparison to our experience on the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina.

After we set up camp near Fox Glacier, we drove 5 minutes outside of town to Lake Matheson.  On a clear day the lake can provide incredible reflections of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman in the distance.  We made it out  to the lake at dusk time and thoroughly enjoyed the views.

After the glaciers, we continued our trip up the West Coast and stopped off at a few more captivating view points along the way including more "blue pools" and the famous pancake rocks in Punakaiki.

The region we covered in this post had some of the most beautiful landscapes you can imagine.  The anywhere from 2- 8 hours we drove each day were not as bad as it sounds given that the surrounding scenery was incredible!  Despite the scenery, this region was also one of the worst for the sandflies!  Kristin was not a fan of these little bugs.  Bugs seem to love to bite her, and these were no different.  In order to protect herself she wore the outfit below, even though it was probably in the 70's, maybe 80's.  Yes, her pants are tucked into her socks. Quite the fashion statement.

Not a happy camper, literally.

Road Trip part I: The south of the South Island and up to Mt. Cook 12/6/12 - 12/10/12

For the duration of our road trip we camped two nights at a simple Department of Conservation campground, which offered no showers or means of cooking, and was either free or $6 each.  

Our dinner set-up.

We ate cheap hot meals while on the road for lunch (lots of meat pies), and made big salads for dinner (we actually really liked this to get our veggies for the day).  

Every 3rd night we camped at a holiday park where there were complete bathrooms, water, SHOWERS, kitchens, grills, and even TV rooms if desired for about $14 - $17 NZD each.  And we actually got to cook hot meals for dinner :-).

Our first couple of nights, in the south, we had to put up with lots of rain and the cold.  The cheap sleeping bags we bought really were not meant for anything below 50*F, and it was well into the 40's.  It was all part of the experience though, and worth it to drive through some of the most desolate areas of NZ along the south.  We had plenty of views of sheep, farm land, forests, waterfalls, and coast line.

Once we rounded the south we made our way towards Mt. Cook with a stopover at Lake Tekapo.  We stayed at a great holiday park right on the lake.  We were able to grill some dinner and have a beautiful setting for our 3 year anniversary and our halfway point of the trip!  Our campsite was located close to a hike that lead up to the observatory on top of Mt. John.  The hike back offered great views of the pristine bright blue lake as well.  The Lake Tekapo area was breathtaking.

After our hike that morning, we drove to Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, where our campground was in a perfect spot with great views of the nearby glacier and mountains.  It didn't get dark until about 10 P.M., so after our dinner we were able to take a quick walk to a view point overlooking the mountain tops.

Before we headed out the next morning, we took about a 3 hour walk to an even closer viewpoint of Mt. Cook.  Amazing!!