Greymouth

I snuck out early in the morning to have another go at getting a postcard shot of Lake Matheson. I ran part of the way along the trail thinking I'd missed the opportunity again. It turned out that I has plenty of time. The sunlight hadn't spilled into the glacier valleys so it wasn't quite what I was after. There was a nice mist lifting off the lake.

Fifteen minutes later the sun started to creep into view. Unfortunately it was doing it's best to ruin the photos. I'd seen some spectacular photos around town and in brochures but I'm convinced they were taken in winter when the sun is much further north (left of picture). I was starting to wonder whether I should have stayed in bed.

Eventually I did get a number of nice photos by hiding the sun behind branches and anything I could find.

The window of opportunity was short because a line of cloud rapidly swallowed the alps signalling the time to leave amazing Fox Glacier.

Back at the ranch.... Packing was pretty much complete so I scoffed down breakfast in time to help load the cars. Harry said good-bye to his new friends before we set off.

The road heading north from Fox Glacier through Frans Joseph Glacier is a twisty but scenic. The cloud bearing down on the area took the incentive out of getting out in the cold breeze and taking photos so we pressed on toward our stop for the night, Greymouth. We cleared the valleys as the Alps started to slide inland. The forests gave way to farmland before we started to see signs of civilization. By the time we reached Hokitika, we knew the time in the wilderness was over.

Hokitika is a bit of a tourist stop for the most part driven by the greenstone (pounamu) industry. Kerri & Jeanette spent a while wandering in and out of the various greenstone shops while we boys watched various trucks and buses go by.

We continued north and made Greymouth by lunchtime. We stopped for lunch at the Subway across the way from Greymouth Railway station. For Harry the timing couldn't have been better. As we finished up lunch, we wandered over to check out the station only for the Trans-Alpine to pull in. It was Dunedin all over again.

"Hello Train!" waving......

The excitement was obvious and he wasn't impressed when the train left and we told him it was time for us to leave as well.

We checked into the hotel/cabin on the outskirts of town and got settled before setting off for Paparoa National Park. Fortunately Harry slept on the way up or we would have been in all sorts of trouble. The coastline was very different what we'd seen to that point. It was just as rugged but the vegetation wasn't anywhere near as lush. Right along the coast there are many small islands, left behind as the ocean chewed away at the mainland.

The centre piece of Paparoa National Park is Pancake Rocks named after the layers of sedimentary rocks that look like giant pancake stacks (apparently).

The rock has been hammered by the ocean and is consequently jagged thanks to both leaching and wave action.

 The big crowd pleasers are the blowholes, of which there are many. There wasn't much in the way of swell when we were there. I can only imagine what it's like when the big winter swells hit the coast.

Harry was tired and had a bit of a fall so he figured it was better to watch the blowholes from my shoulders.

The waves crash against the coast and sculpt great holes in the rock. They start as small blowholes and become great caverns until they collapse into the ocean leaving nothing but small islands behind.

Not far north of Pancake Rocks is the Trueman Track. It descends down the hill through the forest to a small bay with a few surprises. There's a blowhole (above) that was only just working when we were there.

There are overhangs that surround the pebble beach like an amphitheater.

A creek runs off the lip of one of the overhangs and splashes into a rocky garden like a manicured water feature in a suburban garden. The water disappears into the pebbles before reappearing near the water's edge.

Paparoa exceeded our expectations and we have made a mental note to return to explore the area better next time. There are loads of hiking trails that will be much more inviting when Harry is a bit older.

We had some fairly average food for dinner at one of the hotels in Greymouth before heading back to the cabin for our last night on the road.

Fox Glacier

Our accommodation at Fox Glacier was at the Mt Cook View Motel, just out of the main township.

We had a bit of a chat to the owners when we arrived and Harry got to know the resident animals. There was a cat ginger called Garfield, a mop dog called Bubbles and a miniature pony called Breeze.

When we checked in the evening before we couldn't work out where the view of Mt Cook and how they could use the name. Overnight the skies had cleared and the famous peak was obvious.

Maybe even more obvious was Mount Tasman.

After breakfast everyone piled into the car and we cruised half a kilometre down the road to Lake Matheson. We left Pat at the cafe where he had the view below to gaze at while reading the paper and have a coffee. The rest of up set off on the loop trail around the lake.

  

A New Zealand bellbird was going about it's business at the trail head just near the cafe. It didn't seem at all worried about what we were up to.

 

There's a suspension bridge just beyond the trail head that grants access to the forest.

The forest on the west coast is easily as lush as what we;d seen in The Catlins. Tree ferns were everywhere.

Half way around and at the end of the lake there are a couple of lookout points. The aspect is nothing short of stunning. We did notice a few clouds starting to creep in and hoped it wouldn't wreck our helicopter flight.

We wondered back to the cafe marvelling at New Zealand's two highest peaks.

We reset for the one event of the entire trip that we'd been talking about for months. After some stuffing around at the helicopter tour office we were eventually taken to the helipad. Harry was so excited that, once again, he went very quiet, particularly when the chopper came in to land.

 

We were all buckled in and ready. Harry gave the thumbs up to GO!

 The flight took us over the lake we'd hiked around earlier then north to the Frans Joseph Glacier.

We didn't land on the glacier but flew up the valley before crossing the ridge to the head of Fox Glacier.

We landed a bit below the head of Fox Glacier with some high winds keeping the choppers down below the ridge. It was a good spot with great views of the towering mountain peaks and for a while we were alone.

Time for some tourist snaps.

 So much for alone on the glacier. The first chopper came screaming in from where we'd come from.

Look mummy! A chopper!

More happy snaps.

Just a few more photos before having to get back on into the chopper.

We descended down the Fox Glacier valley back to the helipad. Everyone was buzzing after and exhilarating experience.

After lunch and some rest time for Harry, we all got moving again. Pat & Jeanette went across the road to visit friends while we hiked up to the foot of Fox Glacier.

The trail is steep in sections and has a lot of loose rocks. Harry did pretty well considering and I didn't have to carry him on my shoulders too much. The foot of the glacier is nowhere near as spectacular as where we'd been in the helicopter earlier.

There was a cluster of large rocks that were covered in a red lichen. It looks like paint doesn't it.

On the way back Harry decided he'd copy me and drink out of the crystal clear stream that crosses the trail. "I'm very thirsty Daddy."

It was a great day and a definite highlight of the trip. The weather came good for just long enough for us to enjoy it.

Haast Pass

It was New Year's Eve and we were off to Fox Glacier. We made the mistake of making a stop in Wanaka to pick up some maps and coffees. Wanaka on New Year's is a crazy place. Lots of fun if you're winding up for a big night, not so much if you're trying to do anything else. We finally got away from crazy town heading north between Lake Wanaka (below) and Lake Hawea.

 Leaving Lake Wanaka behind us at the start of Haast Pass, the grassy farmlands made way for dense rainforest similar to what we'd become accustomed to in The Catlins. The further we ventured into the mountains the heavier the rain became. The valley seemed to be leaking water everywhere and in torrents. The named waterfalls we absolutely gushing. We stopped briefly at Fantail Falls before the biting insects drove us straight back to the car.

Further downstream Thunder Creek Falls looked to be at full capacity and Thunder Creek itself was just down right dangerous.

The weather wasn't much help for the run down to Haast where we had lunch. We considered tracking south to Jackson Bay but with the rain setting in we decided it wasn't worth it and it was potentially dangerous with flooding and mud slides. The run through Haast Pass had made us nervous. Instead we set off north toward our final destination, Fox Glacier.

 

It didn't rain the whole time and even saw the sun on occasion including (and fortunately) when we were at Knight's Point Lookout (above & below). The forests on the West Coast were even more impressive than Coastal Otago. The Southern Alps squeeze the water out of any clouds that try to cross the coast, allowing the rainforest to flourish.

Not far up the road from Knights Point the rain slammed the coast. Driving was extremely difficult with visibility down to about ten metres. We made it to Fox Glacier in one piece but only just. The clouds were blocking any view of the mountain peaks that tower over the town so we settled into our nice motel and came up with a plan for the next day or so hoping the weather would cut us a break.