After a much better night’s sleep, I left Wanaka under stormy skies. It looked a completely different world from the day before and made for some pretty dramatic landscapes.
The first part of the 286km drive was gentle. It was decidedly damp and grey, but still so beautiful. And I wound my way along State Highway 6 and the west shores of Lake Hawea before discovering the upper east shores of Lake Wanaka. It really is an enormous body of water. From there my journey would take me through the Haast Pass towards Franz Josef. I was heading into Glacier Country.
I’d read about the Haast Pass and that it had “humbled many egos.” And, right up until the day before, I had still been umming and aahing about whether the weather would be kind enough for me to drive it. I had thought, if it was going to be really bad, I’d take a completely different loop, along the East Coast and back to Christchurch that way. But Nicky, Nicky, and Pip, from The Lake Bar, said the incoming rain meant milder temperatures and told me that snow wasn’t forecast. They convinced me I should do it. They actually said it wasn’t to be missed.
The Pass is 564m above sea level and cuts and winds its way through Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, the Southern Alps. The route was a traditional pathway for Maori journeying west in search of pounamu (greenstone or jade). Despite the mist and mizzle, it really was stunning and the drive into the UNESCO World Heritage Area of Mount Aspiring National Park had just about everything. Rainforest, wetlands, lakes, glacier-fed rivers and waterfalls and white water rapids. It also had lots of one-lane bridges over creeks and rivers with names like Dizzy, Dismal, and Dancing. And, for most of the 80km journey, only a low concrete barrier between me and a steep mountain drop. It was impossible for me to take it all in. Especially in the rain. There were no shops or stops, gas stations, or photographs taken. It really was quite a drive and I was concentrating.
Once I had cleared the Pass, I was rewarded with a beautiful, wet and windy, coastal drive along the Tasman Sea. Seeing the sea always makes me smile. No matter the weather. But by the time I reached Franz Josef, 140km later, it was pouring. I checked into my room that boasted views of the glacier. And I couldn’t see a thing. I was told the weather was not looking good for the next two days and I resigned myself to spending the next day in the spa. That wouldn’t be so bad.
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