While in New Zealand we've experienced a fair few stunning vistas, some we'd be happy to admire as we trundled along in the van and some we would need to stop for; Lake Wanaka was one of the latter. As we skirted the edge of the lake, large bushes shielded the crystal clear waters and softly lit mountains from view, offering only brief glimpses before it was hidden from us again. When we eventually found a safe space to pull over, I had to backtrack a while to find a break in the foliage to see the water brilliantly reflecting the bright blue sky above as well as the muted colours of the far off mountains. Ben went for a different approach and clambered on top of the van instead.
When we eventually left the lakes edge, we swooped round the corner where we were faced with equally breathtaking view of Lake Hawea, and luckily for us that was where our chosen camp for the night was located. Alongside admiring the view from our spot at Kids Bush Campsite (DOC), we went for a very icy dip in the lake and spent a peaceful night under millions of twinkling stars. It was surprisingly busy at the campsite - given its location nearby to Wanaka we probably should have expected this - but luckily for us it was still incredibly quiet, the camps only downside being the hundreds of sandflies that made the area their homes.
It only took us thirty minutes the next day to arrive at Wanaka, where - after completing the boring mundanities that seem to be unavoidable such as food shopping and filling up water - we went for a lovely long walk along the edge of the lake. Three-quarters into this walk we were amused to find people gathering around, all trying to take the best picture of “#THATwanakatree” an instafamous tree that sits picturesquely alone in the lake. The tree is indeed pretty and some people have taken stunning photos of it, but it struck me as absurd that everyone was together in the same spot, trying to get photos as if they are alone (with the tree), when there are equally stunning less frequented spots nearby that are arguably nicer. As there are already nicer photos of the tree out there, we decided to give this Wanaka tradition a miss and went to find a quiet bench to watch the lake from while doing some reading.
We were planning on hiking up to Roys Peak on our second day in Wanaka but the weather was against us, overnight the clear skies had filled with black rain clouds that decided to try and drown us, so… we decided to give it a miss. Not to give up the day as a total write off we went to frequent the charity shops instead. Wastebusters was our first stop, a confusing and alarming shop where we could have brought a golf club for three dollars and a sofa for five. The sorting system was madness, similar objects thrown together in large storage containers some broken some new, most without a price tag. Somehow, we came away with two matching throw pillows, one silk scarf (worth ninety-five pounds new), three jumpers and two tops all for Twenty-eight dollars. It didn’t make sense but it sure was cheap.
In the next three charity shops we only managed to find one item to take home, a NZ wool jumper that the till operator was dismayed to find was miss-priced for twelve dollars rather than the thirty similar jumpers were sold for. I just don’t understand how some places are treasure troves and others have prices that in my opinion are too expensive for second hand items.
The next day we could finally make the trek to Roys Peak, zigzagging our way up the mountainside all in order to reach one of Wanaka’s most famous spots. The entire hike is fourteen kilometres, beginning with a punishing uphill climb for seven kilometres followed by a punishing seven kilometre descent. Truly, the first kilometre was the hardest; our breath wheezed out of burning lungs, our thighs ached and worst of all, the van was tantalisingly still in view, inviting us to end this madness and have a nice cuppa tea instead. Despite a near constant stream of “I give up!” and “Which idiot thought this would be a good idea!?” we made it to the top and the view was more than worth the fight. It was a true battle of perseverance that was definitely helped by the fact it was busy enough that many would see our retreat of shame had we turned around before the end. That’s not to say we didn’t stop along the way, we did, halting on most switchbacks looking back over the way we came, admiring how the landscape slowly opened up beneath us.
At the top we sat, ate a ridiculously large amount of snacks we'd carried the entire way and watched how people queued, all to get the same picture of them standing on a specific ridge, the landscape splayed around them. Perhaps we should have joined in on this tradition but we were happy enough to just to sit absorbing the sight of how far we’d climbed, revelling in the sense of accomplishment it wrought.
Then we had to walk back down. I honestly thought this would be a breeze but it brought its own challenges. Gone was the thigh pain and instead the strain seemed to land on my poor knees that would brace me each step, stopping gravity from pulling me down the mountainside in what would be a quicker but much more deadly way. Four and a half hours after we started we arrived back at the van, a little worse for wear but very happy with what we’d achieved that morning. Feeling completely exhausted, we picked another camp in Wanaka to head to where we could snooze away the rest of the day.
From Wanaka most head to Queenstown, as we had some activities booked we decided to skip past for now and headed to the small town of Lumsden instead, as it was a more convenient stopping point along our way. Contrary to the feeling in a lot of small town in NZ, here freedom campers seemed welcomed with open arms and the central carpark reflects this, with sinks for washing up, benches set up under cover and large public toilets open all night - there’s even instructions of how to get the keys to the local swimming pool for a dip and a shower. Being so well set up it was also very busy but we managed to get a good spot before they all filled. It wasn’t the most restful nights sleep with cars and lorries zooming by throughout the night but it could have been worse.
The next campsite and our base for exploring the Fjordlands national park was definitely far more quiet, set far down the Milford Road in untamed beauty, the only sound at night the rustling winds. .. but first we had to get there. It was a fairly long drive from Lumsden, so we planned in some stops. First was the town of Te Anu for some food shopping, the ever important diesel and a small visit to the highly underwhelming (and much advertised) Te Anu highland games that happened to be on. The second was mirror lakes, a small area with picturesque lakes set in an area that is sheltered by wind.
The next day we first ventured out to Lower Hollyford road where we walked a small way along the Lake Marion Walking track, coming across a beautiful cascading waterfall before heading back to the van It was soon after this that the landscape of our drive dramatically changed, from a sheltered windy road in the woods we suddenly came into Monkey Creek, a wide flat plateaux that the road wound through before leading to the towering mountains in the distance. From here we climbed, our van chugging along ever higher until the homer tunnel came into view. It’s a feat of engineering, 1200m long and built through solid rock, the tunnel took 12 years to complete. Inside is 1:10 gradient and we certainly had to tap the breaks a few times as we zoomed our way through. When we finally emerged into the day light it was to be faced with winding roads, sweeping their way through the mammoth mountains as we slalomed our way to Milford Sound village where we had a boat to catch.
Trip date : April 2023
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