We'll be coming 'round the mountains (after we climb up)

Having whetted our taste for the mountains with the hike up to the hot springs, we were excited to head further south where more snowy peaks awaited. Our sole problem was one of choice - there were too many stunning options to choose from, and our remaining free time was achingly short of what we needed to fit them all in. There were a few must do's on our list, recommendations from multiple travellers we'd met along the way, and one of these was a stay in beautiful Wanaka. On our way there we stopped at the crystal clear appropriately named Blue Pools,

where we stopped for a while to perfect our skipping stones technique.

It was still early when we arrived in Wanaka so we headed straight for the library. One of the Toronto high schools Jacob wanted to apply for required a written exam (scheduled for December 3rd 10 am, no flexibility allowed!) and we needed an objective proctor to observe, sign and submit the completed test. We were fortunate to find a friendly librarian who was willing to take on the job, so we made the arrangements with her and then set off to see our surrounds.

Our traditional post hike celebratory dinner was gourmet burgers and chips at "Red Star Burger Bar", and afterwards we had time to walk up Wanaka's Iron Mountain.

We could just glimpse the snow-topped peaks through the clouds.

The next morning we stepped out the back door of our cabin into the sun,

 

then went into town. Paul and Jacob worked at the library preparing for the exam, and Kyra, Tom and I shopped for groceries and played at the park. We also scouted out a four wheel drive rental which we needed for our planned afternoon outing to see Rob Roy glacier. The drive to the glacier was along a bumpy road that would have shaken our rented 2WD lemon to bits, and we needed the high clearance of the jeep when we forded the water filled pits in the road. 

We were especially glad for the 4x4 after coming across a couple of temporarily stranded backpackers who'd tried to do cross in a two wheel and drowned their engine (we helped push their car out of the way and they said they'd just wait until it dried out and then proceed back to town).

Despite the minor hazards the drive was utterly gorgeous, and we arrived at the trailhead awed by the mountains all around.

To get to the glacier we first passed through green pastures dotted with sheep and cattle,

then crossed a lengthy suspension bridge

and headed up through the forest to the vantage point.

The glacier was somewhat obscured by clouds and mist by the time we got to the outlook, but at least the rain had resulted in dozens of waterfalls.

It cleared a bit for our walk back along the river

and we made the return drive along the gravel road without incident.

As scheduled, Jacob wrote his exam on the 3rd, then we checked out of our cabin and drove to Queenstown, the self-proclaimed adventure capital of the world.  It was pouring rain so the extent of our adventure was to head to the Reading Cinema and live vicariously through James Bond in Spectre while the kids laughed through Hotel Transylvania II.  Thankfully, the sun was shining once we emerged and we hit the road for another spectacular drive next to the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu to the tiny village of Glenorchy.

We set up camp just outside town at Lake Sylvan, the mountain ranges towering above us.

We were a little cold as the sun set, but stayed warm enough bundled together in our tent.

One of Kyra's requests for this trip was to go horseback riding, so after nine months of waiting we finally granted her wish with a trip to Dart Stables. Her horse was Randall, but we rode with celebrity Oscar, one of the horses in the next pack (second in line) who had starred in Lord of the Rings and Prince of Caspian.

The trail leaders regaled us with tales of the filming of the Tolkien trilogy, much of which had taken place in the surrounding mountains and valleys, including one poorly planned battle.  The film-makers raced two hundred horses over the plains, resulting in the steeds bolting out of control, throwing off many of their riders. The scene was included in the film.

Our more peaceful ride was along the river, flooded by recent rains, 

and through fields of lupine that tempted the horses. They stopped regularly to graze despite our efforts to keep them moving.

In the afternoon we walked along the boardwalks of the Glenorchy lagoon that had also featured in the Lord of the Rings (as the Marshes of the Dead that bordered the frontiers of Mordor).

Our next adventure was to hike part of the Routeburn Track. Due to its popularity we weren't able to do the whole journey, so we instead booked the Routeburn Flats hut for just one night and planned to use it as a base to hike as far up the alpine route as we could.

The day of our booking was rainy and cool so we just hiked the 6 km into the hut and then stayed indoors, getting to know our fellow hutmates. There was a group of siblings who had led an incredibly adventurous life, spending a year driving across the Sahara and later sailing the world for five years. Now they reunited regularly for hikes, and the occasion for this one was to celebrate the wedding and honeymoon of the youngest son Chris, a trail running ultra marathoner who stretched his legs by running 10 km (half of it straight up, half straight down) in 40 minutes while the rest of us lazed around inside.

The kids did venture out for a quick dip in the river, but then returned indoors for card games and charades.

When we woke up the sky had cleared and we had the most incredible walk up to the Harris Saddle.

Each step took us higher into the mountains,

and each turn revealed new scenic splendours.

We caught up with our friends from the hut half way up,

and hiked together to the alpine shelter at the summit. Everywhere we looked the vistas were unreal,

and we couldn't stop taking pictures.

The way back down to the end of the trail led past blue lakes

and we finished the trail feeling so grateful for the entire journey. 

That evening we had dinner at The Cow in Queenstown, feasting on garlic bread and wood-fired oven pizza, a welcome change from camping food. We walked from our hotel into town via the waterfront path.

We spent the morning hiking up through the forest 

to the top of the Queenstown Hill where we were greeted by the Jelly Belly mascot.

and then continued up to the parapente launching pad 

for more picture perfect views.

When it was time to come down the kids looked longingly at the gondola but us cheapskates made them hike back instead to save $75 (and for the exercise of course).

To get to our final alpine destination we had another stunning drive, past valleys filled with the non-native but still lovely lupines in spring bloom,

and a quick stop at Lake Punakiki,

for a walk to the icy blue waters.

Mount Cook Village awaited at the end of the lake. It was actually 100 km out of our way, and we had planned to skip the extra miles and give it a miss, but after multiple recommendations and a favourable weather forecast we decided to take the detour. Seeing it when we arrived at twilight we felt so thankful to fellow hikers who had urged us to make it part of our itinerary.

In the morning we set off to the halfway point up the mountain, not high enough to require crampons, just high enough to enjoy a terrific view of the many mountains around us.

We had to climb over 2000 steps (so said a fellow walker so I counted them out of curiosity and yep there were a lot), passing lovely little flowers whose spring bloom contrasted with the snowy peaks. 

Tom requested frequent rest breaks,

which we were glad to oblige both to catch our breath and then lose it again as we took in the surroundings.

We stopped after the two hour ascent at Sealy Tarns, where we had lunch and watched avalanches thunder down Mount Sefton.

We descended much more quickly than the ascent, so once we reached the bottom we had time to meander along another path for a full view of the glacier.

In the afternoon we went for a shorter hike, coming across a helicopter just lifting off with its load of cement. Construction in this area is extremely expensive because of the necessity of transporting all materials by helicopter. 

We had wanted to check out another couple of blue lakes but when we reached them they turned out to be muddy ponds, so Jacob and Tom went for a swim in a glacial stream instead.

We camped that night and had dinner in the camper of a really nice family from Sydney who we'd met on the hike down from Sealy Tarns. They were travelling with their two boys and the boys' grandfather, who was still an enthusiastic hiker despite his age. We were glad to make plans to see them again when we return to Sydney at the end of January.

In the morning I rose to watch the sun rise over the mountains.

It was a little difficult to get out of my warm sleeping bag but the spectacle of the light illuminating the peaks helped me keep my eyes open.

Seeing so much beauty made it easy to rise and shine. 

                                         

Glaciers and hot springs (and some more rain)

Having explored the top of the South Island, we now wanted to venture south to the glaciers and mountains of the west coast. We needed a car to do so, and couldn't find one in Westport that we would be permitted to take all the way to our final NZ destination of Christchurch, so we hopped on the bus for the two hour ride down to Greymouth to pick one up. It was a very scenic ride, with entertaining commentary by our bus driver who rambled about difficult customers, his desire to see bears (borne out of watching countless nature documentaries about Canada from his personal video library) and a lengthy explanation of why he wasn't allowed to make suggestions for accommodation or dining, followed by a recommendation that we eat and stay at the White Hotel in the next town. Unlike intercity bus trips at home, which stop at McDonald's or questionable roadside diners, this one stopped at the Punakaiki Reserve, where we spent the twenty minute pit stop walking the Pancake Rock path above thunderous waves crashing into cliffsides, 

getting sprayed by mists from erupting blowholes, 

and marveling at eroding rock formations that resembled giant stacks of pancakes.

Back on the bus we completed our trip to Greymouth, where we spent what felt like hours working out the logistics of our rental car, accommodation and groceries. The highlight of the shopping trip and an innovation we should have back at home was the basket of free fruit for kids, which somewhat (but not completely) staved off the normal pleading for the plethora of treats from the aisles.

We got a car from a discount agency, and were very pleased with the price, though when we got in the car and discovered ripped upholstery exposing the floor in the back seat, bits and pieces that fell off when we opened the doors, and 219,000 km on the odometer, we wondered whether our bargain was a lemon. Hoping for the best, we set off south on the highway. 

Paul had already mastered the art of driving on the wrong side of the road (though still occasionally used the window wipers to indicate he was turning), but we weren't so prepared for the many one way bridges that appeared, suddenly reducing the two lane highways into what seemed to be a one lane game of chicken. The worst was the first one we came to, which, along with channeling trucks and cars from opposing directions, also had train tracks running down the middle of it, with no signal crossings or indications of whether a train's passage was imminent. We paused to peer into the horizon, didn't see anything approaching, prayed that there was some type of warning measure in place for train engineers, and sped through to safety on the other side.

We stopped for three nights in Franz Josef, the glacier town named after the Austro-Hungarian Emperor. It rained solidly our first and second mornings, so we postponed our planned two day hike and instead explored the region with a few short walks. One trail led us to a viewpoint of the blue Franz Josef glacier, which, like most if not all glaciers in NZ, had dramatically receded in the past several years (I guess they didn't hear the "there is no climate change" argument)

The easy walk through verdant forests was a nice change from our longer hikes.

Further south near the town of Fox Glacier we did a loop around Lake Matheson, known for its iconic views pictured on NZ posters. Plaques around the lake showed scenes of what we were missing - we didn't get to experience the apparently magical reflection of the mountains, but we enjoyed the tranquility nonetheless.

When the rain poured down some more we retreated for hot chocolate, which probably impressed the kids more than the view.

Fox Glacier itself was similarly enshrouded in mist.

but the tops of the towering cliffs all around still showed through.

The rest of the rainy time we spent indoors, making meals and catching up on journals (we always seem to be a week or two behind), and also visiting the Kiwi wildlife centre that in many ways was a serious tourist trap, but did undertake some genunie kiwi conservation. We went into the darkened kiwi habitat exhibit to see adult and juvenile kiwis silently skittering past ferns and behind rocks, lit dimly by infrared light which the nocturnal kiwis can't see. We opted for the behind the scenes tour to the kiwi incubation centre in the basement, where the survival rate of 70% compares with just 2% in the wild due almost entirely to predation by introduced stoats (relatives of the ferret). The young kiwis' defensive technique of curling into a ball and sitting still is an evolutionary strategy effective against their natural avian predators, but tragically turns them into easy prey for the mammalian invaders.

After the kiwis have grown in size, and acquired the aggressive defensive fighting techniques that characterize the adult of the species, they are transported to island refuges where they adjust to the wild, then brought back to the mainland habitat where they once were so plentiful.

As promised, the sun shone bright on our third morning, and we rose to see the mountains in their full glory behind our cabin.

After a quick stop to see Fox Glacier in the sun,

we drove to the start of the Copeland Track for our two day hike. Treacherous during rainy weather, it had reopened to hikers just the afternoon before, but we wondered if we were actually going to make it since we had to ford a rushing river to get from the gravel parking lot to the start of the track. Fortunately things got a lot easier after that, though at times we were up to our ankles in mud, and we had to watch our step on the slippery rocks.

We stopped for lunch at the riverside in view of the snowy mountains,

then began the main ascent that took us up into the downs. 

Continuing up, we watched nervously as each of the kids crossed the maximum one person bridges suspended high over the boulders and rushing water below.

Besides the incredible views, the reward for the 17 km of mostly uphill walking was the hot springs, just a hundred meters away from our sleeping hut. They sprang from several places, including the boiling hot lobster pot,

but we settled ourselves into a few of the larger shallows, basking in the heat,

staying in as long as we could bear it and gazing with incredulity at the mountains ringing our private oasis.

I rose early the next morning to watch the sunrise over the mountains -

it was easy to get out of bed knowing the hot springs awaited. Our hike back down was just as stunning,

but easier because we now knew where to cross the little streams,  

and which boulders to scrabble over alongside the river.

The deep mud puddles on the track had mostly dried, and the final river to cross had receded,

making it easy to get to the finish line!