Franz Josef to Wanaka

In our last post about the Southern Alps, we talked about how spectacular the nearly vertical mountains were.  The mountains are the result of the Australian Tectonic Plate dipping under the New Zealand Plate and are the fastest-growing mountains in the world.  Our first traverse of the Alps was from east to west, and we saw a road sign that showed an 18 percent grade going down.  Quite impressive, and we were glad our Mercedes bus had really good brakes.  Margo was glad we were not on the motorcycle!

We arrived in Franz Josef at the Rainforest Retreat Deluxe Tree Hut, thrilled to see there were no trees to climb to reach our accommodation! 

 Nestled in the trees, at ground level, we had an incredible, large suite with all the necessities of life – air conditioning (Mark), good in-room coffee (Margo), a comfy bed, and a nice shower (both.) The lodging was one of the most relaxing we have been at; many of us suggested we just stay for a few days.

Full of excitement about visiting the Franz Josef Glacier, one of the steepest glaciers in New Zealand, we signed up for an off-road ATV adventure tour the following day.  Although rain was forecast, we were undaunted as the website proclaimed, “The Wetter, The Better!” Raingear, including jackets, pants, and boots, were provided for us to ride a quad ATV through “a beautiful Jurassic rainforest, splash through rivers, and explore an ancient glacier riverbed.  Enjoy our incredible backdrop of the spectacular Southern Alps and Franz Josef Glacier as you follow your guide through our tracks.”

 The following morning, we woke to the sound of heavy rain falling on the trees and all around us.

 Margo spoke first, “Honey, I don’t want to go do the ride today.  You go ahead.  I’ll just rest.”

 After walking to breakfast in the downpour, Mark responded, “You know, I don’t know if I want to do it either.”

 So, we didn’t.  Instead, we laid around and enjoyed the rain falling through the trees.  We did some laundry and later walked down to a little local café, The Alice May, which had an interesting story.  The story was interesting for a lazy, rainy day, but doesn’t warrant repeating.

The next morning, we loaded the van at 7:00 am, had a quick breakfast, and then went off for a drive to Wanaka. Along the way we stopped for a short walk around Lake Matheson, nestled in ancient forest and famous for mirror views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. After crossing a suspension bridge, we walked past tall kahikatea and rimu as well as a rich profusion of smaller plant varieties. 

Once we got to the Jetty Viewpoint, we were stunned by the perfect mirror reflection of the mountains on the lake.

The reflecting properties are due to the dark brown color of the water – the result of organic matter leached from the humus (dark organic soil) of the forest floor.

After lunch, we visited the Aspiring Biodiversity Trust – the name “Aspiring” comes from the name of the mountain, Mount Aspiring. It was notable, yet disconcerting, how non-native wildlife keeps getting introduced to get rid of the previously imported non-native wildlife that has now become a problem.  Nonetheless, the ornithologists and ecologists are proud of and committed to the work they do.

After hearing about the restoration efforts, we had another beautiful walk through another ancient forest, this time with a focus on the birds. 

 One thing we’ve found interesting is that when the tour company write-up declares something as “one of the real highlights of your trip,” it turns out to be more hype than reality.  Margo chose to take a lazy afternoon at the hotel in Wanaka, while Mark went to visit the Criffel Station for a tour of the deer farm to see the source of venison in New Zealand and much of the world.  He learned some things but was mostly underwhelmed.

 There were about 80,000 deer in various areas around the farm.  The farm is a beautiful area with thick, lush grass and rolling hills.  They cut off the horns twice a year to keep the deer from hurting each other and as a source of “velvet.”  The velvet is used in various cosmetics.  They separate the males until the mating season, when they put them with the females.  Mark was quite impressed that one male can impregnate about 25 or so females with a 97 percent success rate.  Our guide, the operations manager, pointed out that the males lose a lot of weight during the mating season because they are so busy. 

Below are a few more pictures along our beautiful drive to share.

 The next two days are some of the real highlights of the trip – Milford Sound and Queenstown, so we’ll wrap up this post and start the next.