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| Mt. Cook ( middle ). 12,313ft |
Bus drivers. I have now experienced several Kiwi bus drivers. They are supplied with head-set microphones to speak to the passengers and give commentary on the journey, ie they are sort of travel guides as well. This sounds as if it should be an interesting and amusing service and, indeed, sometimes it is. However! Are you aware of something called 'Karaoke Syndrome'? Give some people a mike and they just will not shut the f**k up however tedious, untalented and unamusing they are!!!!! I remember well, with horror, that pillock driver on the bus tour over the Golden Gate in San Francisco who even bollocked passengers for daring to talk to one another during his non-stop boring monologue. Railway officials in UK are another example. That damned mike gives them the power to show off their total lack of oratorical skills and/or boss people around and there is nothing we poor captive pax can do about it. Well, unfortunately, Brian, our driver on this bit of the journey was a bit like that. He also had a further irritating habit of repeating himself endlessly and saying 'eahh'. or similar, at the end of every sentence, and you could tell he thought himself most amusing. I hasten to add that some of the drivers do a very good, concise, interesting and humorous commentary. Brian, sadly, was not amongst them. I digress.
We journeyed on down via Murchiston and Westport and passed through several small towns with Maori names, frequently stopping for tea and to see the views. I must confess that I consistently fail to recall Maori names. They all end in a vowel, and however hard I try to commit them to memory, I fail. This place ( left ) was called something like Nikinakinu, or Hankipanki, and is famous for it's 'Pancake Rocks' and 'blowholes'. The rocks are formed out of sandstone deposits over the millenia, but scientists have no idea how they have come to form in flat layers. ( enlarge to view ).
Right: This is one of the blowholes. When the tide is coming in sea-water shoots up spectacularly out of this. Not on this day it didn't.
Left: More of these unexplained rock formations. As you can see it is raining. Brian, our tedious driver told us to be back on the bus in half an hour without fail because he 'would not wait, eahh'. He said we should go and look at these things but didn't tell us how long the walk would take. Most of us then had to run flat out back to the bus. He was in the cafe, in no rush. 'No problems mate, eahh'.
We changed bus drivers at Westport; the new one, Peter, was much less loquacious, thankfully. We stopped for another break at a place called 'Upanunda', or something, to have more tea and see the Kiwi in the Kiwi House. It looked remarkably like the one at Rotorua, and equally camera shy. On we went to Franz Josef. This place, or rather it's glacier, was named after the Emperor of that name by an Austrian explorer with a big beard called Julius Von Haast who came to NZ in 1858. ( he later became a British citizen ). The glacier is a popular tourist 'trek' and it takes about 8 hours just to walk to the base. Or you can hire a helicopter ( $350 ) to lift you there and back and climb into ice caves and admire the scenery. Many people do, and I have seen all the photos, so I couldn't see the point. The place is a two street village with extortionately expensive food. They boast of catching local whitebait, for example, and then charge $34 for a plate! Fish and chips at $28. Pull the other one. Anyway, I wanted to go to Queenstown the next morning.
The next day was glorious sunshine and the journey took us through spectacular scenery. The light and colours were intensely bright. And the bus driver, Dave, was quietly and usefully informative.
Right: We passed through Fox Glacier, another popular trekking area up another glacier... just out of sight around to the left.
I got the pic of Mt. Cook, or Aoraki in Maori, and Mt. Tasman ( top of page ) just around the corner from here. It is normally covered in cloud, so we were lucky to see it. The Maori worship 'Aoraki' as a god and therefore consider it disrespectful to stand on top of it. So, of course, that dissuaded me from climbing up it.....plus the fact that it is over 12,000ft high.
Then on down past Bruce Bay ( left ) which provided some good views. Lovely area and we were informed that the west coast of the south island with 15% of the total land area of NZ contains only 1% of the population.
There has been much comment here about all the riots which appear to have plagued the UK. The Kiwis are somewhat bemused by it all.
My theory is that overcrowding ( overpopulation ), 'too many rats in a cage phenomenon', is largely to blame. I thought a solution would be to deport (sentence to transportation ) the animals responsible to an underpopulated country like NZ. Then I thought, what have the poor Kiwis done to deserve that, and also, quite rightly, they take a very dim view on importing vermin. So, I thought again, why not transport the creatures to one of those many uninhabited South Pacific islands, not necessarily in a nuclear testing area, give them a few essentials, plus a few luxury items so they can indulge their hobby of stealing, and let them get on with it? They might learn how to behave more sociably.
Above: Another view of Bruce Bay.
Right: Another pit-stop to view this 90ft waterfall at Thunder Creek.
Onwards to the land of Haast. Herr Haast had a lot of things named after himself. There is the Haast Glacier, Haast Township, Haast Falls, Haast Junction........
..... Haast river ( left ), Haast Bay, Gates of Haast, Haast Village with it's Haast Hotel.......which, for all I know, serves Haastburgers.......
.....up through the Haast Pass ( right ) on towards Wanaka. He even discovered an eagle, now extinct, called, you've guessed correct again, the Haast eagle.
...and another refreshment pit-stop at this charmingly named caff. I was expecting to find a large immigrant population of big red tomato ketchup dispensers here, but was disappointed.
Right: More attractive countryside. As someone reminded me, in this part of the world when you see some panorama worth snapping there is always something more spectacular around the corner. The mountains may only be pimples in comparison with ( have I got that right? ) the Andes, but the scenery is equally if not more dramatic.
Left: Some views over Lake Wanaka. Very unspoilt.........
....and we drove for miles without seeing another vehicle on the road. I suspect it gets a bit busier in the summer. Such is the advantage of travelling 'out of season'.
....and this, I think, is Lake Howea ( Howea the lads! ), just approaching Wanaka. Lots of these southern towns are situated on the shores of lakes with mountain views behind. The non-active glacial ones are absolutely crystal clear.
Right: By the lake shore in Wanaka.
We passed this place just outside Wanaka which is, apparently, an amazing 'village of illusions' vis the 'leaning tower' on the left. It contains physical and optical illusions on a big scale; the pet project of some wealthy and eccentric enthusiast. Our ( informative and pleasant ) driver said that it is a great place to visit. I wish I had known about it in advance.
Right: On approach to Queenstown. This is the river Shotover. You can see old mine workings and scrapings on the banks. In the late 19th century this area was renowned for it's gold deposits. It was profitably mined for gold for many years and was the financial basis for the affluent Queenstown, so named as a town fit for a Queen ( Victoria ).
The road passed several vineyards and wineries, one of which, a smart looking place, was called Gibbston Valley. I think we were told that this was the first winery/vineyard in NZ, or it may just have been the first in this area. It also passes a railway bridge high over the river Kawarau. This is the place where a Mr AJ Hackett and his partner Henry Van Asch invented the 'art' of bungy jumping in 1988. They were given a three month licence to chuck the paying public off the bridge, after experimenting with numerous unsuspecting sheep beforehand no doubt. The authorities and locals were cynical and sniggered behind their hands. The rest is history and Messrs Hackett and Van Asch are rather wealthy as a result.
Left: That bridge over the river Kawarau. The very first commercial bungy site.
Right: ....and into Queenstown, another town on a pristine lake. It is surrounded by a mountain range called The Remarkables. Queenstown provides entertainment on an epic scale. It has taken tourist activities to new unforeseen heights. The imaginative operators have invented many novel ways in which profitably to terrify hapless punters in the air, on the mountain or in the water, or all three together. As you may hear....
More news of my stay in Queenstown to follow. If I survive.
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