Out & About in Wanaka

Real-time

We're back in Queenstown after our visit to Moke Lake where it rained virtually solid for 5 days and 5 nights, blew a gale for most of the time and was very cold! There were a couple of brief sunny patches when the cloud and mist lifted to reveal a light dusting of snow on the surrounding mountains and then it would close in and the rain would start again. I got caught in the rain at the far end of the lake, I was determined to walk the lake loop before we left. And David got caught in a heavy downpour while packing up and hitching up as we were leaving. And it's still raining today. 

We actually didn't mind the weather though, we were snug and warm in the van; the diesel heaters really earnt their keep and we were able to catch up on a lot of computer work (especially because there was no internet connection to interrupt the work flow). We also collected enough water to fill our tanks and drinking containers 10 times over- it's been a long time since we've not had to cart or top up water from taps or other water sources. And we had the place virtually to ourselves, if you don't count the 13 retired rams that arrived bedraggled and limping mid week! Their female cohorts were loaded onto a stock truck and carted away.

I know some of you will be waiting for the Skippers Road blog but I thought I’d tidy up some loose ends from our visit to Wanaka & Queenstown during April (this was before we returned to Winton). We’re now back here hoping to explore the road to Glenorchy and beyond. If this weather ever clears.

I’m hoping these posts will be mostly pictorial, with some brief descriptions (famous last words?). So here we go- 

Out & About in Wanaka

Glendhu Bay, Lake Wanaka- David returning in the Takacat from a day of fishing….and catching zilch. Lake Wanaka was not a very productive lake for him, but he thoroughly enjoyed the hunt.

The last of a long hot summer at Glendhu Bay; warm days, calm waters, beautiful sunrises, crisp mornings, autumn colours and no snow on Treble Cone which overlooks the camp ground. 

‘Faded Dreams of Summer'

Easter signalled the end of the holidays for a multitude of caravans at Glendhu Bay Holiday Park. They are stored, for their owners, at the far end of the camp. Lined up on the access roads, drapes & blinds drawn, in hibernation for the winter. 

At the height of the summer season there are over 1000 campers holidaying at Glendhu Bay. Some people have been coming to this camp for 40-50 years, there is even a couple that have holidayed here for the last 62 years!

I visited Wanaka’s famous ‘lone willow’ for the third time…

…and captured a combination of the past visits- autumn colours and very wet feet.

The lone willow began its life as a fence post, marking the end one of the many fences that end thigh deep in the water around the lake- this stopped stock from walking around the end and allowed for fluctuations in the lake level. The fence that was here was part of Wanaka Station which is now part of residential Wanaka.

On the left is the Lone Tree in April 2014 (the one above was in April this year) and on the right, June last year. I see the same shag is still in residence too.

Enjoying the sun on Wanaka’s lakefront.

The Gypsy Fair came to town for their last gathering of the season… (click on the photo to enlarge)

They were lined up for a photo shoot just as I passed by which was very convenient of them.

Looking out over Roys Bay from the Cenotaph above the town.

While David went fishing I went hunting for autumn colours and found them right around the lake and along the Clutha River.

Although I did get distracted when I found a patch of wild flowers which included California Poppies and Queen Anne Lace with bees buzzing about.

These are honey bees, the good guys…

If you're unsure (and can pause a moment while jumping about waving your arms) check their legs; wasps (the nasty beggars) have yellow legs (amongst other things).

Autumn at Albert Town camping ground on the banks of the mighty Clutha River, just down from its outlet from Lake Wanaka.

Autumn wouldn’t be complete with out the brilliant reds of the briar rose hips which are everywhere…

… the subtle crimsons and maroons of the red oak trees.

We visited the popular and fascinating Puzzling World on a hot and busy day. And then we got lost in their maze. We actually had to use the quick (get me out of here!) exit. Which in fact was still hard to find. I felt sorry for an older lady who was wandering about looking for the same exit, she was lost too. We couldn’t help her, as even though we could see and talk to her, we didn’t know where to direct her, to get to where we were by the exit. If you have 1-2 hours spare try the maze. It frustrated the hell out of us both; we’re not ones to be contained.

Imagine visiting these loos feeling a little worse for wear.

And that was Wanaka.

A Return to Wanaka

Back to catching up on the last of the blogs from a few weeks ago-

After a lovely few days at Ohau B Canal near Twizel it was time to move on. I thoroughly enjoyed Ohau and I’m looking forward to returning sometime in the summer to explore the area further, and perhaps David will also have better luck with the salmon next time.

The landscape heading up the Ahuriri River valley towards the Wether Range and Lindis Pass was stunning. You’ll recall we’d had the first snow fall of the season while parked at Ohau (not the more recent ‘Big Snow’), the remnants of that first fall looking like a dusting of icing sugar across the tops.

This first photo(below) is approaching Lindis Pass Summit and looks totally different to the second photo which was taken on my recent trip back to the MacKenzie Basin to see the snow.

Although, this second photo is heading down from the summit- you can see the back of the summit sign on the right, further down the road.

I was looking for an area for David to pull into so I could take some scenery photos before we left the Lindis Valley behind us but unfortunately the one I directed him into turned out to be one big muddy mess. David was not impressed. And nor was I when I couldn’t find any decent shots to take and my shoes were covered in mud.

We headed back to our favourite Wanaka camping ground, The Outlet, for a few days. The campground is beside Clutha River's outlet from Lake Wanaka, hence the name. You can compare the autumn photos from our last visit in the link above.

The road to the camp ground is part of the lake and river reserve and the campground is set back up side roads in amongst the maunka to the left. I don’t think the weather must have been too great on our last visit as I don’t recall seeing Mt Aspiring across the lake ahead of us. It must have had it's head in amongst the clouds for most of the time.

We set up camp on a slightly elevated site with views out to the river and lake, the level plateau we parked on last time had been roped off due to the recent rain but we were quite happy with this spot as there were just a few permanents at this end of the camp, the overnighters were sited closer to the entrance. It was nice to sit in the slide out with the warm sun streaming through the windows all day. The trade off was the front door opening into the cold shade. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Wanaka town was looking pretty as a picture in the winter sunshine.

Looking across the Wanaka Marina to Roys Peak Conservation Area. I became very familiar with the marina during this trip, I wonder if you can guess why?

Another shot for me of the famous Wanaka lone willow. I had good intentions of getting up early and shooting it at sunrise but it was just too darn cold and I was just too darn lazy. It’ll keep.

We took a drive out towards Mt Aspiring National Park stopping just before Glendhu Bay to take a photo of Mt Aspiring, the most prominent feature in all the views as we wound our way around the lake. It looked pretty impressive towering above the surrounding mountains especially as it was still a long way up the Matukituki Valley to the mountain itself.

We stopped to watch a group of army guys climbing the rocks at Hospital Flat, an acclaimed rock climbing area near Diamond Lake. Hospital Flat was not named because it hospitalised climbers, it was where farmers & drovers left ailing stock to convalesce before they were moved further up the valley.

We stopped at the Diamond Lake carpark for lunch, we came here last time in the early autumn and the colours from the poplars and willows along the river were stunning. Now it’s a more muted tone. I can see the road to the Treble Cone Ski Field in the top right of this photo, the skifield wasn’t open but it couldn’t have been too far away as it snowed a couple of times while we were in Wanaka.

After lunch we drove back towards Wanaka turning off just past Hospital Flat and taking a side road up the west side of Lake Wanaka towards West Wanaka Station where there are a couple of long DOC walks in the Mt Alta Conservation area. We had no intention of hiking them today, we were just tiki-touring and keeping warm inside the ute.

We crossed the temperamental Matukituki River, a river than can be little more than a trickle in the summer that becomes a raging torrent in the winter and spring with the snow melt from the mountains and the many glaciers in the Mt Aspiring National Park. It looks like it took out the bridge at some stage which has now been replaced with a suspension bridge.

We drove through the front paddocks of West Wanaka Station to the end of the track. We always feel a little anxious driving through farms, it feels like we’re trespassing even though they are public access roads.

We stopped at Homestead Bay to have a look around and found these Kereru (native wood pigeons) resting and sunning themselves in a willow tree beside the track. They kept a weary eye on us but were too lazy to move, even when we walked up underneath them.

A vehicle track lead out to the lake’s edge and the braided river mouth of the Matukituki; there’s actually an island that separates some of the braids, that’s how wide the mouth is.

Finished with West Wanaka we headed back towards town and took another side road opposite Glendhu Bay that headed up the Motatapu Valley for about 8kms, ending at a small wooden non-descript bridge and another large high country station. But there was nothing non-descript about what was beneath the bridge or in fact who used to own Motatapu Station. The station once belonged to Shania Twain, the Canadian singer and songwriter. She sold it after her marriage broke up but I'm not too sure who owns it now. Whoever it is they like their privacy too, there are plenty of signs around saying 'Private' or 'No Entry'.

And beneath that bridge lies the Motutapu Gorge, a very narrow and deep chasm that the Motutapu River flows through. It was dark and uninviting on our visit but apparently there’s a very popular swimming hole located in the gorge and reached by following the river upstream from a nearby carpark.

Popular but very dangerous as the ice-melt fed river rushes through the gorge between boulders and over waterfalls. Three years ago a 15 year old boy lost his life in the gorge when his foot became stuck between rocks and he fall over a waterfall backwards. He was submerged and breathing in an air pocket before finally being rescued and flown to hospital over 3 hours later. Sadly hypothermia and the stress of the ordeal caught up with him and he died during the night.

On the way back down the valley David took the opportunity of driving through a fast flowing ford a few times to try and clean some of the mud and cattle poop off the ute. Secretly, I think he just wanted to hoon it for a minute or two.