Omarama-Lindis Valley-Arrowtown-Te Anau - 2nd day in New Zealand

January 25, 2014

It was cold throughout the night and still is when I set off around 8:30am. I had set my alarm for 6:30am, but it took me a while to get everything ready, so I didn't leave Omarama until 8:30am. But that's okay because the clouds are still hanging low and it's quite misty due to the coolness of the night.

Lindis Valley

Today, my journey takes me through what feels like the land of the Hobbits, through Middle-earth. There are gentle hills that are brown to anthracite-colored, sparsely covered, and at times it feels like a lunar landscape. Lindis Valley is completely deserted and at times I'm driving here without encountering any other cars. I feel like I'm on a different planet, that's how abstract the landscape is here. It's 11 degrees, not really summery. On top of that, there's a nasty wind and every photo stop is refreshing.

Lindis Valley

So I continue along this country road towards the south and initially have Arrowtown in my sights, a small town near Queenstown. The taxi driver who took me to the airport in Christchurch recommended it to me.

In Tarras, about 70 km from Omarama, I get a coffee at the gas station, which is also the town. The petrol (unleaded, 91 octane) costs around $2.20 everywhere, so here 30 liters of fuel cost me 60 dollars (around 40 EUR).

Paying at the gas pump is very strange, as it supposedly has a slot for all fuel nozzles. But how does the thing know which pump I want to pay for? I enter the card and a 4-digit PIN. But I don't enter it at all, the card doesn't work, and the machine doesn't spit out a receipt either. The gas station attendant sees my confusion but assures me that it's okay. Well, who knows if I've ever paid 60 dollars here or if I paid 9.50 from the neighboring pump or nothing at all.

I continue driving and drive along Lake Dunstan towards Cromwell. Now I'm driving along the Kawarau River, which connects Lake Dunstan with Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown. On the right side, you can go gold panning. It doesn't hurt, I think, and I get off. It is an old gold mining settlement that you can visit as a museum. But I don't feel like it. I take photos from a distance of the abandoned gold mining town and also of the jumble of huts and the river next to it in the deep gorge.

http://www.goldfieldsmining.co.nz/

After a short drive, I see an opportunity for bungee jumping (Kawarau Bridge Bungee) and you can watch for free. Probably to attract people, but I'm only lured there for photography. From the bridge, it drops 43 meters into the gorge and into the water for 130 dollars and at best 20 seconds. Some people even dip their hands into the emerald green water. There's a raft waiting at the bottom to release and pick up the jumper from the rope. I wouldn't dare to do it. The sun is shining now, very nice.

In Arrowtown, I arrive around noon. And behold, the place is really nice. It's a bit touristy, but it's a historic town of old gold miners. You can buy original nuggets as pendants or even gold dust.

I settle for a coffee and ice cream, stroll through the only street in town (apart from a few residential streets), and after about an hour I continue to Queenstown. But the hustle and bustle there is not my thing. At first, the sky is again full of clouds and among all the super cool backpackers and masses of Chinese tourists, buses, and tourist shops, I can't find anything that really stands out. However, I bravely find a parking space and hurry to McDonald's to quickly get a coffee and something to eat because I don't want to stay here and waste time on what is supposedly a nice lunch. It's 2:00pm when I walk in here, and I'm not yet sure what I really want to do today. I wanted to go to Queenstown, but after seeing it and - apart from the scenery around it - not seeing anything that reminds me of the beauty and tranquility of New Zealand, I leave the town at 3:00pm, look for a road that runs high above the town to get a panoramic view, and I'm happy that the sun comes out. There are already amazing houses up here, with fantastic views, and now I understand why some people find Queenstown beautiful. But the town center is like "Ballermann" in New Zealand.

Queenstown

Well, now what? Te Anau, towards Fiordland NP, is still 170 km away, and before that, there's Kingston and Mossburn, where I could potentially find accommodation. So, I set off. The drive to Kingston is always along Lake Wakatipu, which stretches along Queenstown like a long worm to the south. In Kingston, nothing really excites me, so I continue.

The landscape is beautiful, mountains, hills, sheep, solitude. So, I decide to continue through Mossburn and really aim for Te Anau. Somehow, I have it in my mind that the weather will be bad on Sunday, and now towards evening, the clouds are clearing and the sun spreads beautiful photo light.

It's about 6:30pm when I arrive in Te Anau. The first motel is full, and I start to sweat. There's no more going forward from here. But the place looks very lively. Small but with lots of tourists. Hopefully, they haven't booked all the beds.

I can get a room for 114 dollars at the second hotel. Not cheap, but I don't want to spend another hour searching and then find that it's already taken.

I walk down to Lake Te Anau, which is 50m from the hotel. Beautiful panorama. At the tourist information, I see the weather forecast for tomorrow. It's going to be rainy and cloudy. Max. 16 degrees. So, I get in the car and drive to Manapouri. I actually wanted to go there tomorrow, but the view of the Fiordland National Park there is supposedly very beautiful, and that's not something you want to do in rainy weather. 20 minutes later, I take photos there, drive around a bit, and in a big loop back to Te Anau.

Lake Manapouri

On many meadows here, there are not only sheep but also plenty of elk.

The light is beautiful, the sun is trying to reach against the clouds rolling over the mountains from the water.

It's around 9:00pm when I arrive in Te Anau opposite the hotel and stumble into a pizzeria that happens to be run by Germans. So, I better not let any German travel guides lie around... There's only internet in the hotel lobby, so I sit there chatting with Martina until midnight and transfer my first 1000 photos onto the tablet.

There are about 30 hotel guests sitting in the lobby, checking all their emails, etc. Only a British couple insists on using Skype, and "the line is soooo bad" - so everyone can hear the loud conversation whether they want to or not. The content of the conversation is completely trivial and could easily be left out. Well, I go to bed at midnight and am happy about such a great day. Lake Tekapo - that will always be remembered by me and will be one of the most beautiful places on Earth for me, just like Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island a few years ago.

Distance traveled: 450km