West Coast & Central New Zealand | Week 19 | 02/05/24-02/11/24

On Monday we started very relaxed and made our way to the Abel Tasman National Park. The region in front of the national park is characterized by fruit and wine cultivation, so you drive through kilometers of plantations. We first went swimming over the Takaka Pass, from which you have nice views of the coast, to the Riwaka Resurgance, a river with natural pools. The water was excessively cold, but at 26 degrees it was a bit refreshing.

We then went camping to Totaranui, a huge campsite right on the beach in the national park. The next day was beach day. After the last 3 weeks with a maximum of 18 degrees, the temperatures were finally good at 27 degrees. I walked part of the Coastal Track to Goat Bay and spent lunch there. By the way, you can have a very good look at the starry sky and the Milky Way here.

On Wednesday we went via Takaka, Nelson and Blenheim towards Kaikoura. The highway runs mostly along the coast and offers stark views. Near Kaikoura we stopped at a peninsula where a seal colony lives.

On Thursday we continued south via Christchurch. Shortly after Christchurch we stayed overnight. The next day there was a 3-hour drive to Lake Tekapo. The lake is known for its sky blue water. The color comes from fine glacial sediments that flow from the glaciers into the river. The next lake we looked at, Lake Pukaki, is only about 50km west of Lake Tekapo and also has the same water color. We then spent the night near the lake. On Saturday we drove along Lake Pukaki towards Mount Cook. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and rainy. So we headed back to Twizel, a town near the campsite. Luckily, sun and clear skies were forecast for Sunday, so we were still able to do our hike along Mount Cook. The Hooker Valley Track, which offers spectacular views, ends at Mount Cook's glacial lake. Once there you could see small icebergs in the lake. Unfortunately, the lake also looks a bit like a grave for icebergs, which is due to the melting of glaciers. After the 1-hour journey back we went back to Christchurch. We stopped again at Lake Pukaki, which offered a nice view of Mount Cook.