Queenstown-Cadrona Range-Haast Pass-Haas - Day 4 in New Zealand

01/27/2014

8 days ago, I left Stuttgart - I feel like I've been traveling for weeks. I've seen so much already!

The sun is shining from an almost cloudless sky as I get up at 7:30 am. From the balcony, I have a fantastic view of Lake Wakatipu and the mountains around Queenstown. I decide to spend some time in Queenstown and drive to Wanaka later. Just after 9, I'm already on the cable car up the mountain ($27). It's still empty up there and there's no queue at the cable cars either. Stunning view of turquoise water and mountain peaks.

The sun is shining and the sky is blue - what a sight! I realize that London is about 18,000 km away, so Germany must be about 16,000 km away.

I don't have much time because I want to take a boat trip at 11 am, which only costs $25, while everything else costs around $40. I rush down to the lake by car, find a parking space for 2 hours and $4.50, and walk quickly to the pier. Buy a ticket and then rush around looking for a coffee or sandwich because I haven't had breakfast yet. I only have 20 minutes and once again, all I see are burgers or sandwiches for $12.50, which probably take another 30 minutes to prepare. In a bakery, I get a quick coffee and a croissant (the smallest one I've ever had, but it costs $3.50). Back to the pier and onto the boat. I sit on the top deck and enjoy 90 minutes of views of a beautiful landscape and incredibly beautiful houses by the lake. I start talking to a New Zealander who invites me to his and his wife's place in Christchurch when I say that I'm not going there anymore, just flying from there.

I say goodbye at the pier and hurry to my car because the parking meter has expired. I head towards the gondola again and buy a ticket to the bird park for $42. I finally want to see a kiwi.

Although not a bird, there is a Tuatara (bridge lizard) in an enclosure at first. The only animal in the world with 3 eyes and a remnant from the time 240 million years ago. These creatures now exist only in isolated specimens and only in New Zealand.

Tuatara

I walk to the Kiwi House and try desperately to take a decent photo without flash - without success. The two kiwis also ignore the feeding, but I learn that kiwis live on average up to 60 years and there have even been female kiwis that have bred at the age of 54. They only give birth to about 1 chick per year. Although a kiwi is about the size of a chicken, their egg is 6 times the size of a chicken's egg. The male incubates for about 80 days, the female is not responsible for that. There are 6 species of kiwis, the females are always larger and have the longer beaks. Kiwis have stunted wings but extremely strong legs. You can see that when they enthusiastically peck the ground with their long beaks and try to pull things out. They are very adaptable and live in forests, on farms, in grasslands, etc. They eat everything from worms to insects and snails.

They are nocturnal and sleep during the day. Nevertheless, I am sure that I saw a kiwi yesterday at Milford Sound. The only thing that succeeds is a photo of a photo ;-)

The sun is shining and shining - what a treat. I drive towards Frankton because I want to go to an electronics store as my MP3 player is not charging anymore. When I find the store I was looking for, it turns out that it's probably not the charging cable that's broken, but the player itself.

So I just rush next door to the supermarket, buy bananas, water, and cookies, and then I'm back in the car.

Although I'm heading towards Wanaka, I'm not taking Highway 6 but going via the Cardrona Range, which is a scenic drive.

Crown Range Road (View towards Queenstown)

After crossing the Crown Range, Crown Range Road becomes Cardrona Valley Road. The country road winds beautifully up to just over 1,000 meters and offers beautiful views of the surroundings, the valley, and the many mountains.

It is the highest paved road in New Zealand. I wind my way through hills, barely wooded and brown, with streams and wild lupines next to me, blue sky and sunshine above me. A dream!

I bypass Wanaka and drive on Highway 6 (a single-lane road of poor quality) through hills until I have a breathtaking view of the next lake, Lake Hawea. After about 30 km, you pass a narrow strip of land, the Isthmus Peak, from where you can see both lakes - Lake Hawea on the right and Lake Wanaka on the left.

Isthmus Peak

Before me, snow-capped peaks appear again and again - I could take photos non-stop. I briefly remember that there was a landslide on the Haast Pass, which I am now heading towards, and the road is temporarily closed. It is already half past 5 and I pass a warning sign in Makarora that I can't read quickly. I remember a sign with a notice about something closing at 6:30 pm - could that be the highway? I press a little harder on the gas pedal, ignore the picturesque historic hotel in Makarora, and speed up. I rush around the curves, ignoring the waterfalls rushing down from the slopes, some in deep gorges. There is little traffic, and just after the Haast Pass, it is already past 6:15 pm and the road is actually broken. One-lane traffic and people guiding the traffic in each direction and closing at 6:30 pm. I must have been one of the last ones to get through here.

While there were brown mountains and turquoise lakes just now, everything is different after the Haast Pass. It is similar to the scenery just before Milford Sound yesterday, with large ferns, palms, everything looks like rainforest. I continue driving and suddenly see a possum in front of me on the road, happily chewing on a flattened animal.

I reach Haast at 7:00 pm. It's not even a town. Rather a collection of about 5 houses, a public toilet, and a café that looks bankrupt, another one that is still open, and a supermarket.

I check into a backpacker that also has motel rooms and once again, I'm surprised at the price. Basic comfort for $110. In Te Anau, I had a great room for that price.

3 km further is a restaurant where everyone in the area goes to eat, and I have New Zealand lamb for the first time, although it's overcooked and not as good as in some other restaurants in Europe.

Afterwards, I drive over the long bridge across the almost dry Haast River and behind it, I see rainforest, or 'bush' as New Zealanders say.

Haast River Bridge

There is no access to the sea. So I turn back, drive back over the bridge, and soon I'm in the kitchen of my motel/backpacker writing in my diary. I meet a Chinese family with two (!) children. They took a flight over the Fox/Franz Joseph glaciers today. That must have cost about $3,000 for 4 people. We chat for a bit and I help them get internet access, and then I kill another 20 mosquitoes in my room until the day is over for me.

Driving distance: 400 km