Today started with a yummy “RV-made” breakfast of gluten-free buttermilk pancakes, topped with ghee and nutella.
We then checked out of our Wanaka Holiday Park spot, got a hot tip on a local scenic stop, filled up the tank with diesel (just under $100!), and headed back on the road, toward the West Coast. The scenery was SPECTACULAR!! Mountains, lakes, rivers, fields…changing every few miles, like one of those “Relaxation DVDs”.
As you can see, we stopped on the side of the road a bunch of times for “photo opp’s”, as well as a stop by the Holiday Park-recommended “Blue Pools”, where we walked a bit into the rainforest, crossed a swingbridge over a beautiful river, and enjoyed the scenery of some pretty cool Blue Pools (and some man-made rock formations, too!).
Thanks for the info on the sandfies!
Back in the van and on the road again, we were planning to pass Haast’s Pass before dark, as our Holiday Park tipper told us that they close the pass once the sun goes down and no one gets in or out of town until morning. Apparently, due to the rains, there was a pretty major (and tragic) rock slide recently, so the Pass is closed at dark for safety, as well as maintenance. We experienced a bit of this, firsthand, as we approached a coned-off area of the pass.
The two road-workers informed us that others were doing maintenance ahead and we’d have to wait 20-30 minutes (in our vehicle) before we could continue onward. We were the only vehicle there at that point, so I chatted a bit with the construction guys as mkl made an impromptu lunch in the RV (hummus, cucumber, and avocado on whole meal bread – so good!) During the wait, many more cars pulled up, as did a couple from England who were on bicycles. Ahead, we could see the workers high up on the rock faces, tethered to some semblance of safety, pushing, pulling, prying, and kicking rocks and debris down the steep cliff, onto the road below. Boom! Bang! One after the other. At this point, I was glad we were “held back” and in the “safe zone” (sometimes, it still did feel a bit too close, however!). After a while, the guys upstairs gave the word to the guys on the street, and they let the cars pass. We were the FIRST ones! I felt like the first guy to ride the roller-coaster after they set it up, or the first to drive over a brand-new bridge – yikes! The guys must have done a good job, however, as all was well for our ‘first pass’.
Within a few kilometers, we approached another scenic stopping point (as recommended by one of the road crew guys), so we hopped out of Beethoven, in order to get some shots. Along the way, we saw the biking couple, so we stopped to chat with them a bit. They have been on their bikes for EIGHT MONTHS!! Yes, EIGHT MONTHS!! They have travelled to places all over the world (including riding their bikes from NYC to San Francisco – for charity). We exchanged contact info and congratulations and continued on our ways.
Oh, and the waterfall we walked to after that was pretty cool, too!
We soon reached the coast and got a few brief glimpses of the sea as we wound up and down mountains, around cliffs, and through more outstanding scenery.
Taking this curve (on what felt like a 45-degree decline) in an RV was scary enough, I can’t imagine doing it on a bicycle! And, these curves were all over the island!
We happened upon Knights Point (right on the coast) as the sun was setting over the Tasman Sea. We shared the spot with just one other car of touring kids who were as excited as we were about the sunset and capturing the moment in photographs.
Once the sun dropped behind the clouds on the horizon, we drove onward to explore more of the coast and find a place to sleep for the night.
This is a verrrry long, unlit, single-lane bridge. Yes, at night.
Our handy Wildernessts book led us to a spot at Copland Track which was fairly secluded, but for one other camping couple, and a few empty cars (presumably, trekkers who were on the trail).
The entrance to the camping area. The directions simply said “pull off the road, open the gate” with no other specifics. We are verrrry fortunate we found this as it was not lit and very easy to pass by.
We parked and prepared to pack it in for the night. I walked around the area a bit and met our neighbor, Richard, an older (but very youthful) gentleman who’d been a pilot his whole life and owned a plane touring company out of Lake Tekapo. I told him about the flight we took and he asked about the pilot and the owner and when I told him about Frank who sold his house to buy a touring plane, Richard said he did pretty much the same thing! Must be a popular career choice around here (there are a LOT of scenic flight companies, that’s for sure!)
Meanwhile, mkl was inside preparing our dinner, Moroccan Chickpeas over Organic Brown Basmati Rice, seasoned with smoke and a salty-spice mixture (both from the mall!). We had no wi-fi or phone service and although we had planned to do some “work” after dinner, we both were so exhausted, that we simply went straight to bed!