Road Trip!
Taking advantage of these few January weeks to myself, I struck out on a road trip to the West Coast of the South Island - one of the most incredible regions we have visited so far in NZ. It's tourist season down here, which means there are a lot of people on the road and EV chargers can be hard to come by...
Lake Tekapo, one of the waypoints on my way west, is famous for its lupins, which bloom from November to January. I was lucky to catch the tail end of the show.
I decided to take a little detour to Lake Hāwea, one of the gorgeous glacial lakes that stripe the South Island high country.
The lake was too blue and crystal clear to resist, apparently. I had to take a dip.
Back on course, we arrive at the first hike - the Haast Pass Lookout trail, accessible right off of State Hwy 6.
The landscape here on the west coast is dramatic - dense, ancient (perhaps even Gondwana-era ancient!) forest on Paleozoic rock that has been thrust "rapidly" into the sky in the last 5 million years by the collison of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. Sandwiched on a narrow strip of land between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Alps, the forest displays incredible biodiversity across dramatic elevation changes... in other words, while you pay for it in terms of steep climbs, you are rewarded with amazing sights & revelations.
At the top of the hike, I attempted to use the timer function on my phone.
Let's try that again.
Across the road, I headed off on a longer hike, along the Bridle Track that used to be one of the only overland routes to the west coast.
My first swinging bridge!
One of the granddaddy trees of the forest (beech, I think)!
Made it to Davis Flat! Where I was promptly bitten by multiple sandflies (scourge of the westlands). Davis Flat is also right by the main road, which, as you can see, cuts right throught the forest, making for an amazing drive even if you don't venture out onto any hiking trails. You might be wondering if I was tempted to hitchhike back up to where I parked my car.
Gorgeous day, great hike. And a good warm-up for the main event here on this west coast trip, stay tunt.