Tdiddy12

Day 17 - Nelson to Punakaki
Lot's to see today but we are taking our time. Went into Nelson to visit the Suter Art Gallery and the Queen's Gardens. Great 1-2 punch because they are right next to each other. Definitely worth a visit. On the road by 11AM. Road from Nelson to Wakefield is pretty easy. Past Belgrove we took the Golden Downs road toward St. Arnaud. There are a number of little roads to take, so I think we took the Golden Downs Rd. You can go to SH63 and backtrack but there are a number of side roads before that. Beautiful drive through rolling hillsides. Got into St. Arnaud, check out the I-Site, then drove straight to Lake Rotoiti, you pull right up to the shore and sit back and look at the most gorgeous lake, I thought I was in Switzerland. Took a break for lunch. This is where a campervan would be nice! Drove back to SH6 and on to Murchison. In Murchison we found a French Cafe run by a guy from the Netherlands. Great coffee and treats. Now you are off through the Buller Gorge. Very curvy, slow down and enjoy the ride. Stopped in Westport and Cape Foulwind. Go to the Seal Sanctuary just down the road a bit.

Tdiddy12

The drive from Nelson to Westport is a great drive. The one thing about NZ is that the roads are in great shape. Yes, they are only two lanes, but very well taken care of, I guess because they are constantly "re-sealing" them as evidenced by a lot of roadwork here and there. After the Seal Colony, again, check this out. It's a straight shot to Punakaki. At first it is countryside and then it starts to get curvy and you are driving right along the ocean. Here there are good sight lines for all. It was raining when we checked in. Too late for Pancake Rocks. Dinner at Pancake Rocks Cafe

tripplanner001

Still following along. The ride across Marlborough Sounds sounds wonderful on a nice day. Did you feel you had adequate time in Nelson and Abel Tasman with 2 nights?

Tdiddy12

Hi Tripplanner!
In a word, NO! If you have the luxury to spend at least a whole day in Nelson, it is well worth it. It's a very nice town and nice restaurants, the streets are very pretty. We spent a short time on an afternoon, Sunday, when many things were closed and then a morning, Tuesday, before we headed out to the West Coast. I feel it deserves more time. As for Abel Tasman, I'm sure we only took a very small bite out of that apple. We took the 10:30AM boat which I believe is seasonal. We aren't trekkers so we were happy with checking out the trip up the coast. We could have gone further, to say Totaranui or Awaroa Bay, but somewhere on Fodors someone said going further up is seeing more great beaches but nothing new. Tonga Quarry was fine for us. So to answer your question, and I know I'm going to get a lot of push back on this, LOL, one day in Abel Tasman was OK for us. I know there is so much more to see. Hope that helps!

Melnq8

Push...push...push

tripplanner001

Tdiddy12, thank you for your response; helpful perspective. Melnq8, LOL.

Tdiddy12

We stayed at Punakaiki Beachfront Motels in Punakaiki. This little area has had a lot of damage over the last three months from storms on the West Coast so there were giants Catepillars up on the break outside our room. From here up to the Pancake Rocks it was a single lane and we walked up to the Cafe to have dinner. Rain has stopped an a beautiful moon. Had a huge room on the Motel. It is a decent place to stay but we were forewarned that the bulldozers would be starting at 7AM...and they did! In the morning, which is Day 18, we went up to Pancake Rocks on our way south. There's one thing to be said about NZ, the facilities in their parks and natural wonders are so well done. Pancake Rocks is simply amazing to look at and it is laid out, the pathways, the stone work, so well that you are integrated into the scene and feel part of it.

Tdiddy12

Day 18 - Punakaiki to Franz Josef
Walked on the beach at Punakaiki, gray day. After our visit to Pancake Rocks we hit SH6 toward Greymouth. This is just another thing to love about NZ. You can be on SH6 all the way from Nelson to Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island. For me to go to dinner in Santa Monica I am on the 101 to the 405 to the 10! I guess we do have the 5 freeway, Seattle to San Diego. I digress. Pulled into Greymouth just in time to buy gas and stop at the Left Bank Art Gallery on the Mawhera Quay and have a cup of coffee at Ali's next store. Good coffee. Met a guy sitting next to me who just bought a new I Phone. ( More on that later) Stopped by a jade store because we haven't actively contributed as much to the economy as we should have. Got 4 necklaces for friends back home. It started coming down pretty heavy and I hate to say it but as we drove through Hokitika, it was pouring rain so we didnt' stop. At Ross you leave the coast and start driving through cattle and sheep country. At one point we actually had to stop while a rancher moved his 200 head of cattle across the road to a new pasture. And it's still pouring.

Tdiddy12

Pulled in to Franz Josef in the rain, about 5PM. Staying at the Terrace in town. Another great thing about NZ is that all of us "tourists" are hitting the same places. And the towns are small so you run into each other. Ran into our neighbors yesterday from Punakaiki. They did the Franz Josef hike in the pouring rain. We're doing it tomorrow. Had dinner at the Snake Bite Brewery. Franz Josef is really cool. Lot's of young people, tramping, hitch hiking and generally hanging out. The owner of the Terrace took a group of us into the forest to see glow worms. The stars were out so we are hoping for a clear day for our hike tomorrow

Melnq8

How was the Snake Bite Brewery? Currently working on my restaurant list for our upcoming trip.

Tdiddy12

It was good. We had a hamburger because they had a nightly special of a beer and a hamburger for $20. The hamburger was huge, we only ate half of it and ate the rest the following day. There's a lot of restaurants on that strip and Franz Josef was one of the cheaper places to eat surprisingly. I guess because all the competition is right next to each other. We ate at the Alice May the next night which is right next to the Terrace hotel just off SH6 and it was good also. I little more expensive. When are you going again, Mel?

Melnq8

Thanks Tdiddy. Leaving in two weeks. It's been three years since we were last in NZ, so doing my due diligence.

Tdiddy12

The Snakebite also had music. We really lucked out with Franz Josef because we had one full sunny day with no rain!

Tdiddy12

Day 19 - Franz Josef hike
We took our time this morning. Walked over to the I-Site, they have some nice wall maps that give you a sense of the trails and terrain. Drove to the parking lot at Franz Josef, good size parking lot, packed, but there's seems to be a steady flow of people leaving and arriving. Great day but a little chilly. I think they say the hike is 1 and half hours, but we took three! So many places to take pictures. It's a moderate hike at best, pretty flat, rises at the end of course as you get closer to the Glacier. Then you get to the end, the wind is blowing like crazy and everyone is huddled around getting there pictures. It's so fun because you feel so in touch in away with everyone standing around. Everyone is taking pictures for each other, just a wonderful feeling, as the wind is blowing you off your feet!

Tdiddy12

Next to the I-Site in town are the Glacier Hot Pools, not thermal, kind of expensive but after our hike, we decided that's where we are going to spend our afternoon, as did a few others I recognized from the Glacier hike. Sitting in the hot pools discussing health care with Canadians, Kiwis, English and Americans! I think all world conferences should start with a hot tub. Today we are going to discuss Nuclear arms... but first...a hot tub! Had dinner at the Alice May. Good restaurant, luckily we were inside because it started to rain pretty hard. There were quite a few people outside so up come the umbrellas. Relaxed after dinner and packed for Wanaka, our next destination. Everytime we've told people we are going there, they say, "Oh we love Wanaka!"

Tdiddy12

DAY 20 -WANAKA
Walked around and said goodbye to Frank Josef. Clear today and I can see a glacier from town, but it’s not the “Frank Josef” it‘s another one! This place is surrounded by glaciers. Don’t want to leave Franz Josef but we must. Long drive to Wanaka. First stop is Lake Matheson. Almost didn't stop because it’s so close and we want to put on some miles but we have to see it. Overcast so the reflections weren’t as good as we hoped, but still nice. On the walk we say a single little blue mushroom, unlike any I have seen before. Had hot chocolate at the cafe taking in the Mountain View, then on the road again. Past Bruce Bay, Lake Paringa, Haast and over the Haast pass. We’ve been pretty lucky with the tour buses so far, but that ends on the pass! We play leapfrog with a bus of Chinese tourists. To be fair it could be any type of tourists, but when the bus stops, 50 yellling people destroy any sense of serenity you might be experiencing

Tdiddy12

Tdiddy12

Day 21 - Casual day in Wanaka. I got up early for my morning walk about and walked through the Wanaka Station Park to the beach. As I came out of the park onto the beach, there were about 30 people taking pictures of this tree! The Wanaka tree. In all of my research I had yet to read about this tree, apparently the most photographed tree in NZ! As I'm talking with people and taking pictures, a guy standing there said, Hey remember me, I met you in Greymouth. Shout out to Stuart from South Africa. He was the guy w/ the new I-Phone. He's a model and a photographer traveling on break from assignments. My wife, said "oh, I remember him"!!!

Melnq8

Interesting about the tree Tdiddy - in my dozen+ trips to the SI, I'd never heard of it. Here's the full story:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/...rmined-to-live

Diamantina

Tdiddy12, been following along. I enjoy/envy your positive, receptive attitude and your sense of humor.

Melnq8, I nearly passed out from the shock--you've never heard of the Wanaka tree! Maybe because you've tried to avoid crowds. It's nearly been loved to death, with kids often climbing it. Now they've asked people to help protect it:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/...-willow-a-rest
Willows are pretty tough, which is why fast-growing, exotic willows were introduced and widely planted in NZ, to prevent erosion and to provide fodder for stock (though fallen branches can cause waterway problems). But this lone tree gets more than its share of love and abuse.