Haast Pass And The West Coast, 1

After Glenorchy and the Routeburn hike, we decided our business in the south was finished and it was time to head north via the most expeditious route, the west coast. There were surprises along the way...

We drove from Glenorchy back through Queenstown, across
the Crown range again, and stopped to walk a bit of Wanaka;
here, at a lakeside park market

Thunder Creek Falls, near Haast Pass

Among the longer of the many one-way bridges on the South
Island

Opening onto the Tasman Sea

The west coast bush is among the most impenetrable we've seen;
don't even think about the sandflies

Occasional seascape glimpses

Encampment by a historical marker...somebody made it this
far in the expedition of 1846-47

Somehow, it had not occurred to us that the passage of the
cyclone, especially as it made landfall, might have had
consequences for the coast, and for the road...

Even in the best of circumstances; welcome to the west coast

First of several crews removing debris from the road

Lunch time stop in the rain at Lake Mapourika

"Just kayakin' in the rain..."; don't even think about the sandflies

More clean-up; we were impressed with how quickly the whole
long mess of a road was being cleared

Elecctric lines down

Indeed!

Eastside Routeburn To The Flats Hut

We did this day hike in 2009, preparing for the larger Routeburn tramp, then as part of the descent on the Routeburn; then the day hike again in 2014. It's a beautiful 4-5 hour walk, mostly astride a beautiful river, to the high Flats and the DOC hut there.

They're still trying to eradicate many of the small predators
introduced in the 19th century, in order to save the kiwis and
other defenseless critters

After ten years of this, Vicki no longer has to conquer her fear
crossing swing-bridges; in New Zealand, anyway

Mountains, forests, river

Violent, big white-water, then beautiful, still, green pools

The water here is about a foot deep, but so clear as to be
invisible

Trap (and not the "Hav-a-heart" variety)

In the Flats

The Flats Hut

Standard manicured Great Walks Track

Endless beeches, ferns, fern trees

End of hike

To Glenorchy And The Routeburn, 2018

We wanted to do a day-hike on the Routeburn Track, to the Flats Hut, something we'd done before, twice, maybe thrice, and so drove on from Kington, through Queenstown, and up the lake (Wakipitu) to Glenorchy and beyond. Another beautiful drive.

NZ's second largest tourist population is Chinese; don't know what the largest is

Vicinity of Isengard

In 2014 and before, Glenorchy was a sleepy little lakeside hamlet--pastoral squalor--
with one of the more sub-standard campgrounds we visited in those years; all this has
changed; Glenorchy has been discovered; the campground is quickly becoming a
glampground, with upscale cottages...

The campground store--just milk, beer, bait, canned goods, not so
long ago--is now a fairly upscale boutique, gourmet foods (so
to speak), etc.

And some really nice clothing, trinkets, other stuff