From Cascade Creek to Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown and Glenorchy

The weather stayed fine after our day at Milford Sound. So due to the fact that to get to our next destination we had to double back on ourselves and go back down highway 94 , we were able to revisit the places that had been previously draped in cloud and rain. The Eglinton Valley on our drive North had been nearly invisible in cloud on our way to Cascade Creek, but was now revealed as a beautiful buttressed valley stretching to the bowl of snow capped mountains. Mirror Lakes virtually opaque in the pouring rain a couple of days before, was glass-like in reflecting the mountains behind in true mirror fashion. The waters were disturbed very slightly once in a while by the eel like fish that cruised amongst the weeds below the surface.

We headed down the 94 all the way back to Te Anau then followed it back to Mossburn then turned Northwards on the 97 and then onto route 6 along the road to the S-shaped lake of Wakatipu. This lake is also unusual that although it is land locked, it has a “tide” or more properly a standing wave that resonates up and down the lake by between 10cm and 20cm roughly every 25 mins. Maori legend links this phenomenon to the heartbeat of a huge monster named Matau, who is said to be slumbering at the bottom of the lake. We arrived in Kingston at the Southern extremity of the lake and stayed overnight at the Top10 holiday park there, an excellent facility. Sandra had a swim in the Lake and we had a good night’s sleep in the very quiet surroundings.

The following morning we got up to a bright but cloudy day and headed up the road alongside Lake Wakatipu towards Queenstown and our next target which was Glenorchy. First however, we drove through one of the major towns on South Island, that of Queenstown. It was strange to see so many vehicles on the streets and busy shopping centres, after so many miles of empty roads and wild countryside.

We drove right through Queenstown and onto the Glenorchy road. For those Lord of the Rings fans you will recognise this scenery as that of Isengard. We stopped at many a place along the way, the scenery just fabulous. We passed where they filmed some of the Lothlorien scenes in Lord of the Rings and Gandalf’s apporach to Isengard when going along the Glenorchy -Paradise Road to Chinaman’s Bluff. The road was mostly gravel and crossed by rivers with fording places. We were a little unsure on a couple of occasions of our wheelbase clearance, but we managed them all, though if you decide to do this trip, make sure it’s not after heavy rain or you will be in trouble! We eventually arrived at our furthest point Chinaman’s bluff and walked down to the Dart river for a few photos.

After this we back tracked again and drove all the way back down the Paradise Road and back through Queenstown and headed out onto the route 6. We stopped overnight on a parking space above a river and did a night of wild camping , which is perfectly OK in New Zealand as long as your vehicle is certified as “self-contained” i.e has proper waste disposal handling systems. We slept well, and looked forward to the final leg of our journey up onto the West coast and then across the centre of South Island back to Christchurch.

Next time we head up the road from Queenstown to Haast

Cheers