Friday March 17, 2023 - Wanaka to Hokitika

We decided to put some miles on since it was going to rain all day. Not like we want to go on any walk in the rain. We had cereal and some yogurt in the room, packed up and headed out.

First we have to get a picture of "The Wanaka Tree" which is a famous (viral?) picture of a tree growing in Lake Wanaka. We drove to a park just outside town and walked down the beach to get the picture. It was not raining yet so we had false hopes soon to be dashed.

Once again, if you decide to go to Queenstown, go to Wanaka instead. Same beauty with one tenth the people. "Same flavor, less filling".

Google maps had an easy day to day. Just go north on RT 6 and stay on it all day. We were going to be really remote so Google maps very nicely offered to download today's trip for when we lose cell service, which I did. I also downloaded some music this morning since there were basically zero radio stations today. We also filled the gas tank and used about half a tank today. There are few fuel opportunities along the way.

We quickly left Wanaka and were in the country side almost immediately. We had a spitting drizzle for the first hour or two and we were able to stop and get pix of the many mountains and lakes. We would not hit the ocean, west coast until noon, so lots of twisty, climbing, narrow roads. This west coast road is pretty quiet since it is basically for tourists. The east coast has lots of towns and business and  industry so the roads are wider and a lot more trucks travel up and down the east coast. The west coast road, RT 6, is in great shape with no potholes and smooth pavement, albeit narrow lanes.  

We were also back to the single lane bridges the entire day. You get one of two signs depending on if you have the right of way or not. It you approach the bridge and there is someone coming toward you on the bridge you have to wait. If nobody is on the bridge then you can start across either way. But if there is someone on both sides of the bridge (headlights), the one with the "Give Way" sign has to wait. Easy peasy.

About two hours in the rain started fast and furious and went from intermittent wipers to high speed wipers the rest of the day. It rained really, really hard off and on and this meant lots and lots of waterfalls not only on distant mountains but falling right in the road in front of you. We had to watch closely for rocks in the road since the road is carved into the side of the hill. At one point there was a mud slide covering one lane but the road crew had just gotten there and were directing traffic around it. And the streams and rivers were all angry, muddy, churning cauldrons. 

Once we had climbed up over the pass, we saw the same thing all the way down until we got to the ocean at Haast. 

At Haast the road alternated between flat sections next to the ocean bluff and twisty sections when they had to route it back inland. And it poured the rest of the day.

We stopped for lunch at Haast and split a sandwich and got coffee and tea. We had the other half of our lunch in the car, with chips,

carrots, and gorp. We passed both glaciers which have receded a kilometer in the past 10 years. probably due to warming and all the rain. You can only get to them now with a helicopter since mudslides have cut off any roads that used to go to them.

We finally arrived in Hokitika and found the Kiwi Holiday Park. Holiday parks have everything from camp sites, to RV hookups, to cabins, and we got a very nice cabin with all the modern conveniences. We drove into town to find some dinner at Stumper's, which had pints and fish and spaghetti. We walked around town, a struggling tourist town, and also walked to the beach, a rocky shore with a small sandy beach. 

Tonight we go to see some glow worms in a cave after dark. Stay tuned