WEST COAST TO QUEENSTOWN
WEST COAST TO QUEENSTOWN
So this is just a little baby post because what comes after really deserves a post of it's own...
Leaving Punaikaki I went south towards Fox glacier to put myself in a good spot to cross the Haast pass to queenstown the next day. Picked up a hitch hiker who actually used to work at the glacier, which made for a great free lecture on its history and the business surrounding it. camped out at the beach there that night. The beach is mostly rocks, but many of them are greenstone, and I even found a couple of cool crystals. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset there, which came just in time to shine on my first glimpse of the southern alps as the clouds cleared.
Woke up super early the next day to make the most of the drive across the pass. Started off with a quick stop at the Haast beach (it's HUGE!), then pressed on into the mountains. I easily could have been happy camping a couple days along the pass. Giant water falls, river after river and one attraction after another kept me from driving hardly more than ten consecutive minutes. Just when I was really beginning to tire, I found the trail head for the short hike down to the blue pools. Went for a quick swim (like jumped in, screamed at the cold, jumped out), then continued the drive refreshed! After a quick stop in Wanaka, I made it to the hustle of queenstown and my awesome hostel (Adventure Queenstown) for some rest. Haven't really spent much time checking out the city though, just been getting ready for the Routeburn walk...
