West Coast to Wanaka:

After leaving the Nelson area, we began to slowly make our way towards Wanaka. We decided to drive down the West coast as it’s supposed to be a little bit longer but more scenic. It is definitely a beautiful drive and the road follows along the coast so you can get great views the entire drive.

Although we didn’t see all of the West coast, we saw from Charleston to Greymouth where we turned off into Arthur’s Pass. The coast line through this area is very rugged and the waves, which are quite large, relentlessly pound the cliffs. There are a few beaches of rocks and black sand as well.

Just south of Greymouth, we turned away from the coast and headed through Arthur’s Pass where we spent one night. This took us through to Christchurch where we then headed south towards our final destination of Wanaka. Although we had to rush through this section of the South Island in order to make it to Wanaka in time for a few job interviews and to look at a place to rent, we were able to take in a few sights along the way. There is so much that we missed, however, and we plan to spend more time revisiting a lot of these areas further on in our year-long adventure.

Some of the places that we were able to stop at were:

Pancake Rocks and Blow-Holes:

Along the west coast of the South Island and just outside of the town of Punakaiki, is a small point of land that is made up of limestone which has been eroded away over time by incoming waves. This has broken away the rock into a bunch of pillars, arches, and caverns. Amongst the pillars and rock formations the water gets pushed into surge pools where it constricts and the giant waves crash and explode against each other and against the walls of rock.

The limestone in this particular spot, however, has been weathered in a really unique way so that it has horizontal grooves and lines through it that makes it look like stacks of pancakes.

The other unique feature of this spot is that there are several blow holes, where the water is pushed through channels beneath the rock and then squeezed up  where it sprays like a giant fountain of mist, water, and foam. There is one in particular that sprays out from high up on the cliffs resembling a geyser spouting about 30 feet in the air.

Between all of the rock formations and pillars, there are pathways and bridges that you can walk along. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk around the paths at Pancake Rocks and there are fences and barriers so you can’t explore any further than the pathway. It’s also best to go at high tide, because that is when you get to see the most explosive power of the waves and the blow-holes are most active when the water is high.

It’s tough to show how neat this area is with only pictures, but when you’re there, you can feel the phenomenal power of the water with all of the waves crashing and spraying all around you. The thundering rumble of the waves in the caverns and channels below you feels like some kind of giant underneath the rocks stomping his feet. At times, you can actually feel the vibrations of the waves carried through the rocks and wooden boardwalks.

There is so much to see in one small area, so it’s worth spending some time here. You can also head a little ways down the road (to the North) where there is a cave just off of the highway. There is a small sign for it and it’s worth quickly exploring.

Arthur’s Pass:

After driving down the west coast of the South Island for quite some time, we reached the area of Arthur’s Pass and began to make our way inland. As soon as we were nearing the pass, we glimpsed our first sight of the mountains in the distance. We didn’t realize how much we had missed the mountains at home in Canada (or how much we had been eagerly anticipating seeing the mountains of New Zealand) until we finally got our first sight of them.

You gain quite a bit of elevation climbing up to Arthur’s Pass and it takes you through a fairly narrow and steep valley that is lined on each side by incredible mountains, which were all dusted on top with snow. Once we had reached to top of the pass, there is a small viewpoint called Death’s Corner, or Viaduct Viewpoint, where you can get a good view back to the bottom of the pass.

The parking lot of the viewpoint was also our first time ever seeing a bird called a Kea. There were 3 of them in the parking lot, and a Kea is the only type of mountain parrot in the world and they are not in very many places so it was interesting to see.

If you’re ever driving in this area, you can also take a small detour route beside Lake Brunner for a slightly more scenic route between Arthur’s Pass and the west coast.

Devil’s Punchbowl Falls:

Around the middle of Arthur’s Pass, you can do a quick walk up to Devil’s Punchbowl Falls. It’s about 30 minutes walking each way so it’s a great place for a quick stop. Shortly after leaving the parking lot, you can see the falls plummeting in a thin wisp of water from high up on a cliff.

Once you conquer all of the stairs to get to the falls, there is a small platform that gives you a great view. You can also walk up a small trail to the right of the platform that takes you up to base of the falls where you can feel the mist of the falls blow into your face, which sounds awesome, but it’s not just your face that gets covered in mist, it’s every part of you, so you end up getting soaked very quickly. It’s definitely worth it though. You can also walk right up the creek bed and jump along rocks to get to the base of the falls.

Castle Hill:

We stayed one night at a campsite just past Devils Punchbowl Falls and drove the rest of the way through the mountain pass the next day. The second day was when we stopped at Castle Hill, and this was definitely one of my favourite places that we had been.

It’s basically just a collection of gigantic hunks of limestone scattered around a hillside, and it looks like the crumbled remains of an old castle from afar. Lots of people come to this area to rock climb and boulder, but you can also just wander around and explore.

Castle Hill is actually quite small and you could walk through it in less than 20 minutes if you wanted, but there are also tons of side trails, boulders to climb, and pathways to explore that make it easy to spend an entire afternoon here.

There are a few trails throughout all of the rocks, but there isn’t any particular way to walk through Castle Hill. It’s mostly just wandering around and exploring which is really cool. Some places are like a giant maze and you reach dead ends or have to climb up over small walls to go further.

It would be the ultimate place for a game of hide and seek as well if you’re into that. Actually, all of the exploring and finding hidden windows, archways, and trails kind of makes you feel like a kid again. Or, if you’re like me, and you’ve just never grown up in the first place, you’ll have a great time at Castle Hill.

 Lindis Pass:

When you get near to Wanaka, the road goes over Lindis Pass, and at the top is a roadside parking lot where you can get out and get a view back down the pass. It’s pretty incredible scenery and definitely worth trying to drive this route to see.

Most people that stop at the pull off at the top of Lindis Pass only walk to the two designated viewpoints. But if you walk down the road a little bit (to the North) and climb a small hill on the high side of the road, there is a really cool view of the road winding and climbing up the pass. That’s where the picture above was taken from.

Arriving in Wanaka:

When we finally began to get near Wanaka, there was a weird feeling of anticipation, nervousness, and excitement. We had been planning to visit and live in Wanaka for quite some time and even though we had looked into it quite a bit and had talked to many people about this area of the country, we still had no idea what to expect once we arrived. We watched our tiny blue dot on the GPS get closer and closer to the black dot of Wanaka and still it didn’t feel real.

But once we arrived in town and pulled over in front of the lake to get out of the vehicle, it began to slowly sink in that we had finally arrived in Wanaka. Where it was just a fictional place in our dreams and imagination before, now we had arrived and the lake and the town had finally become a real place.

The good news is that immediately after arriving in Wanaka and quickly looking around the town, we were already beginning to love it. The lake and the surrounding mountains made up some of the most beautiful scenery that we had seen throughout New Zealand so far, and the town itself was really cool with lots of shop and cafes just off the edge of the lake.

Now that we’ve arrived and become settled in Wanaka, the upcoming posts from our New Zealand adventure will be centered around cool things that we see and do in this area. Hilary and I will be working while we are here, and therefore, the pace of our adventure will slow down slightly. But, we still plan to get out and explore this awesome area of the country, so stay tuned for more stories and photos from Wanaka!