Wanaka & Franz Josef

From Queenstown we headed back North, although this technically signalled the start of the way home there was still plenty to see and do.

First up was Wanaka, a relatively short drive from Queenstown across the stunning Crown Range Road. We found a fantastic campsite about 10ks out of town and managed to pitch the tent right on the edge of the lake. The image below is taken just a few feet from the tent and in the distance you can see the white cap of Mt Aspiring.

A highlight of the region is the Roy's Peak walk. An 8km uphill walk to lookout over the lake and Mt Aspiring national park. OK, so we only went half way (my physiotherapist still won't be happy) but the views were still stunning.

The most photographed point in Wanaka however is a small willow tree which grows a few metres into the lake. On first glance you are left wondering what all the fuss is about but it does allow for a nicely composed shot with the lake and the mountains. We were lucky enough to get a bit of colour in the sunset when we were there.

From Wanaka we hit the road again and headed across to Glacier Country. One of my fondest memories of New Zealand from my last trip 20 years ago was the help-hike on Franz Josef Glacier and I was keen to see it again.

We were greeted by some ominous low hanging cloud and it looked as though we wouldn't be able to fly to the top. The flight that we had booked for the morning had been cancelled and no further trips were available during our stay with that company. We did however find another operator with availability for that afternoon so we reserved a couple of spots and hoped for the best.

In the meantime we headed over to Fox Glacier to visit Lake Matheson. It's famed for its perfect reflections of Mt Cook but bearing in mind that morning's cloud and a breeze we weren't hopeful of much. But much as the rest of the trip we were so lucky with the weather, just as I set up the tripod the cloud cleared and the breeze stilled....

And we got further luck in the afternoon as the weather held off and allowed us to do the heli-hike. Helicopter is now the only way to get up to the glacier, when I had been there previously the Glacier reached a full 2km further down the valley and was walkable, but now due to global warming that is not possible, and in 20 years time I doubt anyone will be able to go up there. More information about the glacier can be found here www.franzjosefglacier.com

Our luck with the weather had to come to an end at some point and so it was as we drove from Franz Josef to Arthur's Pass that the rain settled in and there were no views to be had.

Our final stop on the way back to Christchurch was at Castle Hill, an amazing spot not too far from Arthur's pass and popular with boulderers. Its an area filled with giant granite rocks and boulders that looks as much like an art installation as a rock formation.

And that brings me to the end of the trip. New Zealand is a truly fabulous place and I urge everyone to visit at some point. I sincerely hope that its not another 20 years before I get to go back.

Thank you so much to Truc for joining me on this trip and for your all round awesomeness. Also thanks to Norm (Indigo Photography) for his photographic camaraderie and friendship.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed these pictures - as ever, please get in touch should you wish to purchase any large high quality wall art of any of them.

Tony.