Chapter Ten - Let the Adrenaline and Rain Flow!

Queenstown is all about having fun! People flock here to be thrilled by speeding boats, bungy jumping, parachuting and paragliding!!....... that's why I'm going!

The drive from Milford Sound is long, retracing the roads from the day before allowing me to enjoy the views all over again. Queenstown sits on Lake Wakatipu and the road in to town runs along its shore for a good few miles affording fantastic views and rest stops along the way.

Parked up I wander around the town to check out where I need to be tomorrow. The streets are lined with tour shops, thrill seeking activities, restaurants and bars. It's buzzing with people with rucksacks, wearing the back packer uniform of shorts and walking boots. The weather is warm but not that warm! I feel a little old and not inclined to sit in a bar by myself so I head for the hills. Literally! The Queenstown Hill Walkway is a 5km track that takes you 420m up to get some spectacular views over Queenstown. At the top is the Basket of Dreams, a sculpture built to commemorate the Millennium (sculpture Caroline Robinson!! - no relation!)

Yay! Its Paragliding day!! Soo excited another highlight of the trip. I'm sooo excited I arrive at the Skyline Gondola at 9.00am for my 10.30 flight. I ask for a 1 way ticket up the Gondola as I'm flying down.... but there are no discounts for one way travelers.... that's really mean. The views from the Gondola are good but not as good as....... squeal! I try and kill some time wandering around the other adrenaline junkie activities on offer. My student lodger has already told me about the luge but that will never be as much fun as sledging in Switzerland... and any way..... a broken leg at this stage in the trip would be inconvenient. I delay checking in until 9.30.... I'm given a free t-shirt and the option to fly early!... hooray.

My trusty pilot is Blake. A charming young chap who tells me about his trip to the UK to visit Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford.... turns out visiting a now ex girlfriends family. All the prep and the patter is very slick and we are quickly running off the side of the mountain together..... soooo cooool! we spend time circling over the Skyline finding thermals to ride and then I am given the option of 'tricks'. Hell yes! Just like being on the waltzer.... scream if you want to go faster!....... round and round.... I could feel my stomach flip......... sooooo coooool! As we circle round I can see my little van parked up below.... we come in to land on the school playing field...... 50 points per child apparently! A safe touch down.....(NB: no children were harmed in this landing).......SOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOL! Here is the video https://youtu.be/KH4kYomb-X8 Hence forth I shall be known as the four eyed purple people eater!! (Thanks Annette x)

Thrill seeking temporarily quenched it is onward to Wanaka. Home of a very famous tree. Honest. The only reason I am here. Google images of 'Wanaka Tree'...... I'm hoping for a sunset shot. The drive is another stonker! hair pin bend after hair pin bend climbing steeply up the Crown Range Road and the view at the top is fab. Its the highest main road in NZ!

En route I stop at the Wanaka Iron Mountain track. A 5km loop track that climbs to 300m giving 360 degree views across Wanaka. A perfect spot for lunch and the now upgraded cheese, pastrami and pickle sandwiches!! By the time I get to Wanaka town the wind has got up and the grey clouds rolled in (good job I flew this morning!) I walk the shore line looking for my tree only to find a number of other people there. It is number 2 on the Wanaka photography walk. I try many different angles but leave disappointed. Lets hope photo editing will achieve something worth looking at.

Sunrise was cloudy and dull so no point trying the tree again. Shame.

By the time I leave the sun is trying to come out and the drive along the shores of Lake Hawea are lovely. A few miles further down the road the heavens open. My route through the Haast Pass up to Franz Josef is supposed to be spectacular and there are many photo opportunity stops to break up the journey but the rain is putting a

dampener on things.

I stop at the Blue Pools. They are grey. Apparently when the Blue River is in flood AND the Makarora river is also in flood slate washes down and turns the water grey not the picture postcard blue I was hoping for - its going to be another one of those days!

Next stop is Fantail Falls so rain is a good thing....... after getting soaked for the second time in the space of 45 mins I give up with any further photo stops and head on to Franz Josef...... Such a shame... The cloud was so low and filled with rain the wipers couldn't keep up. You couldn't see anything. The only interest was the waterfalls by the side of the road, like the mountain had sprung loads of leaks like a dam or an overflowing bath. Water poured down the mountain side and in some instances across the road. More steep climbs, steep descents and hair pin bends which in the wet just adds to the excitement/adrenaline rush! I’m sure I saw Bagpuss put his paws other his eyes on at least one occasion!

I finally arrive at Franz Josef and the rain continues to pour..... I can't see the glacier, just a dark outline in the cloud...... Glaciers in the Mist?!..... As long as it clears for tomorrows helicopter ride then I don't care.

I’m woken several times by the sound of the rain hammering on the roof but at 6.30 I peak out the window and it appears to have stopped, possibly a glimmer of blue sky even. By the time I eat breakfast the rain is pounding again. I make my way to the helicopter flight check in with everything crossed but with little hope. As I enter the office both receptionist are on the phone to other passengers.... "for safety reasons"..... "won’t be flying".... "reschedule"..... my heart sinks..... I chose to drive the 667 KM loop back to Christchurch to see glaciers, ride in a helicopter, take in epic views but alas not now...., I should have taken the 428 KM more direct route. Sigh.

I contemplate my options...there are no options... there is one road through Franz Josef to Christchurch and that is via Otira Gorge and Arthur’s Pass... severe weather warnings or not.

So off I head... more warp speed wipers but today with added hail, snow and wind!

Hokitika with its promised flow of blue waters was grey but as I came in to Otira Gorge you could see the weather was trying to improve. I climb higher, steeper roads, drive through a rock shelter and under the Reid Falls aqueduct. The jungle foliage of tree ferns and mosses gives way to forest. At the highest point, as I cross the viaduct, it starts to snow making the ‘scenic viewpoint’ cold, wet and windy - not even the Kea birds came out to say hello.....

Gradually the road snakes down in to more forest. The scenery now resembles the Scottish Highlands...... and then the sun comes out as I cross through Arthur’s Pass. It is still really windy so care is needed but I can once again enjoy the beautiful scenery that unfolds around each hair pin bend......

I had worked myself up into a bit of a tizz about the drive today but it is much easier than I thought so I stop to re-plan my overnight stop... I feel good to drive further which will make tomorrow’s drive shorter.... there is no time to really do anything else today so driving is fine.... especially as now the sun has come out.

Overnight will be Amberley Beach... what a good choice if I do say so myself! I am on the beach, in my shorts, with a cold beer by 3.30..... a perfect spot for a post drive nap in the sunshine. Cheers!