100% Pure South Island – Part 2

Welcome to this week’s post for Fabulous Journeys! I got great responses from the first part of 100% Pure South Island that I’d like to continue on with Part 2 and showcase the magnificent South Island of New Zealand.

The Road to Queenstown

Queenstown at dawn

For some tourists, a trip to Queenstown is basically either a direct flight from Australia, or a direct flight from any other major city in New Zealand. That is perhaps the quickest way to get to Queenstown, and the flight itself could already show you some great aerial views of the mountains and lakes along the way. What these tourists haven’t realised though is that the road from Christchurch to Queenstown is perhaps one of the most scenic road journeys they’ll ever experience! The lakes, rivers, the mountains, they all make up for a memorable drive to the picturesque town of Queenstown.

The road from Christchurch to Queenstown starts off by going through State Highway 1. This is perhaps not the most exciting part of the journey, but even then, you get to pass by farms and small towns. The towns of Ashburton and Rakaia would be the 2 major towns you’d go through.  Rakaia sits on the southern end of the Rakaia River, a great area for Salmon fishing, and this has given the town the title “Salmon Capital of New Zealand“. The bridge that you’d cross to get into Rakaia is actually the longest bridge in New Zealand, and spans 1.8 kilometres. Just after you would turn off into State Highway(SH) 79, and that’s where the scenic part of the journey begins!

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd

Along the way on SH79, you’d pass by the towns of Geraldine and Fairlie, and around that area is the Peel Forest. It’s a nice area to go for a walk, and trampers (as hikers are called in New Zealand) have a wide variety of tracks to go walking. Further from Geraldine is a place that I always love to stop at: Lake Tekapo. The township of Lake Tekapo is on the edge of Lake Tekapo itself, along State Highway 8, and is part of the McKenzie Country. This lake is just absolutely gorgeous to look at! It is a glacial-fed lake that radiates a turquoise-blue colour of the water. At one end of the town is the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is an old stone building that has become popular for weddings, as it offers a fantastic view of the lake! On the other side of the town is a hill called Mt. Johns, and on that hill is an observatory where you can do star-gazing and during winter, watch the Aurora Australis (the Southern Lights). It’s a great place to chill out on a nice sunny day and dip your toes on the cool blue waters of the lake!

Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook

Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook

Further down SH8, around 50kms south is another glacial-fed lake called Lake Pukaki. It’s the second biggest of the 3 nearly-parallel lakes in the McKenzie basin. At the end of Lake Pukaki is a hydroelectric power plant that supplies more than half of New Zealand’s power supply. The water on the lake looks very much like Lake Tekapo, very turquoise blue, and is also glacial-fed. The great thing about the view of the SH8 part of the lake is that on a very clear day, you can see Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in Australasia! If you go on a slight diversion from the road to Queenstown, you can get to Mt. Cook village. It’s a tiny village with a hotel (the Hermitage Hotel), and this is a great place to base yourself for any tramping or mountain climbing you may want to do near Mt. Cook. There are a number of glaciers in the area, one of them is the Hooker Glacier, which is just a short walk from the village itself. There is also the Tasman Glacier further afield, if you are interested in going for longer tramps (or hikes).

Twizel and Omarama

Omarama

On the way closer to Queenstown, you will most likely pass by the town of Twizel, Omarama and Cromwell. Twizel is a small town that was purposely built to accommodate the workers who built the Hydroelectric power scheme near Lake Pukaki. As the project finished, the government decided to keep the settlement and turn it into a proper town. It now serves as a service and tourist town, where you can base yourself if you want to do water sports in Lake Ruataniwha, or in winter go skiing in Round Hill and Ohau ski fields. Further south from Twizel is Omarama. Omarama, on the other hand, is a town that has been known for being one of the best spots in New Zealand for gliding. Gliding tours are offered from Omarama airfield, where you can get spectacular views of Mt. Cook, the lakes and the Southern Alps.

Wanaka

Lake Wanaka

As you go along SH8, there will be a turn-off that would lead you to SH8A, which then joins up with SH6. This is the road that leads to Wanaka, another lovely town by the lake that is set to rival Queenstown in terms of its location. Wanaka used to be just a small sleepy town at the edge of Lake Wanaka, but as the property boomed in Queenstown and property prices became exorbitantly high, a lot more people have opted to build their dream holiday homes in Wanaka. The town is a perfect base for skiing during winter, with 2 fantastic ski fields nearby: Treble Cone and Cardrona. Wanaka’s location being beside the lake makes it ideal for those into water sports and fishing. Wanaka offers a very picturesque view with the mountains surrounding the lake, that it is really able to rival Queenstown’s magnificent scenery, less the crowds! The view is so great that Lake Wanaka even got a mention from Tom Cruise at the opening scene of one of the Mission Impossible movies!

Queenstown is next on the agenda, but I will leave this majestic town for my part 3 post. I promise you that it will be more exciting than ever, action-packed, as it is, after all, New Zealand’s adventure capital! I hope you enjoyed this week’s post!

Have a Fabulous Journey ahead!