Day 7: The Long Drive South
After we woke up and showered it was time to say goodbye to Baxta. I love dogs - probably too much. We quickly became friends as he would curl up beside me while I would read or do some writing. It’s interesting that a bond can so quickly be formed between an animal and a man. We switched out cars at the airport and began the journey south.
Words cannot describe or photographs convey the beauty of the South Island. It’s a good six hour drive from Christchurch to Queenstown. The first couple of hours is mostly flat farmland with the occasional small town interrupting the journey. There is a point when the mountains that run along the western part of the island come into view and you have to stop and look on in awe at the majesty of this impressive range. This would be the first of many breaks along the way as every so often a new and different natural wonder would spread itself before us. The first after the mountain ranges was Lake Tekapo. I have never seen water in a lake like this before. It was a pure green color that almost looked like a painting. It is similar to some of the waters I have seen around the islands of Hawaii. The contrast between the pine forests and mountains still thick with snow and this seemingly untouched water is indescribable and made me pause with the desire to just sit by the lake all day and do nothing. We lazily skipped some stones across the water and then proceeded to our next stop.
Lake Pukaki was even more impressive. You see it coming down a winding road and are immediately inspired by the size of this lake and once again the unreal color and stillness of the water. Pine trees line much of the shoreline and where we stopped there is almost a gateway between the trees down the length of the lake towards the mountains. Included in this view is Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand at over 12,000 feet. The beach is made up of small stones and as you get closer to the water it is obvious how clear it actually is. Until it gets too deep you can easily see to the bottom of the lake. I was amazed how no one was enjoying the wonderful weather and boating on the lake. I was glad though to enjoy the serenity of an undisturbed view. I suppose the closest any place resembles this area would be Lake Tahoe, but this is so much better in so many ways.
The drive continued to surprise us with a variety of terrain and vegetation. We had steep mountains, endless valleys of vineyards, gorges with flowing rivers, green grass or golden brush stretching off into the distance, small towns and bustling lakeside cities. We were recommended to go to Fergburger in Queenstown at some point. We decided to have dinner there before heading to Kingston. Queenstown is obviously a big tourist town both in summer and winter. This was the first really crowded place we had seen in New Zealand. The roads were busy, parking was hard to find, and the sidewalks were teaming with shoppers. We were fortunate to catch a spot right where we were going to eat. The line for the burger joint was also extremely long. Between ordering and cooking we waited almost an hour for our food. It did not disappoint. I had a venison burger and my brother had a Bombay chicken one. We enjoyed a ginger beer with our meal that was much stronger than other ones I have had. All in all it was very satisfying.
The drive to Kingston ran along Lake Wakatipu and the sun was slowly setting across the water. The mountains changed colors from bright greens to dark shadows while the lake turned into fire as the sun seemed to get bigger as it sank into the west. Our accommodations are a lodge with a wide variety of people - backpackers from the US, an elderly couple visiting their daughter, a young couple on their honeymoon. There is definitely not an end to the unique travelers you can come across on these trips.
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