Thursday 6^th. March.

From Glenorchy a quick leaving trip further north to Paradise turns into most of the morning on gravel roads with stops for photos; enjoyable but we’ve all probably seen most of it before from different angles, so I will try not to bore you with too many of them.

Extensive herd of Simmentals at Paradise: rather small animals by our standards, but probably a hardier breed.

 

This is Paradise: Honestly: Look on a Map

Head back down to Queenstown and then on towards Wanaka. See a nice café just before Lake Hayes, and decide on a decent lunch for a change. Nearly missed it, as it is a little old wood and tin house – as nearly every house new or old in NZ is – and in a little orchard like garden. Decide on Prawn Cakes and Salad. The Prawn Cakes like nothing I’ve had before; big juicy prawns in something like a cross between an omelette and a very aerated pancake: but brilliant especially with mayonnaise and chilli relish. 

Head on up to the Kawarau Gorge and leave the Kawarau Bridge till I return from a run up to the top of the pass. According to my map, both the west river and the east river running in opposite directions from the divide are called Kawarau River. It would generally appear that the more you head North and East and uphill in NZ, the drier and more barren the scenery becomes. The top of the steep winding valley is either totally barren, or kilometres of hillside supporting nothing but Dogrose.

 

 

 

 

 As you come back down the valley towards the gorge, vines vie with the Dogrose on the larger flat areas which support several vineyards.

 

Stop off at the Old Kawarau Bridge, which is the famous Bungy Jump. It is now an extremely busy visitor centre – the Kiwis know how to milk tourists as well as cows – so I look at a few suspended bodies that scream a bit and then go extremely quiet, but I am more interested in the Gorge and the Old Suspension Bridge, and completely forgot to take a photo of a falling body.

 

 

 

Head back west a bit in order to take the scenic Cardrona route, not realising from the map just how many hairpins there are, but it is great fun to drive, and I seem to have it all to myself till I stop at a viewpoint for a photo, and then can’t get out for the number of cars. It is obviously a very popular route, as usually you have miles of road to yourself. As it is getting a little late in the afternoon, I am beginning to wonder about finding accommodation with so many people heading in my direction, a further worry as I enter Wanaka to find that the annual Agricultural Show is on this weekend. I drive around looking for Vacancy signs and find very few; I try a couple of Motels, but they hadn’t taken in their signs, and they phone round, but can’t find anywhere. I try one next door, and strike lucky, but at a price, and book for 3 nights. Brilliant modern place, but run by an old lady and husband, and they are the only place I have come across that don’t take cards of any kind, so one elderly Australian couple who have just booked in, and nearly settled in, have to leave because they can’t or won’t pay cash, but people are turning up all the time. I pay one night’s cash deposit, and promise to visit the bank. Another middle aged Australian couple wanting one night are turned away whilst I am still in the process of registering, and what I hadn’t realised, was that the family apartment I had just booked actually had 2 separate ensuite bedrooms, unlike others I have been in where you are all in together, so I could, and would, have shared for the one night – you can usually tell people’s character – and made a saving. I felt very lucky for myself, but sorry for the others, because they would have to go on, or back in some cases to Cromwell or Queenstown, 40 or 80 km. depending which way they went.

Drove back into town, and found a bank within ½ km. and it is unbelievable how fast a few hundred dollars makes its way from one side of the world to the other. Not much further on, find the supermarket in the town centre – heaving but fun because it is all different – and buy prepared salad and fruit salad for tonight – Kiwi Fruit taste much better here – and lots of drink as heading north the weather has heated up considerably.

Also between the Motel and town centre I had spotted a filling station with a carwash, so took advantage; you should have seen the car after a few days on gravel roads: I should have taken before and after photos. That was another new experience; a vertical arm goes round and round the car: jet blast, soak with detergent, rinse, another soak, another rinse, a protectant spray of some kind followed at last by an airblast to dry off.

Home to shower, supper, write this up and bed.

 
Goodnight Folks.

PS

Whilst walking around the vicinity of the Kawarau Gorge Bungy Centre I came across a fencing contractor doing some work, and he had in operation a genuine Hayes Wire Strainer.

 

Andrew Dagg and Hayes Wire Strainers

He is using the lever operated chain strainer to draw the opposing wires together, and then using the star wheel and pawl tightener, that you will have seen many times before as they are left in situ and can be retightened at any time.