Aren't we in a Hummer?
Alison finally reaches the top!
I think I killed her!
One of the walks on our original agenda was a 4 hour hike to see a glacier near the town of Wanaka, just north of Queenstown. It was a go, no go because of the weather. Finally, it seemed to be clearing and we went for it. It was an hour drive to the trailhead, 2/3 of which was on a gravel road. Many areas were rippled like washboards and we couldn’t drive more than 15 mph. The sounds of everything in the van rattling around was deafening. We encountered a single lane section that went around many curves; I don’t know what the rules of engagement are when you meet headlight to headlight, but I do know I drive the biggest damned vehicle out there! We also had to ford streams in 5 different places and navigate through a flock of sheep. And this was just to get to the trailhead! Finally we reached the end of the road and a parking lot full of cars and some other campervans. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one willing to endure this. Off we went after donning our hiking boots and multiple layers of clothing. Although it was sunny, it was quite cool and windy and we were headed to sub-alpine elevations. After walking through a farm field for almost half an hour we came to sign indicating the trail head. We still had not begun the official hike! We walked over a rather long swing bridge that was limited to 5 persons at a time. Below was a raging river that was a beautiful turquoise blue in color. The next hour and a half was a constant upward ascent around a mountain side. We had occasional vistas that were breathtaking. Snowcapped mountains, the raging river and a large pasture in the valley. Alison trudged along like a real trooper, stopping frequently to catch her breath. She noted that it is pretty strange that we leave the cold, snowy weather behind and the go to great expense and physical torture to see snow and ice! We reached the end of the trail which was a dramatic view to a glacier on the opposite side of the river. Alison was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t walk right up to it and touch it. Actually, that is very dangerous. Several people a year are killed while they explore the face of a glacier because of the falling ice chunks. We had lunch and began the descent. It was 5:00 by the time we reached the bottom, then the hour long drive back to Wanaka, from where we ventured off to Queenstown, unfortunately in light rain. Too bad, because we took a shortcut through the mountains that saves half an hour of time. The views would have been incredible, were it not for the weather.
