The South Island's West Coast -- Glaciers and Sand Flies       March 22, 2002

The curvy road from Wanaka to the West Coast traverses the Haast Pass and Mt. Aspiring National Park, curving through wonderfully unspoiled mountains, lakes and river beds.  The park boasts several out of the ordinary tracks.  A relatively short hike takes you over a quivering suspension bridge (Judy's favorite) to the "Blue Pools."  This is rock-skipping country (thousands of perfect, flat, round rocks and an adjacent  still-water pool) and rock-pile building country.  Here's Margie with her creation.

As we headed west, it soon became clear that there's little development here.  There are a number of reasons that this West Coast, the part of the South Island south of Greymouth and north of the Fiordlands, remains under-developed.  First is its location.  This area is isolated, a long ways from any good-sized town or city.  There are no roads from the south or west (the west is the ocean side for those wondering.)   From the east, there's only the one winding road from Wanaka that we drove, and it's relatively new, the last bit having been completed in the fifties.  And from the north, there's also just one winding road, previously the only way in and out.

Second, this side of New Zealand tends to be rainy, not a drawing card for sun-lovers like me or those easily depressed.  Third, much of the land is rugged, with limited agricultural potential.  And finally, once you get to the lovely looking coast, full of endless expanses of sandy beach, you quickly discover the aggressive, biting sand flies and decide to move on.

We tried a quick picnic near one beach, hoping the sand flies would be elsewhere, but it soon became apparent why there was only one picnic table, and it was empty.  On the beach, someone was pointing out dolphins frolicking in the water, but we didn't even wait around to watch them.   Nor do I have any photos, except of Al's bitten legs (at least 25 bites each,) which I'll spare you. 

If not for the flies, there'd be great potential here for links-type golf resorts all along the ocean and for hotels catering to outdoor activities.  Eventually these could lead to improved, wider roads and less isolation.  But the flies are truly vicious (for days their bites are itch-us).  Still, it's beautiful country and quite enjoyable from inside a car.

North of the Haast are the glacier towns of Fox and Franz Joseph.  When the weather is nice, the latter with its sidewalk cafes is a great place to be.  As it was brilliantly sunny, we were again fortunate to find lodging at five o'clock in the afternoon, apparently at the only still-available hotel in town.  Perhaps next time we will make reservations in advance, though that requires decisions and planning and ...

The hikes to the glacier view sites are uphill, not too hard, and fun.  Both glaciers have been mostly receding for the past 100 years, so they're not as close to the road or the ocean as they once were.  The rock-strewn terrain left behind by the withdrawing glaciers is slowly turning into forest.  The changes are evident on the rock surfaces; first they're covered by lichen, then small plants, then bushes and eventually trees.  Wait 100 years and this detritus will be a sub-tropical rain forest, with large overhanging silver fern trees, like much of the area's coastal woodlands.

We didn't hike up onto the glaciers.  I it can be quite strenuous, and a guided trip is required.  Next time, I think a heli-hike should be on the agenda.  The helicopter gets you to the glacier easily, without having to do the long trek up, yet you get the chance to walk on the glaciers and become intimate with the amazing crevasses and other weird ice formations.  My kind of adventure.

Driving north you eventually get to the town of Hokitika, which thankfully was free of sand flies.  There's an annual "wild food" festival in Hokitika, which we missed by just a day.  It  could have had us tasting sheep's balls or pig's tail or chocolate-coated grasshoppers or many other unforgettable delicacies.  Marge, always adventurous with food, was especially disappointed at the lost opportunity to expand her culinary horizons.  I was thinking that perhaps next year we should plan to attend, and even participate in the festival.  I like the idea of Sand Fly Pie.  The recipe would be similar to that used for pecan pie, flies substituting for pecans, but the result would be richer in protein.  And, if this taste treat were to catch on, then we could install dozens of huge "sand fly sucking" machines all along the beach, gathering up the needed raw material.  Eventually the West Coast beaches might became famous for sun-bathing...  

Returning to CHCH through Arthur's Pass, we marveled at the engineering of the new bridge and the shale-sloughing road through the unstable rocks.  Until recently, every few years the road would have to be diverted to higher and ever higher ground, as its support eroded away.  It was definitely time for some good Kiwi ingenuity and breakthrough engineering.  

All told, the trip from CHCH to QTown, to Wanaka, to the West Coast, to the Glaciers, to Authur's Pass and to CHCH again measured out at about 1100 Kilometers -- a long, wonderfully scenic trip with great company.  Thanks "guys," for another reason to have friends visit!

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