Meyricke Serjeantson

Day 5 Jan 31
Haast to Glenorchy

The road from Haast follows the river valley gradually upwards to the Gates of Haast, where the river plunges through a narrow chasm.

Shortly afterwards, the road clears the pass - the lowest to cross over the Southern Alps - and descends into the Makarora Valley. The climate changes almost instantly, with the rainfall dropping dramatically on this side of the mountains and the lush rainforest soon being replaced by alpine scrub and tussock. After a relatively short distance, the river opens out into Lake Wanaka, the banks of which the road follows until it reaches “The Neck” where it crosses over to the banks of Lake Hawea. When I first covered this road in 1986, much of it was unsealed and driving was something of an adventure. As late as 1996 I was held up at The Neck by some of the roadworks when they completed sealing the last stretch. Much of the adventure has been taken out of driving in this area, although it is much simpler.

After Wanaka I took the road over the Crown Range. I last travelled this way in 1996 in midwinter before the road had been sealed. It was a relatively foolhardy thing to do but, largely because of the weight of my passengers, we managed to force our way through the mud and snow. Now it has been sealed all the way which, yet again, removes the romance.

After Cardrona, the road continues up the Cardrona River valley and eventually reaches the top of the climb, at a height of just over 1000 metres, ending at a precipice which offers amazing views over Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown. I met a number of cyclists on the journey & I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or horrified. The road then zig zags down the hill before re-joining the main road into Queenstown.

I drove into Arrowtown and drove out the other side again. The main street has now been made one-way - the wrong way for me - and it was very busy. I soon discovered that this was because there was an open air concert at the Millbrook resort this evening - Chicago and Hello Sailor. Half the local population appeared to be heading there, clutching deck chairs & chilly bins.

Queenstown is no longer part of New Zealand. It is just like so many resorts in the USA or Europe. I drove through as fast as I could, only stopping to take a few photos of the lake.

Glenorchy is down a 50 k cul de sac which runs along side the lake to the point where the lake ends and the River Dart begins.

I quickly found my motel and followed the instructions to use the phone outside the office. Eventually a voice answered, almost completely drowned out by the screams of small children. The landlady was at the swimming pool - supervising - as I later found out. Following instructions, I let myself into my unit and put the perishables in the fridge.