Broken bridges, Glaciers and Pancake rocks - this was definitely an adventure
Booking our ferry ticket with Bluebridge we chose the cheapest tickets which leaves at 2am. Arriving at the harbor we waited in line to drive onto the ferry. Following the instructions of the crew, we parked and made our way upstairs to the seating area. The ferry takes about 3 hours to reach the South Island so we had a little nap as we planned to do a sunrise hike.
We had arrived at the South Island and we set our GPS for Queen Charlottes lookout point. Reaching the parking lot, we started our hike what was roughly 1 hour before reaching the lookout point. Cameras ready, the sun started creeping over the horizon and what a spectacular view we witnessed. Overlooking clouds covering the tops of the mountains, the suns rays beaming along the entire view.
We made our way along the west coast, we pulled up to the entrance and looked at the board which allocates areas for camping. There was a lady at the front who kindly pointed us in the direction where we could camp with a tent and then found out she too was from South Africa. Parking and setting up about 100m away from the sea. Enjoying the sunset, ocean at our feet and played a bit of guitar to end off a great first day.
We were woken the next morning by a knock on our tent and someone shouting, I stuck my head out of the tent and was met with a gentleman who said he was from the community petrol. He had some complaints that we were camping in a non-camping area. I proceeded to explain how the App and a lady at the front said we could camp here. He (not so) politely replied “if I wanted to be an a**hole, I could issue you with a $200 fine” He said that this was our first and last warning, he took a photo of our number plate and issued it to all the petrol in the area. We have never packed our tent so fast.
We were most excited about this next leg of our trip as we were making our way to the Fox Glaciers. Nearing Franz Joseph town, it had been raining the whole drive there. Needing the loo, we drove around the Frans Joseph town for about 10 minutes trying to find parking. Finally, we were sorted and returned to the car, proceeding through the town. At the end of the town road we were flagged to stop. Rolling down the window a gentleman informed us that the bridge out of the town had just collapsed a few minutes ago and no one could proceed on. We couldn't decide if we were lucky or unlucky at this point.
We decided to find accommodation instead of camping in the poring rain. Enjoying the comfort of a bed and a hot shower (a luxury when you camping) we had a good night’s rest. We were informed by reception that the bridge was closed until further notice and there was two landslides on the roads heading back. We were stuck with no road forward or back. We woke the next day to clear skies, stepping out of our room we were enchanted by the sight of the crystal blue glacier at the top of the mountain.
We drove to witness the damage to the bridge. There was a TV news crew who let us know that they had 500-700mm of rain and the last of the people to cross the bridge could feel the ice and rocks from the mountain crushing the bridge structure.
Finally after 2 days we were given the all clear however we could only drive back the way we came as the bridge would be closed for the next 2 weeks. A bit disappointed as we had to reroute with limited options, and limited time, we decided to take a slower drive back North, exploring more beautiful places along the way. We fell in love with the simple life style of camping in nature and sleeping under the stars.
On our way back up we found what is called the the Pancake Rocks which lies on the edge of Paparoa National Park. Formed over 30 million years ago from heavily eroded limestone. We walked around viewing the magnificent formations along the sea side.
Nearing the end of our South Island journey, we headed back up to Picton as the ferry would take us back the next day. We explored the town and took a long drive along the coast just enjoying the last of the beautiful South Island.
We found a campsite across the road from the ocean in Picton town where we spent our last night at Blenheim Holiday Park. We camped under a beautiful acorn tree.
The ferry back was during day allowed us to enjoy the scenery of the Cook Strait. Standing on the top deck we spotted a school of dolphins who followed us on and off for a little over an hour.
There is so much more to see in the South Island that we just did not get the opportunity to witness. It is however a place to go to in winter as you will be surrounded by snowy mountains.
Sometimes your journey doesnt go as planned but you always need to be ready to improvise and enjoy the road ahead. The island is small enough to cover a good distance and see many wonderful attractions.
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