Raw and powerful, the waves come in from Tasman sea and crash right onto Haast Beach on the west coast of New Zealand.
At a latitude of 43 degrees south, Haast is almost direct east of Hobart. The waves may be a little deceiving... crashing very close to the shore, the waves were almost my height before breaking. I did not need the ‘no swimming’ signs to tell me not to pop in for a dip..
We woke up to another very rainy day, which promptly made us disregard any notion of heading back to try the walk to Franz Josef Glacier again. We packed up and checked out, grabbed a takeaway coffee and headed off in the car.
We were booked into Haast for the night, a little town 2 hours south of Franz Jose right on the west coast. As we had plenty of time to make this trip, we decided to head into Fox Glacier and see if the weather would clear enough to walk to Lake Matheson.
Mushrooms growing in the rainforest surrounding Lake Matheson
Lake Matheson is a glacier-formed lake located about 5km out of the town of Fox Glacier, and is famous for it’s reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the Southern Alps.
As we arrived at Lake Matheson the rain had cleared, so we rugged up and headed off for a walk.
Lake Matheson
The reflections are caused by a combination of the sheltered location (leading to still water) and the dark brown water (caused by humus draining into the lake from the surrounding forest floor). Due to the cloud and mist, we were unable to see the reflections (in fact we were lucky to see the other side of the lake - visibility dropped significantly within minutes of me taking the above photo).
Mist rolling in on the forest surrounding Lake Matheson
There are a few walking options, all of which are easy walks on well-maintained tracks. We did the short 15 minute walk to the jetty and decided not to continue on the lake circuit because the rain was beginning to threaten again.
Ducks taking off outside the Lake Matheson Cafe
We headed back to the Lake Matheson Cafe (situated at the start of the walking tracks) with the intention of seeking out a hot drink to warm up. We were lured in by the menu and ended up deciding to stay for a lovely, filling lunch, and then headed off in the car again.
The rain continued relentlessly for our drive, so we opted not to stop for any more walks. We had a short stop for another hot drink at the Paringa Salmon Farm Cafe and arrived in Haast in the mid-afternoon.
Haast Beach
Haast is situated right on the coast at the southern edge of the Westland District. At a latitude of 43 degrees south it is almost due east from Hobart, and the Tasman Sea crashes into the beach with a flurry of power - I was not surprised to find warnings against swimming at the beach.
After a big couple of days we were happy to spend a quiet afternoon at the hotel, and had a hearty dinner at the Frontier Bar and Cafe (the restaurant attached to our hotel). Whitebait seems to be a Haast speciality and we found a few recipes on the menu - I was tempted by the whitebait patties but decided I wasn’t quite up to eating dinner with hundreds of tiny eyes looking up at me.
Controversial statement! Still, I'm craving pavlova so I had to order it
A photo posted by Ashlie Hill (@smashstar67) on May 11, 2016 at 12:43am PDT
Frankie (my kelpie-cross) and Willow (my partner’s miniature schnauzer) have enjoyed snoozing away a chilly afternoon. I was happy to watch them, with a mug of mulled wine to keep me warm.
Much of the mountainous terrain of the south island was carved out by glaciers on a never-ending march towards the sea. Unlike many other glacial-carved areas (such as Tasmania), this process has occurred very recently, and in some parts of New Zealand it is still underway now. The South Island has over 3000 glaciers, but the most accessible (and most visited) are the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. No glaciers remain in Australia and I missed the West Coast on my first trip to New Zealand, so I was very keen to visit the glaciers on this trip.
Temporary waterfalls cascading down the mountains in the rain at Franz Josef Glacier
Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are located about half an hour apart on the West Coast, and both have a small township nearby. We stayed for two nights in Franz Josef in a cabin at the Rainforest Retreat - great accommodation offering cabins, hotel rooms and camping spots, as well as a bar and restaurant. On the first night we were weary from a late night and long day, so we set ourselves up in our room and headed to the retreat restaurant for some wine and dinner. We ended up with a fantastic (and huge) share platter for entree, so I barely touched my Mexican pizza... I was able to take it back to the room and pop it in the fridge for lunch the next day.
Moss-covered rocks at Fox Glacier
The next day we were woken by a torrential downpour... checking the weather forecast we realised we were like to experience this type of weather for most of our trip, so we decided to just ‘grin and bear it’ and get out amongst it. We headed to the Franz Josef Glacier carpark, rugged up in my (non-waterproof, as I soon realised) puffer jacket, and headed off. After about 20 minutes of walking we reached the Glacier View and unfortunately were unable to see the glacier! My partner visited in 2005 and pointed out where the glacier had been then; it has since receded back around a corner and out of sight from the previous viewpoint.
We continued the walk along the valley floor but were unfortunately turned back by a river crossing... with all of the rain, this was running faster and deeper than usual. Plenty of people were crossing safely but being nervous around water at the best of times, I made the decision to head back to the car.
Fox Glacier from the viewing platform
Reaching the car we discussed what to do next - we had intended to visit Fox Glacier the next day, but the rain had reduced slightly and we still had almost the whole afternoon ahead of us. We decided to drive to Fox and try our luck... it was with us, as the rain cleared completely when we reached the Fox Glacier car park.
The glacier is first visible from a point not far from the car park, and you reach the viewing platform after only about 20 minutes of relatively easy walking (apart from the last 400m uphill slog). We had much more success with a glacier viewing here - although again my partner was able to point to where the glacier had been 11 years, again it had receded significantly.
View back through the glacial valley from Fox Glacier
The glaciers recede and advance rapidly; receding whilst melting during the summer and advancing in winter when snowfall behind the glaciers forces them towards the ocean. The advancing glaciers create breathtaking scenery, with steep mountains rising sharply out of the valley floor.
Along the road into Fox Glacier you can see signs outlining where the glacier reached at different points in history. Near Franz Josef township you can see the terminal moraine, marking the point of furthest advancement of the glacier. This lays over 5km from the Franz Josef Glacier carpark, which itself is still a decent walk from the current edge of the glacier.
We collected a hire car in Greymouth and had booked accommodation for the night in Franz Josef. Having had a snack on the train, we decided to hit the road and picked Hokitika as our point to stop for a late lunch and a look around - a brilliant decision (if I say so myself).
Hokitika is a relaxed town about half an hour south of Greymouth on the West Coast. The current population is only about 3000 but the town is fully serviced and is marketed as “the cool little town” due to the scenery and arts and craft culture. We loaded up on road trip supplies at the supermarket and then set out for an explore - the first stop was a beautiful old church I had noticed from the highway.
St Mary’s Catholic Church
The third church built in Hokitika and the tallest building in the town, the church was built between 1914 and 1928 and was an early New Zealand example of Roman neo-classical style (instead of the previous favoured Gothic style). First used in 1914, the church was in continuous use for close to a century until the 2011 Christchurch earthquake triggered a systematic review of buildings throughout the South Island. An inspection report recommended the church as an unsafe place for people to congregate and the church has remained unused since June 2012. Warning signs remain around the building, along with donation notices as the parish attempt to fundraise to pay for necessary structural work.
Rainforest walk to Hokitika Gorge
After the church we stopped at a little fish and chip shop to grab some lunch - a feed of battered fish and (amazing) kumara fries. We then drove out to Hokitika Gorge, about 35km inland from Hokitika.
Hokitika Gorge is accessible via an easy 15 minute walk through lush rainforest. The first part of the walk (to the lookout) is easily accessible by wheelchair and the rest is very easy walking on a level track and spectacular suspension bridge.
Hokitika Gorge suspension bridge
The rain had started and the rocks were a tad slippery… being less than sure-footed (actually about as clumsy as they come!) I decided to stay safely on the path rather than heading down to explore the rocks next to the river.
Hokitika Gorge the suspension bridge is to the left of this photo
Having driven 35km out of our way based on a couple of pictures I saw in a brochure, I was pleased to discover that the water really is the amazing aqua colour of the pictures that I had seen.
Hokitika Gorge suspension bridge
Glacial run-off leaves ground rock particles suspended in the water, creating an amazing blue tint to many rivers and lakes in New Zealand. Hokitika Gorge is renowned as one of the most picturesque, with a particularly milky blue hue to the water.
View through the foliage to Hokitika Gorge and the suspension bridge
I have finally made it to every national park on the South Island! For no particular reason, it took me a very long time to make it to Arthur’s Pass National Park located in the very heart of the Southern Alps. This weekend I joined a great group of friends on a trip to the highest hut in the park - the Canterbury Mountaineering Club’s Barker Hut. We spent three days walking through the rocky river beds of the Waimakariri and White Rivers and stayed at both Carrington and Barker Huts. The Barker Hut is perched in a seemingly precarious position on the moraine debris of two glaciers and is surrounded by some of the highest peaks in the park on all sides. This photo was taken from a rocky slope high above the hut and includes the Cahill Glacier, the Shaler Range, and the White River Valley. The bright red hut is just barely visible beside a small tarn.
We arrived at Christchurch Airport on the ‘red-eye’ from Sydney, just after 1am on Monday morning. We were checked into the Airport Hotel within an hour, with a taxi booked for 7:30 to take us to the Christchurch train station to meet the TranzAlpine express.
Between Springfield and Arthur’s Pass stations
The TranzAlpine Scenic railway line cuts across the South Island from Christchurch to Greymouth. The train travels through farmland in the Canterbury Plains, slowly but steadily rising in altitude and offering views of rare braided rivers below.
Weary after only a few hours sleep...
The track climbs through the Southern Alps to the maximum elevation of 739m at Arthurs Pass, before beginning a descent to the western side of the island via the 8.6km long Otira Tunnel.
Old prefabricated railway house at Otira
Upon exiting the tunnel, we arrived at Otira, a small town that came to prominence as a base camp for the building of the Otira Tunnel in the 1920s. The whole town is now owned by the local publican who rents the houses out. The change in climate on this side of the mountains is immediately obvious - the dry ‘bush’ has given way to damp, misty air and rainforest. Otira receives 5m of rain a year, and only 2 hours of sunlight a day during winter!
Misty mountains and dense foliage near Kokira
The trip continues through the Misty Mountains, past a number of old mining towns, and arrives in Greymouth on the West Coast at around lunchtime. People wanting to experience the TranzAlpine as a day trip can join the return journey in the afternoon, but our time was up in Greymouth, where we were to collect our hire car to continue our travels around the island.
Waiting outside Greymouth Station for the hire car
A sleepy winter’s morning in Hobart - Frankie decided to make the most of a sunny corner while I caught up on the housework.
I’ve always enjoyed ‘sunflare’ and high-key photography but have not really made much of an attempt to capture any myself. This morning, with a lot of background light and a stationary (read: immovable!) subject, seemed like a great time to experiment.
Gallery for UTas Social Media and Photography project
(de)saturate
Gallery
diːˈsatʃəreɪt/ verb - make unsaturated or less saturated.
- FSH001 (Photography and Social Media) project by Ashlie Hill -
The theme for this collection is twofold;
1) subject matter: water in all forms
2) technique: selective colour photography, achieved by desaturating all except one dominant colour in the image
...
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Powered by Cincopa Podcast Hosting for Business solution.(de)saturatediːˈsatʃəreɪt/ verb - make unsaturated or less saturated. . The theme for this collection is twofold; 1) subject matter: water in all forms 2) technique: selective colour photography, achieved by desaturating all except one dominant colour in the imageBubble and boil<i>blue</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 434height 540Falls of green<i>green</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 434height 540Yellow-bill<i>yellow</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 540height 434Fly away clouds<i>orange</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 434height 540Red light rain<i>red</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 434height 540Iris refraction<i>purple</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 540height 434Aqua ice<i>aqua</i>originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 540height 434
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
titsay
yousharknotpass
prguitarman
tangentwithtanner
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty
