Traveling to the west coast of South Island

After spending three nights in Queenstown we climbed back on the bus to head for the West Coast of South Island. We spent Thursday, February 11 driving north and west through some of New Zealand’s most spectacular scenery.  We stopped at Mrs. Jones Fruit Store to sample some of the myriad fruits grown in the area. 

Then we proceeded to Aurum Wines for a tour of the vineyards and wine tasting. We learned that this part of New Zealand was perfect for growing grapes and stone fruits because of the temperate weather, cool nights, and high UV because of the hole in the ozone layer. We had been warned to be careful of the strong sun and it was nice to learn that there was some benefit to it!

Suzanne walking in the bush

The west coast of New Zealand was not opened up for many years. The mountain range is very rugged and there are only four passes. We traveled over the Southern Alps through the Haast Pass named for the explorer who discovered and explored this area. At one point we traveled over the longest one lane bridge in New Zealand. There were two pullout areas on the bridge so cars could pass each other – otherwise you had to wait for the section to be clear before proceeding. People are amazingly polite about this system!

Thunder Creek Waterfall

We made several stops to take pictures of the waterfall at Thunder Creek, the permanent ice fields of Mt. Hooker, the herds of deer being raised for venison, the beach at the Tasmin Sea, and the almost tropical forest that came down as far as the ocean. We even learned about whitebait fishing.

We ended up driving along the Tasmin Sea and stopped at Fox Glacier where we checked in to the Distinction Fox Glacier Hotel. Don went to look at glow worms after dark!