After spending some time in Central Otago, the next stop on our summer schedule was to the West Coast. We stayed in the tiny settlement of Okarito, right on the ocean and took a couple of day trips from there.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather and had a rare blue-sky day which we took advantage of to go and see the nearby glaciers. Our first stop was at Lake Matheson which is know for having beautiful reflections of the Alps. Although there was a gentle morning breeze causing a few ripples on the water, we were still able to enjoy the views from the walkway around the lake.
After a pleasant walk around the lake and a quick stop for a coffee, we headed out to Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier has retreated so much it is no longer possible to get very close, although we could all remember walking much further up the valley on previous visits. However, you can still get an idea of the scale of the glacier from the new lookout that has been built.
We decided to make the most of the lovely weather and explore a few of the tracks in the area. Despite being one of the most popular tourist attractions on the West Coast I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was away from the main glacier overlook.
After a few days walking in the hot dry landscape of Central Otago it was nice to be back in the jungle-like greenery of the West Coast. The tracks were in great condition so it made it easy to admire the dense bush we were walking through.
We walked out to the Robert’s Point overlook, which climbed steeply up the side of the valley giving us great views of the upper sections of Franz Josef Glacier.
After stopping to take in the views of the glacier, it was time to retrace our steps back down the valley. The trail crossed several sections of glacier smoothed schist and I was once again grateful that we had managed to do the hike on such a lovely day as the rocks would have been incredibly slippery in the rain.
Getting close to the end of the track, we once again had to cross the Roberts Point Swing Bridge, at over a hundred metres long, it has to be one of the longest we have ever crossed. Luckily, despite the length it had recently been upgraded and was actually one of the sturdier bridges we had crossed.
After returning to the cabin in Okarito for some dinner, we went for a short walk on the beach at sunset to admire the evening colours and make the most of the beautiful day. With dusk falling, we wandered carefully through the nearby Tracks in the hopes of seeing some of the elusive Okarito Brown Kiwi, a species of Kiwi native to this area. Despite possibly hearing what we think were some Kiwi calls, were weren’t successful in seeing any of these extremely rare creatures.
The area has a long history of occupation with Māori coming to the area for seasonal harvesting for over 600 years. The area became a permanent settlement around 1865 as the channel here was one of the nearest places suitable for shipping to support the beach gold fields to the south.
The next morning the West Coast weather was starting to turn, and with Okarito receiving over 3000 mm of rain a year, we knew that after the amazing weather the day before, it was probably our turn for a bit of rain. Whilst my parents headed out on a tour of the nearby Okarito Lagoon to look for the rare White Herons, I decided to head out and explore the nearby tracks.
After crossing the nearby Okarito Wetlands, I made my way up to the local Trig Point. At 158 metres above sea level I had great views out across the nearby lagoons and coast and out to the Southern Alps in the distance. With the clouds starting to break up, I continued along the coast on the Three Mile Pack Track towards Three Mile Lagoon.
Despite the slightly overcast skies, it was a very calm morning which provided some great reflections in the still waters of the lagoon. The track ends somewhat abruptly with a slightly disconcerting bridge; although the bridge is wonderfully stable, the remains of an old bridge are still clearly visible below it, giving the impression that something isn’t quite right!
After stopping to admire the views and native forest for a while, I made my way back along the coastal track towards Okarito to help get the car packed up ready for our trip back across the mountains to Christchurch.