The South Island on New Zealand has the Southern Alps running almost the entire length of the island, with 223 named peaks higher than 2,300m. The west side has eight times more rainfall than the east and as a result it has magnificent forests, lakes, mountains and glaciers. The west coast coastal road, about 450 k's long, is just fabulous, fabulous riding - provided you have good weather!
Saturday morning in Dunedin was beautiful but by 4 pm it was raining again. Sunday's forecast was rideable but not great. The Otago hinterland was looking better. So My plan was to cut inland to Wanaka, 390 k's, and see what Monday's weather looked like on either side of the divide. From Wanaka, one can go east or west.
The route I took was strictly back roads, not from a quality point of view, but in terms of highways and traffic. For most of the way, I would rate it as a 3 star route but there were a few really nice bits. The inclement weather of the past couple of days had lowered the temperature to 10-15 degrees, so about 20 k's out of town I pulled over to put another layer on, causing one hell of a ruckus amongst the dogs belonging to the farmer right where I stopped.
I headed for Queenstown, the adventure sport capital of NZ (possibly the world) for lunch. Approaching Queenstown, the road gets really fun when you get to Clyde. That's where they have a big dam and from there you are riding through a gorge right alongside the water. Beaut!
Queenstown is a very busy place and surprisingly big, packed with every type of accommodation, from backpackers to 5 star resort accommodation. The town is full of world class shops - all the big brands and an over supply of surf , apparel and bike shops. You can spend your holiday there skiing (water and/or snow) horse riding, mountain biking, jet boating, kayaking, lougeing, quad biking, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, white water rafting, paragliding, parachuting, scuba diving, clay pigeon shooting, jetskiing, gliding, trail riding, hiking, canyoning or if you are boring, you can even go fishing. If all of these are too energetic for you, you can sit on your $300 a night hotel room's verandah and just enjoy the breathtaking views that I could not hope to do justice to with my piddly camera. I cannot imagine that there are too many places in the world that encompass the incredible natural beauty and the sophisticated infrastructure and facilities that Queenstown has to offer. Despite all that I only paid $10 for a very satisfying lunch of fish and chips, or fush 'n chups in the local dialect.
After a couple of hours I headed off to Wanaka, about 70 k's away via the incredible Crown Ridge Road. This is an amazing European style pass with a series of tight, first gear switchbacks followed by a long series of fast sweepers and an incredible view of Queenstown receding into the distance if you look over your shoulder or stop at one of the many lookout points. Wanaka is a gem of a town on the shores of one of many immense azure blue lakes, this one funnily enough bearing the same name.
My accommodation for the night is a super comfy and well appointed place that is all of $49 for a private room for the night!!! (AU$ 37.67) There is nowhere in Australia where you can get this sort of a deal, and one of the reasons I will keep coming back to this fabulous country for my holidays.
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