Alpha Duck

Lake Wanaka > Makarora > Haast > Fox Glacier > Franz Joseph

Thankfully Lake Wanaka was on our way north to our next destination Franz Joseph, home of two famous glaciers; Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier.

You're So Gorgeous Lake Wanaka

This next leg of our trip was long. Not only long, but through mountains, up and down, winding, curving feeling like you’re going to fall off at the next turn. Even worse, there wasn't much between the large cities. After Lake Wanaka, the next biggest city was Haast (pop. 297), which was really a ghost town with one sad café.

Blue Pools View From Nature Walk Path

Thankfully the 5 hour trip was broken up by a stop at the Blue Pools located upon exiting out of the fiordland region in Makarora. Again, following the rule of the brown sign, we stopped and were rewarded with the view of some of the most beautiful blue water fed from the glaciers. We played around in the freezing water for about 10 minutes off and on because we couldn’t stand the chill. It was nice to walk into fresh water you could probably drink from the river.

Crossing the Bridge over the Blue Pools

Right and Left of the Blue Pools River

Climbing Down for a Closer Look

The River Feeding Into the Blue Pools

Ooo It's Cold!

Icy Cold, but So Refreshing

Stone-filled Riverbank

Really Cold!

Remedy to a Hot Car Ride

Crystal Clear Down the River

Untouched & Serene. The Way Nature Should Be

The Blue Pools are the definition of a hidden treasure. They were tucked away in the fiordlands and if we hadn't seen the brown sign or parked cars, we would have missed out on one of the most beautiful natural sights. I can't even explain enough how spectacular it was to find such clear blue river water making its way down the mountain feeding the estuaries of the fiordland. Absolutely. Must. See.

Leaving the Fiordlands

After a well needed stop, we continued on for a lunch stop in Haast. The dot on the map was pretty large, so I was expecting a variety of food options. What I got was the Fantail Café where there were only pre-made sandwiches and the best thing to order: fish and chips. Living in Australia now for almost 1.5 years, I have proud to say I’m sick of fried battered fish and potatoes. And I mean every kind of potato. I made it last month in Spanish tapas style and hated it. I can’t stand to go to any fast food chain and hate that it comes with every pub meal. Here and there, I will indulge in some potatoes with wedges with sour cream and chili sauce. But that’s it. I ended up with one of the pre-made “Panini’s”, which was really a roll with two large chicken nuggets, a slice of tomato and a lettuce leaf. Eck! Oh well. We were in a town of less than 300. We’ve indulged on this trip and a meal like this only makes the next meal that much better.

Getting Stir-Crazy from the Long Car Ride

From Haast, we still had another 2.5 hours to go until we entered glacier country. Thankfully we had another good stop to break up the journey: A Salmon Farm! From the road, it wasn't very inviting, but we had to stop for our love of salmon. From the carpark, you walk a few meters and find a pond with 4 sections (for the different stages of a salmon life). They didn’t have samples, much to Dave’s dismay and buying salmon would be impractical as we were in a hot box of a car with 2.5 hours still left to go. What made the place worthwhile was that they sold fish food for $1, which ate up about 30 minutes of our time. The mature salmon would swim counterclockwise around the pools and we would throw the food right into the center like a bull’s eye seeing them scatter and splash. We would try to throw the fish food pellets into the further tanks to stir up the younger salmon.


Our favourite activity was teasing the ducks below. We found one duck who bullied all the other ducks when fish food was being thrown in its general direction. We would throw fish food to the surrounding ducks irritating the alpha duck and so our new game was invented: Alpha Duck, one of the best roadside attractions yet. He would chase, peck and squawk at other ducks. We continued this teasing game because nobody likes a bully.

Large Salmon Below

Throwing Fish Food Pellets

It's a Long Way to Go

Path towards Fox Glacier

By 5pm, we made it to Fox Glacier. We weren’t sure if we wanted to spend nearly $200 for a tour of the glaciers. There were half day and whole day tours, which took you around the glaciers equipped with boots and crampons…very Into Thin Air style or you could go by helicopter for a cool $300. We had friends back in Sydney who recommended it and also condemned the tour. “Have you ever been skiing? Seen snow? Then don't waste your time." So we decided to see how close we could get to one. As we drove closer to the car park, there were signs of where the glacier stood in the 1700s and again in the early 1900s, marking at least 500 yards apart. This glacier was moving and moving fast! From the car park, the sign suggested it would be an hour return and would get you 200 meters to the glacier. I’ve been skiing, seen snow and walked on ice and this would be free so why not?

The Cement Mixer

The surrounding area looked like a cement mixer. The ground was rocky and grey with grey rocks and grey water running down from the glacier. From a distance we could see white. As we got closer and closer the white area began to take shape of a large snow cone wedged in between two hills. When we reached the point, a sign indicated it was glaciers are like conveyer belts lifting ground rock, freezing over, melting and leaving more ground rock in its path. Pretty amazing sight, but I’m glad we didn’t pay $200 each to walk on it.

The Tail of Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier - Check!

The Trooper Does Not Want You To Go Beyond This Point

Sharing the Glacier Experience

The Path To the Glacier

By 7pm, we were back in our car headed to Franz Joseph – the town. We attempted to go to Lake Matheson (voted on the 12 most beautiful lakes in the world), which suggested a 45 minute return nature walk and view Mount Cook, but we were nervous we would miss the 9pm check-in at our hostel. It was cloudy and dark and getting only more cloudy and dark as the minutes passed. We continued on to Franz Joseph, checked in to our next hostel and enjoyed a  $25 ribs dinner. Sounds cheap, but when you're travelling for two weeks, this cuts into the food budget big time - we only allotted $50/ day on food together. 


We were also limited in choices because almost every restaurant in town was closed because they had no running water…strange for a town at the base of a glacier in the summertime!


We sat at a table outside with the rest of the tourists enjoying the pub fare. The evening was cool. We enjoyed a single glass of Monteith's Original Ale (remember the budget!) and listened to surrounding conversations of hikes and next adventures. Next to us sat an outdoor cast iron wood burning stove blowing flecks of burnt wood chips and ashes into the cool mountain air. Tomorrow, we would head back toward the coast leaving the mountains, so we cherished that moment with every drop of ale and every inhalation of that cool mountain air.


Trip Extras:

• En route to the Glaciers from Lake Wanaka, stop by the Blue Pools. It's free!
• Eat well and pack well. Food is scarce and Haast does not have any good restaurants
• If you have time, book a glacier tour. If not, save money and walk to them to at least view them from 200 meters away
• Plan the 5+ hour journey with enough time to visit Lake Matheson and get a view of Mount Cook
• Accomodation: Montrose Backpackers ($70/night for private double room)