West Coast & Wanaka, NZ

For photos of the west coast and Wanaka, click here.
It's a good thing that the highways are well-marked and the kiwis are eager to help because we did not invest in a detailed driving map.
Around each curve of the winding two lane highway are "oohs and ahhs" waiting to express themselves. The highway slows to a one lane bridge over a rushing stone-littered river. Fern fronds reach like fingers out of the rainforests. Franz Josef Glacier, that ice age remnant, receeding behind a shroud of rain clouds. This country of extraordinary vistas allows one to visit a glacier (elegantly pronounced glass -ee- er) and a beach on the same day!

Stopping for the night in Greymouth, we passed an hour in the local library, researching the people on NZ currency: Kate Sheppard, a turn of the century suffragist, Sir Edmund Hillary, who summited Mt. Everest, the kiwi bird.....Librarians are a kind, helpful sort the world round. A minor twister had preceded us into Greymouth so construction workers restored roof tops along its path.

Wanaka was the prize at the end of our eight hour drive along the west coast. Willow trees brush the edges of Lake Wanaka while Mount Aspiring rises in the background. This is Lord of the Rings territory and we see Frodo against most landscapes. It's no wonder the Boehnkes enjoyed their year living here so much. (Jeff and John completed their student teaching together back in the day.) The entire country has an excellent system of visitor information called "i site." In a country of extroverted, helpful people, the top of the heap work here. Get directions to a holiday park (aka campground, but don't say "RV" call it a campervan) or book a skydiving trip; nothing is too picayune or extravagant for this crew.

A photographic exhibit by Yann Arthus-Bertrand entitled "Earth from Above," lined the Wanaka lakefront. Google this guy. His photos are stunning and his message so important. He takes photos around the world from helicopters: Cotton bales in an African field, pineapple pickers in the Caribbean, heart shaped atolls. The photo from Laura's Lakeview neighborhood post-Katrina gave us pause.

The buzz around town focused on the A & P show. That's the Agricultural and Pastoral show for the uninitiated. Horse jumping, carriage races, heifer showing, tractor exhibitions and other displays of rural artistry, similar to an Oregon County Fair. We passed an unhurried two days in Wanaka, walking everywhere, eating delicious food and partaking in the cultural events. How fun to see Oregon-made Dagoba chocolates in the health food store! When we return, we'll plan to stay longer to kayak the Clutha River and do a bit of wine tasting at Rippon Vineyards.