West Coast Weekend Wanderings

So last weekend was Queens Birthday here in New Zealand, it also happened to be my birthday too.

We hatched a plan to head to the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, road tripping on the way there and back, and spending two nights in Franz Joseph township.

On Friday we headed out of Ashburton, after first depositing the kitten at a local cattery. An hours down the road saw us having a quick stop in Springfield for an eagerly anticipated hot beverage. We chose the Taste of Kiwi Cafe, I'd been there only the week before after a day trip on the Cragieburn Range (the topic of another blog). This cafe has recently had a change of ownership and a bit of a re-design on the inside. It has now become my go to place in Springfield.

On the road again, and we cruised through Arthurs Pass all the way out to the coast at Hokitika. Just South of here is the West Coast Treetops Walkway and Cafe. The last time I was here was not long after it had opened and I was quite excited to go back and see how much better it had become after the native bush had a chance to grow. We enjoyed a great lunch in the cafe before embarking on the walk. The walkway is 20 metres above the bush floor, the tower is another 27 metres higher than that, not to mention the viewing platform that stretches out towards Lake Mahinapua......

From the Treetops Walkway, it is another one and a half hours drive to Franz Joseph township. When we arrived we checked into our room at the Punga Grove Motel. We had an incredibly spacious studio room, complete with its own gas fire.

Saturday dawned yet another blue sky day, without a cloud to be seen. Our plans were to head to Lake Matheson for the full lake walk. The motel owners gave us fantastic advise, suggesting that we go a bit further than the turn off to the Peak View Lookout, saying that it had the best view of the Fox Glacier. There were not wrong.

After taking in the views we headed into Lake Matheson and began our walk. We headed clockwise, opting to be in the cool bush (it is winter after all), and finishing in the warm sunshine.

There are a number of viewpoints along the track, with outstanding views of Mt's Tasman and Cook. If you are lucky enough to get a still day, the reflections in the lake are outstanding.

We then headed in to Fox Glacier township for a hot beverage, followed by a brief stroll along the main street before returning to Franz Josef. Here we headed up the glacier valley road enjoying a picnic lunch in the warm sunshine.

Our walks here began with the glacier view. I did this walk a few years ago when you could go all the way to the terminal face. Unfortunately now, after a couple of significant weather events you get about 30 minutes up the track before coming to an abrupt halt.

Back at the carpark we took the Peters Pool track, and then decided to carry on along the Roberts Point Track to the swingbridge.

On Sunday we returned home, with a brief stop in Hokitika for lunch.

Not all tramps need to be multiday, strenuous, epics. Sometimes its just good to cram a few short walks into a long weekend getaway.

West Coast Treetops Walkway, Hokitika

Lake Matheson

Franz Josef Glacier

Peters Pool

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