Ice Age, Heat Wave, Can't Complain*

*These Modest Mouse lyrics seems especially fitting for the west coast of NZ's south island!

Given everything I've told you about "world famous in NZ" and all that nonsense, I can understand why you might be skeptical to hear that this stretch of NZ is accessed by the World Heritage Highway. Take my word for it... this is one area in which the country does not oversell itself. Spend a little time in this place and it's easy to see why NZ is known as Godzone (as in, God's own country). The pictures are inadequate and give no sense of scale. But have a look anyway!

The contrast and variety of scenery is amazing. On Wednesday, we were hiking on a glacier. On Sunday, we were hiking through beautiful white sand beaches. (You could easily make the drive between these 2 sites in one day). Rainforests quickly turn into beaches with ferocious waves and riptides. It is strongly recommended that you not swim on any of the west coach beaches. When we stayed overnight in the rainforest and it poured, I didn't even mind. The whole area is very "Lord of the Rings." You expect a hobbit to jump out at any moment.

The "highway" winds through mountains with one lane bridges every few kilometers. You pass through heaps of tiny old gold and coal mining towns. This is also the center of NZ's greenstone (jade) industry. Signs warn you to fill up on petrol because there will be no gas stations for the next few hours. Food is also scarce... for a while, I thought I would have to last a few days on peanut butter and jelly, but a small-town general store came to my rescue.

Here is a quick rundown of what I've done since Queenstown:

• Glenorchy, Arrowntown and Wanaka - Lake Wanaka is giving Queenstown a run for its money in terms of adventure activities.


• Fox Glacier - A real live glacier!


• Punakaiki and Paparoa National Park - Rainforests and Limestone Pancake Rocks (named due to their geolocially mysterious layered look)


• Motueka and Abel Tasman National Park - Technically no longer the west coast because we're back up towards the top of the island. This park has some of NZ's best beaches, accessible only by boat. We took a water taxi to one bay, then hiked through the bush for 5 hours to reach another bay, lay on the beach, and wait for our return taxi.