DAY 14 – WANAKA TO FRANZ JOSEF
Next morning, I woke up early and was greeted by the beautiful sunrise. I enjoyed my morning over a cup of hot chocolate. Later, I walked around Lake Wanaka by following the hiking trail path.
The Insta famed Wanaka tree in the lake –
The waves brought this heart shaped wooden piece to me, so I picked it up and it’s coming home with me. Love how the Universe sends subtle messages to me everyday.
And sometimes even not so subtle messages 💕
Redwood Trees –
The gardens near the lake had rose bushes and giant redwood trees.
Millennium Pathway –
The Wanaka Community Millennium Project was about laying red bricks by the lake path with inscriptions of 2000 years of history. I enjoyed walking through this path and learning a lot about our history and key milestones. What a great idea!
Goodbye Wanaka –
We left the lodge around 2pm for our next destination in the West Coast.
WEST COAST –
On the way, we stopped by the bridge near Mount Aspiring National Park –
Te Wahipounamu Waterfalls –
Haast Beach – The beach is known for its blue stones but I could find either blue or green jade stone. I was a bit disappointed. We did try our hand at stone skipping in the river by the beach. I still suck at this game but it was a lot of fun.
Franz Josef Glacier –
After being 7 hours on the road, we finally arrived at Franz Josef, which is a small picturesque town nestled into a glacier on the West Coast region of the South Island. During flooding this town can be isolated from other towns and there is no way of leaving because the highways are often closed and even the bridges get washed away.
After checking into the YHA, I had a light dinner and went straight to bed. I was exhausted. Thankfully, I had a comfortable bed and en-suite bathroom at this location.
DAY 15 – FRANZ JOSEF
Woke up around 7am to get ready for my early morning Kayaking activity. We walked to the Kayak company in town and they drove us to Lake Mapourika.
Franz Josef Kayaking in Lake Mapourika –
I partnered with Eric to kayak the lake. Initially, when I had signed up to kayak, I had assumed that I’ll be kayaking the Glaciers but that was not the case. Nonetheless, I had a great time kayaking through this picturesque lake.
We came back to our hostel and I was looking forward to a hot shower after kayaking for nearly 3 hours.
After shower, I went to the town center where they had handful of restaurants and only one grocery store. I ordered a sandwich and brownie for takeaway, and had it in the courtyard of the hostel, which overlooked mountains.
Stone Carving –
Around 3pm, Jan picked us up from the YHA and took us to her studio where we got to select any small stone that was calling our name from the tray, come up with a design and then use the machines to carve the design.
I chose the “Aotea” stone which is also known as NZ Kyanite and is found only in place of the world, a unique reef on the West Coast of the South Island. The “Hine Aotea” stone which I had selected was a very special healing stone which carries a gentle energy, alleviates stress and creates a calming effect. Aotea, like jade resonates with the heart chakra and is self cleaning so doesn’t hold negative energies.
My design was inspired by the Franz Josef Glacier. After I polished the stones, the greenery over the mountains and the blue ice tones miraculously appeared. I added 8 dots to represent my infinity ♾ angels.
Jan, the stone carving teacher, was a lovely woman, who let me take an additional tiny jade stone which I fell in love with.
After making the stone pendants, we decided to go for a 3 hour hike from where we could be super close to the Glaciers. The views of the Glaciers was well worth the hike.
Along our hike, we found a waterfall where we did a special ceremony to bless our stone pendant creations by the energy of the glacier waters. It was such a powerful and energetic experience. Thanks to Sam, the camera man, for capturing this moment.
Today was our last night as a big group so we decided to go for dinner at Snakebite Brewery. I had their Lychee and Lemongrass cocktail which was delicious and so was their Veggie Burger. After dinner, we had shots and danced our ass off.
DAY 16 – FRANZ JOSEF TO CHRISTCHURCH
Can’t believe the Tour is coming to an end. I had a wonderful time, thanks to Burto, Vall and the entire team at Haka Tours, and my new friends from around the world. Here is the picture with the lovely ladies!
After having breakfast, we checked out of YHA and drove through Whataroa.
We stopped at Ruatapu to soak in the Serene calmness of the lake. Allison, Sue and myself made a wish by throwing a coin in the lake and we are keeping our fingers crossed 🤞 hoping for our wishes to come true.
Our next stop was at Hokitika, where we checked out the store which had Jade and other precious stones carved into beautiful pieces. Had a quick lunch at an Indian restaurant in town.
Finally, we were dropped at Greymouth, a mining town, to catch our train back to Christchurch. Vall did the most touching and emotional Haka. We had to bid farewell to the Haka team and some of the fellow passengers who were continuing the tour for few more days. Darn, Goodbyes are always so hard 🙁
Photo by Sue
After 4.5 hours, we got to Christchurch Train station where our driver was waiting for us to take us to the Haka Lodge. After checking into the lodge, had a quick shower and then made a simple meal. Relaxed in the lounge for few before heading to bed.
Well the tour had ended but I still had two more days to explore Christchurch at my own pace.
