We are packed (done the night before) and ready to hit the road via the gas station, to the West Coast. It’s early for us (8am), we are not a morning family. Indeed, we don’t get too far stopping for coffee & muffins less than an hour down the road at the Nor’ Wester Café Amberley, which is always hard to drive past!
Our next stop is Buller Adventure Tours at the Buller Gorge where you can go jetboating, rafting and horse riding – the new owner Glen is full of enthusiasm. Scarlett & Max love patting the horses, the setting is beautiful – we are surrounded by the sub-tropical forest of the lower Buller Gorge. Our next stop after a very brief pit stop to get the horse ‘manure’ off Scarlett’s shoes, is the Bay House at Tauranga Bay – Cape Foulwind. We tuck into a delicious lunch including prawns, squid and bock choy, yummy garlic bread and a mushroom, chicken and spinach filo – the kids keep well entertained exploring and spotting weka. The sun comes out and we head off to the seal colony – it’s fun to watch the fur seals (Kekeno) playing on the rocks and the coast provides a wild and dramatic backdrop. With the first drops of rain we ‘race’ back to the car. Under time pressure we miss out on the Northwest Rainforest train tour and glow worm caves in Charleston but you’ve got to leave something for the next visit. By chance we arrive at Punakaiki Rocks & Blowholes at 5pm which happens to be the ‘ideal’ time for viewing that day. The formations really do look like pancakes. We join the audience all waiting for a ‘big blow’ – the excitement is building and there one goes – Scarlett & Max whoop with delight. I cannot wipe the smile off my face as we pull into the ‘Punakaiki Resort’ – the warmth and comfort beckons and we are not disappointed. Having two rooms with an adjoining door causes huge excitement and lots of running round. Venturing out onto the balcony you can taste the salt in the air – you couldn’t be any closer to the beach – it’s West Coast ‘wild’ out there! Dinner warms us to the heart – we eat steaks and pasta and go off to bed very contented.
We awake to the sound of torrential rain and reason it’s all part of the West Coast experience. Luckily our first stop is indoors at Hokitika where we did a great tour of the Jade Factory. Lynette, our guide, brought the whole thing to life with fascinating stones of her families involvement with pounamu, over the years. Istvan & Max had to push Scarlett & I out of the ‘retail gallery’ after extended browsing and a few purchases! After a brief visit to the new and very well equipped i-SITE opposite, we were on the road again heading South. I was at the wheel and while the family slept it was interesting to drive through the old mining towns – it reminded me of home, the NE of England, where in yesteryear coal was the main lively hood of lots of the villages & towns.
Glenfern Villas, our accommodation for the night, was the next stop. We spotted it on the left just before you arrive at Franz Josef. It was great to ‘unload’ in our rather soggy state and enter into the warmth & calmness of the ‘chalet’. We hummed and haa’d about whether or not we would do the quad bikes drive over the glacial terrain but decided as we were already wet we should ‘go for it’! You can exaggerate sometimes when it comes to describing the weather but in this case believe me the rain was horizontal and the wind fierce but as Hollie our quad bike guide pointed out, it’s the perfect conditions for quad biking. We joined our fellow adventurers and got ‘wrapped’ up from ‘head to foot’ with waterproofs and extra layers. After a few laps round the ‘yard’ we were ready to go and what fun! I have to confess a few reservations regarding ‘driving’ the quad but you get hooked pretty quickly and start to look forward to the ‘extra’ muddy bits and fast flowing rivers. The kids loved it! On a natural high with the adrenalin flowing we couldn’t wait to get into the glacier hot pools – ahhh (I am reliving the moment of sinking into the 40 degree pool surrounded by native bush) – the perfect end to our action packed day. The setting is magical, encompassing the unique combination of native bush with a real glacial feel.
All warmed up I mentioned ‘a la carte’ dinner to the family – it was time to find the glad rags at the bottom of our bags. We scrubbed up fine apart from me as I discovered I’d accidently left my sheepskin jacket at the Punakaiki Resort (thanks for getting it back to me so speedily). I borrowed Istvan’s anorak! Our venue was the Te Waonui Forest Retreat, not only was the location stunning and the service impeccable but the whitebait just melted in your mouth – the food was superb. We did manage to get a sneaky peak of the rooms and decided it would be a perfect venue for one of those ‘romantic escapes’.
Daybreak found us pulling at the curtains speculating regarding the likelihood of getting out on a helicopter to the glacier that morning. It was overcast but there was a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon. It did clear about 2pm so it gave us a great opportunity to walk out to the glacier and get to see Franz Josef. The glacier walk was invigorating and really good exercise. As we approached the glacier the sun came out which released prisms of blue reflections in the ice – it is just one of those experiences that leaves you in awe. The township of Franz Josef has a ‘special’ vibe like being on the frontier – it’s friendly and welcoming ‘inside’ the various cafes & restaurants but you can be at one with the elements ‘outside’ – the contrast is exhilarating.
To cap off our wonderful break we got the all clear and enjoyed a 30 minute scenic helicopter flight with a brief landing close to the glacier. With a helicopter of this design it is really sightseeing – you can see everything above, below and all around – it was a very special family experience.
From the helicopter to our car it was time to hit the road and drive back to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass. What a trip!
Christine Prince CEO, Christchurch and Canterbury TourismWe are packed (done the night before) and ready to hit the road via the gas station, to the West Coast. It’s early for us (8am), we are not a morning family. Indeed, we don’t get too far stopping for coffee & muffins less than an hour down the road at the Nor’ Wester Café Amberley, which is always hard to drive past!
Our next stop is Buller Adventure Tours at the Buller Gorge where you can go jetboating, rafting and horse riding – the new owner Glen is full of enthusiasm. Scarlett & Max love patting the horses, the setting is beautiful – we are surrounded by the sub-tropical forest of the lower Buller Gorge. Our next stop after a very brief pit stop to get the horse ‘manure’ off Scarlett’s shoes, is the Bay House at Tauranga Bay – Cape Foulwind. We tuck into a delicious lunch including prawns, squid and bock choy, yummy garlic bread and a mushroom, chicken and spinach filo – the kids keep well entertained exploring and spotting weka. The sun comes out and we head off to the seal colony – it’s fun to watch the fur seals (Kekeno) playing on the rocks and the coast provides a wild and dramatic backdrop. With the first drops of rain we ‘race’ back to the car. Under time pressure we miss out on the Northwest Rainforest train tour and glow worm caves in Charleston but you’ve got to leave something for the next visit. By chance we arrive at Punakaiki Rocks & Blowholes at 5pm which happens to be the ‘ideal’ time for viewing that day. The formations really do look like pancakes. We join the audience all waiting for a ‘big blow’ – the excitement is building and there one goes – Scarlett & Max whoop with delight. I cannot wipe the smile off my face as we pull into the ‘Punakaiki Resort’ – the warmth and comfort beckons and we are not disappointed. Having two rooms with an adjoining door causes huge excitement and lots of running round. Venturing out onto the balcony you can taste the salt in the air – you couldn’t be any closer to the beach – it’s West Coast ‘wild’ out there! Dinner warms us to the heart – we eat steaks and pasta and go off to bed very contented.
We awake to the sound of torrential rain and reason it’s all part of the West Coast experience. Luckily our first stop is indoors at Hokitika where we did a great tour of the Jade Factory. Lynette, our guide, brought the whole thing to life with fascinating stones of her families involvement with pounamu, over the years. Istvan & Max had to push Scarlett & I out of the ‘retail gallery’ after extended browsing and a few purchases! After a brief visit to the new and very well equipped i-SITE opposite, we were on the road again heading South. I was at the wheel and while the family slept it was interesting to drive through the old mining towns – it reminded me of home, the NE of England, where in yesteryear coal was the main lively hood of lots of the villages & towns.
Glenfern Villas, our accommodation for the night, was the next stop. We spotted it on the left just before you arrive at Franz Josef. It was great to ‘unload’ in our rather soggy state and enter into the warmth & calmness of the ‘chalet’. We hummed and haa’d about whether or not we would do the quad bikes drive over the glacial terrain but decided as we were already wet we should ‘go for it’! You can exaggerate sometimes when it comes to describing the weather but in this case believe me the rain was horizontal and the wind fierce but as Hollie our quad bike guide pointed out, it’s the perfect conditions for quad biking. We joined our fellow adventurers and got ‘wrapped’ up from ‘head to foot’ with waterproofs and extra layers. After a few laps round the ‘yard’ we were ready to go and what fun! I have to confess a few reservations regarding ‘driving’ the quad but you get hooked pretty quickly and start to look forward to the ‘extra’ muddy bits and fast flowing rivers. The kids loved it! On a natural high with the adrenalin flowing we couldn’t wait to get into the glacier hot pools – ahhh (I am reliving the moment of sinking into the 40 degree pool surrounded by native bush) – the perfect end to our action packed day. The setting is magical, encompassing the unique combination of native bush with a real glacial feel.
All warmed up I mentioned ‘a la carte’ dinner to the family – it was time to find the glad rags at the bottom of our bags. We scrubbed up fine apart from me as I discovered I’d accidently left my sheepskin jacket at the Punakaiki Resort (thanks for getting it back to me so speedily). I borrowed Istvan’s anorak! Our venue was the Te Waonui Forest Retreat, not only was the location stunning and the service impeccable but the whitebait just melted in your mouth – the food was superb. We did manage to get a sneaky peak of the rooms and decided it would be a perfect venue for one of those ‘romantic escapes’.
Daybreak found us pulling at the curtains speculating regarding the likelihood of getting out on a helicopter to the glacier that morning. It was overcast but there was a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon. It did clear about 2pm so it gave us a great opportunity to walk out to the glacier and get to see Franz Josef. The glacier walk was invigorating and really good exercise. As we approached the glacier the sun came out which released prisms of blue reflections in the ice – it is just one of those experiences that leaves you in awe. The township of Franz Josef has a ‘special’ vibe like being on the frontier – it’s friendly and welcoming ‘inside’ the various cafes & restaurants but you can be at one with the elements ‘outside’ – the contrast is exhilarating.
To cap off our wonderful break we got the all clear and enjoyed a 30 minute scenic helicopter flight with a brief landing close to the glacier. With a helicopter of this design it is really sightseeing – you can see everything above, below and all around – it was a very special family experience.
From the helicopter to our car it was time to hit the road and drive back to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass. What a trip!
Christine Prince CEO, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism
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