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Miles of wild open spaces. High desert plateaus extending from the horizons. Virgin
forests of giant prehistoric trees. Grassy plains. Jagged granite rising almost 2.5 miles
above the ocean. Glaciers descending into the jungle. Parrots and penguins in the same
rain forest. A wild ocean crashing into footprint-free beaches. Boom towns. Ghost towns.
No towns. Clapboard false fronts. Dusty main streets at high noon. Cowboys and sheepmen
trading stories at the general store and the post office. Country fairs where lumberjacks
saw and chop, shearers slice wool, and horsewomen debate Western vs. English, while all
covet the prize-winning pies. Wyoming? Montana? Alaska? Mexico? Argentina? Australia? Nope, pardner, it's New
Zealand: last frontier of the West and first frontier of the East, so far down under we
Yanks stage there before departing for Antarctica. Do you think the pioneer spirit of the
Wild West has gone the way of the moa? Nope—it's alive and well exactly where the moa
used to live.
In
Part One we gallop through the North Island,
stopping to gawk at prehistoric trees, Maori fishing villages, clapboard towns, artist
colonies, geothermal playgrounds, until we reached the San Francisco of the South Pacific,
Wellington, and the end of the island.
In
Part Two we fly
to the South Island and explore the water wonders and wine lands of Nelson and Marlborough
country, then head for bloomin’ Christchurch with a short stop to spot the whales off
the Kaikoura Coast. We take a great rail journey from coast to coast, crossing the
Southern Alps and arriving in wild Westland, where we see glaciers, go fishing, and visit
frontier towns along the Tasman Sea. Finally, we cross New Zealand’s highest road
pass, driving from the coast through the rain forest to the alpine heights and down into
the arid rain shadow of Wanaka in Central Otago on the eastern slope.
In
Part
Three we explore some of
New Zealand’s most famous, most majestic, most remote, and most touristed country,
home of the bungy, the kea, the jet boat, and the great treks. We go back a century in
Arrowtown, go extreme in Queenstown, and can't believe our eyes in Fiordland.
Finally,
Part Four
takes us in either of two directions back to civilization at Christchurch. One direction
leads to Scotland on the Pacific Coast. The other crosses the great New Zealand Outback by
way of the highest point in Australasia. Along the way we see penguins and albatross, lots
of rabbits and a few sheep. Come with us as our Wild Frontier itinerary leads back to
Christchurch by way of Dunedin and Mackenzie Country.
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PART FOUR—
Choices, choices. But on the South Island, ultimately all roads lead to
Christchurch Airport.
You take the high road, and I’ll take the low. And I’ll get to Christchurch
afore ye.
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This is the low road from Fiordland to Christchurch and home. Begin by taking Route 94
east from Te Anau to Gore, then Highway 1 east and north to reach the southeast Pacific
coast of New Zealand at Dunedin. It’s more than 170 miles across Otago to Dunedin,
the Edinburgh of the South, the University City of New Zealand, the Second City of the
South Island. The miles through Otago along routes 94 and 1 to Balclutha are pleasant, but
rather repetitious—ranchland, farms, sheep, cattle, the occasional hill. At
Balclutha, where you cross the South Island’s longest river nearest its mouth at the
Pacific, the terrain becomes more coastal, but not necessarily more interesting, for the
last 50 miles along National Route 1 to Dunedin. |
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Gorge Rd.-Invercargill Highway east to Fortrose and thence into the Catlins, the under-visited, scenic area of forest and coast that comprises the remote southeastern corner of the South Island. Emerge from the Catlins at Rte. 1 in Balclutha, which you follow the final 50 miles to Dunedin. Just to drive through the Catlins without stopping adds 80 miles to the trip to Dunedin, but, with stops, add 3-4 hours to make the travel day 7-8 hours long. |
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SCOTLAND IN THE SOUTH
PACIFIC |
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Dunedin’s beautiful Flemish Renaissance station—known locally as "Gingerbread George"—daily 4-hour round-trips depart into the Otago interior on the Taieri Gorge Limited. Like Wellington and Christchurch (and, for that matter, Kingston), Dunedin has a remnant of the old narrow-gauge New Zealand Railways still in active operation. The line proceeds northwest from the landmark Dunedin Railway Station along the Taieri River deep into the sparsely inhabited Otago interior to the village of Middlemarch. During the holiday season, October through March, the specially appointed tourist train operates at least one |
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4-6-hour-long round-trip daily through the remote Taieri Gorge and into
the Otago highlands. Some trains go as far as the remote village of
Middlemarch; others only as far as Pukerangi, where a bus connection is
offered to Queenstown. Middlemarch is not much of a village (pop. 250),
but it does have a museum, some historic farmsteads, three churches, and
offers horseback riding for the 1-hour layover before returning to
Dunedin. |
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DRIVING NORTH FROM DUNEDIN |
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After Dunedin, the trip north is occasionally interesting in the way that a collection of minor ephemera can be, like sea flotsam, odd stones, or souvenir spoons. Despite the minor attractions of the region, the coastline here is largely under-visited, with long, flat beaches minus crowds and shabby seaside resorts, without so much as a blanket or sand castle. Headlands, coves, beaches, inlets—natural and unspoiled. The beach at Moeraki—mid-way between Dunedin and Oamaru—is best known in the region, not for sand and surf, but for its perfectly spherical, dumpling-like boulders, strewn on the beach like giant marbles, a minor geological curiosity in a country full of such places. |
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The coastal plain most of the way north to Christchurch is, well, coastal and plain. The small cities (their viewpoint) or large towns (our viewpoint) of Oamaru and Timaru are speed bumps on the way north, albeit worth waking up for as a change of scenery. Otherwise, the trip north on Highway 1 is noteworthy for the series of broad, rocky, river deltas of numerous arteries emptying the snowmelt of the eastern flank of the Southern Alps into the South Pacific. Christchurch is a welcome oasis after this desert of humdrum scenery. |
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Alternatively, this is the high road to Christ-church, and home. From
Te Anau in
Fiordland, drive Route 94 east to Lumsford, then
turn north on Highway 6, retracing your route back toward
Queenstown,
and beyond to Cromwell. Here cross the bridge and turn left onto Highway 8 to begin the
climb north through Otago and onto the high plains of Canterbury. |
| Everest? Does its Maori name, Aoraki—"Cloud Piercer"—suggest a possible risk factor? |
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MOUNT COOK AND OTHER CLOUD PIERCERS |
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After passing through tiny Twizel town Mt. Cook and its extensive snowcapped range may or may not come into view. At the turn-off for Mt. Cook and its namesake resort village at the junction with Route 80, you may not be able to see much of the Southern Alps. But you will see the shocking turquoise of Lake Pukaki extending north toward the glacier moraine of Mt. Cook. It’s 40 minutes or more up this valley to Mt. |
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| Cook town at the foot of the mountain. Here you’ll find the usual assortment of restaurants, souvenir shops, outfitters, and adventure tours ranging from soft to extreme. There is a wide variety of walks, hikes, climbs, scenic flights, and ski trips available. Don’t let the touristy village put you off—it really is possible to get out among these impressive mountains without great danger of breaking your leg or your budget. Warm clothing and solid waterproof hiking shoes will come in handy for many of these activities, as they have been for outdoor activities throughout the South Island. | |
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LAKE TEKAPO |
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Thirty miles northeast of the Route 80 turn along Highway 8 is Lake Tekapo, another remarkable lake reaching north from the dry Canterbury outback to collect the glacial runoff of the Southern Alps. Highway 8 runs through the town of Lake Tekapo like an out-of-control main street |
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strip in a western U.S. frontier town. But beyond the cluster of souvenir shops and restaurants—none of them memorable for positive culinary reasons—is a lake and mountain landscape that is truly sublime. Don’t let the off-putting main street sprawl dissuade you—this locale offers great scenery and a glimpse of one of New Zealand’s distinctive lifestyles, that of the remote sheep/cattle stations of the high plains: Mackenzie Country. Named after James Mackenzie, a local sheepherder who trained his dog to help him rustle from his neighbor’s flocks. After stealing some 1,000 sheep in lower Canterbury in 1855, Mackenzie absconded to the previously unknown high plains in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps. There he found more than a million acres of grazing land, and the region that now bears his name. |
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| MACKENZIE COUNTRY — NEW ZEALAND'S GREAT OUTBACK |
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Mackenzie Country is New Zealand’s big sky country. Its sheep stations (farms or ranches) are far apart, requiring lots of this marginal grassland per animal. Drive some of its long miles of unpaved roads that lead off Highway 8 toward the mountains. You will see big scenery—wide open spaces, jagged snowcaps sawing the horizon, stumbling, frothy shallow rivers full of trout, and the occasional ramshackle cluster of buildings that announces a sheep station. But you will see few sheep. Thanks to two infestations—one plant (hieracium) and one animal (grey rabbits)—the fragile grasses of Mackenzie are mostly gone. That means the sheep are mostly gone. And that means that the grand, |
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| romantic lifestyle of the high New Zealand |
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outback is dying, as the Mackenzie becomes a wasteland. |
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CHRISTCHURCH, AUCKLAND, AND
HOME |
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Highway 8 turns east, crosses the southern shoulder
of the Two Thumbs Range, and begins to plummet toward the Pacific. At Fairlie, take Route
79 east through pleasantly named Geraldine and to Highway 1 at Rangitata. Christchurch is
still 90 minutes northeast along Route 1, but the scenic variety of upland Canterbury is
now behind you. |
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| greenstone jade, and Mackenzie Country sheepskins and then eating at Pizza Hut and Mickey D’s may help you begin your transition back to North America. | |
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