Babbling Brooke’s Travel Blog

The following morning, I woke up before Matt. It was now our 23rd day in NZ and the trip was really flying by! I snuck out of the tent we had been sleeping in, at Jackson’s Retreat, as I had had enough of the small quarters at this point. 

While outside, I kept hearing a strange bird noise and it was so puzzling! Luckily my failed Google search didn’t have to last long because 4 Pea Fowl came walking right through the campsite! Mystery solved! They were cautious but curious, wandering through camp and looking for breakfast. 

We packed up our tent and hopped in the car. The weather was holding out for us so with a fresh new day ahead of us, we drove up Arthur’s Pass to go hike Devil’s Punchbowl. The drive up the pass was spectacular and reminiscent of Stevens Pass (on Highway 2 in Washington State) with dramatic mountains and steep terrain. 

The hike to Devil’s Punchbowl was short and steep- with much of the trail being stairs. It didn’t waste any time climbing! We arrived at the waterfall and it was HUGE! We were able to see it from the road but it was so much bigger right beneath it! 

Feeling adventurous, we climbed over the railing and followed the trail even closer. The water pouring over the cliff face and hitting the rocks below with such force created a downpour of water all around. I continued closer to get lined up for a photo and within seconds I was completely soaked head to toe as if I had just jumped into a pool fully clothed! Worth it for the shot though! 

Feeling jittery with excitement, I wasn’t even cold as we hiked back down to the car. Changing in the parking lot again (is this becoming a trend?), we began to retrace our steps through Arthur’s pass- but not before finally seeing a Kea bird up close! These alpine parrots are so cute! 

We stopped at more viewpoints as we came out of the steep pass, drove by our campsite from the previous night, and headed south once again as we got back onto the coastal highway. 

We grabbed some lunch in Hokitika, and, man, that town was so cute! I would’ve liked to spend more time here if our itinerary allowed but, alas, we had places to be! 

Before we could complete the last part of the driving for the day, we took a small detour to go check out Hokitika Gorge, known for its incredibly blue water. We had seen plenty of blue water since coming to the South Island… but we were unprepared for this level of saturation! Separating this from other bodies of water- this blue river was also completely opaque! What a wild thing to witness. 

Just as we started down the trail to get our first glimpse of the water, we saw some kids waking back who were clearly wet from swimming. All it took was one look at each other, then Matt and I ran back to the car to change into our suits to swim! 

We walked across the swing bridge and followed the path to the lookout and went through the gate that allows access to the water below. There were signs of danger all around warning of a strong undertow, recommending no swimming, but we were lucky because it hadn’t rained in a bit and the water was very calm. Even so, when we went into the VERY cold water, we didn’t stray far from shore at all, just in case of the current. Not worth it to be the story of an ignorant tourist thinking that nature doesn’t apply to them! 

We bobbed in and out of the water since it was glacial-cold, only tolerating a little bit at a time. But every time I got out, I couldn’t wait to get back in! 

We still needed to make it to Fox Glacier, however, and the afternoon was passing by quick. We headed back to the car and finished the last leg of the drive.

Once we checked into The Lake Matheson Motel, in Fox Glacier, we got freshened up after a long and busy day and walked to get some dinner. We stopped at the first place near us, and I am so glad we did because the food at Betsey Jane’s was absolutely divine! We lucked out getting in without a reservation and ordered some Sauvignon blanc (the drink of the trip), green-lipped mussels, the alpine venison loin, and the slow cooked lamb shoulder ragout. All of it was superb!

As we left dinner, we realized that while we had been enjoying our meal, the clouds had lifted and we could see more of the mountains that rose up behind town! Knowing there were some big peaks somewhere behind us, we hurried back to our car and began driving west to get a better view. As Matt looked back out the passenger window he yelled “HOLY SHIT!” At first, I thought something was wrong, until he exclaimed “the mountain is RIGHT THERE!”

Dying to also see something so glorious that would make Matt so exuberant, I looked for the nearest pullout. Out of the car, I got my first good look at the Southern Alps!

The alpenglow was just starting on the snow-covered peaks of Mount Aoraki (Mount Cook) and Mount Tasman, while everything in sight was bathed in golden light.

We sat and took pictures until the sunlight was long gone. I teared up at the sheer beauty of what my eyes were witnessing. It didn’t feel real! I thought a lot about my grandpa and how New Zealand was his favorite place he visited after being a pilot for 35 years. It was the view like tonight’s that made me agree with him.

It was one of those nights where if one thing had gone differently, we would’ve missed this opportunity. Everything felt aligned and too perfect to be just chance!

Grateful for such a wonderful day, we got back to our motel room realizing perhaps our bad luck with rainy weather was wearing off and sunshine was in our future. On a whim, we booked a helicopter tour of the glacier above us for the very next morning.

We went to bed hoping our luck from tonight would last until tomorrow, knowing that this time of year, cancelations due to weather were pretty frequent for helicopter tours.

Want to find out if we make it up to Fox Glacier? Stay tuned for the next post! Subscribe below to get email notifications!