MacsTravel Blog

James Baxter is one of New Zealand’s best known poets. In “High Country Weather” he perfectly encapsulates our feelings in travelling by train and car from Christchurch across the Southern Alps to Franz Josef and on down to Queenstown. While the first two lines of the poem are a little dark are only really apply during certain hairpin turns on Highway 6, the rest of the poem encapsulates the feelings of awe and the sublime one feels on a blue sky travel day in this region.

High Country Weather

Alone we are born
And die alone
Yet see the red-gold cirrus
over snow-mountain shine.

Upon the upland road
Ride easy, stranger
Surrender to the sky
Your heart of anger.

James Baxter 1948

We had the Trans Alpine Express booked to travel from Christchurch to Greymouth.

It was an early start and although it was rainy in Christchurch the skies cleared as the train climbed the Canterbury plain into the high country and eventually the Southern Alps. We got great views of the landscape leading to Arthur’s Pass, the divide where the dry and arid eastern hills full of sheep stations and dairy farms give way to the lush and rainy (and sometimes snowing) west of the South Island.

Picking up the rental car was a breeze, thankfully, and we drove the two hours south from Greymouth to Franz Josef. The only issue was, unlike the rental on the North island, the indicator lever and windshield wiper lever were switched on this car. Every time I went to indicate a turn the windshield wipers would fly into action, prompting me to overreact with my indicator lights, flashing them right and left as I overcompensated while simultaneously trying to bring the wildly sweeping wipers under control. This happened Every. Single. Time. I turned.

We had a night booked at the Rainforest Lodge, a fabulous decision as it turned out. We sat out on our porch, toasted the glacier and enjoyed the mountain views.

The next day we set out on a six hour drive south to Queenstown. Most of the route followed Highway 6, the only north-south highway on the west coast. To say it was lightly travelled would be an understatement. Other than numerous caravans we often had the road to ourselves, which was fortunate given my ongoing use of the windshield wipers to indicate a turn. It is a two lane road 99% of the time and on at least 30 occasions we crossed rivers on single lane bridges, following signs to yield if there happened to be a vehicle coming the other way. Which there never was.

The scenery was absolutely incredible in its grandeur and diversity. We stopped and hiked up to the mouth of the Franz Josef glacier noting that it has receded dramatically since 2010. We thought of Robin’s brother Stewart who was here 30 years ago and remarked that he would be shocked at the difference in the glacier’s position

The rest of the trip was similarly spectacular as we journeyed through temperate rain forests, coastal views, alpine meadows, arid landscapes evoking the BC interior, ski country and mountain ranges that could surely pass for Wyoming or Montana.

The road between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea as we crossed through the Haast pass was particularly spectacular

After a magical drive we arrived in Queenstown. It is quite the place! We have three nights here before we make our way to Milford Sound. Looking forward to a few days of no packing!