The Remarkables ski resort and a walk to Lake Alta.

 January 24th

So, did you know that Spam makes a very good substitute for bacon?  We could have had cereal or just bread and jam, none appealed this morning so looking through the cupboard, discovered the Spam bought for sandwiches a while ago. Sliced thickly and fried it was delicious so this could be what we buy instead of bacon in the future.

Said farewell to Kawarau car park having spent a very pleasant three nights there and headed off to do the Remarkable Ski access road again. Another 10 dollars paid and we started the upward journey. No stopping to admire views this time, we were on that mission to proceed beyond the sealed road. 10 kilometres of travelling in a low gear really made the Toy work hard, and as soon as we reached the gravel road we let her stop for a breather.

 

A further 3 kilometres of climbing before the Ski resort came into view. Got bounced about quite a lot on this gravel road, plenty of ridges juddering the wheels.  Ian drove very slowly, well he couldn't do much else and it seemed an age to do that last leg.

Way up in the clouds

 

The ski resort

At this point we were at an elevation of 1.622m (5,321ft) above the sea level. A huge car park was at the journey's end. 

The reason for this return drive was to find Lake Alta, a Lord of the Rings location where Aragorn led the Fellowship after the Mines of Moria. A short but challenging walk from the Ski resort, thats what I had read when doing some research. Setting of with good intentions of staying the course, about three quarters of the way up, I started to wilt. It was hot despite being so high and the incline was very, VERY steep. These photos are deceptive but trust me, many a stop was put in by both of us to catch our breath.

 

looking down to the resort

And from here too.

 

Seeing the rocky terrain ahead, I decided not to proceed. That climb had been bad enough, and it was always the descent that worried me. Anyway it was more Ian's wish to see this lake, so I kissed him goodbye and told him to take loads of photos! 

The path goes up and around the mountain. Ian is there somewhere.

You need to look closely to see Ian

Same photo but cropped.

 These are his photos.

 

My way down was not as bad as I feared. Having the sticks with me helped enormously. And I got to stop when I wanted to take photos of insects! I had only been back at the Toy for about 15 minutes when he returned. His first words to me was "You would never have made it" Hmm, that put my back up! I'm pretty sure I would have, especially with his helping hand, but I will never know now! Anyway he took these to show the difficult path.

 

Okay, maybe he was right, but I would have made a good attempt!

So that journey back down, engine breaking was the only answer, those roads were steep. In places, it was a 1 in 10 drop! And I mentioned yesterday about those safety barriers, well not much evidence of them on the gravel road! Apparently before safety barriers were installed along most of the sealed road, this too was classed as one of the most dangerous roads in New Zealand!

That's some drop!!!

 

Is this why the barrier went up?

We made for Frankton to fill the container with water and dump the waste water. Gosh, it was almost full! Must have been from me washing my hair this morning, not the easiest of tasks in the van! From there we drove to 12 Mile Delta. It's another DOC site but a bit more pricey than the rest. $15 each per night. This was the most convenient place to overnight because tomorrow morning at 8 am we will be setting off on a four wheeled drive, half day tour to find more of the LotR sites. Staring from central Queenstown we need to be there early to try and secure a parking spot, I hope we don't wake up too many campers!

And wildlife