Breath-taking

After getting the van taken care of in Wanaka, drove across the South Island toward the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, located up the West Coast The landscape on the East Coast is completely different than the landscape on the West Coast. The Southern Alps create a pressure system that causes rain to fall primarily on the western side of the mountains, rather than on the eastern side. As a result, the mountains on the West Coast are green and lush with tall trees, wet rain forests, and many waterfalls, while the mountains on the East coast are dry, dusty, and covered in brown tussock grass. Crossing the Divide shows this complete change in the landscape.

In Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country, he eloquently explains why driving in Australia is such a simple pleasure. The same can be said for driving across New Zealand:

"Almost all highways are just two lanes wide, and what a difference that makes. You're not cut off from the wider world, as you are on a superhighway, but part of it, intimately connected. All the million details of the landscape are there beside you, up close, not blurred into some distant, tediously epic backdrop. It changes your whole outlook. There's no point in hurrying when all it's going to do is put you in the feathery wake of that old chicken truck half a mile ahead. Might as well hold back and enjoy the scenery. So there's none of that mad, pointless urgency- gotta pass this guy, gotta keep pushing, gotta make some miles- that makes any drive on an interstate such an exhausting and unsatisfying business. When you come to a town on such a road it is an event. You don't fly through at speed, but slow down and glide through, in a stately manner, like a float in a parade, slow enough to nod to pedestrians if you wish and to check out the goods in the windows on Main Street. Sometimes- quite often, in fact- you stop for a coffee and a browse around the shops."

While this holds true for driving through both Australia and New Zealand, when referring to driving through just New Zealand there is a key piece of information that needs to be added- the scenery! Here is my addition:


New Zealand has taught me the physical feeling of the word "breath-taking". When driving through this young country, there is fantastic scenery that literally appears around every corner. When taking the winding roads, every turn is a treat and a surprise of what view NZ will offer. Will it be a rushing waterfall? A cliff plunging into the ocean? Rolling hills of varying shades of green? Jagged, rocky peaks as far as the eye can see? There were countless times that my breath literally caught in my throat and I couldn't breathe for how magnificent the scenery was! What a stunning country of diverse and unspoiled landscape. I am truly blessed to be seeing such beauty, such glory! It is truly breath-taking!


This drive was the most beautiful yet (next to the drive to Milord Sound), as we had the privilege of taking the Haast Pass through Mount Aspiring National Park! We followed the sunset along the coasts of the gorgeous Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, rare treats of fantastic glacier blue water and untouched mountains that come right up next to the water. We wound through lush mountains covered with rain forests and waterfalls, and there were several hikes to stop and take along the way. We managed to pull over for a walk to Fantail Falls and Victoria Falls. It was neat to walk through the wet and dark rainforest protected by its thick green canopy. I would love to have the opportunity to make this drive again and spend a few days on all of the hikes. 

The sun was below the horizon by the time we made it to the West Coast, so I ended the drive with a run into the cold Tasman Sea :)