“House Hunting for a Lizard”

When we woke up, it looked to be another beautiful day at Wanaka. As we were loading up the car, Alex and Christine came up to say goodbye and Fred jokingly said we were looking for chocolate. They told us how to get to Patagonia Chocolates in town. Patagonia Chocolates, in Wanaka? They need to update their website!

We did a quick drive-by of Patagonia to be sure we could find it. But it was way too early to be open. So on to the marina where we strolled around for a bit as we awaited our boat transport to Mou Waho Island. Andy soon showed up and brought the boat around to the jetty. He told us another couple would be joining us as well as some folks from the DOC.

Sidenote – I was a little disappointed Chris was not our guide as he sounded like a fascinating person. The majority of reviews I read highlighted his role in the tour. I also thought that his past experience in trekking Nepal would be a great bonding point for Fred since Fred had just done this last October. Andy was very friendly and knowledgeable, but I guess I had different expectations. /Sidenote

Once everyone was onboard, we found out the 3 DOC folks were scouting out a suitable place to relocate a native lizard that was being decimated by stoats and possums. They wanted to explore Mou Tapu as a possibility. We dropped them off along a rocky shore there and continued on to Mou Waho.

Mou Waho had a proper jetty to land on and we were promptly greeted by a local Weka. They are very friendly flightless birds that have been relocated to the island to escape being rendered extinct by introduced predators. A very similar plight as the lizard now faces. We headed up the trail and checked out various hotels left for critters and found a Weta (insect) and Gecko.

It was a nice climb to Arethusa Pool, a lake within the island, 150 meters above Lake Wanaka. We stopped there to have biscuits and tea and Wally and Sally soon came to join us. These are the pair of Weka who have made this particular area their territory. Wally was a relocated Weka, and Sally was born there from the original refugees. Wally apparently has a fondness for younger women.

We went to a higher overlook and got 360-degree views. There was no sign of civilization any direction you looked and it was absolutely beautiful!

On the way down we saw a helicopter spraying pines (introduced a century or two ago and becoming invasive). Then we went on to pickup the DOC folks. The big question, had they found a suitable home for their lizards? Yes, they thought they had. But they asked Andy if he would go the other way around the island to see the Southern face, as they didn’t have time to explore that side. So we got an extended trip and it was very interesting.

We returned and picked up some chocolates at Patagonia and we were on our way.

At about the halfway mark to Mount Cook, our destination for the day, is Omarama. We stopped at the Hot Tubs/Info Center and paid our $5 for the road to Clay Cliffs. It’s all on the honor system so you can either pay on the way in or the way out, it will depend on which way you are going.

The weather had started to cloud over a bit. The cliffs were a very cool sight to explore. It would have been even more impressive had it been sunny. It was a great little detour.

We arrived at Aoraki and found Aoraki Court Motel with no problem. It’s a very small village and I could see where the following day’s hikes would originate from easily.

It was still rather overcast and Mount Sefton took awhile before we could really see it just before sunset. But at reception to the motel we were told it would be a clear day tomorrow.

I hope so.

The Adventure Continues>>>