One of our fellow guests at the hostel is Michelle from Oregon. She is also leaving Queenstown today, and Mary, Caz and I had been considering getting a jet boat ride up the Dart River at Glenorchy, which is an hour or two away from Queenstown at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu. Michelle is also going up there, so I tell her that we will give her a lift. However, by the time we are ready to leave Scallywags, Mary tells me it is too late for us to catch the Jet Boat at Glenorchy. Ah well, we give Michelle a lift there anyway, even though we will have to turn back again to get to our next destination of Franz Joseph glacier.
At Glenorchy, Caz and Mary again decide to stay in the van while spend a few minutes wandering along the bank of the lake. Here it is quite choppy and the water is like the sea with little white tip waves and foaming circle currents colliding with the shore. Meanwhile the Dart River Jet Boat’s company base looks decidedly open and active. However, having got my adrenaline fix myself with my river boarding trip, I am not complaining when neither Caz nor Mary express any interest in participating.
The drive to Glenorchy and then back to Queenstown features some more great scenery with mists floating around the mountains that climb up from the lake.
It is quite damp today, and for tonight’s camp we find another Department of Conservation site called Pleasant Flat which is in the Mount Aspiring National Park. The site lies next to the Haast River and features good views of Mount Hooker. Perhaps more importantly it has a sheltered seating and cooking area.
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| the view from Scallywags hostel |
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