In the second part of his story recounting a southern summer road trip, Tom Fraser picks up the journey at Lake Ohau, about 30 minutes from Twizel.
Lake Ōhau holds a special place in my heart, having spent many summer camping holidays as a child here in the 1970s and 80s. We’d spend hours puttering around in our Seagull-powered dinghy, fishing, swimming, building huts, collecting gooseberries, skimming stones and making sure the tent was well prepared for the next, inevitable Northwest storm. Further back, my grandparents used to camp here back in the 1950s and 60s and my father’s ashes also rest here. So, any chance to return is welcomed.
We drove past cute Lake Middleton, separated from the main lake by a narrow isthmus, stopping once we reached Round Bush, location of a very basic campsite and boat ramp.
Here we met one more of our sons, Hugh, with jetski and about a dozen mates in tow so gazebos and chairs were quickly erected in the shade of lakeside beech trees. From here we spent many hours dragging young people around the lake on waterskis, biscuits, kneeboards and wakeboards. Some of the lads chased trout near the head of the lake and later, others headed up the valley to look for a deer.
Anna and I chose to return a few minutes down the lake to stay at the camp site at Lake Ōhau Lodge. The lodge, built back in the 1950s, is a great place for food and refreshments and has plenty of accommodation options.
Meanwhile, further south, another son Will and girlfriend Caitlin were busy exploring Lakes Hāwea and Wānaka by jetski. They too were experiencing near perfect weather and water, although admittedly dodging the many, many other boaties using these lakes over the summer holiday. They preferred the quieter Lake Hāwea and spoke highly of the basic but effective boat ramp and facilities. Lake Hāwea requires extra care because it is also a hydro storage lake with an 8m operating range. That means objects/dangerous obstacles can be exposed, or lie just underwater, at any given lake level. To be honest, these two lakes probably deserve an article of their own!
From Lake Ōhau we headed through the Lindis Pass to Queenstown, arriving at the height of the summer rush. It was clear that as well as domestic holidaymakers, the tourists were back exploring after the past disruptions from COVID.
Lake Wakatipu/Whakatipu Waimāori provides some wonderful cruising, exploring and watersports opportunities. Frankton Arm has three boat ramps in various spots and is the more sheltered area of the lake and best suited to the majority of boating activities. Kelvin Grove, at the southwest end of the arm is a popular beach for picnicking and watersports because it’s sheltered, has a wide pebbly beach and the majestic Remarkables Range as a backdrop.
Along its length, Lake Wakatipu has many small, sheltered little bays and beaches for picnicking and relaxing. Anglers often use a boat to access several renown trout fishing rivers, troll for trout and salmon or cast into the shallows. It goes without saying that the scenery surrounding the lake is quite stunning.
Glenorchy, about 45 minutes from Queenstown and at the head of the lake is another popular destination for boaties. Admittedly, on one day I visited the kite boarders were the only ones having fun – the north westerly blasted down the valley and across the lake; dust from the bed of the Dart and Rees Rivers billowed into the air and dark, rainy clouds loomed over the surrounding ranges. The kite boards were scooting across the lake and performing remarkable aerobatics, much to the delight of tourists watching from the wharf. The boat ramp and facilities at Glenorchy are basic and well sheltered but it’s
a small boat harbour and you do need to make way for the large and ever-present commercial jet boat tour vessels. Glenorchy is also a very popular destination for recreational jetboaters.
It was a lumpy, bumpy crossing of the lake but, in the relative shelter under the beech-forested lake shore, I turned the key off and simply drifted down the lake just a few metres off the shore. Casting a lightweight spinning rod over a couple of fun-filled hours saw me catching and releasing a handful of trout and land-locked salmon up to a couple of kilogrammes in weight.
Kingston, at the southern end of the lake, also has good quality launching facilities and is another popular holiday spot.
With the weather looking promising, we made plans to push through to Piopiotahi/Milford Sound hoping to spend a day on the water there before returning to a campsite in the Eglinton Valley and spend a few days on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to pan out as hoped.
We hit the road before 0600 for the four-hour drive through to Milford Sound and, once we reached Te Anau, we met the tourist traffic beginning the daily onslaught along the Te Anau Milford Highway section of State Highway 94. From this point we were regularly pulling to the side to allow tourist traffic through.
Yes, it’s a state highway, so you expect a high level of maintenance and upkeep but, given the extreme environment and heavy use, road authorities do a wonderful job keeping it in such good condition. A lot of people seem surprised to hear I tow my boat through to Milford but the reality is that with care it is feasible and certainly a wonderful opportunity. Many southern boaties do it very regularly. In fact, the numbers – and often large size – of trailer boats dragged along the Milford Road continues to amaze me.
The nearby Hollyford River is an iconic jetboating destination – just look it up on YouTube – so you’ll often see groups with jetboats on trailers making their way in that direction. It’s important to note that jetskis are still banned from Milford Sound, so too any watersports.
It goes without saying that any boating activity from Milford is dependent on the weather and on this most recent visit we struck it at its best. In Part One I wrote about some of our visits here and, after some exploring of the sound, Anna opted to be dropped at a nearby beach with her book. That meant Angus and I could point the bow south and motor our way our towards Poison Bay, the first sheltered bay south of Milford and a popular destination for overnighting.
Unfortunately, sea conditions deteriorated as we got closer to the bay and I made the decision to turn around. We fished our way back towards Milford, collected Anna, continued to marvel at our good fortune to be able to enjoy the area and then went for a dive. Underwater, the visibility was stunning. If you’re considering boating the Fiordland coast, The Fiordland Marine Guardians’ publication ‘Reflections’ (available online) is
a highly informative mariners’ guide to the area.
Late afternoon, we reluctantly turned the bow back up the sound towards the boat ramp. About halfway back we experienced one of Fiordland’s local weather idiosyncrasies; despite being no wind at the entrance to the sound, a strong on-shore sea breeze was now whipping across the water and battling the outgoing tide. A very steep, nasty chop created some challenging sea conditions.
Back at the boat ramp Anna’s phone made use of the very limited cell coverage and began pinging with message notifications; a family member was in hospital, and it was prudent for her to return to Christchurch. This was a real shame for we were all looking forward to the next few days on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. Instead, we began the long haul back to Queenstown.
So, while I’m yet to boat on Manapouri I’m told it offers plenty of opportunities for watersports, exploring and fishing and I’m looking forward to returning soon. My experience on Lake Te Anau is limited but, for me, the trout fishing and the scenery are what make it so special; the size of the lake means that at every turn there’s something new to see or do. After all, covering an area of 344 km2, Te Anau is the South Island’s largest lake and the second largest in the country behind Taupō. The main body of the lake runs north-south and three large fiords reach out from its western side – these arms are simply called North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. Rolling hill country characterises the eastern side of the lake while the western side is a forest and mountain wilderness. The weather and water conditions can vary enormously across the lake. I’ve been caught in dreadfully rough water and wind at the Te Anau Downs boat harbour, while further down the lake the water remained as flat as a billiard table.
Our attempt to spend a day on Lake Dunstan, the backdrop to the fruit growing town Cromwell, was sadly thwarted by the north-westerly wind. What had been a very light breeze when we left Queenstown 45 minutes earlier intensified as we made our way down the Kawarau River Gorge highway and reached almost gale strength as we pulled into the boat ramp next to the Lake Dunstan Boating Club headquarters. The swell that lumbered menacingly down this long, narrow artificial lake was a good reminder of just how much all these southern lakes can be affected by the wind. Yes, Dunstan’s another artificial lake, finally filled in the 1990s after completion of the Clyde Dam. The lake has since become a very popular boating and fishing destination.
It seemed too soon to be undertaking the long drive back to Christchurch, but the hours spent behind the wheel bought with them many happy memories of a summer road trip packed with experiences and memories to last a lifetime. Even better, the drive gave me the chance to plan future boating destinations and adventures.
