Schist Happens

But first, the adventures before…Three nights at Glendhu Bay Holiday Park on the shores of Lake Wanaka allowed us to explore this area to the max. 

Was the extremely bumpy washboard road and river fords to the 10km Rob Roy Glacier Track worth it? An emphatic YES! And we were treated to a road-grader smoothing road about 1/3 of the drive. This trail, starting at the Raspberry Creek Car Park, is considered the best “day walk” of the South Island and we agree; it is our favorite hike in New Zealand so far.

We thought we would have to turn back with the cold winds and our lack of the proper cold weather attire (last night Chris commented, “The South Island isn’t nearly as cold as I thought it would be.”), but we stayed warm with our brisk pace over the swing bridge, through the beech forest climb above timberline to the glacier viewpoints.

The walk began along the Matukituki Valley with glacial river waters, then climbed 400m through beech forest into a high and dramatic enclosure of mountains with a spectacular view of the glacier and cascades of water. To access such incredible scenery after only 2 hours of hiking was outstanding.

On the drive out, an entire flock of sheep (hundreds of them!) surrounded us on the road, being herded by sheep dogs to another field; it was a very “New Zealand” moment. 

The next day we did “4 hours of power,” a half-day of awesome mountain e-biking at Bike Glenhu where all four of us enjoyed the trails (with magnificent views).

We all pushed ourselves, Calder jumping higher and the rest of us advancing to dark blue trails (intermediate flow and jump tracks). It’s so great to be able to do this level of activity with our kids, which is one reason we’re doing this adventure now when we are healthy. We’d love to go back again before leaving but our knees and butts wouldn’t forgive us!

As the kids did school, Chris and I enjoyed a walk around Diamond Lake before our drive to Glenorchy. Much to Chris’ caravan-towing dismay, I routed us via the Crown Range Road rather than the more standard Hwy 6. As our SUV huffed and puffed up to the summit, I learned that it’s the highest main road in the country, with a summit of 1,121 meters; it’s known for its scenic views and challenging driving conditions.  Zig-zagging down steep and narrow switchbacks, Chris decided he would look at the topography of the routes I suggested before we ventured out each day, as we seem to find ourselves repeatedly on “no towing” passes. Please no more passes he pleaded.

Glenarchy sits on a shelf of flat land at the head of Lake Wakatipu in a bowl of beautiful mountains. For three nights we enjoyed this area, camped at Mrs Woolly’s Campground and partaking of the yummy pies and bakery treats at the General Store. 

I’m not sure who was more excited, the kids or I, when we stopped at Issengard Lookout from LOTR, the jagged peaks of the Misty Mountains in the background. We were excited to view the location where Weta Studios worked their amazing digital magic to add in the stunning tower and pits of Isengard.

Known as the gateway to the Routeburn Track, we felt compelled to hike the first part, Routeburn Flats to the first Hut, stopping for a lunch break along glorious turquoise waters.

The next day we decided to boost some adrenaline with Paradise Ziplines, Chris unsure of why I signed him up with the first highest and tallest canyon zip; right off a rock cliff, before working our way down the river; we all agreed it was fun and stunning.

Strolling the Glenarchy Scenic Walkway, Chris and I agreed that we enjoyed the small town, remote and rugged feel of Glenarchy and weren’t sure what we’d think of busy adventure-loving Queenstown.

Queenstown is all about high-adrenaline adventures and we decided to pick a few of which to partake. Bungee jump- no thanks, Ziplines, check. Jet boat canyon tour next. Boarded the bus for the 45 minute mind-blowing drive along the infamous Skippers Road which was carved out of the vertical rock face by gold miners over 130 years ago, learning the gold-mining history and seeing LOTR sites along the way (the Gates of Mordor).

Over the past 25,000 years the mighty Shotover River, whose source is deep in the Southern Alps, has eroded the predominantly schist rock into steep canyon walls and acted like a natural sluice, cleaning the gold from the gravel and washing tons of the precious metal down the canyon. This has made it known as the richest gold bearing river in the world. Skippers Canyon remained highly inaccessible until the building of the Skippers Road in the 1880’s. It took 8 years to complete the first 20km stretch of road as large sections of it needed to be carved out of the vertical cliff face using only hand tools and star headed drills and black gunpowder.

The building of Skippers Road was deemed a major engineering feat and today is considered a site of outstanding heritage significance. The drive along the narrow road with sheer drops was adrenaline pumping in itself.

We then hopped into the jet boats, 11 of us and the driver, and took off. Our jet boat driver maneuvered the boat through narrow shoots next to the sheer canyon walls with speeds in excess of 60kmh and a series of 360-degree spins. Along the way, historic gold mining relics remain. We had completed the first half of the ride upstream, starting to relax a bit into it, did a 360-degree spin then started back downstream.

Around a curve, going about 50kmh, a loud buzzer went off and the engine died. “Brace yourself!” yelled the driver, as we ploughed directly bow-first into the sheer rock wall of schist at an estimated speed of 25-30 kmh at impact.  There were only seconds to think, a moment of pure terror. I thought we might die. Chris thought it was a very bad situation. Looked around at each other, made eye contact with Chris and our kids; we were all alive. Our two friends in the front seat appeared to be injured the worst, one with a bleeding mouth, the other a bleeding leg. The rest of us were hurting, but alive.

The driver called for a Mayday and had to get us to a safe location to assess everyone. The boat was lodged into the rock wall but after a few minutes was restarted and he shoved off. However, to get us to the gravel bar where a rescue helicopter could land to pick up the injured, he had to jet fast downstream (the only way to have control of a jet boat is to have enough water flow through it). People cried and screamed for him to slow down. Everyone was shaken up. At the bar, another passenger and EMS guy from Texas and myself assessed, triaged, bandaged, and splinted. By the time the helicopter arrived, most people were starting to calm, zone out, and get cold; they took the two most injured (our friends) with their children to the closest trauma center across the island to Dunedin.

Interestingly, after the fact, we realized that we were rescued on the beach that is the “Ford of Bruinen,” in one of the most dramatic scenes where Arwen turned to face the Nazgul in LOTR. I had chosen this tour as it included LOTR sites.

The rest of us agreed that we were stable enough (possibly just small fractures and lacerations) to take the van out and get driven to the local hospital for xrays. We all may have preferred the helicopter on a clear day to the jet boat ride we endured back to the base, Cora weeping into Chris’ shoulder, all of us terrified everytime we neared a canyon wall, bracing ourselves for what felt like an inevitable crash again. At the Queenstown hospital, the Hyer family checked out okay – no fractures, though Cora’s wrist may need reimaging in a week if still painful.

In NZ, whenever someone is injured, they are given a number associated with that injury and all the costs are covered, from a medivac flight to surgery to physical therapy. This is remarkable. Overnight, I had chunks of sleep in between aching and nightmares. The next day, Chris’ leg too painful to walk, he elevated/iced all day. We keep finding more bruises, areas that hurt, small abrasions. But we are healing. And we are blessed. The company has been gracious, bought us dinner out tonight. We debrief over and over again as a family. We avoid the “what if?” type questions, choosing to remain positive. Accidents happen, perhaps more often on adrenaline-boosting activities. We’re going back to safer endeavours…such as sailing wide open oceans at a slower pace!

Our injuries necessitated some time of rest & recovery, with Chris barely able to walk and using a crutch. Our first outing was driving to Gantley’s Tavern a mile away for dinner, Queenstown’s oldest hospitality business built in 1865 to provide food, drink, and lodging in the gold rush era. The next morning, an agent from Maritime NZ interviewed all of us about the accident, making us feel very heard and supported. We feel reassured that these accidents are thoroughly investigated and will find the root cause of what happened, taking action to improve safety for the future.

After the investigation, we decided to leave the caravan and drive the car to Dunedin to be with and support our friends who were more affected by the incident. It was good to be together, sharing meals, talking things through, and also distracting ourselves with some Dunedin sight-seeing out on the Otago Peninsula. At the Royal Albatross Centre, the world’s only mainland Royal Albatross breeding colony, we watched them soar overhead and parents sit on their chicks. These amazing endangered birds migrate up to 1,800km/day and have a 3.3 metre wingspan. At OPERA (Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance), we learned about the work they are doing on a tour. We were shocked to learn that the rare endangered yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) on their land have decreased down to 4 mating pair. Our tour guide, a recent college grad, candidly answered our question about the future of the yellow-eyed penguin, stating she thought they were heading toward extinction as they cannot be bred in captivity. On our field tour, we saw a crested penguin beak to nose with a NZ sea lion, little blue penguins in their hobbit huts, and were treated to an unexpected close-up viewing from a hide of a pair of yellow-eyed penguins.

Contemplative about witnessing a beautiful animal that likely will be extinct in my lifetime. I took some time to myself, walking through the Dunedin Botanical Gardens and communing with a sweet little duck. Hugged our friends and drove back to Queenstown, fueled by fresh fruit from numerous farm stands, to resume our journey.