Day 9 Saturday 29th June
We have a couple of days on our own now to
enjoy the wonderful gift our kids have given us for our 30th Wedding
Anniversary. They chipped in for our flights, and have organized a night at the
Hermitage at Aoraki Mt Cook, dinner in the Panorama Room and anything else we want to do there.
Daughter1 was there with me in 2009 and so she knew that we all wanted to come
back here with our respective hubbies.
I check our rental contract carefully to ensure we don’t
inadvertently breach it. I’m sure I read on previous trips that we couldn't drive
certain roads, including the Lindis Pass at certain times of year between
certain times. This time there’s nothing in the fine print we need to worry
about this time. None-the-less we don’t set off until the check out time of 10 o’clock. No point leaving too early, what with the risk of ice on the roads.
The car is frosted with pretty traceries of
ice crystals over the glass, so we need to turn the car on and defrost the
windscreen as we load up.
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| Lindis Pass Summit Lookout |
We continue on through snowy scenes. The
temperature rises as we get to Omarama. An impromptu turn at the sign for the
Clay Cliffs. This must take us in for a better look at the erosion spectacle we
have admired from the highway. Hubby would love a good look at that. We come to gravel. OK. Then a gate with a large
sign. Clay Cliffs is on private land. $5 entry payable at the hot springs at
Omarama. There’s also a secure payment box. Ah. Then I notice another sign on
the gate. "This waterway is infected with didymo"… oh. Well that’s that then. I’m
not going to cross any rivers or go anywhere with a quarantine warning sign on
it. We’re not cleaning this car and I can’t rely on Avis to do it to quarantine
standard either. We head back. Perhaps just as well anyway.
Twizel is another snowy wonderland.
Visibility becomes poor. I hope it’s clear up at Lake Pukaki! Pine plantations
look beautiful with the rich green branches draped in snow. The verge is heaped
with snow ploughed off the highway limiting opportunities to stop. It’s a bit
clearer as we make the turn up to Aoraki Mt Cook National Park and I note that
Aoraki is in larger print than the Mt Cook below it. Progress in making the
name change?
There’s a bank of low lying cloud affecting the lookout from
Peter’s Lookout, but the scene has the promise of clearer vantages as we get
closer.
The lake is a beautiful blue perfectly complimenting the snow laying
thickly on the far banks and upper reaches, not to mention the alps. We head on. The road is clear and the driving
is easy, despite the care required. This is just fabulous. We are so glad we
came.
The Hermitage is very busy. Car parks are
full and It’s a struggle to find somewhere to park to check in. Lots of people
wandering about clearly enjoying the scene.
The roof has large banks of snow
that drape and curl over the edge of the roof, long icicles hang, down dripping
water. Barriers are erected to keep visitors away from areas where ice or snow
may fall on them. The little garden where I stood to watch the sunrise in the
springtime, is under a heaving dump of deep snow. And the view of Aoraki is
clear. Beautifully clear. This is definitely one of New Zealand’s premier
locations. The ground floor smells of the open wood fire that in the lobby. The
ambience is very romantic and cosy. We check in and head to our room – 920.
This is on the second highest floor and it has a clear view of Aoraki and
smaller windows that look out to the east so we will be able to watch the
sunrise in comfort. The kids have spared no expense to make this a memorable
stay. Our room is comfortable. The bed is very comfortable. This is a very cosy
nook to curl up in and enjoy the view. What a view.
Hubby’s hungry so he wants to head down to
the café quickly before it closes and get something light. Save yourself for
dinner I warn. However he’s ordered the beef stir fry from the bain marie. Oh dear. That’s risky at this time of day. I
bite my tongue, afterall I don’t have to eat it. I’m not that overwhelmed with enthusiasm for
anything on offer, but figure the croissant is a safe bet. Would I like it
warmed? Oh, yeah, OK, thanks. Silly choice. They overheat it and clearly this
has been achieved by microwave. Sigh. Should have just skipped getting
anything. I abandon Hubby briefly to retrieve something or other from the room.
On my return his comment accompanied by raised eyebrows is telling. “Quite an
achievement to make rice your rice both gluggy and hard.” “Yeah well. That was
a bit predictable really.” One of the things you could actually see before
buying would have been a better bet. The quiches looked OK.
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| Aoraki |
We chill out in our room watching the view
and a bit of tele and just relaxing until it’s time to head down to dinner. No
views in the evening it gets dark before the Panorama Room opens. Now the
windows are draped in rich red velvet curtains. We are shown to our table and
peruse the menu. Hubby orders an apricot wheat beer. It’s actually got apricots
in it. Smells great. Tastes good too he says. First course I opt for the Tomato
and basic consommé. Hubby goes for the crayfish. I win. My consommé which we
have been warned is served cold, is lovely. Beautifully presented and
accompanied by a petit square of dark rye topped with tangy slices of cherry
tomato. Delicious. I sample hubbys
crayfish which has arrived, just a few pieces of meat in a dark rich bisque.
It’s OK but I think the delicate crayfish flavour is overwhelmed by the rest.
I’m glad I got the comsomme.
Mains I went for the poached chicken with
assiette of vegetables and crème fraiche. Weird. No other word for it. Just not
up to scratch in my opinion. I could have done it as well or better. The
chicken was dry, the vegetable assiette was just small croutons of cauliflower
and other winter vegetables which were lightly steamed. No dressing or other
treatment that I could tell. There’s some nicely roasted walnut pieces that add
a nice touch… and um.. some little dots of red stuff. No sign of crème fraiche.
For the price charged this is outrageously inadequate. I’ve also ordered a
serve of fried potatoes with sour cream. Thank god I was greedy. The sour cream
improves my main quite substantially. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been so
disappointed if the crème fraiche was provided, but this is a conclusion in
retrospect. I didn’t remember it was supposed to have the crème fraich until
looking at the dessert menu later. Too late to send it back. Hubby chose .. um “what was it you had dear?”…
Pause for thought….. hubby chose… something entirely forgettable. Hubby is
watching me write this and he laughs… “That’s rude.. it was quite nice compared
to yours.” Haha he can’t tell me what it
was, though, doesn’t that say it all? On to dessert. Dessert is an improvement.
Hubby had a nice hokey pokey crumble which was a deconstructed arrangement of
honeycomb pieces. I had the cherry berry with strawberry pannacotta. This would
have been really good, except the strawberry pannacotta wasn’t nice. Not
sweetened and it didn’t taste like strawberry either. I guess the intent was to
provide a foil to the other flavours on the plate. Well, I guess it did up to a
point. Man the rest of it tasted good after the pannacotta.
We head back to our room. Dinner was, on
the whole, very disappointing. Perhaps it’s just as well our actually
anniversary meal will be at home at our favourite restaurant. I feel bad mostly
for the kids. They were hoping this meal would be really memorable in a good
way. The Hermitage is in a fantastic location. The room is great. The food
really lets it down. IMHO if you’re paying the tariff asked for the better
rooms and the elite dining option here, you really expect a higher standard of
food that what is available.
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