Advertisement
Published: April 11th 2019
Edit Blog Post
I am so far behind with the travel blog I'm not really sure where to start! But yes we are back in the beautiful South Island after spending the winter in Papamoa/Rotorua whilst Lance worked and I recovered after successful Hip surgery. We did manage a little adventure with a trip to Fiji in the middle winter with friends, can’t beat a bit of sun and warmth.
We sailed across to Picton on the Thursday 7
th February, heading straight to Havelock as I had booked the Pelorus Mail Cruise for next day. The cruise on Friday takes you out to the outer islands including Forsyth Island. My grandfather was a Sheep & Cattle Manager there in around 1941.
Friday with a bit of a bite in the air and plenty of sunshine we headed out on the Pelorus Mail Boat. James the skipper lived in the area as a child and had some old tales to tell as well as some informative information about the area. If you like a dry sense of humour this is the guy. In the early days Havelock was a bustling place full of prospectors and 20 pubs (yes 20 pubs). In the early
60’s the area started selling Green Shell Mussels. Today the industry here at Havelock employs about 1700 people. Pretty impressive considering the population of Havelock is about 500. The day was full of beautiful scenery as we delivered mail to these remote areas. The highlights for me would have to be Forsyth Island the buildings are the same as they were back in 1941. The original large shearing shed on the waters edge that my Nana had said had penguins sheltering under. The interesting bays we visited as people meandered down to the jetty to collect their mail and have a chat. The dogs that also wandered down awaiting there treats from the boat. Loved the large pigs at Waitata Bay, they certainly enjoyed their dog biscuit treats. A large pod of dolphins joined us, cruising along under the boat rubbing on the side of the boat and leaping into the air made for the end of a perfect day in the Pelorus Sounds. Fact of the day: Havelock North Primary School had some pretty notable students in its time including Ernest Rutherford (Nuclear Physicist) and William Pickering (Rocket Scientist).
Sunday 10
th February we pack up and head out
on that awful Kenepuru Sound road. Narrow, windy and sunken in places makes it a very slow painful drive in our Motorhome. We stopped alongside Mahau Sound for lunch and a room with a view. Further along another brief stop at Portage on the Kenepuru Sounds. It looks like the little marina here is out of action and in need of some work. The wind is still a little unpleasant so we only stay long enough to take a couple of pictures. Past Kenepuru Heads and then onto the Titirangi road. Titirangi was a place we missed last time we were here. We heard lots of stories about how horrendous the road was but still regretted not coming. If you can drive on some of the Coromandal roads up North we figure we should be ok. Same rules apply just take your time. Yes it’s quite a hike up and over, the road is gravel and a little narrow if you happen to meet someone in larger vehicle or towing. The reward is sooo worth it. The view from the top looking down into the bay is stunning. The farm here is Department of Conservation land leased to private farmers.
Part of these lease conditions is that they carry on running the campsite for public use. Facilities are basic with some flush toilets and a couple of cold showers. Note there is no cellphone coverage here. Our first job as we set up camp was to remove the dust from the inside of the motorhome, this was the worst we had ever experienced. We will be using 100 mile tape on the vents on our way out that’s for sure. Magic swimming in the sea looking back to camp and the imposing hills is really an awesome sight. We spent 3 nights here and had a little surprise on day 2 as we watched a familiar looking motorhome, makings its way down the steep hill to camp (Mum and Dad direct off Picton ferry coming to join us😊).
Wednesday and all our vents are taped up as we head off out of Titirangi. I managed to get a photo from the top of hills with Mum and Dads motorhome winding its way up. See if you can spot them in the photo. Decided to not travel too far so popped into the Kenepuru DOC camp for the night. This
sits on the Kenepuru Sound. Peaceful spot but if you want to go swimming its shallow and muddy. Lance and I decided to bike around towards Waitaria Bay to see if we could find a better swimming spot. Still not a lot better but swapped the mud for stony private beach. Well it was private until I got caught skinny dipping. Typical don’t see anyone for miles them bam ….oops. Back at camp and a surprise catch-up with an Aunty and friend made for a lovely evening.
After a night in Motueka on Thursday 14/2 we restocked our supplies and headed over to Golden Bay and my favourite place Totaranui. I have done plenty of blogs about this place and the walks in this area so will keep it brief. We managed to get 6 blissful nights here before getting the dreaded work phone call to say the Hops Harvest was starting on Thursday 21
st February. The swimming was awesome and I got to test out my newly operated hip on a walk up to Separation Pt and back. I still think this is the nicest part of the track. Less people and the beaches are gorgeous. The photos
tell all. The forest area here is so dry at the moment and I would have to say a little disconcerting when you walk these tracks and all the dead dried up trees and bushes. Certainly made you aware and alert of the fire risk.
Tuesday 3
rd April…………6 weeks later and the Hops Harvest is over. Lance and I call it Boot Camp…. you get paid to work your ass off and lose a few kilos. Well some of the team lost and some put weight on. That’s what happens when you have a chef on site. Met some characters and made a couple of new friends. The hours this year were a little horrendous between 82 -94hrs per week. I'm not quite sure how I made it through but now I have stopped I feel terrible. It may take a bit to be back to my normal (sarcastic Lance said) self. I'm sure Lance misses me😊 .
Sorry about the blog it’s a little all over the place (brain malfunction) Still a bit behind as I sit here in Westport but the next blog coming soon ………..West Coast
Advertisement
Tot: 0.229s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 76; dbt: 0.1794s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb