Blogs from Nelson Lakes National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Our mornings in Hanmer Springs so far had all started with cloud and a threat of rain but this morning the story was different with broken cloud and blue sky apparent. This bodes well for our drive over Lewis Pass and onto Lake Rotoiti when we expect the mountain scenery should be spectacular. Gretchen had washed off much of the visible dust on the car that we had picked up in Molesworth Station but there was still plenty in the sills in the door and other places where the hose water didn’t reach and it was hard to avoid dusting ones clothes when climbing into a seat. We avoided the bakery we had been to for the last 3 days this morning for food for lunch on the road somewhere and decided that a break in ... read more

Our last hiking adventure to South Island, New Zealand in February-March 2018 was fantastic! Period!. We had some great hiking in the Mount Richmond Alpine Park which we accessed via Nelson, we also had some wild weather from the get go when we flew from Sydney to Christchurch and right into the CYCLONE GITA that affected many parts of the South Island (including some townships being cut off by landslide damage and extensive road closures). All internal NZ flights into and out of Christchurch were cancelled so we had to scramble to find a hotel room in Christchurch and it was crazy as so many visitors were in same predicament as us.....we tried booking rooms using online services but when we called the actual hotel to make sure we had a physical room, it was often ... read more

My third entry for the trip to South Island will be shorter and more succinct as I can tell, but not show in too much detail, what we've been up to. Firstly, if you are ever in Central South Island, around Nelson Lakes, then I FIRMLY recommend you camp at Murchison. The hosts are welcoming, it's very clean and a perfect base for adventure. Secondly, I did what I said I would in the post 2 days ago on day 3 : I rested and fished in the Buller River for the day. Wowzers! 6 very large fresh water fish caught on Spam! I released them all as fresh water fish always tastes like mud to me. BBQ garlic lamb shish kebabs. Bed. Thirdly : You are going to be bitten a lot by Sandflies, mossies ... read more

Je quitte Takaka vers midi le 4 janvier, mon colis n'est toujours pas arrivé...rien ne sert de l'attendre je dois organiser le transfert depuis la nouvelle poste de réception. Arrivée à Nelson Lake National Park vers 17h, Susan et Cécile sont encore là. Nous mangeons ensemble. Elles partent le lendemain, on échange nos programmes. Le lendemain rando de 24 km pour moi (rando de deux jours, bouclée en un jour car la hut Angelus est complète) Superbe, mais j'ai modifié le chemin de retour pour faire une boucle, et cela c'est avéré compliqué, descente dans un canyon, au milieu d'une rivière qui commençait en ruisseau et fini en gros torrent, à traverser plusieurs fois... puis un jeu de piste pour daltonien : trouver les triangles oranges en forêt... ma patience à été mise à l'épreuve... Aujourd'hui ... read more

We escaped Sydney and all the lead up mayhem of the annual Christmas celebrations to head across the Tasman to Picton in the South Island of New Zealand for the start of Dave’s adventure program (22+ days of hiking – largely no electricity, no wifi, no hot showers, no ‘get out of jail’ cards….you get the vibe). Side note: we had experienced the amazing Department of Conservation (DoC) series of Tramping Huts located on various trails, when we did some hikes in Queenstown / Wanaka back in Jan/Feb 2014 –refer earlier post Queen Charlotte Sound (QCS) track – The Warm Up 4 days of hiking (Mon 7/12 to Fri 11/12) We started with our ‘warm up’ hike to awaken our legs, feet and backs with a 4 day-hike of the Queen Charlotte Sound (QCS) track, which ... read more