Blogs from West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 9

Arrived at Kohaihai (most Northerly point of the West coast by car) in anticpation of 2 days of the Heaphy track. Only to find that the day of the walk there was a severe weather warning with thunder and lightning and we were unable ot leave (Dan I know you would have gone anyway but I know how lost you were in that Argentine forest!). Time for plan B, spoke to the isite ladies who I think had gone West a number of years ago and considered plan B the Oparara basin! Arranged a guided tour through the infamous limestone (Kaast) honeycomb hill caves, a unique landscape formed through millions of years of undisturbed isolation. We spent the afternoon exploring this and the impressive arches to which no photo can do justice, if interested check out ... read more

With the rain pouring down, I had two showers (one hot, and one one on the run) then managed to make toast one a gas ring, and enjoyed a cup of caramel coffee to round off breakfast. It is possible to view the Franz Joseph Glacier by driving 5km south of the town to a car park, then walking just half an hour up a gentle track. That's what the guide book says anyway. I confess, I got as far as the car park, and even though I had full waterproof gear with me, I chickened out of the walk as the rain was quite heavy, and the cloud so low that visibility was extremely poor. There seemed no point in taking on this expedition when I could move on to maybe drier locations of equal ... read more

Having enjoyed my last power shower, spa bath, and sauna for what could be some time, it's off to Auckland's domestic airport terminal for the internal flight to Christchurch. Again, I am amazed by the smooth and hassle free operation of NZ internal flight check-in procedures. The self service machines scan your passport, give you your boarding card and baggage label, and within 10 minutes and no queues, you are ready to board. I had been warned that the South Island is far wetter than the North, so was not surprised when Auckland's bright 26 degree sunshine was replacved by Christchurch's 16 degrees of complete cloud cover with drizzle. Not to worry - the rain is good for the waterfalls. Ian met me at the airport and took me back to the Affordable Motor Homes depot ... read more

Thursday, January 7th The good times didn’t last. The sun got a few glimpses of Karamea today, but these were few and far between. The rest of the day was overcast and rainy. Talita woke with a sore throat, and she was slow getting out of bed. Ferdi could hardly keep his pants on, because we’d finished fiberglassing the top panels and were ready to stitch them to the hull. While Talita was still in bed, Ferdi went for an inspection. The panels were fine, but the paddles delaminated easily. It seems that resin isn’t a good replacement for glue. After serving breakfast in bed, Ferdi dragged Talita to the shed where we stitched the last of the panels to the hull. Our canoe is finally starting to look like one! We found a fairly large ... read more

Friday, January 1st Happy New Year everyone! May God our Father bless you this year and may happiness and peace be with you all. As the New Year arrived we popped a bottle of bubbly and shared a kiss. 2009 had been a life altering year. We’ve seen much, and through all our adventures and experiences we’ve grown much too. It’s an amazing thing to look back on a year spent travelling a small part of our beautiful planet, and if not for the blog and the photos we’d be tempted to believe that it was all a dream. Our quest for a new life has borne much fruit, and we feel close to finding what we are looking for. God has blessed us immensely and continues to do so every day. It’s amazing (and scary) ... read more