WHITE VANMAN GOES LARGE

---

BLOG 6, SOUTH ISLAND, WHITE VANMAN STRIKES BACK
Whales, schmales, who needs them? You seen one sperm, you seen ‘em all. So dismissing our mammalian seagoing cousins, we opted heretically to leave Kaikoura without booking a tourist packet for the following day, and had to make our Big Decision -- should we head south for Queenstown and Milford Sound, thus condemning the driver, Cap’n Vanman, to 8 days of perpetual driving with no time to explore en route; or take a realistic (wimpy) view, be less ambitious and confine ourselves to the northern reaches of South Island?

The latter. We headed for Hanmer Springs and spend a couple of nights there. This is a thermal spa resort in an attractive hillside and forest setting with a hint of ski resort atmosphere -- not surprising, as when snow permits, there is a limited club skiing nearby. There were good walks through the adjoining woods, and enough local restaurants to keep us happy.

Then, on to the Abel Tasman National Park in the top left-hand corner of South Island. We drove through orchards laden with apples and pears, hops even, before eventually crossing the mountains and arriving at Pohara Beach. The site was prime beach frontage, on a huge bay of golden sand, tho decorously shielded from beach view by a narrow band of subtropic vegetation. As we arrived it started to drizzle, then tipped down all night, but the morrow dawned stunningly bright and clear.. So we stayed a couple of nights and, making use of the excellent water taxi service, did a section of the famous Abel Tasman coastal path, which is otherwise inaccessible by vehicle (unless of course you walk the whole damn thing)..

The next day, after a walk to a local waterfall, we drove the 30 or so bendy miles to Kaiteriteri, another beachside site in the Park. Uneventful.

Then on to Nelson (the Sun City, so called for its sunny microclimate), where we bivouacked early at a campsite a kilometre or two from the city centre and were in time to visit the local Saturday craft market, followed by a short trip to a Japanese public garden and Founders Park, where a number of old, largely wooden, buildings have been relocated and preserved to form a kind of visitor village. Happily, these include a local micro-brewery which for a mere five dollars offers a tasting of each of their five specialty beers. An excellent investment, which naturally lead to a more in-depth sampling of our favourites, etc etc. An early dinner was followed by a taxi ride back to camp, and yet another fight with Vodafone to get my dongle back online. Finally, after 90 minutes, success, and here I am!

---

Photos

POKINYERMAMA TREE (OR SIMILAR)
THE GIANT XMAS BOGBRUSH IS STILL IN FLOWER DOWN SOUTH

HANMER SPRINGS
A MORNING JAUNT BROUGHT US UPON THIS BUCOLIC SCENE

HANMER
VIEW FROM THE TOP OF CONICAL HILL

TYPICAL RIVER VIEW
MANY RIVERS MEANDER WIDE GRAVELLY PATHS THROUGH THE VALLEYS

YUMMY APPLES
WE KNOW, WE BOUGHT 2 KILOS FOR 2 NZ$ (A QUID)

VAN THE MAN..
..FONDLING HIS BELOVED SATNAV

SELF PORTRAIT
OF CROMAGNON VANMAN AND MATE AT THE TROUGH

POHARA BEACH
DOES MY BEACHBUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?

ON THE TRAIL
VANMAN SEARCHES FOR VICTUALS IN THE BUSH

MEGA VIEWS AT EVERY TURN
BUT IT'S USUALLY TOO DANGEROUS TO STOP AND PHOTOGRAPH THEM

VANMAN AND MATE
BASK AT THE WATERFALL (OR BURST PIPE, AS Z CALLS IT - S'POSE IT IS RATHER SMALL COMPARED WITH NIAGARA)