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Published: March 20th 2010
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BEAUTIFUL SOUTH - the final days Everyone has to see the glaciers - Fox and Franz. They are astonishing. The only glaciers that reach into sub tropical forests. We walked to the faces of the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier- you can walk really close to them through desolate landscape and let your imagination enjoy watching them creep. They are beautiful.
We would love to have added to the incessant noise pollution and taken a plane or helicopter ride but they are so expensive - they are for the budget traveller anyway and we couldn’t justify the price. Not even I could and I am pretty nifty at price justification.
The sun shone brilliant in an ice blue sky. Bad weather was due to close in but for today all was perfection. All the other children were allowed to fly over the glaciers and land and look at Mt Cook - we felt miserable. There was one place that we had not yet tried in terms of prices and without much hope we walked in “Just to see...”
I am sworn to secrecy. I am not allowed to say who they were or give the real
prices - in case you track them down - but I will give the correct differentials.
A wonderful girl with a lively face and smiling eyes served us. She told us the options available. One that just nudged the realms of possibilities was a helicopter ride of 20 minutes at $90 each. It was my birthday the next day and Tim decided that this could be my gift if I wanted it.
YES PLEASE! She phoned the pilot to find out when the next flight was. She turned back to us “He’s due shortly to do the 40 minute flight which actually stops on a mountain so that you can stand in the snow and see Mt Cook.” I shook my head. That trip was $160 each - way too much.
She told him that we wanted to do the shorter flight.
Suddenly I spoke up “Tell him that we will do the 40 minute flight for $90.”
I had realised that his longer trip was not full and that it would cost him more to take us on a separate flight than to just let us join that flight.
She laughed at me
- mad crazy woman her eyes seemed to say. But she told him. Her expressive dark eyes became huge and she leaned forward and whispered to me “He says you can do it for $100”
“Deal!”
And this is how Tim and I had the most awesome experience of riding in a helicopter over the glaciers and the mountains to stand in the snow and up, up, up over Mt Cook - take my breath away! And we paid $120 less than the usual rate - only $20 more than we would have paid for the shorter trip. Sweet As!
At the office they were still shaking their heads when we went back to thank them - “Can’t believe,” they said “Can’t believe the boss went for that. Gotta be the deal of the decade!” And then they all shook our hands! Double Sweet As!
From there we continued north, passed Haast and wood skeleton coast lines, Hokitika and its greenstone shops and factories, cutting across to the east again to Kaikoura. No, not going to spend money swimming with dolphins or seals or whales. Spent it flying over some ice and hills. But, hey, we
Southern Alps
Photo dedicated to Mary and Rob who have been most encouraging throughout our journey and who wanted photo's of the Southern Alps. stood on the beach and watched dolphins diving over waves, stood by the roadside and gazed the over the edge on seals sunning themselves indolently and I swear as we drove away I saw a huge and stately tail emerge from the water in the far distance, hold itself for a while before sliding back into the sea. And that show was all for free!
The drive to Blenheim through vineyard after vineyard. And then to wonderful wonderful Nelson. Such a pretty place and that is of course where you can see the genuine original “One Ring” in the window of the jeweller who designed and made it. Nelson is an arty place full of wonderful arty shops and bookshops and coffee bars - my kinda town.
We made it to Farewell Spit - thus going as far north as we could. It is a fine-looking Spit. I was puzzled by hundreds and hundreds of black swans swimming in the sea waters but they are definitely swans. How strange as I thought swans were fresh water birds.
On the way we stopped at the freshest clearest springs I would think in the universe. We loved walking
On top of the world
loads of snow but we toughed it out! around and staring into pools where nothing was hidden - all fresh and clear and very special indeed.
Not counting Picton, the last place we stayed at was Pohara. The campsite there is right on the beach - don’t pay extra for a sea view as there is a great hedge between you and sea, but it is a sweet campsite and the water is cool and clear. While swimming there we watched a sting ray gracefully glide by and large grey brown fish came up to say hello.
And for us it is time to say goodbye to the Beautiful South and continue our journey northwards.
Leaning against the van sipping a mug of coffee I idly watched the rust red and cream van rattle into the roadside rest area and shudder to a halt. For a while all was silent and then the birds started their songs again. It was a beautiful blue skied New Zealand day and Tim and I had only arrived on the North Island the day before. Our route, at that point, was along the Pacific Highway - Highway 35. It was remote.
Tim was sitting in the van making
a peanut butter sandwich.
The long paused silence came to an end with the eruption of a little man from the van who darted across to me. He was wearing cream britches - seriously they were britches and a blue sweater. His face covered in spiky grey hair and his eyes small and brown like a robin’s. He was filthy. His yellow teeth smiled at me.
“Hello!” he said.
“Hi!” was my cautious response.
“I don’t suggest you free camp here.”
I shook my head. “We won’t. We don’t free camp.”
He glanced around. The trees bent forward to listen. The birds silenced their chirrups. I swear clouds gathered overhead. “There are bad people here. Not wise to stop here. You could get hurt. Or robbed...Or worse.”
I stared at him. “Oh, Okay. But it is 10.30 in the morning. Is it safe just to stop for coffee?”
“I wouldn’t advise it. No I wouldn’t.” He walked away a few steps then came darting back.
“You know that town at the foot of this hill?”
I searched my memory. Firstly it wasn’t a hill - it was a ruddy great mountain.
Secondly there wasn’t a town at the foot of it - there were 5 houses all in a dilapidated state, one great big Speights Pub and a small grubby cafe with 3 old men sitting outside it. There was definitely not a town.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Not so long ago a man stopped there to go to the public toilet and he got shot as he came out. Yes, shot! There are bad people here.”
“So you don’t think we should stop for coffee then?”
He shook his head and walked away. I watched and tensed as he turned and came back.
“Do you know who Andy Leslie is?”
A voice boomed from inside the van “Was an All Balck Captain - number 8.”
“That’s right.” He walked away. I watched as he carried on walking away. He reached into his van.
What if he has a gun? Maybe he is a bad man.
I don’t know him. He turned slowly with a plastic bag of litter in his hand and walked to the
NO LITTER sign where he precisely placed the bag beneath it. Back in his van he started the engine, nodded in my direction and clattered away.
“Tim,” I squeaked “Let’s go. Let’s drink our coffee as we drive!”
Ahhh - so this is the North Island
.
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Hugh
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Hahaha brilliant as always mater!