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Published: January 2nd 2011
We headed north through heavy rain intending to stop at the Okarito Lagoon, NZ’s largest wetland lagoon to see the only breeding ground of the rare white heron but the weather was dreadful so we continued on. We stopped briefly at HariHari where alongside the road was a replica of a biplane belonging to Guy Menzies, an Australian aviator who completed the first solo Trans-Tasman flight from Sydney in 1931. Menzies crash landed the Southern Cross Junior into the La Fontaine swamp near HariHari and the locals went to his aid. It was quite a challenge as the biplane was open to the elements and he was lucky to survive the landing. We travelled on through the forest enclosed Lake Ianthe, popular for trout fishing and with the rain easing a little as we came into Ross, we decided to stop for a break and a short walk. Ross was once a flourishing goldfield and produced the largest nugget ever found in NZ at 2.81 kilograms, called The Honourable Roddy (not sure why). We did a circular walk around the town viewing relics of its history including seeing the original gaol and miner’s cottage as well as a replica of the
gold nugget. The original was presented by the NZ government to George V, who we think turned it into a gold tea set. We stopped for coffee and cake at the Bushman’s Centre in the middle of nowhere which was a café, shop and museum with some very interesting artefacts. Various signs were located around and outside the centre one said ‘WANTED Woman to cook and skin possums, set traps and make love, must have good rifle, knife and spotlight, please enclose picture of knife and rifle’. Another sign gave the recent currency rates (see photo). The shop was very unique and even had a giant sandfly on display outside the front of the shop, again see photo. We continued on and arrived in the peaceful town of Hokitika and booked into the Shining Star campsite which was just outside the town and next to a beach where the little blue penguins have a colony. The beach was similar to most on the west coast; wild rugged and strewn with driftwood of varying shapes and sizes and various whole tree trunks. It was still raining so we did some shopping in the local New World and settled down for the
evening. Paul was in luck as he did manage to find a viewable TV station - not sure what he was watching though! The next morning it was still raining but the forecast said it should be improving. We decided to stay another day in Hokitika as it looked quite nice and we were ahead of our schedule and would do some walking around the area. We travelled into town and parked on the ocean front and followed the marked beach walk trail to the sunset point lookout. Along this walk we came across several sculptures of odd seating including an armchair that looked as though it was used by Wallace and Gromit! We continued to the look out where there was a concrete memorial of a ship wreck to all those lost at sea around the estuary during the last century. We continued inland along the heritage walk and had a quick visit around the custom house by the old quayside. We came out at the bottom of the town centre where there were numerous jewellery factories and shops mainly focussed on the greenstone and jade found in this area. However we did learn that NZ has its own
precious gemstone, the Goodletite. This form of Ruby Rock contains Ruby, Sapphire and Tourmaline Crystals beautifully arranged by nature in one stone displaying a landscape of colour. With no two pieces alike Goodletite is extremely rare and only found in Hokitika, NZ it was very lovely indeed, similar to the opal. The sun finally arrived and that evening we decided to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset and it was well worth it, probably one of the best we had seen in all our travels. We then waited on the beach for the arrival of the little blue penguins but guess what…… having waited until 0930 hours in the chill they had still not arrived – so no dinner tonight for all those little baby penguins! Also on our agenda for the evening was a visit to the glow worm glen which was just across the railway line from our campsite. So we set off head torches in hand!!! And sure enough as we entered the glen it was like a Christmas fairly light display. We chatted to a couple of people from Cambridge for a while watching the display before we headed back to bed. We
had planned to go from here to Greymouth and then across Arthurs Pass back to Christchurch but we still had about 6 days in hand before we handed over the motorhome to Kenrick of New Zealand Frontiers. We therefore decided we would travel further up the west coast to Westport and then cross over the Lewis Pass. We would still travel across Arthurs Pass but do it by rail from Christchurch on the Trans Alpine train as we had plenty of time there. So next morning we headed for the Paparoa National Park a huge native rainforest with mountains ranges and rugged coastal beaches to see the remarkable Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Looking like enormous stacks of pancakes, the rocks are a major NZ visitor attraction. Formed 30 million years ago from fragments of skeletons and shells, these limestone rocks have been sculpted over the millennia by mildly acid rain, wind and sea water. You follow an easy broadwalk around the best viewing spots. It is quite strange, with all our worldly knowledge no-one actually knows why the rock has formed in these layers!! After a flat white coffee in the local café it was still early so we
decided not to stay overnight but to continue to Westport along another windy coastal road. Westport near the mouth of the Buller River is the last large town on the west coast before the road finally stops and turns into a track. We looked at a Top Ten campsite but it was completely empty and looked a bit barren so decided to look at a Kiwi site on the other side of town. We had a warm welcome from the owner who said we could choose where we wanted to park. We selected a site in the middle of a large field with a little forest canopy walk through to their facilities. There was no other motorhomes in the whole of the field although there were quite a few residential caravans in situ, together with their ‘colourful owners’! We walked into town to pick up some supplies and there were a range of shops but everywhere was quiet and deserted. Later Paul managed to get the antiquated barbeque going after a dozen or so spent matches and the help of a friendly resident. We had a lovely meal outside our van in the sunshine with not another person around as
was the case all evening as no other motorhome arrived overnight. Next morning we headed for Reefton through the Buller Gorge prior to crossing back over the Southern Alps via the Lewis Pass, the last major route across the South Island. The road was not as rough as we thought it would be and followed the SH6 to the Inangahua Junction (a few days later this was flooded with heavy rain) and then turned southeast on the SH69 to Reefton. Although part of the road for 50 metres, known as Hawks Crag, was a stretch of single lane-road as the road had been cut through the solid granite rock the only option with the raging river on the other side. Traffic lights control the flow of traffic, however there was a sign saying if they are not working to proceed with caution but they seemed to be working this day! This region was once abundant with gold and coal and Reefton itself was a very colourful town - it was like arriving in the middle of a wild west movie. The town has retained much of the character and charm of its historic past including on the main street many
old buildings of yesteryear charm. In the centre of the town you could stop and chat to the Bearded Miners who always have time for a ‘natter’ in their replica miner’s hut. This replica hut depicting 1860s style housing is made of native cedar slabs and set amongst native plantings right in the heart of the town on Broadway. The miners are 'in residence' all year, and welcome visitors in to learn how a miner lived in the 19th century when the promise of gold lured thousands of prospectors to the area. Just off the main street was an old steam engine, the Fairlie locomotive in its original form sitting right in the heart of the town. The engine was designed by Robert Fairlie at Avonside, Bristol in 1878 and was originally built to withstand the tight corners on the tracks in Wales. The engine was purchased by NZ and worked out of Greymouth until 1934. Later the engine was sold to a colliery in Reefton where it remained in use until 1948 and was then gifted to the people of Reefton where it now stands as a monument to the men who worked her in the building of the
country. Just out of town on SH69 towards Westport, the Reefton railway precinct retains its 19th Century railway station (1892) and the country's only remaining single row two-stall steam engine shed (1892). We strolled around for a while and took some photographs followed by coffee and cake in a delightful historical café and sat and watched the world go by. We continued on, travelling through the Lewis Pass which was not as dramatic as we had anticipated and stopping by a delightful lake for a picnic lunch. We cannot believe we have now travelled all around the South Island and are nearly back on the east coast where we started from. We have had so many amazing experiences but still have a few ‘spare’ days left before we have to get to Christchurch to handover the motorhome to Kenrick and move into a B&B for Christmas. We therefore decided we would return to Hanmer Springs and perhaps travel back up the coast to Kaikoura again which was still not too far from Christchurch and an area we liked on our first visit. So we have come full circle and on arrival at Hanmer Springs were surprised how it has changed
since we were here about a month ago. Gone were all the workmen and barriers and the town was looking much prettier, so we decided to stay for a couple of days before moving on. The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa had also been completed so we thought we would pay a visit. The thermal pools originally open in 1879 attracting visitors seeking the benefits of its natural mineral waters and the clean alpine air. Today there are 12 pools ranging in temperature from 31 to 42 degrees Celsius, surrounded by forests and mountains. Well we spent a very pleasant afternoon soaking in the hot pools before walking back to our motorhome for dinner. Next day when we awoke it was raining so we caught up on some admin and when the sky cleared we set off on a couple of walks. There are over 50 km of walks in the area, not planning to do that much but we chose the Woodland Walk (1 hour) passing through typical woodland, meadowland and stands of exotic trees including Douglas Fir, Popular and Redwood trees. The track followed a slow flowing stream, flax wetland and ponds with a variety of birds
nesting around the sides. We started climbing into a thick forest and then joined another walk called the Majuba Walk (1 hour) through the forest which connected to the Conical Hill Walk (1 hour) which zigzagged up through mature Lawson Cypress, Japanese Cypress, Giant Fir and Atlantic Cedar all planted around 1910 and very well developed. The track finally reached the summit and there would have been magnificent views but today the low lying cloud was obscuring the view. In winter the area is popular with skiers and it looked just like a mini Switzerland. We returned down through the forest and finally reached the edge of town where they were in full preparation for the evening’s Christmas Parade. Instead of this we decided to return to the Thermal Pools and spent a very pleasant few hours soaking our tired muscles in the various hot pools although we did not spend too long in the 42 degree pool as it was just too hot. After our favourite mid morning coffee and cake (will have to go on a diet before we come home or no-one will recognise us!) we walked back to the campsite. Next morning we moved on and
decided to stop just outside Kaikoura at Peketa Beach and were pleased we did. We parked the motorhome right on the ocean with glorious views out to sea on one side and the mountains on the other. We spent a lazy day doing nothing just watching the ocean – pure heaven. We met a couple from Dibden Purlieu who were in the next motorhome and went around to their van for drinks and had a nice chat. They had just arrived and were unsure what route to take so we suggested an itinerary for their short stay. Next morning we decided that we would go out to see the Dusky Dolpins located in Kaikoura bay. We booked the last trip of the day leaving at midday but when we arrived for check in there was some doubt whether the cruise would take place due to adverse weather conditions out at sea. They said to wait in the coffee shop and they would let us know. At 1300 hours they called and said they would be doing the trip even though the sea conditions were moderate to heavy! We were all advised to take a couple of ‘ginger pills’ even if
not prone to sea sickness so we did – just in case! It was soon apparent that it was going to be a choppy trip and after 45 minutes they had still not spotted any dolphins and they announced that they were going to turn around to try and get away from the heavy swell. All of a sudden the boat was right in the middle of a large pod of about 200 to 300 dolphins. It was so amazing to see such a large group all together and they were riding the waves and jumping all around the boat. All of a sudden they took off jumping over the waves, the crew called this a ‘star burst’ and they said they did not see it very often, we were lucky and even managed to get it on video although it was quite difficult with the boat rocking and having to hang on to the sides let alone try and video or take photographs. We also saw many seabirds including the Buller & Wandering Albatross, the largest flying bird with a wingspan of up to 3.4m, Petrels Shearwaters, Terns and Skuas, the bad weather had brought them out in droves.
We proceeded back to the harbour and most of the passengers were being very sea sick by now so we are glad we took the ginger pills and were both OK, apart from a few bruises from trying to hang on to the sides of the boat that is! The following morning we had planned to travel to Christchurch but because we really liked where we were staying we decided to remain for another night. Whilst I was doing the laundry Paul spotted some dolphins in the bay just in front of our van and called me over to watch them, what a wonderful sight they were just of the shoreline jumping and playing in the waves. Later we met a lovely local couple, Loretta and Paul2 and their two children Abby 9 and Cameron 11. They had a static caravan and came to the beach as often as they could from Christchurch where Paul2 was a builder. He was going spear fishing in the river that ran into the ocean at the end of the bay and invited us around for dinner to sample whatever he caught. He hoped to catch some butterfish which he said were really tasty.
In the afternoon as we had so enjoyed watching the dolphins yesterday we decided to do another trip if the sea conditions were better which they were and we had a lovely second much calmer visit. We were lucky enough to see another huge pod of dolphins and many mothers with their calves. They were also tail slapping and doing somersaults which was really wonderful to watch. Later we went around to Loretta’s and Paul’s caravan for dinner. Paul2 had not managed to spear any butterfish but had caught some Crayfish and Paua which is a large shellfish and tasted delicious. We spent a lovely evening with them and we all wandered down to the beach later with our drinks and watched the ocean until dark. Next morning we awoke early and watched the sun come up over the sea, this really is a lovely place but we know we had to leave today for Christchurch. The dolphins arrived in the bay again and I went to get my camera to take some photos. Paul2 arrived with his fishing line and was going to do some surf fishing to try and catch some bait, so Paul wandered down with him to the shore. Paul2 cast his line and within minutes got a ‘bite’ and it was obviously something big so he called Paul to help him reel it in. Paul took over the line and started reeling in as Paul2 rushed to the shoreline, within minutes they had reeled in this huge 10lb wild sea salmon it was a truly amazing size, see photo otherwise you would not believe it. Paul2 said that it is quite rare to catch these salmon off the shore but they do usually catch a few in the river. Paul2 then took the salmon back to fillet it and brought us around a huge side of salmon to take with us which we put in the fridge. We would not have to buy dinner for at least a couple of days. It was really sad to say goodbye to Loretta, Paul and their lovely children but we have to move on to Christchurch to handover the motorhome in a few days. It only took a few hours to get to Christchurch stopping on the way to visit a lovely vineyard called the Mud House. We booked into a campsite near the airport where we could move all our belongings into a small cabin so that we could clear out the motorhome ready for handover. It was strange spending a night in a room after 63 days in the van so much space for us both to move around! Next morning we drove to the airport to pick up Kenrick who was flying in from Auckland to pick up his van and he then drove us to our B&B at Sumner where we were going to spend 6 days over the Christmas period.
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Charmian
non-member comment
Dolphins
How wonderful to see the dolphins like that-am very jealous-such great pictures. Good bit of fishing Paul, will that be your new hobby when you get back "home". Thought you might have applied for the job of skinning possums etc at the centre Sheila, you have turned into an Amazonian warrior scaling high bridges, walking across ice floes etc (never mind the making love part-everyone can plead tiredness at some point)!