The Glaciers and Kaikoura

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Early start as we have to drive about 400km today across to the west side of the South Island. Drove out through the Gibbston valley, where we did the wine tasting and then up to Lake Wanaka. Road was virtually empty the whole way. Loads more vineyards, all the grapes appear to be draped in nets now, a lot of fruit trees also appear to be in cages to protect the fruit from the birds. We then drove up the side of Lake Hawea, more dramatic scenery, huge lake, mountains on the opposite side etc and through a narrow neck to reach the top end of Lake Wanaka. The road here is elevated and there are great views back across the lake. Both lakes were gauged out by glaciers during the Ice Age and you can see waterfalls in the distance on the opposite side. Very overcast here and the weather forecast for the next two days is constant rain, joy of joys. Through a valley where we stop for a drink and I decide it is about time I drove this car. It is automatic and I have only ever driven one once about 20 years ago. A quick lesson and off we go. Keep using the windscreen wiper when I am supposed to be indicating, go to change gear a couple of times. Thought this was the best time as Al doesn’t have to do any map reading as it is the only road to where we are going so he couldn’t get lost. After an hour I can see that Al would prefer to be driving so we swap again. We have started to do a lot of climbing and descending. There are lots of rivers and creeks to cross. We stop at Thunder Creek Falls and go to view the waterfall which cascades 90 feet over a sheer rock face straight into the River Haast below. It starts to rain and there are loads of biting insects so we don’t hang around. There are lots of other waterfalls to view on this road but we don’t stop because of the rain. We cross the Haast River a couple of times and the river bed increases in size dramatically as we get nearer to the coast. The road is surrounded by thick forest. The cloud has increased and is now below the summit line of the surrounding mountains. We stop a Knights Point, a view point overlooking some rocks where apparently we should be able to see some fur seals, they are all out sea. The forest stops at the edge of the cliffs along this bit of road and as the shoreline erodes away so the trees fall straight into the sea. As we drive past Bruce Bay the roadside is covered in sculptures made from driftwood and stones. Travellers have stopped here to create ‘their masterpiece’. There are literally hundreds of them, some of the wood is beautiful and I wish I could bring it home, no chance, but I sneak a couple of stones into the car, which I will try and bring home but I don’t hold out much hope if his lordship vets the luggage. We lose the mountains for a bit and then they return. We stop at Fox Glacier and take a walk up to the head across a dark grey rocky plain. There is no formed path here and rock and ice falls are a regular occurrence and once the snow melt swells the river it will probably cover parts of it. We have to cross a small stream on stepping stones, managed to stay upright, apparently I am to save the camera from getting wet if I slip!! Not sure why I bothered carrying it here as it is so overcast and the landscape so bleak. We don’t quite make it to the head of the glacier but can see it from a short distance. It starts to pour with rain so we hurry back. We proceed on down to Franz Josef the site of another glacier and our stop for the night. By now the rain is relentless and the wind is blowing, we are staying in a log cabin so hole up the evening and watch the cricket.

Day 2 - It rains most of the night and is still raining when we wake. The idea had been to go on a helicopter this morning and land on the glacier but we don’t think they would be flying. Not overly disappointed, helicopters are worse than planes as far as I am concerned. There is no point in even walking to see the glacier as it is so wet and we did see it from the air when we went on the Mount Cook flight so we head off for Greymouth, our next stop. It rains constantly the whole way there about 200 km. We stop a couple of times on route once at Maori craft shop where there are some weapons on display that have been carved from an extinct type of whale that was 3500 years old (they have had it carbon dated), the axe and spear heads are made from jade which is prevalent along this coast line and then at Hokitika to look in the shops, there isn’t much else to do in this weather. The mountains have been covered in cloud and when you look at the views in the distance they look like black and white photographs. The cloud cover is so low we drive through it on parts of the road, really strange. Lots more forests, lakes and rivers. Get to Greymouth and find out that this weather is supposed to get worse and last for another three days so we decide to press on to Hanmer Springs which is another 200km away, crossing the mountains again back to the east side. On the way there are lots of abandoned gold mines. Al and I didn’t realise that New Zealand had so much gold. Up over the Lewis pass, through more forests to eventually emerge in the Waiau river valley, which is huge. It is finally stopped raining, thank goodness and the temperature has risen a few degrees as well. Beautiful scenery. Find a motel and head off for the thermal springs for a couple of hours. There are several pools here ranging in temperature from 28 - 40 degrees. The really hot ones are sulphur pools and stink of ammonia. We went down the water slides. I go first, the tunnel is pitch black and I can’t see a thing, very disconcerting. I am being swept along by the water, up and down the sides of the chute to eventually emerge at the bottom with a huge splash. Al comes out of the other one. We go back up again and swap chutes. This one hasn’t been blacked out, you can see where you are going and isn’t as fast. Sods law. We have another couple of go’s and then decide to wallow a bit more in the pools. Might try and go for a walk or get Al to play golf here tomorrow as we don’t need to rush off.

Day 3 - The wind has been blowing all night and we wake expecting to see that it has rained but it hasn’t. We decide to go for a walk before leaving, it is too windy for golf apparently. We climb to the top of Conical Peak via a zig zag path through a pine forest. When we finally reach the top there are 360 degree panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We descend a different way though more woodland, pass a couple of ponds and then follow a stream, all very pretty, the wind is blowing quite hard but it is a lovely temperature for walking. There are lots of bees here but we managed not to get stung. We set off for Kaikoura, drove through the Leader valley, the inevitable stunning scenery, rivers, mountains, valleys etc. The trees are starting to change colour noticeably now although the first day of autumn was only yesterday. Eventually we descend down to the sea where the mountains virtually fall in to it. There is only a single track railway and a very narrow road along this bit of the coast. Arrive in Kaikoura and find the apartment really easily; it’s not a big place. Our pad overlooks the sea. Drove out to Point Kean where we see some fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks. The backdrop of the mountains here is stunning. Haven’t take a photo for two days as the weather has been so awful.

Day 4 - Woke to a beautiful morning which is just as well as we had booked to go whale watching. Arrived at the allotted point at 7.30, the trip is on, although they warn you that motion sickness may be a problem, lucky I have put the ginger in the bag, not that I have ever been sea sick. We get bussed out to the boat, a motor cat, we have to stay inside whilst we are motoring out. Swells are reasonably big and the boat rises on the swell and smacks the waves quite hard on the downward leg. We travel about eight miles out and they drop a hydrophone to see if the crew can hear any whales. They can, one, so we start tracking it, eventually a 30ft sperm whale comes to the surface. By this time we are all on the top deck snapping photos, not that you can see an awful lot of it. Most of remains submerged but you can see the odd spout of water as it breathes and a bit of his head. The whales name is Tutu, there are a number of juvenile males who are in permanent residence here and he is one of them. They get lots of other sorts of whales but he was to be our only sighting. The crew name the whales and identify them by the shape and nicks in their flukes (tail). We move off and then spot a pod of approx 200 husky dolphins. Some of them are doing flips and others are just launching themselves out of the water and then smacking it had with their backs. This is to frighten the fish down deeper to the waiting dolphins below. There are also a lot of albatrosses flying around; they have a huge wingspan, bigger than my outstretched arms. Eventually arrive back and decide to go for a walk along the coastal cliff top peninsular path. Lovely walk through fields, overlooking the ocean on both side of the Kaikoura peninsular. For the return leg we decide to walk along the shore, manage to spot a few seabirds and some more fur seals. Then it’s off to the local winery for tasting and a late lunch. Great unoaked chardonnay, we have to buy a bottle to drink this evening. The winery is situated on a hill overlooking the sea and with sun beating down you can’t ask for a much better place to sit and drink a glass of bubbles. Pick up some rock lobsters for dinner and another day draws to a close. Heard the local news this evening, the road into Milford Sound has been shut due to the bad weather, rock falls, landslides etc have occurred, tourists are trapped there as well as on two of the major walking routes. We were so lucky to have seen it in lovely weather.

Day 5 - Woke to rain, couldn’t see the mountains as they were covered in cloud so decided to have a lazy day and read our books, haven’t read a huge amount on this trip which is very unusual for me. Rain eventually stopped so we went out for a walk to see the seals again. A few more lying in the bushes this time and some on the rocks. They allow you to get really close but have got terrible bad breath. Not much else to report today. Off to Nelson at the top of the South Island tomorrow, weather looks good up there so hopefully some more walking.

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