West Coast Wanderers

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Monday 23rd October

After surviving the onslaught of biting sand flies at our DOC campsite in Lyell, we set off on a short walk to the old cemetery. The cemetery was in use from 1870 to 1900 (and still is I suppose by a few people) but was left to nature as the town deminished after the gold rush. There were still several graves, (including a lady from Gainsborough for all those Lincolnshire folk) some of which are now sharing their resting place with fully matured trees.

Thankfully the weather had picked up from the previous day and we drove west alongside the rather full Buller river towards Westport. Seeing as Westport had nothing at all to tempt us in we took a sharp left and avoided it entirely, heading instead for the coast at Cape Foulwind. The cape was named by Captain Cook (who else?) after being subjected to a windy battering, some of which we encounted while walking the cliff tops. Abel Tasman had also named the area, Rocky Point, which was also quite apt as there were many large boulders in the sea as well as stacks of rocks due to the weathering of the headland. We made our way along the cliff to another seal sanctuary where we happily pointed out the fat males and tried to spot them swimming.

We continued down the coast and stopped for lunch at another lookout spot called Irimahuwhero, where we were greeted by two very inquisitive Weka birds - about the size of a chicken but flightless. A few k's up the road we stopped again at Punakiaki. Here there is another geological wonder as the layers of sedimentary rocks are being eroded in such a way that they look like stacks of pancakes (in some places) and the area is cleverly named the Pancake Rocks! We also strolled down the road to the Punakiaki Cavern (where we again forgot our torches) and had a brief glimpse in before heading back.

The last journey of the day took us to Greymouth. We pulled into the town centre to find everything completely dead. It took us a couple of minutes to realise that it was a public holiday - it's so nice travelling and not having to worry about these things. After a brief drive around we made our way to our camp site for the night which turned out to be a great find due to free Internet and a free spa - we're very easily pleased.

Tuesday

We started the morning by heading into Greymouth again and having a look around the shops. We also visited the Monteiths brewery and had a great tour around the place for just $10. It was made even better by the free tasting at the end of the tour where we got to taste six of the beers and even pour our own drink at the end. Seeing as I had to drive I couldn't indulge too much.

We left Greymouth and headed south (always south) and inland to an abandoned gold mining town called Goldsborough. Nothing is left of the old town which flurished in the gold rush era but we met a nice Welsh woman who told us that several people still come to do gold panning in the river that ran by the camp site - it sounds like they get a good community going each summer. We had a great walk from the camp up the stream bed and along the Goffs Track and German Gully Track. Part way through the walk Alex found a nice shot which looked like it was from Lord of the Rings and ordered me into the photo - to keep in the mood of the photo I tried my best hobbit impression but I also look like a schoolboy in my blue shirt!
After our walks we headed to lake Kaniere where we camped for the night.

Wednesday

I had a desire to climb a big mountain on Wednesday, much to Alex's dismay. The day didn't start in the best way though as it was freezing cold - we decided our food in the cool box would have been colder if we had left the cool box lid off! Anyway, seeing as I was making Alex climb the mountain I felt that I should at least make her a cup of tea in bed. The track was called Mount Tuhua Track and was, not surprisingly, all uphill, except for a short downhill burst in the middle which meant we had to climb even more. The path was very steep in places and we had to use the bushes and roots to help us climb some of the sections. The climb was worth it in the end as after several false summits we made it to the top where we were rewarded with great panoramic views and decent weather to enjoy the area as well. We had views to the coast, over glacial valleys and across to the southern Alps which stretch down the middle of the south island. We made the most of the views by enjoying our lunch on top while enjoying the view. We weren't alone at the top though as there was a pesky Weka that seemed to want our food despite me chasing it several times and Alex threatening it by throwing stones its way. The walk down was just as hard seeing as the path was so steep in places but we got back slightly quicker and managed the whole track in just under six hours.

We set off again in the afternoon to our next campsite which wasn't far down the coast at Lake Mahinapua. After our taste of beer at the Monteiths brewery we were going to have a couple of jars at a hotel by the main road but were thwarted as it was shut. Not being able to resist the urge of beer we drove back north to Hokitika where we managed to pick the only old man pub, which was also a gambling den, to enjoy our beer for the evening. After getting back to the camp site I used my local knowledge (seeing as I had stayed in the area in my last trip to New Zealand) and took Alex to see the glow worms in the camp site. They were situated on the drive way, covered by trees where you can see the glow worms in the banks by the side of the road. They looked really good.

Thursday

Thursday was a sign of things to come as it rained for most of the day. Fortunately we didn't have a great deal planned and we drove down to the town of Fox Glacier where we found a camp site for the night. We booked ourselves onto a tour of the Fox Glacier for Friday and made our way back to the campsite for the evening. Not having much to do I decided that our new table could be used for some entertainment and I had previously had a great idea to draw a chess board and backgammon board to keep us entertained when we're stuck in the middle of nowhere (not very exciting I know but anything helps and good exercise for the brain!).

Friday

The weather was awful again and our plan to make an early morning drive to lake Matherson was aborted. This was a real shame as you can get great views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman (the highest two mountains in NZ) and great reflections if the lake is still enough. Anyway, we still had our highlight of the day to look forward to which was a hike to the Fox glacier and on the glacier itself. We met up with our group and guide in the morning. Our guide, whose name was something like Paseng, originated from Nepal so we felt he was well qualified to guide us as he had climbed nearly to the top of Everest - he claims that the only reason he hasn't been to the top is because he only goes up when guiding people and the groups he has taken have never been able to make the top so he can't go up.

After getting covered up from the rain we jumped on the bus to take us to the glacier where it took us a good hour and a half to walk from the car park to the face of the glacier where we had to climb up the valley side to come down on top of the glacier. The walk proved too much for two women in our group who turned back before even setting foot on the glacier. Anyway, our depleted group finally made it on to the glacier, after donning crampons, and Alex was loving her first experience of being on a glacier. We had a good time clambering around and posing for photos as well as being told about the glacier itself by Paseng - the glacier is actually advancing at 0.5 metres a day at the face but in some parts it moves up to five metres a day! When our time was up we made the long walk back to the car park and were glad to get out of the rain which had started getting through the waterproof layers, particually in Alex's case where her trousers were soaked.

After drying off we spent the rest of the afternoon making our way south, again, to Haast Beach for the evening.

Saturday

Seeing as Friday afternoon had been so wet we had missed something on the drive to Haast beach which we wanted to return to. Seeing as the weather had improved we drove back up the road to walk the Monro Beach track. The track brought up to a beach where Fiordland Crested Penguins breed and we managed to spot one from the closest viewing point that we were allowed to go to. Although it was a long way off it was quite strange seeing it waddle to and from the sea and so we were pleased with the morning stroll for the viewing. The afternoon was again a washout and we made the drive to the town of Wanaka which is away from the coast and at the foothills of the southern Alps. Due to the low lying cloud the view of Lake Wanake as we drove by it looked as if we were back at the coast! We had a quick walk into town in the evening when the rain finally stopped and slipped into a bar for a warming pint.

Sunday

We were going to spend the morning walking a good track called Robroy but the rain and at least a 20km drive on unsealed road combined to put us off. Thankfully there was a great wet weather alternative in Puzzling World. Here we spent a couple of hours checking out the illusions rooms (which due to the sloping floor actually made us feel a bit ill after being in there a while) and the maze. The maze isn't the typical find the middle job but you have to make your way to each of the towers in the corners of the maze. To add to the complexity there are also bridges that you have to use as part of the maze and you can even go to the towers in a certain order to increase the complexity. We managed to find all towers, eventually in the right order, and find our way out again in a very impressive 50 minutes which we were well pleased with.

We left Wanaka behind and headed for Queenstown. On the way we stopped for a brief look at the AJ Hackett bungy site where Alex was scared at the thought of even jumping. Neither of us were going to jump seeing as I had already done the bungy here in the past and didn't really have any intention of doing it again. The next stop on the drive was the quaint little town of Arrowtown where we explored the area used to film the ford crossing in Fellowship of the Ring. It also had an abandoned and restored Chinese settlement from the gold mining days.

We arrived in Queenstown and had a look around. We even stopped for a burger at Fergburger, great tip Matt (Suggit) and it is a toss up between there and Burger Fuel but BF does serve kumara fries! We ended our day by driving out of town along the lake to our camp site at 12 Mile Delta.

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Photos

Beer tasting at Monteiths Greymouth
This boutique beer has just hit UK shelves and is well worth a try if you see it (especially the Original).

View over Lake Kaniere and the Southern Alps
Looking from Mt Tuhua.

Fox glacier valley
Most of this was filled up until the 1970's, although the glacier has been advancing since 1985.

Puzzling World - Illusions room
We both felt nautious after leaving this part of Puzzling World!

Twelve Mile Delta
View across Lake Wakatipu towards snow-capped Alps.

Comments

[McGinley Clan]

Green eyed monsters!
Hi guys. Thanks for your text wishing Séamus a happy birthday, I wasn't sure if my message got back to you in reply, so I thought I'd drop you a line on here instead. Séamus and I are sooooooo jealous you went glacier walking, it's something we'd both love to do (a bit hard with a toddler and pre-schooler in tow though!), we don't mind missing out on the Puzzle World though, especially as I'm suffering with morning (well, morning, noon and night) sickness at the moment - yep, you're going to be Uncle Simon and Auntie Alex for a third time round! Baby #3 is due 8th May 2007! Keep up with the blog entries, it's great to see and hear how you're both getting on, and Connor and Erin like looking at your photos of where you've been! Take care guys and look forward to catching up with you when (if!?!?) you ever come back to the UK!!! Love Cathy, Séamus, Connor, Erin & Bump. xxxxx