Monday 20th February (Day 15)
It was with a tinge of sadness that we left Queenstown, by far the most energetic place, buzzing with energy and welcoming. However, other things beckoned. So off we went and by 10.00am we were parked up in Arrowtown. This is a gold rush town that hasn't changed much at all, except for shop names etc. The Chinese settlement was really basic and showed how hardy they must have been. The main town was very 'western' cowboy looking. A lovely quaint place to while away an hour or so. We left on our way to Haast Just after 11.15am. The route took us over the Crown Ridges, climbing to nearly 1200 feet affording great views back to Queenstown. Then we dropped down into the valley and arrived in 25 degree heat and sunshine at Wanaka. Here we stopped overlooking the lake and watched those around us while having lunch. Lunch finished so we continued our way to Haast via the Haast Pass. Another range of mountains with frequent stops for short walks to waterfalls. 5.00pm saw us parked up at Haast Holiday Park and Motel. By now, while still warm, dark clouds were threatening. A short walk into Haast to buy a loaf of bread in a supermarket that looked like it had been burgled and the few houses that made up Haast were seen! it really is that small. We then settled down for the evening - certainly it would be a quiet one. We sat for a while outside and I spent every few seconds killing a sand fly that, despite my copious spraying of 'sod off sand fly' seemed not to work. Indeed we ended up in the campervan to escape the little buggers. (NB sand flies are to NZ what midges are to Scotland but without the attitude). They are the size of a thunder bug or about 2mm in size, black in colour and very persistent. They bite and draw blood (sometimes) but cause a persistent itch that antihistamine cream does little to soothe.) Over to the kitchen for dinner and it was a United Nations of cooking; having said that I was next to a man from Anglesely whose wife was from the Wirral and they have lived for 30 years in Holland, such is the way of the world nowadays. While eating and chatting it rained a bit, but not for long. Back in the motorhome and an evening of cards beckoned as not only was there no phone signal but neither was there a tv signal as we are so far in the 'back and beyond'.
Tuesday 21st February (Day 16)
A lot of rain fell during the night but the day started quite bright. After the usual paraphernalia of getting sorted we left and the first job was to fill up with diesel as we were quite empty. The it was on to Fox Glacier a trip of just over an hour. By the time we arrived we had more rain and the clouds were quite low so we didn't expect any helicopter flights to the glacier to be taking place. This proved to be the case, some flights may take off and you would get 10 - 20 minutes on the glacier but the flights may not even go. We decided to try Franz Joseph further along the coast and beforehand went to Lake Matheson. We started the walk around this lake but the heavens opened so we returned and drove off. The rain continued and at Franz Joseph things were no better. Having parachuted from three miles high we decided that you cannot do everything and, nice as it would be, the money spent on a helicopter to the glacier could be better spent so we pushed on again. This time it was double speed windscreen wipers. We arrived in Hokitika and got the last place at a great little camp site. Shining Star Beach Front Accommodation. A great little site about 1km from the town centre. It must be said that Hokitika is not overly exciting though. A 'two street' town in the main. I am sure in bright sunshine it has some attraction but with an overcast sky the place held little excitement. However we walked into town and looked around before trying the local hostelry, Stumpers, and then walking back for a steak dinner. We then chatted to two English women who were next door until about 9.30pm when we walked out of the site, across the road and into 'Glow Worm Dell'. It was a tunnel of trees in which there were thousands of glow worms. It was an amazing sight only marred by the occasional wally who wanted to take a flash photograph or used a camera with a beam to assist the focussing which resulted in the glow worms 'turning themselves off' for a while.
Wednesday 22nd February (Day 17)
Last night we made contact with a 2nd cousin of Chris who lives on the north Island but is starting a short tour of the south island. She will be just across the road from the site we are on this evening. Due to this we decided to stay another night to meet up. So after a 6.00am wake up to FaceTime with our son and family in Switzerland, we dozed off again and then had a late-ish breakfast. We then opted for a drive to Hokitika Gorge (the Blue Gorge). The weather was overcast with the threat of rain but temperatures varied between 18 and 22 degrees. After a short 35 minute ride we parked up and spent a pleasant hour or so walking a short walk over a suspension bridge and down to a blue river. (The river changes colour according to the season and weather.) At this time of year the water has rock flour suspended in it and so takes on the blue hue) It was a pleasant jaunt. Then we back tracked to go to Dorothy Falls and Lake Kaniere, with a coffee stop first. The coffee stop was in a motel and, while the coffee was good and very hot, the place itself was novel. Old Rams and high chairs, Gollies, pink TV from the 1970's, old milk bottles and coke bottles, the more you looked the more things caught the eye. Anyway, onwards and upwards, "straight on" the owner said so we did. The road petered out and became a gravel track which twisted and climbed and dropped. Slow progress was the order of the day. We eventually saw the lake to our left and the road turned right.........never to turn left! We had a bit of reversing and then retraced our steps. We decided to give the lake and falls a miss and returned to Hokitika town. A bit of retail therapy and beconaise for Chris as her ears have still not fully returned to 'normal' from the parachute jump. A couple of nice t-shits / tops and then back to the site to await cousin Christine. We got a text that they had arrived and they were only about 100m away from our position. She was with a friend called David. A glass of wine and a chat and then short drive into town to Stumpers for a fish and chip meal - Blue Cod. It was delicious. Then they dropped us back to the campervan and we said our goodbyes.A good evening.
Thursday 23rd February (Day 18)
A fried breakfast to start the day off which was glorious sunshine, that's more like it. Then we left for Hanmer Springs which, if we went direct, is about 3 hours 30 minutes drive. We stopped at Greymouth on the way, the largest town on the west coast, and went to the tourist centre to discover what we should visit / see. Apart form a visit to the brewery everything else was away from Greymouth! They did say that the drive to Punakaiki was one of the loveliest in the world! Well we drove it. Factoring in the clouds and the mountains developing a mist and the sea spray also causing a mist it was an ok drive but 'one of the best in the world' well they need to travel a bit more. Even in glorious sunshine with the Beach Boys playing and everything being right with the world I did not see it as a 'top anything' drive - just good. Just before Punakaiki are the Pancake Rocks and blow holes. Well we had to stop and see didn't we? These formations were created over millions of years by sediments and erosion (that is the shortened version). Basically there were tall rocks that looked like pancakes stacked on top of one another, except the pancakes were not round so the simile falls down a bit. The blow holes were, well holes created by the sea and rain, and when it is high tide and the wind is in the right direction the sea shoots out of the blowholes. Today the tide was almost in and the wind almost right so we got a taste of the 'full monty". We drove on and down a gravel road and stopped by a beach for lunch overlooking the sea. It was then on to Hamner Springs -still three hours away despite an hour and a half of driving so far. We followed the Buller River and on to Reefton, which is just short of the Lewis Pass. The weather had improved to bright sunshine and the temperature varied between 18 to 24 degrees. Part way we changed drivers as I was getting tired and we continued on. The road was good but there was an inordinate amount of road repairs going on, all requiring
slow speeds to stop stones breaking windscreens. Eventually, around 5.00pm we arrived at the Kiwi site, the Pines. It is a lovely site just 800m from the town centre. We setup and walked into town to see what we would do tomorrow. Then it was lamb cutlets and veg before retiring to the campervan to escape the sandflies. (Why call them sand flies we are bloody miles from the sea and sand?)
Friday 24th February (Day 19)
We drove out of the Hanmer site and parked in the centre of town (free). We then went for a nice walk up to the top of Conical Mountain which afforded us stunning views around the countryside, including a Monty Python mountain calledn'Windy Knob'. They seem to have a lot of Knobs in NZ! On the walk down we took a detour and extended the walk to just short of two hours. The sky was blue and the temperature was climbing. We returned to town and had a coffee and 'people watched' for a while. The it was back to the campervan for a light lunch. By now the temperature was in the mid 20's. Our next experience was to be the thermal pools. For less than £12 each we had the run of the place, excluding the two flumes. There were about a dozen pools and rock pools with water temperatures from 30 to 42 degrees. Some of the pools had water jets, some air jets, a rapid ride - it was just heaven. Apparently the water arrives at around 75 degrees so they have to cool it off first. All the waters have minerals in them, the main one being sulphur and it is meant to be good for you. It certainly felt like it. Now for readers of this blog you may recall we have met one person born in the town I lived in and two people who were born or had relatives in the town we live in. Well that was beaten today. We were talking to a couple living in Canada, the wife lived in Haynes Road, Ardleigh Green about 400m from our door and she went to school in Ardleigh Green school where our boys went and Chris worked until she retired; although it should be said she went to the school before we were born! After around three and a half hours in the pools we left and a drink was uppermost on our mind. While sitting on the Main Street with our Monteith's beers we were entertained by classic US cars, all in immaculate conditon, driving by; Chevrolet Impalas, Corvette of several types, Buick's; the list just goes on. They shone like brand pin new. Apparently tomorrow is a classic car show in Hanmer Springs so they are here for that and 'showing off' to each other (and us) beforehand cruising the streets (or street to be more precise). Beer finished we drove to the edge of town where we had found a great deal. $30 for the night to park, albeit no faciltites, but a $30 voucher given to us redeemable against alcohol and / or food at their restaurant; Result. Before food we sat outside the campervan to rest as the heat from the pools are quite tiring and at 6.20pm the temperature was still 26 degrees; again 'Result'. By 7.30pm we were at the restaurant and had a great meal - both of us in different ways had almost half a pig, or that is what it looked like. While we were outside we watched a glorious sunset which we continued to do while sitting back in the campervan. Before 10.00pm I went outside and, despite some light pollution, the Stars were amazing the Milky Way was very distinct. Anyway, and this may sound silly but, lazing around in the hot pools was very tiring and we were in bed before 10.00pm a full hour earlier than usual.
Saturday 25th February (Day 20)
Another hot sunny day. After getting sorted we first drove back into Hanmer Springs and found where the classic cars were going. We stayed for a short while watching car after car enter, all of which were immaculate; a dozen IssigonI Minis; the same number of old VDubs; an HA Vauxhall Viva (they don't call them Vivas here); A Wolsey 1500; the list could go on. Then is was a drive to Kaikorua where whales and dolphins abound. The road was an eye opener as almost every kilometre was a speed restriction and road repairs due to the earthquake. Even a few single lane temporary bridges. In addition, there were sheep; hundreds of them being herded to a new field but a few score ignored this field and decided to eat the grass and congregate around us until the farmer and his dog got them sorted. As a result a journey of less than two hours took over two and a half. Arriving in Kaikorua we made for the I centre to enquire about a whale watching boat trip. Next Wednesday there was a couple of places or we could turn up at 6.15am tomorrow and be the eight and ninth on the waiting list! For the same price we opted for a whale watching plane ride. So we found a campsite, Alpine Pacific Holiday Park and after lunch, well 3.00pm, we were at the 'airport' and being briefed. We had the small plane all to ourself - apart for the pilot. We bumped along the runway and were off. This area is full of male Sperm whales due to the current and depth of the water. Just a very short distance out, a few minutes, and the water is over 3000m. The nutrients are plentiful feeding small fish which feed larger fish which .....well you get the drift. The whales are 20 - 30m long and dive for a long time looking for food, especially Giant Squid, which are about 12m long.They return to the surface every now and then to breathe and spend ten or so minutes filling their muscles and blood up with air for the next foray into the depths. While out we saw two, both of the larger sized whales. From the plane they did not look quite so big until we saw many dozens of the local dusky dolphins.These are over 2m long and were pin pricks in comparison. Time flew (hee hee)and we were all to soon returning for a bumpy landing on the grass. It was a great experience. Back to the campsite and a walk into town. A bit of a 'one horse show'. We had a beer and returned to cook dinner for both today and tomorrow, curry for tomorrow which always seems to be tastier the next day.
Sunday 26th February (Day 21)
The day started with rain. After a big boys breakfast we left to go along the coast road, along State Highway 1, to a campsite a short distance from Christchurch. The first part of the road showed a bit of the damage caused by the earthquake and why our railway trip from Christchurch to Wellington was cancelled. The railway had tunnels filled with rocks and collapsed apart from the damage and rocks on the rails, clearly a long job. The further south we travelled the better the road and rail became. We stopped for a coffee at Cheviot and had a further delay for a cycle race. As the day progressed so the weather got poorer. A drive along a four mile gravelled road and we arrived at Ashley Grove Kiwi Camp Site. We chose this as there was swimming in the river and, if the water was too cold, several lovely walks; all of which was mentioned by our host when we booked in. However, he preceded it with "It is a shame the weather is so bad because". We set up and, if possible, the weather got worse. So it was a day in the campervan with the TV. We were fortunate that the TV was getting a signal. The day ended with curry tv and bed. An unfortunate day but the sort of thing that can happen.