Saturday 5th February
Had a great sleep in a comfortable bed.
Headed to Takaka with Bernie and DJ. Stopped in the town as they were having a Mardigra. I have never seen so many hippies! Picked up some hippie lunch and went out to a beach had a swim then lunch.
Farewell Spit- Longest natural sandbar in the world.
Came across two dead pilot whales on the beach. Apparently there had been around eighty whales that came up the inlet and got stranded. They managed to free them at high tide except for about three. Poor things so sad.
Carried on up to the café on the top of Farewell Spit and oh no. Out the window we could see a major whale stranding way up the beach. About thirty whales on the sand with cloths over them and rescuers collecting water in buckets and pouring it over them to try and keep them alive. So sad you feel so helpless. I wanted to get a helicopter and pick them up and take them out to sea. It was six hours before the tide to go out and come back in again and refloat them.
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| Pilot whales near Farewell Spit |
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| About 80 Whales and helpers |
Waikoropupu Springs- (Pupu Springs)
It is the largest spring system in NZ and among the 100 largest in the world and is considered to be the clearest in the world as well. It has 63m horizontal visibility at 11.7⁰C. The site is sacred so no swimming! So we stopped down the road under the bridge and went for a swim. Very chilly but exhilarating.
Collingwood
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| Pupu Springs |
On the shoreline of Golden Bay. A small town we stopped to buy homemade chocolates! Rosie Glow Chocolates. Yummy. Set in an old pink and white house by the sea.
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| Rosey Glow Chocolate House |
NELSON
Centre of New Zealand- Unofficial geographically.
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| Haulashore Island left of the entrance to Port Nelson |
Fly to Napier for Mission concert on Saturday.
Mum and Dad drove down from Tauranga to stay at Camp. Great to see them.
Friday 11th
Went into Napier town to view the shops.
Dinner that night at Crab Farm with Barry and Sue Vowells from Tauranga and a big group of their friends going to the concert.
Saturday 12th
Off to town again to stock up on some nibbles and get ready for the concert……Sting!
Got on the bus just across the road from the camp and off to the Mission Winery.
Perfect weather. Saw a few acts before the main event. Sting came on stage and wow. I have always wanted to see him live. He was great, he sang with the NZ symphony orchestra so the songs were a little slower than normal but all good. Some of the others thought he was to slow and they couldn’t dance to him. At least the crowed was in control.
It was the first year you couldn’t bring your own alcohol. They had e few tents set up around. The queues grew longer and longer as the day went on. An hour in the queue then they ran out of some lines…..not good for a winery to run out of wine!
My first Mission Concert and I really enjoyed it and on the bus and home.
Sunday 13th
Lunch at great fresh fish shop in Napier. Dad and I had a whole crayfish meal each and Mum had pan fried snapper.
Monday 14th
Valentine’s Day
Last day for Mum and Dad. We went to town again and had lunch then they headed off back home. Quiet night in for me and packed my bags ready to fly back to nelson Tuesday.
Getting ready to leave nelson
and head down the west coast
Saturday 19th February
NELSON – WESTPORT kms
11.00am Departed Bernie and DJ’s and headed to Westport.
My stomach was in knots every hill I came across watching the temperature gauge like a hawk, over the Hope Saddle and stopped at Murchison for lunch. Then through the Buller Gorge and through to Westport and it never moved. Really nice drive down.
5.00pm Arrived at Westport Holiday Park
Went into the big town of Westport to find something to eat. Found this black pub looking building and decided to go in nervously. They were very busy and inside what a difference. Very flash and up market nothing like you’d expect in Westport. I had to wait for a table so sat on a leather lounge and read the menu.
A lady came in and sat by me so I chatted to her and she asked if she could sit next to me as it was a bit noisy. We talked about where she was from and she was on a Kiwi Experience bus going south. I asked her if she wanted to join me at my table to which she was very grateful. I had already decided what I wanted to order with a few changes. The waitress came to take our order and I said to Naveena Shine you can order first. She ordered exactly the same as me. Same changes and cooked med-rare!
I said “What’s your star sign?”
She said “Taurus”! And we went on from there. Laughed and couldn’t believe how much we had in common. I said I would like to write a book one day she said I have written 4! 1 non-fiction and 3 novels. It was like I had known her for years. So glad I didn’t have to eat on my own and yes we had a lovely meal.
WEST COAST- 600kms long
Sunday 20th
KARAMEA 100kms North of Westport
Thought I had better start at the top of the West Coast so drove to Karamea the most northern town. I have never seen so many Nikau Palms. Everywhere. We drove further north on gravel road to a DOC camp by a river on one side and roaring sea on the other with signs up saying NO SWIMMING. This is where you start the Heaphy track which is 82kms long and takes 4-6 days you come out at Collingwood in Golden Bay. May be next time. Lunch at the Karamea Hotel………..Whitebait Fritters! Yummy. Very nice.
Monday 21st
Off to the next camp only a few k’s away at Carters Beach.
Seal Colony Top 10 Camp Very nice camp
Off to town to do some rental business, mailing, key cutting etc.
West Coast Brewery for a tasting. Very small workings. A couple of beers were ok.
Tuesday 22nd
Overcast today and a little drizzle. Sitting in the caravan paying some bills.
12.51pm The van started to shake. I thought what is going on. I looked at the neighbour’s caravan and saw their chain swaying. I went outside and the lady came out of her van. She said did you feel that? It was an earthquake! I said yes. It went on for about a minute. Then we listened to the radio and herd that it was Christchurch again. 6.3
Cape Foulwind, Tauranga Bay and Holcium cement
Went to see the seals at Cape Fowlwind. Shrek had to stay in the car. They have not long had babies so we could see the little ones.
Tauranga Bay is a small bay with a surf beach which was very rough.
Holcium Cement is a huge plant on the coast.
Coaltown Museum Packed full of history. The building is in an old brewery. Westport’s main street use to have 19 bars and hotels in the gold mining days. It was full of displays maritime, coal mining, gold mining, cement and timber milling.
Wednesday 23rd
WESTPORT – GREYMOUTH 104kms
CHARLESTON 26kms S of Westport
On the road again. Drove to Charleston. A very small town. Got on a bus that took us to a small train in the bush. We travelled up into beautiful lush bush of ferns and limestone rock faces, one shaped like the bow of a ship. The others were doing white water tyres and caving with glow worms. I just walked up to the caves and back to the train.
Charleston was a gold mining town and in its hay day it produced 4 million ounces of gold and a population of more than 30,000 at its peak in 1869.
On taking Shrek for a pee stop before we left I discovered Blackberries. I had a taste and went back to the caravan and got a bowl and filled it. Bernie and I have a New Year’s resolution that says: DO IT UNTIL THEY TELL YOU TO STOP!
PUNAKAIKI -Pancake Rocks. 30 million years old. 55kms S of Westport
So much for the car parking. I had to park in front of the sign that said “No Parking Here” Like I told you about our New Years resolution………………………….just do it.
Wow what a great sight. The sea had a bit of a swell so they put on a great show. The blowhole was working well and we got wet. The sea is an amazing force. Very amazing natural wonder.
GREYMOUTH
The largest town on the West Coast divided between two hills and the Grey River which has a Great Wall along it built for flood protection. The average annual rainfall is 2575mm! Home of Monteiths Brewery Est.1868 of which I did a tour and tasting. It is now owned by Dominion Breweries and use to have a staff of 80 and now has 10? They make apple cider, very nice and has taken off. They can hardly keep up with demand. Also a pear cider. They use champagne yeast and so the bubbles are finer. Very nice. Went to Countdown to buy some flour to make Blackberry tarts and the shelves were bare of any flour not a loaf of bread to be seen, 1 litre milk’s, instant noodles and all other instant packets of food. Very scary site. I went to New World and the same thing there. People had trolleys loaded up more than you’d see at Christmas time. I managed to find 1kg of organic flour for a price.
I stayed at South Beach across the road from the beach and again not suitable for swimming. The gem stones were amazing everywhere on the beach. I wanted to take them all home but weight is a problem. Dam!
Lake Brunner 37kms SE of Greymouth
A day trip to this lovely lake complete with Swing Bridge and peace and quiet well until the boats were launched. The township is Moana has a lot of batches or should I say cribs.
Met a young couple that were from Christchurch. He was at home when it happened and his girlfriend was at Uni. When she drove down there street she got the back wheels stuck in the crevices of the road. They were having a fish off the wharf and getting some sleep.
Reefton 81kms E of Greymouth
A nice little old gold mining town. It was the first town in the southern hemisphere to have gained a public supply of electricity in August 1888. Unfortunately it was 4pm when I arrived and things were all closed.
Blackball
The working class made history for New Zealand in 1908. Local coalminers went on the longest strike in NZ. In the end the miners got what they wanted – a half-hour lunch break! Became headquarters of the communist party in 1925 and subsequently, the birthplace of the NZ labour party. They have a salami factory and still has a working coal mine and a few old relics.
At the Greymouth i-site I met Kelly’s (the owner of Dad’s yacht) sister Trish. That night took some awesome photos of the sunset over the sea and angry clouds.
Saturday 26th
GREYMOUTH – HOKITIKA 40kms SW of Greymouth
10 minutes south of Greymouth was Shantytown. It is a replica of an 1860’s gold mining town. There are over 30 historic buildings from the gold-rush. I had a ride on a steam train 115 years old. Then a quick pan for gold. I ended up with 5 nuggets…..about the size of salt grains. Good fun though.
Stayed at a nice camp in Hokitika by the beach. Opposite on the main road there were glow-worms (free). They were great. I haven’t seen them in years. Hokitika town is scattered with Pounamu (Jade or greenstone) shops and is famous for the Wild Food Festival. Very touristy and bus’s to take you all over. The Hokitika sign made out of driftwood is on the beach by town along with various designs everyone has made. There is so much driftwood all down the West Coast. I took some great photos of the sunset. There’s something about being able to watch the sun go down over the ocean. It reminds me of when we were in the islands and almost every night we had the privilege of viewing this.
I met a family next to me from the North of England, Jordy’s, Allan, Judith, Fay and Shaun. They were so funny they sounded Irish even though they were closer to Scotland. I heated up some blackberry tarts and took them over to their campervan. They thought they were great. They said we’re going to follow you. Where are you going tomorrow?
SUNDAY 27TH
Well after a slow start to the day I asked the receptionist if I could leave the van for a few hours while I went and did a bit of sight-seeing and pick it up on the way back. All good.
Said good morning and good bye to the Jordy’s and headed to Hokitika Gorge Swing bridge 25kms E of Hoki. The walk is in a magnificent granite gorge with milky blue-green pools with cliffs and rimu forest. After the walk I stopped at the first one way bridge and went for a cold glacial dip. You certainly wake up after a cooling swim in the icy cold water. Shrek wouldn’t even drink out of it….sook. Then off to Lake Kaniere mostly gravel roads. I finally got there and had a quick look not inviting enough for a swim. Opposite the lake was Dorothy Falls! Yes that was it. In I went again very quickly mind. It certainly took your breath away. Then it was a quick trip back to hitch up the van and head off to Franz Josef.
Franz Josef 148kms SW of Hokitika
There are 140 glaciers that flow from the Southern Alps, only the Franz Josef and Fox reach the lower rain forests. I stayed at the FJ top 10 camp very nice with flash toilets and showers all tiled, the kitchen was like an industrial one and even 3 raised herb and a few vegie’s in gardens. I could see the glacier from the van door. Wow what a site. Cloudy a lot of the time but it did pop out now and again. After I set up camp I drove up to the glacier to see what it was like. It was around 5pm and very cool. There were a lot of people just starting to do the walk so I followed. It didn’t take long maybe 30 mins or less to get to the base. It is roped off but you can get a good view of it. The things amazingly beautiful and so massive. There is brown dirt on the tops caused from our neighbours! The Aussie’s when they had there dust storm some years ago. Even if it snows or rains it doesn’t wash it off, so thanks you fulla’s. I found the Jordy’s in the camp so had a quick chat with them and a laugh.
Monday 28th
After attending to some rental matters I decided to enquire about doing a helicopter ride up to the glacier. It was still under cloud. I drove to Whataroa and managed to get on a flight with another couple. I sat in the front and away we went. It was great. Over the mountains and along the hills, over to a huge waterfall coming out of the cliffs at Franz then up the glacier above the cloud over the crevices and landed near the top. We got out and had a walk around and took some photos. It was about 0 deg C but the sun was out and it was really hot. Then it was time to head back after about 10 mins. Going over the glacier was incredible. The colour, the depth, the awe of it all was brilliant. So glad I did the trip. I would recommend it. The only way to see its beauty and size.
Back at camp having a quiet wine and there’s a hello! It’s the Jordy’s at the camp. So I invited them in and we had good laugh or two and compared our adventures for the day.
Tuesday 1st march
Franz Josef – Haast 117kms SW
On the road again and heading for Haast. Stopped at Fox glacier about 23kms south of FJ. Walked up to it and took some more photos. It was raining today and cold. There were big hunks of ice rolling down the rivers like a big brown milkshake with ice cubes in it. Missed the turnoff to Lake Matheson oh well never mind. Sure it wouldn’t have looked like the books that day anyway.
Quite a boring drive to Haast and when I got to the very small town it was a bit the same. The camp in town said no dogs so we had to back track down Jackson’s Bay road 16 kms to an old camp near a beach. On the road there Shrek and I stopped by the beach to have a look and him a pee stop and found some blackberries. Picked 2 bowls full, yummy. Just getting the roast lamb and vegies on and making the pastry and who should arrive? Yes the Jordy’s next door. I think they smelt the berries. I gave them some roast lamb and kumara to try and of cause the blackberry pie and custard. They thought it was great licked the bowl clean. That night it blew and rained and shook the caravan all night. The Jordy’s headed off early and it would be our last time together as they only had another week to get around and do some sites before they were flying to Australia to see family over there.
Wednesday 2nd
Haast – Wanaka 145kms S
Through the Haast Pass which was windy and a little steep and raining. Was climbing up a hill and the car in front of me stopped as there had been a rock fall recently and it was all over the road big hunks of schist which I had to drive over.
Stopped at the Blue Pools which were brown from all the rain. Was trying to spot Mt.Cook all the way down and then I spotted it in my rear vision mirror. So I drove to the next rest area parked and by the time I got out it had gone behind thick clouds. A man from Oz was there and said di you see Mt.Cook? I said no. He said I got it just before it disappeared. I waited for about half an hour to no unveil. Carried on to Lake Hawea very windy. Was intending to stay at camp here but carried on to Lake Wanaka. Also very windy. Went to The Toy and Vintage Museum by the airport. Absolutely chock-a-block with old dolls, match box cars, mechano, Lego, Star Wars, Big old cars, planes, telephones, coke bottles, bikes, tins, motors, fire engines, an old Daihatsu Max the same as Doris I use to have. 360cc. Stayed at a funny camp off a gravel road and in Manuka bush and on the lake. Shrek and I went for a run around the lake and on the way back I had a quick swim. It was a bit cold, not as cold as what I had expected.
Went into town for dinner at the Ale house……had the worst steak I think I have ever tried to eat. I was really looking forward to a good steak as well.
Thursday 3rd
Wanaka – Cromwell 55kms SW
10.30am Drove into town and took some photos of the Lake. Still a bit windy and no rain. Wanted to see Cardrona Hotel as you do so got there had coffee photos and was going to backtrack to Wanaka and take HWY 6 to Cromwell! Donna thought well it looks pretty flat on the map we may as well just carry on down this road it can’t be too bad otherwise they would have signs up!
You know that feeling when you think you should have gone with your instinct…………..we started to climb, 4th gear…………3rd gear………….by now my stomach was in a knot and watching the temperature gauge like mad……………2nd gear……………………..1st gear and you know you’re looking for the top of this bastard. It must be somewhere and there is never anywhere to turn around and go back. Why is that? The Isuzu is screaming now and I’m thinking you stupid woman why did you come this way again. Hang on Shrek. Then the temperature gauge started to creep up…….oh no not again…….the heater was on flat out, no air conditioning, windows wide open, fingers crossed. Remember this wagon is automatic 3.1 litre turbo diesel with a new separate oil cooler for the transmission and a brand new radiator, remember?
Finally I could see the top well I sure was hoping anyway. I couldn’t wait to pull off the road and get out. I left the motor running and took some photos of the magnificent views from that far up in the sky. I found a monument that said this road The Crown Range Road is the highest sealed road in New Zealand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well I suppose I don’t have to worry about going over any roads steeper than this one now got that out of the road. Just one thing quite a major thing about going up a road that steep isn’t there. Yes you have to come down. Low low gear all the way down mostly 2nd and stopped at a lookout about 2/3rds down and you could smell the brakes from the van. The next part of the road was sharp zigzags with big signs saying check your brakes NOW, 15kms corners. We made it safely to the bottom man was I glad about that. I could definitely hear a voice in my head saying you naughty girl why did you go over that road in a 26’ caravan. Oh well at least the temp gauge only went up to ½ way which was great a good test for it but not again.
You will be pleased to know it was a good lesson and I study the maps with great detail now.
Next stop was the Kawarau Bridge Bungy. NZ’s first ever bungy. Not for me and Shrek said not today thanks Mum. We watched them jumping I think it was about $180 for a few seconds of adrenaline. Carried on through the Gibbston Valley where all the wineries are. Crawford Farm, Gibbston Valley, Periguine to name a few. I noticed they were setting up a stage at Gibbston Valley Winery and I thought there must have been or maybe there is going to be a concert. Set up camp at the Chalet Motor Camp near town. A big camp that holds 500 in the summer.
Friday 4th
Went into the i-site to find out about the concert. The lady said yes Saturday night Dr.Hook and CCR revisited. I asked so how do I get there and do you have kennels for my dog. She said I’ll just ring this lady who is organising the bus. She said ring her after 6.30pm tonight and I’ll let you know then.
Drove to Alexandra for lunch and a look at the clock on the hill and a swing bridge. Went through the back road through the wineries to head back to Cromwell and ended up in Clyde which is an old historic town with really old buildings. Saw where the Rail Trail starts or ends at Clyde. Had a look at the Clyde Dam and went for a swim above the dam which is lake Dunstan and below is the Clutha River. Driving along the lake and it’s that beautiful glacier blue/green colour it’s hard to resist. A few k’s up the road and I saw Champagne Gully part of the lake so in again I went.
Rang Ellen lady about bus. Found out she lived by the camp so she invited me over and we had a wine and chat and booked seat on bus. She said meet here tomorrow and we’ll get the bus. Rang the Kennels but they were full as they have Christchurch dogs they suggested the vets.
Saturday 5th
It snowed overnight I could see it on the Pisa Ranges just a light dusting.
Dropped Shrek off at the vets for the night and got some snacks ready for the concert. On the bus and off to Gibbston Valley. It was a perfect day sunny with a nice breeze. Helicopters flying in and out and around the valley. There was a good atmosphere in the crowd. Dr.Hook came out and well at 74 years I think he should really give it up now. He was drinking beer and smoking on stage and couldn’t even finish the words of songs. CCR were great and the crowd rocked, they would be good at The Mission. We were all up dancing and singing. On the bus and on our way home one of the windows wouldn’t stay shut it was an old school type bus so Ell’s husband Harry grabbed this lady’s hotdog on a stick complete with sauce and shoved it in the window and closed it! It seemed to do the job looked pretty funny.
