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It was my birthday today and what a fine day it has been. Bruce snuck out of bed at first light and left me to slumber on while he tried once again to catch a salmon. When he decided the chill was getting to him he came and gave me breakfast in bed and we relaxed while watching the lady from the van next to us cast her line. The next moment we saw her working on reeling in a very nice salmon. After we all admired it, everyone (us and those in the vans around us) set to work trying to catch theirs. Bruce was there as quick as a flash, once more casting into the still, beautifully blue water.

It wasn’t long before he had one hooked and I had to race to borrow our neighbour’s net as we had neglected to bring one. What a buzz to finally catch one. The dogs were very interested as well!

The fish and the hook were well tangled in the net so our neighbour from another van helped get it out.

As you can see, Bruce is pretty proud of himself. He was given a few lessons on how to look after the fish after that, and we were happy that my birthday dinner was going to be crispy skinned salmon. There were four salmon caught around that time by those around us (including ours).

After the clean up we decided to head on to Tekapo but made the mistake of looking over our shoulders, and there was Mt Cook, in all its glory, and not a cloud in sight. We immediately decided that the opportunity was too good to miss, so we turned around and headed back to the mountain.

What a contrast from the day before, and when you can see what a majestic mountain she is, you can understand how she can draw you in if you were into mountaineeering like Sir Edmund Hillary. Today the views were uplifting instead of sombre, and the colours in Lake Ohau and the surrounding hills stood out when compared to the black and white peaks of Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and the others nearby.

After having another coffee at the Hermitage we made the drive back to Twizel to empty the waste tanks and gather a few accompaniments for dinner and then we hit the road for Tekapo.

Everywhere we went Mt Cook stood out as if to say “look at me” and look we did. Along the Tekapo road we saw a different side of the mountain, and the views from across the lake were just beautiful. The colour of the lake itself was so vibrantly blue that once again we had to keep stopping for photos.

It was close to 6pm when we finally arrived at the NZMCA camp at Tekapo, but just driving through the town of Tekapo was enough to make us want to visit there tomorrow. We set up our camp and Bruce set about making my birthday dinner while I walked the dogs. It was only a few metres to the lake’s edge and we discovered that from there you could also see Cook sticking her head above the surrounding landscape. What a beautiful place!.

…and what a beautiful birthday dinner! This life ain’t half bad!

We decided to leave Omarama early this morning with the hope that we would see Mout Cook without cloud. We were rewarded for our early start by a beautiful sunrise and were on the road by 7.30am (really early for us) to begin the 98km journey to the mountain.

We were only about halfway into our journey before we started seeing the alpine looking landscape, and the peaks of mountains, a few of which had snow on them. This was obviously a tourist route as well because we were passed by numerous tourist buses both coming and going to the mountain.

As we got closer it became evident that the clouds would not be our friends  today. There were low clouds over the peaks as we got closer to Mt Cook and only the lower slopes of Mt Cook itself were visible. It made the whole landscape feel moody and sombre and perhaps a little depressing. It was magnificent just the same. We could look behind us, down the valley, and see the brilliant blue/green of the river and Lake Ohau and the sunshine, but looking forward was shades of grey with the occasional splash of white snow.

The air was noticeably colder as well so I was glad I had dressed in warmer clothes this morning.

Our first treat for the day was a hot flat white at the Hermitage. From our vantage point we could see the bus loads of tourists arriving and taking their photos. It seemed amazing to us that they would pay all this money for a trip to NZ and yet a lot of them only had their phones for taking pictures with!

The Hermitage has a bronze sculpture of Sir Edmund Hillary and that looked good against the backdrop of the mountain.

Following our coffee we drove down the road to the Hooker Valley, and then set off on the path to the lookout and the Blue Lake (that is green). What we did not realise was that the path was all uphill, and it went quite a long way. If you look in the photo below you can just see the motorhome, and that picture was taken just below the lookout.

However, the view from the top was worth it. The glacial lake was grey with suspended rock and ice, and there were icebergs floating on it (and the inevitable tourist boats taking people out to see them). The Tasman glacier was huge (very wide) and covered with grit but you could see the ice underneath the grit as it entered the lake.

We decided that we had allowed enough time for the cloud to lift, but instead it only got lower, so we made our way back and headed towards Twizel. Bruce spent quite some time in the fishing shop purchasing a fishing license and some lures, and then we were off in search of a great place to camp and fish. That place turned out to be the NZMCA park beside the Ohau Canal, right opposite a salmon farm. We set up camp and Bruce set  up the fishing gear and the battle began!

This morning we were awoken by a noise that sounded something like a generator, only much louder. We are not sure what it was but it came from a machine embedded into the hillside on the other side of the little road to our camping spot, so we presume it was something to do with the dam operation. We kept to the other side of the park to avoid distressing the dogs and after all the chores were done and the dogs were exercised, we headed into Clyde to have a look.

We came across a boutique wool shop and had a great talk to the owner. All the yarns on sale are grown on their own land – merino from sheep, alpaca fleece, angora from their own rabbits and so on. She was extremely passionate and knowledgeable about her product and the yarns were some of the most beautiful I have seen to date. They also sell patterns designed for their yarns, so I had to come away with some of that. She gave Bruce some good hints on where to find the salmon and showed us some photos of what the hoar frosts are like in the area – amazingly beautiful but the downside was the people of the town started suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

Clyde is a very charming town and a lot of the buildings in the main street are heritage buildings that had been restored. They were mostly surrounded by lovely English style country gardens and the place seemed pretty busy for a small town.

It was in Clyde that we met fellow Dethleffs owners Linda and Yurik. We had met them once before in Taupo, so it was good seeing them again.

We pottered around the shops and had a coffee, and purchased what Bruce felt to be the best ciabatta bread he has ever found in NZ (quite a compliment to the Clyde Deli and Bakery).

Alexandra beckoned next and it was supposed to be a heritage town as well but to be honest we saw little sign of it. It was quite a busy centre but all modern buildings. We took a look at the clock on the hillside, and the river that meanders through, but decided to move on straight after we had eated our lunch.

The countryside has little valleys where there are bits of green, some vineyards or orchards, but they soon give way to steep hillsides of rubble where nothing seems to grow.

Even the town clock is on a barren hillside.

We continued on toward Omarama through the very short Lindis Pass. (Bruce said he was not passed out yet). The hills in this pass were also steep, but more rounded and less jagged than some of the other high country areas we had been through. They were still as barren though.

Once through the pass the land was once again flat and irrigation was being used everywhere to support the dairy farming around. It was also noticeable that we were crossing over dry stream beds, so it makes you wonder of dairy farming is the right thing to do around here.

The clay cliffs outside Omarama were amazing. We did not get close to them but they certainly looked spectacular from the highway.

Our final treat for the day was to have a soak in the outdoor, wood fired hot tubs in Omarama. Lovely setting with a little lake and the birdlife, and the pools were just the right temperature – divine. We parked there overnight as well, so we essentially hopped out of the pool and into bed, all relaxed and warm.

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday we cruised out of Wanaka and headed towards Cromwell at the end of a busy day. The intention had been to stay at the NZMCA site in Cromwell, although our reading informed us that there is high competition for this site as it is only allow 10 vans.

However, as we were driving up the side of Lake Dunstan (made by the flooding for the Clyde Dam)  we came across a site right on the lake shore where there were lots of Motorhomes parked up. We investigated and found it was a free camping site that allowed dogs so we found ourselves a nice spot and parked up for the night.

This was an early stop for us but we had decided to relax a bit and even to have a sleep in in the morning. It was a great place to camp and to swim the dogs, and although there were a lot of motorhomes it was quiet and peaceful.

As per schedule we had a late start and after much discussion we decided to head to Cromwell and have a look around there. What a lovely town it is. On the way into town we came across a large orchard so we stopped to have a look. Well, more than looking occurred and we came away with superb nectarines, apricots, a jar of brandied apricots, vanilla and cherry jam, a bottle of spicy apricot sauce and a jar of spiced blackberry pickle. That should keep us going for a while!

Cromwell town itself appears to be prosperous, tidy, and probably quite wealthy. It is surrounded by vineyards and orchards but we were left wondering how anything could grow in the soils that we saw – very rocky and crumbly. The hillsides around Cromwell show signs of frequent rockfalls. The town is basically built from scratch after the building of the Clyde dam which flooded a lot of the original township. The little museum we found clearly showed us what had been lost both in the way of land and buildings, but also in heritage. The manager of the museum also told us though, that the exhibits did not tell the story of the great number of benefits the dam had brought the town as well.

Many of the historical buildings in the area to be flooded were relocated to the Cromwell Historical quarter, so after a cup of coffee and a nibble, we headed in that direction. I would have to say that we found it much better than Shantytown, and the bonus was that an Italian cafe located in one of the old buildings sold yummy gelatos.

Cromwell is situated on the junction of the Kawerau and Clutha Rivers. The Clutha river is damed and that forms Lake Dunstan. The lookout on the edge of town and also just outside of town give a great view of this.

We continued on toward Clyde to see the biggest concrete dam in New Zealand – part of the Muldoon Think Big projects. It caused a lot of controversy not just because part of town was going to be drowned, but because all the experts advised against building such a big structure on such unstable land. Millions was spent on stabilising hillsides as seen below, but also on the extensive foundations and stabilising works around the dam itself.

While we were looking at the dam we spied a group of motorhomes on the far side of the lake, just at the edge of the dam complex so we decided to have a look. We drove through Clyde without stopping to look (but deciding we would have to go back tomorrow) and crossed the river on a rickety looking bridge to find another reserve, owned by the power company, but available for freedom camping. It looked too good not to stop so again we found our perfect spot and set up camp for the night – another idyllic setting.

Wanaka is a very bustling tourist centre, and the scenery makes it very attractive for tourists. The town caters well for them in a huge lake front reserve where people can while away the day, swim, paddle board, kayak, walk or just laze in the sun.

We started to take the dogs for a walk but could not resist the urge to go for a swim so we raced back to the motorhome and got changed, before plunging with the dogs into the very pleasant lake water. The water is very clear, has very little weed and the temperature was just right. I am sure there are not many places that you can swim on a warm summer day with snow covered peaks in the background. The dogs also enjoyed their swim but did not want to stay in long so we took them back and we returned for a longer swim.

The NZMCA doen’t have a park in Wanaka which is a pity so we spent the night in the carpark of the Wanaka Club for $10. The deal was that Bruce would re-locate us to the Lake front the  next morning before I got out of bed.

All went to plan and that is what happened. I had breakfast in bed with the most gorgeous lake view out of my window. Once I was up we took the dogs for a good walk by the lake, and several swims before I settled down to write the blogs for the previous days (no internet coverage last two days). We then headed off to see the lavender farm.

The lavendar farm was a beautiful place with rows upon rows of lavender – some flowering, some awaiting picking , and some that had been cut ready to re-sprout. In addition to the lavender they had a large collection of dahlias and roses and the gardens were beautifully landscaped.

They even had a tractor in my colour!

There was a gift shop on site that had lavendar processed in all different sorts of ways – creams, lotions, oils, dried, and in bags and pot pouris. There were also a variety of honeys for sale.

We set off the find the inevitable shady spot for lunch and from the day changed around. The previous plans to see other Wanaka attractions were discarded. We went back to the lake front for a quick swim (and the water wasn’t so warm today), tried to find the world renowned gelato shop without success, and then headed out of town. towards Cromwell. It was a shame really as Wanaka is not an easy place to leave!

 

 

 

 

 

Its funny how you don’t seem to get immune to beauty, and road through the Haast Pass is certainly beautiful. We stopped at one lay by where the river was bright blue and the water so clear you could not really determine the depth of it. We took a photo of the motorhome there to send to Jonas to show that Dethleffs can go to amazing places. I must say we are very happy with the performance of the motorhome, and the way it functions for the two of us, and the two dogs, even though we are away for a long stretch of time.

There were the inevitable stops for photos along the way the first real stop was at Thunder Falls. There were some interesting stories on the sign boards at Thunder Falls. Apparently the rocks and grit from this area were used to make the road.

A little further on was Fantail Falls and they were interesting too. The sign board had quite a lot to say about sandflies – apparently they were inttroduced by the managers of the roading crews to keep them working – if they stood still they would get eaten! What was also interesting about Fantail Falls was that visitors had left their calling cards in the form of rock towers. They were all over the shore.

We decided we had to make one as well and found that it was not as easy as it looked. Ours fell down before we had even left the beach.

The final stop for the day was to the Blue Pool which it at the meeting of the Blue River to another river (forget the name of it). This was a 1km walk downhill (and 1 km up hill to come back), through bush and the track was well cared for and laid out. The young ones all seemed to know about it because they came prepared with togs and towels. The pool is accessed by a swing bridge and the colour is simply beautiful, but not as azure in colour as the Hokitika Gorge. The blue comes from the light refractive index of the really pure water apparently.

We picked up a couple of German girls who wanted a lift back to Wanaka, and the dogs were pretty pleased about that – they had someone so snuggle up to on the road.

The scenery remained spectacular as  we approached firstly Lake Wanaka and then Lake Hawea before finally entering the township of Wanaka itself

We rose at sparrow’s fart (well, they might have accomplished that a little before we rose), but waking up was really forced upon us by the incessant drone of helicopter after helicopter taking tourists up to the glaciers. We decided to walk the dogs and at the same time to see what tours might be on offer for Franz Joseph Glacier. Unfortunately everything was booked up so we decided to drive the motorhome up to the glacier carpark and do our own thing. Apparently the walk to the glacier was 1 1/2 hours return and I decided my joints could manage that amount. We were a bit hesitant about whether we would fit the motorhome in the carpark but when we saw buses and other motorhomes coming back down the road we felt reassured that all would be well.

We prepared ourselves for a good walk and set off, leaving the dogs esconced in the motorhome. The tracks were well laid out and the walk was obviously  very popular as the carpark was packed. Bruce recognised every person coming towards us as European tourists because they walked on the wrong side of the path. He made a bit of a sport of holding his ground to see which ones would change sides, but he lost that battle more often than he won it.

The walk was very pleasant and the terrain was fairly easy although very uneven so I  had to watch my foot plant with every step which slowed us down somewhat. There were also the frequent camera stops. The terrain just had to be admired and massive forces of nature were very evident with cliffs having vertical rock layers, and other cliff facing looking just like waterfalls, although the water has long since dried up.

There were deep vertical crevasses, and waterfalls falling huge distances straight down. The terrain glistened with the sparkles of mica in all the rocks.

The river was flowing pretty swiftly and was a milky grey colour with all the sediment it was picking up along the way. We could also see the waterfall at the base of the glacier where the river underneath all the ice was escaping. The views looking back down the valley were beautiful, but the views looking up at the glacier became more and more breath taking with every turn of the path.

We stopped for a short time at the end of the path, had a drink and an apple before making our way back again. We deviated off the path somewhat to get to the base of the waterfalls and I decided that we would have a drink of glacier water, so Bruce was dispatched, water bottle in hand to fill it from one of the waterfalls. What beautiful water it was too and the bonus was that Bruce did not get drenched.

We made it back to the motorhome, having been walking, deviating and photographing for three hours but we both felt uplifted by the experience. My joints were protesting somewhat though!

After refreshments we headed off down the coast towards Haast. We stopped of at Lake Mathieson which is supposed to have picture perfect reflections of the mountains in its still waters. However, the waters were not still, the mountain views were becoming obscured through low cloud, and dogs were not allowed on the walk around the lake (even though there are cattle grazing in the field next to it), so we decided to continue on.

We had been told by fellow motorhomers that the scenery on the road to Haast was just “more of the same”. We did not find this to be the case.  True, there was still native bush next to the road, mountainous rocky streams,  rivers that were startling shades of blue, and funny one lane bridges, but we just could not get tired of the views.

The road to Haast eventually found the coast again and the coastal views were also lovely but not dis-similar from the Coromandel.

There are not many places to stay around Haast, so after giving the dogs a big run on Haast Beach we booked ourselves into the Top 10 Holiday Park. The ratings for this camp weren’t great but I don’t know how old they were because we found it to be lovely. All the facilities were in good order, clean and tidy and the grounds were well maintained. The people running it were very busy, but unfailingly friendly and helpful. I don’t know where they could do better really.

 

 

 

 

Somehow we managed to sleep in today so we were late getting started. We did the usual and decided to empty out waste fluids and fill with fresh ones, so dump station first and then BP in Hokitika. We will be lucky if they have us back. Bruce managed to drop a 2 litre bottle of milk at the counter and the bottom of the bottle split open, emptying the entire contents of the bottle over him, the counter, the displays of chocolate bars and onto the floor! I wondered why it was taking him so long! Anyway, they were very good about it and still let us fill up with fuel and water (and we needed a coffee after all the drama), and we were on our way.

Hokitika Gorge is about 33kms east of Hokitika. The marketing promos say that it is a place where you won’t believe the pictures you see of it until you see it for yourself, and I would have to say that is true. The road is narrow and windy, and metal for the last stretch, and parking is really tight.

What follows is a walk through bush on a well formed track until you come to a swingbridge. Just before the swingbridge you get glimpses of the aqua blue water, made that colour from the glaciers it comes from.

The colour really does have to be seen to be believed, but it is made more special by the bush around it, and the sound of the river cascading over the stones. It was a bit drizzly at times so I had my coat with me and the water was almost the same colour as my coat.

However, the coat was also useful as a protection from the sandflies. They were the worst we had come across yet! It almost seemed like they were battling themselves for position on our skin, including in our faces.

Our next expedition was Bruce’s usual quest to find a shady parking spot for lunch. He decided that the carpark of the treetops walk tourist attraction would be a likely place, but no shade was to be had. It was getting late so we stopped anyway. It is appalling that man altered landscapes are not better cared for. Right around the carpark was mature, rampant gorse. Any spare space was taken up by ragwort. Surely there should be a requirement of these tourist operators to take more care of our land?

The drive to Franz Joseph took us about 2 1/2 hours. Some of it was through dairy farmland, where on the whole, the land looked well cared for and the stock content. No need for irrigation around here. We also passed quite a large gold mining area outside of Ross and across the road was acres and acres of stones – their waste product. Farmland gave way to mature bush where there were many very tall, large rimus and even taller beech trees. We did not see so many flowering rata trees on this drive.

We crossed bridges over stony rivers where the colour of the water was a more muted shade of the real aqua colour we had seen at Hokitika Gorge. The colour difference may be due to the river not beeing so deep at that point. They were very attractive none the less.

We also passed to lakes as we came closer to Franz Joseph – Lake Waihono and Lake Mapourika. There seemed to be quite a few motohomers camping beside Lake Mapourika,and it would have been an idyllic spot, but I am sure that dogs would not be allowed.

The NZMCA Park in Franz Jospeh took a bit to find but we finally parked up, and after toileting the dogs we grabbed our togs and towels and headed for a soak in the hot pools. The complex is very attractive and tastefully planted. Three main pools varied in temperature from 36 degrees to 40 degrees, so we went from one to the other depending on whether we wanted to warm up or cool down a tad. It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so before heading back to the dogs and a late dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were up bright and early this morning and had hoped to take some more pictures inside the old hotel but alas, they were not up yet. So, after walking the dogs, we set off towards Hokitika, electing to take the scenic route past Lake Brunner (although I would have to say the main route was also pretty scenic). Our views were somewhat occluded by the early morning low cloud but it gave the place a calm, moody sort of feel.

Once again we had a fine day for our travels and we enjoyed seeing the waterfalls coming out of the hills, the stony river beds and the virgin bush.

The road to Lake Brunner quickly ran out of tarseal but the unsealed surface was still in pretty good condition. There was a sign saying the area was used by trucks and I was praying that we would not come across any as the road was very narrow in places. However, the bush around the road was spectacular. There were some baches scattered  throughout the bush, but as it was conservation land I am not sure how that could be allowed.

Lake Brunner was about 15kms down the metal  road and when we arrived it was still misty, but that cleared while we were there. It was a very pretty lake and not particularly cold as I expected it would be.

After having a coffee we headed on down the metal roads beside the Greenstone River towards the township of Kumara. Just outside the town we came across the Kumara Hydro Power Station. The river at this point was rather beautiful so we enjoyed the mini-stop.

Once we arrived in Hokitika we made a point of going straight to the beach so the dogs could have a good outing. They were not able to get out much yesterday due to Arthurs Pass being a Conservation Area with “No Dog” rules. They enjoyed chasing stones, seagulls and paddling in the surf, and Bruce and I enjoyed searching for “treasures” on the beach (and we found some great ones!).

After de-sanding the dogs we found a shady place for lunch and then had a walk around the town. The sock factory was particularly interesting, but we enjoyed looking at the greenstone creations and some of the other local crafts.

We were fortunate to make the decision at that point (4pm) to head to the NZMCA Park here at Hokitika – fortunate because there were only 3 spaces left. The early arrival gave us a chance for some relaxation though so that is always a good thing.

Birdlings Flat is about 15 minutes away from our campsite at Tai Tapu and we were told by Bruce’s workmate, Dave, that this was the place to go to pick up gemstones off the beach. He told us it was much better than the West Coast.

At first glance we thought we must have come to the wrong place. The beach is made up of dunes of stones – absolute acres of them. We wondered how on earth we would be able to find gemstones in there, not to mention them being very hard to walk through. However we ploughed our way, on foot, to the edge of the sea and there we discovered some treasures. The waves had wet the stones and that was when you could really see the different colours and textures. I had brough a supermarket bag with me to put some stones in and halfway through our walk I gave the bag to Bruce as a way of stopping me from putting any more in it. That strategy didn’t work as we continued to find “treasures” that we could not resist. The stones are all smooth and evenly shaped because of the action of the water so they felt wonderful to touch and hold as well.

Hunter and Oscar had a great time. Hunter wore himself out chasing seagulls and Oscar chased stones that we “wheeled” along the sand.

Just down the road was a sign to a Gemstone Museum so we decided to have a look. What a treaure trove that was! It was attached to the home of some devoted lapidaries, and they appear to have won all sorts of awards for the stones they have found, cut and polished. From them we learnt that some of the stones we collected were jasper and agate that had come from the volcanic mountains of the southern alps, that had washed down the rivers to the sea and deposited along the beaches where we were. Their museum demonstrated how ordinary the stones were until they were cut and polished, but they also had petrified wood, rocks with fossilised shells in them and samples of every colour you could imagine. We gave them a donation for their time and carried on.

Our next stop was to my Uncle Ron’s in Christchurch where my Aunty Phyl and Uncle Ross also happened to be staying. We had a bit of a catch up with them and a cuppa and then headed out to the NZMCA site “Weedons” just south of town.