Blog

We had a bit of a frustrating start today. We decided to empty the motorhome of all waste fluids and in the process the plug for the waste water outlet broke. We then spent a couple of hours going to various places in Christchurch trying to get a new plug. That proved impossible so we settled for going to a hardware store so Bruce could get what he needed to fix it so that it would be better than before.

After filling up with groceries as well, we finally got on our way to Arthurs Pass at around 1.30pm. The first part of the country-side was the Canterbury plains which are all brown and gold as there has not been any rain here for a long time. No wonder the Port Hills went up in smoke.

All that changed fairly quickly once we started entering the hills below the Southern Alps. There were many stops along the way for photos and we could never get tired of looking at the views around us – exquisite.

The rock formations in the area known as the fortress were amazing – especially how they lined the top of the hills as if to create a fortress to keep people out. That wasn’t successful though as there were tourists everywhere – busloads of them.

Continuing on the mountains got higher and more rugged, and there were countless fresh water streams coming out of the hillside next to the road. I am not sure how the road copes when it is the rainy season as the ditches beside the road don’t appear to be very big.

We stopped for morning tea by the shores of Lake Lyndon, which is a relatively small lake. The land around it was rocky and arid and dotted with numerous thorn bushes.

We also called in to Lake Pearson but unfortunately the dogs were not allowed out of the van so it was just a quick look. Unfortunate really as there were many people camping there and the place was idyllic.

The next lookout break was just before the Otira Gorge started, and  the keas were there to greet us. Fortunately they picked on the van of some foreign tourists next to us rahter than ours. They were not worried by us at all and would only move at the last second for moving vehicles so it was a wonder they did not get squashed. Funny how they make a beeline for the car rubbers.

The Otira Gorge had some amazing engineering. Someone has built a water diversion race over the road as well as a rock protection tunnel for the cars to go through. This is all done on a precipitous slope with sheer drops to the river below. The road itself is steep, both uphill and downhill with sharp corners so must be driven with care.

It was getting late so we decided not to push on through to Hokitika and elected to stay in the carpark of the Otira Pub. So glad we did because a real treat was in store for us. The pub was built in the late 1800’s and much is still as it was then. There are many anitique carriages outside but the inside was as much of a treat. The hallway to the ladies loo was lined with antique toilet bowls (not connected of course). The cash register was a beautiful antique as was the telephone, and the place was stacked with all sort s of items eg. an antiques rope making machine, an antique butter churn, antique dolls and dolls prams, not to mention several penny farthing bicycles. Apparently there used to be a club that cycled these bikes along this road.  (no gears!).

The meal itself was a real treat. We decided to eat there as we were so taken with the place and we both had whitebait fritters and chips. The fritters were the best I have ever eaten – absolutely packed with whitebait and so delicious. The chips were perfectly cooked also.

A great place to stop and a great day of exploring our beautiful country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have had a busy few days in this area. After leaving the Hanmer Springs NZMCA Park we traveled into Hanmer itself to explore the township and what a lovely place it is. The scenery itself is very picturesque with the mountains as a backdrop, beautiful established trees throughout the town and some beautiful buildings and gardens. We shouted ourselves a coffee there and Bruce bought the inevitable – fresh bread and I indulged in a special purchase of some handmade fudge. We have been very good because only a small slice off one piece has gone so far. We have been so lucky in that the weather was fine and warm and I guess that added to the attraction of the place.

Leaving Hanmer was a bit slow as there was a motor vehicle accident just outside of town so all traffic was stopped while that was cleared away. We travelled through to Christchurch  where we had a bit of fun navigating to a laundromat but finally found it and got the washing done. We then headed to the home of Bruce’s work colleague, Dave and his wife Deb. They gave us a wonderful Vietnamese low carb dinner and we stayed in their driveway for the night.

It was another day of meeting friends the next day as we headed to Akaroa to meet with Bruce’s schoolfriend of 47 years ago, Pete and his wife Jenny who are also travelling around the south Island in a camper van (they live near Perth Australia). We were able to take the dogs on their first ocean swim of the  trip and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the grounds of an old house that is now a restaurant.

We did not spend much time looking around Akaroa as we were with Pete and Jenny and the day was marching on so we decided to head off to our accomodation for the night, looking at a few places on the way. There is not anywhere to stay in Akaroa that will take dogs so we had to head back towards Christchurch.

On the way we had to stop at the local cheese factory, where we picked up a few delicacies for dinner – 3 way cheese (a small block of cheese that contains three different varieties), bacon jam, damson plum paste and some crackers.

Just near there was rental accomodation built from grain silos. We were quite taken with these and thought they would make great farmstay accomodation (Emma and Justin).

Next stop was Little River where there was an amazing little gallery. We cruised around for quite a while. I was quite taken by some police jacket bibs so I think my friend Janice and I will have to go into production of those. They weren’t cheap, at almost $30 each!

Our final stop was a little town on the outskirts of Christchuch called Tai Tapu. It has the most fantastic public library I have ever seen, as pictured below. This would be great at Flaxmill Bay!

The Domain at Tai Tapu a wonderful facility – lots of mature trees, plenty of open spaces for the dogs to play, and public toilets for our friends in the little camper. It cost us the princely sum of $5 per van to stay there. What really surprised us was that this gem of a place was not listed on any of the directories we had. We only found out about it through Bruce’s workmate.

Around the barbeque that night Pete produced on old photo he had of Bruce’s first wife, Sue, which Bruce had not see before so two of these photos were given to us to give one each to Emma and Daniel. It was sad to say good bye to Pete and Jenny the next morning.

Today has been a bit of a shorter day for us. We left Greymouth at quite a respectable time and headed on the road to Hanmer Springs where we had planned to spend the night at the NZMCA park there.

Not far outside of Greymouth is a large brick tower so we called in to see what that was all about and found it was a memeorial to the disaster of an explosion at the Brunner Coal Mine in 1896, where 44 people died. The image above is the old mine entrance (now blocked off) but on certain days you can still smell the sulphide gases that ooze from the mine. This site was once a bustling township that also boasted a brick works (hence the brick chimney) and a coke (not the drink) factory, as well as the housing for the people that worked here.

It is sobering to read the stories of the families affected by the disaster – many women left with anywhere from 6 – 12 children to feed without their husband and income earner; parents whose sons were killed and so on. It must have been very hard for these families.

There is a statue of Richard John Seddon here who did a lot for worker’s rights after this tragedy.

Once again, the environment, while beautiful, would had been a harsh place to live. There is virgin bush around the area, so sandflies abound. The soil is the typical alluvial type soil – mainly rocks, so it would be difficult to get anything good to grow. The river is swift flowing.

The bridge and buildings are made from hard native timbers although some restoration has been done because it now boasts some stainless steel bolts.

Next stop was for lunch at Reefton which is a quaint but pleasant little town. We didn’t explore here but just had a bit of a break from the mountainous scenery of virgin bush, steep peaks, and many stony, swift flowing creaks and rivers. At one of the laybys on this road was a gathering  of about 50 Riley cars, including classic and vintage models, all nicely restored. They were a bit of pain on the road though, being slow and not prepared to pull over. We also saw a few unusual sights such a gateposts made of two upended cars; and an old closed service station with a lineup of rusting old vintage cars outside. Unfortunately we whizzed by too fast and the navigator had his eyes on a book, not the scenery so the photo opportunity was lost.

We continued on from there to Hanmer Springs, arriving early so we have a period to chill out for a change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove the short few kilometres from Runanga this morning and found a layby for campers next to the beach – ideal for walking dogs.

The west coast sea looks treacherous. The beaches are rocks and pebbles with the occassional little oasis of sand, but in amongst those rocks are little bits of treasure – white marble, greenstone, quartz with sparkly metal in it and other rocks that are fascinating just because of their shapes and colours.  Looking towards the south we could see  Mt Cook in the distance with the remnants of snow on it.

Once we were all exercised we headed south for about 10 km to Shanty Town. This is a replica timber logging town of the 1800’s with the various town buildings set up the way they might have been way back then.

The tour began with a short trip in an old steam train that would have been used for hauling cariages of logs. It took us up a bush line to an old sawmill.

That was followed by a tour of the sawmill and then an opportunity to pan for gold. We let Bruce do this and he came up with a few grains at the bottom of the pan (he was allowed to keep these). We took some time to walk aroundthe town and as Bruce was really really bad, he had a short stint in the local jail. I found the local hospital very interesting as they had several examples of iron lung machines that were used to keep people with polio alive.

All told, the place was pretty well done. We returned to the motorhome, which was parked close to the Dethleffs belonging to a couple from Taranaki, and set off to find somewhere cool for lunch.

Bruce was determined to find a shady spot under some trees so we drove 20kms south looking for such a spot without being able to find one. Therefore we returned to town and our pledge to have lunch before afternoon tea time today came to nought. Eventually we found a little bakery in the middle of Greymouth and close to that was a lovely parking place under a tree! Never mind, we saw the little town of Kumara on that adventure.

Our last visit for the day was to the Speight’s Brewery. We did the tour through the brewery and for the first time I now understand how beer is made. The tour comes complete with 4 free glasses of beer each so we could try the different craft beers made on site, so we each had a couple and then decided to find a camp site for the night.

There is a lovely park by the bridge into Greymouth from Westport that is a freedom camp for motorhomes and very popular. We are all settled in ready for a good nights rest and a longish drive tomorrow to Hamner Springs through the Lewis Pass. There may not be internet coverage there so there may not be a blog tomorrow night.

 

 

 

 

Neither of us slep well last night so it was no surprise that we slept in and had a late start to the day. However, after completing the usual chores we gunned the engine and made our way northeast to Denniston.

Denniston is a historic coal mining village – not just a mining operation. The drive up to it was 8km of steep winding road and we were blown away by two cyclists peddling their way up to the top. Once there the views were spectacular. You could see all down the coast.

The local Department of Conservation, the Westport District Council and Te Papa have done a great job of preserving the history of the area. The are many photoboards all around the site showing what it once looked like.

At its peak there were 80 wagons of coal leaving the site each day, but it would have been a miserable place to live for the families. It would be cold, windy, wet and the soil is all rocks held together by a bit of mud. Bits of coal lie all over the ground everywhere. There is nothing cheerful about the place.

We then drove past Westport again and stopped in the have a look at Cape Foulwind and the light house there. Foulwind was a bit of a misnomer today because there was no wind! We were somewhat surprised that the the light house was so short!

The drive down the coast was amazing. It is said to be one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world and it is easy to see why. The road is lined by groves of nikaus or giant flax bushes.

The next stop was Punakaiki (Pancake rocks). This is another area that has been well set up for tourists and I think we might have been the only English speaking people there. At the risk of demonstrating that I have a very limited vocabulary, I have to say that this was a place well worth visiting – spectacular.

Tonight we are overnighting at the Cosmopolitan Club carpark at Runanga, just outside of Greymouth. There are lots of freedom camping places along the way but they all seemed a bit lonely and exposed so we tried somewhere more populated to be safe. We have decided to stay in Greymouth tomorrow as well as there seems to be so much to see and do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neither one of us slept well last night so it was no surprise when we slept in! However, after doing the usual chores we farewelled Westport and headed northeast to Denniston, an historic coal mining area. It is no longer operating but DOC, the Westland Council and Te Papa have worked together to open its history up to the public. You can do tours through the coal mine but we elected not to do this.

The road in to Denniston is steep and wondy for 8 kms. We couldn’t believe it when we passed two cyclists peddling their way up the steep incline. Once at the top there are views all down the coast. It is not usual for the weather to be as pleasant as it has been for us for the last few days, so I can imagine that Denniston must have been a hell of a place to live for the coal mining families. All topsoil for any gardens had to be carted from the coast. The terrain here is all rocks, held together with a little mud, and a bit of coal.It is exposed, windy, with a huge rainfall and extremely cold in winter.

There are lots of old photos showing what the place was like, and old equipment is left rusting where it was last used.Some old buildings lie in a collapsed heap while the foundations of others are all that remains. At one time 80 full wagons of coal left this site each day.

 

We then travelled on to Cape Foulwind which was a bit of a misnomer today as there was no wind. We did not have the time to walk out to the seal colony which I believe is a 2 1/2 hour walk, but we did walk up tp the light house. Again the views were great but we were a bit surprised that the lighthouse was not very tall!

Driving on towards Greymouth, the coastal scenery is magnificent. It is said to be one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world, and that is easy to believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a leisurely start today but left Murchison as soon as we could – not a very appealing town actually.

The drive south to Westport though was spectacular. However, just 14kms out of Murchison was the longest swing bridge in the southern hemisphere, so of course we had to go across that. We were told that there many who would start across the bridge and turn back but we found it a great experience. The scenery as we were crossing the swift flowing Buller River was spectacular (I seem to use that word a lot). There was a short walk through bush on the other side with a lot of information boards on the Murchison earthquake, and signs pointing out the fault line and the places where the land rose by several metres. On the way back we decided to take the tandem zip line across the river instead of the swing bridge – a great adrenalin rush and an experience not to be missed.

We then carried on our journey to Westport exclaiming over the scenery as we went. On arrival we had a short walk down by the river for the dogs and a walk through the town for the humans before finding the NZMCA camp which is on a beach reserve. We were somewhat surprised when Weka emerged from the grasslands beside the park. They certainly are not shy and we were surprised at how tolerant the dogs were of them.

The dogs enjoyed their time on the beach which was unfortunately cut short when Oscar hurt his foot somehow (it seems to have come right now) and then Bruce and I were off on the bikes riding one of the BMX style tracks behind the park – a lot of fun. Overall, a great day.

We had a leisurely start to the day at the POP stop called Famdam. The dogs enjoyed their walk through the vineyards with vines all laden with immature grapes. We decided to keep to our original plans and head off for Murchison.

We could not believe how widespread the planting of vineyards is – they go for kilometres and kilometres. We must surely drink a lot of wine.

Once heading outside of the Wairau plains though the earthquake damage to the roading is clearly visible with hold-ups from road works every few kilometres. The scenery though was spectacular with steep mountainous hillsides and braided, swift flowing rivers.

A real surprise was coming into Lake Rotoiti – breathtakingly beautiful with beech forests on steep hillsides surrounding it, and crystal clear water in the lake – no weed that we could see. Lots of tourists around though. Further on, Lake Rotoroa was similarly beautiful although a little more remote so not so many tourists.

 

 

We finally arrived in Murchison, which is really a very small but very busy town. All the South Island traffic goes through here now as it cannot get down the coast. Murchison is old fashioned and tries to make a feature of it.

The NZMCA has a park here so this is where we are staying tonight. It is very popular with around 50 motorhomes all parked here. The downside of Murchison is that it is not very dog friendly – nowhere to officially walk them and nowhere to be able to let them off the leads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really did not linger too long in Picton this morning. After taking the dogs for a walk and visiting the local “Bakerijji” (which is the most wonderful bakery we have ever been to), we  travelled the 30kms or so to Blenheim.

The hills around Picton soon gave way to the dry flats of the Blenheim area with acre after acre of vineyards all laden with immature fruit.

We stopped to walk through the town, down by the river and through Seymour park which is alive with vibrant colour. It was only when we stoppped for a coffee that we were told you are not allowed to walk dogs in the town centre. It seems that the towns people don’t mind though because the dogs got lots of pats and cuddles as we walked.

The town itself if quite large and it seems a lot of money has been spent by the local authorities to ensure the place is attractive and well maintained. The people are very friendly and today it was warm and sunny.

We drove out to the Peter Jackson Heritage Aviation Museum, visiting both the World War 1 and World War 2 exhibtions. What a magic place. Weta workshops has been active here too so the displays are great and very similar to those in Te Papa. There is a lot of material on show and a lot of personal stories about individual pilots. I learnt two things in particular:

1. Russia lost 18 million enlisted personnel in the second world war, a huge percentage more than any other country
2. Russia also had teams of female fighter pilots

The World War 2 display ended with you being in a simulation of the bombing of Leningrad which was pretty scary, even though you knew it was a simulation and even though the special effects were only visual and sound, not movement.

 

We decided to camp early today and drove out to a place called Taylors Dam which is supposed to have free camping for motorhomes as well as walks etc. Hopwever, although the motorhome parking was there, everything else was closed off. The lake looked to be burdened with algae, so maybe that was the reason; or maybe they were extending the dam – whatever the reason it wasn’t an attractive camp site so we back tracked and are camped up in a POP stop in a vineyard beside the Wairau River. There are 5 other MCA members here and we arrived just on happy hour to be treated to whitebait fritters, courtesy of our hosts. We had a lovely hour or so with the others, and received lots of advice on places to go and plenty of horror stories about the sandflies we will encounter.

Unfortunately the river is very muddy from rainfall up in the lakes area, but we were able to watch the local breast cancer ladies practicing their dragonboating up and down the river.

 

We could not have been happier to leave Wellington and it’s wet blustery weather. We took the dogs for a walk before we left and got caught in a heavy shower. Little Hunter wasn’t too keen on that and tried hiding under some bushes – we had to drag him out. We expected the ferry to be cancelled due to the winds of 150km/hour winds, but that wasn’t the case.

It seemed to take a long time to actually get on the ferry and in the end we sailed 30 minutes late. Once out in the straight the skies cleared although the wind was still pretty fierce. The sailing itself wasn’t bad though and we duly arrived in Picton. What a charming little place, so obviously geared towards the tourist trade. Can’t wait to see more tomorrow.