Post #19 Glaciers to Fiords

Whilst NZ has about 6 million people and something like 40 million sheep, it also has an estimated 80 million possums! Introduced from Australia for fur they have now reached near plague proportions and (what a surprise) they are doing serious damage.

The government's response is somewhat controversial. They send helicopters over heavily possum-populated areas and bomb them with carrots... Whilst the high-velocity root vegetables might kill one or two, the aim, in fact, is to get the possums used to eating the free veg then after a while they drop a load poisoned with 1080. The controversy lies in the fact that not just possums like eating carrots and the 1080 poison is indiscriminate so much of the wildlife in these areas is decimated. A lot of Kiwis in these parts enjoy hunting and a number of them have lost dogs to the poison too, some of them having to put their beloved pooches out of their misery themselves. Pesky possums!

On a lighter note, I saw this sign in the loo at a Caltex fuel station. I still can't decide if it is proof of a Kiwi sense of humour or if they really need this helpful guidance...





So, half way down the west coast of the South Island are two glaciers: Fox Glacier and Frans Josef. (I think there are more than 1000 glaciers in NZ but these are easily accessible). Having weighed up the pros and cons of each, I decided to head for Fox which is just a few kilometres further south. The drive there was incredible, by amazing Coastal views, mountain passes and forests, albeit it through pouring rain for the last section.




Fox Glacier feels entirely like a tiny ski resort (although there's no skiing to be had here at any time of the year). The only reason to be here is to see the glacier and in true Kiwi style there are numerous ways to do so... Walk on it, fly over it, fly over it then walk it, skydive near it etc etc.

I decided to skydive over it. No I didn't, I opted to join a guided walk with Fox Glacier Guiding. They were excellent. We were a group of 12 and Melissa, our guide, was very knowledgeable. 'Charlie', the bus below, took us 5km down the road armed with our instep crampons and alpenstocks.




The glacier is 16km long and, bizarrely, it terminates less then 200m above sea level, within temperate rain forest! These glaciers only exist because of the crazy levels of precipitation here (I think the township gets 6-8m of rain per year and the snowfall in the mountains is many times this). They also move at around 10 times the usual pace of a glacier and whilst Fox is currently receding, when advancing it does so at around a metre per week! All pretty cool.




First proper view of the ice after about an hour's walk along the valley.





And on to the ice.

It was a very cool day and great to experience a glacier so close up like this, seeing the power it has in displacing and moving rock and even hearing it creaking sometimes! (The O'Level geography terminology came flooding back, Mr Milnes will be pleased to know)





Steps cut by the guides...





A very rewarding day and very lucky to enjoy the whole thing in the sunshine considering it rains at last 200 days per year here. Cause for a celebration...





I think I'd hit a period of "travel weariness", exacerbated by the foul weather on the way to Fox. The 'fix' was booking two nights in one of the smarter hotels in Fox (ok, potentially the smartest...) along with some decent food in Cafe Neve. A bit budget-busting but very much needed!

From Fox, it was south to Wanaka which sits on Lake... Yep, you've guessed it... Wanaka. It's described as Queenstown, twenty years ago. I didn't go to Queenstown twenty years ago but whilst I really liked Wanaka I suspect I won't like Q'town now!

It poured for the first four hours of the journey from Fox... To get to Wanaka, which is more inland, you have to cross a mountain range and the change in weather and climate once down on the other side is staggering. From the west coast which gets metres and metres of rainfall a year, you get to the 'other side' to find the brown grass, total fire ban and parched vegetation of Wanaka which hasn't seen rain in months!

Heading through the cloud...





To Wanaka...




And lying on the beach around 8pm!





So from here I'm heading south towards Fiordland and Milford Sound. This month seems to be flying by!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wanaka

Post #18 The South Island Proper

The ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton on the South Island was, in great contrast to the crossing the other way, in glorious sunshine and calm waters. The ferry takes about three hours and the second half of the journey is through the majestic Marlborough Sounds. It really is a stunning route where the 500 passenger ferry (and cars/freight) sometimes feels just too big to be winding through the sounds/fiords. Rather puts Dover-Calais in the shade...













I arrived in Picton and decided to stay the night having driven through the three-street town and seen a "summer festival" on the go. It was great. The small seaside-village sits on a scallop-shell shaped bay on Charlotte Sound with hills all around behind. It's very pretty and very friendly. The music festival was in full swing by the time I got down there with lots of small food stalls and, what seemed to be, every local from Picton enjoying an evening in the late sun with a band playing on the thin strip of beach. It looked like a movie set, in the sunshine, of a 'perfect party'.

Here's a photo of a truck for the two little boys I know that like cars & lorries... Tom and David.





I pulled into a small cafe for breakfast the next morning. Don't think I've ever had a bacon and egg pie before. Perfect!





I'm pretty sure that NZ has a pretty bad rep when it comes to food. In contrast I've found that even the smallest township has a great cafe/deli and many are really very good and reminiscent of "Megan's" in Fulham or those flash ones on the North Norfolk coast. They do take their coffee very seriously here and it's very good and, I've got to admit, I think they generally do Fish & Chips here better than in the UK!

I also have to admit to a few too many Mrs Mac's Pies and Sausage Rolls (If it's not Mrs Mac's... Take it back!) I must attend to my, currently, poor diet which is difficult to keep healthy when on the move all the time. I make myself feel better with large doses of blueberries which taste like nothing I've ever had back home.

I ended up staying in Picton for two night's and then headed west along the north coast of the South Island, along the famous Queen Charlotte Drive, to Nelson. Nelson is great... Relaxed, pretty, coastal and charming. It would lend itself to a very relaxed way of life.





I had to visit the GP in Nelson (only stocking up on drugs) and we quickly deduced that we were living on the same street in Fulham at the time Jill Dando was shot... Small world!

From Nelson I wanted to take a look up by Abel Tasman and Collingwood. It was a very beautiful area but, only for the second or third time, I arrived to find a place packed with tourists. Abel Tasman is on the tourist 'circuit' and was very busy. I took a short walk but decided to move on. I appreciate that I'm a tourist too but I just don't enjoy the 'theme park' feel created with loads of people jostling around somewhere of interest. I also, without fail, get asked to take people's pictures at tourist spots. It's very dull and being David Bailey to happy couple after happy couple through the viewfinder is not why I'm here.

Still, pretty nice 'round these parts...





Collingwood sits on Golden Bay, almost at the extreme north of the island, just below Cape Farewell which I thought aptly named for the last bit of land. It was a beautiful estuary for sitting, relaxing and doing nothing else!





From here I had to backtrack to Nelson before heading toward the west coast and Westport, via Murchison and the Buller Gorge. Now I knew that there were some mountains in NZ but I have to show my prior ignorance by not realising that the country is largely alpine! Day after day is spent driving through mountains, along passes and through gorges. All very spectacular.

I arrived in Westport and was slightly non-plussed so decided to take the 100km mountain road north to Karamea. The journey was amazing...









And as for Karamea... Well, Karamea, Karamea, Karamea!

It's nothing special and yet everything that is special! I know I'm going to find it hard to describe for those that haven't been but here goes...

It's a tiny rural township with a population of about 500-600. Predominantly it is a series of dairy farms on rich pastures along with a small village centre of A N Others. The place is a subtropical slither of land squished between the rainforest clad Kahurangi mountains and the Tasman Sea with Nikau Palms lining the roads. What makes it special is hard to pinpoint. For one, it is at the end of the road running north on the west coast... If you want to get here you need to make the, slow going, 100km journey across the mountains with nowhere to go onto, other than back.





Beyond that, it is marvellously isolated and cut off but with a very warm community... A lifetime of "peace and quiet" here if you want it with nothing more than beaches, mountains, rivers and rural pursuits. I met some interesting and friendly people from farmers to people that had arrived whilst travelling and never left... I stayed longer than I planned, almost without realising it! A very special place without being anything special!








I dragged myself away a couple of days ago and headed south. I'm currently in Fox Glacier. Amazing! But this blog is long enough so crampons and moraines can wait to the next one...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kerr Rd,Fox Glacier,New Zealand

Post #17 Continuing around the North Island

Now, where were we?

On the last night in Paihia (Bay of Islands) I met a Maori guy, Bobby, and his schoolteacher wife and had a great evening with them. Really nice people.

From there I headed south, along the northern coastline, to the Coromandel Peninsula... What a stunningly beautiful place. It's a little 'finger' of land that juts north with incredible, winding roads that follow the coastline and the mountains. It's just stunningly beautiful.








I arrived in Tairua around 5pm and it took about a second to decide to stay...









Either I'm very lucky in where I happen to stay or there are a lot of lovely spots in NZ!

From there it was onto Rotorua, a geothermal Mecca in the centre of the North Island, stopping off for a quick dip at Whangamata...





Rotorua is the main centre for the surrounding volcanic and geothermal activities. The town itself is, inevitably, rather touristy but fun to be found nonetheless...





A cable car will take you up the mountain overlooking Lake Rotorua and then a chairlift services three luge courses (I tried them a few times!)





Very reminiscent of skiing and very, very strange to be on a chairlift without skis but in shorts and in the sunshine!

Next were the two Geothermal attractions of Waimangu and Waiotapu. Both areas are volcanically active and it is a very strange experience to walk along rock with steam pouring out of fissures! The whole experience felt very primordial and I had to keep reminding myself that this was indeed the work of Mother Nature and not a "theme park"! Hard to describe but a couple of pics...









A stream with steam...





And an amazingly mineral-coloured crater lake...





Bubbling mud-pools, mineral salt pans, craters, geysers and all sorts were the order of the day; too much for photo's of everything.

So, after a while, it was onto the east coast. Going along a highway, I decided to stop for a rest. Pulled over. Walked about a bit. Saw a gap in the undergrowth so pushed through and saw this...





I'm sure this would be on the 'tourist trail' in many other countries!

I continued southbound along the east coast of the North Island, through Hastings and Napier in a day and a half to try to make up some time and get to the South Island in good time. A last night's camping was in Waipukurau and then it was up early for the last couple of hundred km's to the ferry in Wellington.

Now here's where I make a small admission! I didn't visit Wellington (other than driving through to the ferry port). Yikes, don't tell anyone... Of course since then, I've met a number of Wellington people and have not been able to admit to missing out their capital city so have made very convincing nods of approval when asked if I liked it! Truth is, I've just had enough of cities for a while. I'm here to see the country.

That finishes the North Island and as I'm playing 'catch up' on this blog, I'll start a new one to bring us up to date.

Liked the North a lot. The obvious Taupo and Rotorua but particularly The Northlands, above Auckland, and the Coramendel Peninsula particularly.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kerr Rd,Fox Glacier,New Zealand

Post #16 Back on the Road (hurrah!)

Flew into Christchurch on Thursday and picked up the van. The rental place was on the outskirts of town so I haven't yet seen the devastation caused by the earthquakes and after-shocks these poor people have been getting in the last 12 months. I have the van for 28 days so I immediately headed north, along the coast, with the plan of an anticlockwise route around both islands, spending more time on the south island. I'll then end up back in christchurch for my last week before flying out from there.
Seems like a plan.

First stop was a rather moody-looking Kaikoura...






It was totally cloudy when I arrived and, after a couple of hours, when the clouds finally broke I was stunned to see the mountains! Really nice town. Lots of Kiwis on holiday and a good feel all round.

Don't think I've ever seen clouds on a beach before...




From Kaikoura I took the short 90 minute drive to Picton to take the Interislander ferry to the north island. I hadn't booked (no surprise there) and so hoped to get a spot on one of the Friday sailings before the inevitable weekend rush. Kaikora to Picton was wet... And windy! I later found out that gales were battering Wellington (where the ferry arrives) and so the drive was blowy and the 3hr ferry was... Rather 'lumpy'. 2m swells they claimed. Could have been worse. The weather on arrival at 6pm in Wellington was atrocious so it was a quick drive through, and out of, the city to find a suitable camp site for the night. I met a bunch of people on the ferry who did exactly the same due to the weather.

The weather gradually eased over the weekend however it did mean that I moved on a little quicker than planned from a couple of places.

From Wellington I've headed north through the middle of the North Island, taking in sights such as Mount Ruapehu...









Admiring the 'Land of the Long White Cloud'...





I then got to Lake Taupo, in the centre of the North Island, where I'd planned to stay for a while, not least for the world famous trout fishing. However, whilst the rain had subsided, the wind was still a challenge to stand up in so fishing was out of the question. I decided, the next day, to move on and find some decent weather. Maybe I can see Taupo again on the way back to the South Island?

The Huka Falls..





The "Fall" is only about 20m but the spectacular element is that the river which is normally 100m wide, is forced into a 15m wide channel and over a volcanic ledge. The result is a flow rate of 220,000 litres of water per second! Incredibly powerful and the speed at which the water is moving makes you feel giddy. I was the second person to arrive to see this on that day... Followed 10 minutes later by three bus loads of people!

A rather English looking, evening scene...




So, to beat the weather, I headed to the Northlands next; the bit that sticks out northwards above Auckland. My main reason for heading that way was to see a very special tree.

An afternoon and evening were spent at the very beautiful Mangawhai Heads. The van is pretty poor on the sleeping front so I 'purloined' a tent which came in handy for this near perfect camp spot...

View right...




View left...




My little tent...





Supper on the back-up Trangia!





And then, the next morning, the sun came up!





A very beautiful spot indeed...





This camp site is council owned and was bequeathed to them with covenants stipulating that it must be used for 'cheap camping' or recreation. My spot cost me £8. Even more remarkable when you know that the rest of the village is super-smart and pretty super-wealthy! Each beachfront house has clearly been designed by an architect trying to outdo the neighbour's architect. A look in the window of the local estate agent confirmed that these holiday homes go for millions. Not crass though. All very, very stylish. All the old boys have big boats sitting on their driveways and there is obviously a bit of a local trend for having an accompanying, renovated and beautifully painted, vintage tractor to tow said boat the few hundred metres to the shoreline. All very cool to see.

Can't think of too many more beautiful places to wake up, make some coffee, and admire the view.

From there I did a small loop today to the Bay of Islands via the Waipoua Forest. Winding mountain roads through the forest took me to Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest, in Maori).

On the way to Tane, I saw what I will title, 'Dead trees in Water'...





So Tane is a very special tree for many reasons: it is a great Kauri tree and is the largest known example anywhere. In Maori Creation Myth he is the son of the Father Sky and Mother Earth and all of the other trees in the forest, along with the birds are Tane's children. (the birds are rapidly declining incidentally due to man's introduction of various, now, vermin species. Same story, different place!)

He stands 51m tall and the trunk's girth is 14m. Age is estimated at 1300-2500 years old. The final reason why Tane Mahuta is so special, and the reason I came to see him, is that P came here on her NZ trip (after we'd been to South America) and she was in awe of him. Along with the other people there, I was too.

Scale in photo's on a pocket camera is difficult but this will give you a vague feel for the lower trunk...








Majestic and so disproportionate to his surroundings.

So now I'm in Paihia, Bay of Islands which I plan to explore tomorrow and maybe do a spot of fishing...



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Marsden Rd,Paihia,New Zealand