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Category Archives: New Zealand
New Zealand North Island day 38 – Taumuranui to Auckland
Had a leisurely start; we have a four-hour drive to Auckland to drop the car at the airport and check-in to our overnight accommodation at the Comfort Inn. The weather is sunny and warm and the scenery is rugged steep folds of hills with angular contours, narrow deep gullies and sheep. Further north this wild landscape gives way to gentle rolling hills. We get a transfer from the car rental office to the airport a few minutes away and save about $60 by getting a courtesy coach to the Comfort Inn – a rather unprepossessing motel complex which surprisingly has rather well equipped rooms with cooking facilities. We have meal at Greek/Indian restaurant nearby and prepare for an early night – our flight to Hobart is at 6.50am tomorrow morning. Continue reading
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Tagged Auckland, New Zealand, North Island, Taumauranui
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New Zealand North Island day 37 – Taumauganui
Our second day on river and it is a glorious day, sunny and warm – just perfect for canoeing. And the scenery is just as stunning, if not more so, than yesterday as we paddle through deep gorges. We had an early night last night – once it got dark at around 9pm that was little else to do but snuggle down in our sleeping bags! Nonetheless we still don’t get up until about 8.30. Breakfast overlooking river – great. We pack up and away by 10.45 leaving us just enough time to cover the four-hour paddle to our pick up point at Whakaroro. Occasionally we pass and are passed in return by our fellow river companions – the Americans and the father and son. It’s still proving very difficult to tell where we are on river despite the descriptions on the map and we have no idea whether we will make our destination on time. Fortunately and to our surprise we arrive to meet our pick up dead on 3pm having failed to recognise one of the most challenging rapids on today’s stretch of river as described in our notes – it can’t have been that challenging!
We are picked up one of the family’s sons and his friend. The son is 16 and rattles along the unsurfaced Whanganui River road covering in one hour a journey that should have taken an hour an half. When we arrive back at the hire place, there is no sign of any adults and we unpack our gear and leave – noone bothering to check that everything is in order and we have returned all the kit we have hired. A bizarre way to run a company!
New Zealand North Island day 36 – Taumauranui
It’s and early start ; we need to finish packing the car, purchase a foot pump for the airbeds and get to Taumaranui Canoe Hire all by 8.30am. We stop off at Mitre 10 a large chain store along the lines of B&Q to get airbed pump, but they have sold the last one and in desperation we take a standard tyre pump more suited to blowing up cycle tyres. When we arrive at Taumaranui Canoe Hire things are a little chaotic, kids running around getting ready for school, mum having breakfast We needn’t really have worried about getting here for 8.30am as we don’t get our river briefing until after 9am. The briefing of the river conditions is probably the most thorough we have ever received, plus we get a river map, written description of the key points along the way and paddle times. The weather not great, but at least not raining.
The Whanganui River winds its way from the mountains to Whanganui City on the Tasman Sea. It flows through hills, valleys and lowland forest forming the heart of the Whanganui National Park. The surrounding land is formed of soft sandstone layered with mudstone which has been eroded by the river to form sharp ridges, deep gorges, waterfalls and sheer mudstone cliffs. Over this dramatic landscape has grown a broadleafed forest of native trees, ferns and plants. Birds are in abundance as their song testifies and the hum of bees can be heard as we paddle down river. This is a beautiful and untouched wilderness …almost – there is a road that runs along side some stretches of the river which is only evident from the noise of the occasional car.
The meandering river is just right balance of flat slow water and rapids to add interest. We meet two other canoes along the way – a couple of young Americans from Colorado and Connecticut and a man and his young son. We make a couple of stops along the way for a ‘brew’ and to visit a lavender farm. The latter a short climb up the bank and nestled under the folds of the hills. We stop to have our picnic lunch before enjoying a drink on the verandah of the cafe soaking up the sun as the scent of lavender wafts through the air and the butterflies flit among the flowers. An idyllic spot.
We arrive at the small riverside campsite around 5.15pm having begun to wonder whether we had missed it somewhere along the way. The map of the river isn’t proving very useful as there are few distinguishing landmarks for orientation. The man and his son have arrived just ahead of us so there will be four of us camping here tonight . The site is basic; there is running water (which you can drink at your own risk according to the sign), a thunderbox which is littered with dead flies (not very pleasant) and a covered shelter for preparing food. We set up tent overlooking river and cook one pot curry on a small gas burner. It’s a glorious sunny evening, and the birdsong and gurgling of the rapids are interrupted only by the very occasional car as it makes its way along the unsurfaced road that traces the river high up on the opposite bank.
New Zealand North Island day 35 – Wellington to Taumaurunui
Another driving day as we make our way from Wellington to Taumaranui where we are planning to do a couple of days’ canoeing down the Whanganui River. The drive between Wellington and Whangarui city on the west coast is not particularly interesting scenery in the NZ scheme of things, but the landscape becomes much more dramatic as we make our way from Whangarui to Taumaranui. Steep-sided folds of hills with deep narrow valleys provide rough pasture for sheep and a few cows – apparently there are some 40 million sheep in New Zealand mainly clinging to the rugged high ground. The weather is but pretty miserable; windy and chilly. As we continue to climb higher pasture turns to heath land.
Taumaranui is a focal point for the area situated on the banks of the Whanganui River at the start of the romantically and enigmatically named Forgotten World Highway it is an access point to the Wanganui River National Park as well as being reasonably close to Lake Taupo to the east. People come here for the walks, canoeing and kayaking as well as the jet boat rides along the river. We don’t arrive until 4.30pm and have still to book our canoe trip for tomorrow. After driving round trying to find The canoe hire company is somewhere on the outskirts of Taumaranui but after driving around for about half-an-hour we are no nearer finding it (New Zealand isn’t great for signing small out-of-the-way places or their streets in some cases), and decide to go straight to the holiday park – which we have already booked – to.get directions.
Taumaranui Canoe Hire turns out to be a family run business in the literal sense – the kids seem to be involved too – operating out of the family home (the office is in the lounge Set in a stunning location, the back of the house is wall to ceiling glass which opens up over incredible views of the surrounding countryside and the Whanganui below. Despite a rather homespun feel, the husband and wife team seem to be reasonably on the ball and we book our trip for two days with the hire of some warm sleeping bags, dry suits and five barrels for our stuff.
Back at the holiday park there is lively conversation in the kitchen with a New Zealand couple – the husband turns out to be an Englishman who has been living in New Zealand for the past 30-odd years – and a single English woman travelling alone, all of whom are on the river tomorrow. Eventually we have to drag ourselves away to pack our barrels for tomorrow’s early start.
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Tagged New Zealand, North Island, Taumaurunui, Wellington
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New Zealand North Island day 34 – Wellington
Still very windy and a cold 10 degree C, so a perfect day to visit the Te Papa National Museum on the quayside in downtown Wellington. Heavily advertised as a world-leading and innovative interactive museum – Te Papa, which translates as ‘Our Place’ tells the stories of New Zealand – its land, people, culture and history. There are sections aimed at adults and children using an inter-active multi-media approach to engage and engross. We spend about 5 hours and still don’t manage to see it all, although it is by no means over-whelming large, in fact quite the opposite and first impressions are of a huge space and not a lot of exhibits. There are the usual stuffed wild life and displays of various natural and man-made artifacts, but that’s where the similarity with a traditional museum ends. Our Space inter-active wall onto which visitors can load their impressions of what makes New Zealand. There is the Colossal Squid4.2m long, weighing 495 kg and preserved in formaldahide – unfortunately not open to view but there is a video of it’s capture and preservation. Other sections include videoed interviews with various Nealanders including a Chinese man who speaks fluent Maori, high ground sheep farmers, a Maori delivery man who beatboxes in his spare time; a great section on the earth’s forces and the destruction and havoc caused by volcanoes, landslips, tsunamis, cyclones earthquakes (including an after-shock experience); and a carved marae (Maori meeting place). A fascinating place to spend a windy, cold day! Continue reading
New Zealand South Island day 33 – Murchison to Wellington
We have allowed ourselves half a day to reach Picton ferry terminal to catch the 1.30pm sailing to Wellington. As we approach Blenheim along the wide Wairau River valley, the weather starts to improve and we enter the Malborough wine country with its mile after mile of vineyards, their neat, clipped rows stretching away into the distance. We arrive at Picton with plenty of time to spare. The ferry is far from the full to capacity journey we experienced on the way out and we are able to obtain tickets to see Slumdog Millionaire which is showing in the very small cinema on board. A great film, which fills most of what would have otherwise been a tedious 3-hour crossing. Wellington is a blustery and chilly as the day we left – thankfully we have a cabin booked for a cosy night.
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Tagged Murchison, New Zealand, South Island, Wellington
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New Zealand South Island day 32 – Fox to Murchison
We have a long drive up the west coast from Fox to Murchison today as we make are way towards Picton to catch the ferry back to the North Island. This is the beginning of our return journey to Auckland and our flight to Australia on 16th March.
The west coast of the South Island stretches for 600 km from north to south and is only 70km at its widest point. Our journey covers about 470 km most of it along the coast. It is an area of contrasts with snow and glaciers in the south and palms in the north. A wild, windy coastline with deserted beaches littered with driftwood, crashing waves, windy roads and dense native forest. Around every corner, it seems, there is a photo opportunity waiting.
We have time only to make a couple of stops along the route. The first is a detour to visit Gillespies Beach recommended to us by a couple we met in Waihi Beach, what seems like an age ago. The beach car park is full of people in camper vans rough camping. We take a walk to the beach via the remains of a gold dredge that worked the land behind the beach. The beach is strewn with large pieces of driftwood and there is a wonderful view of the Fox Glacier cutting a huge gash through the mountain side.
Our second stop involves another detour to Punakaiki notable for its Pancake Rocks and blow holes. Here there is loop track along the cliffs to Dolomite Point and the limestone formations that look like layers of pancakes sitting one atop the other eroded to form huge stacks. Unfortunately we arrive between low and high tide and the blow holes aren’t throwing up the dramatic bursts of spray we’ve seen in photographs. But there are splendid views up and down the coast to compensate. We carry on up the coast and turn inland just south of Westport to make our way along the wonderfully scenic Buller River to Murchison and our overnight stop..
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Tagged Fox, Murchison, New Zealand, South Island
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New Zealand South Island day 31 – Fox Glacier
Fox would be an unprepossessing village (population of 258) if it were not for the fact that it is tucked into the rainforest-clad foothills of the Southern Alps and offers stunning views of snow-capped peaks including Mount Cook. It is also the gateway to the Fox Glacier, which at 13 km is the longest glacier in the Westland National Park. It also comes closer to sea level (only 250m above) than any other temperate region glacier in the world and descends through sub-temperate rain forest to boot. It’s other distinguishing feature is the speed at which it travels, covering up to 4 metres a day which is ten times the speed of other valley glaciers around the world. All due to the funnel-like shape of the glacial valley and the huge neve, the snow accumulation area at the top of the glacier. Fox Glacier’s neve is 36 sq k, bigger than the whole of Christchurch city. It’s a miserable morning: grey and raining heavily, but undeterred, we book onto a guided walk on the glacier leaving at 2.30pm . We are kitted out with rain gear and the heaviest and most uncomfortable walking boots imaginable. After a short coach journey in an old Bedford bus we start our trek with a gentle walk up the glacial river valley over moraine left behind when the glacier retreated to it’s present position. Huge boulders are strewn everywhere as well as massive chunks of ice which are the remains of a recent collapse of the terminal face shedding 60 tonnes of ice. Water, made milky grey with ground rock, gushes from the base of the glacier to form a fast-flowing river. As we get up close to the terminal face it starts to hit home just how massive this glacier is – reaching a height of 2,800m it dwarfs structures such as the Eiffel Tower. The terminal face is far too high to attempt to climb and we make away up through the rain forest alongside the glacier to a more accessible point where we can climb onto the ice quite easily. The climb through the forest involves 700 steps and negotiating some rather narrow cliff-side paths and sheer drops. We don crampons and with ice poles for extra stability we follow in our guides foot-steps as he cuts out steps up and onto the top of the glacier. It’s quite an incredible experience – stepping over crevasses climbing over the hilly terrain; and the view from the terminal face down the valley is superb. All the while melt water is making it’s way down through deep holes and crevasses. Had our first conference call using Skype involving Mum, Val and Peter – quite easy to set up but we couldn’t always maintain a clear connection. As a new convert to Skype – this was his first call – Peter was most impressed to be able to not only conference call but also speak to us in New Zealand. Continue reading
New Zealand South Island day 30 – Te Anau to Fox Glacier
Saturday, 7th March, New Zealand South Island day 30 – Te Anau to Fox Glacier
Today is a driving day. We are making the 480km journey from Te Anau to Fox up the west coast to see the glacier. The west coast of the South Island stretches 600 km from north to south and is only 70 km at its widest point. It’s a kaleidoscope of changing scenery – alpine, beech forest, high country grassland, merino sheep, deer, tussocks, dark mountains providing an ever-present backdrop, deep gullies, hills dappled with sunlight, cloud shadows drifting across the landscape, patches of dense green forest, far-reaching vistas and winding roads. Intermittant rain creating impromtu roadside waterfalls are a frequent distraction. The road follows of the shores of lake Wanaka an Hawea and we stop several times to admire the most amazing views of the lakes and surrounding mountains. Clouds hang low and dark whilst rays of sunlight break through to illuminate the waters and create pools of bright blue. Further on, passed Haast, at Bruce Bay the road runs along the coast for a while there are impressive vistas of the crashing surf of the Tasman Sea. There is a bike race in progress and as the cyclists pass us we can hardly begin to wonder at their fortitude and unimaginable stamina in tackling the inclement weather and the impossible gradients. We stop at the Salmon Cafe, seemingly situated in the middle of nowhere, for a break and coffee and chocolate and the most melt-in-your-mouth cheese scone ever. It never ceases to amaze how these little out-of-the-way places manage to survive on what seems like minimal passing trade.
Word of the day heard on a local radio station: Chillax – to relax and chill
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Tagged Fox Glacier, New Zealand, South Island, Te Anau
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New Zealand South Island day 29 – Doubtful Sound
We are booked on an all-day kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound leaving at 7.45 am from Manapouri; a 20-minutes drive from where we are staying in Te Anau. We set off around 7am. It’s pitch black, cold and raining, not the best conditions, we think, for a day’s kayaking and we aren’t reassured by our guide’s insistance that Doubtful Sound is best experienced on a rainy day – more waterfalls! But as we set off by motor boat across Lake Manapouri we begin to appreciate just how magical these mountains can be in the early morning light as ethereal clouds hang in the valleys, atop the peaks and over the slopes. Mysterious Lake Manapouri, with over 30 bush-clad islands and framed by the wonderful Cathedral Mountains, is the gateway to Doubtful and Dusky Sounds and this morning, at least, lives up to it’s reputation as the loveliest of all New Zealand’s many lakes.
On the far side of the lake, at West Arm, we are kitted out with wet suits, thermals and rain jackets before taking a 20-minute drive over the Wilmot Pass – from where there is a fabulous view looking down into Doubtful Sound – to Deep Cove – the heart of the Sound and the start of our kayak adventure.
Doubtful Sound is the deepest of all the fiords. Unspoilt and remote, this is a true haven of peace and serenity; the silence only broken by bird song and the rush of waterfall (and all too frequently the chatter of our guide). The towering peaks, numerous waterfalls, green islands, ancient rainforest clinging tenuously to the sheer rock faces are truly magnificent. Kayaking through the Sound is a perfect way to appreciate this very special place and to really experience it up close. The silence of the kayaks means that when we come across a lone seal bathing in the water we can watch from a few feet while he seems completely oblivious to our presence. We’re also come with in a few feet of two yellow-crested penguin standing on the shore of an island completely unperturbed by our presence.
Sandflies are ever present in the Sounds and can be a real nuisance. There are 100s of them and only heavy rain seems to deter them. Liberal use of insect repellent helps, but they still swarm around our heads and when we come to change out of our kayaking gear at the end of the day the sandflies immediately feast on our exposed skin.
Tree avalanches are another characteristic feature of the alpine scenery. Trees with only the most tenuous of root systems can be easily dislodged by the heavy rains. One tree can bring down an avalanche of others, leaving a scar on the the mountainside and debris along the waters edge.
And it’s true the Sound is best experienced in the rain!
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Tagged Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, South Island
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