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Tag Archives: New Zealand
New Zealand South Island day 19- Kaikoura
The weather is considerably cooler in the South Island and wet. But according to the weather reports all of New Zealand is in a band of low pressure so the weather is probably little better in North Island. Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island started out as a sleepy fishing village famed for crayfish but an abundance of whales, dolphins, seals, penguins, albatross as well as some stunning scenery has put it firmly on the tourist map. It retains the air of a fishing village, but with a proliferation of wildlife tour operators, motels, holiday parks and shops that are aimed more at the tourist than the locals, as well as numerous seafood cafes selling, amongst other things, crayfish at export prices – no local prices here. A charming place nonetheless. The view of what should be the snow-capped Seaward Kaikoura mountains, unfortunately shrouded in cloud today, greet us when we emerge from our tent. Despite forecasts of rain we set off in the sunshine to do the two-hour circular peninsular walk, part of which is along the cliff tops. We make our way along the dark grey pebble beach which is littered with driftwood but soon decide to revert to the pavement to make easier and quicker progress. We can see the rain coming across the hills on the far side of the bay and soon we are donning our capes. The rain combined with the blustery wind and the fact that we left the map behind, make a cliff -top walk less appealing and we retreat to the car. So changeable is the weather that by the time we reach the car the sun is out again and blue skies have made and appearance. So we decide to drive round to point on the peninsular where the walk ascends the cliff top. Here there is another seal colony and we brave the winds to walk out across the rocks exposed by the receding tide. We can make out a handful of seals through the binoculars but this is a poor show compared to colony we stumbled on yesterday.
We are making our way south ultimately aiming to get to Milford Sound on the west coast and our next stop is Hanmer Springs. We might have spent longer in Kaikoura had the weather been better but the forecast is more of the same and swimming with dolphins in the cold Pacific is not proving much of a draw. The scenery between Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs is majestic – huge swathes of countryside with no visible signs of habitation and empty roads. Deep ravines, massive dried up riverbeds carrying shrunken rivers, sheer escarpments, plateaus, towering hills, rising up in folds created in an earlier age, milky rivers, mountainous backdrops, the peaks lost in the clouds. Shades of greens, browns and gold. Welcome to Middle Earth!
The approach to Hanmer Springs is dramatic as we descend into the valley of the Clarence River. A enormously wide and meandering river bed with a much-reduced milky blue river occupying only a fraction of it’s grey stony bed We treat ourselves to a kitchen cabin. It’s chilly and for the first time in our trip we turn on the heater!.
New Zealand, North Island day 18 – Wellington
For a capital city, Wellington is tiny (population 164,000) and remarkably low rise. This windy city is perched on the west shore of a magnificent natural harbour, hemmed in by hillsides which dwarf the few high rise buildings that are concentrated in the city centre. Single storey detached, well-spaced homes cling to the the hillsides overlooking the bay. On the north shore the narrow coastal strip is only wide enough to accommodate the highway and railway line on a ledge conveniently created when an earthquake in the mid nineteenth century raised the shore by a several metres. We are at the ferry port by 7.15am. It is a gloriously sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky and we have a wonderfully clear view of the whole of Wellington Harbour.
Approaching the South Island you could be forgiven for thinking that it is uninhabited; there is not a single building in sight on the wild and rugged shoreline and even as we turn into Marlborough Sounds only the odd isolated house comes into view. The hills drop down dramatically on both sides of the Sound to the oh so blue sea. The next hour of the journey is through dramatic and almost untouched scenery (there are signs of logging), bays and channels opening to left and right. The ferry journey from Wellington on North Island to Picton on South Island has taken around 3 and half hours – much longer than we anticipated – it hardly looks any distance on the map! Picton is a nestled at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound; it’s hard to conceive that in the height of the summer this small village with a population of 4000 is capable of handling 2000 ferries a day!
The landscape of the South Island is much wilder and more rugged than the North. As we drive south towards Kaikoura on the east coast the hills tower above the road. Rich green tree-covered hillsides soon give way to hills covered with little else but rough brown grass. Winding roads occasionally reveal an oasis of planted forests of pine or neat, vivid green vineyards standing out against their brown surroundings, many clothed in white netting. This is the famed Marlborough wine producing region of New Zealand. In the distance the dark mountains of the Inland Kaikouras range, their peaks shrouded in cloud, provide a menacing backdrop. Just outside Kaikoura we stop at a viewpoint which turns out to be a vantage point for a large colony of seals. Only a few yards away on the rocks huge seals are resting whilst 10 to 15 pups are frolicking in a rock pool! Amazing.
New Zealand, North Island day 17 – Wellington
An early morning dip in the spa pools starts the day nicely. But what was intended to be a quick half-an-hour turns into over an hour as we get chatting to two English couples. One couple from Enfield have left their children in charge at home and in an ironic twist on the usual gap-year syndrome have taken three months out to travel NZ and Australia. The other couple from Plymouth are doing a similar trip through NZ and Oz. So our intended early start to Wellington is delayed and we don’t get away until around10am. We take a break to view the stunning Huka Falls. It’s here that New Zealand’s longest river, the Waikato, is forced through a narrow gorge to produce a fearsome torrent of extraordinarily blue water and white foam surging at a rate of 60 litres a second over a 10 metre drop into a swirling pool below. It’s possible to see the falls from several vantage points on both sides of the river as well as walk along the edge of the unfenced gorge as the water rushes by a few feet below – something unimaginable in the UK!
From Huka Falls we make our way on Highway 1 to Wellington a journey of about 400km which is going to take us the rest of the day. This takes across the central plateau, which is far from flat – it is home to the three massive peaks of Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngaurunhoe. The descent down to Taupo provides a spectacular view of this vast water-filled crater and New Zealand’s largest lake. The road runs along the edge of the east shore of the lake. We are seeing more sheep now and the number of butterflies flitting in the verges and across the road is quite amazing. South of Tongariro National Park the highway runs for 56km through the inappropriately named Rangipo Desert, which isn’t actually a desert, but a windswept and bleak brown grassland almost devoid of trees. Part of the road is subject to closure in bad weather which begs the question how traffic get down south when the main north/south highway is out of operation. At Wairouru we pass the perplexingly named Angkor Wat Bakery and Coffee Shop which seems to be a favourite with the biker community. We arrive in Wellington in the late afternoon. Tonight we ‘treat’ ourselves to a cabin – we have an early start tomorrow, the ferry leaves at 8.30am and Wellington is windy and damp.
New Zealand North Island day 16 – Waikite
Saturday,21st February, New Zealand North Island day 16 – Waikite
We move 38km south of Rotorua to a thermal spa and campsite at Waikite on the banks of the boiling Otamokokore River – the steam billowing from its surface is quite an extraordinary sight. The main attraction, though, is use of the five outdoor hot pools filled from the Te Manaroa Spring – the largest single source of 100% pure boiling water in New Zealand. The water is an amazing 98 degrees C when it emerges from below ground – and the spring itself is an awesome and fascinating sight furiously bubbling up to the surface creating a large pool and clouds of steam in the process. The spring produces 60 litres a minute which travels 3 km dropping to 50 degrees C before joining colder water. The spring water has to be cooled to between 35 and 38 degrees before it can be fed into the four spa pools for passive bathing and a large swimming pool. This achieved by running it across terracing, then pumping up the hillside and spraying it into the air. Each pool is a different temperature and we start off in the coolest and work our way to the hottest chatting with a New Zealand couple on the way. Very relaxing and refreshing.
We arrive at the Energy Events Centre still hardly able to believe that we managed to get tickets to see Billy Connolly. The centre is a modern, flexible performance space situated at the lake end of Government Gardens. There is ample parking in the adjacent car park and it’s free. Billy is on top form, much funnier than the ‘Too Old to Die Young’ gig at the Hammersmith Apollo. And unlike then, when we got returns in the back of the gods, we have prime seats three rows from the front. It’s two hours of non-stop laughter. So funny my eyes were streaming. Absolutely brilliant!
New Zealand North Island day 15 – Rotorua
Rain, more rain and pouring rain … all day. We decide to take the opportunity to do some shopping – shorts for Andy, replacement sandals and underwear for me. But despite our rain capes we still get wet. What a dreary day! We have discovered that Billy Connolly is on tour in New Zealand and is playing in Rotorua tomorrow. So we make our way to Energy Events Centre to find out whether there are any tickets to be had. A long shot, but still worth a try. Apparently the show has been booked out for weeks, but by an unbelievable stroke of luck there may be some promotional tickets released for sale today; we need to try the box office which is in another building. According to the Box Office the show is booked out, but mention of the possible release of some promo tickets and it turns out that there are eight tickets available. We get two seats three rows from the front in the centre! How lucky are we! And only NZ$199 (£66). A bargain.
While it continues to rain cats and dogs we spend the afternoon catching up on the blog. We have had to re-house hattie on blog.com as the server problem is proving intractable and we don’t know when, or if, hattieontour.eu will be up and running again. Fortunately most of our pictures and all the posts are backed up – so it could have been a lot worse.
The camp site is sodden and our little tent is standing on a small patch of slightly higher dry ground just on the edge of a very large puddle. The paths are turning into temporary streams and the rain clouds are so low over the lake that visibility is down to a few yards. On the bright side it is warm and we have set up our laptops on a picnic bench under the canopy outside the kitchen. From this vantage point we can watch the rain clouds lifting from the surface of the lake, only to return again a little later. Oh the fickleness of the New Zealand weather!
New Zealand, North Island day 14 – Rotorua
We wake to the most glorious view from our little tent – the sun rising over the lake just feet from our pitch, the waters lapping gently and the ducks waddling just outside the tent. Can it get better than this? A rowing team is out for an early morning training session and someone is paddling a kayak.
We have to be up and out early for our trip to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Park. This park covers some 18 sq km and is the largest area of surface thermal activity in the Taupo volcanic region. The area is covered with collapsed craters up to 50 metres in diameter and up to 20 metres deep. Most have been formed over the last few hundred years by the action of acidic vapours rising from the below ground and dissolving the ground above. There are boiling pools of mud, water and steaming fumeroles. We arrive early for the eruption of the Lady Knox geyser which is primed to blow at 10.15am every day. The geyser is a short drive from the Visitors Centre and we overhear an American complaining – in all seriousness – that they should have built the geyser nearer the Visitors Centre! The geyser is induced to blow by using chemical blocks to break the tension of the surface cold water allowing the hot water beneath to shoot up several metres into the air. An impressive sight. The geyser was discovered by convicts whilst washing their clothes in the hot surface pool; soap breaking the surface tension and causing it to blow! There are 25 points of specific interest in the park and we spend about an hour-and-half fascinated by the effects of the thermal activity. Beneath the ground is a system of streams which are heated by magma left over from earlier eruptions. The water is so hot (temperatures of up to 300 degrees C have been recorded) that it absorbs minerals out of the rocks through which it passes and transports them to the surface as steam where they are absorbed into the ground. As a result there is a wide range of coloured deposits in the area adding to the dramatic effect – green, orange, purple, white, yellow, red-brown and black The most spectacular are the vivid lime green Devil’s bath, the pale green of Lake Ngakoro, and the multi-coloured Artist’s palette. There is a board walk across a huge sinter terrace which cover an area of 3 acres and has been created over the last 700 years as silica has been deposited from the water that trickles over it. www.waiotapu.co.nz
After lunch we visit the Te Puia Maori cultural centre. This is set in another geo-thermal park. Although not as varied as Wai-o-Taipu, the large and vigourously boiling mud pool, Nga Mokai a Koko, and the 30-metre Pohutu geyser which spontaneously erupts 20 times a day soaking bystanders with a fine, cold water spray, are dramatic. There are several traditional Maori buildings here, including Te Aroni a Rua Meeting House – decorated with intricate carvings, woven wall panels and patterned roof beams – as well as nationally re-knowned carving and weaving schools which teach traditional Maori skills. The highlight though is the cultural performance of action song and dance which starts with an elaborate Maori welcome haka led by a Maori warrior on the marae (the area in front of the meeting house). After the formal welcome ceremony we enter the meeting house for a performance of wonderfully uplifting, evocative and graceful action songs and very dexterous poi and stick dances. (Poi are balls on cord which are twirled whilst rhythmically hitting the back and front of the hands) and a powerful haka full of energetic movements and fearsome facial expressions including bulging eyes and the sticking out of tongues. The Polynesian roots of the Maori culture are very much in evidence in the traditional dress, the rhythms and the hand and body movements..
New Zealand North Island day 13 – Rotorua
We are continuing our drive south with the intention of reaching Wellington on Sunday. Our next stop is Rotorua in the heart of New Zealand’s volcanic area and famed for it’s geo-thermal activity – hot springs, boiling mud pools and geysers. There are also a number of Maori heritage ‘villages’ offering an insight into Maori arts, crafts and culture. There is a whole host of other activities in the area to draw tourists – sky-diving, karting, helicopter rides, spas, wild life park. Basically, you name it and it’s probably within 30 kms. Rotorua town boasts 400 shops and seems to have a backpacker hostel around every corner. There are also numerous hotels and motels to cater for the influx of coach parties and independent tourists. The towns it is oh so neat and very clean; with mainly single storey shops, weatherboard bungalows on their own plots and several historic buildings. We arrive around lunch-time and decide, after a quick site check, to stop at Willow Haven Holiday Park. This is a cheaper version of the Top Ten Holiday Parks, clean, a bit tired but with a superb location 6 km outside town right on the shore of Roturua Lake and we are able to pitch our tent on the water’s edge. The lake is home to a large number of noisy gulls, some very friendly ducks and a contingent of black swans which we can see in the distance but never seem to come ashore.
The drive from Waihi Beach to Rotorua took us through more spectacularly beautiful countryside, greener now with steeper hills and deeper meandering valleys. The road’s twists and turns delivering wonderful views over pasture, forest and the occasional vineyard and orchard. The latter usually protected by hedges of towering conifers. The roads are empty by UK standards and a joy to drive. Occasionally our progress is interrupted by roadworks, which reduce the whole road to an unsealed off-road experience; the traffic flow controlled, more often than not, by women wielding lollipop stop/go signs. .
New Zealand skies are as beautiful as the weather is changeable. Where could one see the clearest of rainbows at the same time as a glowing orange sunset? Fluffy white candyfloss clouds float low in the bluest of skies whilst fine wispy strands of clouds high above scurry along at a different pace.
NZ North Island Waihi Beach day 12
The weather is sunny and warm – perfect for a ‘tramping’ through the bush to neighbouring Orokawa Bay. The track runs from the edge of Waihi beach up and round the cliffs. There is a magnificent view looking back along Waihi beach towards Tauranga and beyond . It’s such a clear day that it’s possible to see the whole sweep of the north coast as far as the horizon. Further round the cliff walk we get our first glimpse of the deserted white sands of Orokawa Bay down below. Unfortunately it doesn’t remain deserted for long and by the time we get down on the beach three other people are there too. The pristine picture postcard beach is fringed with gnarled pohutukawa trees – a coastal tree that bears deep red flowers in December – leaning out at right angles over the sand to provide pools of welcome shade. It is just idyllic and we stroll to the far end to enjoy our picnic lunch. The sea is too rough to swim, but we stay a while to sunbathe and watch the dark storm clouds gathering out at sea. We walk on through dense bush – no tourist walkways here – to the William Wright waterfall, a towering sheer rock face with barely trickle of water falling into a small pool below. It is no doubt far more impressive after the rains! The clear waters of the stream we have been following are home to some impressive eels.
We plan to have fish and chips form the local chippie, but when we arrive at 7.15pm it has closed! This is New Zealand. So we hop in the car and drive to Waihi which although deserted, does have a chippie open and Corrie on the TV. The story-line is about six months behind the UK and Andy can’t resist revealing all the upcoming sub-plots to the woman taking our order. She is lapping up, noting down the details, presumably with the intention of impressing friends with uncannily accurate predictions! Good chips, batter is awful!
New Zealand, North Island day 11
We leave Orewa this morning for Waihi Beach on the Bay of Plenty, stopping in Auckland on the way to try to get my Asus screen repaired. We stumbled across a computer repair shop when we were in Auckland last Sunday but it was shut, so we head back there only to find that it will cost about NZ$400 for parts and labour compared to $600 for a new one. So I will continue to use it for the time being, who knows it may last out the trip.
We get to Waihi around 2pm and stop at the local Woolworths – which unlike the chain that until recently existed in the UK, is a supermarket selling mainly food – to get tonight’s meal. Waihi would be a village in England, but is a sizeable town in New Zealand. The town centre is about four streets of single storey shops that look as though they could be facades on a film set. 11km down the road and we arrive at Waihi Beach, a holiday ‘resort’ which, like many NZ suburbs, looks as though it could have been lifted from The Trueman Show or Edward Sissorhands – well-manicured and well-kept but ultimately soulless. It is not a resort in the conventional sense, just holiday homes and and a handful of shops. The beach is 9 km of pristine sand and totally unspoilt – no development whatsoever, just sand dunes.
New Zealand, North Island day 10
The weather’s not so good today, it warm but overcast and there is intermittent rain. We are heading southwards and spend most of the day driving from Whatuwhiwhi to Orewa Beach just north of Auckland. We had planned an early start, but get waylaid talking to a New Zealand woman in her sixties who is on asolo kayaking and walking holiday. She has lived in the US for 38 years and has travelled extensively, so we have lots to talk about. Eventually we get away around midday a bit later than our intended 9.00 am departure. We take the longer scenic route along the Russell Road which involves taking the short ferry ride between Paiha and the Russell peninsular. The detour is definitely worth the extra time for the fabulous views of the rugged coastline and small bays along this stretch of the east coast.
We stop along the way at a small (in NZ terms at least), wild and rocky Elliot Bay which looks the sort that should be deserted. We have to be content to share it with two other people who are here to surf and fish if the boards and fishing rods are any indication, while two more turn up as we are leaving. Why is it that you can never get a beach to yourself when you want one! There is a certain fascination in watching the raw power of the waves breaking far out in the bay and rolling up to crash against this rocky shore and we spend a while strolling along the beach..
This our first night camping. Until now we have stayed in cabins on the Top Ten Holiday Parks. But we are right up against our budget – petrol is costing us more than we anticipated (NZ$1.65 a litre; cheap of course by UK standards) and the decision to take fully comp car insurance blew the hire car budget. So since the hire company gave us a tent for free we’ve decided to save some pennies whilst the weather is good. The holiday parks here offer a range of accommodation from fully self-contained units, kitchen cabins, cabins and campervan and tent sites. But unlike European sites, they are spotlessly clean and provide a comprehensive range of amenities including really good kitchen facilities, laundry and TV room, so camping only means sleeping under canvas, no need to rough it over a two-ring camping gaz stove or sit huddled in the tent when it rains.
The site at Orewa though is probably the poorest we have stayed at. It’s by far the largest but the kitchen is one of the smallest and the fridge and freezer capacity is woefully inadequate; there is barely enough space for our few bits and pieces. Bizarrely the toilet dump is right outside the kitchen door which seems remarkably unhygienic since spilled waste could easily be trodden into the kitchen.
The up side is that the sight is directly on the beach – another huge and windy bay with lots of surf and even a couple of people attempting to ride it. Orewa is a popular holiday and weekend resort for Aucklanders and it is also a one-night stop over for foreign tourists arriving into Auckland airport, picking up a campervan and heading north. We have one such couple pitched next to us who have so obviously never had a campervan before. The little telltale signs – not knowing how far the electrical cable will stretch, not being able to fix the waste discharge pipe so that it doesn’t leak and so on.