Zach’s Grave

Goodbye South Island

We arrived in Picton in good time and the Top Ten Holiday Park organised our dolphin watching tour for the following day.   We were treated to a stunning sunset.

Next morning we walked to the Dolphin Encounter base along the marina and over what is called the coat-hanger bridge.

We found that we were the only two who were just watching, everybody else on our tour was swimming with dolphins.   The success rate with watching dolphins is 95% but with swimming only 80% because they are only allowed to swim with certain species of dolphin, the bottlenose and the common dolphin but not with the Hector’s dolphin or the Orca.   The guides also have to assess the mood of the dolphins, e.g. if there is a new calf then it is not suitable to swim with the dolphins.

Our group was all kitted out with wet suits and shown how to use the snorkels and how to make sounds to communicate with the dolphins.  Among them was an 11 year old girl who reminded me of Kate Southworth, one of my very first guides.   She was the first to spot the Hector’s dolphins and later offered to help our guide make and distribute hot drinks.

 

We saw a pod of Hector’s dolphins which are the smallest and rarest dolphin species – only about 1m long.   They seemed to enjoy the novelty of a boat making bubbles and did a couple of turns past us and at some stages swam right in front of the boat.

Unfortunately we didn’t come across any other dolphins so the rest of our group could choose to book for another swim or get the swim part of their fee back.   We were quite satisfied, however although it would have been fun watching the others interacting with dolphins and making funny noises.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Picton and catching up on our reading.

The next day, Friday the 18th January, was our last day on the South Island and we caught the ferry back to Wellington at 10.30. 

Overnight in Palmerston North and then back to Napier on Saturday.   Our holiday is almost over and it is time to start making plans for returning the motorhome and getting back home.

Rainy Kaikoura

Yesterday it rained all day.   It was raining when we woke up and when we went to bed.   We drove to Kaikoura in the rain.   At 4pm I phoned to confirm our booking for the dolphin watching only to be told that the weather forecast was rain for 3 days and wind and high seas but to check again in the morning.

This morning when we awoke, it was not raining.

We even got to see some stunning mountains that we hadn’t realised were there!

However, when we went to the Dolphin watching centre they told us that although the tour would go ahead, there was a very strong sea-sickness warning as the swell was very high and the sea choppy from the inclement weather.   Although we had taken sea-sickness medication, this was no guarantee against it and if we chose not to go they would organise a refund.   This is what we chose as I remembered that dolphin watching was also offered in Picton.

Instead we went to see the seal colony.   Stunning views as usual.

The seals were really close, some even resting on the edges of the car park.   Our best, however was when we saw the seals swimming and then getting out onto a rock right in front of our motorhome.

The medication had made me very drowsy and I slept most of the way to Picton.   After lunch we both slept again although we did manage to get ourselves booked onto tomorrow’s dolphin watching tour.   This one advertises “no sea-sickness” in their brochure (because of the sheltered waters of Marlborough Sounds).   Here’s hoping……

Earthquakes and Hagglund rides

The plan was to stop in Timaru last night.   Then while I was looking for a whale-watching tour on “Bookme” I stumbled across a 1 hour city tour of Christchurch on a London bus for half price.   Not quite thinking it through, I booked it for the day we would be overnighting in Christchurch.   It was Saturday that I realised that we would never be able to make a 10am tour if we were only leaving Timaru.   So yesterday we braved a double journey from Omarama to Christchurch.

We decided to leave the motorhome in the park rather than brave driving in a city.   We found out from the Top 10 reception that we could be picked up at the bus stop but not returned but they told us how to catch a municipal bus.

The tour was eye-opening.   You hear about the earthquake but when you see the damage that is still evident after two years it means more.   The clock tower stopped at 9 minutes to 1 on 22 Feb 2011, a reminder of when the earthquake happened.

The Cathedrals and churches also suffered.

This Catholic cathedral has bishops buried in the rear wall and they are still deciding what to do.

As we left the bus we saw the “Penguin Shuttle” which would take us to the next place we had decided to visit, the Antarctica Experience.  

Experience it was!  We got to ride in a Hagglund, the Antarctic all-terrain vehicle.   It went up ridiculous slopes, through 6m deep water and over a crevasse (sorry no photo I had my eyes closed!)

Then we experienced a blizzard in a freezer type room with snow on the floor and howling winds of up to 69km/hour.   They did provide us with jackets and over-shoes though.

We certainly found out a lot more about the Antarctic than we had ever known before.   There was a 4D movie as well as static exhibitions,

A visit to the Penguin enclosure where we met rehabilitated Blue Penguins which had been rescued from the wild,

and a 4 Seasons room.

We just managed to buy some take away chips before boarding the shuttle back into the city centre.   We had thought of going punting on the Avon river, but it had again turned cold and a bit windy and it didn’t seem so appealing.   Instead we walk along the cordoned off area to visit the “Cardboard Cathedral”  www.cardboardcathedral.org.nz   A Japanese architect gave his time for free to design it.   It has only just been started but will be made of cardboard tubes covered with polycarbonate.

Just opposite, at the site of the demolished Baptist church, were the 185 empty chairs, each one different and representing a missing loved one – a memorial to the 185 people who lost their lives in the earthquake.

We grabbed some hot chocolate and did some souvenir shopping at the New-Start Mall which is constructed out of containers.

 

All over there are fences and warning signs, demolition of condemned buildings and repair work in progress.

 

We managed to locate the bus stop, catch the correct bus and even alight at the correct place in time for a quick supper, skype and a half hour in the spa (complimentary for Top 10 members).

  Another day to remember!.

Puzzling World

Today was another half sightseeing, half travelling day.   After saying goodbye for the last time to beautiful Lake Wanaka, we went off to Puzzling World.

After walking some 3km in a maze to get to all 4 corners, we decided we deserved a cappuccino.   Then, of course, we needed a quick toilet break.   This was set in the Roman bathrooms with separate side doors for gents and ladies.

Then we entered some amazing rooms,starting with the hologram room.   Then there was the room of following faces where the walls were concave faces (that looked convex) and as you moved, they turned to keep looking at you. Included with names like Churchill, Mother Theresa and others, was Nelson Mandela.  Stunning optical effect.

Then there was a tilted room.   The floor was sloping 15 degrees.   This meant that water could appear to flow uphill (where the slope was only 11 degrees), a swing stuck out at an angle, and people appeared to be leaning over.

Probably the most fun was what I would like to call “the growing room”.   At one end you are quite short and by the time you have walked to the other end, you have grown like Alice.

We finished off in an art and sculpture room.

By the time we had had all this fun, it was lunchtime so we made sausage sandwiches in the car park and then hit the road for Omarama where we will be spending tonight.

Travelling scenery

Well, the road South to Haast opened this morning at 6am and will close again tonight at 9pm.   They are still busy repairing it in about 4 places – the worst was a 50m wide landslide and they had to build a detour around it.  In three other places we encountered earth moving vehicles or other big machines.

Everybody told us that New Zealand is a beautiful country especially the South Island and those in the know said the West Coast is spectacular.   All true.   We didn’t expect anything exceptional today.   We are basically travelling from the West Coast across to the East Coast.   Well, the scenery was a feast for our eyes, from sea-scapes to rivers, to rain forests, to lakes, with a waterfall or snow-capped mountain around every corner.

The weather improved steadily and by the time we got to Lake Wanaka, the view was just stunning.  Brian remarked that somebody must have fiddled with the colour balance - that lake was too unnatural a colour and too beautiful for words.

It took us about 8 hours to travel 260km but we enjoyed the trip and are staying at the Top 10 Holiday Park in Wanaka where there is a field of sheep behind us and stunning views all around.

Fox Glacier

Because the bridge was not yet open, we had an extra  day in Greymouth.   A bit of sunshine greeted us in the morning.

We had a very relaxing day, reading, sleeping, doing our washing.

Yesterday we spent most of the day travelling.   It was mostly rainy and, as usual we had to contend with winding roads.   A new sharp bend record has been set with the recommended speed of 15km/hr.   However we are coping a lot better and pulling off to allow faster cars to overtake us regularly.

When we came to the  much publicised Harihari bridge, work was still going on, although traffic could get through one lane at a time.   Some poor workers spent their time standing in the soaking rain and changing stop and go signs.

At Harihari we also managed to stop at a lovely little coffee shop, enjoyed some cappuccinos and shared carrot cake and I managed at last to get an anniversary card and a CD (Greatest Heart breakers of all time).

We arrived at Fox Glacier at about 6pm but were not hungry so we had an egg on bread at about 8pm.   Although it is surrounded by mountains, we didn’t see any mountains because of the mist and rain.   We had booked a glacier walk tour for today but with the windy, rainy weather we thought we would see what it was like at 7am and then cancel if necessary.(you can cancel 1 hour before departure and not pay any penalty.)

Well, the Lord must have heard our prayers because this morning started a bit brighter.   We could see most of the mountains.

   

However, when we arrived for our tour, we were told that all morning walks had been cancelled because although it wasn’t raining then, it had been and there had been various mud slides and rockfalls and they would survey the situation at 10.   So we drank cappuccino and waited.

At 10 we were able to get onto an 11.30 walk which we jumped at.   We spent the intervening time going for a 40 min walk at Lake Matheson where the reflections of Mount Cook have adorned many a calendar.   By now it had started to rain again but we had on rain jackets and the rain forest provided some protection.

The reflections were stunning but we couldn’t see Mt Cook with its snow cap.

Although it was still raining, it wasn’t windy and storming as it had been yesterday so our tour went ahead.   We had 2 Alpine trained guides who organised our equipment.   We got proper leather hiking boots and woollen socks, over trousers and jacket as well as a day pack to put our snacks in.   We were taken by bus to the start of the glacier walk.   We found out we were the first walking tour this year.  (Wow, the Lord is really looking after us and blessing us)

We were divided into two groups, each with a guide.   We got Passang Sherpa who hails from Nepal (told us he plans to climb Mt Everest in 2014).  He made a point of finding out where all the hikers came from – on hearing we were from SA, he was quick to recall that NZ had been bowled out by SA for 45 in their first innings of the 1st test!  We walked for quite a while before we saw the glacier. We did however see chunks of ice being carried swiftly down the Fox River, as a result of all the rain.

 

Finally it was time and we put on our crampons and got Alpine sticks and got taught how to walk on ice, using the crampons.   Short steps and stamp, stamp, stamp. So it was that we were walking on the glacier.

We were given strict instructions that if we dropped anything, like a camera, we were not to try to retrieve it as it goes sliding down.   Just to let it go.   I took fewer pictures after that.   It was also raining again and I didn’t want my camera to suffer the fate of my cell phone!  We stopped to look around and have a snack (we had packed a thermos of hot chocolate which was just the thing for the situation but it did manage to leak into the backpack) before retracing our steps off the glacier and back to the car park.

This has been a truly awesome experience and has probably pushed the sea kayaking into second place as far as highlights of New Zealand go. It is something we will never forget.

I never realised that travelling on the South Island of New Zealand could be so iffy. It must be said though that a newspaper report of a week ago recorded that wild and wet weather had caused chaos in many parts of NZ, particularly the South Island. The West Coast and Fiordland has borne the brunt of the storm. Parts of the West Coast , it was reported, had recorded totals of up to 500mm of rain. The road to Wanaka, our next stop, is now closed.   We might have to stay here another day or worst case scenario, retrace our steps back up the West Coast.   However, the Lord has looked after us so well up to now, we trust Him with the rest of our holiday.

Seals, Pancakes and Blowholes

The flawless summer weather ended abruptly with falling temperatures, rising winds and the ever present threat of rain.   We have heard that the SH6 should be open by Wednesday so we are working towards being able to get to Fox Glacier. A bridge near Harihari is being hastily repaired at a cost of approximately $1 million to enable tourists and holiday makers to get to the prime holiday destinations on the West coast.

We had a combined sightseeing/travelling day on Monday.   The Top 10 Park at Westport was called Seal Colony so we decided to travel on around the cost in the direction of New Zealand’s most accessible seal colony.   It was a pleasant walk to a couple of viewing platforms.   We gor to see the fur seals but still not as close as we would have liked.  

We also had our first encounter with a Weka, also known as a wood hen.   Very tame and acting a bit like a chicken.

Then we took a link road to join the SH6 for what is reputed to be one of the top 10 coastal highways in the world.   It is beautiful but would have been improved with more sunshine.

After an unplanned pizza stop we were on our way to Punaki and the pancake rocks and blow holes.   The pancake rocks have the appearance of a stack of pancakes and there are weird and wonderful formations.

 

It was very windy and cold and we both wore our jackets with the hoods on.

The blowholes are caused by the sea rushing into small openings causing spray to rise up in a spurt, sometimes leaving flecks of foam floating in the air.

We had heard that there was also a cavern nearby where you might see glow worms and we went armed with torches but the ground was very slippery and our torches rather weak and the ceiling very low so we didn’t get in as far as any glow worms before we decided to retreat,

We got to Greymouth in good time to cook supper and see the sunset at 9.15 before the rain started again in the middle of the night,

The beach is about 100m from our van and we can hear the dual sounds of the waves breaking (much wilder sea) and the rain pattering.