Day 1:
From the ferry in Picton I drove down to a DOC (Department of Conservation) camp ground at St Arnaud near the Nelson lakes. It was also the place where, for the first time, I met many of the notorious sandflies. After the first attack I started to understand why most people were wearing long trousers and a jacket with long sleeves and a hood. These little buggers (the insects I mean) must have smiled when they spotted me in my shorts.
Day 2:
Got up early... life on a DOC campground ends early in the evening since it does not come with any night entertainment... packed up my tent and drove off to Westport, an old mining community on the west coast. The petrol was rather expensive over there but at least they had a New World supermarket where I thought I could buy another packet of Hobnots (i.e. biscuits). Unfortunately no Hobnots in Westport which was rather disappointing. Instead I went to see the seal colony at the far end of town. But somehow I got my definition of colony wrong since there were only a handful of smelly seals around. Beautiful beaches though. From there I took a small road back to the main highway and made my way to Punakaiki which is the gateway to the Pararoa National Park. This time the camp ground was a commercial enterprise (i.e. not run by DOC) and consequently the population was a little different than the previous night.
Day 3:
In the morning I did a 3 hour walk in the National Park. The previous day I had asked the DOC information centre about the river walks so I was prepared when I had to cross a river at the end of the trail. These streams look innocent but once you are in the water you feel the strong currents. Its refraction index also makes it look more shallow than it actually is, nevertheless I managed to get through without getting too wet.
On the way back I stopped at the blow holes and the pancake rocks which reminded me of the Great Ocean Road in Australia. The camp ground was very close to the ocean so the rest of the day I read my book on the beach. The pub was around the corner so I was covered for dinner that night as well.
Day 4 (Christmas Day):
Woke up after a noisy night... the neighbours just across the campground fence got drunk, so most of the previous evening was celebrated with loud music. Then at 2am a woman was yelling at the top of her voice "get out of that car" (it is amazing how some people can produce such a volume, I must admit she had a great voice). Anyway, I guess that other person had no intention to comply and a minute later the engine kicked in followed by a crashing sound as if the car had just demolished a wooden fence or shed. More screaming ofcourse, not exactly what you would call a Christmas carrol but at least the person was not in the car anymore. Somehow I could not care less and fell asleep again. Next morning my campground neighbour told me that he got annoyed with those people and that he had walked across to their house to ask for some silence. Not sure whether this was before or after the crashing sound. Anyway it was good to pack up my tent and leave for the Arthur's Pass. On my way through the town of Greymouth I looked for a breakfast place but everything was shut. Apparently Christmas Day is still a holy day in that part of the world. At Arthur's Pass (it is also the name of a small community) I pitched my tent at the local DOC campground which consisted of a shelter and two toilets (i.e. a very basic setup). At the nearby parking lot a couple of Kea birds were holding court i.e. tourists making pictures and even feeding them. They look really cute but they can also be a nuisance by climbing on your car and using their sharp beak to damage the roof. Even worse, they climb on tents and pick holes in them hoping to find food in there. So I kept my fingers crossed and didn't stray to far away from my tent just in case one of those birds decided to explore my precious little home.
Day 5 (Boxing day):
Talked to my German neighbour John who told me that during the night a Kea bird had picked a hole in one of the other camper's tent. Needless to say that I felt it was time to pack up my tent. It was raining anyway which made one of the walks impossible since it required several river crossings (which you should not do when there has been quite a bit of rainfall). The other potential walk to Avalanche Peak was pretty steep up the mountain, something I didn't want to do because of the lack of training. So I struck Arthur's Pass off my walking list and continued my journey towards Springfield and Mount Hut. Eventually I found a small campground in Methven, it is a bit off the beaten track so I had all the space to myself. Methven is more a winter sport resort but for me it was a good stop over for Mount Cook. It also had a Blue Pub where they served some reasonable dinner food. I was also introduced to some NZ law that allows restaurants to charge an extra 15% on public holidays.
Day 6:
From Methven I drove to Staveley which has an access road into the Mount Somers area. The information centre is just a small general store, the lady working there was busy with preparing lunch for a soon to arrive jumbo sized touring bus, she looked a bit stressed out but was kind enough to make me a cup of tea. At the end of the road there was a parking area and a sign that listed various walks. The shortest one was leading to the Staveley Falls but required climbing up some steep trails. Well as expected I was panting and heaving but got to see the water fall in the end. Just a good excercise for what I had in mind for mount Cook... (see later). I continued my journey to the next village called Mount Somers where they had a slightly bigger general store.
The previous owner had started to hang old advertisements about food products from the fifties and sixties on the wals, quite an interesting collection by the way. There were also some historic photographs of the store and village on display. Anyway, on to Mount Cook (through Geraldine, Fairlie and Lake Tepako).
Twenty minutes before reaching Mount Cook village there is a large campsite with a beautiful view over the lake and the mountains. They also have a restaurant and helicopter rides as well as hot showers. So I pitched my tent on a very large and near empty field and had dinner. When I came back a station wagon was parked right next to my car which made me wonder why on earth do people park so close while there is a whole empty football field to park on... just weird and beyond me.
Day 7:
Sampled the breakfast at the nearby restaurant and drove to Mount Cook village. They have a fairly new and beautiful visitor's centre. Apart from providing information to the tourist there is also a large and interesting section that shows and tells about the climbing history of Mount Cook. Apparently Sir Edmund Hillary used Mount Cook as a training ground for Everest. From the pictures it is obvious that Mount Cook deserves respect, one wrong step and one ends up at the bottom of the mountain. The evidence can be found in four books respectfully displayed in the visitor's centre; on each page it lists who has died when, where, and how.
That day I did a three hour return hike to Hooker Lake. A fairly flat walk that ends at a lake that is fed by a glacier at the far end. Broken off pieces of ice float in the water. Once back in the village I had some food in the Old Mountaineers Cafe (they proudly won a court case against the Hermitage which is the big and famous hotel nearby for anti competitive practises). Subsequently I paid a visit to the Hillary exhibit at the Hermitage hotel which tells through photos and a documentary what he achieved during his lifetime. Apparently Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the backup group for Everest's ascent. The first group came close but had to retreat. The last stretch to the summit is now called the Hillary Steps, nowadays a well prepared route but full of risk at the first time it was used to get to the summit. On his way down to meet his fellow expedition members Hillary proclaimed "Well, George (Lowe), we knocked the bastard off". Anyway it is a great exhibit, just don't buy the ticket for the 3D movie theater, it is rather cheesy.
Day 8:
At the Visitor's centre I bought a hut ticket for Muller's Hut with the intention to stay there the following night. The elevation difference between the village and the hut is about 1000 meters so I knew that it was not going to be super easy like the walk on the previous day. Well I am sorry to say but I tried... with my little training I found it terribly hard going and decided to turn round even before the midway point. It was a bit disappointing since Muller's Hut was supposed to be the highlight of this trip but on the other hand I felt allright to take stock and not to take extra risks. Back at the village I took a long break before setting off for the next camp ground in Twizel.
Day 9:
The camp ground at Twizel was just a stop over point, nothing special, in particular after the previous night's base ball game (with a proper ball and metal bat) with my car in the line of fire. Had the best fruit salad in ages in the local cafe though. Anyway from Twizel I continued to Wanaka (the puzzle museum) and from there to quaint Arrow Town and then Queenstown.
I had been to Queenstown 10 years ago and I was curious how it had changed. Well I stayed one hour and then drove to Cromwell and finally stopped in Ranfurly which is a very quiet country town. This time no baseball players in sight so it was safe to pitch my tent and park my car. Dinner was at Forry's where they served an amazing penne paste and where they had paintings on the wall.
The locals told me all about the popular railtrail which is a disused railway track (without the tracks) that is currently used as a bicylce trail for tourists. The local information centre has loads of info on it but also has an interesting exhibit on the railway history in that area. Before falling asleep there was some shouting at the other end of the camp site but this time I did not hear anybody crashing through a wooden fence or shed.
Day 10 (New Year's Eve day):
After a continental breakfast at Forry's I decided to move rather than to stay another day in this town. Not because I didn't like it but simply I didn't know exactly how much time I needed to get back to the far north of the island in order to catch my ferry back to Wellington.
So I took a couple more pictures of the Art Deco style buildings in Ranfurley and drove to the nearby village of Naseby where I took some pictures of old historical buildings.
The service in the local cafe was rather slow but it was just lovely to sit in the shade and enjoy the peace and quietness of the place
After a tea and delicious strawberry and other berries cake I moved on and drove through beautiful scenery to Macraes Flat where I took some pictures of a rather large open gold mine. There were plenty of signs explaining the role of the exploration company and emphasizing that all was environmentally sound.
From there the journey was rather uneventful, basically I hit the main road along the east coast and drove north all the way back to Methven where I booked myself into a hotel room for a little bit of luxury during New Year's Eve. The Blue Pub was still serving food but this time the quality was rather disappointing, probably because they had to take care of a lot more people then on the previous occasion. Anyway I went to bed early and woke up in the New Year's first morning.
Day 11:
Another continental breakfast before heading out to Akaroa. This is a community on a penninsula south east of Christchurch. What I remembered from the previous visit 10 years ago was that the streets had French names due to the first French settlers who landed there many light years ago. The rest of the village is pretty much English apart from the French cemetry further up the hill. Anyway it is a very pleasant place to wonder around, there are a couple of art galleries and a few places to eat plus it has a waterfront and plenty of B&Bs. On the way out of town I had a late lunch at the French Farm which was recommended by the hotel owners in Methven. On that note I drove further north in the direction of Blenheim with the intention to stay the last night on a quiet remote DOC campground in that area. Well the campground turned out to be pretty full and looked like a disaster zone. So I carried on looking for an alternative but realized that the hotels were all full and that in the dark it was pretty difficult to locate another suitable campground. And then it occurred to me that it would be easier to take the night ferry home which I did. Pity though that I could not pitch the tent one more time during this holiday, I got rather used to sleeping outdoors (irrespective of the late night car crashes)
Post Script:
The tourist industry in New Zealand appears to be very well organized. Almost every town has a visitors centre and their service is very good and friendly. The Department of Conservation (DOC) information centres are very good as well, they provide local details on trails and weather as well as selling leaflets and good quality maps. Just for the statistics, most tourist I met where from New Zealand, Germany and The Netherlands, followed by the Asian tour groups. I did hear French and Italian once in a while, mostly in a colorful and fashionable places...honestly :-)
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