Fri March 1- After 3 nights in the huts on the Milford Track, we (Peter, Shelley, Maurits & Laura Beth) had a comfortable and quiet night at Dusky Ridges. Well rested, but a little sore from all the walking, we left Te Anau and set out to Mount Cook. We planned to stay in the village at the base of Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain at 3,754 meters, to do some short walks. After the Milford Track we did not feel like climbing Mount Cook itself... We stopped in Queenstown for groceries and also looked for a new pair of hiking boots to replace Maurits' rapidly deteriorating ones. We found an outdoor store that had the same boot! And in the right size! But unfortunately only in wide fit... Kiwi's apparently have wide feet! Let's hope Maurits' current pair holds out in Nepal.
At the end of the afternoon we arrived at Mount Cook where the weather was great! High level clouds, but clear peaks. We dropped our luggage at the Alpine Lodge and headed straight to the visitor center for some walks-information. The weather for tomorrow was not looking good, so the four of us decided to walk up the Hooker Valley. We started at 5pm and walked for about 1.5 hours to Hooker Lake, where we enjoyed a nice view of the (dirty) Hooker Glacier and (clean) Mount Cook. Back at the lodge we made our own dinner in the beautiful kitchen/common-area with a great view of Mount Cook.
Sat March 2- As happened to us before in New Zealand, the weather decided not to follow the forecast. During breakfast Mount Cook was in and out of the clouds, but the weather was not bad at all. Definitely good enough for walking! After a quick stroll to Kea point, we split paths: Peter and Shelley went to the Tasman Glacier and we climbed 600 meters to Sealy Tarns. To test the fitness we have built-up in the past 8-months, we spent the next 45 minutes racing up the 2,200 steps to the Tarns (little lakes). It was not warm, but it was incredibly humid and we were just drenched at the top! Surprisingly there was a comfy picnic bench at the viewpoint, which made a nice place for a rest and lunch. The view of Mount Cook was great - a mix of blue sky, dark and white clouds, sun, shade and reflections. A professional photographer that was sitting next to us exclaimed, "great money shots!" As we were walking back to the Alpine Lodge it got cloudier and (perfect timing) just as we walked into the lodge it started raining.
The rest of the afternoon the four of us finally relaxed! However not for long...as Shelley had planned a fun activity for the evening. At the nearby Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center we attended the Big Sky Stargazing experience. A 'digital dome planetarium' with superb animations gave us an overview of our solar-system, the milky-way, nearby galaxies and the rest of the universe. We loved it! We have seen many brilliant starry nights during our travels, especially while camping in the backcountry. Next time we need to wee at night, we'll know a wee bit more about what we are looking at! (Maurits thinks this is funny- OMG.)
Sun March 3- A far drive today! We left Mount Cook around 8:30 and drove across Arthur's Pass for eight hours to Punakaiki on the northwest coast of New Zealand's South Island. Punakaiki is on the spectacular 'wild' west coast situated next to Paparoa National Park: an unspoiled temperate rainforest. We arrived to Hydrangea Cottages, checked in, dropped all our stuff, and went for a walk at the Pancake Rocks. The rocks (you guessed) are stacked like pancakes. The erosion caused by the pounding Tasman Sea has created beautiful formations- including a blow-hole. After we had completed the touristy stroll around the pancakes, we continued on to Trumans Beach. We particularly enjoyed the ruggednes of the beach and coast-line! Back at the cottage we made dinner and enjoyed the evening.
Mon March 4- We had quite a relaxing day today! Not quite the Chamberlain pace :-) In the morning we walked the 3-hour Punakaiki - Pororari Loop in Paparoa National Park. A lovely forest walk following the rivers Punakaiki (upstream) and Pororari (downstream). The weather was cloudy and it even rained a little while we were walking in the green rainforest. Back at the cottage we had lunch and relaxed. Around 4 (high-tide-time) we went back to the blowhole at the pancake rocks. The blowhole gives the biggest blow at high-tide, but unfortunately the seas were calm and the blowhole was disappointing... But we did see many dolphins riding the waves! We made dinner back in our little house and watched a chick-flick dvd.
As a side note; When traveling with parents, or in general when traveling with more than two, we recommend staying in 'house-like" environments with a kitchen and sitting area. We found that fun when traveling with Peter and Shelley!
Tue March 5- Onward to Little Kaiteriteri (K'teri)! K'teri is near the Abel Tasman National Park in the north of the south island. We arrived at the Everton B&B around 1pm, checked in, had lunch and drove further north to the start of the Abel Tasman Track at Marahau. The Abel Tasman is a 54 kilometer coastal track designated as a Great Walk. We walked the first 5 kilometers to Apple Tree Bay and retraced our steps back to the car. It was an enjoyable walk, in great weather, with lovely views of the Tasman Bay. Peter forgot to bring his hiking shoes, but the trail was easy and he did fine on sandals. Back in Marahau we had a beer at the Park Cafe followed by a hamburger at the Fat Tui. A long wait plus arrogant staff resulted in a d e l i c i o u s lamb-burger! Yummy!!
Wed March 6- Yesterday we walked the beginning of the Abel Tasman track and today we would walk a different part of the trail. The Abel Tasman track follows the Tasman Bay and water taxis can take people almost anywhere into the park. We took the 9am Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle on which we cruised the entire length of the park before getting dropped off at at Medlands Bay. We had actually changed our plans en route- so did some extra cruisin' for free! From Medlands Bay we walked south through coastal forest, passing various lookouts with beautiful bay views. Somewhere along the trail we bumped into familiar faces- the 4 Americans from Seattle that we had met on the Milford Track. Small (tourist) world! With beautiful sunny weather we were HOT by 4pm when we arrived at Anchorage beach- perfect excuse for a swim! Nice warm water! Shortly thereafter the water taxi brought us back to K'teri. We had a beer on our B&B balcony and finished this fun day with a vegetarian yoga dinner at Kimi Ora.
Thu March 7- After two days in coastal Abel Tasman, we (Maurits) decided it was time to go back to the mountains. After some googling we found Mount Arthur in Kahurangi National Park as a nice day-walk. The 800 meter climb to Mount Arthur (1,795 meters) takes about 3 hours; the first hour is an easy trail through the forest, the second hour is a medium grade trail above the tree-line and the third hour is a semi-hard climb to the top. The owners of Everton B&B were impressed by our choice.. We made a quick stop at the DOC for a map and drove the 1.5 hour to the trailhead at the Flora Car Park. To get to the trail our Wingroad had to climb almost 1,000 meters on an unpaved and rough dirt road! But she made it! At 10:30, with a smelly engine, we pulled into the car park.
Unfortunately we arrived in a cloud, but as we were walking the first hour through the forest, the clouds rose and we could see a bit more. Shortly after getting above the tree line, Shelley had enough and turned around. This turned out to be a big shame, because the clouds lifted showing more and more of the mountains! Together with Peter we continued on to the summit. Actually, Peter was ahead of us and we followed... He is a fast walker! One time Peter walked so fast that he missed the trail-marker and ended up about 100 feet above us on a scary steep slope! After a last bit of rock scrambling we got to the summit around 1:30. There was still some high cloud left in the sky, but we had nice views of the mountains and we could even see the Tasman Bay! It was cold on the summit and after a quick lunch we started the descent. On the way down the clouds disappeared completely, the sun came out and the scenery got even better! All in all a beautiful walk that we (Maurits,LB & Peter) thoroughly enjoyed! There were a few people on the trail, including a seniors tramping club from Nelson, but no foreigners. This walk was not mentioned in any guide or book... We guess the kiwi's like to keep it for themselves!
We found Shelley at the car park - talking to the tramping club members - and drove the steep downhill back to K'teri. After a cold beer on the balcony we decided to go once more to the Fat Tui for a lamb-burger. This time the wait was even longer and the arrogance of the staff even greater. Luckily we had brought a deck of cards to play hearts and we talked to Nancy from Montreal Deborah from Toronto who has a sister in Lexington! After the 1.5 hour wait we wanted to hate the burgers! But unfortunately they were delicious...
Fri March 8- For the last time we packed up the Wingroad! After breakfast (and laundry) we drove the last leg of our family-vacation to Picton. We arrived at the lovely Echo Lodge B&B just before lunch and hung our laundry. We had lunch at Shelley (!) Beach and walked the Snout Track to the Queen Charlotte Viewpoint. We had nice views of the Queen Charlotte (wife of George III) Sound on this hot day. Back at the B&B we enjoyed yet another nice cold beer on the patio. Can you see a theme here- walking then beer!?! For our 'last supper' we went to Le Cafe in Picton. The green mussels in the green mussel capital of the world where delicious! Thank you Peter and Shelley!
Sat March 9- We got up at 5:30am and dropped Peter and Shelley off at the ferry. They were going to spend the next week on New Zealand's north island before returning home. We had a great time with them! Shelley planned well and made some outstanding accommodation choices! Thank you!!!
Back at the B&B we went back to sleep.. After breakfast Maurits went out and got a haircut. The result was...not bad at all! Except for the little leftover mullet... We did some groceries, got some lunch-goodies at the Dutch Bakkerij and drove to Anakiwa where we walked on the Queen Charlotte Track (QCT). The QCT is a 70 kilometer walking track along the northern side of the Queen Charlotte Sound. We walked about 1.5 hour and then turned around. A nice walk with lovely views of the sound.
After the walk we drove south to Blenheim, where we setup our brand-new tent at the Top 10 Holiday Park. We had dinner and went into the tent. It appeared that LB had left the zipper open.. but soon we discovered that our down-jackets and LB's raincoat & rain pants were gone!! We had been robbed!! To say that we were highly annoyed would be an understatement... We grabbed our headlamps and headed out to tell the staff at the reception about the robbery. Before walking over, Maurits started searching in the dark around the campsite and found the missing jackets in the hollow of a tree!! Also nearby a bag of clothes, a tent, a mattress and pump all neatly packed. Crazy! We put our stuff into our car, locked it, and walked over to the reception. Apparently the two people who had been camping next to us earlier in the day had not paid and slipped out leaving their gear (and ours) behind. Since we were afraid that the thieves would come back during the night to collect their loot, we moved our tent and car to another site across the field.. Anyway, we were happy that we got our stuff back!
Sun March 10- War, Wine and Waipara! We started our last full day in New Zealand with a visit to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Center. A super cool museum dedicated to World War I aircraft. The museum has original airplanes and replicas, mostly acquired with the help of Peter Jackson's dollars. The exhibits are well done and show various WWI airplane-scenes. One exhibit, for instance, shows World War One's "top ace" Manfred von Richthofen's last moments. Maurits the historian loved the museum!
After lunch we did some Marlborough wine-tasting. Marlborough is (one of) New Zealand's top wine regions (we recommend Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir). We visited the Highfield Estate where the wine and the tasting were not spectacular. The winery did look beautiful though! We then drove to Spy Valley - a winery named after the Cold War 'spying' satellites that were stationed in the valley. The tasting and the wine were superb! We were even allowed to taste the almost ripe grapes straight from the vine! Great!
Unfortunately we were leaving New Zealand tomorrow and we still had to make it (closer) to Christchurch. Leaving wine-country behind, we got on the road and drove south. We followed the pretty east coast, made a coffee-stop in Kaikoura and around 7 pm we arrived in Waipara. We found an interesting rail-road-themed backpacker/holiday park - where the trains were the bunkrooms and the station was the kitchen! A fun place to spend our last night camping in NZ.
Blogsy is not the ideal app...
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