There are some things that I'd like to post about that don't really fit as travel updates so I thought I'd start a bit of a series and talk about them as I get some time. First up, it's a pretty benign place.
The Maori woman at the museum in Wellington told me that that there is nothing native to New Zealand that will harm you, if you exclude people as native that is... the Maori were particularly brutal towards each other in particular and cannibals to boot. No poisonous snakes or spiders, no lions or tigers or bears, nothing that will attack you in the dark. The comment always stuck with me. A week or so ago I met a retired guy who wrote medical care policy for the government when he was working so I figured he would be a good one to ask. He confirmed that this is mostly true but he was aware of one spider he called a dune spider that is quite rare but potentially could hurt you but with modern medicine, no one ever dies from it's bite.
I never thought that it was frightening to camp in the US but, to be honest, it does seem to make a difference in how spooked I feel to exit my vehicle after dark and wander to the toilet. Even the crime rate here is low. I just don't feel threatened but am careful to keep my passport and credit cards on my person most of the time.
One of the more interesting consequences of a lack of predators was the evolution of bird species here. Many species found food plentiful on the ground and with no need to fly to protect themselves, many lost the ability to fly. Kiwi's are a great example of this - their only defense is to freeze hoping to not be seen I suppose. With the arrival of ships however, rats and possums have thrived here endangering many of the bird species on the island. The government has taken a number of steps to protect the birds including the laying of poison and traps all over the island, a controversial practice to say the least, and moving species to nearby islands that are free of predators and restricting human access to them.
Next up in the series(when I get a chance): Critters
Monday, March 30, 2015
The beautiful Catlins
Returned to the Catlins and spent 2 nights at Purakaunui Bay. View out of my bedroom window:
I really loved the Catlins. It was wild and beautiful with lots of hikes through rainforests to waterfalls, beaches, one to Cathedral Caves - a large sea cave, one to Jack's blow hole - a huge hole in the ground 200 meters inland where the ocean washed in. All in all it was very lovely and interesting and had lots of cheap or free camping (always a bonus!).
Dunedin was an interesting old town with very elaborate Victorian buildings from the late 1800s. I visited the university. The main admin building - typical of most of the buildings on campus and somewhat of the town:
Staying tonight at Moeraki Boulders Holiday park and sprung the $5 for internet access to update this and take care of some other business. I think I'll head to Mount Cook tomorrow, hopefully it's not getting too late in the season just yet I understand there are many beautiful hikes there. Saw Mt Cook Natl Park from the other side when I was at Franz Joseph Glacier but there was no way through.
Dunedin was an interesting old town with very elaborate Victorian buildings from the late 1800s. I visited the university. The main admin building - typical of most of the buildings on campus and somewhat of the town:
Staying tonight at Moeraki Boulders Holiday park and sprung the $5 for internet access to update this and take care of some other business. I think I'll head to Mount Cook tomorrow, hopefully it's not getting too late in the season just yet I understand there are many beautiful hikes there. Saw Mt Cook Natl Park from the other side when I was at Franz Joseph Glacier but there was no way through.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
South, South Island
Quick stop over in Balclutha to buy a new air mattress and see if I can get a wof (warrant of fitness - safety inspection required for all vehicles every 6 months) for my car.
Loved the southern part of the south island. Followed the scenic route from Invercargill through Tokanui, Waikawa, Papatowai. My air mattress went flat around Papatowai so after spending 2 restless nights on the cold hard floor of the car I decided to push on through to Balclutha where I could buy a new one (or 2!) will probably backtrack to Nugget point for a night before heading on to Dunedin.
This area is much like the northern part of the west coast - wild and sparsely populated. Lush green rolling hills interspersed with native rain forest and wild looking wind torn trees and maybe a sheep or two. Actually, I read NZ has more sheep than people.
The southern most point was the best tourist place ever. It consists of parking on the side of a narrow dirt road and walking for 20 mins through a field filled with grazing sheep to a simple sign pointing the way to Antarctica and Equador.
It's been raining pretty much non stop for the past 2-3 days. Everything is damp. I guess this is par for the course in winter which seems to be quickly on it's way.
Sorry for the poor resolution in pics and video. Google only allows 100mb videos - I had to trim that last one down even and it took like 20 mins to upload at the Te Anau library. Hopefully, if you are interested, a google search will yield higher quality images, I know mine are wholly inadequate.
Wedding soon! Hope you all have a great time! Best wishes to Ryan and Mika!
Loved the southern part of the south island. Followed the scenic route from Invercargill through Tokanui, Waikawa, Papatowai. My air mattress went flat around Papatowai so after spending 2 restless nights on the cold hard floor of the car I decided to push on through to Balclutha where I could buy a new one (or 2!) will probably backtrack to Nugget point for a night before heading on to Dunedin.
This area is much like the northern part of the west coast - wild and sparsely populated. Lush green rolling hills interspersed with native rain forest and wild looking wind torn trees and maybe a sheep or two. Actually, I read NZ has more sheep than people.
The southern most point was the best tourist place ever. It consists of parking on the side of a narrow dirt road and walking for 20 mins through a field filled with grazing sheep to a simple sign pointing the way to Antarctica and Equador.
It's been raining pretty much non stop for the past 2-3 days. Everything is damp. I guess this is par for the course in winter which seems to be quickly on it's way.
Sorry for the poor resolution in pics and video. Google only allows 100mb videos - I had to trim that last one down even and it took like 20 mins to upload at the Te Anau library. Hopefully, if you are interested, a google search will yield higher quality images, I know mine are wholly inadequate.
Wedding soon! Hope you all have a great time! Best wishes to Ryan and Mika!
Friday, March 20, 2015
The road to Milford Sound
Back at the library in Te Anau. The drive to Milford sound was absolutely astounding. Hands down the most beautiful and amazing drive I've ever been on. Huge rocky mountains left me feeling so small.
Lots of short hikes and beautiful walks to waterfalls and lakes on the way. The road was steep and winding and a 1.2 km crude tunnel (felt like it had been carved out of the mountain with a teaspoon) was cut thru the sheer cliff face towards the end:
The sound itself was really beautiful. Apparently a heavy rain leads to tons of waterfalls on all the surrounding hills.
Day hike yesterday to Key Summit. It starts on the other end of the Routeburn track (I day hiked the other end a few days back...) unfortunately the best parts are in the middle from what I understand. I really wish I was doing more of the great walks. They'd require the purchase of rain gear and a good sleeping bag and a bit of planning. This time of year is risky weather wise and I'm just not quite up to it atm but I think I'll always feel a regret about not getting them done. Might have to come back to New Zealand for the express purpose of doing as many of them as possible.
Key Summit was amazing. A view in any one direction was worth the (difficult) hike and it was beautiful 360 degrees.
Rain in the forecast for today - a good day to spend driving. Making my way to Invercargill next but would like to day hike the Kepler track on the way so it may take a few days to get there.
Lots of short hikes and beautiful walks to waterfalls and lakes on the way. The road was steep and winding and a 1.2 km crude tunnel (felt like it had been carved out of the mountain with a teaspoon) was cut thru the sheer cliff face towards the end:
The sound itself was really beautiful. Apparently a heavy rain leads to tons of waterfalls on all the surrounding hills.
Key Summit was amazing. A view in any one direction was worth the (difficult) hike and it was beautiful 360 degrees.
Rain in the forecast for today - a good day to spend driving. Making my way to Invercargill next but would like to day hike the Kepler track on the way so it may take a few days to get there.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
On to Fiordlands
The email test post (below) apparently posted to my dashboard but didn't publish so 2 quick updates today.
Spent 3 days camped on the lake at Kinloch (north of Glenorchy) followed by 1 near the start of the Routeburn track. Day hikes on Routeburn, to Sylvan Lake (pic below doesn't do it justice - it truly is an enchanted forest - I expected to see elves running around) and around the lake towards Greenstone. It's really a beautiful area - surrounded by mountains with glimpses of peaks that rival the Swiss Alps.
The weather is taking a definite turn for the worse. Leaves are turning and last night was very cold with new snow on the surrounding peaks. Hopefully it won't turn too bad until I'm ready to start heading back north.
Sunrise this morning:
I'm at the library in Te Anau atm. Had planned on staying at the holiday park here tonight but they want $21 for the privilege of sleeping in their parking lot in my car so will move on to hopefully find a DOC (Dept of Conservation - equivalent of Natl Parks Service in the US) site for the night. I'm using an app called "Camping NZ" it's awesome for finding places to camp. The laws here are very restrictive - sites have to have a public toilet (for me since I'm not self contained - ie don't have a toilet and black/grey water facilities on board) and be marked for camping - otherwise if caught, it's an instant $200 fine and they patrol quite a bit. Wifi is hard to come by so updates may be few and far between for a bit. Even a phone connection is pretty spotty and I've been leaving my phone off most of the time to conserve the battery.
Well it's almost 5 and this tiny room in the library where those wishing to suck up free wifi are banished to, is packed and smells so I think that's all for now. Love you all! :)
Tell Adrian and Mary Lou grats on the new jobs and give my love and best wishes to Ryan and Mika! Hope they throw a great party (I'm sure they will)!
Spent 3 days camped on the lake at Kinloch (north of Glenorchy) followed by 1 near the start of the Routeburn track. Day hikes on Routeburn, to Sylvan Lake (pic below doesn't do it justice - it truly is an enchanted forest - I expected to see elves running around) and around the lake towards Greenstone. It's really a beautiful area - surrounded by mountains with glimpses of peaks that rival the Swiss Alps.
Sunrise this morning:
I'm at the library in Te Anau atm. Had planned on staying at the holiday park here tonight but they want $21 for the privilege of sleeping in their parking lot in my car so will move on to hopefully find a DOC (Dept of Conservation - equivalent of Natl Parks Service in the US) site for the night. I'm using an app called "Camping NZ" it's awesome for finding places to camp. The laws here are very restrictive - sites have to have a public toilet (for me since I'm not self contained - ie don't have a toilet and black/grey water facilities on board) and be marked for camping - otherwise if caught, it's an instant $200 fine and they patrol quite a bit. Wifi is hard to come by so updates may be few and far between for a bit. Even a phone connection is pretty spotty and I've been leaving my phone off most of the time to conserve the battery.
Well it's almost 5 and this tiny room in the library where those wishing to suck up free wifi are banished to, is packed and smells so I think that's all for now. Love you all! :)
Tell Adrian and Mary Lou grats on the new jobs and give my love and best wishes to Ryan and Mika! Hope they throw a great party (I'm sure they will)!
Email test post
Just a brief update to see if I can post from my phone via the blogger email system.
Passed through Queenstown, a busy, packed tourist town. Headed for Glenorchy at the suggestion of a local I met a couple of days ago. If I like it, will stay a few days and hike the area.
Passed through Queenstown, a busy, packed tourist town. Headed for Glenorchy at the suggestion of a local I met a couple of days ago. If I like it, will stay a few days and hike the area.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wifi at last!
The trip down the west coast has been beautiful and pretty desolate (except for all the tourists!) wifi and phone connections few and far between. In in Wanaka atm at the library. They are providing 30 mins of free, slow wifi so I will try to make the most of it.
Gave up on the hope to hike in Oparara Basin and headed south in the rain. First interesting stop of note was pancake rocks. Interesting but lots of tourists and crazy rain meant it was a no dawdle zone.
Spent a night in the Hotitika area and then on to Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. The wild beauty and wide variety of the scenery continues to astound me. Across from my campsite night before last:
A flat tire forced me into Wanaka sooner than I'd wanted. I bounced off of something and ruined the sidewall and so am the proud owner of 1 brand new tire.
Queenstown is next. Most say it is beautiful but busy, expensive and not a place to hang for long.
Now that I know at least Vicki is reading, I will try to keep better notes! :)
Gave up on the hope to hike in Oparara Basin and headed south in the rain. First interesting stop of note was pancake rocks. Interesting but lots of tourists and crazy rain meant it was a no dawdle zone.
Spent a night in the Hotitika area and then on to Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. The wild beauty and wide variety of the scenery continues to astound me. Across from my campsite night before last:
A flat tire forced me into Wanaka sooner than I'd wanted. I bounced off of something and ruined the sidewall and so am the proud owner of 1 brand new tire.
Queenstown is next. Most say it is beautiful but busy, expensive and not a place to hang for long.
Now that I know at least Vicki is reading, I will try to keep better notes! :)
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Over the rainbow
North from Westport into wild and remote beauty primarily by enjoyed by the cows. What I've seen of the west coast is mostly miles of farm land bumping up against a ferocious ocean (definitely no swimming). Spent the first night at a really old campground at Mokihinui. Here's a panorama from the sea wall behind the campground to give you an idea of how desolate and beautiful it is here:
Went inland a bit to hike an old mining road near Seddonville and ended up staying at the Seddonville campground for 2 nights - it is an old schoolhouse that the community maintains as a disaster relief place for people to congregate at when it floods (happens a lot apparently) - I had the whole place to myself and very much enjoyed a day of reading and relaxation. Then off to the end of the road north of Karamea to the start of the Heaphy track (another great walk that I would love to do someday). Took a day hike to Scott's beach enough to get a feel for the beauty of the track.
The shabby sunset last night ;)
Woke this morning to a reminder of the power of mother nature. Hard wind and rain put a damper on my plan to return back south a bit to the Oparara basin to hike to the arch and start of the caves of the region. A real cave tour must be guided and booked in advance for a minimum of 2 people - it's a protected area. Rain here swells creeks and prevents a lot of day hiking besides this was a gale not just a bit of rain. So I headed back for Westport, only to be stopped at Ngakawau (knock-a-wow) the bridge was flooded out and likely won't be open until tomorrow. Back to Mokihinui but this time I'm staying over the river at Gentle Annie campground where I can get the first wifi I've seen since leaving Westport. The sun is out at the moment, we'll see what tomorrow brings. I heard more rain tonight but the weather forecasts here seem to be especially bad and the weather changes really fast. I'm tempted to return over the mountains to try the Oparara Basin again it really seems like something I don't want to miss.
I'm starting to wonder if I took the wonderful weather for the first month I was here for granted. I suspect fall and winter might be a bit harder to get out into and enjoy.
On another note, I'm loving the freedom that a vehicle provides (buses don't even run where I am atm). It is barely big enough but with a small air mattress in the back it's actually pretty comfortable to sleep in. I would really like to buy a camp chair but there is literally no place to store it.
I opened up comments to the world - so please post something and let me know someone is reading all this drivel! Love you all :)
Went inland a bit to hike an old mining road near Seddonville and ended up staying at the Seddonville campground for 2 nights - it is an old schoolhouse that the community maintains as a disaster relief place for people to congregate at when it floods (happens a lot apparently) - I had the whole place to myself and very much enjoyed a day of reading and relaxation. Then off to the end of the road north of Karamea to the start of the Heaphy track (another great walk that I would love to do someday). Took a day hike to Scott's beach enough to get a feel for the beauty of the track.
The shabby sunset last night ;)
Woke this morning to a reminder of the power of mother nature. Hard wind and rain put a damper on my plan to return back south a bit to the Oparara basin to hike to the arch and start of the caves of the region. A real cave tour must be guided and booked in advance for a minimum of 2 people - it's a protected area. Rain here swells creeks and prevents a lot of day hiking besides this was a gale not just a bit of rain. So I headed back for Westport, only to be stopped at Ngakawau (knock-a-wow) the bridge was flooded out and likely won't be open until tomorrow. Back to Mokihinui but this time I'm staying over the river at Gentle Annie campground where I can get the first wifi I've seen since leaving Westport. The sun is out at the moment, we'll see what tomorrow brings. I heard more rain tonight but the weather forecasts here seem to be especially bad and the weather changes really fast. I'm tempted to return over the mountains to try the Oparara Basin again it really seems like something I don't want to miss.
I'm starting to wonder if I took the wonderful weather for the first month I was here for granted. I suspect fall and winter might be a bit harder to get out into and enjoy.
On another note, I'm loving the freedom that a vehicle provides (buses don't even run where I am atm). It is barely big enough but with a small air mattress in the back it's actually pretty comfortable to sleep in. I would really like to buy a camp chair but there is literally no place to store it.
I opened up comments to the world - so please post something and let me know someone is reading all this drivel! Love you all :)
Sunday, March 1, 2015
A night with the locals and the west coast
Got out of Nelson a bit late Saturday and given that driving on the wrong side of the road requires a great deal of concentration on my part, I found a free camp site not too far from Nelson, just outside of Wakefield. Shortly after arriving this guy (people call me Horse - with one 'o', he tells me) shows up with a home made tear drop trailer pulled by a mini and the fastest cooler kart I've ever seen (it wheelies!):
He was part of a group of 15-20 friends that get together and camp and bbq from time to time. They included me for a meal, jokes and singing. After about 5 names I let them know there was no way I'd remember them all so everyone else introduced themselves as Bruce :) so Kiwi! Most of them got away before I could get a picture but here are are the core (the dog so looks like Riley!):
Moved on to Westport yesterday. Was going to stop at Lyell along the way and spend today hiking the area but the sandflies (biting gnats) were horrible and in a moment of near insanity, I jumped back in the car and moved on. Got a slow start today so I think I'll stay here one more night and take advantage of the free wifi at the Westport library before heading north tomorrow.
He was part of a group of 15-20 friends that get together and camp and bbq from time to time. They included me for a meal, jokes and singing. After about 5 names I let them know there was no way I'd remember them all so everyone else introduced themselves as Bruce :) so Kiwi! Most of them got away before I could get a picture but here are are the core (the dog so looks like Riley!):
Moved on to Westport yesterday. Was going to stop at Lyell along the way and spend today hiking the area but the sandflies (biting gnats) were horrible and in a moment of near insanity, I jumped back in the car and moved on. Got a slow start today so I think I'll stay here one more night and take advantage of the free wifi at the Westport library before heading north tomorrow.
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