Sunday, 10 January 2010

We checked out of our hotel and went to Anne and Michael's home in Goldfield Heights just out of Queenstown. Although it was sunny and bright at 7:30 am, by eleven the clouds and wind had returned and brought the rain along for good measure. The view from their home is spectcular... even on a dark, windy, rainy day. We helped get the lunch ready and stayed until about 2:30 when we set off for Haast. We traveled toward Coronet Peak, through Arrowtown, over the Crown Range Road, down the Cardrona Valley Road to Lake Hawea and on to the Haast Pass Road. We stopped a few times to take short walks including one to the Thundering Creek Falls and arrived at Haast in the early evening. Our lodging was the Erewhon Motel at Haast Beach. It was straight out of the 1950s and hadn't been maintained much since then. It was clean and only NZ$65 (US$43) for the night. And, the sunset was great. We ate at the local pub and had an early night.

Monday, 11 January 2010

From Haast to Hokitika is supposed to be a 5 hour drive. We left the Erewhon at 10am and got to Hokitika at 7:15pm! First we took a walk on the beach at Hannah's Clearing near Haast where we started a beach stone collection before we got on the road north. We stopped for a short Swamp Forest Walk and Beach walk at Ship Creek collecting more stones. The road then goes into the famous Glacier area of the South Island.  

We stopped at both Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. At Fox, we could only drive to a carpark and then take some photos. At Franz Josef, we parked the car and walked a short trail to a view point. There was a way to get closer to the Glacier, but it involved walking over stones in a creek that was flowing quite rapidly. I opted for taking photos from the viewpoint. Buzz kept saying I could make it, but I wasn't so sure. From the glaciers we made one more stop in Whataroa where there was a shop where the owner carved jade and bone jewelry. Some of it was very beautiful and there was a display of old carving that wasn't for sale. We had a nice chat with the owner and then pressed on to Hokitika...Greenstone Jade capital of NZ. We're ensconsed at the Bella Vista Motel and will stay here two nights.

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

A beautiful, sunny day. Early this morning we did housekeeping. I did the laundry, and Buzz went to the grocery store. Later in the morning we took a walk around town and checked out all the touristy gift shops and, of course, the second hand places. At lunch time we ate in our room and had a Skype conversation with Heather, Ami, and Noah. Then we took a drive that made a loop around Lake Brunner through Greymouth, and back to Hokitika. Just south of Greymouth we found a young man who has a greenstone carving studio at his home. Only those who have Maori ancestry and are part of a Maori tribe can still get Pounamu - New Zealand Jade. The work was very nice, he shared his knowledge with Buzz, and we bought a piece of jewelry from him. So nice to get something when you meet the artist. Back at Hokitika we took a walk on the beach looking for intresting rocks and admiring the driftwood. I walked in the water for a minute...too cold. A light supper and a quiet evening. Tomorrow we head north.

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

We left Hokitika and headed north to be at Punakaiki to view the famous blowholes at high tide. The rocks are as spectacular as we remember them, but the surf wasnt very strong; so the blowhole activity was disappointing. We drove on to Cape Foulwind so named by Captain Cook whose ship was severely battered when he sailed there. We stopped on the south side of the cape and walked up to see the seal colony. In addition to seals, we saw a signpost with distances from various places in the world. Then we drove around to the north side and took the walk up to the lighthouse. I actually walked all the way up to the lighthouse...there are photos to prove it. On to Westport and a stroll around town and we booked a room at the Last Resort in Karamea. The road to Karamea is, once again, winding and hilly and beautiful. We checked in to the motel, had a meal, and tomorrow we will explore the area.

Thursday, 14 January 2010

We awoke to a beautiful day. After breakfast we drove to Oparara where we took the bush walk to the famous soapstone arch. Along the track, a South Island Robin posed for us, two DOC workers worked on repairing a part of the track where tree had fallen, and we saw some amazing scenery. Back at the carpark we had a drink and set off for another shorter walk to Mirror Tarn (Lake). We finished our day of exploration by driving north to Kohaihai where the road ends. This is the farthest north you can drive on the West Coast of the South Island, and it is the beginning of the famed Heaphy Track which is a 3 to 5 day walk. We had our picnic lunch (during which we were attacked by little black biting bugs who love ankles) and a walk along the beach before heading back to Karamea. I spent the later afternoon loading and labeling photos and Buzz read his book. Dinner at a very nice restaurant was an excellent ending to a great day.

Friday, 15 January 2010

Another beautiful warm, sunny day. We left Karamea about 10am and stopped in Westport where I took advantage of the free internet service at the library and we got some groceries.
We drove through beautiful countryside through the Buller Gorge along the Buller River to Reefton and Springs Junction before heading north to Murchison. We had a picnic lunch at a roadside picnic area (more biting bugs) and then took a short walk to see the Maruia Falls. The water was so clear it sparkled. We got to Murchison and checked into our motel around 5PM. There is a BBQ here; so we went into town, got some steaks and had a lovely steak and salad dinner. Murchison is a enter for jetboating, serious hiking, and rafting. We're just passing through on our way north.

Saturday, 16 January 2010

We had a lovely drive from Murchison to Motueka stopping at Ngatimoti along the way to visit the furniture maker who made some chairs for us in 1994. He is still there, but, sadly, his workshop burned to the ground a few weeks ago. He lost everything but is planning to rebuild.
In Motueka, we stopped at the i-site tom book a motel in Collingwood for three nights. Couldn't get anything there tonight; so we're stayiing town. After having a look around the town and settling in to our motel, we decided to go to the local Thai restaurant for dinner. We parked in a legal parking space across the street from the restaurat and near a fast food takeaway place that had put a sign out that that parking area was just for its customers...not legal in NZ. We had a great meal, but when we came out we found that someone had spread grease on and under the front door handles of our car. Could it have been someone from the takeaway bar? We'll never know. We just wiped it up with some napkin and drov away. That is the first nasty thing that has happened to us in all our years of travel in New Zealand.

Sunday, 17, January 2010

The trip from Motueka to Collingwood is only 84Km (about 50 miles) We bought groceries and gas in Motueka, stopped for two short walks: one at Hawkes lookout and another at PuPU Springs, drove over the Takaka Hill...a marble mountain...and got to Collingwood at 2PM. We're settled in at the Beachcomber Motel and will explore the area this afternoon and tomorrow.