The West Coast of New Zealand

We awoke early and set off towards the west coast. It was amazing how different Lake Hawea looked the next morning with the sun coming up.

There were a few things I just couldn’t get tired of seeing: the snow capping the mountains, the mist, the lakes, the rolling hills and of course, the sheep.

 The interior of the South Island really was beautiful. Every corner we went around seemed to lead us to yet more stunning scenery.

I loved the location of this ranch with the mountains right in their backyard.

On our journey we would sometimes see signs indicating a cattle stop; and a few times, we were forced to wait as cattle used the road to move from pasture to pasture.

The fellow at our Lake Hawea site suggested that Ian and I trek the short walk to Blue Pools so we pulled over, parked and bundled up. The walk wasn’t long, maybe 10 minutes through a mossy dark forest along a well laid out path. It led us to this short suspension bridge over a fairly fast moving river.

The water was crystal clear at the blue pools -

We made a couple more pit spots along the way – The Gates of Haast – a place where the river ran over large rocks, and a salmon farm where we bought some fresh salmon for dinner.

We stopped in Haast for some fish and chips and although the food was okay, it wasn’t impressive. As it was fall in New Zealand, the water levels were low and it was the same for the Haast River. We were astonished by the amount of gravel along the shores of the rivers in New Zealand.

Bridges that run across rivers are more often than not, one lane. Since there wasn’t a great deal of traffic, we rarely found ourselves waiting for our turn to cross –

As we turned up the coast, I kept my eyes open for any seals but didn’t see any…

Around 3 pm, we arrived at Fox Glacier. Fox Glacier is 13 km long and easy to access. It has the distinction of being one of the few glaciers to end in a rainforest. With a 1000 tourists a day visiting, you’d have thought it would be super busy but on our visit, we only saw a few folks. Signs along the route warn people to stay behind the barriers since the rapid advance of the glacier causes sudden rock and ice falls.

The valley leading up to the glacier reminded me of the movie Jurassic Park – I could imagine dinosaurs roaming here.

If you look carefully in the flat part of the valley, you can see the coloured jackets of other tourists. That will give you an idea of how high the rock faces extend.

The only way you can get close to the glacier is by hiring a guide. Being so far away, it is hard to get a sense of how large the glacier actually is. I like this photo because you can see the blue ice.

I am including two photos to help give you a better idea of the size of the glacier. In the first one you can see a guide in a red jacket on top of the glacier.

In the second one, if you look over Ian’s right shoulder, you can just make out the same guide.

It really is quite high. If I were to return to New Zealand, I’d love to do one of the many helicopter rides offered (for a price of course) and not only see the entire glacier but also step onto the top in an area that even guides can’t get to.

Our campsite was only about 10 minutes from the glacier. It was a busy place but very clean. We got some laundry done and the next morning awoke to find a couple of ducks next to our site.

Along our journey, we often noticed these ducks always in the same pairs; I am assuming one is female and the other male.

Our next stop was the Franz Josef Glacier but this time, we didn’t walk all the way up to the viewing platform; instead, we climbed a small hill to get this perspective:

Franz Josef Glacier is a km shorter than Fox and since 2010 has been rapidly retreating. After our short stop here, we continued north along the west coast and the border of Lake Mapourika; so beautiful.

The highway ran along the ocean for quite awhile affording us some great views. I made Ian stop a lot so I could get some photos.

The waves pounded the shore with some ferocity. I loved the sound, the wind and the view -  

The sun was behind some clouds when we arrived at Punakaika and Pancake Rocks.

The layered limestone of the rocks earned them the name ‘pancake.’ The walkway weaves through the pancake rocks and along blowholes where the sea crashes through, occasionally sending up a spray of mist.

It was a neat site.

The path was easy to follow and we took our time taking it all in.

Night was approaching so it was time to find a camper park. It was pitch black by the time we pulled into a site close to Cape Foulwind and Westport on the west coast.

The South Island of New Zealand

Our trip in New Zealand continued down the east coast through the university town of Dunedin until eventually we headed back into the interior stopping at Gore overnight. Gore was a quaint little town and it was here that we used the internet in the library. We were trying to secure accommodation on Gili Air but the guesthouse wanted us to pay a deposit either through paypal or an online international transfer. Unfortunately it is impossible to do online transfers to Indonesia from Canada (apparently Australia as well). Not sure why, some Aussies I met later said they thought it was because of corruption - it was too risky.

Long story short, we ended up trying to set up a paypal account but it ended up taking too long for the place we wanted to stay on Gili. So now we had to secure a new place, which involved sending photocopies of my passport and my visa. After being in Asia for months now, we were used to doing things like this.

Our stop in Gore was pleasant and we were able to get some laundry done at the campvan place. The host was a lovely older lady free with lots of suggestions and advice.

The next day was lovely with the sun out and a rainbow.

We were headed to Manapouri to book a cruise in Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound is a fjord in the southwest of the island accessible only by boat. It has three large arms of water off the main channel and several tall islands and waterfalls. It rains 200 days a year so the area is quite green and very misty.

Many tourists do a cruise through Milford Sound but our guide from our first night assured us this was better. It would involve a boat ride across the lake, a bus and then the cruise finishing with a trip to the power plant. The cruise wasn’t cheap but the girl at the desk said it would be worth it.  

We had a good chunk of the day before us so we headed 20 minutes north to Te Anau for some grocery shopping and secured a night at a holiday park there. The view from our campervan park -

The next morning we packed a lunch, dressed warmly and headed to our boat -

 The boat was a good size with a fair number of tourists but we had plenty of room. As we set out, the sun was out and the sky blue. Despite being very cold, we were in good spirits.

The boat arrived at our first stop and we loaded off to wait for the bus. Our bus driver turned out to be very funny with a dry sense of humour so he kept us highly entertained with commentary during the drive to the channel. We made a few stops for some photos – love the trees and moss here.

Along the route our driver pointed out the many waterfalls as the sun disappeared and the mist rolled in.

It really was lovely once we got on the boat making our way through the channel to the sea. We saw a small seal and some albatross along the way and hit some rain. Once we reached the Tasman Sea, we turned around and headed back.

At one point, we stopped the engines and stood outside to listen to – well, nothing. It was almost silent except for the water rushing down the sides of the hills. Everywhere we looked, the scenery was beautiful.

A magical place.

We alternated between running outside to snap some photos to going inside to get warm. It was chilly!

Eventually our boat docked and we were back on the bus for a visit to the Manapouri Hydro Station, the largest in New Zealand.

The station is located 200 metres below the surface with a road just barely wide enough for our bus to drive through. The plant took 8 years and 1800 workers to complete and was finished in 1972.

Our trip complete, the boat headed back across the lake to the dock and I have to say that despite the rain and the chill, the trip was well worth the expensive tickets.

The campervan was sitting in the lot where we had left it and as it was quite late, we wasted no time getting back on the road. It was long before we pulled into a ‘farm stay’ camper park where we were the only guests on the site.

Before heading out the next day, we stopped to feed the alpacas the pellets the owner had given us the night before. Clearly these animals were used to being hand fed.  

 Queenstown was north and our journey there was as usual, stunning.

 Mountains, lakes, and mountains…..

 I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time I was in NZ. It was just so gorgeous. 

The town itself sits on in an inlet in Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu with spectacular views of the mountains. In front of us was this lovely view -

Adventure tourism seems popular (skiing, bungy jumping, white water rafting) with many stores catering to these sports. We found a place to park and moseyed along the pedestrian friendly pathways. A fellow Torontonian was working in Billabongs so we chatted to her for awhile. She’d just arrived a few weeks previous for the skiing.

Reluctantly we headed out of the town north with a brief stop in Wanaka on Lake Wanaka.

 I could see living here, I really could.

Lake Hawea Holiday Park was our destination and what a lovely site it was. The gentleman who took care of us was quite friendly giving us loads of advice for our next day’s adventures. In the meantime, he set us up at with a lovely spot close to the lake.

  

We filled our hot water bottle and turned on the heat for a good night's rest.

Singapore and then off to New Zealand

Singapore

Originally we had planned on going to Singapore for just two days but we ended up staying for 5. It was a break for us between diving in Sipadan and camping in New Zealand.  I had to recover from my allergic reaction to sea lice and the cold I had no doubt developed from the rain soaked boat ride back to Semporna.

Singapore isn’t cheap so finding a hotel under a 100 is a challenge. There are many hostels and although many seem clean, they are nothing more than boxes with beds in them and I needed some comfort after Seafest and diving. Ibis was about 137 dollars and although the room was tiny, it had everything we needed and was in a great location. Food cost us little as we either ate at food courts or got take away (as the Asians call it). We also caught a couple of movies (of course) for a very decent price.

Our big expense was Universal Studios. I know it seems strange to go there but what the hell, it was our holiday and I wanted to see if it was as good as the one in California. We caught the free shuttle bus across the street from our hotel and off we went.

We went on the Madagascar ride, the Mummy (which was as good as the one in California), watched the 4D Shrek movie, and best of all, did the Transformers ride. It was fantastic. The ride was a combination roller coaster with movie – it was as if you were actually involved in the action; a sort of 3D effect. Very cool.

We caught a few song and dance acts and I was serenaded by one of the singers – good fun.

Overall it was a fun few hours. Singapore is quite the city, fairly clean and easy to get around. We took the metro out to the marina and walked around. Here’s the Sands Resort.

Here’s the view from the observation deck –

It was a pretty low key visit - we could have done a lot more but we were not in the mood to be tourists.

Soon we were on our way to New Zealand and both of us were very excited. We were arriving in Christchurch to stay one night after a flight of 10 hours. It was an overnight trip so I slept most of it but with the time change, we arrived in the morning. The view from the plane was terrific -

In the airport I gathered up a huge pile of free brochures and maps for our journey around the south island before the taxi took us to the Courtesy Motel outside the downtown core. I accidently left my tourist information in the office of the motel and when Ian went to retrieve it half an hour later we discovered the owner gave it to another couple who were checking out. Nice.

The downtown centre of Christchurch remains fenced off and out of bounds due to the earthquake of February 2011.  It is still under construction and considered unsafe and we could see many buildings behind the tall fences.

First thing we noticed was how cold it was!!!! May is their autumn and winter was approaching. Ian and I didn’t have any warm clothes so we bundled up as best we could and walked down the road for some Indian food for dinner. Breakfast the next day was at a small café and it was scrumptious. Things were slightly cheaper than Canadian prices but not by much. The trip wasn’t going to be cheap.

Around 10am, our campervan arrived. We were given the grand tour and I was impressed by how compact it was. There was a microwave, TV/DVD (can you believe it!?) stove, sink, toilet, a table that could be dismantled into a large bed, etc. We would manage quite nicely. Ian was shown how to empty the grey water, turn on the gas that would run our heater and stove, and how to clean the toilet. It was all rather simple.

Our first order of business was buying warm clothes. We headed out to one of the cheaper clothing stores recommended by our campervan folks. Time passed quickly while we hummed and hawed about what to get. Before we knew it, it was late afternoon so we decided on a warm hoodie and long shirts for me, thermals to wear under our pants for us both, and a waterproof jacket for Ian. Grocery shopping also took us forever but eventually we headed south with our first stop in not far from Christchurch.  

The woman who ran the place was awesome. She asked us how long we were going to take to see the South Island and then pulled out a map and gave us a full itinerary to follow. She suggested (wisely) that we use the showers at the camp sites rather than squeeze into our small bathroom to shower. 

The van was far more comfortable than tent camping and a lot warmer. The nights were cold but with the heater and our warm blankets, we were quite toasty. The cold days took some getting used to,  especially showering in rooms without heat - it was damn cold stepping out of that hot shower onto ice cold concrete floors.  To be honest, the cold didn’t bother us at all. It was a welcome break from the heat for Southeast Asia, and if rainy and cold, I couldn’t complain. Besides, the scenery was stunning.

In Canterbury, we passed flat fields dotted with sheep bordered by 2 storey high hedges trimmed to create a fence. I suppose this provided protection from the winds.

Lunch was left over spaghetti at a fairly nondescript site – here’s our campervan at our lunchtime site –

Our journey took us west, into the centre of the island through Fairlie towards Mount Cook. The scenery began to take on a different look turning into rolling hills and mist and more sheep.

Soon we came along the south of Lake Tekapo, the second largest lake in the south island.

Situated on its shores is the Church of the Good Shepherd built in 1935, the first in the Mackenzie Basin. It was a small stone building facing the lake. Close to this is a bronze statue of a New Zealand Collie Sheepdog.

Next stop was Lake Pukaki with its brilliant blue colour created from glacial flour, extremely fine ground rock particles from the glaciers.

We turned north and drove along the west side of the lake towards Mount Cook. Apparently on a clear day, the mountain is visible from the southern shores of the lake but with today’s overcast skies, we didn’t see it until we drove to the end of the road, 30 minutes from our turn off.  It was very exciting to see the snow capped mountains peaking through the mist.

There was an incredible lack of traffic. At one point, Ian and I got of the vehicle to take photos and it was as if we were the only two people around.

We couldn’t drive all the way to the mountain so we turned around in the tiny town of Mount Cook and headed back towards the east coast and our next overnight stop in Kurow. Along the route, we were rewarded again with some great scenery and great colour in the sky.

The park was listed as being on the south end of the river so I thought it would be nicer than it was. Once we closed the curtains, the lack of a nice view didn’t matter.

When we headed out the next morning, there was a long low layer of mist sitting just above the ground and below the hills in the distance. The weather we were experiencing provided us with some neat pictures what with the mist and clouds.

We stopped briefly in the town of Oamaru on the coast with its old colonial style buildings and lovely churches.

On the point there’s a penguin colony but you have to pay to see it. On route, we kept our eyes open for any penguins crossing the road.

Next up was Moeraki beach and the boulders. There were photos in our tourist information and our ‘guide’ that first night recommended a stop there. We bundled up with in thermals, hats, gloves, etc. and headed out to the beach with its biting cold wind.

They looked like dinosaur eggs, very smooth and round.

We wandered around for a bit until it grew too cold for us and made our way back out onto the road. We tried to find a gorge down a side road but it grew rough and narrower and in a campervan, we didn’t want to take a chance. Besides, we wanted to see the seals off Shag Point that again, our camper park guide had recommended.

New Zealand has spent a lot of money on tourism. The road to the point was in decent shape and we found a nice parking lot with a couple vans already there. We parked and followed a path to a lookout and were rewarded with quite a few seals off in the distance.

It took us a few minutes but suddenly we realized there were two seals sleeping on the grass right beside us that I had dismissed as rocks.

On closer scrutiny, we noticed more and more sleeping seals around us, on the rocks and in the grass. We took our time taking them in as it was the first time we’d ever seen wild seals.

Our first few days in New Zealand proved it was worth the price of airfare to get there.