Caleb had his last exam in the morning on June the 18th. I picked up our rental car while he was taking his test. (This was my only experience driving on the left side of the road because Caleb did all the other driving over the semester, and surprisingly it didn't feel that different. What did feel different was driving at all, since I hadn't driven for several months.) That afternoon we packed up most of our stuff into the car so that we'd be ready to leave early the next morning.
June 19th- We checked out of our flat with limited problems and got our bond money back from the landlady early in the morning. We picked up Caleb's friend Julian who had a flight out of Christchurch in the afternoon. On the way up to Christchurch we stopped briefly at the Moeraki Boulders- huge round boulders along a beach with cracks running across the surface so that they look like a bunch of giant soccer balls- then dropped Julian at the airport as soon as we got to Christchurch. We went to the Air New Zealand Holiday store to get our tickets fixed (another long story), then traipsed all over the city trying to find the DoC office (Dept of Conservation - it had apparently been moved recently and they hadn't left any notice as to where the new office was) before it closed for the evening. We did find it eventually, about 10 minutes before it closed, and were able to buy hut tickets and a map for the Mt Aurthur Track (which we planned to start on the next morning). We spent some time enjoying the Christchurch Cathedral then drove north until about midnight through a perfectly clear night with an almost full moon. We pulled over at a picnic area with beautiful pine trees and spent the night in the car (something we did often during these last 2 weeks).
Just for interest here is a clip from the DOC website classifying the difficulty of various tramps:
Types of Walkways
Walkways vary enormously in nature, from short urban strolls, to moderate coastal locations, to challenging tramps in the high country. All walkways are graded according to degree of difficulty, standard of surface formation and gradient. The classification system used is the same as that used by DOC for all foot access. Classifications are:
- Short Walk - Well-formed surface, usually up to a one-hour walk suitable for most ages and fitness levels. Some may cater for physically disabled people.
- Walking Track - A well-defined track, suitable for relatively inexperienced people with little backcountry skill, up to a day's relatively easy walking. (This includes New Zealand's famous Great Walks.)
- Tramping Track - A track catering for backcountry trampers ranging from relatively inexperienced to experienced. Trips may vary from half-day to multi-day and can cross a wide range of terrain. All tracks are marked using one or more methods. Major watercourses are bridged.
- Route - Generally an unformed surface, lightly cut or marked and intended for experienced backcountry users only. Routes are not common within the walkways system.
June 20th- We woke up at 5am and drove to the Flora car park. We thought it was farther away then it was, so we actually arrived while it was still dark and napped until sunrise. We left on our first alpine hike before 9am. 1hr to the Mt. Aurthur Hut where we came out above the tree line, then another hour to the poled route. Here there wasn't really a track, we just followed poles stuck in the ground. We hiked for another hour and a half going up Gordons Pyramid and stopped for a picnic lunch on a little peak about halfway up the Pyramid. Shortly after lunch we stopped to chat with a friendly kea. At least he was friendly until Caleb offended him by whistling at him and then he seemed tothink that he needed to defend him territory. Kea are the world's only alpine parrot and are only found in NZ. This one was quite talkative and we actually came within 5-7 feet of him as we walked past his kingly boulder perch on the top of the world. Total it took us 3 hours to reach the top of Gordons Pyramid, and it was all hard hiking practically straight up and down. Then another hour down through a thick, muddy jungle.
We arrived at Salisbury Hut at 2:30pm and spent 1-2hours exploring the grasslands which were coated in a beautiful sparkling frost and Sphinx Creek, which was mostly iced over. We had the hut all to ourselves, and we went to bed by 7pm because that is when it got dark and we had no light, not to we were exhausted 6-ish hours of hiking and little sleep the night before.
June 21st- We were up with the sunrise as 7am after a good 12 hours of sleep. Unfortuately it was a bit chilly during the night because the heater automatically turned itself off after 60 as a safety precaution, so since we didn't get up every hour it was rather cold inthe morning (remember that June means winter in NZ). After breakfast we hiked back to the Flora car park by a different track going through some interesting woods. We had a stressful drive to Motueka because the trip started with the gas needle at empty, but we made it alright and continued out to Able Tasman. We had wanted to camp along the Able Tasman Great Walk but were warned of a possible hail storm. Instead took a 2 hour walk along the track then spent the night in the car.
June 22nd- It poured all night and we were glad we weren't in a tent. Since the weather report didn't look good we decide not to stick around. We drove to Nelson and made reservations to go swimmiing with the dolphins in Kaikoura the next morning. We enjoyed nice scenery along the drive down to Kaikoura, and drove through NZ's wine region (approx. 3 hrs of vineyards). Several miles north of Kaikoura we pulled over and saw several hundred seals covering the rocky coast. We watched some pups play for a while then pulled off along the coast and slept in the car again.
June 23rd- Unfortunately our swim with the dolphins was cancelled due to weather, but we made the best of it. We went for a walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula and saw a lot more seals. Then we went beach combing (one of my favorite activities) and Caleb found a gorgeous paua shell. We took a tour through the Kaikoura Winery and sampled all the varieties that they make there. That evening we drove back up toward Picton then turned off towards the coast to find the Robin Hood Bay DOC Campground. My memories of that part of the drive are something like... nasty, muddy, winding gravel road, poor directions, and pitch black. We did find it and made dinner in the dark. We slept in the car, without having been able to see anything of our surroundings, but listening to the ocean.
June 24th- We were up to watch the sun rise over the bay, which was worth the nasty drive the night before, then went beachcombing/paua shell hunting along the beach. The drive to Picton had unbelievable scenery. We stayed at a youth hostel in Picton (The Villa) and took a "spa", aka sat in a hot tub. We repacked to fit the luggage limits for the ferry ride the next day and relaxed fo an evening after having driven a total of 1420km on the South Island.
June 25th- We returned our rental car, took the Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington (about 3 hours), picked up a new rental car and drove up to Jeanne and Ritchie's farm just outside of Stratford. Jeanne and Ritchie hosted us when we traveled in NZ in 1990 and have kept in touch with my parents. Jeanne made us a traditional NZ farm dinner: roast sheep + 6 seven vegetables - parsnips, peas, swedes, NZ yams, creamed leeks and baked potatoes - and baked quince cake with ice cream for dessert.
Well it's not quite as brief as I had intended it to be , so I'll have to continue another time... but at least there is the first week. Pictures to come.
Tui Beer ads provide some good comic relief through the use of controversial political (and otherwise) statements followed by their tag line of "Yeah Right" (Some have been banned)