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New Zealand Road Trip - South Island.
Day 17 - Crossing to the South Island.
After a bad night's sleep in the ferry terminal car park thanks to the various tannoy announcements through the night, we drove the car onto the large 'Interislander' ferry for the 10.30am crossing of the Cook Strait. The journey went very quickly, taking an hour to get from Wellington out into the sea, another hour crossing and an hour navigating our way through the Marlborough sounds toward Picton. The last hour was very picturesque as we went past islands and huge green mountains sticking out of the water whilst people in yachts down below waved to welcome us. On arrival we spent an hour in Picton where we had lunch and Nikki indulged in a fancy ice-cream containing one scoop of white chocolate and raspberry flavour and one scoop of chocolate orange flavour, whereas Andy went for the ever so slightly healthier option of a chocolate covered frozen banana. We then embarked on one of our best drives so far past mountains and through valleys whilst heading south down the east coast to the town of Kaikora. We stayed in a campsite outside the town so the exploring will be done tomorrow.
Day 18 - We drove along the sea front from the campsite towards the town but stopped after a couple of minutes at Ohau Point which is home to a seal colony. We spent around 15 minutes taking photos of the seals down below us and watched them swim and lounge in the sun. More animals in their natural environment, woohoo! We then continued into Kaikora where we went to the sea front to find another colony. We only managed to find one, a large male lounging on the rocks. Andy got quite close and was given a warning growl which made him jump!
Back in town we bought a scoop of chips for lunch before getting back in the car and heading back North where we would now be travelling anti-clockwise around the South Island for the duration of the trip after making this brief de-tour first. The plan? Get as far as we can before it gets too dark! We got to a place where we knew there was a free campsite but to reach it meant a long drive along winding gravel roads up and down the side of a mountain! Once we finally arrived the view of the bay below us almost made the drive worth it, but in hindsight the cost in petrol to get to the campsite would have cost more than us staying at a paying site - d'oh!
Day 19 - To make up for the windy roads of the previous evening and this morning getting back to the main road from the campsite, the rest of the day was relatively easy. We were heading for a main town called Nelson and along the way pulled over at a cherry orchard where they gave you a bucket and you went off and picked your own cherries! We spent about half an hour here wandering through the trees picking cherries as well as some white cherries which neither of us had tried before, they are slightly sweeter than the standard ones. We were very pleased with our purchase as 1, it was fresh from the tree, 2, it was a family business and 3, much cheaper than the price of cherries per kg in the supermarkets - result!
We got to Nelson around 2pm and used the afternoon to shower in their public 'superloo' before heading to an area that they had set aside specifically for freedom camping - thank you Nelson City Council!
Day 20 - Laundry Day! For $11 we got to wash and dry almost everything we own, including our bedding and towels so our morning was spent in the laundromat. We then drove the 35km to Motueka and a campsite there. Much like the route to the campsite a few days ago, the words gravel, steep, cliff edge and narrow are all apt for the drive to the site! It took us 40minutes along the gravel road and upon arrival Andy started his daily task of cooking the dinner. It's only fair with Nikki doing all the driving plus secretly Andy enjoys it and is turning into a bit of a chef!
Day 21 - Today = rain, rain and more rain. Waking up early to rain pounding on the roof of the car it was a little unnerving knowing we had to get back on the previously mentioned gravel road. With the days plan out of the window we headed to the town of Takaka, a small town with no chains and all independent shops. For the first time on the entire trip we went to a cafe for breakfast to treat ourselves as it was pouring! Andy had a croissant sandwich while Nikki plumped for some quiche and a slice of apple pie...the usual breakfast items then! The cafe specialised in lots of different types of tea, so we also had a pot of vanilla and almond tea. It tasted much like normal tea but the smell was amazing, yummy.
Andy then retreated to the car where he wrote the now lost blogs and did some reading while Nikki found an Internet cafe and uploaded some photos. The one disadvantage of being in the car is that when it rains it really does change your whole day as you don't want to get anything wet. Anything that does get wet we can't dry, so it will make the car smell damp. Apparently we are in for more rain tomorrow...
Day 22 - The weathermen were wrong! We awoke to glorious sunshine and set about being much more active than yesterday! We headed to Pupu Springs, which believe it or not is home to 'the clearest water in the world'. Well, the clearest freshwater in the world. The only place where there is known to be water of greater clarity is under the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The water in the springs is pushed up through many vents coming from underground, an average of 14,000 litres of water a second. The water comes from the deepest and longest cave systems in the Southern Hemisphere and on its journey constantly gets purified meaning by the time it gets to the surface of the springs it's crystal clear. At some points you would be looking at the plants and whatnot under the surface and you couldn't make out the layer of water, it really was very clear! It was worth a visit, it's a pretty cool thing to have seen.
We then drove along the coast around Abel Tasman to Wainui Falls where we embarked on a 4km round trip walk at midday, not the smartest choice but nothing compared to our walks in Oz! Halfway through the walk is a swing bridge that crosses the river which only one person can cross at a time, not for the fainthearted! The falls were tall but thin and created a lot of spray so we got a little wet from the mist while trying to take photos. From here we had an afternoon drive to a campsite in Kawatiri. We arrived at 7pm to lots of sand flies (our arch nemesis!) who bite, take blood, and leave a big red itchy spot behind for their troubles. They are abundant all along the west coast so repellent is a must but unless you coat yourself you will be bitten. The only 'advantage' over mosquitoes is that you can actually feel them bite you so you at least have a chance to swat them before they leave too much of a mark. The camp is at the site of an old train station but we can't explore - the sand flies are that bad!
Day 23 - We got up early and gladly left the sand flies behind and headed to Murchison. Just outside the town is the longest swing bridge in the country so we paid the $5 to cross it and go for a walk on the other side of the river. The 15 minute loop walk took us along a fault line that was clearly visible as the 1923 earthquake here had left a stretch of land jutting out from the ground 4ft above the ground around it. We also walked to the river's edge and found that the small sandy area was covered in tiny specks of gold! The other side of the river was worked for all its gold in the gold rush days but back then people couldn't cross easily so the side we were on mostly remained untouched. It wasn't like there were gold nuggets lying around but the sand shimmered with all the mini pieces of it. If you could be bothered and had enough time you could probably collect enough to be worth something though. After picking up a couple of pieces to stick in Nikki's scrapbook we continued our drive taking us to the 'town' of Lyell. It's just a campsite now but during the gold rush it was a town with a decent population, bank, stores etc. None of the buildings remain but it was interesting knowing we were staying on the site of a once historical town.
Day 24 - We set off early today knowing we would be covering some distance. First stop was Westport, a large town on the west coast but not knowing what there was to see, we headed to the information centre. It was a Sunday so nothing much was open, however the lady told us of a 'market' in a town called Granity 20km (out of our way) from town. As we needed some fruit and veg we didn't mind the 40km round trip to see and buy some local produce. Now, we don't know what springs to your mind when you think of a market, but it seems the Kiwi's have a different meaning for the word. We reached the tiny town of Granity to find: 4 locals selling their old bits and bobs out of their cars. Yes, it was a car boot sale and a pitiful one at that! Oh dear, we will be asking what they mean by 'market' in future! Once back in town we headed to a beach where we found quite a big seal colony complete with seal pups waddling their way around the rocks, a nice highlight and made up for our previous misfortune! Back on the road we stopped at Punakaiki to see the famous 'Pancake Rocks'. They were very unusual and really interesting to see, as they are layer upon layer of rocks up to 20m high that resemble a stack of pancakes as each layer is very clearly defined and scientists don't know how or why these have come to form like this. After walking around for an hour it was back into the car for the coastal drive to Greymouth. With no map and being too late to visit an info site we had to improvise on where to stay. We stumbled upon the local swimming pool who's car park had public toilets at the end of it and no signs mentioning no overnight camping (let's be honest, why would they have these signs?!). We drove elsewhere while we waited for dark at which point we headed back to the car park and bedded down for the night - sssh don't tell anyone!
Day 25 - We made it through the night unscathed. The pool opened at 6am so from then onward we just looked like another car in the car park anyway, success! We started our day with a drive to Hokitika where we visited 'The National Kiwi Centre' which had a very clever name and was family run. It is almost guaranteed that we won't see a Kiwi in the wild so we gave in and paid to go inside and see their one kiwi (upon entry we realised it definitely wasn't the national centre!). The centre was also home to some reptiles and marine life including a large tank full of giant eels, including one called Grandma who was 102 years old! Andy even got to feed them as of course he was the first to volunteer! We walked around to the kiwi area where we finally saw our very first kiwi, a female brown kiwi. She was much bigger than we had expected them to be and was running around like mad foraging for food in her enclosure. It was dark in there as they are nocturnal so they put the lights on at night to prompt her to sleep so that visitors can see her in the day when she thinks it is night time. It was quite exciting seeing such an endangered species and we stood and watched for a good 10 minutes, well worth the price of entry.
After lunch we headed further south to Franz Joseph and the glacier there. We walked the 45 minute walk to the 'terminal face' (the edge of the glacier to you and me) to see it up close. You don't realise just how enormous the glacier is until you get nearer and even then it's hard to comprehend. On the walk back we went past some waterfalls and Andy being Andy, not content with posing for a photo next to one he stripped off and dashed underneath it. Fortunately it was a hot day as the water is glacier melt so it isn't the warmest! Back at the car we then drove the 45 minute drive to the neighbouring town of Fox Glacier and headed for the free campsite at Gillespie's Beach. When we arrived we realised why it was so popular. You could stand on the beach facing out into the ocean but with a turn of 180 degrees you then had a panoramic view of a huge mountain range covered with snow, an unbelievable sight and a huge contrast. It was utterly stunning - sights like this are what make New Zealand so unique. What a beautiful country this is.
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