It was probably just as well it was a quiet hogmanay as it was bad enough having to get up on New Year's morning for a 7am shuttle to the ferry across to the South Island as it was. It was also quite windy so I anticipated a stormy crossing. However, it was almost flat calm and the sun came out making it a wonderful sailing, and as we went sailing up the Tory Channel and into the Queen Charlotte Sound towards Picton it was real picture postcard stuff. Forested hillsides sitting one in front of the other until the last one came down to the sandstone edged coves around the fjordlike shoreline. With blue skies and greeny-blue seas I was very much reminded of my sail up the sound to Islay before I left home. I half expected Vicky and the girls to be stood waving pier-side when we arrived! The little town looked really pretty nestled at the head of the bay with houses and buildings nicely spread out to look really welcoming. It certainly charmed me and I ended up spending much longer in the area than I'd originally envisaged. It was a lovely area for strolling or enjoying the little beachfront area when the weather was so good. Sitting at the beach on New Years day, eating my ice-cream quickly before it melted, continued my list of "firsts" for my adventures. Beside the beachfront there is a super playpark with little sit-on train, minigolf, paddling pool and separate boating pond for toy boats. Dougie and dad, I couldn't help but to think back to all your rescue operations at the Duthie Park pond over the years! I think there would be far fewer boats becalmed or sunken in Picton. A few good walks of anything from 10 minutes to 3 hours took me from town and along the shore, through the thick bush of pretty little flowers and wide canopied trees, sometimes up steep damp maddy paths to fantastic lookout point down the sound and across several of the little bays, coves and inlets which branched off from it. Marlborough, the district in which Picton sits, produces over half the wine made in New Zealand so it was only right that I should take another wine tour to sample its wares. Purely in the interest of comparing it to Australian wines you understand, nothing to do with indulgent pleasure! The tour itself was busier than at margaret river with between 7 and 10 people on it as we picked up and dropped of people at different points along the way so it lacked the personal touch of the last time. However, we still managed to visit a total of 5 different vinyards with between 4 and 6 different wines to try at each place. Measures were distictly smaller than on my earlier tours but very enjoyable nonetheless. I think we had a bubbly at each establishment which was nice, and also at least one Sauvignon-blanc at each aswell - that being the most popular and largely produced type in the area. Pinot Noir, Gewurtztraminer(?), reisling, pinot gris and chardonay were generally the other varieties although there was one exceptionally sweet and to my mind, nasty dessert ice wine which just tasted like a sugar syrup. Needless to say I didn't last the tour without purchasing a little something to enjoy on a later date!
The real highlight of my visit to the region however was a four day trek, or tramp as they call it over here, along the Queen Charlotte track. Its a 71km path up and down the hills and round the bays and inlets which border the QC sound. Fortunately I didn't have to carry my full backpack with me as it's taken by water taxi to your next accommodation in time for your arrival each day. I puffed and panted my way up some of the hills in the searing heat as it was. I might be there yet if I'd to trudge up the hills with my rucksack too. On the first day I had a short visit to Motuara Island before being ferried across to the actual start point at Ships cove. The little island is a bird reserve and on the short walk up to the summit lookout point I was entertained by Blue penguins, grey warblers, fantails, saddlebacks and a couple of South Island robins amongst others. At the summit the 360degree views was simply breathtakingly awesome, especially in the clear early morning light. With hardly a cloud in the sky you looked down the QC sound and out to the Cook Strait. The green hills stood out sharply rising magnificently from the calm sparkling blue-green sea. Returning to the jetty to await the boat across I sat mesmerised by the crystal clear water lapping gently against the pierside and onto the stoney foreshore. It was the mailboat which arrived to transport me and the others waiting to the start of the walk. For the first couple of km it was a muddy and slidey steep climb up through fern trees and beech trees to the hilltop which looked out to the picturesque Resolution bay. The fantastic mix of brilliant clear blue waters, lush steep green hillsides and near cloudless blue sky was to become the recurring scene over the course of the next few days, and not one that I ever grew tired of - although by the time I reached Anakiwa at the end of day four my wee leggies were quite happy to have a splash about in the sea then have a rest! Back on day 1 from the hilltop the path continued gently down the hillside in and out of the trees before climbing again until it rounded a corner and descended to Endeavour Inlet and my first overnight stop at a little backpackers nestled into a very quiet corner by the bay, about 15km from the start. Day 2 was the shortest day and an easy flattish walk largely traversing the hillside as we followed the inlet. Where the foliage was thickest it was certainly very wet and muddy underfoot but the glimpses through to the beautiful aquamarine sea more than compensated. Crossing the foreshore when the path reached the water again I had to collect my bag from Noeline's wharf before lugging it the steep narrow, slightly overgrown path to my homestay for the night. Noeline is a slightly eccentric lady in her 80's who lives alone in her somewhat isolated house which has no road access at the moment (she is in a long-running dispute with her neighbour which I think she is secretly enjoying) and takes in trampers overnight as they walk the track. To be met with a pot of tea and freshly baked scones was a real treat and very welcome even if had been a short day's walking (12km). Two other couples arrived later in the day and we were all duly regaled with lots of stories and tales of her aches and pains throughout the evening. Give her due credit though, she is still fiercely independant and uses the money she takes in from the homestay to go travelling for 9-10 weeks every year around June, staying in hostels or homestays as she has little time for hotels! So far she has visited 76 different countries and this year she is planning Malawi! Leaving Noeline's it was an uphill walk to rejoin the track proper, then further climbing up Kenepuru Saddle until finally being rewarded with fantastic views down the Kenepuru Sound. Lush, fertile looking green fields dotted with bales and a few cattle lay in the wide valley between the hills and led down to the blue waters and mussel farms at the head of the Sound. It was a real contrast with the steep sided narrow forrested valleys of the past couple of days. On the other side of the saddle the early morning light gave a lovely silhouetted, slightly hazy look to the land jutting in and out of the QC Sound. The track continued to wind and climb its way up and along the ridge, bellbirds and tuis singing melodically and toadstools lining the path. By the time I reached the Bay of Many Coves shelter I was very grateful of the respite from the hot sun and the seat to get my breath back before continuing the climb to the crest of the hill where the path finally levelled out before twisting along the ridge then began its descent. Rounding one corner I could look right across the sound to Waikawa Bay and a little further on to Picton but fierce gusts of wind from which I'd previously been sheltered nearly blew me off the track so I didn't linger. Fortunately we were soon back into the manuka and wild flowers which provided shelter then entered the cooler, damper, moss clad banks which led down towards Torea bay where after 24 long km I stepped of the track and walked my final 15minutes for the day down to my backpackers in Portage bay. Needless to say I spent a quiet and restful evening with my feet up! Although it was a slightly shorter walk for the final day (c21km), I was concious of the need to get to Anakaiwa in time to connect with the boat back to Picton. Pressing on uphill for the first part of the day I was happy when the track started to drop again and began to reward us with lovely view of one little turquoise cloured bay after another. Finally arriving back at the water's edge at the very pretty Davies Bay. A little stream trickled out through the ferns behind it across the sandy beach and into the green-blue sea where people were waterskiing and the like. Just another couple of km along the shore and I had made it with plenty of time to spare. There was an ideally placed bench in a bit of shade next to the ice cream cabin so no prizes for guessing how I spent most of the time until the boat came to transport all us weary walkers back to Picton!
Managing to wrestle free from the charms of Picton I travelled west to the port town of Nelson for a few nights. It was a pleasant enough place to spend a couple of night: browsing and sampling at the weekend produce and craft market, cycling to the beach and aimlessly wandering some of the pretty parks and gardens. At the botanic reserve I followed a path that wound and wound its way up a hill until it reached the monument at the top which marks the centrepoint of New Zealand. Speaking to some locals they told me it was actually about 12km out from the true centre, but when you've travelled thousands of kilometres to get there I reckon that's a mere footstep away and so close enough in my book! Moving on again I travelled to Motueka next. It's a little rural town on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park in the north-west of the island. I passed close by Upper Mouter, where Kerry and Brian Budge live, on my way there, but they were away at the time which is a shame as it would have been nice to see them again. There was some lovely walking to do around Motueka. The shoreline has a bird reserve and is visited by many species but is of particular importance for Variable Oystercatchers and Banded Dotterels which nest there. Not being familiar with either variety I wasn't exactly sure what to look out for, but once I saw the oystercatchers they were very recognisable with their shiny black coat and orange beak and eye. I'm still not sure where the variable bit comes in though as they appeared to be one colour only, and I don't think I saw any dotterels, banded or otherwise! It was a nice place to walk however with the salty sea air, soft winds and colourful flowers and plants lining the paths. It was from Motueka that I managed a trip into the national park itself to spend a day kayaking and tramping. Joining a small group we were transported by bus to Marahau where we were kitted out with bouyancy aids, spray decks and the like and loaded into a water taxi for transfer to Onetahuti Beach to start our paddle. Marahau, like most of the Abel Tasman coast, has a huge tidal variance, rising about 5metres from low to high tide over wide flat sandy bays. With the tide quickly coming in our boats were towed on their trailers by little tractors down the boat ramp and across the flats into the water. We were then reversed in a little deeper yet and released from the trailer mountings, the tractor speedily making its way to dry land again before becoming submerged. Once safely afloat we sped off up the coast to meet up with our kayaks. Paired up into two-man boats I was with a big Irishman called Derek and as we paddled off we realised our kayak listed a bit alarmingly to the left. The guide noticed it too, but said there wasn't anything he could do about it so we just had to lean a bit more to the other side to level it out a little! It was a wee bit disconcerting but we survived the trip without capsizing, despite a couple of shaky moments as we were rocked by the bowwave from passing boats. We paddled out to and around Tonga Island. It is part of the marine reserve so we had to stay at least 20metres away from its shore but we were still able to get fantastic views of the many Fur Seals which make the rocky outcrop their home. There wer big males, mothers and cubs all lounging on the rocks or diving and frolicking in the water. It was super to watch and to listen to them as they called out loudly. As we rounded the island we spotted some little blue penguins and shoals of fish darting through the shallower water. As the morning went on the rain we'd had at the start of the day cleared and as the blue sky reappeared so did the great scenery. Tree clad hills covering the rocky cliffs and bluffs along our route. Rounding one little promontary we paddled into the lovely and peaceful Mosquito bay. We paused in the green sandy shallows enjoying the lushness of the surrounds and the tranquility. Thankfully however, as I don't expect it got its name for nothing, we moved on again to the next bay, Bark bay, for lunch and had to paddle as fast as we could directly at the sands in order to get our boats as high out of the tides reach as we could manage. I had visions at one point of the boat's nose sticking fast into the dunes catapulting us out the kayaks, but no, we came to a gentle rest and were able to climb out normally! After a picnic lunch we left the kayaks behind and set off to walk the coastal track back to Torrent bay. Although much drier underfoot than the QCT had been it was just as rocky and the scenery too was similar with ferns, palm and manuka woodland and the glimpses of the stunning blue green seas, but there were more golden sandy beaches and bays along the way. I reached Torrent bay much more quickly than I anticipated but enjoyed the additional time at the beach with wide flat sandy shallows. I was able to paddle around a bit but it was really to shallow to swim, particularly with the tide racing out as quickly as it did. When our water taxis arrived we had to wade out to meet and board them, the drivers having to keep pushing them further out as we did so in order to ensure they stayed afloat and didn't ground. Once everyone was safely aboard we raced off back down the coast to Marahau again. Reaching there we chugged gently onto a waiting tractor and trailer before being hauled ashore and off along the road to the taxi company's base and transferred back to a bus for the return to Motueka. It was a great day out and a real mixture of transportation one way or another.
When the time came to leave the North-west I headed back, retracing my route for a while before turning south down the eastern side of the island to Christchurch. It was quite a long bus ride but as ever it was great to enjoy seeing the different landscapes we passed through on the way. There were the steep pine forests between Nelson and Picton, the wineries to Blenheim, then the sunburnt grass hills to the coast. The highway south then twists and turns alongside black sand and steep rocky faces. The sand was so black in places it was incredible. What I'd thought of as the famous black sand before was nothing compared to this, whereas the other stuff had many black particles within the tan coloured grains this was undoubtedly black. The white waves crashing in in were a stark contrast when the hit the rocky and sandy shoreline. The coastal highway reminded me a bit of the North Sutherland section of the A9 in some respects: the road hugging the rocky shore with the rail-line running on first one side of the road then the other, and the cliffs looming over the road giving it a kind of enclosed feeling. Leaving the coast it was up and over more hills before descending into Christchurch.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Christchurch, and it has some very pretty walks particularly along the side of the gentle River Avon which cuts through the centre of the city, and the fantastic botanic gardens, but I think it is the area surrounding the city and its harbour towns which would appeal to me more. I did my usual wandering round the city doing a bit of window shopping here and there and sat in some of the little parks enjoying people watching and being entertained by lots of little birds and having a browse round the local markets (enjoying free samples of delicious local fudge along the way), but the best attraction for me was the Antartic Centre. It was a fantastic place to spend some time. Fist up I went round to a penguin section where some little blue penguins and a white flippered penugin are kept. They are sick or injured birds which couldn't be released into the wild so live and are looked after at the centre. They're fed 3 times a day and I arrived just in time for the "breakfast" feed. Some are fed in the water and have to swim for their food but those unable to swim are allowed to eat on-shore. Several of the birds are beginning to moult so are fasting just now, having previously gorged themselves to really bulk up in readiness for the three weeks or so when they lose their waterproofness and therefore can't swim or feed when in the wild. One or two of the birds also had little blue boots on to protect their feet: normally most time is spent in the water so their feet aren't particularly tough. So, when confined to land they tend to suffer from cuts and abrasions etc. The boots alleviate that problem for them. The blue penguins have really become a bit of a mascot for my antipodean adventures. I'm seeing them in different places so frequently now, but they are such adoreable little things - its lovely. from the penguins I had a look round the main antactica exhibition which had displays of sattelites, rocks, facts and figures about the continent's climate, information about those who live and work there, snow sleds, camp equipment, trek rations, wildlife and marine animal information and so on. It was really informative and interesting for my point of view given my fascination with the continent. The movie theatre was next complete with a showing of photographic images- still and moving- with suitably mellow or dramatic music to suit the occasion. Then there was the windchill room. Donning rubber overshoes and a big thick jacket I entered the chill room, complete with manufactured snow and ice, an ice slide for the kids, and an ambient temperature of minus 8degrees Celcius. Then the storm brewed and we got blasted by a strong 40kmh icy wind taking the temperature down to minus 18.6 degrees. It was certainly icy cold right enough, and took me straight back to John and I fighting our way back to the motel in Chuchill - although at least I wasn't wearing 3/4 length thin trousers then! Funnily enough when it started to "warm up" again I noticed a distinct point at -10 when it suddenly felt much more bearable than even just a degree or so less. Leaving the room my glasses misted up so quickly I was grateful for the heated hand rail to hang onto while I took off the shoes and jacket meaning I didn't have to hop about doing it on one foot and half blinded! Finally it was outside and off for a ride in the Hagglund - an all terain amphibious vehicle commonly used in antarctica. It had a lead 'tractor' and a carriage behind but I was lucky(?!) enough to be in the very front seat next to the driver. We had to wear seatbelts and headphones and raced off to some wate ground where we were up and down a couple of very steep hills, traversed the sides at an alarming angle, crossed a man-made cravasse then raced up yet another very steep hill, across a plateau and straight down the other side into a 3 metre deep pool of water to demonstrate its amphibious qualities. The whole thing lasted just about 10-15 minutes but it was thrillingly scary! Seeing nothing but clouds one moment, then staring straight into the rapidly approaching ground or water the next. Fraser, you would have loved it, and I kind of did but it was scary at the same time but a great end to a great visitor attraction.
Leaving Christchurch behind I was back on the rails again as I boarded the Tranzalpine train to cross some of the southern alps, stopping off in Arthur's Pass for a couple of nights, before arriving at Greymouth on the West Coast. I'd heard so many about the fantastic views from the train that I guess I'd built it up in my head to me picturesque from start to finish. It was nice but not so amazing as I'd imagined. The first hour or so took us through the outskirts of Christchurch and across the flat Canterbury Plains. The land there was very much farming country with lots of sheep, some cattle, hay (including little stooks which was nice to see) and a lot of horses - it's a big horse breeding, training and racing area. Then we started to climb up past deep ravines with bright blue clear rivers with stone clad bottoms. Gradually hillsides became more sparsely grasssed and mountains more barren. It reminded me a lot of the north line around the Drumochter/Dalwhinnie area. My train was really busy and the observation car pretty small so your views were pretty much limited to whichever side you were on. I was on the right hand side and I suspect some of the best views would have come on the left, but I enjoyed what I did see, and rolling in to Arthur's Pass I could tell I'd get some nice walking over the next day or so. For the first day I confined my walks to some of the short trails around the village. (I say village but that's maybe stretching the point a little! Hamlet perhaps.) Walking up a track to the Devil's Punchbowl Falls it crossed over the river and wound its way up through the trees to a lookout point. There was a narrow but forceful torrent of water about 130metres high with a bit of a break before a second smaller fall and then it raced bubbling down the hillside over all the rocks and boulders. It was really nice seeing proper waterfalls again. On my way back down the hillside a possum was somewhat dozily snuffling about at the side of the track - the first one I've seen despite there apparently being hundreds of thousands of them in NZ and the scourge of the country! I also heard lots of the bell birds which are becoming a bit of a signature soundtrack to my NZ travels, but they are so blooming well camouflaged they're difficult to actually spot, and every time I do take any photos of them it just turns out as a dark spot in the foliage that I'll never notice in time to come when I look back at all my pictures. Its becoming a bit of a quest of mine to get a decent photo of a bell-bird before I leave this country! Anyway, the next morning I woke to a lovely clear blue sky so I set out to walk Scott's track up Avalanche Peak which . It was pretty stoney and very steep from the outset. The rough path climbed up quickly zig-zagging the hillside through lots of bushes and trees. There were good views down the valley in both directions and across to the Punchbowl Falls where I'd been the day before. As well as rocky and uneven the path was also pretty wet in parts, sometimes it even tracked up through a little spring and was narrow with big steps up over boulders or tree roots - especialyy for people with little legs! Little birds darting around and singing a lovely chorus gave be plenty of excuse to stop regularly and get my breath back. By the time I got a bit further up the alpine views were terrific: little pockets of snow sitting in the corries of the mountains which in themselves were sharply outlined against the blue sky. Periodically wispy cloud would blow past the tops draping the summits for a short time before moving on again. looking down the valley the road far below snaked along the floor with just a few cars and trucks to be seen and looking more like bugs in the distance than vehicles on a road. The path began to come out into the open again as the trees began to thin out and as it did the breeze got a bit stronger. With long sheer drops to the sides, the wind and the shifting stones underfoot I began to feel a bit exposed up there on my own. I knew I was passed 1300metres as I'd cleared the treeline so rather than continuing up to the summit at 1833m I sat ant enjoyed the scenery for a while then started to head back down again. The grey tops were so dramatic looking compared with the greenery at lower levels. Going down, though, was harder than going up. I had to move pretty gingerly on the rubble, however I did make it safe and sound in the end. Definitely not a strollers walk however! Strolling around Arthur's pass villagevillage though was nice, listening to the bellbirds and being amazed at the determination of the Keas (a native green and red parrot type bird) who were driving the campers demented by attacking their tents , stealing their stuff and even pulling at tent zips! It was quite funny watching in the knowledge I had the hostel to retire to at night but I reckon if I'd been camping I might have been having Kea stew for tea!!
When it came to catching the train on to Greymouth the next day I began to appreciate why there is so little travel by train in NZ. It was about 45 minutes late in arriving at AP and then we managed to lose another hour on the onward journey which should have taken only a couple of hours as it was. Fortunately after clearing the 8.5km long Otira tunnel through the mountains there were several nice views to be had as we crossed a number of little rivers with lovely wildflowers along the banks. Once we reached Greymouth I went along to the local brewery, Mentieths, and joined one of their tours. Although the brewery was the original headquarters of the firm most production is now done in Auckland where it has much bigger premises. It was fine to have a look round the place and then it was on to the tastings. That took about twice as long as the tour of the buildings had done because we had generous samples of all seven of their current range of beers to try. Once we worked our way through them we were invited to go and pull ourselves a glass of our favourite at the little bar. I plumped for the Summer Ale which is lightly spiced with honey and ginger and is really refreshing. (And I can now add barmaid to the list of work-experience on my CV!) Before leaving Greymouth I took some time to walk all along the town's floodwall round the river and lagoon to the harbour entrance enjoying the mix of water features and the different wildlife that frequented the different areas. Once I'd exhausted the attractions of the town it was time to head up the coast to the hostel where I'd organised a couple of weeks work in exchange for bed and board. Having to work set hours again seemed a bit of a strange concept but I was kind of looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how I'd get on ...
