I have found one of the only sunny places in New Zealand. It has been snowing and raining all over the south island for the last week but I have been hiding in the golden bay and Nelson area. My last entry was from Karamea, the end of the road on the west coast. My plan was to stay in Westport to learn how to make pies at a really good pie shop. When I got there my friend was not working and the weather was getting worse so i made the decision to push on to Nelson. I made it as far as Murchison before I decided to stop for the night because there was a storm bearing down on me. I ponied up for a single room instead of a campsite, and I am very glad that I did. That night it rained like crazy. The storm was so bad that it flooded part of the town and would have made my campsite a shallow pond. My plan for stopping there was to hike and fish the Nelson Lakes for a while but that was shot due to rain and snow on some of the higher passes. As always when plans change I just have to roll with the punches. Again, when I was very close to Nelson the weather shifted. I had been out running a storm cell but it had almost caught up with me when I found shelter at a local shopping mall. I made sure I was parked in a place where the wind would not damage my van and ducked into the mall. I had not been to a shopping mall for years. It was fun to walk around, window shop and people watch. After all that excitement at the mall I found a cafe to finish waiting out the storm. Finally it lightened up and I returned to my van. I am glad I parked where I did because the wind blew some metal signs off of buildings and caused minor damage around town.
Nelson is a hippy dippy little downtown area. Lots of bead and spiritual shops. There was not much to do in town so I got my oil changed and hiked to the geographical center of New Zealand. The next morning I decided to drive up to Motueka and beyond. I ended up in Takaka, a much smaller town with the same bead and spiritual shops. The weather was incredible! Clear skies, breezy, and warmish. True, some of the passes had snow on the side of the road but the roads were good. I found a campsite north of Takaka and settled in. The place was a holiday park way off the road and completely empty. I got there on a friday night and payed for 3 nights because the place was closing for the winter on monday morning. I had the whole beachside campground all to myself. I spent the next few days exploring all of the golden bay. I drove up to Farewell Spit, New Zealand's longest sand spit. This is a land formation like a peninsula but it is formed by drifting sand from the ocean current that sweeps north along the west coast. you are not allowed on the spit unless you are with a guided tour. Those tours were all shutdown for the winter. I hiked as far as I could but the best was the view with binoculars from a lookout point. Some of the exposed areas were terribly windy so I could not go on a few hikes. With winter coming, most places close for a few months. This ment there was not much to do. One place that had been suggested to me was the Pupu springs. This is a large spring that floes out of the ground with much force. It is the worlds clearest spring, and Australasia's largest. The walk out to the spring is a mellow stroll. At one point you follow a wide river until you reach the source. All of a sudden the river stops and you can see 3 areas of upwelling. It was the clearest blue color I have seen on land. Unfortunately I was not allowed to even touch the water because it was protected by DOC and it is sacred to the local Maori tribes. Another suggested place was Cobb Valley and Reservoir. I had heard of this place from a few DOC folk so I decided to go there and hike. It is a secluded valley with many hikes and huts to explore and fishing in the lake. I geared up and headed out. It was a clear sunny day but I was still warned that there could be ice and snow on the road that might make it difficult if not impossible to drive in my 2 wheel drive van. I gave it a shot anyway. The road is sealed half way up to the pass, then it is a narrow, steep, gravel road the top of the pass. It was an hour long white knuckle, lip bitting drive up the road. Even before I got to the top I got rain. By the time I got to the top it was howling wind and snow turning to sleet. Below the road wound to to lake that had whitecaps on the surface from the wind. I stood in a small shelter and thought things over. My eye caught on the writing on the walls of the shelter. There were many "Zeabo was here 2/5/11" but one helped me make up my mind. I don't remember the exact words, but it was from 2 female hikers that got snowed into the valley for two days before they hiked up to that shelter and had to spend 2 more days waiting out a storm before they could get help. At that I turned around and went back. My next stop was a DOC campsite on the north end of the Able Tasman Park. I would not do the Great walk but there were other great hikes out that way. Surprise, Surprise, the road has been washed out and wont be open for 2 months. So again I turned back.
My plan was to head back to Motueka, and for once it worked out. I did however take one side trip to see a large sinkhole called Harwoods Hole. This formation meets up with another cave system and can be done with gear and a guide. I had neither but I wanted to see/do at least one wild thing. The "wild" thing was the drive to get to the trail. It was at the top of the Takaka pass on a dirt road that had patches of ice and snow in some sections. The hike was a good 30 min on an easy path through a beech forest. There were icy ponds that were sinkholes filled with water, and dry sinkholes that had birds living in it. I did not go near the big hole but instead followed a route to an overlook. even though I could not get a clear view of the hole I got to see a valley from a peculiar rock formation known as karst. Karst is a limestone formation that makes up many cave and weathers from water in cool patterns. This particular area had been exposed to rain so it weathered to have sharp, razor like tops. It was tough going to hike but slow and steady leads to a safe return. Down the side of the hill and now I am in Motueka. I will stay around here and head to Nelson soon.
It is getting real cold here. Frost every night and cold as soon as the sun goes down. I am staying warm though. I have never really lived in a place that has a winter so this is a new experience. I send my love to you all. Its still fun out here so if anybody wants to come on down please do. I hate all sports! with the exception of the LA Kings, every team I cared about has let me down this year. So watch and enjoy baseball for me. Thanks again for reading. Its hard to make some of the things I do sound interesting but you guys make it easy to try. Have a great week and enjoy the summer for me. Peace Love and Pura Vida
