Solo Travel Adventure Number 1!: November 2014

29th November - Whitianga day 3
Having returned the car today I returned to Shank's pony and explored the town and local area. Being a mid-summer weekend there was a airplane/flying festival, a diving extravaganza and a Thunder Beach (motorbike) rally, here as well as the Saturday market.

I decided to take the 4 minute ferry ride across the estuary and explore the bush on the other side as there is a high rocky outcrop which the Maori used for defence purposes many years ago and I thought would give me a good view over the town.

View from one jetty to the other - a very short ride indeed!

The walk turned out to be more of a scramble .... but well worth it as the view was all I could ask for.

28th Whitianga - day 2
Day two with the car and the weather has changed ... but not for long. We elected to drive along Route 309 ... named because it used to take a horse and cart 3 hours and 9 minutes to travel its 25km. Along the way we stopped at an unusual cafe, a kauri tree grove and of course, a waterfall ...

Yes, I drove this road!

It was made from gravel in places and had some very interesting cambers!

After this we drove on to Coromandel town and I decided to try a local delicacy .. Paua fritters, made from the creature which lives inside those beautiful coloured shells which are available in all the local shops: an interesting experience as they are black and not at all appetizing to look at! From here we continued on to Driving Creek railway and Pottery. This narrow gauge rail system was built, over many years, by hand by Billie Brickell initially so that he could more easily fetch the clay form which he makes his pottery. These days the round trip takes an hour and is great fun as well as being an incredible feat of engineering.

View from the top towards Auckland

One of the precarious places where the train just stops and reverses

Hand built by one man!

Mr Billie Bickell himself now aged 79.

27th - Whitianga
Before I go any further I really must list the animals which I have seen farmed here in New Zealand as I have been quite surprised by the diversity: beef cattle, dairy cows, calves for veal, sheep for meat, sheep for wool, goats for meat, deer for hunting, deer for eating, turkeys and bees ... lots of bee hives as Manuka honey is very popular ... the bees feed on the Manuka tree which is a type of Tea Tree I think!
Anyway back to Whitianga where, having initially booked for two nights, I have decided to stay for five.

Looking east as the sun set behind me

looking west at the actual sunset!

I have met some really lovely people - 2 Swedish ladies who are great fun and a Scots lass who is up for anything and a great navigator, but more of that later! As this town is not serviced by local buses we decided to band together and hire a car for 2 days with me as nominated driver! On the first day we visited New Chums Beach which is listed as one of the top 20 in the world, by some magazines:

My new chums on New Chums Beach - Yvonne, Ingela, Christina

The next beach was called hot Water Beach because at low tide you can dig in the sand and find hot water in which to lounge! A popular thing to do and so the beach was quite crowded at the spots where the hot water was available ... and in places it was extremely hot indeed!

From here we drove a little further and then walked for about half an hour down to Cathedral Cove ... another stunning beach!

26th November - Waitomo
Whilst staying in Hamilton I decided to visit the glow worm caves in Waitomo: unfortunately you cannot take pictures but I did cheat and photograph the postcards I bought! The caves were stunning and yet again I was treated to the company of a most interesting local!

Bill is the shuttle bus driver who went out of his way to show me how kiwi fruit grow and then, as I was the only passenger on the bus, the return journey took us via a motel run by a local character called Billie Black .. if you Google unique accommodation in Waitomo .... http://woodlynpark.co.nz .... you will find his motel and see how he has created rooms from a plane, a boat and a train! He is off to Las Vegas next week to talk to some TV bosses about taking his unique show over there! A Kiwi Crocodile Dundee whom I was lucky enough to meet!

As I am moving on to Australia next week I have had to decide where I am going to go when my visa for that country runs out next March! I have therefore booked a flight to Phnom Penh and will stay there for 3 weeks before heading to Bali where I will stay for a month and hope to enjoy a visit from some close friends as well as my beautiful daughters.

24th November - moving on
I can't believe that it is over a week since I was last seated at a computer trying to update this page! I have been acutely aware that I will be leaving New Zealand on Dec 3rd and have had to start making my way northwards back to Auckland for my flight. After leaving Punikaiki I travelled to Nelson by Intercity bus once again. Here i hired a car in order to get out of the city and try to locate an old friend of a friend. Sadly I did not manage it, but did manage to have a picnic in a beautiful lakeside spot. The following day, my shoulder was playing up and so I went to see an osteopath who helped a great deal: she also pointed out that New Zealand gets to serve Beaujolais Nouveau before any other country in the world - so I could not resist and actually enjoyed it!

After Nelson I took a most enjoyable bus ride to Picton and from there the Interislander ferry to Wellington once more. The journey was made particularly enjoyable by the company of a 'new-friend' : Paul went on, unknown to me at the time, to buy me a pendant made of the locally famous green stone as it would be bad luck for me to buy one for myself. This was just one example of the generous spirit and open heartedness of the Kiwi people whom I have met.

Wellington was as windy as ever ... seriously horizontal gusts! From here I moved up to Whanganui where a Christmas parade was being held as I walked form the bus station to my hostel: it did seem strange I can tell you! The hostel was lovely and I had the dorm to myself on the first night.

On the second day I took an underground elevator (yes it went up through the middle of a hill!) and then climbed a tower to get a view over the town ... well worth it and the sun shone too which was great. I walked all the way down and counted 361 steps!

The 260m tunnel into the hill to catch the elevator

View from the top of the tower

Sunsets over the Tasman Sea

November 16th - Punakaiki
This small area has become my firm favourite in the last few days. I stayed in another hostel, but this one is run more like a Retreat ... no locks on doors, no TV, home made muffins and bread every morning and the friendliest people you could hope for with rooms and bungalows set in the middle of the rain-forest and yet only 8 minutes walk to the beach. The huge waves, crash relentlessly onto the cliffs and coves of this stretch of coastline and have carved out an array of interesting rock structures - caves, blowholes, arches etc. The sunsets stole my heart and I hope never to forget the incredible roar of the ocean hear. Once again the pictures really do not do it justice, as these waves are of an incredible size!

The path to the beach ... yes the PATH!!

To give some idea of size, a person would appear as a matchstick on top of that cliff.

November 14th - Franz Josef
The weather on the west of New Zealand's south island is the wettest that they have and the scenery is dominated by huge mountains and vast areas of rainforest.: beautiful!

Walking through rainforest ... in the sunshine

So lush and so green!


The glacier has retreated and now the valley is					lined with high waterfalls

As the glacier melts, huge boulders are left behind

An ice arch in the valley floor

A suspension bridge - the previous one was washed away when a sudden ice fall from the glacier at the head of the valley, caused a huge surge of water.

In the rainforest.

Part of the front of the huge glacier - can you spot the helicopter?

Where the glacier ends, the melting water forms a river: grey/blue in colour because of the rock powder whcih is held in the water.

So hard to give a sense of perspective ... this glacier is vast!

Mossy rocks in the rainforest!

November 13th - Wanaka
Moving inland I stayed for 2 nights in this quiet and picturesque, lake-side town. As the weather was pretty cold and damp I decided to go to the local cinema which had a reputation for being 'quirky'! It certainly was: I was able to order hot food and drink from the bar and this was then delivered to my seat just before the film started. I settled down on a settee to watch the film, although I could have taken a seat in a Morris Minor and pretended that I was in a drive-in movie! During the intermission I was able to order more food and drink making the whole experience great fun and very relaxed indeed!

November 10th - around Queenstown
Today was a domestic day ... well the chores still have to be done you know: the laundry and a haircut were both overdue! However, I also found the time to go on the Gondola (we call it a cable car) which rises almost silently above the town to give a fabulous view over area. At the top there are all sorts of activities: bungy-jumping, paragliding and luging (a bit like a go-cart)as well as a pleasant cafe with great views. I felt relatively brave so had a go at the go-cart, which was quite an experience at that height as you can imagine!

Queenstown

Driving / riding a luge!

Queenstown in the home of Bungy-jumping

Looking down at the other cable cars! Some carry bikes to the top!

November 9th- Milford Sound
Set in Fjordland on the westcoast, this trip had been highly recommended and despite the long bus ride and low cloud, it was indeed spectacular and I am so glad that I went to see yet another side of New Zealand's geography!

Mirror lakes on the way to Milford Sound

Ditto!

Unfortunately the only way to the Sound is via this tunnel!

A deep chasm with roaring water falls - very hard to capture!

A full sized tree which has become stuck above the torrent.

A hanging valley created by glacial action

The boats give an idea of how huge these fjords are.

That is a penguin - blurred yes, but still a wild penguin!

The wind was blowing this waterfall in all directions.

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November 8th - Queenstown and rafting
This town feels like no other so far, as it has developed into a sort of Playground for adults over the last 20 years. Bungy Jumping was invented here in the 1980's and today, well if involves heights, water, flying, speed or being scared, you can find it here! I decided that I was just about brave enough to try white water rafting on the Shotover River: unfortunately I couldn't take my camera so you will just have to look it up on Google if you want to see the rapids (some of which are Grade 4-5), however, the road to get to our start point really has to be Googled! It's called Skipper's Canyon and is described as the 13th most dangerous road in the world - talk about 'Mind the edge!' ... at one point the wheel of the bus had to hang off the edge of the track so that the trailer full of rafts could navigate a bend: there are no retaining walls and the drop is some 500ft straight down to the river. I was pretty relieved to know that we were making the return journey by river and not by road - even if it did involve rapids and a 170m tunnel!

November 6th - The Dark Sky Reserve
Decided to stop off at Tekapo and have a night in New Zealand's official Dark Sky Reserve: because of its location, (far away from cities, in a basin surrounded by mountains making it clear skied and dry) there is an observatory here on top of Mount John. In the afternoon I walked up to the observatory and was rewarded with a delicious lunch at the Astro Cafe - much needed after a tramp up the pretty steep hill! Then after sunset I went for a guided tour of the same: very interesting and we had the chance to look through a variety of telescopes - Mars, the Jewel Box, the Southern Cross and the International Space Station were all in evidence. It was a chilly night and so we wore jackets from the South Pole and were given red-light torches as white light is prohibited from the area. Unfortunately the moon was full and bright, so it was impossible to see many stars because it was creating so much light pollution than -however the snow topped mountains were beautifully bathed in sliver light and shadows.

Lupins on the beach

The Observatory on Mt John

View from Mt John

Yes, this is the moon!!

The Observatory by moonlight

Stunning silver moonlight

A monument has been erected to honour the work
of the Collie dog, in helping farmers work this vast land

The Church of the Good Shepherd - simple and in a
stunning location - God's glory exemplified!

November 4th & 5th - Around Christchurch
Before I go any further I have to admit to enjoying several luxuries in the last few days ... all thanks to my thoughtful hosts: a huge, hot bath; home made meals; soft snuggly towels; a choice of pillows (I chose the feather!) and lots of good company, laughter and stimulating conversation.
The last two days have seen a mixture of grey, wet, cold weather and some sunny, much warmer moments - variable indeed. Yesterday I visited the International Antarctic Centre where I endured an arctic storm (briefly), rode in a Hagglund all terrain vehicle over an obstacle course, watched a 4D film (chairs moved and you got splashed with water at appropriate moments) and watched some rescue penguins being fed. We have also seen a shopping Mall made entirely of shipping containers, which is moved around the city as areas are re-developed; witnessed how the same containers are used to ensure that more rocks do not fall from cliffs onto highways; visited the new 'cardboard' cathedral; had a picnic in the main park and taken a drive along the Banks Peninsular which allowed for some stunning scenery to be enjoyed. I have been well and truly spoiled during my time here and am extremely grateful to the Blyleven family for their wonderful hospitality: hope one day I am able to repay your kindnesses!

In the Arctic blizzard ... my nose was numb for hours afterwards!

Re-Start shipping container shopping mall!

November 3rd - Christchurch, the city

The tranquil beauty of Kaikoura was left behind and after 3 hours I arrived in Christchurch to spend a few days with a friend's cousin ... lovely family and so kind to have a total stranger to stay! I wandered around the International Antarctic Centre for a few hours and will write more of that later. However my most powerful memory of today has been formed by just walking around the city for a couple of hours with Jenni: the progress made since the earthquakes of 2011/2012 seems minimal, however when you consider that the vast majority of pipes were fractured, buildings were shaken, roads were uplifted, bridges destroyed and people traumatised, then you can see that progress is indeed being made. Today there are still some buildings standing, but around every corner, along every street, on every block there are vast swathes of nothing - demolition sites and boarded up buildings which are unsafe for use although appearing to be intact. It is so hard to describe, but it does leave a lasting impression and I sincerely hope that I never again see a city which has been so reduced and so broken.