NZ - The South Island

THE SOUTH ISLAND

Abel Tasman Coast Track is a 51 km long walking track with provided facilities like huts, drinking water and camping areas along the way. You can spend multiple day trips in the National park which is looked after by the DOC (Department of Conservation). I decided to have a 2 days trip and started with a kayak trip from Kaiteriteri to Watering cove, it took about 3 hours as we stopped at a couple of islands to see the seals and catch their attention. Before I set off for the walking part of the trip my guide created a cappuccino with frothed milk for me on the beach which was very impressive!
The walk went along the beach via Anchorage Pitt head, Torrent Bay to Bark Bay which I’ve reached before sunset and stayed in a DOC hut for the night.
The next morning I didn’t have to cover many km’s but due to the low tide you’ll need to leave no later than 7.30am for the low tide to cross to the Tonga Quarry otherwise it would be a swim or wait till the next low tide in the afternoon. After the crossing it only took 1 hr to Awaroa where I would catch the water-taxi at 13.30 so I had to wait a couple hours at this deserted beach. Unfortunately, I didn’t know beforehand that I’ve easily could have walked all the way to Totaranui the same day but that means that you’ll have to cross the Tonga Quarry also before 7.30am which means getting up at 4.30 am to reach this…

Cappuccino break

Torrent Bay

Bark Bay by sunset

A couple of days later I rented a car and drove to the Golden Bay, first I had to drive the winding mountain road to get to the other side. My first stop was at Ligar Bay/Tata Beach where I explored the beach and forest at Pohara. After lunch I drove to the Pupu Hydro Walk during my 1,5 hrs walk I didn’t see anyone else as this is quite a remote area especially in the winter. Now it was time to drive to my hostel for the night which was based in a lovely old cottage in Pakawau, the only other visitors were two Malaysians so we had a cosy night in the living room with a fire to keep us warm.
The next morning I drove to Wharariki beach for a walk with many rock formations and some baby seals in a nearby pond. Next on my itinerary was a walk on the sand spit of Cape Farewell nature reserve which I started from Fossil point till roughly half way and came back via the other side which was the windy side of the spit. On the way back to Motueka, I visited Tartaka which has a high creative and artistic level and lots of local farmers markets in the summer.

 A well deserved rest

Cape Farewell

Fossil Point

While staying in the most Northern part of the South Island I was very lucky to visit Jill and her gang in Motueka. Jill, Ross and their lovely daughters Izzy & Phoebe moved to New Zealand six years ago from The UK and settled in very well into the Oz lifestyle.
They made me feel very welcome and offered me their sleep-out in their garden, we enjoyed visits to the park, a horror night out in Nelson (only Jill and me), made (sand) apple pies at Split Apple beach and stayed a night at the friends farm.  After that week I completely understand why they moved there and love the lifestyle so much as I could see myself doing the same.

Phoebe and Izzy

Horror night

Jill, Ross and the girls

When I left Jill and the gang I re-joined the Kiwi experience for the West coast part of my South Island trip.
Via Murchison which is famous of its ice-creams we drove down the Buller Gorge which gives you amazing views of The South Islands longest and most scenic drives. I stayed that night in Westport, this town has a long history of coal mining from the early 1900’s. To have some exercise after the long bus ride I had a walk from Cape Foulwind to the Tauranga Bay along the edge of the breakwater and enjoyed the sunset which is very beautiful.
The next day our destination was Lake Mahinapua via the the famous Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and blowholes which were still impressive with clouds and some rain. The rocks are a series of stratified limestone stacks which over many 1000’s of years have been eroded to resemble the neatly stacked pancakes. Via Greymounth – a town with a 12,000 population which is only worth the visit for some shopping or catch the train for the Transalpine crossing in my view. We continued our trip to Lake Mahinapua; it was too cold to swim in the lake or sea but I sat at the lake followed by a bonfire and sunset on the beach. Next time I won’t forget the marshmallows as that was what missing at the bonfire.
That evening it was time for the famous Kiwi Experience themed party, I dresses up as an Angel but didn’t win the price which was a bungy jump in Queenstown – what a shame-!
With a bus full of hangovers we left the next morning for Franz Jozef glacier village but stopped off at the Bushman’s centre which offers an insight into how people make a living on the coast through timber-milling, possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery. The place is run by a quite eccentric couple who clearly like to educate you and ‘share’ their opinion in half an hour at their establishment/museum. During his welcome chat it was made very clear that you’re not allowed to take your own food or water into their place or use the toilet without paying. It doesn’t stop there as everywhere you walk there were written signs what not to do or stating their opinion. We all thought it was very funny but I’m not sure how long the Kiwi Experience will stop here for breakfast on their route.

Cape Foulwind

Punakaki pancake rocks

Another bonfire on the beach with Noel

Franz Jozef is based in Westland Tai Poutini National Park which is a glacier region with two famous ones; Fox and Franz Jozef. One of the must do’s in this area is the Ice Explorer; a helicopter takes you in 10 min to the glacier followed by a three hour exploration of the maze of ice and surroundings that forms this spectacular landscape. It was great fun and quite an easy hike on the glacier with crampons and waterproof gear. I stayed at a lovely hostel with a great restaurant and I stayed warm at one of the many fire-places provided. The Ice explorer also included a free visit to the hot pools which I used the next day and soaked my tired legs in the hot pool for a couple of hours. Franz Jozef is a European style winter sport village including après ski and shops. You can enjoy many walks with stunning views of the glaciers or just sit back and relax.

After 2 nights we left the village for Wanaka but the day started badly as five of us found out that our food or food bags were stolen from the fridge. Very annoying and childish as we already bought or prepared lunch for that day and now we were left with nothing. One of these things which happens when you’re traveling but you always hope it doesn’t happen to you!
It turned out not the best day of that week either as the weather turned so we couldn’t see the famous mirror reflection of Mount Cook on Lake Matheson too as it started to rain. The planned picnic on the beach wasn’t a success either as the wind was so strong it would blow your ham and cheese off your sandwich so we left the beach after 10 minutes for what it was. Luckily the weather wasn’t too bad so we could cross the Haast pass bridge as this is closed when snow falls. By that time we thought the driver was just exaggerating but a week later the snow did came in and a couple of Kiwi busses had to turn around and divert via
Arthur’s Pass (at least 4 hrs extra). Also the weather made world news when a Canadian couple got washed away in their rented camper van due to the rising water.
That night it was Wanaka which is a smaller version of Queenstown and very chilled with art galleries, bakeries, cafes and beautiful views of the lake. From here you can also access the ski fields of Cardrona so a great base if you prefer a more relaxed option instead of buzzing Queenstown.
For me it was back onto the bus as we were heading to Queenstown with a wild night on the cards for that evening. We had a quick stop at Puzzle world which has a challenging maze and fun illusion house, you can enjoy a drink while trying to solve all of the mind numbing puzzles on the tables.
But next was bungy jumping; we watched one of our travellers jumping off the bridge over the Kawarau river. Next the dare devils (5 girls) were keen to throw themselves off 134 metres Nevis High Wire, I was intrigued but not planning to do this. I decided to support them and was allowed to join them right till the little pod hanging over the gorge where they’ve jumped from, it was great fun and I took some pictures.  I stayed a week in Queenstown and filled my time with 2 days of skiing at Cardrona ski fields, tasted the famous fernburger, had teapot cocktails at The World bar, did some shopping, explored the surroundings with walks and watched DVD’s on the rainy day.

Lake Matheson without Mt Cook

Wanaka Lake

Ready to dive..not really

but there we go.....

Stunning views from Cardrona

Skydiving

Finally after almost 5 weeks traveling in New Zealand it was time for my skydive in Taupo. It was an amazing experience ( I only say this once in the video) and I loved every minute of it.
Strangely I was very relaxed which made it even better as I could enjoy it and not be scared.
I can only can recommend to try it at least once in your lifetime...

Here a link to see the video and a couple of pictures of my dive...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ip9lro0yijyrkpv/U30JQmp638

Whale watching

After nearly 4 weeks I was back in sea side village Kaikoura which means in Maori to eat crayfish (kai-eat and koura crayfish) and this time I was lucky that the whale watching wasn’t cancelled.
We left on a speedy boat on the fairly calm sea to hunt for Sperm Whales, I guess this time of the year you could expect 1-5 on a trip like this so I was hopeful. After our second stop the captain heard a whale nearby as he used sonar sound equipment to spot them. Not long after that our first whale appeared on the surface and already after 5 minutes he dived down into the deep sea. Usually they stay on the surface for at least 20 minutes before they dive down again and show the ‘famous’ tail shots. So that was a bit of a disappointment and we were hoping to see one again soon. The captain moved the boat a couple of times which resulted that we spotted whale number 2 who stayed with us for at least 10 minutes so that was great. Unfortunately our time was up and we had to return however tried to spot some more sea life on our way back. We went to a small island with many seals and later on we were lucky to see three Hector dolphins who swam around our boat.
All in all a nice trip but in my view not mind blowing, it was another ‘to do’ activity while traveling in New Zealand.

Yes it's a whale....

The tale shot!

Can you spot the Hector dolphin?

6 day road trip between Queenstown - Christchurch

I left on a sunny day Queenstown to my first stop Milford Sound as this is part of the World Heritage and a must see destination in New Zealand. I travelled in my ‘Juicy’ hire car along lake Wakatipu which has stunning views with the big mountains like the remarkables, Humbold and Alisia Mountains, Coronet Peak and ski area Cardrona.
It was hard to concentrate on the road with all this beauty in front of me; mountains, lakes, green hills with sheep, cows, trees in autumnal colours and now and then a house or a street which would be a tiny village. Half way the weather started to get colder and I could see clouds and rain on the horizon. I stopped off at Te Anau which is situated beside the lake bearing its name and is the second largest lake in NZ. The town is renowned as a great starting point for the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler tracks so I decided to stay here for the night. At the hostel I was told that the road to Milford was closed due to the snow and lots of fallen trees on it and this could be the case till the weekend (I was there on Wednesday). This was a big surprise for me and I was a bit taken back that my plan wouldn’t work out as I would like to but that’s just part of traveling.

The next day I travelled part of the road to Milford till I couldn’t get any further so at least I saw some of the views and stunning alpine drive along Milford Road. I stopped off at Lake Mistletoe for a walk and drove along the route 94 with some photo stops in between rain, hail and snow.
I decided that I just had to continue my road trip instead of waiting for the weather to clear for a further exploration of the Milford Sound area.
My destination for that night would be Aoraki/ Mt Cook so I started the 5 hour trip via Queenstown to this area. Again my eyes were pleasantly entertained with beautiful views of this area and if I thought I was used to the scenery I turned another mountain pass and there were more icing-sugar-like dusting of snow on top of the mountains along the Lindis Pass and I was speechless of the views I saw. The 700km Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is spectacular along with Fiordland and Westland National Parks, it has over 22 mountains in this park, the highest is the mighty Mt Cook – at 3755m, known to Maori as Aoraki (Cloud Piercer). When I passed Twizel I knew I was almost at my destination but not till I followed the winding road along Lake Tasman.

It was almost getting dark so I just wanted to reach Mount Cook village and enjoy more of it in the morning.
The following day I woke up with the view of snow covered roads, cars, Mount Wakefield and the tip of Mt Cook from my hostel room. The sun was shining so I decided to start the walk to the Hooker Valley with views of Mt Wakefield via two swing bridges until the final destination of the Terminal Lake at the bottom of the Hooker Glacier which should give you clear views of Mount Cook. However the clouds were in the way so it was a partial view of the famous mountain. (A couple of days after I’ve left in two separate accidents people died during a track on the Hooker Glacier which does make you think that nature is beautiful but can be dangerous too.)
After lunch I made my way via Twizel -for coffee with an apple cinnamon muffin- to Lake Tekapo. Most of the route is along Lake Pukaki, the blazing turquoise colour of Lake Pukaki a characteristic it shares with other regional lakes such as Lake Tekapo, this is due to sediment in the water. These sediments were created when the lake’s basin was gouged out by the glacier moving across the land’s surface, with the rock-on-rock action grinding out fine particles that ended up being suspended in the melt water. This sediment gives the water a milky quality and refracts the sunlight beaming down, hence the brilliant colour (and great for photo shots). Many times I had to stop for some Kodak moments but I feel that what my eyes saw the camera can’t copy in that tiny frame. I had many ohh and ahh moments by myself in the car and I’m still gobsmacked how beautiful and amazing this country is. I’m so pleased that I decided to have a mini road trip as I wouldn’t have experienced this with the Kiwi bus.
That evening I’d put my head to rest in Lake Tekapo with a hostel facing the lake so I was in for a treat with views of the lake at sunset and rise.
My day at Lake Tekapo had blue skies and sun so a perfect day for the Mt John summit and lakeshore hike. Part of the summit showed the wide country side and amazing lake views but when I’ve reached the summit it was the best view of the lake for sure. At the top there is a coffee place with the most expensive cappuccino I had in ages but it was worth the money with this view. After a short stop I carried on from the walkway in zigzags down the Eastern face of the Mt John to the lakeshore. The views were stunning with the ‘Tekapo’ blue water and it was as silent as there were hardly other hikers on the horizon.
Later that day I went to the other side of the lakeshore for more views at the Church of the Good Shepherd ( in memory of the pioneers of the area) and the Sheep Dog statue ( a tribute to the collie dog as without their help the grazing of this mountain area would have been impossible).
The evening had a great treat too as Lake Tekapo has an amazing Japanese restaurant with one of the best sashimi’s I’ve tasted with fresh salmon from the nearby salmon farm.

The following day I left the lake in sunshine to my next destination; Arthurs Pass which is based in the National Park with the same name and renowned for its tramping tacks. I started driving on the National Highway 79 towards Geraldine which was recommended by many so I stopped there early Sunday morning for brunch. This little place has a creative streak with some market stalls from locals selling their knitted range or delicatessen shops selling chocolate, cheese and pies. Within 5 minutes walking around the quiet street with shops the locals started chatting or asking if I was a tourist and what my plan was.
In the little café I had brunch and got my free Wi-Fi fix too, with a full tummy I carried on along the scenic route 72 which was stunning in the sunshine. It was hard to concentrate on the road with all this beauty around me. The mountains stayed in the background with the icing sugar dusting tops and on the lower ground I saw green fields with many cows and sheep. Unfortunately there is a lot of road kill so I had to avoid many dead rabbits, falcons and possums.
Around midday I passed Castle Hill which is an area with rock formations from limestone and have been here for thousands years. The site is very big so you can walk around them and it’s encouraged to use them for bouldering or climbing. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were here filmed too. After a walk around the site I continued and left the scenic route 72 just after Methven which is the village for the Mt Hutt ski area. In winter this is a busy place but in summer it calms down for obvious reasons. From there it was Highway 73 to take me to Arthurs’s Pass National park via the mountain pass. Luckily the weather was good as in bad weather condition this could be harder to navigate and more dangerous.
Arthur’s Pass village is 4km from the pass of the same name and is NZ’s highest-altitude
settlement and is a tiny one road village with some places to stay, as it’s a handy base to use for tramps, hikes or skiing in wintertime.
I did Scotts track which offers 360-degree views of snow-capped peaks, many of them over
2000m; the highest is Mt Murchison (2400m), I wasn’t planning to climb to the summit as there was too much snow and clouds to get there safe. Near the highest point I met a Canadian couple that tried to reach the summit but had to return due to the weather conditions. On my return down to the village I had beautiful views of the Devils Puchbowl waterfall.

The following day I was leaving the mountains behind for the Banks peninsula;  the Peninsula and its hills were formed by two giant volcanic eruptions about 8 million years ago. The historic town of Akaroa is a highlight, as is the absurdly beautiful drive along Summit Rd around the edge of the original crater.
 Akaroa (‘Long Harbour’ in Maori) was the site of the country’s first French settlement; descendants of the original French settlers still reside here. It’s a charming town that strives to re-create the feel of a French provincial village.

The final day of my road trip was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for the scenic route through the mountains and the bays formed by the three volcano eruptions. The views are stunning as on the West side you see Akaroa and Robinson Bay and on the East side the bays with the sea and snow covered mountains in the distance.
I went down the roads to Long Bay and had a rest on the deserted beach of Le Bons Bay. There wasn’t a soul to be seen only some houses dotted along the roads or at the sea front.  The mountains are covered in green carpeted fields with cows, sheep or many trees. I followed the summit road and tourist drive before making my way back to Christchurch via the state highway 75 but not after I’ve visited Cheese factory Barrys Bays. I was expecting a tour and some tasting but it was just a shop where they also made Edam, Gouda and Maaslander cheese which tastes quite similar as the Dutch version.
The road trip came to an end by dropping off my car in Christchurch were I would join the kiwi Experience the next day.

Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu

Mt Cook and Mt Wakefield

Lake Abel Tasman

Lake Tekapo

Castle Hill

Arthur's Pass

Views from Arthur's Pass

Akaroa harbour

Akaroa

Australia

I hopped over to Australia for two weeks as an in-between for South-East Asia and New Zealand. This was my second time round so I wasn’t planning much exploring but more catching up with friends in Melbourne and Sydney.
The first couple of days I was in a shock as the weather was a lot colder and it was so strange to be back in a Westernised country. While staying at my friend Sylvia and her family including dog Pebbles I could get warm and enjoy a homely environment. It took me a while to get used to the cold and all the external impulses; lovely coffees, home-made meals, rye bread with cheese, wine, Indian food and visits to the pub. I spend my days exploring Melbourne -which was busy with the film festival so I watched an Indonesian movie called; ATAMBUA 39celcius -, had some long walks with Pebbles, cooked meals and went with Sylvia out for some dinner parties.
After a couple of days I started a 3 day trip to the Great Ocean Road and Grampians National Park. The trip was with a mini-van with some other travellers from Austria, Germany, UK, Brazil, Spain, Korea, Ireland and UK and our driver/guide Campbell.

On day 1 we left sunny Melbourne to make our way as soon as possible to The Great Ocean Road but we had a coffee and biscuits break at Addis beach. The stunning views were a taster for more at Angelsea, Fairway and the beautiful Lorne. By lunchtime we stopped at Kennett River to spot wild Koalas who were luckily awake and eating their lunch too. Unfortunately, the rain came in so the views were overcast by clouds and I had to dress in full waterproof gear to stay dry for our rainforest walk in Otways Rainforest. Our lunch stop at Apollo Beach was already interrupted by the rain which meant we had to eat our sandwiches in the car park instead of on the lovely beach.
In the afternoon we went to the famous 12 Apostles the area was very crowded by that time which took a bit the limelight from the whole experience. I thought the Lord Arch Gorge and London Bridge are more impressive even with the rain and storm. At sunset we arrived in Warrnambool where we would stay the night, dinner was a fish and chips take away and a glass of red wine to stay warm.

Day two was unfortunately a wet start and it would stay like that for the rest of the day. We went to Logan’s Beach to spot some Southern Right whales; we did see them floating in the water but they refused to jump up for a play so we had to be satisfied with the dark spots in the water.
We left them for some views at Tower Hill National Park, Mount Rouse and Halls Gap. Before sunset and the Aussie BBQ we had a walk to The Pinnacle in the Grampions National Park. We helped to prepare the BBQ with kangaroo meat which we had to eat indoors due to the weather at Ned’s Beds.

Day 3 which was our last day started with rain so we visited the Aboriginal Culture Centre followed by a very wet visit to Mc Kenzie Falls which are magnificent even in the pouring rain.
We dropped most of the group off by lunchtime as they were catching another bus to Adelaide which left only four of us to return to Melbourne. But before we hit the highway we went to a winery for some wine tasting.
This trip was a nice taster for what the Great Ocean Road has to offer and I like to visit again only with my own transportation and in Spring or Summer to see the area in a warmer climate and with sun!

My remaining days in Melbourne I spend with The Greene family (David, Diane and Lucy) they kindly put me up and offered their comfortable sofa with a massive tv (and movies). I was lucky to have sunny days which I spend in the sun, visiting Victoria market, walk along a lake, meet some of their friends and go for local meals. It was lovely to have a couple of days with them and enjoying David’s homemade food, play with the guinua pigs and watch movies from my sofa bed.
I was totally relaxed and all my clothes were washed when I arrived in Sydney where I would stay in trendy Surry Hills with my Dutch friends Leonne and Ed.  Their flat is very centrally located and the weather was very warm for the time of the year so I was very lucky to do outdoor my activities. I had lunch with Pamela at the terrace of the MCA; enjoyed a tour behind the scenes of the Royal Opera house; went with Rob by boat to Mainly for a walk and fish and chips; had an El Chalten reunion with Veronica, David, Leonne and Ed in Surry Hills; spend a night out and day to the South Head peninsula with Eddy, Francis and dog Ella. On top of that I visited some touristy attractions too like; Darling Harbour, The Rocks, Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park, Museum of Sydney and buy a souvenir.

After almost 3 weeks chilling and meeting up with many friends in Australia I was ready for my next country and adventure: New Zealand.

Sylvia and gang

Great Ocean Road

London Bridge

Wine tasting with Gabriella

Leonne and Ed

Veronica and Dave

Francis and Eddy