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