Week 6: The Adventure Continues

20-March

1100

Log: Residing at the YMCA, Hereford St., Christchurch

I’ve realized the glory in sleeping a full-night’s sleep. Compared to my old bunk, this hostel dorm room is spacious and luxurious, with a complimentary kitchen and lounge area. The budget eating has begun, but for now pasta will do me just fine. For those unaware, the city of Christchurch was devastated by a series of strong earthquakes in 2010, and much of the rubble remains. Still though, there’s a lot to see, including the Re-Start mall built out of shipping containers, the museum, and the botanical gardens. I’m ready for the beginning of the next adventure!

21-March

0730

Log: Kiwi Experience bus departs Christchurch, bound for Kaikoura Peninsula along NZ Rt 1

The sun rises over Christchurch as our bus pulls out of the city and rolls through golden fields, river beds, and lots of sheep. Mountains form the backdrop to the landscape, and after we cross the Hundalee Hills the highway skirts the Pacific Ocean, shining and gently lapping at the shore. The town of Kaikoura is very small, just occupying the northern part of the peninsula, and is dominated by the business of whale and dolphin watches that leave from here for the fertile waters offshore. My last view of the peninsula was almost two weeks ago, from the sea, where we failed to find any whales. After checking into our hostel, I went on a walk around the peninsula, admiring the huge wave-cut terrace extending into the sea and the shear cliffs of sloping rock layers.

Golden fields and the Kaikoura Range

Wave cut terrace and Whaler's Bay, Kairkoura Peninsula

22-March

0900

Log: Bus bound for Picton, then to Nelson region and Kaiteriteri by way of NZ Rt 6.

Sneaking out of bed, I was able to catch my last sunrise over the Pacific for quite a while. The sun illuminated the far mountains, reflected brilliant colors on the clouds and off the water, and gleamed through the surf. We made a pitstop at the Ohau Point Seal Colony, proceeding then to Picton and the ferries from Wellington. With a bus-full of fellow travelers, we spent the rest of the day driving to the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park in the town of Kaiteriteri. Blink and you’ll miss it, but it has all the water-taxi services into the park, one lodge and bar, and, well, not much else really. Kaiteriteri in the native language means plenty of food. I suppose leftovers will have to do.

Pacific sunrise and NZ Fur Seal

23-March

Sea Shuttle

1030

The weather much improved, I bought a ticket into the park and walked the gangway onto the water-taxi beached by the lodge. Zooming past Split Apple Rock and granite cliffs entering the sea, the fog and clouds rise in columns from the jungle. I suppose you could call it jungle, since it has surplus of ferns, vines, moss, and trees, though temperate rain forest might be more appropriate. The local granite doesn’t stand up well to the rain that precedes a rain forest, and the iron from the rock stains the quartz grains a brilliant color, giving rise to the golden beaches that Abel Tasman is famous for. It’s a small world, because as I strolled around a bend in the trail out pops three of my shipmates! They tell of more behind them, or ahead? They’re not quite sure, but I hear of their adventures since departing the ship just four days ago. Later, I stopped for lunch at a deserted golden beach, with only rocks driftwood and fern trees for company. I eventually made my way to Anchorage Bay and a taxi back to the hostel, where I met up with my shipmates to catch up.

Golden beaches in Kaiteriteri

My essential guide

The hops have been harvested

24-March

1100

Log: Bus proceeds to the wild West Coast and the town of Westport, through the windy roads following the Buller River.

Farewell to the golden beaches, orchards, and the country’s two favorite crops: grapes and hops. A brief stop at the Nelson Lakes gives preview to the mountains and rugged terrain to come, here mountain streams soon become mighty rivers, thanks to the ridiculous annual rainfall here. The Wet Coast profited from the abundant gold that these rivers carried. The Buller River flattens and our bus pulls into the little town of Westport. I rounded up some backpackers for the trek to the beach, where mountains of driftwood fed our bonfire, the water retreated far out along the sand flats, and the stars shined.

 The Nelson Lakes and meet my new wheels!

Westport Beach festivities

25-March

Me at the Pancake Rocks! Limestone and mudstone layers

An early walk along Cape Foulwind, where Captain Cook himself encountered foul winds one time, featured sea-stacks, wind-battered brush, and seals swimming amongst the kelp and rocks. The heavy surf explained the bizarre geological features we saw at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks: layers of alternating lime- and mud-stone that have been carved into sea-stacks, sea-caves, sea-arches, and lots of other things done by the sea. But mostly, they looked like stacked pancakes. We now get the sense that those on the West Coast are very creative with names. We stopped in Greymouth, at the mouth of the…yes, the Grey River, for a tour of the Speight’s Brewery. The road later featured more firsts: a single lane road-bridge that also shares the train tracks, and a round-about with train tracks through the middle of it. Though these tracks probably carry the beer produced here, they mostly carry the products of the dairy industry. Tonight we were welcomed to a Kiwi Experience legend: the Mahinapua Hotel, where years and years of Kiwi buses have stopped in the middle of nowhere to share a dinner, a drink, and a great time.