Surprise homecoming

I spent the night of Tuesday, 24 March, in Nelson – after a day of sightseeing stops from the Farewell Spit. Despite my desire to go to a pub and have a beer, I never left the hostel. I got sucked into wireless internet! I did buy my ferry ticket back to the north island though!

25 March, Wednesday: Nelson to Picton

I woke up early – after sleeping in a lovely, comfortable bed (the first after many nights in a tent). It worked out well, as I was up before

most everyone else; allowing me to take a long shower without feeling guilty - there were only 2 showers in the small hostel, and both were also the toilets! It was a very nice hostel though – homemade cake for free in the evening! Very yummy!

After the sun came up I drove a short way down the street to the Botanical Reserve. I knew the start of the path to the “centre of New Zealand” started at this park, but I was surprised to find a sign proclaiming the field to be the site of the first EVER rugby game in New Zealand!! The game occurred in 1870!

At the top of the hill that was “The Centre of New Zealand”, where I had a great view over the town of Nelson and into Tasman Bay. I took pictures of the view and looked out to sea for a bit, but I see now that I cut off the top of the pointer that hangs above a plague proclaiming the center of NZ (ick, and I got the overflowing rubbish bin in the picture too – what happened to my composition?). I would have taken more snapshots, but I don’t like taking heaps of pictures when people are around – I know, it’s silly; it’s the same thing with my reluctance to take pictures OF people! There was a group of guys eating cookies (at 9 AM!) and having loud conversations in another language while various locals huffed and puffed their way up the hill – probably on morning walks and jogs.

So, I wandered back down the hill and opted for following a path to the Miyazu Japanese gardens (there were quite a few trails that branched off from the park). The path took me through the Sir Stanley Whitehead park, which was basically paddock land on a hill with good views over the city – and back to the center of NZ. I took this picture of the center marker, again with the overflowing rubbish bin next to it!

Ha, I didn’t actually see the Japanese gardens after my walk. When I reached the streets again, I found the gardens were in the opposite direction of my car. I felt I’d done pretty good for walking this morning, so I opted for heading back. However, I found myself parking at the gardens an hour or so later anyway – ha ha! I had headed back into town, to the information center, to see if there were attractions on my way to Picton that I MUST see. However, the center was full up with people and I really couldn’t be bothered. The i-site itself was really well done, though. It was the DoC (Dept of Conservation) center for the Able Tasman track in golden bay; so it had heaps of great displays and information panels. I probably would have had a better look around if I hadn’t just come from Golden Bay the day before. So, I had a small walk around town to use up my parking fees and then headed out. I was sure I would come across a gas station, but soon I found myself several Kms out of town and still no gas – even in the suburb I came into. So, I turned around and headed back into the city of Nelson. It was getting close to noon, and I knew Dave would be calling at lunch; so I took a turn that led to the gardens.

The Miyazu Japanese gardens were designed to commemorate the relationship between the sister cities of Nelson, New Zealand and Miyazu, Japan which started in 1976. It’s nicely done with sandy areas, ponds, bridges, grass, and a tea house. The various pathways through the garden led the small area to feel rather large. I was quite surprised, and delighted, when I came across a large yin yang made out of grass and rocks. I wandered around before and after a nice chat with Dave – during which I began my plan of deception (yes, lying) that would lead him to be completely surprised at my early arrival home. I was really glad that I had missed all gas stations out of town and been forced to turn around. The gardens were quite relaxing and very beautiful.

I headed towards Picton after filling up with gas and stopping at a picnic pullout for lunch (better views I could have found, but I couldn’t pass the nicely timed break). An hour or so later, I found myself passing signs for camping, picnicking, and walking. I crossed the Pelorus Bridge and parked at one of several lots. I looked at my walking options and decided to forgo the river (it was warm, but not hot enough to go swimming); opting for 2 “picturesque” waterfalls instead. It was a nice trail through the bush and wasn’t terribly steep but gave me a bit of effort. I was fascinated by the black tree trunks that were just about swarming with bees! The area was supposed to be mostly beech trees, but I’m not sure why their bark was black and somewhat sticky to the touch – almost resinous. Just about every black trunk had a couple handfuls of bees climbing on the bark or buzzing nearby. Good thing I’m not scared of bees! I finally arrived at waterfall number one….. Wow, what a disappointment! It was more like a trickle of water being captured and dispersed by moss, which then ran down a short, slick, algae covered rock face. I hoped the 2^nd falls was better! The trail rounded the mountain side and followed the Pelorus River for a bit. I only took one picture of the 2^nd waterfalls. Though it was an actual falls, with white water rushing over a small drop and ending in a pool of water, there was a wide log sticking out of the pool and leaning on the drop of land. This log was so positioned that it basically covered the entire falls! I attempted to get a better look at the falls by bushwhacking my way to the top, but it was no use. Any lookouts over the falls were only met with looking down into more bush :-( So, slightly disappointed, I headed back towards my car. I didn’t really mind the lack of anything worth raving about, as I had gotten a good stretch of the legs.

I continued on my way towards Picton via the Queen Charlotte scenic drive –listed as a narrow and winding road on the map. Before getting a good run on this drive, I stopped at the scenic lookout near Havelock, looking out over Mahau Sound and the town of Havelock. It was a short, but nice stretch of the legs up to the top and the views were remarkable. I’m guessing the tide was on the low side, as mud flats are showing on the sides of the sound and in the bay of Havelock. However, there was still a good channel of water on which boats of various sizes and types were able to get through.

I stopped to take a few more pictures from the windy road, but none quite capture the amazing landscape that is the area. If it hadn’t been for the semi-tropical tree ferns in the bush, the whole area could have been somewhere in Southeast Alaska! A long stretch of inland ocean sprinkled with islands and houses tucked into little scenic coves. I have no doubt that the Queen Charlotte track would be a scenic and worthwhile hike, I do someday hope to do it – I just didn’t have the energy, time, or motivation for doing it this time round. I was antsy to cruise up to the Coromandel and surprise Dave at his BBQ with friends.

The scenic drive ended in Picton, a small town that is basically a port for shipping goods and travelers. This is the ferry town, the only commercial docking spot for transport between the north and south islands. I found a fairly cheap, yet nice, hostel overlooking the town – well its shipping docks anyway. I had vague plans about walking around town and taking pictures (mom and I had just cruised off the ferry and headed south when we came through), but in the end I just hung out at the hostel. I got sucked into a movie or two and had some good conversations. I didn’t get my laptop out (which was relaxing in itself) and I didn’t text Dave – he thought I was off camping in the Queen Charlotte area for the next 2 days; which meant I wouldn’t have reception! Sneaky little Melanie!

26 March, Thursday: Ferry crossing to Putangirua Pinnacles
I caught a morning ferry across Cook Straight to Wellington. I had been fairly unimpressed with the “Bluebridge” ferry line mom and I had taken a few months earlier. This time around, the “Interislander” line was cheaper. After getting my car loaded and parked I headed up the stairs and into the ferry. I was FLOORED by how nice the place was! Instead of bland, purely functional design I was greeted with brass railings, colorful carpet, and open space. The Bluebridge line had felt like I was just an extra way to make money for the purely cargo shipping line, but here on the Interislander I felt like I was on an Alaskan Marine Highway ferry – built for tourism. It was informative, comfortable, allowed people onto the bow, and had a WIDE OPEN sun deck with lots of chairs and tables. If I had known the difference a few months prior, it definitely would have been the line of choice for mom to travel. It even had a gift shop, cinema (not that I ever stumbled across it), video game area, NURSERY, and artwork on the walls! I was travelling on the “Aratere”, so I can’t say all the ships in the fleet are this flash; but I was fully impressed (obviously).

The weather was quite nice for the crossing, blue skies with a bit of clouds and a chilly breeze. As we navigated through the Tory Channel we passed many bush covered islands and uncountable coves and inlets. We passed incoming vessels from both Bluebridge and Interislander – as you can see, there is a slight size difference (they should be taken with near the same zoom), and the Interislander has many, many more windows! Flanking our passage from the channel into the exposed Cook Straight were rocky outcroppings of land - each trying to be the last piece of the south island to reach the straight. I could feel the swells and the breeze picked up considerably. I alternated between sitting on the sun deck, wandering about, and popping onto the bow, but generally I preferred sitting on the less crowded sun deck– I was quite glad I had my fleece and rain coat, as I was able to comfortably sit and watch the water while I listened to stories on my ipod. I’m still not convinced that it was sea sickness, but I did buy a ginger beer to settle my queasy stomach – I’ve NEVER gotten sea sick! I didn’t see any whales or dolphins, but I did see an albatross gliding near the water’s surface (no picture). As we neared Wellington and the north island, interesting rocks and land features entertained the eye.

After disembarking at Wellington it was a simple matter of following the signs to the highway and out of town. I was quite glad that I wasn’t trying to navigate town and traffic within the city; after 3 hours of spacing out on the water, big decisions and quick traffic maneuvers weren’t on my agenda! I was heading straight to my camp ground of choice, a DoC site located at one of the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) filming locations; Putangirua Pinnacles.

I had come across the pinnacles campsite in a DoC campsite brochure. I looked up the pinnacles while I had internet at my Nelson hostel – they looked awesome! The LOTR scene they are featured in is volume 3: “The Return of the King”, where the 3 heros walk “the path of the dead” (apparently termed Dimholt Road) to meet the army of dead. Dang – I just had a marathon of the movies this year (after Dave and I hiked through Tongariro and past Mount Ngauruhoe (Mordor) on our road trip) but now I want to see this scene!!!

Anyhow, I arrived at camp early in the day and set up my tent. The campground was set in a small valley, with a small stream separating the road and campground from steeper mountain sides that were eroded in strange formations – similar to what I expected the pinnacles to be. I walked a short way towards the pinnacles and was surprised to find a big rock full of fossils! Ha, despite my having looked up the above link a few days previous, I had not realized that the whole area had been under water roughly 7-9 million years ago (hmmm, must have been sidetracked with the pinnacles themselves and the LOTR location)! So, stumbling across this rock felt very much like a discovery. Unfortunately, my stomach was still far from feeling better for being off the ferry, so I headed back to the car to read and hide from the sandflies and bees. Later in the evening, feeling antsy, I opted for wandering down the stream that led to the ocean. I took pictures of the steep, weathered slopes and wondered how the pinnacles could compare. I also kept an eye out for more fossil rocks. While there was an information board about the pinnacles formations, there was no indication the area was good for, or restricted from, fossicking (prospecting – in this case, for fossils). It didn’t take long for my eye to catch a rock with an obvious shell stuck in it. Soon, I was crouching near the area looking for other bits. I found several bits and fragments of shells, with rock still embedded their crevices. You’ll have no idea my surprise when I picked up another white bit from the water and found that it was actually a small, complete clam shell! The mud that had seeped into the center had solidified to create a rock in the exact shape of the clam. If it wasn’t for the shell, slowly being worn off the stone interior, you would never guess that the stone was in the shape of anything…… Does that make sense! Hmm, lets just say I got REALLY excited by find. I figured there were no prohibitions against taking rocks from the area, and the likelihood of anyone else finding it was quite low, so I popped it in my pocket – along with the other few bits I’d found. I continued taking pictures, wandering down the stream, and keeping my eye out for more fossils. I swear, this place would make for such a grand place to take kids! Talk about getting them interested in geology and history. Heck, I felt like a kid on a treasure hunt! And boy, did I find a treasure. I was more than pleased with my clam, but the next rock I came across had one of the lovely spiral shells I had tried prying out already (yeah – the rocks may have started as mud, but they are not budging now!). This particular rock had a crack in it, running into the shell. So, I pulled, the crack gave, and I ended up with most of the spiral shell!! The shell isn’t complete, it’s insides of have been exposed – which is cool, because the chambers have been filled with rock! However, the side of the shell that was inside the rock is still good – spiral grooves and all!

HA ha ha – obviously I had a really good time! I continued down the stream, under the road bridge, and onto the beach. While the sun was still a ways off from setting, it was low enough in the sky to warrant hanging out on the beach until it did. I can’t even express how happy I was as I sat on a big piece of drift wood listening to the waves and watching the horizon (where I could see the south island). I’d had a good time exploring and finding treasures and I was heading home. Life was oh so good, and so was the sunset that eventually came. I took pictures for AGES! I watched the sun set behind some bits of land jutting out of the south island and then watched the light fade further.

I sat in my car reading by my headlamp when I was startled by a knock on my door! The guy camped in his van a bit further down the ground invited me over to his campfire. Well, I hadn’t been around a campfire for a while, so I couldn’t pass that up! I had really nice time hanging out and talking with a lovely Swiss couple at their fire! They were a few weeks away from leaving NZ and, hopefully, heading to India (I think it was). It was a great end to a such a good mood day!

27 March, Friday: The Pinnacles explored and coffee with an American post doctorate.
While I slept well in my tent, I was awakened to flash backs of the howling winds at Mount Cook when my tent actually folded over again! I put up with it for a short bit, but since it wasn’t actually raining, and there was plenty of light, I decided to just get up. My tent was free of dew and condensation – probably more thanks to the wind than the not terribly cold temperature – so I packed it up after breakfast (being sure to leave it pegged down until the very end!).

The walk up to the pinnacles followed the stream bed inland. There was lots of prickly gorse and quite a bit of toi toi (pompous like grass) growing in the wide rocky area. As I got closer to “the pinnacles” the mud of the valley walls became more and more intricately eroded. I wasn’t actually sure where I was going (I think I was off the trail for the first bit), so I made a detour to an area that looked pinnacle like. I had to climb up a small, but steep embankment and then I had to work my way uphills to the actual erosion features. The pinnacles are basically gravel and mud from millions and millions of years ago that have been so compacted they are a lot like cement – only the water erodes it much faster. So, the valley walls are carved out by rain and rivulets of water, creating massive gouges. The pinnacles themselves are capped by big boulders, which shelter the muddy concrete below from the water, allowing them to tower far above. Apparently this is called "badland erosion" and the towers are called "hoodoos".

I’m afraid the sun was not in my favor for this outing. As it was still rising and coming over the mountains, shining towards my face and camera, a lot of my pictures come out quite shadowy or grey. It probably would have been optimal to see the area the evening before – but oh well.

Anyhow, my detour was interesting – I found another rock full of really cool shells (again, I was unable to scrape or break any out!), took pictures, and then headed pack to find the area that would have been the LOTR location. I carefully worked my way back down the dry water way of compacted mud and headed back down the stream bed. I found a pole marker at some point, so at least I knew I was in the right vicinity! I followed the markers further up the valley and finally found “The Pinnacles”. This area was more than a mud valley wall with cool vertical gullies scoured out of it. This area had pinnacle after pinnacle towering above me. The rocky towers of, what appeared to be, cemented gravel appeared to continue up the valley, and side valleys, for ages! It was really interesting. I took millions of pictures – of course! I kept trying to figure out where, exactly, the LOTR scene would have been shot. Hmm, I wonder if my GPS would have been of help. I stumbled across this DoC site that tells you, by GPS coordinates, where the scenes were!

After wandering around in awe for ages, I decided it was time to head back. I needed to get back to Wellington for a coffee date, and I didn’t want to be late. The Swiss couple wasn’t out of their van yet, but I had a quick chat with the father of a family that had arrived late the previous night. He was worried the wind that was whipping around the campsite would be stronger and colder up the valley, but it had actually been fairly calm! I did give a wave to the Swiss couple as I drove by – they appeared to be having breakfast in the van.

Before making my way to Wellington, I headed down southwest through a small town and to the end of the road. Cape Palliser had a lovely lighthouse overlooking the rocky coast. It was set at the top of approximately 261 stairs (yes, I did count them, but have now forgotten the count –oops). The red stripes on the white cast iron tower was such a pretty and festive sight; after all, the last 2 lighthouses I’d seen (Pillar Point at Cape Farewell and Separation Point in the Abel Tasman) had just been square, white rectangles! I had a good view from the top, but the elevation certainly didn’t diminish the wind. It was blowing so hard that, on my descent, I held on really tight to the one railing on the steep stairs just so a gust wouldn't ruin my balance! Before leaving the Cape Palliser area I stopped and had a snack while I watched the seals laze about in the sun.

AGES ago, before I even had a ticket for New Zealand, my coworker from the federal field job I was working (US forest service) had “introduced” me, via e-mail, to a friend of hers in NZ, Kristina. I had corresponded with Kristina a bit before I arrived in NZ, getting some information and advice, but hadn’t contacted her much after arriving here. I had her phone numbers still and was supposed to get hold of her when I was in Wellington. Well, I was finally in Wellington for more than one night, so I had e-mailed her about my being in town for a real short time. We decided, via text on the ferry, that meeting for coffee would work for both of us. Kristina is a post doctorate working at Victoria University in the biology department. I arrived in Wellington, from the cape, a good hour or more before our meeting time. I had wanted to make sure I didn’t get lost and that I could find parking. It was a good thing I had gotten there early! It gave me time to find a non-pay parking spot, a far ways from the university. I found the building and office with relative ease. I must admit, it was a bit strange to be in the university environment again – young people having serious discussions about various topics of interest to only those in the class, random clothing styles, and intent, unsmiling faces on almost everyone. While I have very much been wanting to get back to school and continue my career path, the crowded sidewalks and buildings made me feel old and claustrophobic! Kristina turned out to a be really nice lady (as I knew she would be). We had coffee/tea at the staff lounge – which was nice and quite compared to the noise and crowd of the common student areas. We had a lovely conversation – ranging from continued education to men (LOL). She was really easy to talk with and we got on very well. When I said goodbye, she told me to let her know if I was in town again – so we could have drinks. So, that was good!

I headed out of Wellington a bit after 4pm. My plan was to head to a free DoC campsite for the night and then surprise Dave the next evening – at a BBQ he was having with friends and family. However, when I made it to the DoC site, I had no reception. This wouldn’t generally be a big deal, except that Dave had thought (due to my text lying) that I was getting off the ferry in Wellington at 4 and would therefore expect me to have reception in the city. Okay, I can already picture people rolling their eyes – but the thing is; to pull off a perfect surprise, there must be absolutely no suspicion that something is up. Dave and I text quite regularly; particularly when I’m travelling (this shouldn’t really be a surprise, since the first 2 months of our relationship was based on texting). So, for me to have reception and not at least send a good night text would be strange. While Dave wouldn’t worry about it, he would note the fact; particularly because he always liked to know I was safe and sound for the night. I was already worried that Dave would hold a vague hope of my driving straight home off the ferry; I certainly would if our roles were reversed! So, for my piece of mind – and the ultimate surprise - I had to act as if I was at a hostel in Wellington for the night. I could have stayed at the DoC campsite and made up some story about being to social to text until bed time; but that would have meant waiting until 9 or 10 (still a good 3-4 hours away), driving to reception, and then going back to camp. Instead, I just kept driving.

Soon, the light was fading and I still wasn’t sure where I was going to sleep. So, I pulled off at a picnic pullout. It was hidden from the highway by trees and bushes, already had a camper pulled off to one side, and overlooked pasture. I made up some dinner while I started texting Dave. I made a bed in my car, figuring that if I got hassled I could just say I was to tired to drive (which is a major cause of accidents – they have billboards everywhere about resting when tired). Dave and I texted while I sat in my car doing Sudoku and he watched rugby at his parents. His mom was in on the surprise, so she just chuckled to herself when Dave said I was still a week away.

28 March, Saturday: The Surprise
I didn’t sleep very well at the picnic pullout; the car is quite uncomfortable (I’m not sure how 2 nights at Gillespies Beach was so easy!) and my unease at the idea of harassment (or worse) led to weird, restless dreams. Eventually, I found myself wide awake at 4 am! When I couldn’t go back to sleep, I decided to just start driving. I felt slightly guilty driving a new road in the dark (because I couldn’t see the landscape), but the lack of traffic was great! After a couple of hours on the road I started getting tired again. I had passed several pull offs (with toilets) that had LOTS of cars parked for the night, so my unease at parking at the next secluded spot was lessened a bit. I slept really well, and really hard, for a good hour and a half! When I headed down the road again I was able to see the surrounding land. I was surprised to see a canyon near the road! Ha! I didn’t stop to take pictures though – I just couldn’t be bothered getting out in the drizzle.

The drive home took me up highway 1; spending that previous night somewhere south of Foxton. I followed highway 1 through Waiouru, where Dave and I,on our way home from New Years in New Plymouth, had taken pictures of the tanks and guns outside the military museum. While the drizzle had stopped much earlier, Mount Ruapehu was still covered by clouds. I followed the highway through the “desert” near Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe. The volcanoes were obscured by the clouds, literally lying on top of the mountain sides. I did stop for a picture anyway – mostly because the cloudscape was amazing. The lower, grayish clouds hung so low it felt like I could jump up and touch them (well, if I were Michael Jordon anyway) while wispy white clouds broke up the blue sky above and thick blankets draped the contours of the mountain slopes. It was quite cool.

After the desert road I bypassed Taupo, opting for highway 32 around the west side of the lake. I knew it wouldn’t be particularly scenic, but I hoped it would have a little less traffic. From there, it was virtually a straight shot through Tokoroa; where, in my search for gas, I somehow missed the signs directing me to the “talking poles”. I couldn’t be bothered back tracking to find them, even though I thought they would be worth while (oops, I just found it's more of trail of carvings through town anyway!). I passed through Matamata and headed towards Paeroa. I’m not sure when I texted Dave to see when they were leaving, but I got the text that they had just arrived at the Beach Hop in Whangamata when I was less than an hour away from home. Talk about perfect timing! It had occurred to me that if I hadn’t gone back to sleep that morning I could have surprised the whole lot of my friends in the morning. However, I knew I would be too tired to spend the day wandering around town looking at cars (classics, but cars none the less). It would have been a fun sunny day, but not when all I wanted to do was relax in the comfort of a house! So, my morning nap had worked out well!

I think I arrived home around noon. It was a bit strange to be home and not be greeted by Dave, but after 4 weeks of travelling it was oh so nice anyway. A long shower was first on my list before unpacking my car. Jinx, the big black cat, met me on the lawn and started purring as soon as I picked him up. We had a good little play before I finished putting all of my things away. I kicked back and relaxed a bit, chatting with the roommates and checking internet, before I decided I best move my car for the surprise. It took me ages to figure out where to park it. I didn’t want to park in front of someone’s house and then walk down the street, particularly since you generally park half on the street and half on the lawn in this neighborhood; that would have felt a bit weird and sketchy. So, I opted for the space near the 7 hour trail up the Kauranga valley. I made sure to take everything of value out of the glove box though, on the off chance it got vandalized/robbed. It was a bit strange seeing my car completely empty after 4 weeks of having my entire life piled in it! I walked home and began the wait. I wasn’t sure when Dave, Joe, Matt, and Mel (yes, another Mel) would be coming home and I didn’t want to be to nosey on my texts – that would lead to suspicion. Koshka, the calico cat, was quite pleased to see me and curled up in my lap as I sat reading on the deck. I didn’t want to disturb her, but as the light began fading the sandflies started biting my bare feet. I was in the middle of digging out socks and slippers when there was a knock on the door – it was Dave’s parents (Kathy and Jack)! Dave had texted them that they were nearly on their way home for the BBQ (I had begun to wonder what I would do about dinner if the BBQ was cancelled). Kathy and Jack were quite excited about the upcoming surprise and wanted to see Dave’s reaction, so they left when they got his text. We sat around talking while we waited….and waited. Finally, Kathy texted Dave to tell him the garlic bread was done as was going to get cold! Ha ha ha. Turns out, Dave and friends were having a beer at the pub with another friend, so Dave left them to finish up while he tore up to the house. He came banging into the kitchen with arms full of food. He dumped the food on the counter and then looked up to take stock of everyone present. He registered his mum and dad right off, but his brain couldn’t grasp what was going on when he saw me. He just stood there, speechless, mouth slightly open as he stared at me – trying to come to terms with the fact that he I was in Wellington but I was in his kitchen too. Finally I just walked up, said hi, and gave him a kiss. It was EXCELLENT. He was completely surprised and shocked. His dad thought his reaction was really funny, but was surprised there wasn’t any cursing or exclamations involved! What was just as funny was when the friends finally arrived. Cherie didn’t bat an eye – walking past and asking how my trip had been. Joe came in with arms full of food and did pretty much the same thing Dave did – just stood there looking at me in complete confusion. Ha ha ha, it was so funny! And so worth the early arrival! It was a really good BBQ. I am only vaguely aware of everyone that was there – Dave’s sister and her boyfriend arrived at some point – but most of the night was spent talking with Dave. He was so distracted that he asked people to watch the BBQ for him several times – something he rarely does. It’s not that Dave and I meant to be anti-social, but it just happened that we always ended up sitting slightly away from people, holding hands, and talking while everyone else had a good time and chatted with each other.

Dave was still pretty much in shock the next day too. Joe, Matt, and Mel had spent the night (as they are from out of town). The sun was hot enough to either hide from it or go to the beach, however the surf report wasn’t good for the boys so we never actually made it out of the house. Joe and Matt (Brits that were friends before they came to NZ) entertained themselves and us by finding funny youtube videos. Dave and I didn’t mind the lazy day, we just cuddled on the couch and had a laugh.

It was such a great surprise!!! Probably one of the best I’ve ever pulled off!? Not that I can recall orchestrating many surprises. Dave was quite impressed too – as he knows I have the hardest time keeping a secret. Ha, he was impressed when he received a post card I hadn’t told him about! He got a good laugh out of the all the text lying I had done – not texting when I was “camping” and having to find reception to keep up the ruse. I told him that I never “technically” lied to him, I did do and see everything I told him, just that the sequence of events had been altered! Ha ha ha. I’d say it took at least a week to get fully over the shock of my unexpected arrival! It was PERFECT.

Gold Coast (top of the South Island)

20 March (Friday): Lewis Pass and a cheeky robin
I woke up in Pioneer Park after a night full of bizarre dreams. Throughout the night some animals, somewhere nearby, were making odd sounds I hadn’t heard before. I incorporated the strange sounds into some creepy dreams! Other than that, I slept well in my tent :-) I hung my tent fly up to dry while I completed the same walk I had done the night before – 20 minutes through the bush to an old homestead site. I took pictures of the colorful leaves and then packed up the car and headed out.

There isn’t much to write about the actual drive. I drove along the outskirts of Christchurch and didn’t stop at any cool landforms. I did take one break, somewhere between Hanmer Springs and Lewis pass, where I found a break in the trees to look down this picturesque valley and found a few tasty blackberries.

I continued on to a free DoC (Department of Conservation) campsite at Deer Valley. I found a flat, grassy spot, set up my tent, and had an early dinner. The camp/picnic site was nothing to flash, but it wasn’t bad either. Being right off the highway traffic could be heard coming and going, but traffic was intermittent and generally the sound of the stream and birds were more prevalent. Sand flies were also prevalent, so I cooked my dinner in my long sleeved coat (despite the sun) and ate in my car! It was early, right around 3pm, when I arrived at camp. I was at a bit of a loss on what to do! I decided to head up the road a bit further and check out the walkway nearby.

My map had marked “Cannibal gorge” as a point of interest, and the St. James Walkway looked to pass through the gorge. I parked at the trailhead and was pleased to find a sheltered area with a walkway map and route times! I found that it was 3.5 hours to reach the Cannibal gorge hut, much too far for this evening but I could consider a day hike tomorrow. Before stretching my legs on the beginnings of the trail, I first stopped and had a look at the tarn (mountain lake/pool). It wasn’t a spectacular pool, but this picture is taken looking towards the mountains that would turn into Cannibal gorge. I started down the St. James walkway, but a “nature trail” sign side tracked me. I followed the loop trail through the sub-alpine growth, taking lots of pictures of the plants and landscape (of course). Eventually I found myself back at the carpark and shelter. There was a sign indicating distances to the toilet and water. I was curious if there was a water tap here or if it was a stream, so I headed down that trail. I passed a very, very small stream and kept going. I never encountered a spigot, so I guess the water was from the stream – obviously you would need your own treatment/filtration system to drink it. As I wandered further down the path, a flicker of a bird caught my eye. As I stood still, the bird gradually hopped and glided closer to me – from tree branch, to bush, to trail. Soon, the thing was right in front of my feet! It was grey and robin sized. I decided it must be a NZ robin!!! I was relatively sure I hadn’t seen one before! This little bird was quite brave! I couldn’t figure out if it was used to being fed or what, but it certainly wasn’t worried by me. It hopped around the trail and flew to nearby trees. I got a few pictures and then some video too. Eventually it flew away. I walked a tad further down the trail and spotted a clearing in the trees just off the trail. I decided I would sit in the clearing and see if the bird came back – worth a try! Well, my try paid off! Soon the bird (I assume it was the same one) was perched in a nearby tree, then it was hopping around me, and then it even hopped up on my SHOE!!!! It was a real brief perch on my shoe, so the picture is far from good – but still, it’s proof! The little bird kept hopping around me in circles, sometimes digging in the ground and sometimes darting towards me and away. It took me ages to figure out what it was doing, but after it flew towards my leg and away again several times it clicked – this little bird was feasting on the sand flies that were swarming around me!!!! Ha ha ha, I was its own personal buffet! Funny as! I took another video while I was sitting in the clearing. It’s pretty good – shows the bird hopping around me, eating the sand flies, and even sitting on my shoe a couple of times. It’s much too long a video to try posting here. Eventually, the bird flew off and didn’t return. So, I went and had another walk around the nature trail and then headed back to camp before the sun went down.

The tall mountains and trees in the camp prevented a good view of a sunset, but the clouds above did get a bit of color before bedtime.


21 March (Saturday): Waterfalls and a beach
As I ate breakfast I noticed several robins hanging around. Apparently a lot of these birds are accustomed to humans, as my walking around the car didn’t disturb them in the least. Two of them kept flying under my car and hopping around it. I saw one find a worm in the grass nearby. After I finished setting my tent in the sun where it would dry, I checked around and underneath my car to clear the birds out – I didn’t really want to start my car with them under it!

I returned to the St. James trailhead for a morning walk while my tent dried. I had decided the night before that I definitely had time for the 6-7 hour return to Cannibal gorge, but that, in the end, I wasn’t terribly interested. The bit of the gorge I could see the day before didn’t look to be anything terribly dramatic and I was really kind of antsy to just keep heading north. So, I just had a nice wander down the valley and back. When I arrived at the trail head, the sun was still behind the mountains and a thick, low layer of mist was settled in the valley. The mountains were totally obscured by the mist when I looked out over the tarn again. I tried a couple of times, but I wasn’t able to capture the lite mist rising up from the tarn itself.

I returned to camp an hour or so after departing. After waiting a bit longer for my tent to dry, I headed up the road. I didn’t expect any short walks along the way, so I was surprised to see a DoC sign for a waterfall walk. I couldn’t pass that up! It was a nice bush walk that passed a small stream and falls before ending at a tall, though narrow, waterfall. It was a nice way to continue the day.

I stopped for lunch at Maruia Falls. It wasn’t a terribly tall falls, but it was fairly wide and came off a rock cliff shelf. It was quite popular with both locals and tourists.

I took a small side trip down the Buller river, trying to find a waterfall, but was unable to find any signage for Ariki falls. I passed the longest swing bridge in New Zealand, but couldn’t be bothered to pay for crossing it! So, I turned around and headed on my way towards Golden Bay and Abel Tasman National Park.

I was heading for a town called Murchison. I had noted a couple of walking tracks from my guide book in the area. I was still undecided as to where I was going to camp. When I arrived in town I stopped at the visitor information center and had a chat with the guy there. Neither walk really sounded to terribly impressive and I was feeling a bit lazy. So, I decided to just keep driving. I had asked him about free camping and he had no suggestions, so I was quite annoyed when, a bit later (Gowanbridge maybe?), I drove past an obvious campground on a river. It was marked as a domain, so it was most likely free! However, it was far too early in the day to consider camping and I already had alternatives rolling in my head, so I continued on my way.

I had noted the campground at Kawatiri in my DoC pamphlet, but had early on decided that camping right at the fork of 2 highways would be very noisy and not terribly relaxing. However, I did stop for an afternoon stroll along the old railway line. It was a short walk, and traffic could be heard (if not seen) as the trail paralleled the highway. The main attraction of the walk was an old rail tunnel. I opted for walking around the tunnel first and was a tad surprised at how much elevation I gained in the process, I had to walk down tall wooden steps to reach the tunnel on the other end. I decided I would be acting a total pansy to walk back the way I came, so sucked in my uneasy feelings of walking into the gloomy, damp tunnel and headed through it. It wasn’t anywhere near as long as the tunnel back near Thames (the Karangahake gorge tunnel I walked through with Andy took AGES to complete), but something about being in dark spaces alone really creeps me out! I hate to admit it, but here it is in black and white. I’m going to chalk it up less to fear of the dark and more to fear of enclosed spaces. I mean, New Zealand is still geologically active! What would happen if an earthquake hit when I was in a tunnel or a cave!!!! Ugh, I shudder to think….

Anyway – back to my trip ;-) I continued on my way to Motueka, where I stopped at the information center. I enquired about travel times to and within Abel Tasman National Park. I chatted with the friendly lady about other local attractions I must see and places to stay. When I left I was a little dazed, as I hadn’t actually planned to be in the park for another day or two; yet, I was about to spend the night at one of the great walk campsites! I stocked up on some groceries and then flew down the road. I knew it would take about 2 hours to reach the Totaranui campsite, and once I started up the windy mountain highway I knew why! I felt a little guilty of my haste as I passed a couple scenic overviews, but I wanted to arrive at the campsite before dark – and I would be passing the same way on my way out of the park.

I turned off of the highway at Takaka, drove some beautiful coastal roads through small towns, and then turned off onto a gravel road that wound through the mountains and down to the Golden Bay beach of Totaranui. Totaranui is one of the end campsites on the Abel Tasman Great Walk. My guide book had said that many people start at Marahau (eastern end) and tramp to Totaranui before catching a water taxi back. The guide book mentioned that, due to rough seas, water taxies don’t pick up further west than Totaranui; therefore, the section between Totaranui and Wainui inlet was less crowded with hikers. The guide book also said this section had some the most spectacular scenery on the trail! Since an 80 plus dollar water taxi ride was far out of my budget, I opted for camping 2 nights at Totaranui and just doing a day hike of the coastal track and out to the seal colony and light house of Separation Point.

My first impression upon arrival at the massive Totaranui campsite was complete awe at how golden the beach really was! The sand was actually yellow orange! It was a coarse sand; not rocky, but not fine grain either. I sat in the sand and just, for the first time in days, relaxed. I was in Abel Tasman National Park! I had been dreaming of this since I’d decided to come to NZ! I had arrived late in the evening, so the heavy clouds added to the dimness of the light, but I still had plenty of time to drink in the view. I walked the beach and campground to find the best spot for my tent. I opted for an out of the way location where no other people were. After setting up my tent and having dinner I was quite happy to walk back down to the beach and appreciate the beautiful, though not spectacular, sunset. As I said, there were heavy clouds when I arrived, so when they started to spit rain on the tent I could only hope it would clear up by morning.

22 March (Sunday): Abel Tasman National Park
This morning was beautiful. The rain had cleared in the night and the sun was clearing off some clouds. My tent was in the perfect position to catch the first rays of morning light (and heat). I had packed my day pack the night before with lunch, rain coat, and lots of water, which meant that I was on the trail by 8am!

The night’s rain was still clinging to the foliage, sparkling like diamonds in the morning sun. I headed over the stream and up the bush covered hillside, giving me an excellent view over the tidal wetlands created by the mouth of the stream. I continued through the bush, hiking over and around a few ridges to the next beach and campground. Anapai campground was another golden stretch of sand, with rocky outcrops on either side. Or, at least I thought it was a golden beach. As I walked down to a piece of drift wood, I noticed that someone had been writing in the sand – and their letters (I couldn’t decipher them) were quite black! Underneath the coarse golden sand was fine, black iron sand. This black sand was very noticeable where a stream was washing the gold out to sea. Or possibly, it is actually the stream washing the black onto the beach? Hmmm, the exposed cut through the sand on the stream bank showed a thick layer of gold beneath layers of black and gold sands.



After crossing the Anapai beach, I looked back for a last good look before heading back into the bush. I had noticed the rocks at this end of the beach since I had arrived, but it occurred to me that, from this angle, the tall rock looked a bit like an angular statue. The rock looked like a stone man sitting on the water and looking out to sea…. Does anyone else see it? (Yes, he is wearing a tall headdress – as if he is the chief of these lands)

The trail didn’t immediately head back into the bush as I had expected. It only took me around the rock outcroppings where the tiki sat pondering his sky and ocean. I had another short stretch of golden beach to cross before I started climbing over the ridges again. I had a few brief glimpses of the ocean below before I was again on gold sand. The beaches were well walked, with tracks covering the sands above the tideline. However, some birds were still able to leave their own obvious tracks, and I was able to leave my own in the sands exposed by the receding tide. The large pine trees of this campsite – Mutton Cove (DoC believes the cove got its name from ships resupplying from a local farmer) – were very out of character for a coastline otherwise surrounded by native bush.

I continued over the rock outcrop and across a rocky shore to cross yet another gold sand beach. I was treated to a break in the bush as I climbed over the next ridge on the trail. The vanatage point allowed me an excellent view of the last few beaches I had crossed, as well as the ridges that separated them.

From here, I walked through the bush on what I thought was a loop path! However, it wasn’t until I found myself overlooking the coast on the west side of Separation Point, on a trail that was marked for Whariwharangi Hut, that I realized I had missed the one way side trial to Separation point and was on the northern section of loop (I thought I was on the southern trail, with the Separation point side trip coming later). Oops! Nice that I had a GPS to help! :-) Anyhow, I started down towards the hut and beach, but then realized that I would just have to walk all the way back to the top of the rise I was currently on. That seemed really silly – given that the beach I would be seeing would yet again be covered in gold sand (now – if it was covered in green or red sand…. That would have been worth the effort!). So, I opted for going back the way I had come and saving my energy for the trip back to camp.

The view from Separation point was spectacular – especially before descending to the lighthouse. I had a view all the way across Golden Bay. On the horizon, a line of land gradually melted into the sea, until just a thin line was visible. If you followed this barely visible line, bits of land – almost like rocks or ships – seemed to appear out of nowhere. This bit of land was Farewell Spit, a 25 km bit of land jutting into the ocean and made up mostly of sand. The lighthouse at the end of Separation Point, I must admit, was a bit of a disappointment. No tall, round tower; just a square white structure with a small bit of light at the top. Hardly worth a picture really! The wildlife on the other hand, was quite entertaining. There were shags on all of the rocks surrounding the point and a few seals were basking on the sunny rocks. Ha, I generally missed seeing any of the seals until they either moved or loudly coughed/barked! They blended right in! I chose a spot that would allow me to watch the few seals I spotted while also seeing a group of shags and a bit of Farewell Spit in the distance (it was harder to see the spit from the less elevated point – the bush covered bits that were tall enough to be noticed kept made me wonder if I was just seeing ships).

As I ate lunch, a shag landed quite close in front of me. He preened himself and allowed me to take many, many pictures of him. I’m not sure what kind of shag he is, but since I spotted some very obvious spots on its wings I am probably safe in guessing it’s a spotted shag! Ha – a brief internet search shows the spots on the wings, as well as the crazy curled back hair style I photographed of one bird, confirms a spotted shag! The way the feathers seem to curl up and forward makes me think of men’s pomade hair, in what – the 50s? Elvis maybe?

Hmmm, interesting. This cropped picture of my Elvis bird shows me that it has blue around its beak – under its eyes….. The above link also shows this blue/green coloration. However, the bird that landed close to me and allowed such great pictures doesn’t have this coloration (or cool feather style). I wonder if the bird close to me was a juvenile? Ha ha – I just finished reading the above link; the plumage and coloration are for mating purposes……

Anyhow, it was a good lunch in the sun. The clouds had threatened to rain at the beginning of the day – and had dropped a bit of mist at Mutton Bay – but the sky had cleared up beautifully for this section of my hike. Though I was enjoying the day, I decided I best get heading back down the trail. I took pictures of Farewell Spit, plants, and even a butterfly on my off the point. The Able Tasman water hadn’t been anywhere as turquoise as I had expected, but I think that was because of all the cloud cover. As I was hiking back through the bush, the water below the manuka trees seemed extremely blue.

As I crossed Mutton Bay beach, I saw a couple of shags coming out of the water. As you can see in this picture, the coloration is quite different than the spotted shag I had been having lunch with. Its not obvious in this picture (since I like the wing spread pose better than the closed but visible), but there are no spots on the wings. The color is darker all around and the feet are black – not pale. Hmmm, I can’t really be bothered trying to figure out what species it is right now! Ha ha ha, I’m a bit behind schedule on writing this as it is!

Back on Anapai beach, I spotted a REALLY nice bit of coral washed up. It looks like had grown on a scallop! That seems like a bizarre place for a sedentary structure to grow! So, I got this picture of the coral and the shell top. Hmm, maybe the scallop shell was lodged in some rocks when the coral began growing….. hmm?

Anyhow – that’s pretty much my adventure through Abel Tasman Park. When I had first envisioned my tour through the park, I had thought I’d be hauling a pack or maybe hiring a kayak. However, I am quite pleased with the way things worked out. I got to see some great scenery, encountered cool wildlife, and did a bit of hiking. Ha ha, and to be honest I passed several groups of people on my return to Totaranui. They were all carrying big packs and looked tired. I was really content to not be them! Ha ha, I’m not a big fan of walking through sand; so walking through sand with a pack would pretty much be less fun that it sounds!

23 March (Monday): Snails and a goodbye spit
It sprinkled and rained throughout the night, but by morning the sky was clear and the sun was bright. I enjoyed the sounds of a bell bird and tried to catch a picture while I waited for my tent to dry. I took one last picture of the sandy Totaranui shores and then got a fairly early start out of the park - as I had heaps of places to see but also wanted to reach the Farewell Spit at low tide (which was to be around 2:30pm).

My first stop was Wainui Falls. While waterfalls are quite common here in NZ, I just checked the Golden Bay website (to find the name of this falls!) and found that waterfalls in this lowland area are far less common! Hmm... The waterfall itself wasn’t massively impressive. The information center girl I had talked to back in Motueka had told me to think of her, at this falls, videotaping her friend kayaking over the falls. While it wasn’t a terribly long drop from the top of the falls, I certainly couldn’t see the appeal of kayaking over it!!! Wacko!!! It wasn’t just a straight drop either, the rocks the water was rushing over gradually extended out into the pool below – making it appear to be quite hard on a kayak bottom (or maybe just hard on the bottom inside the kayak? ha ha ha). The short walk to the falls was quite nice, but the best reward on the trail wasn’t reaching the falls. It was noticing a native land snail on the trail on my way to the falls! I knew immediately this was the largest, and fairly rare, carnivorous snail of New Zealand – Powelliphanta. It’s massive size and the purple color of its body told me it was definitely a snail to photograph. My trail guides had said to look for it on the trails in this area, but I’m not sure how one would actually go about finding one – unless you are lucky enough to stumble across it like me. Particularly since the DoC document I found online says they are nocturnal! I was fascinated by this colorful and not to slimy looking creature. DoC says it eats worms, other snails, and slugs. Wikipedia tells me that theses snails are endemic to New Zealand (found nowhere else) and are classified as endangered by DoC. I tried to pay attention on my way back down the trail, but apparently it had either moved on or gotten knocked out of the way by other visitors.

Next up was “The Grove”, a small little conservation area behind large amounts of farmland. The draw of this place is the massive rocks that create a surreal landscape, particularly since many of them are surrounded by the thick roots of the native rata tree. Rata generally germinate and grow in the leaf litter collected in the branches of other trees. As the rata grows it sends roots down to find the ground. Here in “the grove”, the rata have germinated in leaf litter collected on the rocks, so the roots have wound around the rocks in their quest for soil. Some of the rocks in the area are massive – 3 times taller than me and sometimes creating a small walkway of towering rocks on both sides – and some are small enough to sit on, but they are all weather worn into strange shapes and designs. It’s really quite a fun place to wander.

There was a cave in the area I wanted to check out, but, as I did have a tide time deadline, I opted to catch it on the way back from Farewell Spit. Well, actually I didn’t head straight to Farewell Spit. You can visit the sandy spit at any tide, I headed past the spit to the west coast. I drove straight to the Wharariki beach carpark, which was actually Puponga Farm Park – a massive farm land crossed by trails that connects the west coast and Farewell Spit points of attractions. You could spend a full day wandering through paddock land and walking atop coastal bluffs. I, however, was mostly interested in seeing the exposed beach and rock formations of low tide. After walking through a bit of sheep land, I found myself crossing grass covered sand dunes. These dunes appeared to spread for miles! I finally spotted the ocean and beach and headed over the dunes, stopping part way to take off my shoes and socks. The day was beautiful – blue sky, light breeze, warm sun. Apparently it was a rare day where the wind wasn’t coming straight off the sea in strong gusts. I walked down the beach, enjoying the large rock formations – caves, islands, and LOTS of arches. While walking back to the car would have been more interesting if I had followed the beach again, I opted for the farm track. I was able to see the islands over the tops of the bush for part of the track. I also saw ducks and black swans in the dune lake; and lots and lots of sheep (not that they are novel to me anymore!).

On my way back down the gravel road, I picked up a guy that was heading to his car at the Cape Farewell parking lot – where I just happened to be heading. He turned out to be an Australian with an American partner. While he was from the Queensland area, he was quite confident that I wouldn’t have a problem finding a job in Perth. So that was nice to hear! He offered me a cup of tea when I dropped him off at his car, but I declined and headed to the cape. I had a brief chat with his partner on her way down the track – she had taken the more scenic coastal cliff walk back to the car – and then had a look around myself. I’ve no idea how far above the sea I was, but I certainly didn’t want to take a header off the cliffs I was on! The whole coast, up to the point where the sand of the Farewell spit began, was lined with gray cliffs and caves. I had had grand plans of walking to the Pillar Point lighthouse, but then I saw how much downhill and uphill walking it required! I chose to go back to my car and park at the pillar point carpark!

The walk from the Pillar Point carpark still required quite a bit of uphill work in the sun, but took far less time and energy than wandering through hilly paddock land. The rocky landscape the trail took me through was quite nice too. At the top, I had a view out to Farewell Spit as well as out to Wharariki beach. The lighthouse was again not impressive, the same white square structure I had seen on Separation Point.

Since I again wasn’t prepared to walk for hours, I returned to my car and drove to the Farewell Spit. The café/information center was closed, so I parked at the lookout and walked up the hill. I had a good view over the bay side of the spit and back down Golden Bay. The tide was still out, so everything looked like a mudflat, but it was still beautiful. I headed down to the spit and had a wander down the bay side of the spit – pretty much just mud flats with the tide out. The mud was littered with small clam shells and the occasional oyster catcher or white faced heron could be seen foraging; huh, I just found this picture too, a white faced heron with a pied stilt in front of it!

I spent the night in my tent at a holiday park in Port Puponga – right next to the Farewell Spit/Wharariki Beach road division. It was cheap, but nice holiday park. I was able to exchange a few books and get new reading material as well as charging my batteries and doing some laptop work (wow, I can’t even imagine what blog entry I was working on then!). The hosts and guests were lovely people, one guest shared the battered school shark he had caught with me! Apparently he had gone from staying one night to staying a full week here at the holiday park! He had gone surf casting with a local and caught this decent sized shark. He and the local had to look it up online to see what shark it was and if it was edible. I must say, I was slightly tempted to stay another night to try the barbequed version of the shark, but I knew I wouldn’t. The shark itself was really yum, very similar to a lite white fish – mmmmm, halibut!!! The guy (sorry, I don’t know if I ever got his name), was a Canadian with American mother. We had a good discussion about politics and travel.

24 March (Tuesday): Leaving the Farewell behind
I got a fairly early start and headed back to the spit. I wanted to see what it looked like during high tide. The Farewell Spit, according to DoC, is a 25 km nature reserve and internationally-renowned bird sanctuary. Apparently 90 plus species of bird utilize this bit of sand – the longest spit in NZ. Because it is a bird sanctuary, individuals can only walk about 3 km out onto the spit. However, there are tour companies (two I think) that drive you out to the lighthouse and near bird areas. Whereas I had only walked the bay side of the spit the night before, I started on the sea side this morning. To be honest, it wasn’t much more than a very sandy beach! I could see the cliffs that lined the coast to the west, but I couldn’t see much of the spit itself as it curved east. At the entrance to the beach, a sign was posted warning of quicksand near the cliff faces! This ocean side is where all the eroded west coast sand is deposited. Walking on the exposed tidal sand felt a lot like walking on new beach. Instead of having hard packed sand to easily walk through, I felt like I was wading as my feet sunk a half to full inch with every step. This deposited sand is blown east, by the prevailing westerlies, and creates the dunes that form the spit. While the sun and constant trudging though the sand wore on me a bit, I did enjoy the group of oyster catchers that were collected on section of the beach. I took quite a few photos of them and their tracks. I was quite pleased when I finally saw the track that connected me back to the bay side of the spit. Here, the mudflats were covered with sea water and the water was thickly occupied by black swans! Lots and lots of swans, stilts, and seagulls; even what may have been a couple of terns! When I returned to my car, I drove back to the lookout for pictures of the high tide view. I think the water forming a definite outline of the spit helps show the curve of the land – even if the land itself is so low that it blends into the ocean!

Having seen the spit at both high and low tide, I decided to head back towards Golden Bay and my eventual ferry trip home. However, I had a few sights left to see…..

My first stop was Te Waikoropupu Springs, generally referred to as Pupu springs for convenience! The DoC website says that Pupu springs is the largest freshwater springs in NZ and the largest coldwater springs in the southern hemisphere…..hmmm, I wonder where the largest hot water springs are? The springs are renowned for their clarity too; the spring bed is easily viewed and apparently some areas allow you to see the grains of sand being tossed up by the spring water. It was a lovely bush walk with excellent views of the spring. The sandy spring floor created a beautiful turquoise blue, while the flora in the water provided a contrasting red, brown, or green. The water didn’t bubble at the spring, but ripples in the water let you know where the spring was. At a viewing platform, an interesting underwater viewing area was set up. A plexiglass window gave a view through the crystal clear water. This view window was then reflected, by mirror, upwards to another mirror above the viewer’s head. By looking up into this mirror you were able to see under the water. It was interesting. The trail wound away from Pupu springs and down Fish Creek and it’s springs. One area had a boardwalk over the creek itself, putting you in the heart of the springs area, surrounded by trees and water.

After the springs, I hit the cave I had skipped the day before – Rawhiti Cave. I had read that this was an exceptional example of flora influencing the formation of stalactites and stalagmites; that is, the rock actually curved out of the cave and towards the light! It was a shortish walk up a steep mountain (I ran into a girl that had left her friend to head back to the car, the friend said the girl had only been 10 minutes away!!). The effort up the track was well worth the experience though! I’m not sure what the cave dimensions are, but it is massive! The entrance itself is very large and open to the sun. I didn’t go down to the very bottom of the cave so I’m not sure how far back it goes, but apparently not very far. The reason I didn’t go too far down is because the trail is not well marked. I wasn’t worried about slipping, but I didn’t want to break any of the stalagmites with some ignorant step! The pictures from the cave entrance are really washed out because of the sun, but the ones from down in the cave are fairly good. There was mist coming off the rock formations just getting sun and the rocks inside the cave had a purple tinge to them.