Astronauts - Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown, New Zealand
Stardate.... No thanks, I prefer prunes! Captains Log.... I hope it's not a floater! Sorry, having a silly moment, back to very serious blogging.... After a free ride in our own 4x4 across the width of the country, thanks to the great idea of relocating rental cars (thanks Jane) passing incredible blue lakes (Tekapo) watched over by the highest peak in NZ, Mount Cook, we arrived in Christchurch (from Queenstown) to pick up our new home for the next 30 days, our Spaceship, named Hawkeye (famed through Marvel comics as a dead eye marksman). First impressions, it's small, and any nags we had with each other from spending so much time in one another's proximity were going to multiply, quickly, and second impression, this is going to be an adventure! It was 7pm by now, and dark, with no sat nav, no idea of the local area, and one location to find, Raven Quay, where we were lead to believe we could freedom camp. Freedom Camping is the term coined for just parking up and camping in your van for free, especially in Australasia, however, the Governments have tightened the reigns on this freedom, since far too many travellers have taken to leaving rubbish and smelly stuff behind, rather than using the countless number of public toilets and rubbish bins provided. A big shame really, so we are going to try and stick to DOC (department of conservation, or constipation as I call it, not by choice, I just can't seem to say the word conservation, any ideas why would help, it's a bit embarrassing in conversation with strangers) campsites, which you usually have to pay a small fee to use, but it being winter, my bets are that they won't be enforcing this too stringently. So we found Ravens Quay, but it was just a road, no toilets or anything, just a desolate street with a few houses, so we hit the road, trying to find another spot, tired, a bit stressed out and ominously excited about our first night in Hawkeye, we hit a dirt road, that lead us to a river, drew the curtains and tried to sleep, knowing we were probably on private land. Not a good sleep and we woke to fishermanpeople giving us strange looks, but we are alive, and we don't seem to have a ticket, so off we went, west, in search of mountains through the Lewis Pass, after a quick morning stop off in Christchurch, the museum, and the stale solumnness which still seems to be preventing the city from breathing again since the quakes. Incredible scenery surrounds you, especially driving through the alps, but so does a big chill, and ice, so we found out when camping at the foot of the alps on Lewis Pass. We were determined, first to start a fire, that failed, then to cook, we had pasta, very bland, then to build our home extension, our tarpooling, we succeeded, but it froze, then finally to sleep, we did, for a wee while, until we needed a wee. We need a heater, a hot water bottle, and a giant thermos. Lewis pass took us all the way to the west coast, where we were eagerly awaiting he sight of the famous twin Glaciers, Fox and Franz Josef (the latter named after an Austrian aristocrat simply to gain more exploring pocket money by the early discoverers). We booked on to a guide walk for the first, Franz Josef, and learnt a bit about the native plants and animals, thanks to a VERY enthusiastic young guide who was most likely being like that because he was being assessed that very day, and got to visit an ice cave, but didn't manage to get on the glacier itself, maybe we could get on Fox the next day. After one stop off overnight in a YHA, where the warmth and the Sauna literally warmed our souls, our visit to Fox was short, a simple walk up to the glacier, which was more impressive then FJ, and with the helicopters flying frequently overhead we kind of wish we had the doe for a heli-trip ourselves, we still continue to meet people who say it was the best thing they did in the south island. We camped overnight on Gillespie beach, with the backdrop of evening pink glacier mountains and an orange sea, along with our first real encounter with the evil of New Zealand, the Sandfly, who all seem to want to nest in Hawkeye, and down my pants! The females drink your blood, the males just annoy you, remind you of any other species? Our west coast drive took us over the Haarst pass next, another stunning drive, passing the famous Thunder Falls on the way, but we have seen Niagara, so thunder is more like mild rumbles to us! At this point we are starting to miss the warm sun of the Cook Islands, and shorts and t shirts, and sunblock, it seems to be getting colder still! Our next stop was a return to Queenstown, as its on route to Oamaru and the East coast. We parked outside the last backpacker hostel we stayed at, sneaked into the kitchen, cooked our dinner, used a bit of Internet, then high tailed it towards the nearest DOC campsite. It was dark by now, and raining, so we followed the directions and came to a very VERY rocky uphill road that we assumed lead to Moke Lake, and the campsite. Now it was snowing hard, and we had been driving uphill on 4x4 roads for 30 minutes, we must be pretty high, but no point in stopping, we need somewhere to sleep! No mobile phone signal, no idea what's around us, but we eventually found our site, empty of course, no one else is mad enough to camp in the snow, up a mountain, by a lake, in the freezing cold. We snuggled down, tried to wiggle some warmth into our feet and hands, and actually got a good nights sleep. When we rose, I say we, I mean me, I am always up first, 7am on the dot, we drive back towards civilisation and get a chance to see the snow capped mountains we were camping in close up, and staying true to my dreams, they were that. A pretty boring drive by NZ standards took us back to the east coast, where we wanted to find penguins, seals, whiskey, and the Catlins. We had 2 days to see the Catlins and drive many many kilometres to get to Miiford sound and the cruise we had booked for Sunday morning. So our schedule as ever was tight, and our time limited. Oamaru was interesting, a town striving to keep alive some age old traditions and its identity, pretty well. I tasted NZ whiskey, very impressive and highly recommended, and we spotted a couple of rare yellow eyed Penguins. On to Dunedin, a close relative of Edinburgh, where we tried in vain to spot an Albatross, and some penguins, but had to settle for evil seagulls, and a lovely small Bilbo like Englishman who ran a cafe and told us all minds of places to visit in the Catlins. We booked Airbnb for the night and stayed with a fantastic young couple called Jess and Gareth, who seemed to have the travel bug themselves, so we spent the night eating curry, drinking beers, playing cards and exchanging stories and advice, topped off by a warm bed and a hot shower, heaven. The previous evening reminded me how much I was missing new human interaction, with interesting new people. We had got used to this over the past 4 months so perhaps we start to crave whatever becomes normal to us. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the company of the two people I am with each day (Natalee and myself), but new interesting folk spark intrigue and a lust for new experiences. The Catlins, nestled on the far south of the country, hold to on a distinct beauty of their own, very different from the other parts of the country we have seen. Almost as if they are showing the continent they face, the Antarctic, what they are missing out on. Lush vegetation, green fields and forests, however they do share a lot of wildlife, and icy cold blue waters! We stopped to see lots of incredible views such as nugget point (which makes it onto many brochures), hunted mussels, and even tried our luck on a secret Confidence Course we happened upon. Before the wind and rain set in and we set off on the long drive to Fiordland, and Milford Sound. We made it as far as we could, with the snow starting to fall and weather warnings everywhere, and camped, with an early alarm set, as if it was needed! Driving at Dawn up through Fiordland was bountiful in eye popping views. Just trying to contemplate how this area was formed can take you away for hours, but not advised while driving. The tunnel was pretty special, however I have seen a lot of tunnels in the French alps, and not been amazed, maybe it's how far away the engineering took place, I don't know, but I feel less awed by it now in hindsight. The sound itself though, aboard our Jucy Cruise, was phenomenal. The pictures should tell the story, but it is a shame we did not get to see the same place in summer, as an overnight cruise, waking to the steeping rock faces, still waters and marine mammal life would have been a treat. We also stopped in at the underground observatory, fantastic to see some of the marine life going on under the surface, where due to the two layers of salt and freshwater creating pure darkness, very different marine life can thrive that you would usually only find at the deepest darkest parts of the ocean bed. We attempted to look into overnight cruises over doubtful sound, but price and weather were our adversaries, and they prevailed, so back on the road to Wanaka, and a date with a famous walk, the Rob Roy Glacier. The forecast for the next couple of days was poor to say the least, electric storms no less, so it was now or never for the trek. A few pep talks and finally I had Natalee on the trek, and despite nearly fainting early on, I have to say I was proud of her to see us both complete the return walk within three hours, and boy does that girl like going downhill! I then fancied another trek so hit the diamond lake trek, very uphill, but worth the views, and gave me some time to relax alone with my thoughts, and with a beer in hand, it became a subtle but truly memorable moment in my life. We camped there, and I woke to a truck pulling up beside our van, thinking it was a warden, I was nervous, but they left a few minutes later, and left us a gift, a big curly poo next to our van, perhaps a message from the locals, they don't like freedom campers? Post writing this, we discovered that a day later no fewer than 20 Avalanches in Milford Sound caused all tourists and workers to be stranded there for days, we missed that by one day, a reminder of the real dangers this country holds in its beauty, perhaps at times a double edged sword. Over the last few days we have been using the DVD player in the van, to watch The Wire, a very good series focussing on character, and taking the time to explore subplots and subtlety that dramas often miss out on for the sake of action or speed, it's a welcome escape from some of the speedy travelling we are undertaking. Next stop is a short return visit to Jane in Wanaka, followed by a 5 day birthday treat for Natalee, as its her 30th, it's an excuse to spoil!