Pancake Rocks

After getting off the Tranz Scenic in Greymouth I hopped on a bus and headed towards Nelson. The first part of the drive was along the coast with views of golden beaches and some hairpin bends:


Tea stop was at Punakaiki with a chance to see the Pancake Rocks. Layers of mudstone and limestone with the former eroding quicker than the latter leaving the pancake effect:





The road then headed inland through former gold mining settlements like Charleston which in the 1860s had a population of 40,000, 80 hotels and 3 breweries - just one hotel left today. Then it follows the Buller River gorge, twisting along this mesmerising route. Arrived that evening in Nelson.

Edwards-Hawdon via Tarn Col

I walked the 5km from the village down the river to the start of the tramp, partly on the road, partly on the river bed and along a nice open stretch of the railway line - but with the film River's Edge in mind decided not to spend too long doing the latter. I then headed up the Edwards River with views back to Mt Bealey:

I soon caught up with Jörg who was doing the same tramp. And we followed the valley ahead:

Some wildlife along the way:


Reached Edwards hut (alt. c. 1000m) at about 3pm. Here I am in stripey thermals:


2 dorms in the hut with beds fitted in wherever possible:

Quite cold by the time we went to bed. No-one else in hut. There was frost on the ground in the morning, but the sun soon warmed us up and cast shadows:


This is Falling Mountain, named for huge landslides caused by an earthquake in 1929:


Here I am at the Taruahuna Pass 1252m:


From there we had a steep climb to Tarn Col with dramatic views behind:


Looking ahead across the tarn:


A New Zealand grasshopper:


Crystal clear water in the Otehake River:


Then a gentle downhill stroll to the new Hawdon Hut with this view from the deck:


On the third day glorious sunshine again:


The last couple of hours was out in the baking sun and across the Bealey River:


We spent about 20 minutes trying for a lift with cars passing every minute before an Aussie beekeeper stopped and took us the 25km back to Arthur's Pass. A non-stop talker who already had his mate and another hitch hiker on board!
After a nice shower finished the day with a nice meal and drinks at the local restuarant under the watchful eye of a kea!

The Tranz Alpine and Arthur's Pass

Most of NZ's rail lines are freight only these days, but the Tranz Alpine, which crosses the South Island from Christchurch to Greymouth still has a daily passenger service. Trains of 30 wagons or more take coal from the west coast to the port of Lyttleton on the east to be shipped to Japan! First stop was Springfield with a view of the mountains ahead:


Big windows, open viewing platform and running commentary add to the spectacular scenery as we journeyed up the Waimakariri River:

Once up in the mountains there are meadows, farms and lakes. NZ's biggest sheep station of 50,000 hectares is here:

On the trip down to Greymouth we passed through an area of rata trees with their red blossoms - very good for honey:

But before that at the tiny village of Arthur's Pass (pop. 50 and alt. 737m) I got off the train...

Some of the little cottages here were built for men working on the railway a 100 years ago:

Before the Otira tunnel was completed passengers had to disembark from the train and take the old coach to the train on the other side:

WWI interrupted construction but it was finally opened in 1923 at 5.3 miles long - when the tunnellers from both sides met up they were only an inch out!

The village has some nice walks including the Devil's Punchbowl. The 131m falls were known to the Maori as the weaving waters as they ressembled dressed flax and were named for Hinekakai a famous weaver:


Maori hunting parties had been using this pass long before Arthur Dudley Dobson 'found' his way through to the west from the Waimakiriri. Other locals included the kea, a member of the parrot family. They are rated as amongst the most intelligent of birds and will unzip rucksack pockets, steal the laces from your boots and eat the rubber off your windscreen wipers! Visitors are under strict instructions not to feed them. This painting was in the lovely youth hostel:
In the D.O.C. (Department of Conservation) visitor centre I was advised to avoid the Goat Pass tramp I had planned to walk as it is part of the Coast to Coast challenge route in mid Feb and participants would be in training - running along the mountain path, so not very relaxing for walkers! 243kms of running, cycling and kayaking with the winners taking under 11 hours! I chose instead the 3 day Edwards-Hawdon circuit, collected a map, hired a personal locator beacon and set off...

Heading South

And we're back...
Two weeks ago I took the early morning ferry from Wellington (former channel ferry - Pride of Cherbourg still visible on the side) along with lots of other people, several hundred of them AC/DC fans who had been to the concert the previous evening (is Angus Young still in short trousers?). Calm 3 hour crossing of the Cook Strait, most of it spent navigating through the Marlborough Sounds:


The ferry docked in Picton, exactly as I remembered it from 18 years ago:


Then onto the bus through parched grassland and passed vineyards and then along the highway which follows the coast down to Kaikoura and onto Christchurch:


Christchurch is a very English cathedral city and also the base for the Antartic Survey hence the statue of Scott, sculpted by his wife:
A lovely evening tofu and and cashew-nut stir fry take-away beside the river before watching Flame and Citron, gripping Danish war time resistance movie, in lovely art house cinema:

A flying visit as I had been here before, so up early the next morning to board the Tranz Scenic train...

Poads Road to Otaki Forks

On Friday I joined the Wellington Tramping Club for a weekend hike in the Tararua mountains north of Wellington. We drove up on Friday evening stopping for sustenance in the town of Levin. The start point was Poads Road where we camped for the night - just a ground sheet and a fly sheet to keep the rain off.
Up early to begin the tramp - and straight into the Makaretu Stream which we followed for several hours, crossing and recrossing. No paths here! So wet feet all day (standard practice in the Tararuas):


Near the start we entered a gorge where there had recently been a big rock slide. Quite deep here and so we had to wade over waist deep with packs held high!:


Had this little visitor. A weta:

This one hitched a lift on someone's pack and appeared at our next stop. They are big, about 10cm, but harmless:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta

Here we are among lichen covered rocks about to head straight up through the bush to the Oriwa Ridge. We passed a hunter's bivvy (camp and shelter) and saw evidence of the pigs and goats they were after:


It was a hard day, good to be out of the stream, but a tough climb up with 15kg on your back! At the top there was a rainwater collector and a flat area for camping. We moved out of the trees as it was colder there, however in the night the wind got up and we got a bit damp:

Next day wet boots back on (fine after a few minutes) and a tramp along the ridge then down requiring lots of careful navigation using maps, compass, altimeter and a check with the GPS. More stream crossing followed as the waters were high and we had to alter our route:


The day's walk ended 12 hours after leaving our camp! We reached the packed hut at Waitewaewae:
However spaced was made for us and we finally sat down to dinner at about 10pm! Sleeping under a real roof, luxury! Outdoor canine accommdation also provided:

Great tale from a chap about trying to move the toilet building from the old hut site by river rather than carrying it along the muddy track - it promptly sank and had to be hauled out again! The last section of the walk followed an old tramway used to transport logs. The steam engine that was used to haul them down to the rail head still there:


At the very end we crossed the Otaki river on this amazing bridge:


Another good day - only 5 hours of walking and then back to Wellington via a chocolate stop at a garage!

Wading the Makaretu:

Napier

Final stop on the road trip was Napier. In 1931 an earthquake flattened most of the city with ensuing fires causing more damage. Out of the ashes blossomed a planned Art Deco gem. With the town fearful of further quakes nothing rose higher than 2 stories. From Bluff Hill there is a view over the beach and Marine Parade:


More logs!:


A modern sculpture on the seafront:

The A&B building:

NZ flora atop Bluff Hill:

Church and fountain:

Some of the Art Deco facades - at ground level changed to modern shop fronts:




Lots of lovely wooden houses with decks and shady trees, perfect for the warm climate:




On Marine Parade, plenty of benches to relax on and watch the world go by:



Off for weekend hike with the Wellinton Tramping Club this weekend, forecast not great, but hopefully some photos to follow!