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Week Eleven, “The Last Push”
Okay, so the last we spoke I was in Christchurch, it was rainin’. While in Chch I was able to hire a vehicle. So with my own wheels I was able to hit up some locations that would have been more trouble hitching to. I immediately headed east and hit a small town of Akaroa. A small french hamlet I’ve heard it called. Thing is alot of stores close around the 5ish hour and so it makes it hard to shop and see the town when you arrive later than that time. I was able to grab a coffee and did find a great souvenir I sent home. I didn’t feel Akaroa need a stop over for the night so I returned to Chch and the Holiday Park for a tent site.
Oh before I headed out to Akaroa I drove around a bit to get accustomed to driving here in New Zealand. Not to bad, since I have been here 2 months now, it is not strange to be in the left lane and drive on the left side of the road. It is unusual being in the right side of the vehicle for all the volume is now in front to your left not your right. I even had a manual so I was shifting with my left hand as well. The turn signal got me a few times as it’s on the right of steering column. So I was turning on the wipers a couple times.
Lets see, that Saturday I headed north to Hanmer Springs where I soaked in some hot pools. They are commercial hot pools, but much more relaxing than the Rotorua ones withouth the seagull noise and poop everywhere. From here I pushed to Kaikora where the whale viewing is great.
I checked into a backpackers in Kaikora and enjoyed some Speights beer and a home cooked meal. It is nice having a car. I now have some storage room for fresh foods which are the heaviest to carry. I can also plan for a week instead of a couple days at a time. On Sunday I went for a cliffside hike to spot whales, no luck. But I did catch a seal swimming and tanning. I also caught a sight of the mountains with a fresh dusting of snow.
Continuing north I stopped in Blenheim, and ended up back in Nelson for a couple days. Got a haircut, prctice some juggling, shopped around, acted like a local (since I had been there before) (actually I was able to assist 2 groups with directions)
Tuesday, I hit Picton’s Holiday Park where I camped one night before boarding the InterIslander back to the North Island. I soaked up some rays and finished reading the Hobbit, got some juggling tips from a fellow camper. Wednesday I hit the North Island and shot north to Hawera. Walked the town which was having an Americana Festival. Looked alot like 4th of July, stars and stripes all over as well as American flags. Seems the kiwis where celebrating American Culture. Didn’t seem to different then their normal routine. Gave me a good giggle and feeling though.
I had picked the west coast over the east coast to travel back to Auckland. Mt Taranaki is on the west coast as well as Black Water Rafting in Waitomo. Unfortunately my ride around Mt Taranaki was shrouded in clouds so I can’t share any of it’s grandness. I was able to see it in picture while shopping the strips. Passed through a larger town called New Plymouth and head on to Waitomo on Thursday.
Friday I had a booking to go Black Water Rafting. What that is is tubing in a cave. I picked the adventure that included some rappelling, zip lining, tubing, glow worms, and getting wet. Had a good time, not sure it was worth what I spent and I was suspicious when we returned a good bit earlier than scheduled. And that included a quick little side adventure. One of the guides took me on an extra cave exploration after everyone else left back to the van. That was a highlight as we quickly ran back into the cave system and crawled around and up at a fast clip. I even had to enter a room on my back to breath above the water, kinda scary. Then we ran back to the van. Wooh tiring in a wet suit. They gave us some soup and bagels. I split the cost of pictures with another adventurer so I will load those up.
From Waitomo I headed into Hamilton where gas prices jumped up 4 cents a liter. Jeeze we have it good as far as gas prices go. My first refill cost me $70NZ = $56US for a Nissan Sedan. The good thing is this country isn’t that big and I only filled up 2x and travelled the equivalence of the length of one whole island.
While in Hamilton I hit up a movie “Jumper” and not much more. Saturday I returned the car after dropping my stuff off at Sarah’s house. Sarah is someone I met online who gave me a bunch of information about New Zealand and offered me accommodation as well. Spent 2 nights at her place meet some of her friends for dinner and spent time with her cat Jessica.
That brings me to Today, Monday the 25th.
I am in Auckland awaiting a WEEN concert tonight. Tomorrow I bid farewell to New Zealand and lift off for Fiji. It has been an amazing holiday. It most likely won’t really make an impact till I have left. I will continue blogging my Fiji trip if Internet is available otherwise you’ll have to be patient. Cheers
Week Ten
From Stewart Island I got a lift from Mike to Queenstown. That’s where I recouped from Stewart Island and uploaded the blog. I also booked a coach to Dunedin, a city on the East coast. It was now time to start making my way back North. Dunedin was a much bigger city than expected, lots of people, nice architecture, shopping. It also has the Otago Peninsula which houses an Albatross Colony and Yellow Eyed Penguins. Unfortunately Wildlife viewing is not cheap and one can’t just stroll a neighboring trail to catch sight of these animals here in Dunedin. It kind of put me into a little grumpy mood so I decided to push on. Before I left I checked out Cadbury World, I just looked at the visitor’s center I didn’t bother with the tour. Not much of a Cadbury Chocolate fan. Whitaker’s Chocolate here is good eats. If your nice I might bring back some.
As I pushed north a friendly driver took me out to Shag Point (Don’t worry it wasn’t for any hanky panky, anyhow I was with an older couple they could be my grandparents) Out at Shag Point I got to see some seals or sea lions not sure. They then dropped me at the Moeraki Boulders. These boulders are form much like a pearl. A piece of debris begins to from layers of calcite around it growing and growing until you get these big round boulders. Over time uplift and erosion push them to the surface where the ocean then bombards them breaking them open. Really cool.
In Oamaru I did decide to pay a little money to see some wildlife as it seemed like a better deal. I took a bus tour out to the coast where Yellow Eyed Penguins come up to the beach. They are down on the beach the mature ones with their distinguishing yellow bands around the eyes. There was a chick or 2 just under the viewing blind, too young to have any yellow plumage of there namesake. The tour also included a night viewing of Little Blue Penguins. We, about 200 of us, sat under a roof outlooking the ocean as 3 groups called “rafts” came in 15 in the 1st batch about 40 in the 2nd and 25 in the 3rd. Way cute. They would ride a wave in together and make their way up a ramp of rocks to nesting areas. These penguins are the smallest in the world and don’t move like the typical penguin. Imagine one of those small wind up toys that you set on a table and vroom they take off, heads way in front of them. To protect the penguins there was no picture taking so you’ll have to check out Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony for visual aids.
From Oamaru I made the push inland to hike up to the Mueller Hut. This Hut is in the Mt. Cook National Park and is nestled under the shadow of Mt. Cook or Aoraki. The Gods were with me as the day at the hut was beautiful, full views of glaciers, the mountain and valley below. Mt. Sefton had many glaciers hanging on and occasionally you could hear the ice falls. If I was quick I could see where it was coming down from as it’s very much like fireworks you hear it after its happened. The hike down was windy and wet but the sun came out to brighten the day. The day was also brightened by 2 quick pick ups which have landed me in Christchurch. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island. It is currently wet so I am using the oportunity to finalize this weeks blog and plan my next adventure. Next week will be a push as there is lots to see and land to cover on my way back to Auckland. Cheers
Week 10 Pics
Great Mt. Aoraki or Mt. Cook reaching 12349 feet,
New Zealand tallest mountain with clouds below 
Mt. Sefton with many glaciers just clinging to it’s face. 
Me and Mt Aoraki 
Early morning from the climb up, the valley still shrouded in clouds
Large spillway of one of many dams in the area of Omarama.
Cool rock formation, not sure what kind of rock.
Moeraki Boulders on the beach 
Yellow Eyed Penguins, and chick
Relaxing seal @ Shag Point
Stewart Island Pics
In the Beginning there was a bridge..
followed by a hut named Bungaree 
Along came a young man named Shahar 
and another named Mike 
Together we journeyed to Christmas Village Hut 
Some swam in the beaches 
Some played in the sand 
we all played in the mud 
.
We stayed in Huts, Yankee River
, We walked on sandy beaches 
There were beaches 
beaches 
beaches 
and
beaches 
and still more beaches. Some more Ruggedy than others. 
a derelict wharf, 
a lunch spot for the day,
views of the wild, 
and views of a tamer interior, 
There were things amusing 
and then there were amusing things.
Stewart Island, A True Gem of New Zealand
Hip Hip Hooray for Stewart Island. I don’t know much of the logistics of the island but most of it is a National Park known as Rakiura. It is a pristine untouched gem for the most part. Home to a lot of native birds and bush. There are only 300-400 residents on the island living in Oban or Halfmoon Bay. There are a # tracks on the island some easy tramps and others more gruelling. I chose the more gruelling Northwest Circuit, a 10 day, 120km track that follows the Northwest coast for the most part and then cuts back in through the interior back to Halfmoon Bay. There are also a number of huts along the track to make the tramping easier without the need of a tent, mattress and other trivial gear. Considering the amount of mud along the track it is nice knowing one can take their boots off and have shelter at the end of the day.
Day One, Thursday, 31/01/08, I checked in with the DoC, Department of Conservation. Gave them my itinerary and locked up gear I wouldn’t need for the trek. They were very helpful, highlighting track reroutes, points of no return, hut logistics, the weather forecast, etc. Once that was taken care of I headed off. There was still about an hour hike out of town before I actually hit the track. I bypassed the first hut at Port Williams to make day 2 a little easier since it was only 3 hours from the trail-head. Bungaree Hut is where I landed the first evening. A wonderful hut right on the beach. Actually most of the huts were pretty darn close to the beach. Bungaree housed 16. There were 8 of us that night. Myself, a couple from Auckland, 4 from Israel, and Ben, a fellow American who was working with The Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust and there to monitor penguin chicks. Dinner- Curry Beef
Day Two, The couple from Auckland, John and Shu-in (spelled wrong) had already left. As I was prepping to head out when Shahar, one of the Israelis asked if he could join me as his group was not going to continue on. Also joining us would be Mike from Christchurch, NZ who had just arrived from Port Williams Hut where he had stayed the night before. The 3 of us hiked together making our way to Christmas Village Hut. The weather a little wet but expecting to clear in the afternoon. A beautiful hike which I will repeat over and over again as this is a true gem, unspoiled land. Many views of beaches and ocean while walking amongst native ferns and trees. The trail surely had mud but it was easily avoided by hopping on leaf debris, rocks, logs or skirting around it through the bush. Occasionally a foot took the plunge but didn’t go much further than half the calf. Thank goodness for gators, things that wrap around your shoes and up your legs to keep stuff from getting in, an essential on a tramp like this. Dinner-Mexican Chicken with corn chips included.
At Christmas Village, another hut on the beach, I went for a swim. Wow! cold but refreshing. Sand flies were to be expected on this tramp and sure enough they were everywhere. They didn’t bother you while tramping, but as soon as you got to a hut they found you. For dinners I had packed freeze dried meals, I think this night I had Chicken Tikki Marsala. MMMM very good. My lunches consisted of PB & J’s, peanuts, granola bars, and crackers w/butter and cheese. For breakfasts I had powdered milk and muesli. With Coffee of course. After dinners I would usually fix a hot drink of hot powdered milk, sugar, cinnamon, and ground almonds. Joining that would be a chunk of Whitaker’s Dark Chocolate with Macadamian Nuts or Mocha
Day Three, on to Yankee River Hut. More of the same, b-e-a-utiful beaches, great bluey waves, some occasional birding, native bush everywhere and great conversation as the three of us Mike, Shahar and myself had continued hiking as a trio. John and Shu-in not far behind. I have to say hiking with others does make the tramp more enjoyable, as the track and its ups and downs and mud abound would disappear into a flow of conversation. It was easy to loose sight of any aches and pains the body was working through while chatting and getting to know one another. The mind stayed occupied. Also it is a great opportunity to meet your fellow travellers since we would be sharing huts together along the whole trip. At Yankee Hut I ventures out to the beach and snapped some photos, heard my first Kiwi Bird and soaked up a little sun. I think in the evening the 5 of us played some Ten Thousand, a dice game, I supplied the dice and finally got to use them not that they weigh much, but I had been packing them the whole NZ trip so far without use. Dinner- Beef Hot Pot, beef w/ veggies and spiral noodles.
Day Four, The five of us met up for lunch at Long Harry Hut, only 4 hours from Yankee River Hut. We had decided that to make up a day or rather give us a day to play we could skip this hut and push to East Ruggedy Hut. It made for a longer day but again gave you time to play in the future of the Circuit. East Ruggedy located on the true West side of the island is wild, rocky, and awesome. East Ruggedy Hut AKA The Ritz is my favorite area and hut along the track. Each hut is different in it’s own way. A sleeping area with bunks and mats sometimes partitioned off from a cooking and dining area. Each hut has a wood stove, drying rack that lowers from the ceiling, a front porch or veranda, sink with running water (questionable @ Ruggedy) collected from the roof, a visitor’s intentions book and map of track. Some in better conditions then others but overall a great shelter to have after a days slog in the mud. A cup of tea or coffee became a familiar staple upon arrival to each hut along with a perusing of the visitors log book. We could check in on who came before us as others would soon be doing to us. At East Ruggedy we discovered another, Jason. Jason had been at the hut for a number of days and had been fishing Blue Cod out at the beach. Yep he had some. On the announcement of my freeze dried menu for the evening he asked if it served 2 and offered up some fish for sharing. You bet. MMM not sure what I had, it was an Indonesian dish that actually worked best as a side to fresh and I mean Fresh fish. Even had a little raw with wasabi and soy. mmm..mmm.. After dinner we invited Jason to join us in another game of dice, he Won!, beginner’s luck. Oh, also joining us @ The Ritz was a German couple, Garod and Katrina who had used the hut for cooking but slept out in a tent. I forgot we had discovered them earlier in the day at a lookout spot along the trail. Which reminds me of another thing. Before arriving to East Ruggedy the track comes down to the beach then heads up to the hut, but down in that beach a river joins the ocean and mixes with the sand to create quicksand. Oh yeah, Quicksand. I got to experience a weee bit as my feet slowly sank into the sand then stopped around my ankles. I think if the tidal conditions had been different it may have been deeper and more abundant as Mike and Shahar who were right next to me didn’t sink in the sand. Neat stuff, quicksand.
Day Five, the push to Big Hellfire Hut. Yep Hellfire, not sure why, sure it did have a ridge climb but it wasn’t too bad. More great views of beaches, birds, bush but this time the interior was beginning to share it’s grand landscape. And from Hellfire Hut there were some great views of the interior of North Stewart Island. It has a couple lakes and is a huge wetland. An interesting feature at Hellfire Hut is a huge dune alley that leads down to the beach from way up on the ridge. I had thought of sand surfing down but it wasn’t that kind of dune. I did hike down though and enjoyed a walk on the beach where the waves were breathtaking. Each wave seem to catch its own shade of blue, approaching the shoreline in full force and one right on top of each other. If I knew any better it would be a surfer’s paradise except for the ruggedness of the coast. After my climb up I enjoyed dinner, made a hot drink and set out to stalk some Kiwi. Unfortunately I only discovered a possum. Possums, not native, Possums Bad! The possum was introduced back in the day and has wreaked havoc on the flightless birds of New Zealand including the signature Kiwi. It is a nuisance and is best seen flattened in the street or woven into a throw or garment as it’s fur is quite warm and cozy. The Possum here is cute though unlike the Opossum we have in the States. They are completely furry lacking the naked snout and naked tail like ours. It has created much controversy in NZ as they lay and spray 1080, a pesticide, throughout areas of the country. Yes, even this primordial land has warnings of poison bait stations. Along with the Possum are feral cats and rats introduced to the island which have brought bird numbers down buy obviously cat - bird attacks and rats eating the flora that the birds would sustain themselves with. I have to admit I did expect more bird activity on the island. We even spotted Red Deer on 2 occasions during our trek also not native. Dinner- ?
Day Six, On to Mason Bay Hut. This will be the last coastal day as Mason Bay Hut is set slightly inland, but following it the track heads east toward Halfmoon Bay. For that the trail actually follows the beach for 3 km before turning inland. Mason Bay Hut sits at the junction of the Northwest Circuit and the Southwest Circuit. It is also a prime Kiwi spotting location. On arrival it was kind of a shock as there were many people at this hut. A group of 13 had arrived the previous night from the SW Circuit Track and were staying an additional night. The hut sleeps some 20 people and has a large lawn for tents. It has a spacious dining and cooking area as well. The Dept. of Conservation was in full force on arrival as well for they were filming a documentary on backcountry cooking, invasive grass, the Kiwi and maybe some other topics. It is not uncommon for people to fly into Mason Bay as well, it makes for an easy access spot and explains the surge of people. Planes could be heard coming in or taking off from the beach about a 20 minute walk away. It was a little jarring to the senses but our group seemed to work with it. Later in the evening most people were out on the trail snooping for Kiwi anyway. Yep so was I along with Mike, John and Shu-in. Even at Mason Bay I didn’t get to see one but I was standing within 20 feet of one or two. They are nocturnal birds that hang out in the thick brush so they can be pretty elusive. Though in this area it is said they can be seen in the daytime maybe due to territorial and populations, I am not sure. Dinner – ?
Day Seven, With only a 3-4 hour walk to the next hut it was a mellow day. Most people had headed out and John Shu-in and Shahar had started early with plans to possibly skip the next hut for an additional shaving of another day off the trip. Mike and I hung out at the hut talking with Kelley and Les who were NZ residents as well. They went out fishing for the day. I went for a hike looking for the Kiwis that hang out in the light of day. Mike chilled out at the hut. It was quite relaxing for we were the only ones there after a night with so many and a night that included snoring here and there. I actually slept outside on the grass, as even the dining area which had attracted some sleepers to the solace of silence was soon interrupted with snoring as well. hehehehe I slept pretty good out on the grass, but was annoyed to hear later that a Kiwi had been out on the grass that morning just wandering around, arghhhh. Around 2pm Mike and I both got the itch to get on the trail. I think we could have stayed but we just had the bug to move on. So on to Freshwater Hut we went. A flat hike all the way. Passing an old Homestead and DoC Facility just 15 minutes from Mason Bay Hut. There were a few portions of the track that were board-walked since it was lowland and marshy. Quite a landscape change from our previous travels. I found it quite refreshing to experience. The feet didn’t enjoy it so much, not sure why the flat ground tends to make them hurt. At Freshwater we met up with a 2nd German couple Misha and ?, from Hamburg. Soon after them Michael also from Hamburg showed up and 2 Kiwi mainlanders coming in from the start of the track. Some of us went for a dip in the frigid waters and enjoyed the sun. We had some dinner and hit the hay, knowing that the next day was going to be a big push out, passing North Arm Hut and on to Halfmoon Bay where the South Sea Pub waits with full glasses of cold brew. John, Shu-in and Shahar had pushed on, we had discovered this while reading the visitor’s intention book. It was a big day for them, Good on ‘em!! Dinner- Spaghetti Bolognese
Day Eight, The Big Push Out. I woke up just as the sun was coloring the sky, had some jo and brekkie. Others started to stir and soon after Mike and I were on the trail. Today’s track held the highest climb of the whole track and 2 segments which usually are done separately. We reached North Arm Hut around 12:30 where we dipped our heads in the water and snacked on some lunch. Soon after we were off again. The track from North Arm Hut had merged with another track known as the Rakiura Great Walk Track which could be hiked in 3 days staying @ Port Williams Hut the 1st night and North Arm the 2nd. I hear locals run this track in 4-5 hours. Since it is a ’Great Walk’ it is better maintained and people can move quicker along it. This is why we had considered to make the big push knowing the track would be better. And it was, actually it was a lot of boardwalk up and down and all around hugging the shoreline inlets of Halfmoon Bay. We arrived in Halfmoon Bay around 4:30 where we check’d in with the DoC and I claimed my gear. Mike and I walked over to the Stewart Island Backpackers and each of us got a tent site. We also found John and Shu-in, Garod and Katrina there too. After a quick tent set up and change of clothes we were off to the pub. mmmmm a cold Tui’s named after the bird. Went down quick. After 3 orders of chips (fries) and a few beers we headed over to a Fish and Chips Kart. Oh my gosh I had my first Blue Cod Fish Burger “the works” Okay, Blue Cod fillet, egg, bacon, pineapple, beetroot (which is the kiwi signature), sauteed onions, tomatoes, lettuce and tartar sauce. Holy Crap, too die for. After that it was back to the pub where we met up with Shahar and his girlfriend, Kelley and Les, and Ben, who was at the Bungaree Hut stalking Penguins. He had just got out of the field as well. We all had a great evening, even played a game of 10k with 10 people. Les Won! Beginner’s Luck.
Day Nine, Ulva Island. So I thought I would take the opportunity while I was so far south to visit a bird and native bush conservation area. I took the 9am ferry only 5 minutes to an adjacent island to spend a portion of the day birding and taking it easy. A very nice retreat, nothing on the island except a small private in-holding which use to be a post office back in the day. Got some good bird sightings of the Tui, Weka, Robin, Saddleback, Tomtit, Bellbird, Riflemen, and some others got fleeting glimpses of. The Kaka, a larger parrot, kept to the high canopy so they weren’t to visible.
That’s about it. It was a great adventure, I’d do it again. Check out the pics.
Coming Soon! Stewart Island’s Northwest Circuit Tramp
I am recouping from my 8 day tramp around the Northwest of Stewart Island. I will be posting my adventure and pics once I return to the mainland (south island). Cheers
Twitter Updates- stonester: Sitting here IN Boise enjoying time as it drips into 2009. What a holiday.
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