Hokitika

The battalions of sandflies were still attacking us the next morning which made it not so hard to leave the beautiful lake and drive to Hokitika where we parked on the seafront before initially wandering down to the river mouth and then into town (whitebait sandwich again!). 

Taking a rest at Hokitika. 

The seafront is really interesting as masses of driftwood washes in here from the river and many creative people have made awesome sculptures which seem to decorate the beach in every direction.

Admiring the driftwood sculptures. 

Parent and child kite flying. 

People also love to fossick here for pounamu/jade.

The NZMCA Park, where we have stayed 6 years ago is handily situated, just over the bridge from town and right on the cycle track, so that is our stop for a couple of nights. Quite busy with motorhomers but still plenty of room. The sandflies have now been replaced by the odd mosquito and we both have plenty of bites from the two species especially on our feet to show for them.

There is a bit of traffic noise from the nearby main road on this site but that was surpassed by the rooster which started at 5.00am and frequently reminded us that he was still there for the next couple of hours. Fog/sea mist closely enveloped us in the morning with visibility just being a few metres. We had planned to go up the Hokitika Gorge, 33km away, and wondered how much we would be able to see there but luckily as we drove further inland the sun gradually managed to find it's way through and by the time we arrived at the gorge the sky was clear.

Not the colour to match my eyes today!

It's a very touristy spot and in photos usually looks absolutely amazing with the vivid turquoise river surrounded by native bush.

Could this be the source of Resene slate grey?

Today the water was more milky than turquoise because of the rain but it is still very picturesque as you do the 30 minute return walk from the carpark to the river edge through the mainly rimu and podocarp forest to viewing platforms and a swing bridge. The minerals from the glaciers gives the water the colour and the milkiness.

From here we circuited back to Lake Kaniere, another peaceful, beautiful spot with a DOC camp just over the road from the Hans Bay reserve.

Beautiful Kaniere. 

There are some big walks starting from around the lake but also some nice little short ones such as the Canoe Cove Rimu Forest walk and the Kahikatea Forest walk - none of which we did today! We also didn't go up as far as Dorothy Falls this time being able to remember it from our last trip.

Once back in Hokitika and another walk down the beach, fossicking, we both tried our luck with fishing at the river mouth where it was just after low tide. The river is a bit murky whitey grey anyway and the recent rain hasn't helped so after an hour of not having a bite I gave the surfcaster to Len and brought his spinner back to the bus where I settled down with a cup of tea to write this and, again, good timing as he has just arrived back. Empty-handed but he did catch an eel which he offered to a Maori guy who was fishing briefly but he didn't want it either. If he hadn't returned it to the water we could have smoked it as 50 years ago when I was served some, and not told what it was, I thought it was beautiful and had a second helping!

After returning to camp we joined another 3 couples for Happy Hour in the communal area.

On Thursday, after doing the washing at the Hokitika laundry and getting it on the NZMCA line with the sea mist / fog still hanging about we set off on our bikes knowing that the mist would lift like it did the previous day. We did part of the Wilderness cycle trail going halfway to Ross and back. The first part goes alongside the road, then the golf course before crossing the main highway and winding up and down through the bush.

"Keep up!"

It was a good ride, our turnaround point being after we did a rough, slightly boggy walking track to a picnic spot on the edge of Lake Mihinapua which is very serene and beautiful.

Oh I wish I'd brought my togs!

The water was so warm, and being isolated, it was a temptation to just strip off and go in but we resisted!

Looking forward to a beer in the bus!

The ride took a couple of hours with the walk probably adding another 30 minutes. Once back at the NZMCA camp it was good to find the washing was all dry!

Iveagh Bay, Lake Brunner

What a blissful holiday spot it is here at Iveagh Bay right by Lake Brunner. Despite it raining all night and continuing throughout this morning, making a very grey picture of the lake and sky from our back window, I still enjoyed having the good downpour. Time to catch up on reading the last couple of Listeners and doing some puzzles!

The other 12 campers departed at some point during the day but they have now been replaced by a similar number - mostly the dreaded "sliders" but to be honest they didn't bother us last night.

View through our back window before the sun came out. 

What a difference!!

As predicted, after lunch, the skies cleared and the sun came out - not too hot, just pleasant - unlike the east coast and the North Island where they are suffering a heat wave right now.

It's got to be the first one!

Good timing for us to set off on the 3 hour Ara O Te Kinga track to the viewpoints overlooking Lake Brunner with it starting right behind our bus.

Careful!

Nice to be in the
bush after the rain with the foliage all wet and glistening and the dappled sunlight. It was damp underfoot but we could manoeuvre around all the extra wet spots without a problem arriving at the first viewpoint after about 20 minutes. From here we had a good view of just part of the lake.

Shortly, however, there was a sign warning that the track ahead was rough and muddy. We decided to continue on but didn't get far before a quagmire appeared in front of us which we would have been ankle deep in for quite a few strides, there being no way round, so at this point it was clear we should turn around.
So our 3 hour walk was only a 3/4 hour stroll but that gave us plenty of time to have a swim in the lake on our return - a refreshing dip and not too cold at all.

It's nice once you're in!

We have had dinner and Len is doing a spot of fishing just round the corner of the lake - I can't see him from here and no trout have appeared either! I am being constantly bitten by sandflies and lost this whole blog when I swiped at one sitting on my phone half an hour ago causing a rewrite. They are driving me mad!

Whoops, I spoke too soon about not seeing any fish - Len has just arrived back with a beautiful brown trout!

Beautiful looking and beautiful eating too.

Through Blackball to Iveagh Bay, Lake Brunner

Two nights in quaint Reefton but time to move on to see yet more of this amazing country. The first place to find today (Sunday) in the very low cloud and drizzle was the 9 hole Ikamatua golf course which we were curious to know if it still operational - there was nothing online to indicate it might be closed. Claudette, our Google map guide who sounded very confident, had no hesitation in taking us there. 

A Mt. Nessing moment!

Unfortunately the only sign that it might have ever existed was a little, disused building on the side of the road which must have been the clubhouse. The course itself had reverted into normal looking paddocks. I was quite pleased actually not to feel obliged to play in the rain!

Having not been to Blackball on our previous trip we travelled down the northern side of the Grey River this time to do a little exploring there. A tiny little settlement with a population of 330 in 2006 it was named after the Black Ball  Shipping Line which leased land in this area to mine for coal. 

A typical old miner from days gone by!

It became known for the Great Strike in 1913 and there is a lot of information in the small but informative Working Class History Museum established there in 2010, the mine having closed in 1964. 

The Hilton!

Now it's more  known for it's "Formerly" Hilton Hotel which was forced by the Hilton chain to change it's name but seems to have only added "formerly" to it. Amongst the few other buildings there Blackball has a general store and a salami outlet which unfortunately was closed being Sunday.

Len was amused by the hot "lady" who stripped to her bra on the main street right by our bus, hanging her outer clothes on our mirror before replacing just the outer one!

From there we drove through Stillwater to Lake Brunner where we are parked in the free area at Iveagh Bay, a lovely spot right on the lake edge. Maybe there's a Trout to catch!

Westport again & Reefton

I think we'll do this one!

After parking up at the NZMCA Park in Westport again it was onto the bikes to do the really nice circular cycleway through the very windy but flat mountain-bike-like Kawatiri beach reserve track which leads on to North Beach and the river trail to Shingle Beach, the Lost Lagoon and across the floating basin boardwalk and back to the beach reserve.

Follow me. I think I know where I'm going!

An easy, great trail with lots of different things to see including weka and the lone young fisherman, on the purpose built constructed wharf, who had caught 8 kahawai there the previous day.

I know where I'm fishing tomorrow!

Once back at the bus and settling in we had a cheeky weka come right into the bus to visit us. Unfortunately I was too slow in grabbing the camera before Len had shooed it out!

Westport has a nice feeling with it's main street being enhanced by the many colourful hanging flower baskets and the old buildings with rather an art deco look.
Also I have loved the abundance of blue and white agapanthus which thrive around the countryside (& in town) often having beautiful  hydrangeas interspersed amongst them. A great show even though we are not meant to be encouraging agapanthus.

Before leaving Westport Len walked out to the fishing jetty that we had seen the previous day for a spin thinking around low tide would be a good time. However he soon saw that it was a high tide spot with the water being somewhat scarce below! So it was up-anchors and on the road through the picturesque Buller Gorge with it's tree-lined wide river views to Reefton well-known for both Coal and gold mining.

We found Golf Links Road before we reached Reefton so first stop was after a right turn to the Golf Course - a 12 holer on which we did the full 18. We really liked this course and both played well - it had trees, bunkers and also drains across some of the fairways but overall was in quite good condition - a nice situation in a bit of a basin with hills surrounding it. The clubhouse was closed and it was the first time we have played at a course where the toilets were locked but this time there were a few others playing, not just us. They included a couple from Germany who were also in a motorhome.

The German couple had an unusual motorhome. 

After golf we continued on into Reefton, buying some blue cod and chips, which I have to say weren't a patch on the Kaikoura takeaways but it was a treat to have a night off cooking.  Through town and a little way down the road is the Racecourse where NZMCA members can stay for just $2 each per night. No amenities available except fresh water but  an easy walk into town and very good value. Probably about 10 vans parked there for the night.

Reefton is a quaint little village with a nice feeling about it.

Reefton main street now.....

...... and then. 

You feel like you are going back in time with the old buildings and the  history evident around the town. It can boast of having the first electric light in the Southern Hemisphere and it is rich in it's history of both gold and coal mining. After our first night at the Racecourse we wandered into town, treated ourselves to a coffee and a very nice fruit and nut slice at Cafe Reef and then did the very good 40 minute Bottled Lighting Power House loop walk along the river, crossing the swingbridge midway.

Should have parked it in a proper car park!

L snapping T snapping swing bridge. 

After having a little lunch back at the bus (and with some encouragement from Len as I was feeling I should get this blog up to date first) we walked back through town again to connect up with the Pipe Line and Tram Track loop walk which we really enjoyed with it's occasional great views from up high overlooking the Inangahua river, road and the township.

View from Pipeline track 

Come and help me hold it up!

The connecting track from the pipeline to the tramline is steep with lots of steps but once that is completed it is an easy walk back with a bit more birdlife than we often hear in the bush. The path which is quite narrow in places was carpeted with beech leaves with lots of ferns and holly about too. The bell birds and fantail were simultaneously singing / chirping beautifully really close to us and we also saw a couple of Kereru.

After completing this loop we continued on to the Reservoir loop from which there were also excellent views looking down over the township.  A good 2 hours altogether I think and I'm really pleased we did it. Back at camp we joined another couple, Des and Ruth, from Hamilton, who are building a house at Te Aroha, for a happy Happy Hour.

Karamea, Fenian track

As we did the first day (in and out) of the Heaphy track on our car trip around the South Island years ago and motorhomes can't go up the narrow winding road to the caves and arches of the Oparara Basin we opted to do the Fenian track to Maloney's Bluff and the Fenian caves. 

Off we go. More beech and podocarp!

The day was overcast and a little drizzly but didn't spoil the walk which rose almost unnoticeable through the bush above the river to Maloney's Bluff from which there were meant to be great views up the Oparara valley. 

It was a bluff alright!

To us the description itself was a bluff and all a bit of Baloney rather than Maloney as we hadn't taken our chainsaw to chop down the trees obscuring the view. 

Look carefully!

We could get a  slither of the little waterfall across the river but no sight of the valley.

So from there we carried on up the track to do the circular walk to 3 caves, as well as a tunnel, which you walk through for 100 metres. Sounded good but we'd  left the machete behind as well as the chainsaw and didn't fancy fighting our way through all the wet overgrowth. So it was back to the bus having only seen a couple of other people during the approximate 1.5 hours return.

Coming back through Karamea we stopped for a few things from the supermarket  (dear in Karamea), plus beans and tomatoes from the little market next to it, before buying a couple of really nice meaty homemade pies from Vinnies - being cloudy and wet it was definitely the right day for one!

Then it was on to the Karamea Holiday Park just south of the village for a night. We had read reviews about the lovely elderly couple who owned this camp up until retiring in December and so weren't that impressed when, after dumping not long ( obviously too soon) after arriving the new younger owner sped over to our bus to ask Len for another $5 for dumping! Never struck that before as it's always included in your camp fee. We would have liked to give him the $5, ask for our $33 camp fee back and then leave but we didn't - hopefully his customer service will improve though. If we had left dumping until the next day, which we could have, he probably would have been OK. 

The camp facilities were all aged but kept clean and tidy with not many other people there, surprisingly, as it was still school holiday time. The camp is on the edge of quite a vast estuary around Karamea although there is no view of it from the camp itself. We did a little walk through the trees and along the edge of the water as far as we could go before being blocked by the half tide.

A deserted Karamea beach.

The next day, Thursday, after driving back through the village and out to the beach with it's unruly surf, we felt like returning back down the coast but were unsure of how far.  That's the great thing about being able to just live in the moment!
We turned off at Mokihinui to have a coffee close to the river, although we were in a hollow and couldn't actually see it, before passing, again, through the tiny settlements of Granity, Ngakawau and Hector. Pausing slightly at the turn off to Gentle Annie, where we loved staying on the way north, Len made a decision to push down on the accelerator and carry on to Westport where we parked up again at the beachside NZMCA park.

Gentle Annie Camp to Karamea

The next morning (Monday) was overcast and drizzly so a perfect day to recharge our batteries with some R&R - crosswords, sudokus, kakuros, reading and catching up on the blog. Len did a bit of spinning in the river again but the fish must have all packed their bags and gone on their summer holidays. 

Preparing fishing tackle with aquatic helper.

Gentle Annie cafe 

The campsite was a friendly, casual place to stay with free WiFi available in their large lounge/cafe area and delicious baking especially the caramel filled anzac biscuits - yum!
$20 a night to stay with showers an extra $2.

Cloud, mist and light rain greeted us the next morning and conditions remained the same as we did the serious drive over the hilly, windy Karamea Bluffs to Karamea itself. 

Not much of a view today 

Our first stop was to do the half hour return walk to Lake Hanlon which is known for it's beautiful reflections. Not so amazing when it's grey overhead but a pleasant climb up (surprisingly) and then down. No-one else about.

Not the best view here either!

At Little Wanganui, with the weather clearing, we drove out to the river mouth where there were a couple of motorhomers from Nelson fishing - no luck for them either. You can stay overnight here but you would need to choose your parking spot carefully with lots of soft sand about and reviews telling of people who have got stuck. So it was on the road again to Karamea, a little settlement with a population of 575  but with a busyness about it, being close to the Heaphy track and the Oparara Basin with it's walks to the arches and caves. It has a petrol station, a 4 square with more expensive groceries than normal, some cafes, a variety of accommodation and walks around the vast estuary circling the river mouth.

We passed through Karamea to get to the Karamea Golf Course - a nine hole links course which is very lumpy, bumpy, dry and with few trees, typical of many links courses.

The only green patches were greens!

The 2nd fairway called "Swan Lake" and running alongside a marshy area was absolutely covered with duck feathers and there seemed to be a birdscarer there to frighten birds away which contradicted my thoughts that it was a duck killing-field - maybe a roosting area instead. With a membership of only 30 and the members themselves maintaining the course it is remarkable that they have been able to keep it going. They are looking after the greens which are actually green with hoses winding across every one to keep them watered but making landing and putting on the green a complicated business! So really it wasn't that enjoyable to play especially with the midges attacking me the whole way round. Len said there were colonies of them on the back of my white shirt but there were even more on my arms and legs and even in my ears! Needless to say I had my worst game for a while, Len having soundly beaten me by the 13th hole.

Golf club security again!

I had rung the lady's captain to ask if there was a possibility of us staying there the night and of course that was all good with them. We become the security for the club. There was not another sole playing and no one turned up before we left the next morning.

Cape Foulwind, Ngakawau Tavern, Charming Creek Walkway, Gentle Annie.

Saturday morning we drove from Westport golf course to the carpark at the northern end of Cape Nowind  ( Foulwind, but we struck a very calm day!).  I think it was meant to be about a 3 hour easy return walk to the seal colony and then onto Tauranga Bay but 2 hours return saw us getting to a spot close to the bay,  from where we could get a good view, and back. 

..but which way to the seal colony?

A lovely coastal walk with stunning views  and of course the seals basking on the rocks and  sometimes swimming around the colony. 

There if you look carefully!

We have been spoilt though by seeing all the seals so close to the road on the way to Kaikoura where there were a lot more.

A haircut was high on my agenda and after returning to Westport I found a lovely lady, Faye, in a cabin next to Fresh Choice who soon had my 2 month growth sorted. I really liked the cut and the price - only $20! Before the haircut we found a nice cafe in town serving my favourite of whitebait sandwich so that was definitely the place to have lunch - really nice too! An absolute must when you are on the West Coast.

High winds and rain were predicted for the next couple of days and it had already started to drizzle down so instead of staying in Westport for another night we decided to drive up the coast, ahead of the wind, arriving at the Ngakawau Tavern, close to the beach, where NZMCA members are welcome to park out the back. We had a drink and some chips in the pub, where a few locals were drinking and putting bets on the races, before retiring to the bus for some more food and to watch a movie on TV. The wind came in strongly about 9.00pm which meant we lost reception for quite large chunks of the film but it did ease off later in the night.

There was a bit of rain overnight and again in the morning but by the time we had eaten breakfast the sun was shining so after parking over the other side of the road, to leave the Tavern carpark free, we set off on the Charming Creek walkway, known to be one of the best easy walks on the West Coast. And it was! 

A great track!

It takes you through the bush alongside the Ngakawau River following  the old railway lines which used to bring the timber and coal down to the settlement for processing.

Two old relics!

With interesting mining artefacts along the way, waterfalls,

White wild goats, a strong, turbulent brown river awash with white foam and so noisy that it drowned the cicada cacophony it was a truly good walk.

We went just a little further than the swingbridge from where you get an awesome view of the wide, rushing waterfall.

Needs sound to do it justice!

It was a 2 hour return trip and we totally recommend this walk as a must do. You can carry on for another 2 hours to another carpark and so we may walk in from the other end of it on our return down the coast.

Next stop was at Gentle Annie on the way up to Karamea. We drove past the nice looking campground on the edge of the river and overlooking the sea to the Gentle Annie maze and walkway, just a short 30 minute return walk through a 'maze' of possible paths to the start of another narrow path leading to a viewpoint of the coast in both directions.

After that Len tried his hand at surf casting again while I watched the rather exciting  Silver Ferns versus Aussie netball match, Aussie winning by just 2 goals after leading by 8 at the end of the first quarter.

The Gentle Annie Seaside Campground looked a nice place to stay so we have booked in here for 2 nights - hopefully some R&R and reading will be on the agenda as we haven't done much of that! 

No luck again!

Prime position!

We are parked right on the bank overlooking the river and Len has already been out spinning, along with several others, but no-one has had any luck. It's meant to be a great fishing spot though so maybe tomorrow?!!

Fox River walk, Mitchell's Gully Goldmine, Westport golf

Let's do this one!

It was a good day for the Fox River walk which is part of the Inland Pack track and we set off straight after breakfast. 

A gorgeous gorge walk.

The track is rougher than the Porarari River Track with some muddy patches and twice as long but a good walk up & down through the bush again seeing both weka and wild goats. 

Two wild goats if you look closely. 

Beech leaf carpet.

The plan was to carry on to the Ballroom Overhang and we thought from what we had read that there were just 2 river crossings but realised later that the 2 river crossings relate to the Inland track and not ours, the last so-called 30 minutes of the Fox River Track to the Ballroom being up the river bed entailing 8 river crossings each way, 16 in total and then the wide one earlier on that you do twice if you include the return journey.

Shod gorge Walker!

Barefoot ??

The river crossings were fine except for the first one where I was attacked by voracious sandflies which seemed to love the deet I had applied. However  it took me almost the whole outward journey to realise that it was best not to bother taking off my shoes and socks as I painstakingly did for ages - not only time-consuming but more slippery on the stones with them on! After our first 1.5 hours of quite easy walking, purely because of the shoes and socks thing, it took us much longer than the estimated  30 minutes to get up the riverbed and boy was I sick of walking over those stones and boulders, half the time in my bare feet as the crossings were so close. Once I kept my shoes on I was much speedier and more comfortable - should have worn my walking sandals like Len.

No band to bring the roof down

....thank goodness!

The Ballroom Overhang is quite spectacular, being an overhead half dome carved into the limestone by the bend of the river. The layers of colours create a memorable effect. You can camp in this area but it felt a little eerie to me.

We saw no one else on this walk until we stopped for lunch on our return. 3 others came towards us as we were eating and then we saw another couple of ladies from Christchurch once we were on the trail again. Much quieter than the Porarari track we did the previous day. I have to say I was a trifle tired when we got back to the bus 5 hours later but after a coffee we were on the road again heading for Westport.

Oops!!

Before leaving we saw a tour bus and trailer which had driven a bit too close to the road edge!

The tiny settlement of Charlestown is well known for its historic goldmining so just to the north we stopped to visit Mitchell's Gully Goldmine - I think it was the natural fruit ice-cream van sitting outside the mine that made Len put his foot down harder on the brake though.

Just one of many tunnels. 

...and one more. 

The Goldmine was interesting with lots of long tunnels that you definitely need a torch for - thank goodness for cellphones with torches.

Water wheel and stamper.

Most of the time we were with another couple of ladies and their 2 children.
And, by the way, the icecreams afterwards were good.

Yummmm!

The next stop was The NZMCA Park in Westport, close to the beach, where there were probably about 10 vans parked for the night. There had been a fire, which was still smouldering, in the scrub  between us and the beach but we saw a fireman, checking it both last night and this morning.

This morning, Friday, it was overcast with very light drizzle which we knew would clear so it was time for golf again, this time on the Westport links course - bumpy and dry but still with some green patches between all the brown. Very few people here but we enjoyed our non-pressured game finding the ball ran really well on the fairways which weren't actually that evident from the outlying areas. Quite a lot of bunkers but no water hazards.

Afterwards we had another walk down the road and onto Carters Beach which is very wide and sandy and  looks very safe compared to the coastline we have past so far. We weren't tempted to have a swim though as the wind had got up making it feel a little cool and not indusive to sitting on the sand to dry.

Tonight we are staying here, at the golf club. There's meant to be rain coming soon so I'm looking forward to a day or 2 of rest, maybe reading a book!