Triphopopotamus

Driving along the west coast as the sun sets behind us (in the east - we are upside down and back to front, don't forget!) We leave behind the beautiful glacier country and rainforest.

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

ROSS
Feeling like a bit of "real New Zealand" we pick a town at random to stop off in for the night. Ross is one of many towns in New Zealand which about this time last century(give or take) would have had been bustling with hairy prospectors in search of gold, corseted cancan dancers, cart horses and 'fire and brimstone' preachers.

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

While the gold itself hasn't quite run out in Ross, the gold-rush rushed right out of town as quickly as in came in and took all the people with it, only leaving a few beardy descendents and one horse (for symbolic purposes!)

At a local bar we buy beers and a pie from a prospecter lookalike- who recommends a good place to freedom camp. We park up for the night near the old gaol, keeping an eye out for ghostly convicts!

From Gold towns of the westcoast

The next morning we venture over to the tiny museum for a look at an educational but very long and very cringey video all about the history of the town, complete with star shaped fadeouts etc!It must have cost a few bob to rent out the 1800's costume for the day of the videoshoot because they got their moneysworth making sure every single extra got some camera time! Our favorite character might have been the logger who's big screen moment was wiping 'sweat' from his brow to show how hard he was working- he either suffered from the most severe case of excessive perspiration ever known or the 'special effects team' helped his acting with a bucket of water just before he went on camera!

The museum also tells the story of the towns biggest achievment The Honorable Roddy- the biggest gold nugget ever found in New Zealand! As with many big NZ claims to fame (e.g. Pavlova) there is an Aussie in the background trying to stir up trouble, and there are some claims the nugget was smuggled in from Australia and planted in Ross so that the prospecters could sell the gold at a higher price!

Ross was a semi- interesting place to see but in all honesty the after-effects of the goldrush era seem to have left behind a strange little town, or maybe I was still feeling paranoid about the ghostly inmates that were lurking around the gaol !

From Gold towns of the westcoast

HOKITIKA
On to Hokitika and in keeping with the gold rush theme this was the west coasts main port back then. Old pictures show the port saturated with ships bringing hopeful gold diggers from the goldfields of Australia and further afield. Apparently the streets along the waterfront once housed 300 brothels! Even though prostitution is now legal in NZ we don't see much evidence of brothels in Hokitika. Instead it's a pleasant little town with a nice sandy beach. It's famous for it's Wild-Foods festival once a year where you can eat everything from gourmet burgers to hare testicles!

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

driftwood assemblies

From Gold towns of the westcoast

Popular titles at the 2nd hand store!!

On the day in question we found a dozen or so people arrived on the beach just as eager as those original gold-seekers but this time they were wading into the water in search of a different prize but one that's almost as precious (to New Zealanders at least). Whitebait- tiny tadpole-like young fish that are caught in their hundreds and generally turned into Whitebait fritters- a highly regarded delicacy round here, (although I never got around to actually eating any, oops!)

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

GREYMOUTH/COBDEN NORTH BEACH
When we arrive in Greymouth there are barricades up for a motorcycle race that's on in the middle of town, and from what I've heard of Greymouth it isn't worth the $5 admissionto get in even if there are a few bikes! Still, wanting to give the place some kind of a chance we head of in search of the end of the Point Elizabeth walkway. While the town of Greymouth might not be up to much, a little 6km detour brings us to a beautiful (proper) sandy beach! Our first bit of proper sand so far!The walkway clings to the edge of a cliff that juts out over the ocean and it seems such a pity we don't have time to do the full walk but we're happy to settle for a sniff of sea air and a nice view while we stretch our legs.

From Gold towns of the westcoast

BREMNER
On our way North we pull in at Bremner. This is still in mining country- but less shiny this time- coal. A sad sight was the monument for people killed here in a mining disaster in the 1860s. Plaques has been added for those killed in other mining accidents in NZ, including the Pike River disaster just last year,which happened not too far from the area.

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

Old mine- bremner

Remnants of old mining equipment are scattered all around and what remains of the buildings is being overgrown by vegetation. It seems amazing how much effort and money would have been invested in places like these and now it's all just left behind. However it's not quite forgotten, in true NZ tourism style there are great information boards around the site to tell you all the history.


REEFTON
Our next stop off is Reefton....you guessed it, an old gold mining town! A lovely place , it's like a more realistic version of Arrowtown (the touristy little gold mining town next to QT). It has the same wooden victorian buildings but most shops/bars seemed geared at locals rather than tourists.

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

This was the first place in NZ to get electricity in 1988! I kid.... it was about 100 yrs before in 1888, just 2 years after New York switched on! While the town didn't advance a whole lot further than that initial flirtation with 'new fangled-ness', it is amazing to think that if the influx of people had remained the same rate, this little town could have easily become something like San Francisco!

From Gold towns of the westcoast

From Gold towns of the westcoast

We do some nice walks and explore the town but much to my dissapointment the main attraction "The Bearded Mining Company" is closed that day- a yard where a few local guys stay in character as old timey miners and teach you how to find gold!

We never did manage to strike it lucky and find a Roddy nugget to sneak home- but we are well informed on how to go about looking for one, should it ever take our fancy! Rob has the beard already- so we're practically half way there.

The day before we left Queenstown we really amazed ourselves with how many tasks we managed to tick off our to-do list. Amazed and a little frightened by our own effiency, we turn the energy dial back from 11 to a nice comfortable 5 for the day of our trip. We set off in late afternoon and take the drive over the winding but scenic Crown range mountains and manage to make it as far as ...Wanaka.

From Wanaka to West coast Oct 2011

From Wanaka to West coast Oct 2011

Wanaka is only about a 2 hour drive from Queenstown, but we didn't want to be too ambitious on our first day! In truth, we had just planned to have a brief stopover in Wanaka and move on, but on a beautiful sunny day it's easy to get sucked in by Wanaka's chilled out vibe. We stop for some tasty micro-brewery beers at Kai on the waterfront and then take a stroll. Sometime in the late afternoon we decide we can't be bothered driving too much further that day so Wanaka will be our first place of temporary residence.

I hadn't forgotten about Cinema Paradiso, the cute little cinema I'd been looking forward to going to since I last graced Wanaka with my presence. There is only one showing left that night, Horrible bosses- which I've already seen, but I can't resist the charms of a little picturehouse that is wallpapered in old movie posters and has couches and a car for seats.

From Wanaka to West coast Oct 2011

Just like days of yore there is an intermission, you can order your pizza before the movie to be ready for you at intermission or just purchase a gooey hot cookie. I make one of our non-budget meal indulgences on the trip on go for the pizza, delicious! We also partake in the other favorite intermission past-time taking cheesy pictures in one of the other seat choices- an old car!

From Wanaka to West coast Oct 2011

From Wanaka to West coast Oct 2011

Horrible bosses was just as much of a laugh the 2nd time around and the seasoned movie goer enjoyed it too which was a plus!

That night we dared to (dare I say the F-word)....Freedom Camp. Shhh don't tell anyone! Freedom camping is basically camping anywhere that is not a designated camp site. It's often allowed, depending on the area, but new laws have made it an offence in some places, and you can earn yourself a hefty fine especially when you don't have a toilet on-board your vehicle.

However, when your on a budget you've got to take some wild risks!

So it's been quite some time since I've updated this crazy little thing called blog. A year and half in fact, not that anyone was counting. I'll try and do a few updates on my time in Queenstown before we leave for good (sniff sniff!),but for now lets just live in the present and talk about our current adventures.
To give a brief summary lets just say I've been working and living (it up) in Queenstown for a year and half, Rob arrived over about a year ago and has been doing just the same. A while ago we acquired a little mellow-yellow van called Shona and about a week ago Shona became our very own moveable place of residence. So, like thousands of pioneers before us Rob and I packed up our worldly goods and set off for the west coast of New Zealand.....(*)

(*)note: I should add we did leave quite a number of said worldly possessions in our friends' shed! Thanks guys!

Apart from a few insect bites to show for leaving the door open a little too long, we made it through our first night of freedom camping relatively unharmed. Drizzly weather meant it was a good day for driving, and made the wilds of Mt.Aspiring national park look all the more spectacular with mist rising from the forest, rushing waterfalls and rivers tumbling down over giant rocks into glassy lakes.

Zigzagging through mountains and past glimpses of the coastline eventually bring us to glacier country. We arrive in Franz Josef township and realise everything revolves around the glacier, so we decide we'd better go see what the fuss is about. We do a couple of the walks around the forest close to the glacier .OK...so it's pretty impressive!

From Franz Josef

Rob

From Franz Josef

Koru

From Franz Josef

When we've been drizzled on enough we retire to the comfort of our campervan park, and take in the World Cup 3rd place playoffs. Of course these couldn't go by without sitting in front of some boisterous Aussies who insist on reminding you what team their supporting every 4 seconds!

The following day we are just like schoolkids ready for that annual tour. We get our packed lunches and backpacks together and head off to meet the bus. This time though, instead of Dublin Zoo we will be hiking up Franz Josef glacier. Once we're all kitted out with waterproof gear, big woolly socks, hiking boots and the token favorite item of the day, crampons, we are ready to get hiking. Our initial briefing is from 'first day on the job' Geoff who is being trialled, well bless his woolly socks he is a bit serious, over-rehearsed and clearly nervous! After that we get split into two groups, adventurous and fit, or moderate pace. Definitely not too fit but hoping to make up for it with adventuring spirit we head off on the cool team with Guide George.

From Franz Josef

George and the Giant Glacier

From Franz Josef

He leads us up the terminal face of the glacier over the ice, side stepping through giant crevasses and crawling through blue ice caves. We often have to stop while the ever cheery George uses his pick axe to carve out a walkway for us. As we power on, 'group moderate' and poor ol' First Day Geoff get lost from time to time and have to radio George to check where to go next.

They follow one and others trails by looking for 'crunchies' marks left in the ice from the last peoples crampons, which to the untrained eye (or Geoff) are pretty hard to see. Rob points out they should just leave trails of Crunchies, the gold wrappers would be much easier to spot!

From Franz Josef

Blue Ice

Considering that this area gets 6-7 metres of rain per year, we are remarkably lucky with our bright sunny day and apart from crawling through drippy caves we have almost no need for our waterproof jackets.

From Franz Josef

We learn things like the Franz shuffle- not the latest dance craze but a way to manouver down steep steps- and other ways to use our crampons.Words like serac and moraine echo from suppressed memories of a Geography lesson long ago, and even though the sandwiches in our packed lunch were just as squishy -we never had a field trip quite like this one. George tells us that the glacier can advance or retreat anywhere between 1m and 5m a day. The landscape here changes so quickly and it is fascinating to see the points on the rock face around us where the glacier once reached 25, 50 or 100 years ago.

From Franz Josef

8 hours later our heads are as full of knowledge as our feet are tired and what better way to soothe our aching bodies that to head off to the local spa pools- after all we get free entry with our glacier passes. We laze about in pools of different temperature and chat to the group we hiked with. Despite the size of a glacier and imposing mountains around us - you can always be reminded that it is a small world, as it turns our one of the girls on our hike knows our friend Claire in Melbourne!

When our hands are sufficiently wrinkly and our feet a little less sore, we get changed and get back on the road to find our next adventure.
ps. We never did find out if First Day Geoff passed his trial !

From Franz Josef

Back in Queenstown and left without a Stephen's family guide for the 2nd time since we left home we have to look around and figure things out for ourselves, try to meet people... but after one day that all seems too difficult so Ellie logs into Facebook to track down the phone number of her old friend Jessica who is from Punchestown and has been living in Queenstown for the past year.

We meet Jess at one of the many 'locals' for a drink, introductions are made and she and Ellie get reacquainted. A few jugs of beer and a game of pool later, some more of Jess's friends meet us at the bar, and we have a great night getting to know everyone and it's decided that tomorrow we will go to Wanaka for a little road trip.

Wanaka

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

The next morning we meet Jess at her house and Ellie, Jess's friend Paul and I all set off in the car for Wanaka. Wanaka is a bit like Queenstown Jr. Smaller and with less of a resort feel to it but with a beautiful lake, mountains and adrenaline sports to boot. During the scenic drive it transpires Jess should probably wear glasses but chooses not to! We tighten our seatbelts around us and eventually all arrive in Wanaka in one piece! We pick up some picnic supplies at the local supermarket and head for a secluded little beach where we have a feast of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and chocolate while enjoying the lake view and only being disturbed by the odd excitable dog with a good nose for sandwiches. Then we practice trying to skim stones or just throw them with our left hand and see how uncoordinated we look. The word 'special' was bandied about- for all the wrong reasons!

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

After a while the winter sun isn't quite enough to keep us warm and we pack up the car and head for home.But we couldn't go all the way to Wanaka and back without making a stop-off at the wonderfully (unintentionally) kitsch Puzzling World. which much to everyones dismay is a bit of a mouthful and we all agree plain ol 'Puzzle World' would be much easier to say!
We tackle some "mind bottling" wooden puzzles and jigsaws in the main reception area and then head for different areas of the world that is puzzling. Magic-eye pictures, sculpted faces of Einsteins and Winston Churchill's that follow you with their eyes, slanting rooms where water runs up the hill are amongst the many optical illusions and games that mess with our senses. The best illusion was a slanted room that makes you look huge when you stand on one side and tiny on the other. As with most of the attractions in this part of the world it likes to link itself to Lord Of The Rings in someway or another and this particular one informs us that this was one of the methods they used to make the hobbits look smaller than Gandalf. A camera takes a 30 second recording of you so you can mess about, run from one side of the room to the other and then go back outside and watch it on a TV screen, endless fun!

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

After taking in as much of a brain-poking as our mildly hungover heads can take- and avoiding the Maze outside for the same reasons we head back towards Queenstown. On this trip we don't get to visit Wanaka's other quirky little attraction The Cinema Paradiso a tiny picture house where all the seats are couches, cushions or a half-car. We'll have to save the unique cinematic experience for our next trip this way.

On the drive home we give a quick crane of our necks as we pass by one of the famous bungy bridges to see if we can spot any thrill seekers testing the elastics, but even adrenaline junkies have to take a break sometimes I guess. We say goodbye, and go home with that satisfied feeling of a good day out and the fact that with minimum effort from myself and Ellie we seem to have acquired a new group of friends quite easily!

Run Run -self timer photo!

From Ellie's pics of Wanaka

PS. Pics courtesy of Ellie, my camera was MIA that day!

After one punctured tyre and a 6 hour car trip we arrive back to Christchurch we find it just as rainy and cold as we had left it 4 days previous. Ellie and I still hadn’t quite adapted to the weather and temperature change and make a beeline for the heater once we check into the hostel, and we don't stray too far from it until it's time to brave the outdoors again.
Museum- view from hostel

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

Christchurch is a pretty, British colonial looking city around the main streets and town square where a large Anglican cathedral forms the epicentre of the town. Street names, Gothic buildings, and statues of Queen Victoria give a nod to dear old England. You can stand on the bridge and watch tourists glide down the winding Avon river in little punting boats, while an old style tram rattles past and feel like you are in another era altogether. Once you venture a tad further however, the suburbs are a little flat and boring with boxy buildings. Despite the quaint prettiness of it's main centre, Christchurch in general, is actually a little flat and boring. There is a bit of a buzz about the place in the daytime hours; people playing games of giant chess in the square, kids skateboarding and shoppers shopping, but at 5pm all the shops close, the oversized chess pieces are packed away and the skater kids go home to the flat suburbs. Apart from sparsely populated bars the place becomes a bit of a ghost town once sunset rolls in.
Chess All-stars

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

Christchurch Cathedral

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

Inside Cathedral

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

On our last night out with Cathal and Paul we manage to find an area with a few bars. Apparently, over all there is a greater number of women than men in New Zealand, however Christchurch, at least on the evening in question appears to buck this trend quite successfully and Ellie and I sit back enjoy a midnight feast of eye candy in the shape of possible rugby stars, while Cathal and Paul grumble about the lack of ladies!

The two boys leave for Sydney the following day, we wave them off as they board the airport bus and so it's just the two of us once again. We spend the remainder of the day browsing and eating food from the stalls at a Sunday market in the grounds of the arts centre and the following day enjoy a quick stroll around the Botanic gardens which is full of autumnal colours but is no doubt more spectacular in spring and summer when the flowers are in bloom.

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

Gardens

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

On our trip back to Queenstown. Mr. Crowley (of the Crowley's from Cork, don't you know!) the bus driver man is funny and tells us local history and little facts as we pass through towns and spots of interest. E.g. Geraldine, where we stop for a toilet break. He informs us that about 60% of the population in Geraldine are retired folk who move here as it’s a couple of degrees warmer than other south island towns. As Ellie and I step off the bus all wrapped up in our winter woolies we have to laugh at the idea of one horse town Geraldine as the south islands answer to Florida. When he said “couple of degrees warmer” it mustn’t have been a figure of speech!!

An awful lot of the info we learn about the surrounding areas is often wool, sheep or farm related in some shape or form. For example Geraldine is not just a retirement hub for sun-seekers but also home to Giant Jersey, the worlds largest wooly jumper! We are just beginning to see how "small-town" New Zealand really is, and we have yet to discover the rumored toothbrush fence!

From Drop Box

The scenery on the way to Queenstown is amazing and we really get the full view of it this time around, like the snow capped peaks of New Zealand's tallest mountains Mt. Cook/Aoraki and Mt.Tasman and glacial lakes like Lake Tekapo that have this stunning blue-gray colour due to the way the glaciers grind against the rocks creating a fine dust (as we learn from the driver!). Hawks and harriers soar and swoop on the plains beside us. Once we spot one snatching up it's prey in the form of a little sparrow . Vineyards, rivers and rolling hills zip by and make my eyes dart back and forth. We make one or two more stops along the way and before we know it we are pulling up to the bus-stop in Queenstown.

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

fruit break!

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

From Christchurch to Queenstown,early June

So here we are…back in Queenstown, and now the search for jobs, houses, friends and fun begins!