NZ Recap – years later:
I had thought I typed up a trip report about our New Zealand trip, but I cannot find it in any of my archives and have no specific memory of doing so. Therefore, I’ll be recording what I remember in 2024.
Travel - Day 1 & 2
I had my parents drop us off at the airport. Catherine and I packed light and were only traveling with carry-on luggage. While I was getting out of the car at the dropoff location at SEATAC airport, some driver was impatient and ran right into me as I was walking alongside the car. It happened in a split second where I was quick enough to push myself out of the way before I got squeezed like a tube of toothpaste against the car, but it still ended up leaving a small bruise on my hip and knee.
TSA included a rather extensive pat-down for me, but I was on my best behavior since we had so much riding on this trip. However, I was a little alarmed after going through security as I discovered two .22 caliber pellets in my pocket that I left from my last target shooting session. I discreetly disposed of them in a trash bin. Since it was close to Christmas there was someone walking around the airport dressed as a Christmas Cat. Catherine said, “here kitty kitty” and the person inside responded with, “Meowy-meow-meow” in the form of “Merry Christmas!” Our flight went from SEATAC to LAX to Fiji, and then to Christchurch NZ. On the long flight to Fiji, we were seated behind an Indian woman who incessantly would spray copious amounts of a very potent and irritating perfume every few minutes. This caused great discomfort for both of us, but mostly Catherine with her smell sensitivity issues. There was a language and culture barrier there, so our requests were either misunderstood or simply ignored. We tried to get the flight attendant to intervene, as the cloud of eye-watering perfume wafted in a 30 foot radius. The attendant told us there was “nothing they could do”, however, I suspected they didn’t want to approach the cultural barriers and come across as being racist in the matter.
When we arrived in Fiji we had to pass through customs in order to board our next flight to NZ. The customs agent we had to deal with was very strict about our liquids, and every item was required to be in their own baggie instead of consolidated into one single bag. Catherine and I tore apart our entire luggage and harvested every single plastic bag we had access to in order to comply with the nit-picky order we were given, which didn’t appear to be enforced with everyone. It almost seemed to be a ploy to extract free hygiene products from rich American tourists. Eventually we made our way through and had our last leg of the flight to NZ. We arrived and had to go through some extensive investigation about our bags, clothing, and shoes. Apparently if any of our shoes had any signs of dirt, mud, etc on them we’d be fined, and the shoes confiscated. Our shoes were clean, and we got through nearly effortlessly. I picked up a SIM card there at the airport to allow us some emergency access and a little bit of data in case we needed it. We spent about 20 minutes outside waiting for our shuttle to take us to our Mad Campers rental area. Catherine managed to somehow get sunburnt in the overcast while we waited outside. We arrived at the Mad Campers area and they had a bit of a delay with the camper van, so we had to wait a bit more. Eventually they showed us a camper they had, which had a topper we didn’t pay for. I suggested they take it off, as we didn’t need it and I didn’t want to be charged extra for it, and I figured the removal of it would help for gas mileage. Apparently, all their campers had toppers, and it would take them more time to remove it, and they reassured us we wouldn’t be charged extra for it remaining on. We were already delayed far more than we had planned on, so we were excited to embark on our journey. We stocked up on groceries, fuel, and hit up a Subway for their WiFi and a quick sandwich. Shortly we were on our way towards Arthur’s Pass. Our camper van seemed to have a few issues and quirks which might have explained some of the delays. The electrical went out in the van which resulted in the loss of functionality of the water pump, refrigerator, stereo, lighting, USB power supply, etc. We continued onward and made some stops along the way for quick pictures here and there.
On the road!
As we started gaining elevation in our van I realized the engine was really small for the weight, and I had to go slow up steep inclines. I tried my best to allow room for other drivers to pass, but there were several “no passing” sections that I felt guilty about. We climbed higher and higher into the clouds. Unfortunately, we were told this section was incredibly scenic, but we just had clouds to look at. The first stop was at Castle Hill Conservation Area where we were able to stretch our legs, and we were under the cloud base at this point. The trail was easy and gradual. There were many interesting rock formations and some wildlife in the area. We didn’t spend too long and we were excited to get back on the road. The next location was Cave Stream where there was a trail that entered a river coming out of a cave, and one could navigate through the cave up and through the other end. There were cautions about entering after rainfall and during high water. Daylight was fading fast at this point, so we quickly geared up with flashlights, water shoes, and clothes that could get wet. We hiked briefly and arrived at the opening of the cave and looked inside. The “stream” was rather deep and moving quickly. We’d need to get to the other side which would involve wading/swimming in above-knee / hip-deep moving water to get to the side which appeared to have a trail going into the cave. Weighing the ever increasing uncertainties with not knowing what type of difficulties or technicalities were inside the cave was a bit intimidating provided we were the only ones out there with twilight fading. There wouldn’t be any visitors or people there until the following morning, and we did not have cell reception in case of an emergency. If something happened, we’d both be extremely wet in cold water while it is dark with temperatures dropping by the hour in the high elevation. It would be well past dark by the time we’d return to our van where we’d have to change into dry clothing and still try to find a camping location. We reluctantly decided to turn around and return to our camper van. Instead we drove on a bit more until we found a nice lake-side campsite at Lake Pearson where we were able to pull in, pay at the drop box, and quickly fall asleep.
Day 3
We woke up early in the morning as the sun was cresting over some of the mountains. There was a nice layer of fog over the water’s surface. We ate some quick breakfast, made use of their basic facilities and departed towards Arthur’s Pass. We parked the camper van near a trailhead area at Beasly’s Hut Spur. The trail gained elevation quickly. We were treated to a few views before it flattened out around where we visited a tattered hiking hut / shelter that was in poor shape. We ate some sandwiches nearby and utilized some log stools around an empty firepit. The PBJ that I made myself turned out to be one of the most intensely delicious sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. I suspect the ingredients of NZ food might be why. After our snack refueling, we continued up. The trail steepened and blasted through the timberline providing great panoramic views. My knee was acting up and I was having a difficult time keeping up with Catherine who left me in the dust and was enjoying the scenery and landscapes. We reached an outcropping of rocks on the ridgecrest which served as our summit. The ridge continued behind us but would be many more miles and several thousand feet more to reach the summits in the distance. This provided excellent reward vs. effort value, so we took photos and started to head back, as there was much more of NZ we wanted to visit and explore.
By the time we reached our camper van darker clouds had moved in and it was starting to sprinkle rain. We managed to get the electrical to work partially, which allowed the water pump to work. Catherine drank some water from the camper, and it was revolting. It must have been unused and stagnant for weeks. We had to get a better supply of drinking water. We were right next to the Waimakarin River which was fed straight from glacier run-off, so I went and filled all our available water bottles. As I was shuffling to and from the camper van with water bottles, and occasionally guzzling water from the river, I’m sure I puzzled some tourists who were parked nearby. However, we were equally puzzled with their “selfie-behavior” in getting some very odd poses. On my way back into the van I bonked my head really hard on the frame at the door opening. I wasn’t used to the position of the foot well and the location of the windshield compared to American vehicles. I saw stars and had a bit of a sore spot swelling up. We continued driving down the way towards Arthur’s pass. We had to wait about 15 minutes while there was a section of 1-way traffic on the road near a spillway, however, we were able to get out and stretch our legs a little and take some pictures. The clouds provided some on and off rain during our travels through the mountains. We donned rain gear and made a stop at Bridal Veil Falls. It turned out to be a relatively easy little hike to a scenic waterfall that had significantly more people than we were used to seeing compared to our first hike. After taking some pictures, we got back to our van and I decided to cook some dinner for us (Tacos I believe). It was entertaining seeing people walk past at the trailhead with hungry and envious eyes. We wrapped things up and got some fuel at a nearby petrol station while making a bathroom break. I noticed a motorcyclist had his seat covered in a thick tarp. I had asked if it was to keep it dry from the rain. The local motorcyclist at the station told me how destructive alpine parrots can be. They apparently love to rip out the foam in seat cushions and anything else they can get their beaks on. We didn’t see any parrots that day unfortunately.
We continued on our way along HW73 and made a stop by Brunner Mine historic site where an old railroad bridge was converted into a footbridge over the Grey River. We took time to pull over and stretch legs and enjoy the sun that was starting to come out. On our drive there were a few instances where we were confident we had seen a small kiwi running away and hiding in the tall grasses next to the road. Knowing just how rare such a bird is, we were also skeptical. During one of these encounters I put on a 300mm lens and was able to capture a photo of the skittish bird at a distance. However, it turned out that it was a bird called a “road hen” or weka, which is larger but resembles a Kiwi. We continued towards the coast and decided to find a camping spot for the evening. Thankfully there was a wonderful spot at the Cobden Aromahana Lagoon site. We pulled in and spent some time walking along the jetty area watching the sun go down. The winds were picking up so we retreated into the van and fell asleep.
Day 4:
We got up pre-dawn and headed straight for the pancake rocks area. We arrived at a completely empty parking lot, so we secured a spot and I cooked breakfast from the back of the van while a few small seagulls hovered around for scraps. When the visitor center opened up we were able to pay for our permit and explore the track around the pancake rocks and lookout area. We had the place mostly to ourselves, but people started to trickle in, and we migrated towards the Punakaiki Cavern, which was a short little hike inside a cave. Afterwards, we packed up our things and headed back to our campsite where we utilized their facilities and outdoor shower. While near Greymouth, we were in contact with Mad Campers who had arranged a mechanic to look at our camper van to fix the electrical issues. We pulled into the mechanic’s shop, and thanks to Catherine’s debugging observations, it wasn’t longer than 30 minutes for him to make the new crimped connections and we were on our way. We stopped at a grocery store where I tried a “meat pie” from the deli section which wasn’t heated (I didn’t know any better) and it tasted terrible. Dry crumbly pie-crust, with fatty, gristly meat inside with a little solidified gravy, and packed full of onions. 1 out of 10, would not recommend. It tasted what I imagine canned dog-food and onions might taste like stuffed in a day-old stale pot-pie. We had a nice grassy spot where we snacked on our lunch before we continued south along the coast on HW6 and out towards Hokitika Gorge. The parking lot was pretty full but we managed to find a spot in addition to not getting hit by another American tourist driving on the wrong side of the road. There appeared to be tour groups offloading at this site, but we decided to check it out anyhow. On the way down, we encountered a distressed Indian or middle eastern couple who appeared to be with a tour group, and to our shock there was a baby stroller that had fallen down a steep ravine. Thankfully there was no child inside, but inside it had all their backpacks, passports, and gear they brought with them. The tour guide went to go find a rope, but Catherine was quick to volunteer to scamper down to retrieve items. She tossed up bags and the important bits. By the time a guide arrived with a rope, Catherine was able to secure the other end to the stroller and allow them to pull it up the rest of the way. The family insisted upon paying us, and handed us a sizable amount of cash. Well over $100 worth, but we declined, as it seemed unnecessary for doing an act of service. Plus, it made for a good story. We continued down the trail and enjoyed the river’s deep blue colors and interesting cable bridges. We didn’t stick around too long because the sand flies started to swarm us, and we retreated back to our camper van. One thing I noticed about NZ roads was that there were frequent opossums on the side of the road that were hit, much like at home. However they looked so much cuter than the opossums we have in the Northwest. I had to slow down for one that was about to cross the road, and it upset a driver behind me.
We made our way into Hokitika and decided to indulge ourselves with some fish-n-chips at a local road-side shop. We ordered the (Hoki?) catch-of-the-day fresh and quickly they provided us with a sizable amount of piping hot fish and chips. They were wrapped in newspaper, and we took them down to the beach area to snack on. They were by far the best fish and chips we had ever tasted. Even though they were quite filling, I wanted more even though I was no longer hungry. While we snacked near the beach, there was one local who was with his friends and asked if we’d take a picture of him w/ his phone. His phone had a money clip, packed with cash and credit cards on it, and simply handed it to us to take a picture. Very trusting people out here, however, he seemed a little tipsy.
Totura River Hike “adventure”:
While planning this trip, I had read a hiking blog which suggested there was a short hike along the Toturoa River to the Cedar Flats hut that had a 10 minute hike to hot springs. This sounded like an attractive option for a destination for the day, so we headed out that direction. Quickly we lost pavement, and the road turned primitive rather quickly with “4x4 required” signage. The road seemed like a casual dirt road at first, but quickly became extraordinarily narrow at many sections with very steep drop-offs on either side. I had Catherine lean outside of the window while providing a hand gesture of how much space my tire was to the very edge of the road. There were several sections that made me nervous. This road kept winding up and down through narrow steep areas, one being down to a river that was about 5-8” deep. Driving through it was a little nerve racking, provided the limited horsepower of the tiny engine. Thankfully low 4WD worked wonders. Eventually we made it to the trailhead. We had anticipated a short hike to hot springs and the idea was to get back to the van to sleep for the evening, all warm and relaxed. However, the drive took about 2 hours instead of the anticipated 30 minutes, and our hike turned out to be more technical than anticipated due to frequent river crossings and rocky terrain. The trail was marked with bright orange posts spray painted, but as soon as we entered the valley, these markers became few and far in between. As the daylight was fading fast, we still had a fair amount of twilight hours, in addition to clear skies and the promise of a full moon. Therefore, we were a bit more ambitious heading towards the hut in the fleeting lighting conditions. Even though I had GPS on my phone, we followed a “trail” of what appeared to be orange spraypainted rocks indicating the trail. Thankfully the GPS provided solid directions towards the hut in the chaos of a half-dozen river crossings with zero landmarks or visible trail. The river forks and channels are not static by any means, and the terrain changes over time making older topo map trails a little inaccurate for optimal crossing locations. By the time we finished crossing the last section of the river, which happened to be the deepest, fastest, and most technical section, Catherine and I both realized that we were exhausted, and daylight had now disappeared completely. We got our headlamps out, but realized that even with headlamps, judging how deep and how quickly the river was moving was very difficult. At this moment, I realized that heading back to the van in the condition we were in would involve potentially high risks. Could we do it? Sure, it was well within our physical capability. However the level of trouble we could find ourselves in could get bad very quickly. By the time we’d arrive at the camper van it would be well past midnight, plus navigating uneven terrain in the dark could pose problems. However, on the map there was the promise of a hut within a few hundred meters. Low clouds were creeping in and ground fog started to saturate the cool air near the river, and visibility started to drop rapidly to only a few meters in front of us. Trying not to allow panic to creep in, we made the decision to head towards the hut to take shelter for the night. The trail was overgrown and difficult to follow in those conditions. The path seemed to weave around inefficiently making the hut on my map seem persistently and tantalizingly far away. Our legs were already wet from crossing the river, but now everything else was now saturated due to the condensation and wet underbrush we were swimming through. Catherine took a break under some trees and I jogged forward to confirm that there was truly a hut as indicated on the map. Thankfully there was, so I came back and led Catherine to the hut. At this moment we rejoiced because the hut was in wonderful shape. It had glass windows, a working door, a wood burning fireplace, bunks, mattresses, firewood, matches, and the entire hut was insulated! We let out a collective sigh of relief and I quickly started a fire in the fireplace while we removed all our saturated clothing that got wet from crossing rivers and wading through wet tall grass. It was at this point I revaluated how ill-prepared we were for this situation. We only had a few snacks between us, some water, and a light change of clothes, as the plan originally was to go soak in the hotsprings and return. We put on our dry clothes, wrapped up in beach-towels and cuddled for warmth that evening. It was uncomfortably cold, but we managed to get some sleep. I would feed the fire every now and then during the night. When the moon came out, it was nearly as bright as day and the fog dissipated. There was part of me that toyed with the idea of hiking back to the camper van, as it seemed far more attainable than it was hours ago in the pitch dark and fog. However, we were safe, dry, and relatively warm where we were, so we slept until the sun came up and could possibly find hot springs in the morning.
Day 5:
In the hut, Catherine discovered a register log that indicated that one needed to reserve the shelter in advance, and there were people who reserved the hut just 2 days before we were there. We were lucky that we were the only ones there that evening. Next on our agenda was to locate the hotsprings. I had no official directions to the hotsprings, but on the map I could estimate a few locations where they could be within a certain radius, as the hiker’s blog stated that it was only a 10 minute hike away. Just follow the trail, and investigate any nearby watercourses within that region. We ended up hiking for about 30 minutes in search of the hot springs, but couldn’t find any. We managed to stop for a bit by the Tuke riverside and I picked up a rather interesting dark colored rock I thought my dad might enjoy. Catherine took a very chilly dip in the cold water in efforts to indicate we had made a strong attempt in finding hot springs for our photo challenge. We ended up turning around and headed back to the camper van. Crossing the rivers during daylight seemed like a breeze, and almost had us second guessing the level of stress experienced the night before. However, since we were slightly dehydrated and hungry, we found ourselves making silly mistakes and stumbling a few times. During our walk back, we noticed that many rocks appeared to be painted orange in odd locations, even off the “trail”. After a closer look, the rocks were not painted, but they had bright orange lichen that was growing on all the rocks! We had mistaken these lichins as trail markers the previous evening. Oops! It was about this time where we were hiking back and I spotted a large animal in the distance. I had to have Catherine confirm that I wasn’t seeing things, because it appeared to be a big rabbit. A MASSIVE rabbit! It was the shape of a plump jack-rabbit, sitting upright, but about the size of a full-grown German shepherd, but with big towering ears! It very well could have been bigger, but it being so far away it was difficult to tell for sure other than our brains telling us that there was something terribly wrong with the scale of the animal compared to the surroundings. I tried to get out my camera in a sneaky fashion and put a 300mm lens on it, as the giant-bunny was far out in the distance. However, it got spooked and bounded noisily off into the deep bushes. We found massive holes in the ground which we suspected were likely dug out by such an animal. Again and again we tried to replay the whole encounter, as we had never seen such a sight, and were in disbelief thinking it had to do with our mental fatigue. Later on in our trip we described the encounter to a local who didn’t seem surprised at all. He said, “They get really big out here with no predators, especially deep out in the bush. People hunt them for sport!”
Back at the van:
We arrived at our camper van, drank plenty of water, refilled our water bottles and ate some fresh fruits and snacks. We didn’t waste too much time and quickly headed back towards the coast, as there was a long technical road to get back to civilization. Eventually we made it back and breathed a sigh of relief when we got to the pavement, as I’m relatively confident we had broken some T&C from our rental contract taking the van where we did. We didn’t see a single person the entire time from when we left and returned to the pavement. We got back into town (Ross) and picked up some milkshakes as we were craving high calories and it was rather warm outside. We made our way to Ross Beach and parked our van right by the sand. There we opened up windows, closed up our curtains and took a mid-day siesta while listening to the waves crash. It was marvelous and warm. Slept like a baby. When we got up to drink some water and use the bathroom, we noticed there were dolphins playing in the surf. It was really bright outside, and I noticed myself getting sunburnt in just a short amount of time, so we started to pack up and left. On our way south we made a brief bathroom stop at Lake Mathi campsite, but it didn’t seem like a place we wanted to linger too long. We made a brief stop at the Whataroa Bridge for a photo and were on the lookout for a camping location for the evening. We settled on Glacier Country Campervan Park. Even though it was a little busy, it seemed to have solid facilities. After checking in, we decided to go on a little hike to the Callery Gorge Bridge. It was a nice relaxing trail and featured a neat bridge at the end. Instead of backtracking, we decided to return along the side of the Waiho River to the Waiho Bailey Bridge. On the way back to our site we walked through the town of Franz Josef a bit and realized that all the restaurants were well outside our budget comfort zone, so we had a nice meal out of the van again. We were able to connect to their WiFi and call the kids for Christmas. We enjoyed the lights they had set up throughout the site which featured some illuminated Kiwis and sheep. We made use of their hot showers and we were able to relax a bit and enjoy some down-time.
Day 6:
We got an early start in the morning, quickly ate some breakfast and left for the Roberts Point Track Hike and platform views of Franz Josef Glacier. We took a little warmup “hike” to the top of a little overlook near the parking lot so we could get a better view of where our hike would be taking us. This day’s trip was going to be a longer hike, and it was already starting off to be a warm day. We brought plenty of water for our hike, and entertained ourselves with all the posted signage of cautionary tales for tourists, that this was NOT a beginner’s type of hike, and all the various accidents that have happened along this trail. We made our way and were shortly treated to some very impressive cable bridges and platforms secured to cliff edges. The hike was somewhat difficult, but not all that bad. What made it difficult was the length of the hike, the heat of the day, and a few steep sections. The destination platform was honestly a letdown, and definitely a trip where the hike was far more enjoyable than the destination. The views of the glacier were somewhat disappointing, and there was a persistent thumping of dozens of tour helicopters ferrying people to and from the glacier. We refilled our water bottles at a nearby waterfall and headed back. The waterfalls and cable bridges were the highlights. We took it slow going down, as our legs were starting to show fatigue after so much hiking. After getting back we were pretty exhausted. When I opened up my backpack I discovered the rock I picked up the other day. I showed Catherine, as we both were aware of how many thousands of steps, elevation gain, and sweat, and the words that escaped her lips were, “You idiot!” We had a good laugh.
We got to our camp site and fully utilized their hot showers. Once again, worth every penny, especially considering how long we took guilt-free of knowing there was no limitation to hot water. The facilities had a massive tankless water heating setup. After showering I cooked up some pasta and chicken which tasted amazing. I think we both had second helpings. That evening we slept really well.
Day 7:
Worms, and Kiwis:
The following early morning we started out to go see glow worms at the Weheka Glow Worm Dell around 4am. We were only able to get some brief photos of the glow worms in areas pre-dawn as it got light around 5am. By then, it was nearly impossible to see the glow worms. It was still very early in the morning so we headed over to watch the sun rise through the Fox Glacier Valley on a short little hike.
From there we decided to backtrack all the way to Franz Josef the Kiwi reserve to see some Kiwis up close. Brochures and advertisements for this place were everywhere with enthusiastic reviews. They made it appear like there were dozens and you could even handle them! Upon arrival Catherine went to use their bathrooms while I was going to pick up tickets. I noticed the prices were very expensive. Additionally it appeared as though one could only view the kiwis for a limited time window, with no photography allowed unless you paid significantly more.
I was having second thoughts about going inside, so I asked an employee for more information, and discovered they only had two recently hatched kiwi chicks in the entire facility. They were also secluded off into an incubation area where customers could only catch a glimpse of them. I didn’t quite know how many kiwis I expected there to be, but for the ticket price and size of the facility, I expected there to be more than just two with better viewing opportunities. I tried to hide my disappointment to the employee and not make things awkward. There was a family in front of me who were in the process of paying for entry, right about the time Catherine joined me. I gave her the run-down about pricing, and was trying to talk discreetly so as to not be a buzz-kill to the family in front of us who had just paid for admission. When I told Catheriene what I learned, she exclaimed, “ONLY TWO KIWIS?!!” This brought the shocked attention of not only the father of the family in front of us who had just paid, but the entire visitor center. The father looked about as alarmed and disappointed as we were, but he had already committed to admission. We ended up leaving without seeing a Kiwi. However, the phrase, “Only 2 Kiwis!?” was used and referenced multiple times throughout the trip. It always made me chuckle. Even though we were disappointed that we were unable to see the birds, we tried to salvage our lengthy backtrack and decided to check out the Tatare Tunnels. The hike was very easy and we got to listen to alpine parrots singing very odd songs that mimicked cellphone ringtones. (I later extracted the audio from some video we gathered, and used it as my phone’s ringtone. The full circle!) We arrived at the tunnel opening, happy to escape the heat into a nice cool cave. There was standing water in the middle, and a few staggered boards where and there, but in most places we had to “goose walk” along the edge of the tunnel. We got about ½ the way through and I turned off my lights so I could take some long exposure photos, and to our amazement, little lights started to appear on the ceiling of the tunnel. They were glow worms! Hundreds of them! After our eyes adjusted, we were able to enjoy the constellations of little worms creating dim light. We decided not to go the rest of the way through the tunnel, as it was a long way still, and walking in the manner to stay out of the water was difficult and awkward. After getting back we hopped back into our camper van and continued along our way around the island.
We stopped for lunch on the side of the road near Bruce Bay viewpoint by Maori Beach where there were very bright white rocks collected in a pile. After finishing our lunch we took a mid day siesta while listening to the waves crash in the surf. We heard a few other tourists arrive and it started to get noisy, so we decided to get back on the road. We made our way to Thunder Creek Waterfall to stretch our legs, where there were thousands of little cairns everywhere. We weren’t really tempted to go swimming as the pools were shaded, and would require a lengthy walk over unstable round river rocks to get there. It didn’t stop several other visitors though. Overall it was a nice short walk and we even had some small hopping bird follow us, chirping as we walked up the trail. From there we drove through “the neck” and down towards Lake Hawea and ended up near Lake Hawea Free Camp where we planned on staying the night. I cooked up some dinner for us while enjoying the fantastic views of the lake as the sun set behind the mountains. We were a little unsettled, as every other camper we saw packed up and left. There were “no camping” signs in some locations, and one might even interpret them to include the area we selected. There were hefty fines for camping in non-designated areas, so we determined we’d play it safe and find another spot. We drove a little further and found a simple road-side RV camping spot just outside of Albert Town. From there we pretty much crashed for the night as we had an early morning the next day.
Day 8:
Roy’s Peak:
The following early morning we left to go to the parking lot at the base of Roy’s Peak. We were there well before the sun came up, and there were already several cars in the parking lot. It was the first time of the trip where I felt we didn’t get up early enough. It wasn’t bad though. We started up the switchbacks with great scenery and a consistent gradient trail. There was lots of elevation gained, and we shortly reached cloudbase as clouds started to form at the summit. It was a little alarming how quickly clouds formed and reduced visibility. We stuck around a ridge crest shoulder below the summit so we could enjoy some of the views on the lee side of the mountain and snacked on our lunch. The clouds started to break apart, and we made the last push to the summit where we took some pictures before the clouds started to swallow up the views again. On the way down we were treated to some of the most scenic views I’ve seen, with the dynamic nature of the clouds really framed the beauty. Also, I saw a paraglider launch and was soaring around, and I was able to chat with him near the parking lot. However, about 400’ elevation and ½ mile or so from the base during our descent, Catherine’s knee went out, and she wasn’t able to continue walking down the mountain. We discussed how to approach the situation, and discovered that she could walk down backwards comfortably, but obviously couldn’t see where she was going very well. I took each hand in mine and “steered” her down the remaining switchbacks, as we got many puzzled looks from other hikers. We joked about people asking us what we were doing, and we would have responded “trust exercises” “oh, she looks injured, what happened?” “trust exercises." We joked as much as we could. Eventually we got back to the camper van and departed to go visit the Wanaka lake shore. There we culvertely bathed in the chilly lake near the photogenic tree after our very intense hike. After bathing we retreated to our camper van where we changed into dry clothes and took a siesta there at the lakeside. Once again, the camper provided shade and we enjoyed having the windows downs and curtains drawn allowing passive airflow by the lake shore. We got up and had fish and chips at a local road-side shop. They were great, but not as good as Hokikta. Soon we were off south again and ended up that day at Lowburn Harbour Camping Site where we pulled in and found a spot under a tree with a lake view. We considered taking a quick dip in the water but it was pretty cold and the wind picked up developing white-caps on the lake. While I was cooking our dinner we were approached by a small cluster of ducks and ducklings that came by. Catherine was able to pick one up briefly and cuddle it as we weren’t able to cuddle a kiwi. We then fished our dinner and started to snooze off in the heat of the day and cooled by the howling wind through slightly opened windows. We were briefly awakened by an ice cream truck that comically off-roading through the campsite.
Day 9:
Queenstown:
The following morning we headed out towards Queenstown in efforts to take it a little easier that day. We found a spot to park near the gondola and purchased tickets which allowed us parking for an extended period of time. We took the gondola up to the top and enjoyed 3 rides of their Alpine slide carts. We had lots of fun speeding past people, catching air, and getting up on 2 wheels around tight corners. I had my GoPro on my helmet, but it recorded timelapse instead of video. Oops. We were able to see a few tandem paragliders, and a sign advertising paragliding rides with a pilot with an uncanny resemblance to a pilot I know in Washington who flies tandems for a living. We returned down to the base again, but we were a little turned off of the busyness of Queenstown and how expensive things were. I made some lunch for us while we were in the parking lot as we still had over an hour left from our tickets, but a parking attendant looked rather furious with us as we casually cooked lunch in their premium parking lot. We packed up and headed towards Te Anu and enjoyed a beautifully scenic drive where we ended up at Cascade Creek Campsite. We parked our van in a scenic spot next to a creek and an ocean of wildflowers. I cooked some dinner for us, and enjoyed the “cotton candy clouds” during sunset. We got to listen to the babbling creek, watch the lupine wildflowers sway with the wind, and watch the sun descend slowly behind the distant peaks. I remember commenting on how it was 10pm and still daylight was partially visible. We had some good sleep and headed out early for our next adventure.
Day 10:
Milford Sound:
In the morning we drove straight toward Milford Sound. We got to watch the rising sun rays slip through layers of clouds in a very scenic drive surrounded by mountain peaks. Since we wanted to give our legs some rest, we decided to try taking a ferry out to the sound to spot wildlife and enjoy the scenery without hiking. Just past Gertrude Valley, we had to wait for cars to pass through the Homer Tunnel, which was only 1 lane. There was a parking lot there where we spotted a few alpine parrots. We made a mental note to return on the way back to feed them. We got to the Milford Sound docks and booked some tickets for their next departure out towards the Tazman sea. The boat was nice in providing us great views of the area, Sterling Falls, Bowen Falls, other waterfalls, geologic fault lines, wildlife, and more. We had briefly considered renting a 2 person kayak and paddling out towards the waterfalls, but the distance we’d have to travel wasn’t something we really had in us at the time. The boat was the way to go. The sand flies were pretty bad near the water, so we decided to head back into the mountains and try out Gertrude’s Saddle. After going through the tunnel again, we stopped to see the parrots. Unfortunately they were all gone. We parked in the lot there to cook up some chicken schnitzel burgers for lunch. As traffic piled up and tour buses parked for the 10-15 minutes or so they had to wait until their turn to go through the tunnel we could see eyes on us and our burgers. If I had more, I would have been inclined to sell a few of them. They were very tasty. We drove down a little ways to the Gertrude’s Saddle trailhead.
Gertrude’s Saddle:
It was sunny, scenic, windy, no bugs, and perfect temperatures. We made our way through the valley, but as soon as the terrain started to go up loose rock and steep slopes, Catherine realized she couldn’t make it comfortably down the slope. We might have been able to get up there, but coming down would have been a painful and complicated ordeal that could result in more injury. We ate our snacks, drank water, took pictures and enjoyed the enjoyable scenic hike back to the camper van. Then we made our way towards the coast again and ended up finding a little low-profile camping location at the Clifden Suspension Bridge where there were a couple of other vans in the area.
Day 11:
South Tip of Island:
Our evening was quiet for the most part, except for the early morning a rooster decided to crow all morning long and it was impossible to sleep in as this bird was so incredibly noisy. As I cooked breakfast the rooster was begging for scraps and other campers were under the impression we were camping/traveling with our pet chickens. Thankfully we straightened that out to prevent getting lynched, as everyone hated that rooster. We walked out to the bridge briefly to stretch our legs before departing towards Te Waewae Bay. We beach hopped for a bit and visited Monkey Island which we could walk out to due to low tide. I spotted a weasel in the parking area being assaulted by a bird which was interesting, as I never encountered one in the wild before. We then visited Bluff and walked around town a bit, looking into shops and such. and we considered taking a ferry over to Steward Island. However the time commitment and cost was a bit much, plus trying to see a Kiwi out there appeared to be extremely challenging. We made the decision to spend our time elsewhere instead. On our way around the coast we stopped to stretch our legs in Riverton and Catherine played a piano that was outside a shop. We visited Waipapa Point Lighthouse and were able to see some wildlife in the area including a fur seal basking in the sun on the sandy beach. We ended up making our way to Slope Point and to the Petrified Forest at Curio Bay which turned out to simply mean a “prehistoric” forest with nothing really petrified.
**** CONFUSION AREA****
Where did we sleep???? Freedom camping spot near slope point? I have no memory of camping at or around this location.
Penguin sunrise??? Where was this location?
******
Day 12:
We wanted to get up early to watch the Yellow Eyed Penguins go out fishing in the morning from a beach, and subsequently watch the sunrise the following morning. We arrived pre-dawn and I set up my camera and lens, but we couldn’t find any penguins. We were treated to a very impressive sunrise though. Before leaving, we spotted a single penguin returning from fishing, and hopped its way through the rocks to the nest.
We stopped by an area called Purakaunui Falls which was a short little walk that encountered a few waterfalls. The 3 tiered waterfall area was nice to relax and take some pictures. We then departed to visit a spot we saw on the map, Niragrua falls. We had to check it out to say we had visited Niragaua falls in NZ. When we made our way there, we couldn’t stop laughing. It was a simple little rapids area of perhaps 6”-8” in height. Not something I’d even remotely consider being a waterfall. It was worth the laugh.
Nugget Point:
This area was a simple walk out to a light house that had great panorama views of the surrounding area and rocks below. We saw many seals playing and lounging below in various pools, along with a few kayakers. There were some crowds, but thankfully we were able to move around to areas where we could get some pictures and utilize binoculars to view some of the entertaining wildlife.
Cathedral Caves:
We then drove out to Cathedral Cave where we parked and paid for admission to go down to the beach and walk into a cave during low tide. The walk along the beach was pleasant with damp hard-packed sand with dry floating sand being whipped across the surface by the wind. It looked surreal. The cave was interesting, and we enjoyed the visit, but ended up walking around the corner to where the cliff edge met the ocean waves and Catherine started climbing around on the rock face as waves slapped below. As she kept moving further out, I cautioned her about the waves. After she got down and back on the sand she was a bit further out as a sequence of waves approached her. I asked, “Are you sure you want to be there?” She responded helplessly, “No.” Right then a wave swept past through her legs and into the rocks behind her. Then a second wave approached, just as the initial wave had reflected off the cliffside. The resulting constructive interference wave reached up to her ribcage briefly, completely soaking her below. I took pictures of the whole ordeal, and after I realized I didn’t need to toss my gear and go rescue her, I laughed like a fool much to the disgust and judgment of many tourist spectators. Unfortunately, the hike back to the parking lot wasn’t very pleasant being soaked, so we took it slow in the sun.
Tunnel Beach:
After cleaning up and changing into dry clothes, we briefly considered finding a church to attend, but realized the nearest location would involve a significant backtrack, so we opted to continue on to Tunnel Beach. There we were able to do a short grassy walk down to some interesting rock formations and coast, with a cool man-made tunnel into the rock that held a staircase down to the beach below. There we spent some time before heading back to our camper van. There were lots of grasses and sheep that started to agitate Catherine’s allergies so she took some antihistamines to combat some of her reactions.
The weather started turning sour and raining, so we tried to find a camping site near our next early morning activity. We planned on getting some morning sunrise photos by the Moeraki Boulders, so we were on a hunt to find a spot where we could catch some shut-eye nearby. We pulled into the Katiki Beach North Reserve Rest Stop along the side of the road where some other campers had parked as well. We pulled down the curtains and started to doze off to the sound of pounding rain and crashing ocean waves. A few hours later, Catherine woke me up suddenly with a nightmare that we were stuck in a cave and needed to escape. I misinterpreted this as I thought another camper van had trapped us in or parked in a manner that would prevent us from leaving early in the morning. After calming down, we went back to sleep.
Day 13:
Moeraki Boulders:
In the early morning hours I was relieved to see the rain had stopped and we left to get photos of the sunrise by the Moeraki Boulders. Unfortunately, the clouds had other plans with it being overcast, so we didn’t have an impressive sunrise like we did the day before. However, the boulders were very impressive and we enjoyed spending some time goofing around and snapping pictures anyhow. We had the entire beach to ourselves, and were in the process of leaving just as we saw some people approaching in the distance.
Katiki Point Lighthouse:
We went on a little walk along a grassy pathway to visit the Katiki Point Lighthouse. As we were walking, we saw a sea lion or fur seal look up at Catherine from the grass ahead of her, and wave its flipper at her. It went back to resting, and we were puzzled as to why or how a large creature like that made its way up this high on the plateau and in the grasses. Just then we realized that Catherine was just about to walk into another one which was rather close by! Then we realized they were everywhere! Large meat sausages littered about the grass high up on the bluffs. Signage posted nearby informed guests to stay at least 5m away from them at all times, and we gladly obliged. There was a rocky point in the distance which had hundreds of thousands of sea-birds. It was interesting watching their strange behaviors from a distance with binoculars. In addition we could watch some sea lions wrestle on the shore and rocks below. We also got to see some very young pups wrestling around as well.
Near this area we spotted a protected wildlife zone where we were able to spot a few yellow eye penguins that were playing and swimming around the beach. With binoculars and zoom lenses we were able to get some closer looks at the animals. In addition, we could see some of the fluffy young penguin chicks that were shuffling about.
Maerewhenua Maori Rock Paintings:
We left the coast and arrived at the rock painting site in the late morning / early afternoon. We climbed up to an area that had been fenced off to protect some ancient rock paintings, but were a bit disappointed in the litter and lack of upkeep in the area. It was worth visiting, but we apparently had higher expectations. From there we traveled a short way to a place called Elephant Rocks which were interesting looking limestone formations. We parked and got out to explore and take photos. Apparently the location had been used for filming some movies in the early 2000’s. We also found a closed off area featuring the fossilized remains of a prehistoric whale, which was interesting being this far inland. After getting our fill we drove a little down the road and pulled over to have lunch. I cooked some noodles as a herd of cows came by to investigate. It was at this point where we had to make some choices, as some of our plans had fallen through and we decided we were going to alter our itinerary a little. While we ate lunch, Catherine spotted a coupon in one of our pamphlets for a discount for a Seal Swim in Kaikoura. This was out of our way, but it sounded like it could be worth the extra drive. We also had a coupon voucher for Hanmer Hotsprings which we could also utilize in the area, so we opted to shoot for that direction. Catherine called the seal swim up and we made a reservation. With it being New Year’s Eve, we weren’t interested in loud parties or fireworks that evening, so we opted to make our drive and find a quiet “out-of-the-way” campsite for the night. We made the drive north and pulled into a somewhat primitive place named Bowyers Stream Campsite. We had access to a nice flowing river/stream next to us and an outhouse. Not much else, but we parked next to a tree and had a quiet evening to ourselves. There was some solar activity the day or so prior but it was too cloudy for any auroras that night.
Day 14:
Seal Swim:
We departed our campsite in the morning and made our way to Kaikoura which was a bit of a drive. I remember flipping through old music that I had stashed on my phone’s SD card I hadn’t listened to since the early 2000’s. This ironically fell into the theme of New Zealand’s music on the radio that seemed stuck in the late 90’s. We eventually arrived about an hour or more early for the Seal Swim. We had parked near the visitor’s center and dozed off for a while until they opened. We were abruptly awakened by a tsunami siren that was ringing out loudly. I quickly realized that I didn’t know of a very effective or efficient route to get to high ground. There were a few roads, but would have been riddled with bottlenecks that would get clogged quickly in the event of an emergency. I looked around, and nobody seemed to be the least bit concerned. This was a little comforting, but the sirens continued to sound. I walked into the nearby visitor center and asked an attendant what was going on. They reassured me it was a simple weekly test, and it wasn’t worth worrying about. After that, we pretty much started getting ready as I was wide awake at this point. We checked out the visitor center while we were there and made our way to the Seal Swim meeting location. There we checked in and changed into their provided wetsuits and picked up their snorkeling gear. I brought along my waterproof GoPro clone and shortly we were on a bus to the south bay where we boarded a small boat with some other swimmers. It wasn’t a very long boat ride, but we went around the south bay and dropped anchor by some rocks. Here we jumped into the water, which was rather brisk, and our guide led us to swim between the rocks and away from the waves into fur seal territory. There were hundreds of seals! Mostly the adolescent and young seals were the ones approaching us and being playful. The fact that they would get up so close was impressive and amazing. I’m glad I brought my camera as I got some satisfactory video. Catherine had a great moment where she bobbed her head side to side, and had a seal excitedly respond in the same manner. The weather was perfect, the water was clear, the sun was out. It was fantastic. Eventually we had to return to the boat and got back to shore where we were bussed back to their location where we showered and changed.
From there we went to the Kaikoura coast-historic chimney to cook some lunch. We had to spend some time trying to digest and reflect on the awesome experience we just had. We were still a bit shocked in near disbelief of the whole experience. During lunch I realized I had a small army of slowly approaching seagulls with eyes fixated on my sandwich. I maintained eye contact and ate. We cleaned up, and dried off in the warm sun and cool ocean breeze. Once again, perfect weather.
That evening we settled down near Luca’s Beach which was just west of our seal swim location. There we sat on the rocky beach, and I remember realizing just how tired we were. Catherine was having some difficulty on the loose rocks, so we didn’t spend too much time there on the beach. We watched the sun set behind the distant mountains, went back to the van and went to sleep.
Day 15:
Hanmer Springs hotsprings and pools (10am - 2pm?)
We took our time waking up and heading on out from our site and towards the Hanmer Hotsprings. We arrived around 10am as they were opening and we were a little alarmed at the line of people waiting for admission. We got in line and patiently waited several minutes while trying to shield ourselves from the sun. Eventually we got in and changed into swimsuits. We had a coupon that granted us 30 minutes in a private pool room which was refreshing. It was a little room with a shower, a few steps down to a pool with a little waterfall. There was a window outside where there was a nice zen-style garden. It was very relaxing, and I might have even dozed off briefly before our time was up. The rest of the pools were nice too, with various temperature ratings. However, most were exposed to the sun so we had to soak strategically. It started to get a bit crowded, and we had our fill, so we showered off, got dressed and departed.
We then drove to and through Christchurch and towards Akaroa. It was a scenic drive dropping into the volcanic crater. The weather was pleasant and enjoyable. When we arrived in Akaroa we spent some time at the waterfront, filled up water bottles, then visited some botanical gardens. Using the topo maps, Catherine located an interesting waterfall to investigate nearby. On our way out we made our way to “misty peaks” trailhead where we were able to hike a short way up to Newton’s Waterfall. It was a seemingly remote area with nobody around so we took showers in the brisk waterfall. Shortly after getting dressed and departing, we were greeted by a family that was hiking towards the falls. We couldn’t have timed that better. We decided to camp at the trailhead in our camper van for the evening. I started cooking dinner as the same family passed by again on their way out. They sparked up a conversation with Catherine, and we talked for a while. The woman asked us how we knew about this particular location, as it was a “hidden gem” that she frequently visited with her family. She was relieved that it was just a location Catherine spotted on the map, and it wasn’t featured in a tourist book. We also learned just about how difficult it would be to move to NZ, as they are very picky about immigration, unless you have a very marketable skill like engineering. They asked us about US politics, as we were blissfully unaware that there was some government shutdown saturating the news headlines. We apologized for Trump, and expressed our dislike for our two party system. Knowing it was our last day in NZ we donated our remaining supplies to the family, like miscellaneous food, snacks, paper towels, TP, etc. They were happy to accept, and invited us for breakfast and tea in the morning. We declined, as we’d be leaving very early in the morning to make our flight, and didn’t want to disturb or be a nuisance.
After dinner we started to settle down for the evening and I was packing things up for the night when I started to get assaulted by aggressive sand flies. I retreated into the camper and rolled up the windows. I had to shift around some clothing and luggage that was in the topper, so I quickly jumped out, opened it up, swapped out the items, and jumped back into the van. In which time I had been bitten several times, and many flies got into the van. We spent a while hunting those down and trying to get to sleep. The van slowly became swelteringly hot with no outside air ventilation. We tried to wait until the sand flies retreated for the evening, but they only seemed to intensify to thick clouds outside our van. We couldn’t sleep, and we were both miserable feeling like we were in a sweat-box. Out of desperation, I turned on the engine and ran the AC full blast for a few minutes for some temporary relief, then turned the engine off. This worked for a few minutes, but due to the configuration of the van, the engine was recessed and between the driver and passenger seat, and it radiated its heat into the cab. We tried another iteration of this, only to realize it was making things worse overall. In addition, the carbon dioxide exhaust of the van was driving the already intense cloud of sand flies into a frenzied swarm desperate to find some way inside the van. We had to leave and find somewhere else to sleep, because we simply couldn’t sleep in those conditions.
As it approached midnight we decided to head towards Christchurch and hopefully find a camping spot along the way. It was pitch dark, and our headlights would occasionally sweep through clouds of sand flies, peppering our entire windshield with insect guts. They almost appeared like ground fog at first, but they were insect clouds! These conditions propelled us closer to Christchurch as we knew if we stopped anywhere near these infested areas, we’d be back to our original predicament. There were many places near Christchurch which seemed to have very strict “no free camping” signs posted, so I was not optimistic about finding a spot to camp, and was wondering if we could stay in a parking lot somewhere. Then it hit me, we could possibly find an LDS church with a parking lot. We drove to the nearest location and unfortunately, they had gates on both parking lot entrances. We continued into Christchurch to the next church location. Luckily, this church seemed to be in a quiet residential area and we were able to pull in and find a spot out of the way in the corner of their lot. Catherine wrote a nice letter explaining the situation we were in, and left our temple recommends on the dash with the note. We quickly fell asleep.
Day 16 & 17:
In the morning we were awakened to some groundskeepers doing some light landscaping at the church. Nobody had approached us or bothered us that evening. We were hoping the church doors might be open to use their bathrooms, but we were out of luck. We got some quick breakfast, and did our own watering of some of the plants before our departure. We stopped into a Subway to access some Wifi and check into our flights, and wrap up some last minute details before returning the van at Mad Campers. We were able to get a discount due to their scavenger hunt that was posted on social media. They dropped us off at the airport and we waited a few hours for our flight to board. While waiting we munched on some carrots, and were surprised when a sand fly zoomed out of one of our bags when it was opened. Our return flight was similar to the way we came in. Thankfully we didn’t have obnoxious perfume-spraying people next to us this round. I was able to get some sleep on the flights, and we were both completely exhausted after about 120 miles of hiking we’d done on this trip. However, we did encounter one final snag while going through US customs, and Catherine was snacking on her lunch which consisted of our last carrot. They asked if we had any food or vegetables, and Catherine showed the carrot in her lunch bag. They then confiscated her passport and told her she’d have to go to another area to exchange it. By the time Catherine waited in line and got the whole ordeal situated, most of the carrot was devoured, leaving only the little end nub. This caused some minor confusion, and possible irritation, but they let her through. We got home to SeaTac and had many tales to tell.
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