22 December 2016 - NZMCA Park, Weedons, Canterbury

We pulled open the blinds this morning to see a little commercial tourist campervan parked within the clubs hallowed grounds. It is always a dilemna when considering the policing of these parks, tentatively but jealously guarding them against interlopers, which is silly really; we pay our annual subscription and attend to our self-containment certification which under club rules is quite strict. This means that our members should in theory be upholding very high standards as regards freedom camping. It should also be notedthat large   signs at the park gates tell the traveller to STOP and read the rules, which include that only financial members are welcome within the confines of the park perimeter.

Chris popped over to check the register near the gate while I prepared breakfast, and whilst there, the occupant of the camper van came over to him to ask where he should pay his tarriff. He had in fact completed the register although had left the membership number space vacant. He said that they had found the camp online which we thought rather odd given that access to the membership area of the club website is restricted to code holders.

Chris reported that he was a thoroughly decent chap, not obviously a free-loader, but misguided all the same. He and his partner were travelling New Zealand for two months so Chris suggested he might like to join the club, and then as a member rightfully enjoy the benefits of membership, as we do. We did remember later that membership these days is restricted to those whose travelling unit is certified self-contained and this little “Mighty” van did not seem so. Hopefully he will find out the membership requirements when he goes on line himself. However none of this dealt with the fact that this park over property, as with most of them, has no toilet facilites or water available.

We sat about all morning reading and ringing ahead to arrange Christmas accomodation after checking the five day forecast. Then after lunch we made a move, heading straight up Highway One to Rolleston in the first instance where we did our grocery shopping, leaving Countdown with a trolly full of decadence.

Arriving at this south Christchurch NZMCA park, we found it busier than ever; it would seem that we are not the only ones who escape the commercialism and complexity of Christmas. I made the most of the cheap laundry facilities and later we watched the sun set in a relatively clear sky. Much of the snow visible on the far mountains when we were last here has melted. Summer is here at last.

21 December 2016 - NZMCA Park, Ealing, South Canterbury

We have travelled a full circle in the last five days or so, now back to our safe and charming little club park over property, and enjoying the last hours of glorious weather which is forecasted to break tomorrow.

We left Tekapo yesterday morning after going for a gentle wander along the lake shore toward the village. We walked out onto a low projection, lupin covered and home to several predatory or protective shorebirds who made it quite clear we were not welcome. We persevered to take advantage of the lakeside views, admiring the snow clad mountains in the distance. The sun was warm on our banks and the wind had yet to turn up. How glorious it all was!

At the public dump we topped up with water and dealt with our waste, and fell into conversation with a young couple of Berliners who asked if they could use our water pipe. While they were filling their tanks in their cunningly homebuilt “self-contained” camper, we learned they were heading to a music festival further down the island but were making the most of the days in-between. We offered some ideas of places to visit and see and we exchanged season’s greetings as we parted company. Later in the day when we learned of the terrorist deaths in Berlin’s Christmas street markets, I thought of this well-spoken couple and hoped that this would not personally impact their lives. What a horrible Christmas that would make for!

We drove north from Lake Tekapo, over Burke’s Pass at 709 metres ASL, marginally higher than Tekapo and dropped down into wonderful farming country and lower temperatures, leaving the wider Mackenzie Basin. When we had crawled out of bed earlier in the day, we had been met by interior temperatures of 4 degrees (it was 2 degrees outside). As we crossed the Pass we came upon displaced road kill, a wallaby rather far from home, although when I checked my map, it wasn’t that far back to the Hunter Hills if you did not bother with roads.

We reached Fairlie in time to pull onto a grass verge for lunch. Fairlie describes itself as the gateway to Mackenzie Country, and while it is technically in the Mackenzie District, geographically it lies in the lower wide valley of rivers that flow down toward Timaru. We have called here before and once visited the Museum which is a real gem. Entry was through a turnpike triggered by coins and led one into an absolute treasure trove of agricultural and social history. Yesterday we did not linger in Fairlie but headed on toward Geraldine, climbing up away from the township, pausing briefly at the top of the hill to look back over the rural landscape.

Geraldine was buzzing with tourists, Christmas shoppers and the normal business of a thriving rural community. It boasts a population of a little over 2,000 but you would think it much more. We popped into the supermarket and then into the little museum which offers a brilliant resource for those with an interest in the area. We passed some time with the volunteer at the reception desk, a relative newcomer to the town, having emigrated from Christchurch. He seemed to be very happy with his hometown.

And then we came on through to this same park we are at tonight, a tried and true space and a good kick off spot for our plans for today.

Peel Forest's Emily Falls

It was a joy to wake to warmer temperatures this morning and yet another day of good weather. Having risen at some ungodly hour, we twiddled our thumbs until after 8am  before setting off back westward to the Peel Forest, 22 kilometres north of Geraldine and about the same from here, back across the Rangitata River.

Reaching the settlement of Peel Forest which is just a little store that offers café service, DOC information and yesterday’s newspaper, we picked up a walks brochure before heading the few kilometres on to Blandswood. This little mark on the map is a small cluster of houses or shacks dotted about a heavily wooded hill, such as you would wonder why anyone would want to live or stay in such shady dark huts. We parked at the base of the hill and set off on the Emily Falls walk, just 1.6 kilometres supposedly taking an hour and a half. We chose this walk over the Rata Falls walk, because this latter was described as having a five hundred metre walk upsteam and neither of us fancied wading through a stony creek in our heavy boots. Little did we know that the chosen walk was little better, except our rock hopping through the creek was reduced to perhaps one hundred metres. We struggled up one hill, down another, then up another, and so on. It was slow going and while the bush was lovely and we spotted fantails and rifleman, heard tuis and bellbirds  and the distinctive flight of the wood pigeon, the falls at the end were not so spectacular as to warrant a return anytime soon.

Chris picking his way across the creek

Back at the car park, we drove on to Te Wanahu Flat at the eastern edge of the Forest Reserve and stretched out on the divans to recover before having lunch. It took some effort to rouse ourselves from this state of lethargy, but once we were on our feet again, we enjoyed the Big Tree Walk, a short half hour walk to a large totara almost three metres across. It is not the biggest we have seen but certainly was impressive. Here along this walk there were a lot of massive aged matai, kahikatea and of course, lowland totara.

Now on a roll, we set off for another walk, this the Kahikatea Walk, described as “a flat easy walk with board walks over wetter areas”. It is indeed flat if you start it down at the camping ground, but not so when you have to descend the steep hill to access it to begin with, and then return to the car at the top of the hill. And there are quite a lot of narrow board walks, but some of the muddiest holes were left au naturel. We certainly had our exercise for the day after that walk and were happy to call it a day.

NZ Fuschia

The Peel Forest Park Scenic Reserve is the largest in the Geraldine area, covering 783 hectares around Little Mt Peel which stands at 1311 metres ASL. The area was subjected to wholesale milling and felling during the late 1800s and might have all been cleared if it hadn’t been for the foresight of a visiting British MP who was so horrified by the forest devastation, he bought 16 hectares of uncut forest. On his death, this became the embryo of the present Peel Forest Park. If you do the maths, you will realise that 767 hectares is second growth, but it has been regenerating for over one hundred years, hence it does not initially appear to be anything but virgin bush. On the walk through to the falls, we noted a huge number of New Zealand fuchsias; we had seen these fascinating apricot trunked trees years ago down in the Caitlins but these were more numerous and much more substantial.

On the way home we called back into the Forest Store, picked up the day’s newspaper now having arrived and an ice-cream. We could have decided to travel further north en route toward our Christmas preparation, but instead thought we may as well return here and deal with anything else tomorrow. Manana la manana!

19 December 2016 - NZMCA Park, Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie Country

We woke to find we had shared our freedom camping spot with about twenty other parties, many of whom we saw disappear into the scrub beside the river to attend to their early morning needs; the long drop toilet was either outside their comfort zone, or the queues were too slow outside the one little shack. Needless to say I did not bother to find out but later made the remark to Chris that given the popularity of the spot, DOC would be well advised to install better facilities and charge the minimum camping fee,  if only to protect the environment.

Beside Lake Ruataniwha

The sun was shining and the skies clear as we headed away to the north west past stunning rural scenes and the not too distant mountains, all snow smattered as had been those further north. It was the first time we had travelled this route south to north, in the past heading in the reverse direction, and whether it was because of this or the fact that the weather could not have been any better, we appreciated the scenery more than ever before.

Just before we arrived at Twizel, we turned left and drove along the northern shore of Lake Ruataniwha, today so blue and clear. This lake covering an area of just over three square kilometres was formed as part of the Waitaki Hydro Project and while it does have a productive part to play in the scheme, it was developed by the Ministry of Works into a major recreational resource for the area, now one of New Zealand’s main rowing venues. Freedom camping is not allowed around the lake which is most unfortunate because it really does lend itself to this. Instead there is a very large commercial camping ground on the north western end of the lake.

Toward Mt Cook across Lake Pukaki

Today we drove down to a couple of the boat ramps then followed the canals back away from the lake, finally cutting back into the town of Twizel where we stopped to pick up a newspaper. As we came in from the back end of the town, we were amazed to see how much housing development has been carried out over the past few years. It really is quiet a lovely place which is contrary to the opinion I have had until today, but then the weather does make a difference.

Twizel was constructed in 1966 as a dormitory for the workers on the hydro scheme and was supposed to be bulldozed into extinction after completion of the works. Instead it continued to exist, housing the seasonal fishermen and hunters, looking like most has-been construction or forestry camp towns. Fortunately it has hung on in through the decades and today there is an attractive, albeit small, cluster of shops catering to the bare necessities of life for the residents and the travellers. A cousin of mine purchased a house or batch here some years ago and I wondered why he would want to bother, apart from the fact he is a shooting and hunting kind of guy. He subsequently sold it, and now I am thinking he would have done well to hold onto it. With all the tourists passing by, Twizel might well have a real place in the world, especially since its location on the Alps to Ocean Cycle trail.

Russell Lupins below Mt John

We drove on across the plateau between Twizel and Lake Pukaki, another of the lakes part of the Scheme, and paused to enjoy the views. Alas there was a bitter wind blowing off the snowy peaks of Mt Cook and the surrounding mountains, although their peaks were shrouded in cloud today. That was one of the reasons we decided not to drive the extra mileage up to Mt Cook Village and back apart from thinking it was a very long way to go for a walk we have done a couple of times before. We were surprised by the ferocity of the waves upon the shore at Lake Pukaki; one might be forgiven for thinking they had been teleported to a coastal surf beach.

Actually I do like to stay at the DOC camp up there, from which you hear the avalanches crashing down during the night, and from which there is one of the loveliest walks up into the Hooker Valley, however I have described the joys of this in past posts I am sure.

At the foot of Mt John

So instead, after a welcome cup of coffee and watching the tourists pose for their photos to be shared all around the world, or at least all around the Asian speaking world, we headed on to Lake Tekapo, almost another fifty kilometres through even more beautiful countryside, this time great swathes of road frontage bedecked in even more vibrant multi-coloured Russell lupins.

Just before arriving at the lake, we turned left with the intention of driving up to the Mt John Observatory. This too we have done before, but not since they have put a security gate on the entrance and started to charge $8 for the privilege of driving up the hill to look out over the area. Obviously there were not enough visitors willing to be ripped off at the café beside the observatories, and they decided it would be more lucrative to fleece the tourists at the gate. I suspect there are now less tourists willing to fork out for a cup of coffee and a scone after having paid an entry fee! Needless to say we did a U-turn and decided not to bother. However we were disappointed and I decided that this was probably another situation of having cut off our noses to spite our face.

Views over Lake Tekapo

Instead we pulled into the cultivated patch of Russell lupins beside the road, a charming and free spot we and millions of others do whenever the pass by. This year we have arrived at exactly the right time to see them at their best; I took another dozen photos to join all the rest in my photo archive. I say “cultivated” because they have been planted out with system for agricultural and scientific purpose.

Down in Lake Tekapo village, we found a level spot and lunched before heading out on foot in the cold wind to enjoy the sights. We crossed the new footbridge, just opened last year, and walked down to the Church of the Good Shepherd to find that closed until 2pm. I guess there is only one faithful parishioner who is willing to sit there all day and warn people against taking photos or defiling this special spot, and she needs a break at some point of the day. There were a lot of disappointed tourists who had obviously been looking forward to entering the little Church; instead they had to be satisfied with taking a photo of themselves outside, a backdrop that could have been absolutely anywhere.

We were glad to return to the motorhome and retreat from the blustery wind. We decided we would stay on at the lake and so found our way around to the large NZMCA park over property which is unchanged from the last time we were here; a bit lumpy and uneven, busy and quite lovely, more sheltered from the wind by the pines and willows by the lake.

18 December 2016 - Ahuriri Bridge DOC Campsite, Omarama

 Truth be told, a dozen or so ideas for the day were raised over breakfast, not least detouring  south to Oamaru to visit the Art Gallery recalled with pleasure, however when The Chauffeur learned it was over fifty kilometres distant, he decided that wasn’t such a great idea after all.

St Patrick's Basilica

Instead after filling with water and dumping our waste, we popped into the Waimate New World supermarket for a couple of bits and pieces then wandered up and down the main street. Surprisingly, even at the relatively early hour of this Sunday morning, the cafes and second hand shops were open for business, although there were few customers. We checked out the exterior of the two interesting looking churches in the town, one St Patrick’s Catholic Basilica built around 1910 and the other, the Anglican Church St Augustine built in the 1870s , both rather “grand” for such a little town, although one would not even make such a remark if this were England. There they have great cathedral like churches in the tiniest of places.  The interiors had to be left for the gathering congregations; they seem to be a devout lot here in South Canterbury.

St Augustine

Back on the road again, we headed south west, on through the Waimate Gorge where I had fancied taking a bush walk, however when we discovered the gorge to be covered in broom and other scrub, we were glad we had not bothered. The road soon reached the Waitaki River and we followed it along the northern bank until we crossed at Kurow.

Since leaving Waimate and continuing through the rural landscape, we were surprised to find so much of the irrigation infrastructure in action, unlike that seen over the past few days further to the north. Perhaps this was because the irrigation offered by the pumps and canals of water diverted from the Waitaki is so available. Or perhaps it is because so much of this land now travelled through was more hilly, albeit of a gentle nature, and required this boost to cater for the large dairy herds seen.

It was along this road nearly a decade ago that we came upon a couple of dead wallabies on the side of the road. Now having spent three years on the roads around Australia, this would not be worthy of the morbid photo I did take then. Marsupial road kill was still unknown as was the fact how a wallaby, albeit dead, had arrived in this rather unbecoming position. It turned out that there were over 130,000 of these little Aussies up in the Hunter Hills, and here like possums, they are a pest. Every year since 1991 the South Canterbury Recreational Sportsman Club has run an annual wallaby hunt. In 2008, 2,000 wallabies were shot over one weekend, and in 2015 over 1,000. There are prizes handed out for the heaviest and for the largest tally, a little like a deep sea fishing contest.

A remnant of the old bridge

On the other side of Waimate there is a little petting zoo where one can touch, cuddle, feed and photograph over sixty tame wallabies. Hopefully the juvenile customers of this establishment are not told about the annual hunt.

We pulled into the rest area on Kurow Island after crossing a new bridge. We had been looking forward to parking up beside the old quaint bridges that had served the road traffic for over one hundred years, so were rather disappointed. Here the river spits into two and a ten hectare island sits in the middle. I was rather horrified to learn today that from the early 1900s to 1996, this central area was used as a Waitaki district landfill. Following closure of the landfill, the area had become a waste area covered in gorse, broom and noxious weeds, an illegal dumping site and a fire hazard. Imagine trying to get resource consent to have a landfill in the middle of a braided river today! Between 2008 and 2010, work has been done to clean it up and plant out trees and other more welcome vegetation, this making it a rather pleasant area to walk about as we did after lunch today.

Views through the borage from Kurow Island

Construction on the two new bridges commenced in 2013, both opened in 2014 having cost the tax payers a mere $19.4 million. It is intended that these new iron and concrete structures should serve for at least one hundred years and so they should because their predecessors did better than that and they were made of wood.

The two old wooden How Truss bridges were built in 1881, during a time of great expansion and growth in New Zealand, when new roads and railways were needed to open up the country for settlement and farming. Initially the bridge structures were built using kauri beams but these were not durable, and were later replaced with hardwood timber. Flooding was an on-going threat to the bridges. Even before they were completed, three piers were swept away during a major flood in October 1878. The completed bridges carried both road and rail traffic until the 1930s.

Downriver from Benmore Dam

The Waitaki River is 109 kilometres long and has the second largest catchment in New Zealand after the Clutha River in Otago. The river forms the boundary between Otago and Canterbury. The hydro scheme of the same name is a series of interconnected lakes and canals used to generate electricity. It is made up of eight hydro stations along the river, two owned by Genesis Energy and the other six by Meridian. These six generate enough electricity each year for about 832,000 average New Zealand homes.

Today as we travelled north-west up the southern bank of the river, we passed the Waitaki Hydro Dam, the Aviemore and finally the Benmore. This latter is the largest earth dam in New Zealand and holds the largest constructed lake. It is the second largest hydro station in New Zealand.

We pulled into this last dam on today’s route and checked out the views from the top of the dam, or at least I did. There was a fair old breeze blowing and Chris decided the views were more pleasant from inside the motorhome.

The Ahuriri Bridge beyond the lupins

We carried on through to Omarama, basically a supply post at the junction of the roads to and from Queenstown, Twizel and the east coast. It now sits on the more recently formed Alps to the Sea cycle trail and has no doubt gained more custom from this tourist drawcard.

It is also the gliding capital of New Zealand, perhaps even of the world, offering consistently excellent conditions for the sport; the north-westerly winds that blow across the flat basin provide a reliability that is seldom experienced elsewhere. Today we saw more than a couple of gliders towed up into the thermals but were unable to track their descent. Sometimes they can be gone for hours from here unlike the short unsatisfactory flights Chris and I have done in Northland in the past.

Views up the Ahuriri River

After refuelling with diesel at more than 125% the price we could have down on the coast, we found an overnight spot across the Ahuriri River at the standard DOC camp. “Standard” means it is a pack-in-pack-out your rubbish, with only water available from the river and toilet facilities a very bare minimum; a camp best suited to fully self-contained campers.

We were delighted to find the multi-coloured Russell lupins still in bloom, all about the river bed. While reviled by the Department of Conservation, tourists and visitors find them quite splendid. So here we are surrounded in the kaleidoscope of forbidden colour as well as the other familiar flowers: the yellow mullein, the purple borage and the vibrantly orange Californian poppies.