2nd May Friday Havelock to Westport

We travelled to Westport on the west coast of the island via Renwick (near Blenheim) and St. Arnaud. Until lunch time the sun was out and the drive alongside the vineyards was beautiful.

St. Arnaud is where the Nelson Lakes National Park starts including L.ake Rotoiti and Late Rotoroa (not Rotarua).

We stopped for lunch at Lake Rotoiti, where it was drizzling. I went fishing in the lake for a while, didn't catch anything but saw some huge eels – one was easily 5ft long and as thick as my forearm (they are protected so I couldn't even try to catch one )

Then drove to Westport, through the Buller Gorge area, always following the Buller River. Again, there were the most amazing views and twisty roads.

Stayed in Top 10 in Westport which was the worst one we had stayed in. The hair dryer didn't work and the whole place looked like an old army barracks. But the water was hot and the late evening view of the mountain range was great.

1st May Thursday Wellington to Havelock

"A Pinch and a Punch for the First of the Month".

Only a few days left in New Zealand now. Really, one month is not enough. Ideally I think I would hire a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Land Cruiser and take 3 to 4 months to tour New Zealand – so much to see and do – 4 weeks is not enough.

We woke up in Wellington and it was still raining and blowing and we hadn't slept well during the night.

On the way to the ferry terminal we got into the morning rush hour traffic and therefore had plenty of time to admire the whitecaps on the water in the bay and to look forward to an undoubtedly rough crossing to Picton.

We check in at 8 am and drove straight onto the ferry and then went and found a comfy seat. We then waited and waited. The sailing was delayed by 30 minutes during which the weather calmed down and we had an excellent crossing.

At one point I could see both North and South Islands out the window – it seems a lot closer than UK and France. Because of the route the ferry takes, through the Queen Charlotte Sound, it takes 3 ½ hours from Wellington to Picton.

Off the ferry and drove to Havelock along the Queen Charlotte Drive and what must be the road with the most corners on it in New Zealand. All along the route to Havelock there were stunning views of the water and bays below.

Havelock is a tiny town – one hotel with pub and pokies (poker machines), one restaurant, a small supermarket, two cafes and a big marina – but it's the "Green-Lipped Mussel Capital of the World".

It's also where Ernest Rutherford and William Pickering went to junior school.

Rutherford deterined the concept of the atom being composed of a nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons.

Pickering was a former director of the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory and directed the Explorer, Ranger, Pioneer, Surveyor and Mariner space missions.

You know when you are on South Island, the temperature dropped by a few degrees. We were so cold! Or maybe it's because Mum & I are sick? My Mum developed a nasty cough and I have a bit of a fever and a cold.

We had Green-Lipped mussels for a snack lunch – well we had to, didn't we?- they were cooked tyhe same way as in France and were delicious.

Havelock once had a thriving population during the local gold rush (there seems to have been a number of gold rushes in New Zealand's history) but it's now a sad little town like most of the gold rush towns. It's sad to see nothing going on.

30th April Wednesday Ohakune to Wellington

The weather seems to be better this morning. We travelled up SH1 to take another gleam at Mordor at a distance.

Richard managed some photos when the cloud moved away from the peak.

The way down to Wellington was pleasant. We also stopped for coffee at a café under a Dakota DC3 airplane and bought 2 bags of walnuts. My mum and I finished those real quick. We also found a man selling fish from the back of his van, we bought some snapper and the fish they used for fish and chips.

As usual the scenery was fantastic. Mountains and valleys. We stopped at Himatangi Beach for lunch. This stretch of beach was along the Tasman Sea. We could see Australia. You know I lied!

Wellington was pretty. It sat on a bay not too crowed. The campsite was big and good. It was a Top 10. We joined at the start of our journey as a member and we were entitled to 10% discount. All their campsites were very decent and they also had budget cabins and self contained flat.

We did our laundry today, sheets and all. Did our email and found out Scott Macmillan had died from a fishing accident. Scott was our manufacturing VP in Riverstone and we corresponded just a few days prior to his death. Oswaldo and I were devastated.

Guess what? It was raining again. We had to be at the ferry terminal at 8 am for the South Island crossing.

29th April Tuesday Ohakuni

Rained the whole day!

We went for a drive since there was no message about fishing for Richard from the informaiton centre.

We drove along route 49 toward Waiouru. It was an army training place. Turn left along SH1 towards Lake Taupo. This area was underneath Tongariro National Park. After the eruption of Mt Rauepehu, this area had become a desert with very little vegetation. On the left of SH1, it was desert like, but on the right it was green with grass. The soil on the left was porous and held no water after the rains, this was why it was bare.

We went to Tongariro Trout Centre. The rain was very heavy and we got very wet. My mum was a wise one, staying dry in the campervan. We stopped at Turangi for petrol and carried on route 47. We had lunch at the tip of Lake Rotoira. Carried along 47 and passed Sir Edmund Hilary outdoor pursuit centre. Along the way, vegetation was mainly barren with heather and flax. We came across four Lord of the Ring film sites. Plains of Gororoth, Mount Doom, Ithilien and Mordor. We tried to get closer to Mordor but the mist was so thick we saw nothing.

"It hasn't been the same since Saruman left".

Richard was still trying to get to the river to see if he could do some fishing. But it was not accessible, we went back to camp. We had lamb for dinner. NZ lamb was good and cheap, so was the beef.

Still raining in the middle of the night. BIG BIG RAIN!

There was another couple from the UK. They were on a BMW motorbike. This couple had been travelling for the past 2 years. Started from Canada and then to USA, then to South America. They shipped their bike to NZ and carried on. They anticipate another 2 years before they finished.

28th April Monday Waitomo Caves to Ohakuni

The drive was good coming along the South side of Lake Taupo. We passed the Tongariro National Park where an eruption 26,500 years ago created Lake Taupo.

Mt. Ruapehu, at the top of the national park, erupted in 1995/6 during the height of the skiing season. Ohakuni is a ski resort.

1945 eruption and aftermath
The 1945 eruption emptied the crater lake and dammed the outlet with tephra. The crater slowly refilled with water, until on December 24th, 1953 the tephra dam collapsed causing a lahar in the Whangaehu River. The lahar caused the Tangiwai disaster, with the loss of 151 lives, when the Tangiwai railway bridge across the Whangaehu River collapsed while the lahar was in full flood, just before an express train crossed it. It was already known that the river had partially undermined one of the bridge piers and the lahar finished the job, causing the bridge to collapse. Although warned of the collapsed bridge, the train driver was unable to stop the train in time and 6 of the carriages fell into the river.

(Whilst we were in the South Island, on the 2nd May, a level 1 warning was issued after GNS scientists who were monitoring the lake, found irregular signs of volcanic activity. This included increased chemical changes, gases and temperature. )

Richard is still trying to find a guide to take him fishing. The lady at the information was not too helpful.

There were 2 big chestnut trees at the campsite. 3 of us went chestnut picking. It was the first time my mum had seen a fresh chestnut. In Singapore we normally cook with dried chestnuts. It was not easy to peel like the fresh one, and it took a long time to cook. We microwaved them and they were great.

27th April Sunday Rotorua to Waitimo Caves

Loads more beautiful country side to drive through.Stopped at Otorohanga where they had a small street market and bought some no-yeast bread and boysenberry jam.

Arrived at Waitomo and booked a cave tour with SpellBound.

A 15 minute drive took us to the glow worm cave. We walked the last 10 minutes down the hillside in the rain and were handed ours helmets and lights by Norm our guide.

Victoria (8 years old) led us into the cave. Norm told us to mind the "Oh Bugger" rock near the entrance.

A short while in, Norm got us to turn our lights off – it was pitch dark – we could not see our hands in front of our faces.

We walked on and found some glow worms (maggots really). We could see how they capture flying insects with thread about 6 inches long with little beads of sticky every couple if millimeters. I spotted a little moth get caught by one of the thread and then we watched as it was slowly winched up, millimeter by millimeter, by the glow worm.

We took a boat ride and saw more thousands more glow worms. It was like boating under the stars. It was actually quite bright just these tiny lights given out by these worms. We then turned the boat round before going over a waterfall. After the boat ride, we were told not to turn on our lights and navigate out of the cave using our senses and by holding on to the person in front. It was fun and it was dark too!

We were given refreshment and biscuits and then headed to the next cave. It was a traditional one with stalagmites and stalactites. There was no lighting in the cave. This was to ensure that there was no green algae' growing on the rock. It had a small cathedral, which was formed by 3 waterfalls coming through the sides of the wall.

We also found some old bones, sheep and a moa. The Moa was buried over 800 years old. These animals must have fallen down the hole, injured and starved to death.

26th April Saturday – Rotorua

The weather was misty, windy and it rained most of the day.  We drove a few miles to the Buried Village.

 

It was mostly covered by the 1886 eruption but partially excavated and now a tourist trail.

 

In 1886, one of the tourist guides, Sophia, noticed that the water in Lake Rotomahana stream was dry but then started to flow.  She also reported seeing, along with the tourists she as with a war waka being paddled on the lake without moving and then the people on it turning to dogs.  The local chief predicted a disaster. Sure enough…..

 

The tourists used to come and see the white and pink terraces and to bath in their waters.  The photos showed they were absolutely enormous. They were destroyed and are now covered by Lake Rotomahana.  

 

As a result of the eruption, the priest of the village was stuck in his hut for four days.  He was rescued, but, in hospital, the doctor insisted on cutting his hair.  The priest said "Do not cut my hair off or I will die".  True enough, he died after his hair was cut (short back and sides?).

 

The meeting house of thee village was sold to an English man for $NZ50.  It is now in Surrey.  The National Trust has taken that over.

 

We walked pass a nice stream stocked with big wild rainbow trout.  Richard did not want to leave the stream without giving a go.  He wished he had his rod.  The stream ended up into a big waterfall.  We had to walk down hill to get a good view.  But, we need to go up hill again to leave the waterfall.  It was hard work, as it was very steep.  Worth it!

 

Later we went for a short drive and Jo-Ann cooked bacon butties for lunch.  Back at the camp we cooked chicken korma for supper with fruits to follow.

 

The hot water heater seemed to be on the blink so we had to wash the dishes in cold water.