rest of the west

Below the city of Greymouth there is only one more town of significant size and then only wee bits of civilization exist.  There is however a whole lot of beauty and nature in the form of mountains, rivers, beaches, and glaciers.  There were more people living in this area a hundred years ago than there are today.  The area has been mined for coal and gold and one can also find greenstone or jade.  We figured we might get lucky and find something!  So we headed to an old gold-mining area where we walked up a stream and had a go using our cooking skillet to look for gold. Fossicking was fun but we had no success with the gold, but we did find some jade at the beaches.  In Hokitika we got more provisions for the long journey down the coast and walked around the town meeting some interesting characters.  We met a self-proclaimed fruit loop lady who gave us a lesson on proper gold-panning techniques.   It was a little too late, but she sold us some white sage incense to ward off the “evil sandflies”. 

We set out down the road to the wild and raw West Coast to arrive at our first camping spot on Lake Ianthe.  Where we made dinner and watched the sun go down as we got swarmed by the infamous New Zealand sandflies. These flies are not really sandflies, their biting black flies that cause you to itch for days.  This was not our first encounter with these little black flies however it was the worst yet.  The Maori say that the Gods created the flies for population control in the area, and its working. After we managed to get them out of the van and go to sleep we heard the buzzing of mosquitoes.  They literally tag each other out, one attacks during the day and the other attacks at night.  So Eugene stayed up all night swatting mosquitoes as they buzzed through the tiny window cracks.  After a horrible nights rest we hit the road to get the hell out of there. Little did we know that nights like this are common on the West Coast.  We headed to the famous glaciers of Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.  We liked Fox Glacier better, it was easier to see and the amount of recession over the years was incredible. A big chunk of ice calved off while we were checking it out. It’s really insane to see how fast the recession is happening. From where the glacier was in 1750 to where it is now is about a 3 mile distance. 

After our viewings we headed to a great free camp spot at Gillespie’s  Beach. At the beach we hiked to a Fur Seal Colony. The next morning we got woken up by an endangered Kea, the only alpine parrot in the world.  It landed on Frenchy, waking us up at dawn. The weather was great on our long 18km, 7hr hike to the Welcome Flat Hot Springs.  The area was impressive! With river carved valleys surrounded by craggy snow-capped peaks and turquoise water.  We had a soak and then hit our sleeping bags. The next day there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  A kiwi guy told us it was as good as it gets.  We scored!!!  Not only was it beautiful but it was windy enough to keep the pesky sandflies at bay for a day.

We hiked out after two nights in the valley and headed to Haast where we rewarded ourselves with pitchers of beer and Whitebait patties at the local pub.  Haast is whitebait capital of New Zealand and the season was nearing an end so we had to indulge. Whitebait is a small fish which look like sardines yet don’t taste as fishy. The locals like to make patties out of them mixed with egg.  They were pretty good washed down with some cold lager. 

The next day we decided to head to the end of the road and check out the spectacular Jacksons Bay.   The water was so clear and calm we decided to go for a snorkel at low tide and look for some abalone.  To our surprise we found heaps tucked away in the cracks of rocks, I spotted them and Eugene dove down to get the big ones.  Low on provisions and excited to eat some fresh caught seafood we headed to another beach to process them and cook’em.  During the process we got attacked by the sandflies like never before!!!! The white sage didn’t work.  We still have bites on us a week later, but the abalone meal was worth it. The next day we headed over the Haast pass towards Wanaka where we were blessed to stay on a great piece of property in a house for the first time recuperating from the intensity of the West Coast.  It came at the right time and was well deserved.   Thank you Gary!!!!  Now we head East back to the Pacific. 

More pictures from the West

                                                                       River Crossing

                                                            Fox River Limestone Valley

                                                               Giant Furry Moth

                                                            West Coast Dreaming

                                                                      Striking a Pose

                                                            Same Same but Different

Pictures of Nelson to the West

                                                          Abel Tasman National Park

                                                                         Biodynamics

                                                                 Making Compost

                                                                    Lupine Beauty

                                                                  Pancake Rocks

                                                                   Another Great Cape

Nelson to the West

Nelson town is a happening place on the South Island of New Zealand.  The weather is warm and the sun is shining.  After getting some rest from our 2am ferry we hit the streets and went to the thriving farmers market where I went on a sample spree and lost Eugene. I later found him sampling honey whiskey and gin at 9am.  We arrived in Nelson at the October art and music festivals final two days.   So we went and danced at two free shows and it felt good to shake a leg.  The next day we woke up wondering what to do, where to go and dude where’s Frenchy?

 There are two main routes on the South Island; down the very unpopulated West side or down the slightly more populated East side.  We couldn’t decide so we sent some emails to some people for a work trade opportunity.  While waiting for responses we went to the Abel Tasman National Park and went for a sunny day hike to a beautiful beach along the first quarter of this Great Walk. When we got back to a computer we found a response from a German man Dieter, who grows 750 varieties of apple trees and other fruits and vegetables through biodynamic farming practices.  It is true organic growing re-using everything in the system and planting with the stars and the moon. He wanted our help so we went to his farm, Treedimensions.  Dieter hooked us up with our own flat and cooked all our meals, we ate organic food all week, and we earned it because we worked hard.  We built garden beds, painted, cleaned, mulched, weeded, and made compost.   

After the farm we decided that we should head down the West side of the island. The stars seemed to be aligning just right. So we set off toward Westport to check out the fur seal colony at Cape Foulwind. Luckily for Eugene a surf spot was right there too, he surfed until sunset.  The following day we headed further south where the landscape becomes verdant green forest atop limestone cliffs falling majestically into river valleys. We hiked up a couple different river valleys with river crossings while taking dips in the chilly turquoise waters, aka shower time!

 Then we headed to the famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes in Punakaiki.  Where geologists don’t understand how the rocks got so many layers looking like staked Pancakes!  The weather can be rainy on the West side often but we have somehow lucked out and have had some really nice days that feel like summer is coming!  Heading further south we stumbled upon one of NZ’s most internationally significant coal mines in Brunner.  So we took a look and learned some history.  Today we head from Greymouth continuing down the coast towards the craggy snow-capped peaks to check out some glaciers and hot springs!!!