When I arrived in Picton, I set up my tent then headed to town as I had over a month before when I was here last. I ended up eating at the same great restaurant and likely having the same meal. It was that good, though! Then I walked around town and the park thinking over my time on the South Island. So many great memories, sights seen, and people met. The girls I met on the ferry coming over to Picton would be just a few of many great people I'd meet along the way and stay in touch with. My trip isn't over, but I feel as though I'm moving into another phase as I leave the amazing South Island and cross over to the North Island tomorrow.
Today I packed up my tent and drove to Picton, NZ. Picton is where I arrived by ferry on February 20th and where I'll be for the night before heading back tok Wellington and the North Island.
When I arrived in Picton, I set up my tent then headed to town as I had over a month before when I was here last. I ended up eating at the same great restaurant and likely having the same meal. It was that good, though! Then I walked around town and the park thinking over my time on the South Island. So many great memories, sights seen, and people met. The girls I met on the ferry coming over to Picton would be just a few of many great people I'd meet along the way and stay in touch with. My trip isn't over, but I feel as though I'm moving into another phase as I leave the amazing South Island and cross over to the North Island tomorrow.
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March 30 marks the halfway point of this 107 days in Dubai/New Zealand/Australia.
I left the house in Nelson and headed to a campsite about 15 minutes away. I don't mind camping and sometimes really look forward to it, even while staying in a house, but a few times I wondered if I should have just stayed for the next two days I'll be in the Richmond/Nelson area. The house was really comfortable and convenient. But the campground worked out great as well. I could walk to Richmond, which I did a few times, and would take walks in the surrounding neighborhood in the evenings. As a few things I was going to do in the area didn't pan out, and I was in desperate need of some planning time and time to set up things like my rental car and accommodations in Wellington, I used a lot of my two days there to get some of this stuff done. I also went to town and bought a camping pot which I can use the rest of the trip and in the future. At dinner on the 31st I sat at the communal table in the dining area of the kitchen. Across the table to my right was a miner that was taking some time off as he'd had a heart attack and follow-up surgery a month before. To my left beside me and at the end of the table was a man and his wife. The man had lost both his legs in the earthquake that hit Christchurch about four years ago. He was one of three people that lost both legs in the earthquake. That evening after walking I came back and ended up connecting with a group of 20-somethings I'd been seeing around. The five of them, all from different countries, had met while traveling and were all doing fruit picking. As is common, they were on 1-year work travel visas, so were picking fruit to make travel money. I had been curious about work travel visas and fruit picking so asked them all about it. Pretty fascinating stuff. One couple at the table had just finished their stint that day and were headed on to another part of the country to travel. After a great night's rest in the tent (I sleep well in there for some reason), I left Christchurch in my rented Corolla. Compared to the sleepvan it feels like a racecar! Not used to the size or power of it after 5 weeks in a heavier, lunkier vehicle. I rented a house in Nelson, NZ that would give me a place to catch up with stuff online and make it easier to get ready for church Saturday morning. The house, which had three rooms, was a good price and within walking distance of things to do and places to eat. I Googled the location of the SDA church in town not sure where it was exactly and realized it was a lot closer than I'd expected! Sabbath morning I WALKED to church at the end of the road arriving there in 5 minutes! After the service a couple opened their home to guests as there was no potluck that day. It turns out that they were a couple that someone back home had mentioned to me before coming to NZ, so I recognized their names. The SDA world seems so small sometimes! Their house has large windows looking out towards a bay in the distance. Nice house and gardens around it. Rain was in the forecast for Sunday, so I set it aside to get stuff done online. I figured this house makes it easy to do that with its good internet and quiet setting. That evening I walked into town (5 mins) and looked for a place to watch the end of the New Zealand vs. Australia Cricket World Cup game. Place seemed kind of empty. Maybe people were watching at home, though, I came in at about the last hour and by then people kind of figured Australia would win. I found a sports bar and watched the rest of the game from there. Very quiet in there. I think they knew what was happening. Australia ended up winning. I leave the house tomorrow and head to a campground. I've considered staying for the two additional nights I plan to stay in the area before moving on. It's very comfortable here and so close to things to do. We'll see. I may extend it a couple days. Would cost a bit more, though. Hmmmm. This morning I ran into Nicole as I was headed to the restroom to get cleaned up. When we went to pay for her night, the guy gave it to her free. We said our goodbyes then headed off to our next destinations. I would make the 3.5 hour drive to Christchurch to turn in the sleepervan and pick up the rental car I’d use over the next week. I planned to then stay at a Top 10 campground on the way to Nelson, NZ. When I saw that it was Hanmer that reminded me that Nicole had mentioned staying in Hamner as well, but coming at it from the north. There was a chance I’d see her again that night or the next day in Hanmer. I’d had it in my head that I should get gas before leaving Greymouth as I was getting low, but didn’t think about it until the gas light came on once I was well down the road. There don’t seem to be as many gas stations in NZ as I’m used to back home, so I knew this could be a problem even though I was on a fairly well-traveled road. There have only been two times in my life that I thought I would run out of gas: this time, and three years ago when I was in NZ. Though on a main road, I was in a rural area. I kept my eyes open and counted down the kilometers until I reached a town I knew from highway signs was coming up. Surely they'd have gas. Not seeing a gas station I asked someone where I might find the nearest one. “Fifteen kms east is the closest one.” Already amazed I’d made it this far, I wondered if I could make it 15 kms or 10 miles to the next town. The other variable that came into play was that I'd be climbing a steep incline to get there. Not the best for gas mileage. I got back on the road and drove, going through an area that was very scenic as I climbed. I tried to enjoy the view, but now as I climbed the steep hill on very narrow roads I considered the implications of running out of gas around a bend, or near the edge of a drop off. It probably didn't help when I passed a part of the road unsympathetically named “Death Corner”. Who names these places?! I pictured a convenient make-shift cemetery nearby for all the people that thought they could make it up the hill on fumes. Finally I got to the top and was descending. I figured I’d be fine from here and could at least roll to a safe spot if need be. I pulled into town and found the “gas station”. An awkwardly-placed pump just outside of restaurant. You had to back up to it which involved pulling out onto the main road and backing in. Not a lot of traffic, so it was doable. The price was, of course, higher than normal, so I decided to take my chances and drive to the next town. Just kidding. I needed to get to Chch (Christchurch) in time to turn in the car and get the new one, so I tried not to dillydally. But the views were amazing and I found it hard not to pull over and snap some pics. For time reasons I, regrettably, had to pass some up. One place I did spend some time was Castle Hill. This was one of my first stops when I was here three years ago and its parking lot was the first place I started driving in NZ then. Castle Hill was used for the filming of the battle scene in the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Quite an unusual place. The rocks are amazing, and this time I walked around the back side which I hadn’t done before. I missed out last time. It was amazing. God’s modern art. I turned in my car and picked up my new car, but by this time it was 6:00 PM. It would be a two-hour drive to Hanmer and I’d need to set up my tent, so I decided to stay in Chch, grab dinner in town, and take it easy. As I was walking around campground I stepped into the kitchen/dining hall to check it out. As I walked in I recognized two people across the way. The Dutch guys from Franz Josef (about five hours to the west). I went over and talked to them before heading on to dinner. NZ and especially the South Island can be a small place. Larger towns are spread about so running into someone you’ve met before isn’t impossible, especially if you stay with the same company for your accommodations. This was a Top 10 park as was the one I met them at originally. Good to see them again, though. ![]() It's not uncommon to see one lane bridges where one side has to yield to the other before driving onto the bridge, however, for a bridge this long it could be kind of awkward. I guess you wait till the traffic clears instead of using the "passing bay"? Dunno. Fortunately, I was following someone else when I went across and there was no oncoming traffic. There isn't much going on in Franz Josef. The only reason I landed here was because of a hike that I remember from years ago when I was here before. It's the hike out to the Franz Josef glacier. I remember it being foggy and... mysterious? that day. Tall mountains and waterfalls all around as you hike to the glacier. I really liked it. This time it was sunny for the first part of the hike, then turned misty and almost rainy as I came back. Good hike, though either not as amazing as I remembered, or my standards have been raised after a few months of amazing scenery. As Franz Josef was one of the first places I visited years ago, and I didn't really do a lot of hiking that trip, I'm going to say it was because my standards have been raised : ) I talked some more to those two non-talking guys at the campground the other day. They are actually very nice. They were in the TV room again yesterday and we got to talking. They are from The Netherlands, and have been working on dairy farms in NZ for about 8 months, I believe. Before they go back they are traveling around a bit... and watching TV. They come up again in a later post, hence me reminding you about them now. I then made the 2 hour trip to Greymouth (longer with photo stops), and set up camp at a campground there. Remembering that Nicole, a Swiss girl I'd met the night before on the tunnel hike, would possibly be in Greymouth, I contacted her on Facebook and mentioned I was craving Indian. She was in the area and up for Indian, so we met for dinner in town. We hung out then walked around the now vacant town there. She's a lot of fun to hang with. She's a VP at a hospital in Switzerland, and has a good personality and sense of humor. Needing a place to stay for the night she came back to the campground I was staying at and claimed an available spot a few down from mine. As the campground was located on the beach we hung out there for a bit before calling it a night. This evening I did an extremely unnerving hike. Quite memorable. But unnerving and creepy. Had it not been for the blog, my "audience of readers", and my developing plans to do just what I'm doing now, I'd have likely turned around without finishing it. Instead of telling you about it and then showing you pictures as I usually do, I'll let you experience it the same way I did. Dim your lights, turn up your volume, and turn on your headlamp. Move quickly, it's getting dark. And you're alone. It's 6:00 PM. The trailhead sign said the hike is 1.5 hours round trip but it won't get dark for a few hours so you should be fine. It's been cloudy all day. Several times it looked as though it may rain any minute, but it never did. The sun never came out so it's a little cool. Jacket weather for sure. Such lush forest out here. It gets a little cooler when you are in the thick of it. The damp breeze doesn't help either. Is that the sound of a river? Or maybe a waterfall? Didn't expect that on this hike. Ah. A river. Nice. The trail is starting to get more narrow... .... and is getting steeper.... Glad this isn't muddy. Pretty sweet trail, actually. Should be almost there. The sign said 40 minutes and it's been about 30. I wonder if it will be obvious. There's something up ahead. This must be it. Not sure what that thing is, but it looks like the trail continues to the right. There are some stairs going down to the tunnel.... This is it. You've got water shoes on, you'll just want to turn on your headlamp now. You also want to turn off your imagination... at least if this was happening in real life. Your mind will start to pull up every horror movie you've ever watched, and if you give it free reign you'll turn around. I really did feel like I was closing a door on my imagination. I passed someone on the trail that turned around at this point, and talked to someone later that got this far twice, but was too creeped out to go much further. But you're moving ahead. Don't think, just move ahead. By the way, I'd originally come up planning to use just my iPhone for pics. Something I saw at the end of the tunnel made me want to get a better camera, even with an hour round trip down and back up the hill. This next pic is the entrance the second time I approached it, over an hour after the first time. It's now dark out. My pics from here on out will be a combination of the two cameras. So back to your hike.... I hear the sound of running water. Looks like there may be water running through the tunnel. This tunnel was created to help pipe water to a mining project just over 100 years ago. Whoa! That water's cold! It's about ankle deep in places. The tunnel is of course dark. There is no way to know what lies ahead. Is it long? Short? Are there people in here? Does it drop or climb? What is at the other end? It's the unknown that makes it the creepiest. Being alone doesn't help. [The following video is sideways. Sorry, I'm told that can't be fixed.... Maybe tilt your head :) ] Alright, you're in and your eyes are adjusting. You can hear running water at your feet and an occasional area where water is dripping down from the ceiling. Your feet are starting to adjust to the cold water around your feet as well. There's some light up ahead I guess that's the end. It was at the end of the tunnel, while walking back that I saw this on the ceiling.... Glowworms! Hundreds of them throughout the cave, their dot of indigo light on their tail ends speckled across the ceilings. It's cold in here and I'm losing feeling in your feet Let's head back. See. That wasn't so bad. So I mentioned that I came back a second time with a better camera. While just inside the entrance of the tunnel I saw some light moving around just outside the tunnel. It was coming from two flashlights. Since I was taking pics in the dark I didn't want to startle anyone who might already be on-edge approaching the tunnel. Two girls came to the entrance - Nicole from Switzerland and Martina from the Czech Republic. Martina had attempted the tunnel twice before, but turned around each time a little creeped out by it. Nicole had picked her up as she was hitchhiking and was talked into going with her this third attempt. I offered to go through it with them as they'd both gotten a little spooked out coming up the hill in the dark. Afterwards we went down the hill and talked at the bottom a bit until we were too cold and tired to continue. Martina is heading south from here. Nicole is heading to Greymouth 2.5 hours away which is my next stop as well. We talked about connecting, but will work that out on Facebook as the time approaches. We finally got rain early the morning of the 22nd while I was still asleep. But I still woke up with a runny nose and feeling wonky. I left Wanaka and headed to Franz Josef constantly reaching for the tissues. Must be a cold. Makes me wonder why I was fine at times when I was by the lake. Maybe it’s an allergy. But it feels like a cold.
On the way to Franz Josef I stopped at "Blue Pools" near Haast Pass. The water color was amazing! Naurally blue. I'm not used to seeing that. I couldn't help staring at it. Further down the road I stopped at Fox Glacier. I'd seen and hiked it three years before, but figured I'd check it out again. I tried to walk the one hour round trip hike, but only made it about 15 mins into the hike before I turned around. I was pretty tired and wondering why I went as far as I did. I bought some cold medication at the grocery store that night which helped. They don't have Nyquil here but have heard about it and how potent it is :) I think a comedian mentioned it in a stand-up routine or something. I washed my sheets that first evening in Franz Josef feeling like they were full of dust. I seem to have my problems when I’m in the sleepervan, though, if it’s a cold, I don’t know. Not sure if that's what's giving me problems, but either way I now loathe that fine dust. So my sheets are clean. The campground is fairly empty as it's Sunday night and I've asked for a quiet site, so they put me on the edge of the campground. Quiet and dark at night. A nice place to recoup. On the 23rd I slept in getting some much needed rest. I woke up feeling a little better but still having symptoms. I spent the day getting stuff done online basically going between the kitchen, my van, and the Computer/TV Lounge where the internet was a little stronger. Actually, I was in the lounge most of the day. At one point two guys that I’ve seen around the campground came in to watch TV. I've guessed that they are from Germany, but I don't know. There are lots of Germans here, so it's a safe guess anyway. They don’t talk much. Not even to each other. Earlier in the day they had left to go somewhere in bathing suits, but back now they plunked down and watched TV for at least two hours in the lounge. I left to eat at one point, so I’m not sure how long they stayed. After eating dinner I felt a little better, though, I think the medication I bought has helped with that a bit. Tomorrow my energy level should be much better. I plan to stay here a few more nights, then head to Greymouth. I had trouble sleeping last night. I woke up around 4:00 AM, saw the sky full of stars, and decided to take a few pics. I hadn't done it in Tekapo (one of the best places to view stars in the Southern Hemisphere) thinking I wouldn't be able to get any good shots, but now I'm wishing I had. I'm not pro at it yet, but I did end up with some good shots. You can see so many stars. Pictures don't do the sky here justice.
I think it’s the dust in the air that was making me feel like I was fighting something. It comes and goes. It’s best when I’m by the lake where the wind blows over it. I feel fine there. I parked there and walked along the lake taking a nice leisurely walk in both directions on the path and on the beach. And it was nice having clean air. There was a 90% chance of rain but I only saw a very short period of sprinkles around 2:00 PM. I was really wanting the rain to clear out some of the dust and wet the roads. You can see dust plumes around and I know that’s irritating my lungs now. I opened up the van near the lake to let the clean wind whip through it. I patted stuff which kicked up dust. I took a wet paper towel to the inside of the car and was getting fine dust from everywhere. This is why I have some of my tougher times while in that car. Tomorrow I leave, so I’m hoping it’s better at my next stop. Today Cassidy left for Queenstown which is about an hour's drive from Wanaka, but about 6 hours by bike. Since he's biking, and there is a bit of climbing involved in getting to Wanaka, it would be an all day trip for him. I gave him a ride to the grocery store, then drove him a little ways out of town to give him a head start. He was getting a late start so I wanted to help him get to his next stop before it got dark. Driving him just 10 minutes down the road saves him an hour. It was good talking to him. I'll miss him around the campground. I'll be there another day or two before I move on as well, though, I'll be heading north. After getting back to Wanaka I dropped off my car at the campground then took a walk down to a neighborhood nearby. Love that neighborhood. If I moved to Wanaka I'd want to live in that neighborhood, though, houses are somewhere over a million dollars, so maybe that is a stretch. Today Cassidy and I decided to do the Rob Roy Glacier Track. To get some good sunset pics we waited until later in the day to start the hike. Turns out the sun was on the other side of the glacier, so it didn't really impact our pics as we'd hoped. The hike was really nice, though, it didn't impress my mind as the other hikes I've gone on recently have. This is weird because it had some amazing views. A couple months before and it may have been one of my favorites, but up against the hikes around Milford Sound within the last few weeks it just couldn't compare. Your standards change after a while and New Zealand has a way of raising the bar to ridiculous levels. I did however get to witness an avalanche It was really impressive. I happened to be looking at the glacier when the avalanche happened in that same area. I think I have a gift. It was amazing. Unfortunately, since it was so far away, it was hard to get the full impact of how large and powerful it likely was. I estimate it was a drop of at least 100 feet or more, but you couldn't tell due to it being so far away. Good hike, though, and it was good hanging out with Cassidy for the day. It was an hour drive back to the campground and I think we saw cattle on the road about three times during that drive. Avalanche I saw while at the Rob Roy Glacier. You'll have to excuse the horizontalness of it. I'm told by Weebly staff that there is no way to fix this right now. Turn up the volume for the full effect. At :05 you can hear the impact of the avalanche. |
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July 2023
AuthorI've exchanged my ID badge for a passport, and am chasing the wind Categories |