Over the Mts to Akaroa

Drove over Arthur's Pass, craggy mts and flat gravel plains, and then down to the East coast. I arrived in Christchurch, only to feel that I couldn't survive a Sat. night in the city. Drove on through the tunnel to Lyttleton, the port town. Cute, but decided to go on up into the hills to see the sunset and get to Akaroa. If I'd known how far it would be, I would have stayed put.

I arrived in Akaroa, a French-colonial coastal town. Unfortunately it was dark, and I felt tired, grumpy, whiny, and alone. Every sign I saw on the hotels said "NO vacancy." Aaargh. Oh the joy of traveling. In the next minute I walked into Chez la Mer, to find a gracious host, a fire place, a conversation with a fellow sailor, and invitation to join her on the Fox II the next day. And a soft bed with a hot water bottle to comfort me. Ahhh.

Next day, I wander thru the streets all posted in French! Very quaint. All the amenities: many cafes, kayaking co., a tiny movie theater, a yacht club, an old traditional boat to sail. The lighthouse sits shiny white far from the headland it used to perch on.

Aboard the Fox, they take us out into the bay, where it is obvious we are sailing in the ancient caldera of a volcano! South we leave the relative shelter, navigating out through the headlands where the ocean broke thru the side of the old cone. There, the extremely rare Hector's dolphins played alongside us in the waves.

The wind picked up to almost a gale. Motoring back against the wind and slop, most of the passengers got wet. I ducked into the wheelhouse to chat to crew and captain as he took us past seal and then 'shag' colonies on the rocks. (The latter still makes me giggle, the Kiwi word for the birds, cormorants.)

After, I dashed up the hill to catch the "Giant's House" before it closed. The artist created gorgeous mosaic figures in her gardens! Sailing and whimsical art all in one day!

Wild Foods Fest Hokitika--Mar14

I ate huhu grubs! Blech. Next to the booth, a guy was hatcheting rotten logs and picking them out. Very fresh. Decided against raw, or chocolate coated, and had the cooked. Sure, it tastes like peanut butter, but the texture ain't right. The thicker skin suddenly burst, squirting the guts out in my mouth. My stomach twisted.

I almost puked up the worms, eel and kava kava that I'd already had that morning...

Honest, some of it was really tasty. ( The worms were in a bon bon.) And the colostrum mousse delicious. Couldn't bring myself to eat prairie oysters or lamb tails.

Friday the 13th of March

Superstitious people might say it's an unlucky day, but I usually really like my Friday-the-13th's. Drove to the glaciers south of Hokitika. Wasn't convinced it would be anything much, but went anyway. So glad I did!

Franz Josef for brunch, whitebait for lunch, and Fox for dessert (with Aoraki/Mt. Cook in the background)! The glaciers are all the more stunning for how close they are to the sea. And for a bunch of ice they move fast, sliding down the steep valleys they fill. Just totally reaffirmed my love of big rocks, this country has a real spine. Not a fan of flat, marshy areas of the world.

Wild West Coast NZ

Mar. 12-- After Nelson, I rented a car and drove down the west coast of the South Island. Buller Gorge was stunning. Stopped at Lyell, to look around at a park/reststop that used to be a gold miners town. Now it's gone. Just some edu-ma-kashun-el signs, showing there used to be buildings on a muddy road, that is now a paved highway.

Next stop was Westport, nothing there but a stop at the grocery. On the way back to the main road (Hwy 6), I spotted the hitchhiker I'd seen on the way in. The young guy was now getting out of car that had given him only a 5-km ride to the turn off.

He'd obviously been hiking, his huge muddy boots were tied to the outside of hs pack, and his feet were bare. I stopped. He was from Nelson, just finished the Heaphy Track, and going to Hokitika to see his parents. I said I'd give him a lift as far as Punakaiki. And off we went.

I was glad to have the company, as the radio wasn't functioning out in the boondooks and I had no CDs with me.

At Punakaiki, we stopped. I promised I'd pick him up again, if he didn't catch a ride before my return from a short walk in the park. And he went to stand at the side of the road. I didn't see him again, even though I looked on the roadside and later in Hokitika.

The pancake rocks at Punakaiki stack themselves up like, well... a stack of pancakes. Craggy pinnacles, some topped with flax, a rock bridge that still supports tourists, all being crashed into by huge waves.


Drove on to Greymouth, looped through town a couple times, but it was getting to be late afternoon and shops were closed. This is supposedly the "wild west" of New Zealand, the last frontier they had, and it has that feel: late-1800s buildings, the saloon on the corner, all supported by resource extraction (they had gold fields along the coast), just lacking the tumbleweeds of the American west.



Coming into Hokitika, had to cross two one-lane bridge (no biggie, there's tons of those) that were also the railway bridges!! Ack. Decided to spend the night at a hostel there, as I felt too nervous to just go out and camp by myself. Seems a luxury, a room to myself (though it had a bunkbed, was all mine).


Went to the movie "Vicky Christina Barcelona" at the little theater, a heritage bldg made into a single room movie house, with a wine bar, and packed with comfy couches. Not to worry about getting a good seat.The owner/ticket taker/server let me in, and it was almost just me, until a woman showed up at last minute.

Nelson, South Island

Not to be confused with Nelson, BC, which is far inland. Definitely a funky small town, galleries, art and nearby, Abel Tasman track.

Made it out to go 'tramping' (kiwi for hiking). Took a bus up to Takaka, to see the biggest fresh spring in Australasia (or some such claim), truly clear clear water. Cycled the last few miles from the hostel. Butt sure sore next day. That night almost full moon, crazy gusty weather and as dark clouds rolled in bringing rain on one side of valley, could see a moon 'rainbow' in the dark over the town! First I'd ever even heard of one. Of course no camera so can't prove it.

From there, bussed to north end of Abel T park at Totaranui, and took water taxi along coast. Gorgeous rocky area. Dropped off on beach to hike from Bark bay to Torrent Bay. A couple hours on easy track, nothing too taxing. Even without a huge pack I'm a bit slow, but stopped to take lots of photos. Then another water taxi to Coquille Bay to hike the last stretch into Marahau, and the bus back to Nelson.

There was so little bird song. Hoped it was only because of the helicopters, power boats, kayakers, and crowds drowning them out, not that they didn't exist. To think that Joseph Banks on his trip to NZ commented that the bird song filled the air, and now there are so few birds.

Met some great people while in Nelson area: My hosts, Kaye and Jim McNabb, Milo and his family from the boat show, John Moore and Woodi. Hope to make it back and explore somemore another time, but had to move on.

See more photos at:

Mar 7-8 Rotoiti Lake Classic Boat Show

Fantastic. Gorgeous boats, stunning setting on a lake in the mountains south of Nelson. This Classic Boat Show is in it's tenth year with over a 180 boats participating! Wood, fiberglass, aluminum. Sail, oars, steam, V-6 and, jet engines. Even a dessert-spoon powered bicycle on pontoon floats! Old as 1905, Otira, a Logan launch to young Bootlegger, finished just before the show.

The highlight for me being, I got to be a guest judge. For all the mass of different types of boats at the show, picking only 5 boats as winners seemed impossible: Power, Non-power, Jetboat, Originally Row (could now have engine), and Overall Winner. Luckily, I had the help of John Moore who has judged the show every year since it began and his wife, Woodi.

The criteria for judgement leaned towards effort and story, rather than fancy bling, though I admit the eventual overall winner had some amazing brightwork. Other than a list of boats that won recently, that we would not be choosing again, I could choose any boat to shortlist in a category. I wandered anonymously through the crowds, listening to owners' talk about their boats.

With shortlist in hand, we met at the waterfront as the boats were launched to discuss, and see how they looked in the water. Each type of boat competed in short races on a course close to shore, so the spectators could cheer them on! Our shortlists, got altered some and then even shorter. And it wasn't necessarily the fastest boats that won the prizes. We chose one of the slowest jetboats to win the trophy.

Finally, winners chosen, I got to do what I love most: sail. In a short sailing course, I steered and the boat owner and my host Jim McNabb, hauled the jib sheets calling the tacks of his Idle Along called Idle Hours. I think we came 6th or so. Have to say I was more focused on not breaking anything than race placement. Was great fun, if a bit gusty.

At the awards ceremony that night, each of winners got a bottle of wine from the main sponsor, Seresin Estates and a trophy. The overall winner being a cup made by Jens Hansen (jeweller of Lord of the Rings fame).

Back into Nelson, I stayed on at Jim and Kaye's house while they went on well-deserved holiday.

photos at: