Category: South Island

Kayaking with Herons

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn South Island, West Coast Region2 Comments

The mist is hugging the hills. The lush green forest flowing out from beneath it. Once again, I feel like I am on the set of Jurassic Park.

There is no rain today. There is even a patch of sun breaking through the clouds, beaming down on a snowy mountain.

Surely I live in the most beautiful place in the world.

A short, 30 minute drive and we are at our next stop.

Okarito.

I have wanted to come here for a long time. Finally we are here. Today, we will be kayaking on the lagoon, which is home to the Kotuku (White Heron)

We are warmly greeted by our hosts. Again, it is just the two of us on the tour. They have kindly allowed Daniel and I to have single kayaks! Whenever we have been on kayak tours we get put in a double kayak, it’s so nice being able to have our own for a change. I have never seen kayaks like this before though. They have a small rudder at the back with pedals in the front that you control with your toes. I’m potentially going to be going round in circles. It might take me a while to get the hang of this!

Before long we are out on the lake, with a million sand flies. They are everywhere and feasting on my ankles for breakfast! Our guide, Gemma, assures us that they only hang out at the lake shore and will leave us fairly soon. Thankfully they do!

Once we are free from the hungry mouths of sandflies, I am able to start enjoying the perfect conditions. There is not a breath of wind. It’s a bit misty and drizzley, but really, this just adds to the atmosphere. The lake is so flat. It’s like a mirror, beautifully reflecting the land.

Absolute magic!

Not far into our expedition, we spot our first heron. It is magnificent standing there on it’s long, slender legs. It launches into the air and flies right past us, so silently, so elegant and graceful, until it open’s it’s beak. The honking, squawking sound it makes does not match the gracefulness of this bird!

The lake is so silent, the stillness is unreal. I am so used to city noise, but here, there is nothing. Peacefulness washes over me.

We continue our journey up river. It’s very green here. The native forest is filled with rimu, kahikatea, vine rata, wild orchids, flax, manuka. Gemma is very knowledgeable, pointing out all the different trees and answering my many questions about native flora and fauna. I love learning about my country, it’s history, wildlife and plants. This is why I often opt for guided tours over self guided. It costs more, but the experience is so enriched with the knowledge of a local guide.

Paddling further up river I spot little fish hanging out among the river plants. There are kereru (wood pigeon) and the gorgeous, cheeky little piwakawaka (fantail) that flitter about in the low tree branches. This is so incredibly peaceful and I delight in just floating along, listening to all the birds. In the distance I can hear the roar of the ocean.

While paddling back, we spot 2 more herons. They aren’t bothered by kayaks so you can get quite close. Gemma takes us on a different route so we can get closer, but warns us that the water here gets pretty shallow and we might get stuck. Worth the risk I say. The water does get shallow and in the end it is far easier to push yourself along using your hands against the mud bed rather than the paddle. We then run aground and have to get out and drag them. It’s kayaking at it’s finest!

We do manage to get pretty close to the herons though. They are not bothered by us so we enjoy watching them for a while. Totally worth getting wet feet!

Okarito is a very small settlement, a place probably not many people have heard of. I imagine so many would just drive straight by and not even know it was there. They are missing out. This kayak trip was all I had hoped it would be; peaceful, magical and so very special. If you are in the area, make sure you check out Okarito Kayaks.

It’s a breathtaking experience.

We have begun making our way back up country now. Tonight we are staying in Hokitika. It’s 2 hours away so we saddle up and carry on, driving through some splendid rainforest.

Lunch is in a small rural settlement called Harihari at the local cafe. For such a remote place, I am pleasantly surprised to see they have a vegan kumera and cashew pie on the menu. I also couldn’t resist sampling one of their homemade yoyos. I have to say, it was all pretty delicious.

We arrive in Hokitika, check into our accommodation and then I am straight out to explore the town. There are a lot of art and craft shops, particullary ones selling New Zealand Jade which is quite abundant in the area. I then head down to the beach – I want to see the Hokitika Drift Wood Sign.

A stroll along the beach is next on the agenda. Its a long beach, the sand seems to stretch on for ages. The sand is dotted with many fascinating stones. I collect a few to take home. You can even find pounamu (greenstone) right here on the beach. I pass quite a lot of time, fossicking about, looking for anything that might be greenstone.

I make sure I am on the beach for sunset. It’s not as spectacular as images I have seen of this beach, but it is a bit overcast today. Regardless, it is still lovely to sit on the beach and watch the fading sun as I reflect on the awesome day I have had.

Quad Biking in Franz Josef

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn South Island, West Coast Region1 Comment

Call us lucky, or maybe we are just foolish, but the last few times we have gone away, we haven’t taken wet weather motorbike gear. That’s pretty risky for the West Coast.

Today we have woken up to a wild, wet storm. But it’s not a riding day, so maybe we are lucky. Our room windows look out into bush and I am enjoying watching the storm from the warmth and comfort of our bed.

Today we are booked in for a Fox Glacier Nature Walk and Lake Matheson Walk with Glacier Valley Eco Tours. Unfortunately, due to weather, DOC has closed the Fox Glacier Track. And Lake Matheson, well, that’s famous for being a fabulous example of a mirror lake, but in this weather, it wouldn’t be worth viewing. So sadly, our tour today has been cancelled.

Not wanting to spend all day sitting in our room, I jump on line and have a quick look for some suitable wet weather activities. There is the Kiwi Center (slightly regret not visiting here) but we do decide to go quad biking. We have done quad biking before in terrible weather and it was super fun. The rain means big puddles to splash through and actually, it’s meant to be way better in the rain. When it’s dry, you just end up getting covered in dust!

The tour is not until the afternoon, so we decide to venture out in search of some breakfast. The power has gone out so we are not sure if anything will be open. We are hoping at least one place has a generator. We are in luck, SnakeBite Brewery obvously has a generator, the power outage hasn’t effected them. They are packed and serving up hot, delicious looking food. Breakfast sorted.

There are a lot of delectable looking treats in the cabinets, but I must resist. I almost don’t fit my motorbike jeans anymore! Sweet treats aside, its the perfect place to sit, relax and watch the stormy outside weather.

After a lazy start to the day, it’s time to go quad biking. Today’s adventure is with Across Country Quadbikes. We are the only ones on the tour, I guess no one else is crazy enough to do this in heavy rain, but I know it makes it more fun! We begin with a rather strict health & safety briefing, before getting kitted up in full wet weather gear and helmets. We are then shown how to operate the bikes (I am relieved that they are automatic) and are sent off around 2 different test routes.

Phew, I pass the test!

The first is easy, just going around in a circle and weaving in and out of markers. The second, I guess, prepares us for the type of terrain we are likely to expect – sharp turns, big slopes and a huge puddle. I am actually surprised at how deep it is, the water comes right up to my ankles. Fortunately we are wearing gumboots!

And then we are off! Its a 2 hour track along a variety of terrain – a road, glacial river beds, grasslands, rivers and the most stunning rain forest. At each section, our guide stops us for a quick chat about what type of terrain we are approaching and how to handle it. Each section seems to get a bit harder.

The first section, along the road, is rather challenging as we are in full wind and rain. I am driving in an open faced helmet, straight into the weather and can hardly see! Fortunately this doesn’t last long as we soon reach the forest. This section offers some tight turns and lots of puddles, some pretty long and deep. I love splashing through the puddles.

The next section is a narrow path with tight corners, among tall grasses. It’s along sand though, which is easy to ride on, which means, more speed!

Then we get to the riverbed. There are lots of hills, some quite steep, with plenty of river crossings. As I cross my first few rivers I am very much aware of the strength of the current as I push across on my bike. Its take me a long time to find the right speed, not too fast, but also not too slow that I get stuck.

The bike is heavy and powerful, it has no issues navigating the rocky terrain – it’s just my steering that’s the issue. I have to say, there are many occasions where my handle bars are going in every direction as I bump along over the rocks. My muscle lacking arms are getting a real workout trying to keep the bike on course.

We make a stop to get some photos while on the riverbed. On a clear day we would have been able to see Franz Josef Glacier, but today, it is hidden in a blanket of fog. Our guide explains that the area we are currently in, many thousands of years ago, would have been a glacier. From this perspective I am able to get a really impressive sense of just how big, deep and wide it was.

We start making our way back retracing our path. My favourite section is through the rainforst. It is warm, misty and covered in moss. I think from my previous posts you must be starting to get a sense of just how much I am in love with the West Coast Forest. It is making me swoon. We learn that this is called temperate rainforst and that it is very unique. It’s where glaciers meet forests and is only found in 3 places in the world. Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers in New Zealand and Patagonia in South America. This rainforest is also home to our little Rowi kiwi which is the world’s rarest kiwi. There are less than 600 left in the wild. You can see them at the Kiwi Center.

We make it back to base, soaking wet, dripping head to toe on the outside but completely dry underneath. The wet weather gear was excellent!

Apologies for the quality of photos this week. They are still taken from our GoPro video. The rain was so persistent that the lens constantly had droplets of water on it, making everything a bit blurry.

Franz Josef Bound

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn South Island, West Coast Region2 Comments

Today we are saddling up the bike and heading further south, down to Franz Josef. Before we leave Punakaiki, I head back down to the beach for one last look. It’s such a beautiful view, so wild and untouched. Sometimes I become a little obsessed with getting ‘that perfect photo’ that I spend all my time taking pictures from different angles and on different cameras, viewing the sight through a lens rather than my own eyes.

So while I do take some photos, I also try to stop, soak it all up and take some ‘memory photos’. Shutting my eyes, imprinting the image in my mind, the hypnotizing sound of the ocean tide, the cool breeze on my face, the smell of fresh ocean air. Photos are great, but being in the moment is even better.

This is why I love travel.

A short distance down the road from where we have been staying are the famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. This is part of Paparoa National Park and the start of the walk is right in the heart of Punakaiki. Here you can follow a well maintained track that leads you around massive limestone rocks. Their very distinctive layers giving them their ‘Pancake Rocks’ name.

Over many, many years, the limestone has been slowly eroded away by the waves pounding against them, creating blow holes and surge pools. The sights are affected by the tides, (I didn’t realise this at the time, although thinking about it now, it makes total sense) and is best views at high tide. I am not sure what the tides were doing when we were there, but regardless, it was still pretty impressive.

Its a fairly short, easy walk, it took us maybe 30 minutes (with photo stops at the many viewing platforms.) Some of the rock formations look like people and animals. There was one in particular with plants, like flax, growing out of the top making it look like a person with spiky hair.

This place is full of natural beauty. I love it’s rawness. It’s a place where you are reminded of how powerful nature is. For a while I watch the sea swirling below me in the Surge Pool. The water pounding against the rocks. I spot a large clump of seaweed dancing about beneath surface of the ocean. I watch it for a while, fascinated at how strongly it much be attached not to be ripped from it’s rock. The sea is so wild!

We continue on to Hokitika and make a stop at The West Coast Tree Top Walk. Its a great opportunity to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. The walkways are high above the ground and allow you to view the forest from a different perspective. Some trees we are looking down on, at other times we are walking alongside giants. I am not a fan of heights, but this is OK for me.

We then get to The Tower. I begin climbing the stairs, spiraling around and around, getting higher and higher. It is 47 meters above the forest floor! I finally make it to the top and am rewarded with some excellent 360 degree views. From here I can see all the tall slender trees moving in the wind. Swaying together in perfect time. Its pretty high and windy up here and while my knees aren’t buckling (just yet!) I do have to hold onto the railing at all times!

We head back down the spiral staircase and continue on, arriving at a Cantilever viewing platform. It’s a long platform, only attached at one end, allowing it to move and sway in the wind, just like the trees I was viewing before. Of course Daniel delights jumping up and down on the thing to make it move even more. (Such a considerate husband)

I reach the end of the platform and look out across the forest with it’s yellowy-green foliage, out to Lake Mahinapua.

It’s time to carry on with our journey so we jump back on the bike. I am loving State Highway 6 on the motorbike. There is such beautiful scenery – aquamarine coloured lakes, tall, lush, ancient looking forest and of course twisting, windy roads that are so much fun on 2 wheels! Every now and again I get a glimpse of a snow covered mountain, peeking out from beneath the clouds. This really is quite a spectacular place.

We arrive at our accommodation and am delighted to find they have given us a room upgrade. We are staying at Rainforest Retreat in a lovely unit that is nestled into the bush. Its very comfortable, the perfect place to relax.

We have no plans for the rest of the day, so I head out for a walk – I want to explore. I find myself at Terrace Walk, the entrance is right on the main road. The walk is through some gorgeous old looking forest. I swear, the colours of the forest on the West Coast seem so much more vibrant than other places I have been. There is bird song and cicadas, they are writing their own melody. Towards the end of the track, the tall trees have grown up and over, intertwining at the top, creating a long, fairy tale like tunnel.

If you need to step away from schedules, technology and reconnect with yourself, you wont have any issues doing that on the West Coast.

Caving in Charleston

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn South Island, West Coast Region4 Comments

One of the things I love about international travel (it’s certainly not the flight getting there, I am quite fearful of long haul flights!) is that you know you are somewhere else. It might be the landscapes, the climate or the smells. Your senses tell you the place is foreign. Somewhere different to what you are used to.

I am getting that same feeling here on the West Coast. Not to the same extremes but enough for my senses to pick up the change. There is no wind, which I always find odd. A windless day in Wellington is very rare! The landscape and vegetation here is so different, foreign even. I am loving the tall gangly nikau palms and punga trees that cloak the land. It is so dense, green and lush. I feel like I could be on the set of Jurassic Park!

Breakfast is at the local tavern and we are greeted by the friendly staff. It’s a lovely setting, it’s interrior has lots of timber giving it a warm and inviting feel. The fire is going too. Out of every window I see green. The West Coast is so pristine. It has a very pure and untouched feel to it.

Today we are heading to Charlestown. Population 522. Until recently, I had never heard of the place, I came across it while doing research for this trip. It is a historic gold rush village and in the mid 1800’s it population swelled to 30,000. Nowadays, it is the limestone caves and caving experiences that attract tourists to the place.

That’s exactly what we are here for. Today, we are joining Underworld Adventures to explore limestone caves and gaze upon a galaxy of glow worms. After a safety briefing we kit up in all the gear, jumpsuit, jacket, socks, boots, and helmet. There is a lot of gear to get on. It’s always challenging when it’s made of neoprene!

Our journey begins with a short drive in their van, followed by a ride in Dorothy, a bush tram like train that takes us through The Nile River Rainforest. The forest is stunning, lush, dense and so green I am in awe at it’s beauty. We also past huge limestone cliffs, again I feel like I am on the set of Jurassic park!

We disembark the train and begin our walk, pick up our rubber tyres for later and continue walking some more. We then reach the steps. There is 148 of them! We climb them slowly. Everything is much harder when you are dressed head to toe in rubber!

It’s now time to begin our walk into the cave. I’m slightly nervous, I don’t like being in confined spaces, but am relieved to hear that most of the cave is pretty large and open.

Wow! Just Wow! This place is stunning! It’s hard to believe that treasures like this exists beneath the forest. How many times have the hills above it been walked, without anyone having a clue what lies below?

It’s a secret, magical place.

As we walk through the cave, our guide, Samamra, tells us about the cave’s history, how it was formed, how it was discovered (by a man and his dog, the footprints and paw prints can still be seen.) Super interesting stuff!

Samara also stops to point out all the different types of formations. Cauliflower rocks, thin straws, lace and of course the impressive stalagmites and stalactite all glistening with mineral water.

Absolutely gorgeous!

The cave is super impressive and also very natural. I have been in caves before, at Waitomo in the North Island and Skocjan Cave in Slovenia. What makes The Nile River Cave System so unique is how ‘untouched’ it is. There are no ropes, no barriers, walkways, platforms or permanent lights, it’s very much in it’s original state. It does mean you have to be super careful, the surface is uneven and if you’re not paying attention you could easily trip, but it’s natural rawness is so beautiful.

Well into the tour, we enter into a big chamber and we are instructed to all turn off our headlamps.

Total darkness.

I stand there, looking around, waiting for my eyes to adjust – of course they don’t. There is not an glimmer of light around for my eyes to adjust to. I can’t even see my hand when I hold it up right in front of my face. It’s quite an unusual experience. We stay like this, standing in the pitch black for quite sometime, listening to the quiet dripping sounds of water.

It’s so peaceful.

After a while we start to turn our headlamps back on, starting with the low setting first, to let our eyes slowly adjust. Apparently, if we stayed in total darkness for a long period of time we would start to get disorientated and loose our sense of balance.

Carrying on, we come to a huge, impressive formation, a stalagmite and stalactite that have joined together to create a column. This part of the cave is also full of little droplets on the ceiling that sparkle, giving the appearance of being covered in gold dust.

When we get near the water, we sit down and turn off our head lamps again, only this time, we are not in total darkness. We are in the remarkable presence of glow worms. As time passes, more and more turn on their lights. They use their lights to attract food. When our lights are on, they turn theirs off as they can’t compete with the amount of light and is just a waste of their energy.

Before moving on, I take some time to look carefully at the rocks with my light on. I can see the little worms in their ‘hammocks’ and their ‘fishing line’ that they use to catch their food on.

Now the part I have been looking forward to and the reason why the have walked all this way in wet suits carrying a rubber tyre! It wasn’t just for a laugh! We enter the water, sit in the tyre and turn off our lights. The water feels cold but not freezing. The wet suits are pretty thick.

We then form a long train and our guide paddles us along the river, through the cave. A few glow worms appear on the ceiling. And then some more and then all of a sudden I am staring up at hundreds and thousands of tiny little lights. I have never seen so many before in my life. Apparently, there are somewhere between 800,000 and 1.2 million glow worms here.

It is absolutely magical. I feel like I am looking up at the night sky, although I am sure I have never seen this many stars in the night sky. Perhaps more like looking up at the galaxy on a clear night in a dark sky zone. It is enchanting and mesmerizing and I can’t take my eyes off them as we float silently down the river.

I don’t want this to end.

But it does. We reach the entrance of the cave, light is streaming in through a large opening in the ceiling. We have emerged from a magical underworld, our faces are once again touched by the warmth and light of the sun. We are a fair way from where Dorothy is, but we are not walking back. We have our tubes so we are taking the river!

Unfortunately a lot of the river is quiet shallow. The West Coast hasn’t had any rain for 3 weeks, which here, is considered a drought! This means there are a few bums scraping on the rocks as we make our way down the river (and I kept getting stuck, impersonating a beached whale) but there are also a few rapids which are fun to go down. We board Dorthy and make our way back to base after an exciting 4 hours of rainforests, caving, glow worms and tubing. This was a pretty unique experience!

It’s mid afternoon but we are in need of petrol so we head north to Westport (We won’t pass any petrol stations on our way back to Punakaiki. We have been caught out before on a previous trip and are keen not to repeat that mistake!) After filling our thirsty bike, we find ourselves at Jimmy’s Bar & Lounge for some tapas and a drink. We weren’t planning to stay long, but ended up chatting to a local for well over an hour. So far, I have found the people on the West Coast to be really friendly and hospitable.

Dinner is back at Punakaiki Tavern, enjoyed in a beautiful garden area, looking out at the lush forest and huge cliffs, while watching the setting sun. I’m pretty sure I am falling in love with the West Coast.

Most of these photos were taken by our awesome guide, Samara which were made available to everyone after the tour for free! How great is that!

If you want to join Underworld Adventures and gaze upon a galaxy of glow worms, check out their website here. They also have a 12.5% discount off their Underworld Rafting and GlowWorm Cave Adventures till September 21. Win Win.

Heading for the West Coast

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn South Island, West Coast Region, West Coast Region1 Comment

It’s adventure time.

I love adventure time, especially when it’s on 2 wheels.

I find travelling by motorbike so easy and freeing. I love the simplicity of having limited luggage space.

Our bike is packed. We are ready to go. For the next week, it will just be us and our 2 wheels as we explore the West Coast of the South Island.

The Plus lounge on the Interislander Ferry is a great way to start our trip. It is comfortable, quiet and fully catered. This is excellent as we are on an early crossing and have not yet had breakfast. The Plus Lounge makes it easy to sit back, relax and watch the world go by.

As we start to slip into holiday mode, I realise just how tired we both are. Daniel has been really busy doing long hours at work and I have spent a lot of time painting the exterior of our house. I think it’s fair to say, we are both in need of some down time. I have activities planned for this trip, but have been much more controlled. Normally I plan action packed days, trying to squeeze in as much as I can, but I have toned it right back this time. Hopefully it will be the right balance of fun and rest.

The Marlborough Sounds are looking stunning today, as usual. The water is always so calm and peaceful, the landscape pure and untouched. I am privileged to have done this journey a few times in the last year, so instead of battling the wind outside, I enjoy the views from the comfort of my armchair in the Plus Lounge with my cup of tea and scones.

We disembark in Picton and I am surprised at how hot it is. Even on nice days I usually layer up under my motorbike jacket – when you are moving it can get quite cool, but today, a t-shirt is all that is needed.

We are heading towards Punakaiki (also known as Pancake Rocks) The most direct route would be to head towards Blenheim , but the journey is all part of the adventure. We prefer to get off main roads, so instead choose to take Queen Charlotte Drive and head towards Nelson which offers some beautiful views. We stop at a look out and enjoy the sight of Picton, soaking in the sun. The cicadas are chirping and little boats bob up and down in sage coloured water.

Magical.

We carry on, passing a gorgeous little campsite. It looks simple and very relaxed, the quintessential kiwi summer holiday.

By the time we make it to Nelson, we are definitely ready for a late lunch and find ourselves sitting down at Burger Culture. It’s a funky place and lots of people are outside enjoying their food. Daniel gets a burger but I am so intrigued by the sweetcorn ribs that I have to give them ago. As it sounds, they were rib’s made from corn on the cob, smothered in sauce.

Wow! These were sensational and I enjoyed how messy they were to eat. Such a cool concept. Some people are so creative!

With our bellies full, we carry on, we have one of our longest riding days today and I am keen to arrive late afternoon so we have some time to explore. Our journey takes us through The Buller Gorge.

Oh my. It is stunning.

It is so lush and green and I can smell the forest. The road is windy, following the river – great fun on 2 wheels! Unfortunately I don’t have any photos as we didn’t make any stops.

We carry on riding. It’s near late afternoon and I am thinking we should be nearly there. I pull out my phone to check directions and realise that we have taken a wrong turn.We should have headed towards Westport and then down the coast, but instead we are still travelling inland, on our way to Greymouth! We have traveled in the wrong direction for so long that it’s quicker to carry on and head up the coast, than turn around and backtrack! Apparently I was on navigating (No idea why – Daniel knows I have a terrible sense of direction!)

The route we took

We finally make it to our destination, 13 hours after leaving Wellington! It has been a really long day and I am ready for a sleep! We are staying at Te Nikau Retreat. What a sanctuary to relax in. Set among tall nikau palms, our lodge is nestled into the trees and looks out along the canopy line. I feel like I am in a tree house.

We have arrived just in time to watch the sunset so we shoot down to the beach. Conveniently there is a path from our accommodation that takes us right down to a viewing platform. I can hear the powerful roar of the ocean well before we even get there. I have heard the West Coast gets some pretty spectacular sunsets and tonight it doesn’t disappoint. There are unusual rock formations dotted about in the ocean and a warm golden glow from the setting sun. It is so stunning, I forget all about our long travel day.