I had been planning a quiet New Years Eve as I had a concrete pad to construct the next day but then it started looking like the aurora could show so plans changed. For months I’ve been meaning to walk the Rimutaka Trig track (now named Te Ara Tirohanga: “The view that improves as you […]
South Island: The Hokitika Gorge and Lake Kaniere
The forecast today wasn’t that great as as we drove towards the Hokitika Gorge in the morning the mist and low cloud turned to drizzle and mist. There were a few cars at the gorge walk car park and more than a few large sandflies as well, maybe the bites distracted me as I set […]
South Island: Westport to Hokitika
All packed at Westport we headed south, first stop back at Punakaiki. Through blind luck we timed our visit with high tide which meant we got to see some blow hole action. Getting photos was proving to be troublesome, in the end we resorted to patience and simply waited until the waves got the right […]
South Island: Denniston, Cape Foulwind & Punakaiki
Our first trip of the day saw us heading north of Westport to the old mining town of Denniston. On public holidays, today being Labour Day, the Denniston Friends of the Hill historical society (the FotH website appears to have expired) opens their doors at the old School building and their records can be viewed. […]
South Island: Karamea to Westport
A short drive today down from Karamea to another Marram house, this time just out of Westport at Carters Beach. Today’s walk was on the Charming Creek Walkway, accessible just behind the coal works at Hector. The first section of track follows the old railway line that was used to facilitate coal extraction from further […]
South Island: The Heaphy Track & Oparara Basin
We got a fair bit of walking down today, even though the weather wasn’t the best with occasional showers getting more frequent as the afternoon wore on. Driving north from Karamea we headed towards the start of the Heaphy Track, passing farmland seemingly populated more by pukeko and weka than cows and sheep. We were […]
South Island: Kaiteriteri to Karamea
After packing and tidying up the accommodation in Kaiteriteri we started the journey to Karamea. Trusting the sat nav we made easy progress south before turning more westerly passing through Murchison and the Buller Gorge as we continued towards Westport on the coast. We stopped at a hilltop rest area to try and get some […]