Tongariro
We're all Mt. Doomed!
Friday, 7 January 2011
Queenstown in the sun - a different place
Thankfully, Friday dawned bright and sunny, so we decided to give Queenstown another chance. Chris had decided she wanted to walk up Queenstown hill and Andy thought this would be a good chance to break in his new shoes and run up the trail, as it goes on a long way. It's a lovely trek to the top of the hill, and far from the previous day when we couldn't even see the tops of the hills, the views from the top were absolutely fantastic. Back in the town, with the sun cheering everyone up and many more people out and about, we decided it wasn't such a bad place after all. After lunch we went for a trip up the opposite hill using the gondola - an unusual experience in the sun and heat rather than snow. More spectacular views were appreciated, more coffee drunk, then we headed back down and returned to Arrowtown. After a bite to eat, we went to the nearest pub (about 1 minutes walk, not sure how we coped) and got chatting to a couple of local blokes who were pretty steaming but very entertaining.
Queenstown - rain and shine
With heavy hearts we left Wanaka and made for the Queenstown area. Having heard Queenstown's reputation for being very full on, we had booked a hostel in nearby Arrowtown. The other benefit to this was it is nearer a winery we wanted to visit, it having been recommended by a Kiwi Chris had met at work earlier in the year. Happily the weather was still fine when we got here, and the hostel seemed really nice, with Arrowtown seeming a pretty, and peaceful, place. So we booked in for an extra night.
We found out the local bus service would take us straight past the winery, which was a bit of a result, so off we went. On chatting to an American girl at the bus stop, we discovered that this bus' view on timetables was even more open to interpretation than our bus at home! So mental note made to be early for the return journey, and be prepared to wait a potentially long time.
We got to the winery and had a tasting which was great. We then went to the bistro which was part of the place and had a most excellent "chefs choice" menu with four different wines to complement each course. And both the food and wine were fantastic. We could hardly move afterwards, but dragged ourselves out in plenty of time to wait for the bus, which happily was on time, and stopped for us - in fact we were the only passengers - a most successful experience altogether!
The next morning normal weather had resumed and it was pouring with rain. Chris went on a short run along the riverside and Andy on a longer one up a nearby hill to a view point. Where he viewed more cloud.
Later on, we drove out to Queenstown and found it to be, well, dull. We found some coffee, walked around a bit, found some more coffee, and walked around a bit more, mostly in outdoors/sports shops. Very sadly, Andy's trail shoes had (literally) fallen apart. The fail-safe-fix-anything duct tape had failed to hold them together, as had superglue, and his run on New Year's Day had been their death knell. In one of the outdoors shops we went in to to escape the rain, Andy found a pair of trail shoes, in the sale, the last pair of that type, in his size. Fate, you might think. We have discovered that, whilst everything over here is expensive, sports clothing is particularly so (and don't even get us started on Merino wool clothing!). However, in the sale, these weren't so. He even had a choice or two (Salomon or North Face) and went for the slighlty cheaper ones as they were just a little lighter. This whole decision took some time and energy so we recovered by finding another coffee shop.
So we drove out of Queenstown thinking "What that it?" Dude. The rain had stopped by this point, so Chris went out on a walk up another nearby hill whilst Andy looked after the bed. Later on we went in search of some beer and passed the American girl we had met the day before, again waiting for the bus! We then found a local micro-brewery - a happy result. Genuine real ale at last.
We found out the local bus service would take us straight past the winery, which was a bit of a result, so off we went. On chatting to an American girl at the bus stop, we discovered that this bus' view on timetables was even more open to interpretation than our bus at home! So mental note made to be early for the return journey, and be prepared to wait a potentially long time.
We got to the winery and had a tasting which was great. We then went to the bistro which was part of the place and had a most excellent "chefs choice" menu with four different wines to complement each course. And both the food and wine were fantastic. We could hardly move afterwards, but dragged ourselves out in plenty of time to wait for the bus, which happily was on time, and stopped for us - in fact we were the only passengers - a most successful experience altogether!
The next morning normal weather had resumed and it was pouring with rain. Chris went on a short run along the riverside and Andy on a longer one up a nearby hill to a view point. Where he viewed more cloud.
Later on, we drove out to Queenstown and found it to be, well, dull. We found some coffee, walked around a bit, found some more coffee, and walked around a bit more, mostly in outdoors/sports shops. Very sadly, Andy's trail shoes had (literally) fallen apart. The fail-safe-fix-anything duct tape had failed to hold them together, as had superglue, and his run on New Year's Day had been their death knell. In one of the outdoors shops we went in to to escape the rain, Andy found a pair of trail shoes, in the sale, the last pair of that type, in his size. Fate, you might think. We have discovered that, whilst everything over here is expensive, sports clothing is particularly so (and don't even get us started on Merino wool clothing!). However, in the sale, these weren't so. He even had a choice or two (Salomon or North Face) and went for the slighlty cheaper ones as they were just a little lighter. This whole decision took some time and energy so we recovered by finding another coffee shop.
So we drove out of Queenstown thinking "What that it?" Dude. The rain had stopped by this point, so Chris went out on a walk up another nearby hill whilst Andy looked after the bed. Later on we went in search of some beer and passed the American girl we had met the day before, again waiting for the bus! We then found a local micro-brewery - a happy result. Genuine real ale at last.
All aboard the Ark!
We awoke to heavy rain, even worse than the previous day. We got packed up and Andy went to drop a bottle off in recycling and found our two hitchers sitting in the kitchen trying to psyche themselves up to stand in the rain, so we offered them a lift all the way to Wanaka and they were somewhat chuffed. We all packed ourselves into the Subaru and headed off down the road/river and what a journey! Wipers often at double speed, little aqua plains and much concentration required, especially up Haast Pass with mental waterfalls at the side of the road, including a couple that meant we were getting rained on sideways too!
However, we passed round the side of the mountains, the rain stop, and miracle of miracles, the sun came out! In fact, it was a beautiful day. We unloaded our hitchers, then found our hostel and unloaded ourselves, and went for a walk around town. And what a fabulous place. Wanaka is as close to our perfect location as can be. A very nice lake, lots of mountains, ski areas nearby, and a really nice feel to the town. And we finally managed to go kayaking!! OK, so a paddle around a lake is not quite the same as the kayak along the Abel Tasman would have been, but it was still good.
The next day Andy had identified a track he could run along take him up hill and Chris headed off to walk up to a view point for the Rob Roy glacier (honest!). The car park for the walk to the glacier view point was a lot longer than Chris had anticipated, and most of it (40k or so) was on stoney track, and had to go through quite a few fords. However, it was VERY worth it. The walk itself was lovely and the views of the glacier, on such a lovely sunny day, were quite superb. And right at the beginning of the walk, Chris spots a familiar looking couple off in the distance. Not too long later, she catches up with, yes, the two Israelis! They were going at a more sedate pace, so she carried on past. After reaching the view point, on the way back down, she also passed a group of French guys - with quite a lot of double takes going on from both sides, she is fairly sure they were the same group who were in the hostel we stayed in in Motueka. Quite bizarre.
Andy, on the other hand, wasn't having such a successful day. He'd worked out a route along a lakeside track that he could cut off to a route up Mount Roy which would qualify for a Munro back home. Trouble being he missed the turnoff and after several miles along the undulating track got to the end, turned back and ran along the road to make sure he found the Mount Roy track. Finally getting to the bottom of it (11 miles in to the run rather than the intended 5) he only managed about two thirds of the climb which equated to two miles of continuous hard ascent before deciding he was a) running out of water and b) knackered. He descended a little quicker and returned along the lakeside route, happily coming across an ice cream van at the end of the track to supply a very welcome cone, complete with flake! 20 miles, some _very_ slow and not what he had in mind but hey, the views were, as always, great and it kept him out of the pub :o) (briefly - Ed)
However, we passed round the side of the mountains, the rain stop, and miracle of miracles, the sun came out! In fact, it was a beautiful day. We unloaded our hitchers, then found our hostel and unloaded ourselves, and went for a walk around town. And what a fabulous place. Wanaka is as close to our perfect location as can be. A very nice lake, lots of mountains, ski areas nearby, and a really nice feel to the town. And we finally managed to go kayaking!! OK, so a paddle around a lake is not quite the same as the kayak along the Abel Tasman would have been, but it was still good.
The next day Andy had identified a track he could run along take him up hill and Chris headed off to walk up to a view point for the Rob Roy glacier (honest!). The car park for the walk to the glacier view point was a lot longer than Chris had anticipated, and most of it (40k or so) was on stoney track, and had to go through quite a few fords. However, it was VERY worth it. The walk itself was lovely and the views of the glacier, on such a lovely sunny day, were quite superb. And right at the beginning of the walk, Chris spots a familiar looking couple off in the distance. Not too long later, she catches up with, yes, the two Israelis! They were going at a more sedate pace, so she carried on past. After reaching the view point, on the way back down, she also passed a group of French guys - with quite a lot of double takes going on from both sides, she is fairly sure they were the same group who were in the hostel we stayed in in Motueka. Quite bizarre.
Andy, on the other hand, wasn't having such a successful day. He'd worked out a route along a lakeside track that he could cut off to a route up Mount Roy which would qualify for a Munro back home. Trouble being he missed the turnoff and after several miles along the undulating track got to the end, turned back and ran along the road to make sure he found the Mount Roy track. Finally getting to the bottom of it (11 miles in to the run rather than the intended 5) he only managed about two thirds of the climb which equated to two miles of continuous hard ascent before deciding he was a) running out of water and b) knackered. He descended a little quicker and returned along the lakeside route, happily coming across an ice cream van at the end of the track to supply a very welcome cone, complete with flake! 20 miles, some _very_ slow and not what he had in mind but hey, the views were, as always, great and it kept him out of the pub :o) (briefly - Ed)
Happy New Year!
We made the short journey down to Hokitika, swung by the centre to stop for a coffee and obligitory muffin and to get supplies from the supermarket and then went back to the hostel. We dumped our stuff and then wandered along the beach for the half-hourish walk back into town. We grabbed another coffee on our wanders and then headed back and tok the car out to look at a swing bridge about 45 mins away which was meant to have lovely blue water under it. It was instead a slate grey thenks to the recent rain, tho the bridge was pretty cool and there was another waterfall that was quite impressive, again thanks to the rain. Back at the hostel we BBQ'd a steak and chatted away to some of the other travellers and then wandered down to the beach to see in new year with a bottle of bubbly we'd bought during our Renwick stay. Five of us went down and seven came back after we found another couple from the hostel getting cold on the beach too! (It was very windy, and much like Scotland, no matter how warm the day, a brisk sea wind is flippin' cold at night!) The skies were so clear and the stars were bright and plentiful...if only it could have been warmer. Back at the hostel and more drink and chat followed, all in all a lovely quiet relaxing new year. A little different from the NineMileBurn all-nighters, but fun nonetheless!
The next day we went for a morning jaunt along a trail next to a lake about 20 mins drive from the hostel. We parked up at a spot where the locals were putting their boats and jet-skis into the water and sauntered off along the walk. It was great except for the dense plant and trees stopped many of the good views over to the lake, though we occasionally got some glimpses and could get down to the shore every now and again. We passed about one walker and a runner went by when after a while Andy decided to stop to "admire the scenery".While he was finishing "admiring the scenery" a local woman appeared on the path - of all the timing! Andy was apologetic and she claimed not to have seen any of his scenic exploits and stopped to chat to the two of us for a while. We turned around after about a couple of hours with Chris encouraging Andy to run back; This was a polite way of telling him to go away and he had great fun on the track back then sat watching the water-skiers etc. for Chris to walk back. Chris' discovery of the day; a woodland track out and back can get a bit samey. Perhaps even Andy's bad jokes would have helped on the return leg :o) (or not - Ed). A very different, and distinctly less chilly, new year's day than we've ever had back home!
The next morning we headed off to Fox as we had two nights there with a trip onto the glacier booked for the full day next day. We got there and it was wet. Well wet doesn't quite cover it, it was teeming down. We got to our hostel and were met by the most bored, unhelpful American girl at check-in who pointed us vaugely towards our room, looking bored as she did so. First impression not great. Once we found our room and looked around the kitchen we decided that shit-hole was an accurate description :o) We offloaded into the s-h and made our lunch. Well, we tried to carve the bread but the knives were more suited to filling rather than cutting. Chris went off to the main kitchen in the hostel to find a knife and found a bread knife and some friends! As always, our two Israeli friends were staying there along with a couple of Austrian women who we saw in the new year with. They all said, yeah the glaciers were great and the weather was great and that "sure, they won't cancel because of a little rain..."
So we walked down (in the rain) to the activity centre to see what the story was and sure enough, all trips for the next day, including ours, were cancelled. We really need to stop booking in advance! The way up to the Fox Glacier is prone to rock falls and the DoC (Department of Conservation) said it was too dangerous. Darn. We retreated to a cafe for coffee and muffin assistance and decided to cancel our second night at Fox. We then drove up to the Franz Josef glacier (in the rain) and walked the 30 mins up to the terminal so we at least knew the glaciers existed! So it was pretty cool anyway (in the rain - can you see a pattern emerging!) and we got back to the car soaked but happy and drove back down to the main highway to drive back to Fox. There were a couple of very wet folk (one German, one French/Swiss) hitching so we gave them a lift as far as Fox even though they wanted to get to Wanaka which was another four hours down the road! We said if they were still standing there tomorrow we'd give them a lift again...
Back at the hostel later and who do we see but the hitchers who failed entirely to get a lift and ended up having to stay. At least they were dry :o) We spent the evening chatting to the Isrealies before heading of to prepare to go to Wanaka in the morning. In the rain.
The next day we went for a morning jaunt along a trail next to a lake about 20 mins drive from the hostel. We parked up at a spot where the locals were putting their boats and jet-skis into the water and sauntered off along the walk. It was great except for the dense plant and trees stopped many of the good views over to the lake, though we occasionally got some glimpses and could get down to the shore every now and again. We passed about one walker and a runner went by when after a while Andy decided to stop to "admire the scenery".While he was finishing "admiring the scenery" a local woman appeared on the path - of all the timing! Andy was apologetic and she claimed not to have seen any of his scenic exploits and stopped to chat to the two of us for a while. We turned around after about a couple of hours with Chris encouraging Andy to run back; This was a polite way of telling him to go away and he had great fun on the track back then sat watching the water-skiers etc. for Chris to walk back. Chris' discovery of the day; a woodland track out and back can get a bit samey. Perhaps even Andy's bad jokes would have helped on the return leg :o) (or not - Ed). A very different, and distinctly less chilly, new year's day than we've ever had back home!
The next morning we headed off to Fox as we had two nights there with a trip onto the glacier booked for the full day next day. We got there and it was wet. Well wet doesn't quite cover it, it was teeming down. We got to our hostel and were met by the most bored, unhelpful American girl at check-in who pointed us vaugely towards our room, looking bored as she did so. First impression not great. Once we found our room and looked around the kitchen we decided that shit-hole was an accurate description :o) We offloaded into the s-h and made our lunch. Well, we tried to carve the bread but the knives were more suited to filling rather than cutting. Chris went off to the main kitchen in the hostel to find a knife and found a bread knife and some friends! As always, our two Israeli friends were staying there along with a couple of Austrian women who we saw in the new year with. They all said, yeah the glaciers were great and the weather was great and that "sure, they won't cancel because of a little rain..."
So we walked down (in the rain) to the activity centre to see what the story was and sure enough, all trips for the next day, including ours, were cancelled. We really need to stop booking in advance! The way up to the Fox Glacier is prone to rock falls and the DoC (Department of Conservation) said it was too dangerous. Darn. We retreated to a cafe for coffee and muffin assistance and decided to cancel our second night at Fox. We then drove up to the Franz Josef glacier (in the rain) and walked the 30 mins up to the terminal so we at least knew the glaciers existed! So it was pretty cool anyway (in the rain - can you see a pattern emerging!) and we got back to the car soaked but happy and drove back down to the main highway to drive back to Fox. There were a couple of very wet folk (one German, one French/Swiss) hitching so we gave them a lift as far as Fox even though they wanted to get to Wanaka which was another four hours down the road! We said if they were still standing there tomorrow we'd give them a lift again...
Back at the hostel later and who do we see but the hitchers who failed entirely to get a lift and ended up having to stay. At least they were dry :o) We spent the evening chatting to the Isrealies before heading of to prepare to go to Wanaka in the morning. In the rain.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Guess who we saw??
As suspected, Wednesday dawned bright, clear and sunny. Pah! The main highway we were travelling on had apparently reopened, so muttering about the weather gods, we set off for Punakaiki. Along the way we detoured to the Nelson lakes to see Lake Roititi, which Chris had seen cool pictures of. We didn't hang around, however, as an electronic road sign (of which there aren't many!) had said the highway was still closed. On the way out from the lakes we did our good deed for the day and picked up a hitchhiker we had seen sat on the road on the way there. He was a very nice English lad on his way to a music festival for new year. He was telling us what the weather had been like in the very still town we had passed through a few days earlier - unbelievable! We stopped off in one town to that had an i-Site to check on the roads, and sure enough, there were all open, so we continued onwards but only once coffee had been located.
Having dropped our companion off, we found our way to Punakaiki on a blustery but very sunny afternoon, arriving at a small hostel RIGHT on the beach The guy on reception is hysterical. Not quite sure how to describe him, but he is definitely a parody of a German/Dutch fashionista character somewhere. Maybe that guy from Beverly Hills Cop in the modern art place? Much hilarity. We went up to the Pancake Rocks and blowholes nearby, which are quite something else. The best time to see the effects of the blowholes is just before high tide, so we went to a nearby cafe for a coffee to pass the time. At one point Chris happened to glance down the road and couldn't believe her eyes when she was the lovely Israeli couple crossing the road! They had got stuck in the road closures (well, bridge collapses would be a better description) the previous day and had just stopped off here for a break on their way to Hokitika and, co-incidentally, the same hostel we will be going to next (tho they will have moved on again).
So we went back to watch the blowholes at high tide which were brilliant with the waves from the end-of-storm-high-winds, getting a bit damp but having fun from the spray, then headed back. After a rather lovely bolognese cooked up by Andy accompanied by a rather lovely wine from Renwick, we went to the beach to watch a fantastic sunset - along with almost everyone else at this end of Punakaiki, it would seem from the amount of people on the beach!
Don't think we mentioned - our "room" here is actually a gypsy-style wooden caravan! It's very cool. But, obviously you can hear everything, and the crashing waves from the tail-end-of-storm winds were a tad loud, so Chris didn't get a lot of sleep. Just to rub it in, a couple had pitched a tent about 1 metre from our van, and she could hear the guy in there snoring - even above the waves! Mental note to get ear plugs out of a bag in the car for tomorrow. And maybe drink more :o)
Thursday morning was still nice, so we both went off for a run along a nearby path that loops around the hill behind us, which was great and had a big muckle climb in the middle. On our return, we freed a couple of homemade muffins for sale in the hostel (see previous comment about rounded-ness!). The afternoon was spent wandering along the beach, then a wee catnap to make up for the lack of sleep the previous night, before heading off for one last high tide look at the blowholes. Except this time there is much less wind and the sea was so calm there was nothing really to see - thank goodness we went out yesterday! Tomorrow we head to Hokitika to see in the New Year on another beack - hopefully! A little different from the Nine Mile Burn all-nighters of previous years!!
Having dropped our companion off, we found our way to Punakaiki on a blustery but very sunny afternoon, arriving at a small hostel RIGHT on the beach The guy on reception is hysterical. Not quite sure how to describe him, but he is definitely a parody of a German/Dutch fashionista character somewhere. Maybe that guy from Beverly Hills Cop in the modern art place? Much hilarity. We went up to the Pancake Rocks and blowholes nearby, which are quite something else. The best time to see the effects of the blowholes is just before high tide, so we went to a nearby cafe for a coffee to pass the time. At one point Chris happened to glance down the road and couldn't believe her eyes when she was the lovely Israeli couple crossing the road! They had got stuck in the road closures (well, bridge collapses would be a better description) the previous day and had just stopped off here for a break on their way to Hokitika and, co-incidentally, the same hostel we will be going to next (tho they will have moved on again).
So we went back to watch the blowholes at high tide which were brilliant with the waves from the end-of-storm-high-winds, getting a bit damp but having fun from the spray, then headed back. After a rather lovely bolognese cooked up by Andy accompanied by a rather lovely wine from Renwick, we went to the beach to watch a fantastic sunset - along with almost everyone else at this end of Punakaiki, it would seem from the amount of people on the beach!
Don't think we mentioned - our "room" here is actually a gypsy-style wooden caravan! It's very cool. But, obviously you can hear everything, and the crashing waves from the tail-end-of-storm winds were a tad loud, so Chris didn't get a lot of sleep. Just to rub it in, a couple had pitched a tent about 1 metre from our van, and she could hear the guy in there snoring - even above the waves! Mental note to get ear plugs out of a bag in the car for tomorrow. And maybe drink more :o)
Thursday morning was still nice, so we both went off for a run along a nearby path that loops around the hill behind us, which was great and had a big muckle climb in the middle. On our return, we freed a couple of homemade muffins for sale in the hostel (see previous comment about rounded-ness!). The afternoon was spent wandering along the beach, then a wee catnap to make up for the lack of sleep the previous night, before heading off for one last high tide look at the blowholes. Except this time there is much less wind and the sea was so calm there was nothing really to see - thank goodness we went out yesterday! Tomorrow we head to Hokitika to see in the New Year on another beack - hopefully! A little different from the Nine Mile Burn all-nighters of previous years!!
Rain stops us playing!
So we took the long drive from Nelson to Moteuka on the 26th. Well, the long drive takes about an hour, plus the time it takes to turn back after ten minutes journey to get the towels that we left drying on the washing line at the hostel...
We got to the hostel very early, kind of surprising the woman who ran it and got a room so we could dump our stuff and go for a wander. We went by the place organising the kyaking the next day to do the paperwork and they gave us details about phoning to check whether they would cancel as the weather report for the next couple of days was less than great. We spent the day wandering around the town, going to the i-Site to get info on our next points of call and then going to the local Sprig and Fern to lubricate our minds in order to take in the brochures we'd picked up. We took it easy in the evening, just grabbing some food and some chat before turning in for an early night as we had an earlyish start in the morning.
A brief departure from topic to give a wee lecture on house design in New Zealand. Every building is made of wood. The houses that don't look like they are actually are made of wood with a different finish; the rather tacky "brick veneer" being one of them. The houses are placed on wooden piles on a criss-cross base, the reason being that this way they won't fall down when an earthquake hits! Result. Another favourite in design would appear to be no sound proofing and have single glazing using the thinest glass possible (well it seems like it is). Welcome to the world of staying in hostels which were probably built on the cheap just to accentuate all of the characteristics... The point here is that you never really get a good quiet night in a hostel unless you are the only people there, which we weren't.
The hostel was, again, really nice and well equipped (if lacking in sound proofing, as mentioned above). And this time we weren't the eldest there :o) In particular, we got to know a really nice German guy who was cycling around the island, and slightly eccentric but totally harmless gentlement in this 60s acronymed (made up word?) PEG - Posh English Guy - and a very funny American bloke with a most definitely un-American sense of humour, acronymed TAG - tall American bloke (acronyn was less dubious than Funny American Guy would have been.....)
Anyhow, some broken sleep later we awoke to find the weather looked okay, so got ready and went out to get the bus to the kayaking to discover they'd cancelled due to bad weather further north where we were headed. Poo. We quickly hatched a plan B which was to drive to the bottom of the walk and walk up it for a while and then back. Fairly early on in the walk Chris suggested to Andy that she took some stuff out of his rucksack and that he ran on ahead. This was a double whammy for Chris - the run might cheer Andy up, as he was still miserable at the trip being cancellend, and she would have some time to herself with just the surroundings for company. Oh, and she wouldn't have to look at the sad face next to her for any longer. So make that a triple wammy ;o) This was great for both of us. The weather was okay, it spat with rain a little but it was good for cooling purposes, Andy got a fun bit of trail running in, Chris had a great walk, and the Abel Tasman park is simply wonderful. We booked the kayaking for the next day to try again...
So we awoke to find it well very blustery and very wet, so yep, cancelled again and this was our last chance to do it! Over a small (!) beer the previous evening we had formed an alternate plan should it be cancelled again. This alternate plan of getting water taxis up the trail (Chris walking back down, Andy getting dropped further up and running back down) failed to as the water taxis weren't running either due to the conditions! Typically, we hadn't formed a third plan taking this into account. However, we were very grateful to be where we were. The weather wasn't too bad and brightened up fairly early on. Other parts of the country were being flooded and torn apart be gale force winds, including, it turns out, the area we had travelled through two days earlier!
So instead of kayaking, we hopped in the car and headed the other direction along the coast to come nice bays, finding a good coffee shop serving more fabulous date scones and the biggest danish pastry ever seen on the way. So why would we be much rounder versions of previous selves, we wonder? No idea at all......
In an attempt at balance we also went out for a wee run later down a sand spit wit loads of birds on it, as well as a bit of sand. Along the way we got baked, soaked and then baked dry again. The weather was a little changeable, so quite like home (apart from the baking bit). In yet another attempt at balance we then again went to the Spring and Fern (to chat to the very nice owner who recognises us, to the point of "The usual?" - whether that is a good or bad sign, we are undecided....) to plan our next journey.
We got to the hostel very early, kind of surprising the woman who ran it and got a room so we could dump our stuff and go for a wander. We went by the place organising the kyaking the next day to do the paperwork and they gave us details about phoning to check whether they would cancel as the weather report for the next couple of days was less than great. We spent the day wandering around the town, going to the i-Site to get info on our next points of call and then going to the local Sprig and Fern to lubricate our minds in order to take in the brochures we'd picked up. We took it easy in the evening, just grabbing some food and some chat before turning in for an early night as we had an earlyish start in the morning.
A brief departure from topic to give a wee lecture on house design in New Zealand. Every building is made of wood. The houses that don't look like they are actually are made of wood with a different finish; the rather tacky "brick veneer" being one of them. The houses are placed on wooden piles on a criss-cross base, the reason being that this way they won't fall down when an earthquake hits! Result. Another favourite in design would appear to be no sound proofing and have single glazing using the thinest glass possible (well it seems like it is). Welcome to the world of staying in hostels which were probably built on the cheap just to accentuate all of the characteristics... The point here is that you never really get a good quiet night in a hostel unless you are the only people there, which we weren't.
The hostel was, again, really nice and well equipped (if lacking in sound proofing, as mentioned above). And this time we weren't the eldest there :o) In particular, we got to know a really nice German guy who was cycling around the island, and slightly eccentric but totally harmless gentlement in this 60s acronymed (made up word?) PEG - Posh English Guy - and a very funny American bloke with a most definitely un-American sense of humour, acronymed TAG - tall American bloke (acronyn was less dubious than Funny American Guy would have been.....)
Anyhow, some broken sleep later we awoke to find the weather looked okay, so got ready and went out to get the bus to the kayaking to discover they'd cancelled due to bad weather further north where we were headed. Poo. We quickly hatched a plan B which was to drive to the bottom of the walk and walk up it for a while and then back. Fairly early on in the walk Chris suggested to Andy that she took some stuff out of his rucksack and that he ran on ahead. This was a double whammy for Chris - the run might cheer Andy up, as he was still miserable at the trip being cancellend, and she would have some time to herself with just the surroundings for company. Oh, and she wouldn't have to look at the sad face next to her for any longer. So make that a triple wammy ;o) This was great for both of us. The weather was okay, it spat with rain a little but it was good for cooling purposes, Andy got a fun bit of trail running in, Chris had a great walk, and the Abel Tasman park is simply wonderful. We booked the kayaking for the next day to try again...
So we awoke to find it well very blustery and very wet, so yep, cancelled again and this was our last chance to do it! Over a small (!) beer the previous evening we had formed an alternate plan should it be cancelled again. This alternate plan of getting water taxis up the trail (Chris walking back down, Andy getting dropped further up and running back down) failed to as the water taxis weren't running either due to the conditions! Typically, we hadn't formed a third plan taking this into account. However, we were very grateful to be where we were. The weather wasn't too bad and brightened up fairly early on. Other parts of the country were being flooded and torn apart be gale force winds, including, it turns out, the area we had travelled through two days earlier!
So instead of kayaking, we hopped in the car and headed the other direction along the coast to come nice bays, finding a good coffee shop serving more fabulous date scones and the biggest danish pastry ever seen on the way. So why would we be much rounder versions of previous selves, we wonder? No idea at all......
In an attempt at balance we also went out for a wee run later down a sand spit wit loads of birds on it, as well as a bit of sand. Along the way we got baked, soaked and then baked dry again. The weather was a little changeable, so quite like home (apart from the baking bit). In yet another attempt at balance we then again went to the Spring and Fern (to chat to the very nice owner who recognises us, to the point of "The usual?" - whether that is a good or bad sign, we are undecided....) to plan our next journey.
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Apres BBQ
The BBQ was great, far too much food (which does make it Christmassy), no turkey but rounded off with a piece of Christmas cake, lovely. Chris decided to go for a walk after lunch (it was either that or fall asleep) so Andy joined in, but then just wanted to sit down every time he saw a bench - that last sausage was definitely a mistake. So after a while Chris pointed him in the direction of the hostel and carried on by herself for a while. Then got back and joined Andy in (yet) another beer.
The afternoon has followed a familiar pattern of working our way through more alcohol, but without any Christmas movies - how wierd! We did however get some fantastic brownies made by one of the staff which were most excellent even if not helping in the whole "feeling stuffed" scenario.
It has definitely been an enjoyable experience to have Christmas in hot weather. Tomorrow we head slightly west towards the Abel Tasman National Park, where we plan to work off a bit more of the food on Monday with a day spent kayaking then walking through said park. However, it looks like the weather might have other plans. Time will tell!
The afternoon has followed a familiar pattern of working our way through more alcohol, but without any Christmas movies - how wierd! We did however get some fantastic brownies made by one of the staff which were most excellent even if not helping in the whole "feeling stuffed" scenario.
It has definitely been an enjoyable experience to have Christmas in hot weather. Tomorrow we head slightly west towards the Abel Tasman National Park, where we plan to work off a bit more of the food on Monday with a day spent kayaking then walking through said park. However, it looks like the weather might have other plans. Time will tell!
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