Half Way

We are now around the midway point of the New Zealand trip with the last four months spent on South Island which has exceeded all expectations. Signs of the approaching autumn are all around and we intend to head north to warmer climes in late May after visiting the far north of the West coast and then Marlborough and Nelson including Kahurangi National Park.

We left Westland to travel over Arthur's Pass where the change from wet rainforest to dry mountains was rapid and dramatic. Avalanche Peak provided a memorable day walk before we went our separate ways at Christchurch as Sarah has gone on a girls weekend to Auckland and I have spent several very relaxing days ( but frosty nights) near Ashburton keeping an eye on the pigs and enjoying the views across to Mounts Hutt and Somers.

The van passed its WoF (equivalent to UK MOT) which was good news as we have travelled many miles on rough and dusty tracks and it recently passed the 200,000 mile mark so we are now clear to the end of this leg. Preventing the ingress of dust has been an ongoing issue with extra mesh installed behind the fridge and cooker gas vents and the application of some double glazing sealant to the rear doors where slight gaps around the seals allowed the fine powder in.

Meanwhile I have been researching the complexities of taking the van to Australia where the various states and territories seem to have very different and not necessarily reciprocal arrangements.

We meet up again tomorrow and will head to Mount Thomas and Oxford Forest Parks where we hope to get out on the bikes again as they spent six weeks in storage during our Westland foray.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sjarratt5/MidTripBreak#

Wandering through Westland

After the dry conditions of Otago we have crossed the Main Divide via Haast Pass after a few very enjoyable days near Wanaka including a spectacular storm that washed out roads and tracks towards Mount Aspiring.

After Haast we were in to the wettest side of New Zealand but still managed a number of bright spells enabling us to visit lonely Jackson Point, see the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers and walk the empty beaches and bush of Okarito. Some fun, games and ingenuity were required to repair the sliding door roller which collapsed - gaffer tape and a temporary bush fashioned from 15mm copper pipe have done the trick and with good old VW wanting £200 for the part we hope it will last until a breakers can be found. Otherwise things seem to flow very smoothly - and whilst there are a surprising number of rental vans around on the West Coast Road - mainly because there is no other option it still feels a very wild and unspoilt area.

Again the history of the early settlers is a testament to their strength and ingenuity with various museums providing generally excellent displays and artefacts.

Sarah is off to Auckland in a week and I return to the pig farm near Ashburton - summary justice I fear.

More pics available at the link comme toujours.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sjarratt5/WestCoastWanderings

Autumn Approaches

In early March a short but memorable flight over the area where Sarah had been riding and the slopes of Mount Taranaki took us back to North Island where Sue and Danny spoiled us with an excellent party before we caught the Overlander Train back to Wellington passing through some of the familiar scenery from November last year.

The Interislander ferry and Transcoastal Train delivered us back to Christchurch where a minor repair to the van's cooling system had been effected - eventually.

Thus we were ready to collect Annie, a friend from Pembrokeshire on an Australasian visit who joined us for a week which included visits and walking to Tekapo, Mount Cook and an overnight stay at South Temple Hut near Lake Ohau - all enjoyed in excellent weather. The glaciers and ice floes in the Mount Cook area were especially memorable and we were fortunate to have the S.T. Hut to ourselves.

After dropping her at Queenstown we drove the rough and at times precipitous Skippers Canyon road culminating in a stomach churning crossing of the Shotover River on a 110 year old wooden bridge 100m above the blue swirling waters. This enabled us to spend two nights at the old Mount Aurum station which 150 years ago had been at the centre of the extensive local but short lived gold mining boom.

It was a remarkable place to stay - the more so for the fact that some 2000 people had lived in this remote area and 200 of them many miles up at Bullendale where teams of horses had pulled in heavy generating equipment for the first industrial use of electricity in New Zealand.

Arrowtown provided a service night and the chance to confirm that we have been granted 12 month visas for our proposed visit to Australia as well as the charms of its excellent museum and historic buildings. We now head for the mountains around Wanaka and then the West Coast via the Haast Pass with the fine weather continuing but a definite chill in the air after sunset.

Pics below as ever - usual problems surmounted if necessary by highlighting and clicking although I have recently downloaded something or other which may resolve the problem...............

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sjarratt5/BirthdayWithFriendsInHighPlaces?feat=directlink

50 NOT OUT

As we are heading to Auckland today for a brief visit we are currently in Christchurch after a week in the Lake Sumner National Park. Almost two hours down dirt tracks this remote area provided excellent walking including a night at Jollie Creek Hut to celebrate my 5oth in our sort of style.

Down at Loch Katrin we met Lem an 86 year old Latvian and his wife who have been visiting their fishing hut for 55 years - we were welcomed in and made very comfortable.

Sarah had a superb four day ride in to the high hills with Alpine Horse Safaris with some of the hardest riding she has ever done and memorable nights under the stars at musterers huts.

On our return to Christchurch in a week we hope to meet up with a friend from Wales for a week as we head south to Mount Cook and then across to the West Coast.

Our good fortune with weather has continued as autumn slowly approaches and the van has performed remarkably given the tracks we have been exploring - whilst we are away we hope to get the slight coolant leak sorted out by the local VW dealer Miles Continental in Chch and have also made enquiries regarding shipping the van over to Sydney - surprisingly not much cheaper than bringing it from the UK as much of the costs are fixed as they cover paperwork and dock handling fees with the transit element less than 20%.

Links below to 2 albums of pics - 1 horse related covering Sarah's rode and 1 more generalised. Again access may require highlighting and then clicking.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=sjarratt5&target=ALBUM&id=5444286291062428753&authkey=Gv1sRgCOiIj4ekgKrOmQE&feat=email

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=sjarratt5&target=ALBUM&id=5444342190738088945&authkey=Gv1sRgCK_Yl9ycw8CQ3gE&feat=email

Heading north - slowly

After the pleasures of Fiordland we headed in to Eyre Mountains and Mavora Lakes which provided several days of good walking, some excellent bike rides to old musterers huts and peaceful camping in empty DoC sites. A puncture some 40 miles down a dirt track caused a few anxious moments as we returned then to Te Anau some 60 miles away where two new tyres were fitted by the team at Mobil - my ability to mislay the security bolt for the wheels merely added to the excitement.

A drift towards friends near Ashburton took us over Lindis Pass with a night spent near Lake Ohau where we intend to return in a few weeks time after a brief visit to Auckland in early March.

We are now apart as Sarah is mid way through her ride at Alpine Horse Safaris near Hurunui and I am in Christchurch arranging our onward trip to Australia later in the year plus our return to the UK in the interim, probably in September.

The excellent weather has continued so we hope to enjoy more of the Alps and then the West coast where apparently things get even quieter - the main kiwi holiday season is drawing to a close and the visitors from abroad tail off as well but other than at Queenstown we have yet to experience any great numbers of tourists anywhere.

A few pics at the link - again it may need highlighting to access them.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sjarratt5/EyreMountains?authkey=Gv1sRgCKX2p_W4iqHPfA&feat=directlink

Re the last post - Phwoardland there seems to be a glitch with the Picasa link - if you want to view the pics you will need to highlight the whole link and then right click to go there - I will now try and resolve the issue by actually reading the Picasa instructions !!

Phwoardland

Since leaving the Catlins we have headed in to New Zealand's largest National Park Fiordland where we have been able to explore some of the remoter areas during a prolonged and welcome dry spell.

The South Coast Track took us to the historic former timber milling centre of Port Craig staying in the DOC Hut with a varied group of international travellers and enjoying freshly shot venison

The Borland road took us in to the back and beyond of Lake Manapouri's South Arm where we enjoyed a few nights in the middle of nowhere with two excellent walks and a cycle ride down to the shoreline.

Manapouri itself provided the starting point for the full day over to Doubtful Sound via the West Arm power station which was a fascinating experience being located substantially underground. Heavy rain the night before had cleared to bright sunshine so we enjoyed a perfect day before returning to the quirky camp site with its motley collection of ageing Morris Minors,

After a lazy day on the shore of Lake Te Anau we headed over to the Hollyford or Gunn Camp a former Ministry of Works labour camp that is now run as a camp site with the old workers cabin's providing other accommodation. The fascinating museum houses a remarkable collection of artefacts relating to the history of the area and the Gunn family who were and are closely associated with both the camp and the Hollyford Valley.

A ten hour walk took us up to the Harris Saddle returning along the best section of the Routeburn to Howden Hut and Lake before dropping back to the camp.

Finally today we enjoyed the drive over to Milford and a sun drenched cruise on the Sound where due to the recent dry weather the waterfalls were less dramatic but the towering mountains more so.

We are now in a chalet in Te Anau so Sarah can ring Carolyn on her 50th before heading to the Mavora Lakes for more walking if the weather holds.

Photos at the link - next estimated update will be in a fortnight when we return to Ashburton prior to Sarah's ride at Hurunui.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sjarratt5/Fiordland?authkey=Gv1sRgCI_mzPP9pPyDxwE&feat=directlink