Three days left to explore New Zealand and the forecast is for Sunday and Monday to include heavy rain. So, slight change of plans. Our route back to Christ Church crosses the Southern Alps at Arthurs Pass and right through the Arthurs Pass National Park where there is trail access to a large alpine area. We need good weather for that so we have to blast past the remaining west coast itinerary and head for the mountains. Kent is not too heart broken about missing the Hokitika Wild foods Festival but I was hoping to visit some of the jade carvers in that village. The alpine calls louder!
We are up early. The kea provide entertainment during breakfast then we hit the road with about 225 km to cover. Much of it is on curly mountain road squeezed between mountain ridges and Tasman Sea making for great views but slower driving. A couple hours in and it is time for a rest stop in the town of Ross. I can’t resist the sweets at the little café and make it back out with a chocolate-raspberry bar, “best of the lot” according to the wonderful lady behind the counter and a ginger crunch bar, one that just looks tasty to me. They are a great treat and the stop a nice break in the drive.
Kent is pretty used to this little road maggot, as the locals so affectionately call them, and we make great time. We are at Arthurs Pass before noon. It still boggles my mind that an alpine region is as low as 5000 feet elevation because we are so far SOUTH. Looks just like the areas 10,000+ ft in Colorado. Weird but awesome. Hike one is a little off the beaten path and leads us back the valley of the Otira River where clear, frigid waters tumble across boulders down a steep narrow valley. The trak is pretty rocky and steep in some places but it is beautiful. We are well on our way back out of the river valley when a helicopter appears overhead. It circles over us then back the river valley and again over our heads. The noise is very disruptive in the quiet space but it even being here is really odd. This is not a heli tour area. Hmm. We walk on back to the campervan and he continues his circles above and around us and in neighboring valleys. Even odder, when we get to the trail head carpark we find a ranger in direct contact with the pilot. He enquires as to who we have seen on the trail and adds, “someone heard a scream further into the more rugged mountaineering area back the trail we had just been on”. Even though no one saw the mishap, they are on the search for an injured hiker who “might have fallen off the cliff of Arthur Mountain”. Stuff happens. We are off the trail safely then on our way with the helicopter still surveying the rugged terrain.
We still have a bit of energy so we check out the number one trail here, the walk to Devils Punchbowl Falls. Yikes, it is about 450 steps each way…I mean stairsteps either built of stone and earth or flights of wooden stairs. The falls are spectacular. Wind scatters the ribbons of water as they plunge down the cliff face. I say it was worth the walk even if it causes an ibuprophen night. We are settled in for the night at a DOC campground in the National Park. Kent is working on our spaghetti dinner. Yum.

Set-up: Rowi Kiwi are strictly nocturnal. The kiwi rearing room is lighted 12 hours off from the outside world, daytime at our night time so they are active when people are to observe. Only three of this year’s kiwis still remain at the center, an adult and two very shy juveniles. We are forewarned to be very still and wait for our eyes to get used to the near complete darkness.
We step through the inner door into the nearly dark, red-light lit rearing room. I can’t even see my hand in front of my face. We chill, remembering the guide’s advice to let our eyes acclimate to the very low light. Ok, now I see shapes. Another visitor points out a fuzzy ball a bit smaller than a football. It is the adult Kiwi moving around its enclosure scratching in the wood and leaf litter. We watch intently and keep an eye out for the juveniles next door. Our eyes become more accustomed to the light and I spy a long narrow beak just in the shadows of a nesting box. All at once a slightly smaller fuzzy ball scurries out in search of a snack. Wow they have huge feet. In the wild they eat grubs and worms but here it is a concoction based on beef heart mixed with veggies and minerals. The little guy is pretty hungry and visits two feeding locations. We watch intently until he eats his fill and trots back to his safe hiding spot. I sure hope that they are successful saving these unique critters.

Fox Glacier

Who can resist a glacier view?

Franz Josef

Fox and Franz Josef glaciers lie just a few miles apart along the west shore. It is a beautiful sunny morning just perfect for mountain top and glacier viewing, nice. Fox first. Big rains have taken out their main access road so we have a 2 mile walk to the nearest viewing area. It is a lovely forested walk with an impressive view at the end. On to Franz Josef, high run-off has rerouted the braided Waiho River and shortened this walk as well. We still get a nice view with a bonus of watching a group of kayakers launch into the roiling glacier-silt colored water. Both walks are well worth the energy.
Kiwi viewing. No, not in the wild. We have spent time in Kiwi habitat but they are nocturnal and rare so today we visit the West Coast Wildlife Center in Franz Josef. They gather wild laid eggs and hatch them in the center then keep them until they are a few weeks old. That early rearing time is when visitors get to see them. They have released most of the young but two juveniles remain. It takes a lot of patience and some time to acclimate to low red light; but we see one of the juveniles as well as a full time adult. Odd looking little guys and fun to watch as they feed and scurry about.
Last stop, Okitito Lagoon. We hit it at low tide and birding is not so great. We take a short beach walk then head “home” to camp in Fox. It feels like a dinner out night so we head for The Last Kitchen. Goat Goulash and loin of lamb. The lamb is tasty but not real impressive. The goulash is definitely the better choice. We end the night with a glass or two of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

What a raucous creature. Kea are a temperate rain-forest parrot. Pretty big and very brazen. We are high enough here in Fox that they frequently raid camp. We get visitors both evening and again in the morning. Claims are that they damage vehicles but we are just entertained as they get into everything and the proprietor runs out with a broom to chase them off. We are easily entertained!

Remember the itsy bitsy fishy fishes I tried in fritters long ago when we first arrived? Well, you ought see the set-up the locals have for catching them here on the south west coast of the island. Huge frameworks are suspended above the river deltas and they suspend nets below them to screen out those little critters by the thousands, probably millions. There are little huts all along the shore where they wait out the little guys then in a frenzy net them up as they pass back out of the river. Must be quite a show. I don’t feel to badly that we missed it.

Sand flies are a reality in New Zealand. For the first few days we would encounter them occasionally; but, as we moved into the western coast/temperate rainforest they have become obnoxious. I can best describe them as the size of a gnat with the bite of a fire ant and it has wings. At first you may or may not feel the bite and it is less than a mosquito bite. The true issue comes for the next few days when a blister develops and the itch is nearly unbearable. It seems the more you scratch the larger the blister and the greater the itching. DEET slows them down but does not stop them. Fortunately, we found that Aloe Sunburn gel takes a bit of the itch away. Whew! Lucky for me (Lynn) the flies like Kent better!

Traveling in New Zeeland requires some understanding and accommodation for drivers of campervans(from the US).
Other drivers must recognize;

• a single wiper swipe indicates a right turn
• multiple swipes designates a left turn.

If you have not had the pleasure of driving a vehicle where the driver sits on the right hand side, the turn signals and the wiper controls are also reversed on the steering column. This has been the most often confused/abused activity regarding driving to date.

It still takes some concentration to recognize that you need to slow down for a turn that is marked 75 since the speed limit is usually 100 kph(60 MPH).

We backtrack just a few miles to Monro Beach trail, a walk out through the forest to a remote beach where Fiordland Created Penguin nests (not this time of year, darn). We are early enough to be first on the trail for the day. Brilliant sunlight sets the very top of the canopy ablaze. We walk through the cool, still, night air that has been captured under the tunnel-like understory. The scent that greets us just screams, “the world feels alive”. Not just the plants and not just the birds. This place, it lives and breathes in its own fantastic way. Amazing. We burst out onto the beach and just as dramatic as the blazing sun are the masses of sand flies. Oh my gosh. We dawdle just long enough to finally wet our toes in the surf and grab pictures of the rock-strewn coast. Then we scurry off back into the shelter of the forest and leave the beach to the voracious flies. No penguins by the way.
Next stop is Matheson Lake in Fox Glacier. Normally it is a quiet walk around a refection lake that showcases Mt Cook. It is an odd walk today. Clouds have rolled in so no mountain reflection. The odder part, they are working on a trail that climbs above the lake and helicopters are ferrying tons of rock by hopper-load from the flats near the lake to the trail route rising above it. Wow, very noisy and it goes on for hours. Any other day, an impressive serene walk. We overnight here in Fox Glacier. Maybe it will be clearer tomorrow for a good walk to the glacier. Let’s hope.

Roaring Billy Day After

First, we just have to check out what The Roaring Billy Falls look like a day after the rain. It is absolutely amazing.

Roaring Billy during the rain

Where there were dozens of waterfalls there are one or two. Where the river roared past us, a peaceful flow is contained by the gravel braids. Check out the “rain swollen” and “day later” versions of Roaring Billy. Have to see it to believe it.
We detour a bit south to Jackson Bay a sleepy little fishing “town” about 45 KM south of Haast. No beach, just a long, working wharf and a cute little diner, the Craypot. We take a few to soak in the view then its back toward Haast. Along the way we find a quiet spot to wander out on the beach. The surf is rolling and sand stirred well out into the Tasman Sea. We catch a few pictures but opt not to put our toes in just now. Moving on we check out a lovely quiet interdunal lake at Ship Creek. The walk includes a viewing platform with a nice view of the ranks of dunes that run down the coastline reflecting the retreat of the sea over the ages. The road follows the coast with great views of the driftwood strewn beaches. This is a beautiful coastline. Further north we pull inland and overnight at a Dept of Conservation Campground, Paringa Lake. It is a lovely campground with only 12 sites along the little lake shore. But; The DOC does not manage usage even with reservations required. By the end of the evening there are over 50 campervans squeezed into the little cove. Good thing the lake didn’t come up. People had to move to let each other out! Folks are well behaved and all settles down by 9:30 or so. It is an awful impact on that area though. NZ DOC has a lot of work to do to get a handle on the heavy tourism on this coast. We head out early.

The rain came as forecast. The well behaved, meandering, braided Haast River of yesterday is now a broad channel sweeping past below camp. By 11 AM or so the rain finally slows to a manageable drizzle with intermittent heavier showers. We head off prepared to don rain gear at various scenic stops. They were certainly right about waterfalls. Everywhere we look water cascades down shear mountain cliffs. Rivers, creeks, and streams are all vastly swollen. It is amazing. The ground rumbles in response to the raging torrents. Ok Mother Nature, I am impressed again. We end our day in the quiet burg of Haast. Rangers suggest we hold off for hikes until waters subside along trails. OK by us. We take an early dinner at The Hard Antler Restaurant, blue cod fish and chips and a falafel sandwich. I try a glass of Oyster Bay Pinot Noir which I very much enjoy. There are showers and laundry then a bit of email, and blog catch up. It has been another good day.