Adventure Racing on Great Barrier Island

Beautiful Beaches on Great Barrier Island

Lauryn had an amazing adventure the first week of December and we are finally updating the blog with pictures and info!  She represented her school at the adventure racing school championship on Great Barrier Island. On a Saturday she took a very overcrowded 10 passenger van - with eight students, two teachers, and LOTS of luggage - on a long drive up to Auckland, where they overnighted.  Then they boarded a passenger ferry and took the long boat trip over to Great Barrier Island.  After five nights and five full days of competition, they boarded another ferry - this time a commercial/freight ferry - and came back on Friday night to the "mainland" and

they overnighted in Auckland once again.  The following Saturday they drove back to Wanganui, where Jen and Pete were awaiting her return (and then drove her another 3 hours south to Wellington for the U17 national soccer tryouts which began the next day.)  

From Wikipedia...

Great Barrier Island lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, 100 kilometres (62 mi) north-east of central Auckland. With an area of 285 square kilometres (110 sq mi) it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, is 621 metres (2,037 ft) above sea level.^[1] The local authority is the Auckland Council.

The island was initially exploited for its minerals and kauri trees and saw only limited agriculture. In 2013, it was inhabited by 939 people,^[2] mostly living from farming and tourism.^[3] The majority of the diverse environments (around 60% of the total area) is administered as nature reserve by the Department of Conservation.^[1] In 2009 the island atmosphere was described as being "life in New Zealand many decades back", not without some positive emphasis.^[4]

Here is a description of the geography.

Great Barrier Island is the sixth-largest island in New Zealand after the South Island, the North Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Chatham Island, and Auckland Island. The highest point, Mount Hobson or Hirakimata, is 621 metres (2,037 ft) above sea level. Smaller surrounding islands include Kaikoura Island, Rakitu Island, Aiguilles Island and Dragon Island.

The island's European name stems from its location on the outskirts of the Hauraki Gulf. With a maximum length (north-south) of some 43 kilometres (27 mi), it and the Coromandel Peninsula (directly to its south) protect the gulf from the storms of the Pacific Ocean to the east. Consequently, the island boasts highly contrasting coastal environments. The eastern coast comprises long, clear beaches, windswept sand-dunes, and heavy surf. The western coast, sheltered and calm, is home to hundreds of tiny, secluded bays which offer some of the best diving and boating in the country. The inland holds several large and biologically diverse wetlands, along with rugged hill country (bush or heath in the more exposed heights), as well as old-growth and regenerating kauri forests.

Lauryn can describe her activities she had to do for adventure racing, but we will spoil the punchline.  Twelve teams had qualified for the national finals, and Lauryn's team, from a very small school compared to the competition, and not having trained with the same purpose or having the same experience in adventure racing as those larger schools, finished a perfect 12th of the 12 teams!  Oh well, the memories are priceless nonetheless.

And, now, Lauryn...

Teams chilling before the race

Well it was what I, Lauryn, consider probably the weirdest, most kiwi, and quirkiest thing I probably have ever done in my life. First off, I missed about a week of school in total doing full day practices for this competition, which back in the states would be completely unheard of. Once a week in the run-up to leaving, my team would get to school at 8:30 and drive in a bus to a lake, and we would then spend the whole day kayaking, running, and swimming. Then, I missed a week for the national competition too, so I got to miss a ton of school!

Adventure racing is sorta like a triathlon. It is composed of running, kayaking, sailing, rafting, swimming, and orienteering. Orienteering is when a person/team is given an extremely detailed map with specific points that the person must get to in a certain amount of time. Below is a type of map we would be given. The circles mark the area where the check points are located. Sometimes these check points will have a code you need to write down to prove you've been there, or there will be a staff member sitting there to make sure all teams actually go through there.

On Saturday, my team left Wanganui and went on a 5 hour drive all the way up to Auckland. We stayed the night in a tent on the lawn of a friend's house of one of our coaches. In Auckland area my team went on an easy 4km run to see how we were doing. 

This is my team waiting for the boat in Auckland

Sunday morning we left Auckland on a ferry at 10, and we made a two and a half hour trip to Great Barrier Island. We only had one hiccup when our van broke down in the downtown area of Auckland on our way to the ferry. Luckily we were only a 15 minute walk to the wharf, however we must have looked very strange walking on the sidewalk with huge hiking packs, life jackets and smaller backpacks through the city. We arrived at the island around 1, and our first competition started shortly after 2. This was a head to head race where all the teams were put against each other. We had no prior knowledge of what this task would be and were pretty inexperienced, because we had no returning people who did this event last year.

Boat coming into Great Barrier

Our makeshift raft that we made it ten minutes

The race began with each team being given three kayaks, four pieces of long bamboo, four paddles, and several pieces of rubber. We then had ten minutes to strap together a raft that would be able to hold 8 people. We had to get this raft into the water and line up at the starting line. At the sound of a horn all twelve teams began to paddle maniacally towards an island about 3 km away from the beach. Every team had to paddle out and around the island, and then back again to the shore. Once a team completed the 6km rafting, they had to undo the raft and then immediately start on a 6 km run.  This run was super hilly and probably had no flat spots whatsoever during the whole thing, so your calves never really got a break. The race was timed and the team finishing first got 500 points and then the teams after them got points reduced from their total depending on where they finished. That day my team finished 10th out of 12.

On Monday and Tuesday, in the morning all the teams would have to compete in small problem solving activities and in the afternoon we would do another large head to head. These problem solving activities were so unique and strange that when I look back at them it makes me laugh so hard. On each day we did three one hour long activities one after another with a 15 minute break in between. For these activities a team would only race another team, until the head to head races. 

Swinging madness

On of my favorites was called Swinger and was done in a small gym. Three teammates were suspended off the ground by ropes that hung 5 meters apart from each other. These ropes were in a line that we spaced out equal across the long ways of the gym. However there was a catch. The suspended teammates were not allowed to touch the ground, and the rest of the team was only allowed to step on specific places in the gym. Each team was given two bamboo poles, a tennis ball, and a drain pipe. Basically, five members of a team had to use the bamboo to pull and push the suspended three, so that they could pass a ball from one end of the gym to another. Once the ball gets to the end the last suspended teammate, they had to use the drainage pipe and drop the ball through it into a bucket. The objective is to get the ball into the bucket as many times as possible in one hour. Easier said then done.

Trying to get the ball through the pipe into bucket

Trying to get the ball into bucket

A super fun one was called Bucket Hats and was done on a high ropes course. Every one had to wear a helmet that had this bucket taped to the top of it. The objective was to transport a ball through a ropes course as many times as possible. However all the teams were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. Everyone had to carry the ball in their bucket on top of their head. The course begins with one teammate having to climb up a pole and put it into a pipe. That pipe transports it to a second part of the course... the net. A teammate had to climb a net with the ball in his/her bucket, and throw it over the other side. There someone had to pick up the ball with his/her bucket and transport it to the last part of the course. This is were four people pull a team member, with the ball in his/her bucket, up into the air with him/her harnessed on a rope. That team member has to touch a rope that is 20 meters in the air. Once that person does that he/she is lowered to the ground and the team restarts at the beginning.

High ropes course we had to maneuver through

Trying to balance a bamboo pole is easier said than done

There was also a memory activity were you had to memorize a set of pictures, while doing silly things like balancing bamboo poles or piggie backing someone while being blindfolded. There was a creative marble game, along with an activity were you got random materials and had to build a raft. There also was a row boat race where the staff placed limitations on how many paddles you can use or how many people have to be blindfolded.

The Head to Head competitions were around 3-5 hours long and comprised of lots of running and water activities. On Monday we did a classic relay race, where there was a running part, an obstacle course part, a balance and control part, and a trying to run with a car tire below your knees part. For the run it was maybe 1.5 km but it was all uphill, so it sucked. For the obstacle course one teammate had to be blindfolded and if you touched an obstacle you had to start over. The third part was terrible, because a person had to balance a tennis ball on a baton... while being piggie backed. The last part with the tire was just super funny, because to keep it below someone's knees they had to run bow legged.

Travis trying to stay on top of the dinghy

Tuesday's head to head was awful, because we had to use two pieces of bamboo, rubber, and a huge cylindrical dinghy. We had to fasten a raft and then the team would have to carry a team member who was onto of the dinghy. Each member had to be carried 50 meters on land, and then into the water, where they were pushed out and back to a buoy. Once they reached the shore a new team mate jumped on and you started over till everyone was carried. It was a pain, because it was very hard to stay on the dinghy in the water. People were constantly falling off and we would have to start over.

Wednesday and Thursday was what they called the big Expedition Day. On Wednesday all the teams got in a line at 8;30 and then the horn sounded and everyone went for probably around a 10 km run. The end of that run was at a beach where three kayaks and all the materials from the first day were left for each team. We then had to make a raft and then kayak for 10 km, where we ended at another beach. We then went for an 8 km run and then had to kayak all the way back to the spot where we found the kayaks. We then set up camp and relaxed; this was around the time of 5:30. We finished 9th that day. On Thursday we were given an orienteering map that had around a 100 points that were all over a map that had the area of probably 250 km. We didn't have to go to every single point. However, we had to be back at 3:30, or we would be heavily penalized. Some points could only be gotten from kayaking there, while others we a good 45 minute run from the coast. If a point was hard to get to it would cost more, then one that was easier to find. I calculated that my team traveled around 50 km in those two days. The top teams probably traveled 75 km.

Us finishing strong on our last day

One big factor that didn't help the team is that Monday morning one of our team mates got sick and had to drop out of the competition. This meant that 15% of our score was taken out each day, so if we scored 100 points we only really got 85. Even though we landed last, my team tried really hard and we had a blast.

Our team posing with our high school banner 

Beautiful place where we stayed during the week 

Tongariro Northern Circuit 3 day walk

Hello, all! This is Kendra, with my first blog attempt…lets see if it lives up to the funny, yet still informative standards set by my parents!

We live only 2 hours from one of the most famous and beautiful national parks in the entire world, Tongariro National Park. This beautiful location is not only the 5th park created in the world, in 1887, but also houses multiple incredible volcanoes. Mt. Nguaruhoe (pronounced "New-rah-hoe-ey", and commonly recognized as Mt. Doom for you Lord of the Rings nerds out there), Mt. Tongariro, and Mt. Ruapehu (pronounced Rue-ah-pay-u). This park contains one of the most famous walks in the entirety of New Zealand - and certainly the most popular on the North Island- the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

The Crossing itself is a 19 km day trek which reaches an elevation of about 1800 m, summiting the saddle between Mt. Nguaruhoe and Mt. Tongariro. It passes through beautiful craters, between thermal pools, and across gorgeous lava flows from previous eruptions. It is an incredibly difficult, yet rewarding walk which nearly 100,000 people do every year.

Being the over-achievers we are, this wasn’t enough for us.  My dad, my Kiwi friend Alannah, and I decided that we not only wanted to complete the crossing, but also do two following days in order to   complete the Tongariro Northern Circuit. This 3-4 day back-packing tramp essentially circles Mt. Nguaruhoe, and ends up being between 30 and 40 km, depending on certain side trips and short cuts.

Our first day was the actual Crossing itself. We left our car at the end point of the hike, then took a cheap transport ride from a local, very friendly kiwi (who talked so quickly and mumbled so much that even Alannah had difficultly keeping up) to the Mangatepopo carpark. Leaving from Mangatepopo, the track went uphill gently along a stream bed toward the pass.  We stopped for lunch by Soda Springs, a pretty little waterfall.  

Then began the ascent, a very steep walk up to the saddle at the base of Mt Nguaruhoe, which was mostly shrouded in clouds.  After climbing for nearly half an hour, I, believed we had finally reached the highest point, and was thrilled to tell everyone that the climbing was most likely nearly over for the day. However, we passed through the South Crater, pictured here...

...and then encountered not just an ascent, but the famed Devil’s Staircase. Everyone else was, somewhat understandably, less than pleased about by premature announcement! However, the ascent was really too difficult for anyone to really audibly voice their displeasure, so I got a bit of a free pass! Here is a picture of my Dad on the last really steep climb.

When we finally reached the top, we were treated to the sight of the beautiful Red Crater. This indentation in the rock is stained red due to the high temperature oxidation of iron (how scientific!), and created one of the most awe-inspiring views of the entire trip. 

We then descended a very dangerous, very Kiwi-style hillside, which was basically comprised of loose dirt and rocks.  No switchbacks here, just a plunge straight down.  At various points, the rocks to our sides were hissing steam.  After slipping and sliding for nearly 30 minutes, attempting not too break ankles or backs, we reached the Emerald Lakes. These three lakes are gorgeous blue, green and emerald colors due to minerals such as sulphur leaking in to the cold, very acidic pools. This was the most visually stunning of all of the spots we saw due to the color contrasts, and we took a good rest, having completed about the first 8 km of our tramp. 

After more steep descending into the Oturere valley and a long trek through what was (accurately) described as an endless variety of lava formations we finally reached our first campsite/hut after 16 km of hard tramping with heavy packs. 

Oturere Hut was available for our use, so we made rehydrated Chicken Curry (hot food on the trail always tastes so good, but this was genuinely tasty) and we were treated to a hilarious talk and introduction by Bruce, our hut warden. 

Ahhhh....Bruce. Compared to most hut wardens (maybe even most people), the guy was hilarious, and incredibly friendly! He first made us introduce ourselves, say where we were from, and what kind of pets we owned - the most interesting likely being alpacas! He then proceeded to tell us hilarious anecdotes in order to teach us about the hut…including telling us not to feed the local wildlife (such as opossums, rats, mice, and the occasional ork, which apparently leave rather large droppings behind). His reaction to the various dangers of the park was hilarious, and had many of the physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted campers laughing hysterically. Other highlights include the “blue line” for tsunamis, hiding behind rocks during an eruption because rocks likely won’t hit the same place twice (like lightning!), and his hatred of the toilets. He made the evening so enjoyable!! 

The next day we got up late, made a leisurely breakfast of rehydrated eggs and potatoes and bacon (interesting, but edible) and were in no hurry to get anywhere due to the relatively short (only 8 km) walk to the next hut and campsite. Over breakfast, we met 3 teenage boys from Palmerston North (a town about an hour south of Wanganui) and they kindly shared their pancakes with us.  We figured anyone who would make us pancakes was also good enough to walk with : ) and so we then hiked together that whole day down to our next hut.  And, to be perfectly honest, yes this was nice for us two teenage girls. (And once we started talking about American politics, I’m pretty sure my Dad then enjoyed it more.)

We enjoyed a comparatively flat and easy walk, and arrived at the next campsite early in the day. Enjoying not having heavy packs and clunky hiking boots, we decided to visit the freezing cold Ohinepango Springs. And when I say freezing, I really mean freezing. The water was 4.5 degrees Celsius, or to you Americans, about 39 Fahrenheit.  And flowing.  Brrrr…refreshing, yes, but that not the half of it.  It hurt just getting in the water. Here is a picture of a classic NZ site - forest surrounding a fresh water spring in the middle of a thermal wonderland!  

After this “refreshing” swim, we went to a river that was about 50 Fahrenheit (ahhh so warm!) for one last swim before dinner. 

Cards and shenanigans followed dinner, with all of us teenagers deciding to go to the old Waihohonu Hut at about 9:30 at night. The hut is the oldest in New Zealand, being built in 1904, and it must have been very cool during the day. However…at night, when it’s dark, it really just felt like the start to a cheep horror film, so we didn’t stay that long.

The next morning involved packing up wet tents (yay…) and then starting early (well…9...but it felt early!) The last day of the northern circuit back to Whakapapa Village is a 15 km (10 mile) tramp, passing between Mt. Nguaruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu. Due to some cloud cover, we never really saw either mountain fully, but it was cool to watch as the clouds would variously move around the tops of the mountains and occasionally offer up more of a glimpse, such as this of Mt Doom!

The two very cool sights on the last day were the Tama Lakes and Taranaki Falls. The Lower Tama Lake was only 10 minutes from the trail, and provided a lovely scenic spot for lunch. 

The Taranaki falls are a 20 m fall only about 2 km from the end of the tramp. We scrambled around behind the falls, spent a little time at the base, and enjoyed the cold mist rising off the pool. 

By this point, everyone was very ready to get back to our cars and stop carrying weight on our backs, so it was with great relief that we saw our cars and hopped in for the long ride home.

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is clearly famous for a reason. Beautiful mountains, stunning craters, impossibly blue lakes, and incredible rock formations dominate the track, creating a diversely beautiful, yet also quite difficult, walking track. It was made even more fun by the friends we met along the way, and the laughs that we all shared over those many kilometers!

Kaikoura - whales, dolphins and baby seals

We chose a wonderful destination as our last stop on our tour de South Island - Kaikoura, a lively tourist center on the Pacific coast.  The town is nestled against the scenic Kaikoura mountain range, which slopes steeply up from the ocean and includes several peaks that are in excess of 1500 meters.  The beach is quite rocky and the perfect place for seals and ocean life to reside, and the water color of the Pacific is a brilliant blue.  As if that were not enough, the area also happens to be home to the most prolific sperm whale viewing area in the world.  So, a decent town to spend a few days : )

We once again stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park which has nice clean facilities but was quite a bit busier than we had experienced when we had traveled in the Spring. All of the fairly small tent sights were occupied, and most of those campers had big cars, and huge tents with large vestibules that allowed people to stand up in a covered area and cook.  (Except for the few cycle tour people who just had a bike and a single tent.)  Luckily for us we had great neighbors, good weather without a single drop of rain, and (best of all) the usage of a free private hot tub, which we reserved two nights in a row for a nice relaxing soak at night.

Our first day in town we set off to visit the fur seal colonies 25 km north of Kaikoura at Ohau (pronounced O-how) Point.  Hundreds of fur seals were lounging and playing on the rocks just off the highway.  We were not supposed to venture off the path but being obnoxious Americans (and everyone else was doing it too so that makes it OK, right?) we walked out on the shoreline to get a closer look. Most of the adult seals just laid there on the rocks and maybe occasionally rolled over or flapped a flipper or gave a grunt whenever a smaller seal tried to climb onto their rock.  Here are some great pics of mothers and their pups.

The little cubs were entertaining and adorable, clambering all over the rocks, play fighting with each other and generally acting like puppies with flippers instead of feet.  Kendra and Lauryn climbed up onto a large boulder to get a better view but were surprised when a seal cub poked its little whiskered face up from the other side of the rock! Luckily its mom was not nearby. 

Jen could have stayed there all day watching and taking pictures but Lindsay dragged her away because everyone else was ready to move on.  

Crossing the highway on foot, we tramped up to Ohau Waterfall, which came highly recommended by NZ Frenzy.  (Pete, Kendra and Grammy and Grampa had also visited this spot on our driving trip to Christchurch a couple weeks earlier and agreed this was a must-see.)  A short walk along a stream ends at a beautiful waterfall and pool in the middle of the forest.  That along would be scenic enough, but the real draw of the place is that seal cubs wander up the stream from the large colony at the ocean.  Accompanied by the watchful eye of a parent seal, it seems they just go in order to play. It reminded us a little of a McDonalds Playland where the Mom or Dad just rests while the kids play in an enclosed and safe place. We found one adorable little guy (male, female ?) awkwardly trying to make his way upstream.  

He could have been a Youtube star because of how cute he was, sliding down rocks and squirming under branches and trying unsuccessfully to leap from rock to rock (dude, you have flippers not legs!).  In fact, we will try to make this guy a YT sensation (that, and we were unable to embed the video due to google blogs data limit : )  Here is a link to a short video we posted to Youtube of the guy making his way up the path.

https://youtu.be/WMly98JcL9s

He/she also got quite vocal and squawky and we were not sure if this was due to hunger or agitation from all the gawking tourists.  Here is another link for a video of him baby-barking.

https://youtu.be/wYfeNwH9dQ8

Jen thought he was hungry and that we should feed him but the kids convinced her that this was not a good idea (also she had no sushi with her.)  We watched for over 45 minutes as this little guy made his way some 30 meters over the rocks and up the stream, and just when he was about to make it to the big pool at the base of the waterfall for some really fun playtime, he turned around and started going back downstream to where his mother lay sleeping.  C'mom little guy!  You were so close!  

Now, to answer the question on your minds: what is the difference between a fur seal and a sea lion? Sea lions are generally bigger, walk on their flippers (where seals have smaller flippers and use their bellies more to move on land), and sea lions have ears that protrude.  In temperament, the sea lion is supposedly a much more mellow creature - like a labrador - whereas the fur seal is a bit feistier - like a terrier.  Well, this is what we have read anyway but we never saw any aggressive behavior from the fur seals.  Anyway, here's one last pic of an adult seal looking quite regal.  Its as if Jen was asking him to pose.

The next morning we woke early and walked from our tent site to the departure place for Whale Watch, which is what we were most looking forward to.  30 years ago, the town of Kaikoura was apparently in great decline and the people of the local iwi, the Ngati Kuri, were really suffering.  But they formed a tourist whale watching operation in 1987 and the operation has been a huge commercial success.  It isn't hard to understand why: seven nautical miles off the coast, the ocean is extremely deep and there is a tremendous source of squid, which translates to having permanent whale residents, as well as "tourist whales" who come to the area periodically to feed.  

After an informative video presentation on land, we bussed to the wharf and hopped on for the two hour tour.  We had a fair amount of angst about seasickness, but thankfully the sea swells were only 2 meters and calm that day (still enough to turn Pete a bit green) but luckily the trip out to the prime feeding area was relatively short.  Everyone on board is instructed to look for whales (but also warned in a funny way about making false sightings) but additionally the crew also has two spotters plus the captain.  Amazingly they offer you an 80% refund if you don't see a whale on your trip, so it must be with great regularity that they do have a spotting!  And, we didn't see one, but two sperm whales on the surface!  Not too long after reaching the prime area, there was a sighting and we zipped off as fast as possible and floated about 50 meters alongside a large surfaced whale. This one was a "resident" of the area, and they named him based on the shape of his fins and body.  Here is a picture of that whale, called Tiaki by the whale watch crew, on the surface... 

then of the spray from the blowhole...

and then one more as his tail came up to prepare for submersion...

Here are some cool facts about sperm whales:
- collectively they eat almost as much seafood annually as the entire human population of the world.  - they have the largest brain of any mammal in the world.  
- they can dive to depths of over 2,250 meters deep. Sperm whales generally stay down and feed for a long time - 45 minutes on average - and then surface for seven to ten minutes while they breathe and fill their lungs.  Then they repeat the process.  
-very rarely do sperm whales jump or breach, so it was not like seeing humpback whales, but it was pretty awesome to see such a large mammal up close.   

Here is the picture of our second whale we saw submerging.  It was another resident whale, and Jen got this beautiful picture of him set against the backdrop of the beautiful Kaikoura mountains.

As if seeing the whales was not awesome enough, the captain took us toward the coastline, and we spotted a huge pod of dolphins.  It was hard to estimate the number in the pod, but our best guess is that there were over 500 in a small area.  They were incredibly active and entertaining to watch.  After watching the dolphins so immediately after watching the whales, we fully understood one scene from "Finding Nemo."  The sharks have just recited the pledge about fish being friends when one shark gets spitting mad and says "Except dolphins!" to which the other shark replies, "Yeah, dolphins! They think they're so cute!  Ooh, look at me, I'm a flipping little dolphin! Let me flip for you!"  

Indeed, we watched these guys flip and zip about the water all around the boat for about 20 minutes and were sad to have to leave.  But we got some great pictures...

...and here are links to one of our videos of the dolphins at play...this was too cute.
https://youtu.be/gRhsB7LhaT8

Back on dry land we had some lunch and then decided to take one last tramp around the peninsula and the local seal colony, and to a lookout over the wharf and Kaikoura's South Bay.  Very pretty.

After one last night at our campsite - a soak in the hot tub, enjoying the stars - we packed up the following morning and drove up to Picton and the ferry ride for home.  We had arranged with a local sports bar in Picton to watch the Broncos-Patriots AFC championship game, and so we cheered the Broncos on to victory from a small bar across the world from Colorado. After, a long ferry ride and then 3 hour car ride found us back in Wanganui.  We had been on the South Island for over two fun weeks, and though the experience felt like once in a lifetime, we were also glad to be home!  

A warm bed and hot pools - Hanmer Springs

After five days camping, we were ready for a soft bed - indoors, and away from kea birds, sandflies, and rain.  The drive out of the West coast took us over Lewis Pass.  It was a gorgeous drive and so typical of the South Island  - curvy and scenic, bordering a crystal blue river most of the way with steep hillsides and lots of sheep on either side of the road.  A stunner. I don't think we will ever get tired of how beautiful those unusually blue rivers are!  Jen was really learning how to best use the camera on this trip and got this really nice panorama.

Our destination was the little town of Hanmer Springs, which is famous for its “alpine” hot springs.  The town looked remarkably like our home town of Evergreen in that a beautiful river ran through it, and it was surrounded on all sides by mountains.  Also it was blessedly hot and dry with a temperature in the high 70s and low humidity that dried all of our wet clothes.  But…alpine is stretching it a bit, since the town sits just 300 meters above sea level, and we weren’t exactly huffing and puffing on our way from the car to the coffee shop.

The main feature in town is the hot springs thermal pools.  We had a nice dinner and then went out to the pools and really enjoyed it - there were water slides and a “toilet bowl plunge” (pretty sure the ride had a much nicer name than that, but that is what we will remember it as since you swirled around and around a funnel into you plopped down a drain and into the final tube for the finale.  Also there were tons of pools at various temperatures, from luke warm to the hot sulfur pools that were HOT, smelly, and had the unfortunate effect of temporarily discoloring Kendra’s favorite ring (it returned to its natural color days later.)  

Here is one shot of the girls after they descended from the "toilet bowl plunge." Heh.

What a nice break from the road that night was! Well rested from a first solid night sleep in some time, we set our sights on the Pacific Ocean and the coastal town of Kaikoura for our last two nights on the South Island.   

Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers

Our last full day on the West Coast we took a long day trip from Punakaiki to the glaciers - first Franz Josef Glacier, and then Fox Glacier.  We were treated to pretty views east toward the Southern Alps for most of the way.  Here was the typical scenery, and occasionally we would cross over one of the many crazy blue rivers flowing from the mountains.

The most memorable moment of the drive however, was a sequence of "Dad roadkill driving" that spanned about 10 minutes.  First we came upon a grouping of about 4-5 seagulls on the road picking at a dead possum.  Pete didn't even slow in the slightest, didn't swerve, and yes, took out two of them on the front of the car.  Loud thuds reverberated through the car, and the kids and Jen all had a good laugh at how cavalier or even giddy Pete apparently was for this roadkill.  (Pete claims that he wasn't about to swerve or veer for a seagull, particularly given that they are not exactly endangered. He also noted that several times in his teen years he was assaulted by likely relatives of those birds while at the NJ shore.) Anyway, no more than five minutes passed when we rounded a curve and there was a beautiful New Zealand falcon also laying claim to a very sleepy looking possum in the middle of the road.  And it was only 100 feet or so in front of our car which was going 100km/hour.  An immediate cry of terror arose from Jen and from the children in the backseat (they apparently thought he would mow down the falcon as well) but Pete actually slowed, swerved and didn't really come that close to the falcon, who took off as gracefully as a bird can while holding half of a possum in its claws : )

The rest of the drive to the glacier was uneventful at any rate, and soon we were tramping toward Franz Josef Glacier.  The DOC changes the route year to year, season to season, and even day to day - due to the changing nature of the glacier and the river that flows from it. At the beginning of the hike we saw many pictorials that showed the change in size of the glacier over the years.  From Wikipedia...

"The glacier is currently 12 km (7.5 mi) long and terminates 19 km (12 mi) from the Tasman Sea. Fed by a 20-square-kilometre (7.7 sq mi) large snowfield at high altitude, it exhibits a cyclic pattern of advance and retreat, driven by differences between the volume of meltwater at the foot of the glacier and volume of snowfall feeding the névé.

The glacier advanced rapidly during the Little Ice Age, reaching a maximum in the early eighteenth century. Having retreated several kilometres between the 1940s and 1980s, the glacier entered an advancing phase in 1984 and at times has advanced at the phenomenal (by glacial standards) rate of 70 cm a day. The flow rate is about 10 times that of typical glaciers. Over the longer term, the glacier has retreated since the last ice age, and it is believed that it extended into the sea some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago."

The tramp was mostly flat and along the river, with steep hillsides that the retreating glacier had carved out over the millennia.  On one side of the valley, we saw some pretty waterfalls cascading down toward the river basin.

On this day the DOC halted all tramping routes quite a ways from the unstable face of the glacier.  These pictures make it look as if we got pretty close to it, but we were in reality probably a half mile away.  It is huge and this picture doesn't do it justice.

And here is one with the whole family in front.

The only people actually allowed on the glacier are with guided groups who have permission from DOC to go onto the glaciers, but we decided against this option in favor of seeing both glaciers.  So, we tramped back to the car and drove a bit further down the coast to Fox Glacier.

Our experience and walk here was pretty similar to at Franz Josef, but we will just add the following from Wikipedia..."Fox Glacier falls 2,600 m (8,500 ft) on its 13 km journey from the Southern Alps down to the coast, with it having the distinction of being one of the few glaciers to end among lush rainforest only 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. Although retreating throughout most of the last 100 years, it has been advancing between 1985 and 2009. In 2006 the average rate of advance was about a meter a week. In January 2009, the terminal face of the glacier was still advancing and had vertical or overhanging faces which were continually collapsing. Since then there has been a significant retreat, with the 2009 high level clearly visible as vegetation line on the southern slope above what is left of the lower glacier today.

The outflow of the glacier forms the Fox River. During the last ice age, its ice reached beyond the present coastline, and the glacier left behind many moraines during its retreat. Lake Matheson formed as a kettle lake within one of these."

We particularly like this picture from Fox Glacier because if you look carefully you can see people on the trail walking up to it (they look small as ants from this vantage point.)

It was pretty amazing to experience glaciers, beaches and rainforest walks all in one relatively small area over these two to three days.  What a country!

The West Coast - Beaches, Pancake Rocks, and Sandflies

Driven out of the Southern Alps by the specter of the mischievous kea bird, we left Arthur’s Pass a day earlier than we had intended and drove westwards toward the town of Greymouth on the West coast.  The non-stop rain slowed, the clouds began to part and when we reached the Tasman Sea, the sun was shining and it revealed a beautiful and rugged coastline.  Words can not describe how much our mood improved with this fortuitous change of weather and scenery.

Our rough itinerary following Arthur's Pass originally had us driving a couple hours south along the coast to find a campground somewhere near the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers. But, since we had an extra day, we instead decided to drive north and see a bit of the West Coast that we had not intended to visit.  And...we liked it so much that we decided to stay for three nights!  

Our first stop was Motukeikei Beach, described by NZ Frenzy as “maybe the most dramatic bit of walkable coast on the South Island.”  We agreed with his assessment!  In order to fully appreciate this beach, you need to go at low tide in order to walk past a pinch spot (a high tide would be crashing into some rocks and cliffs and prevent you from passing to the next beach area where the most dramatic features are.)  Luckily we had timed it just right! 

Motukeiki is a mystical stretch of black sand beach dotted with colorful polished pebbles.  The land rises steeply away from the Sea and is dense, lush "bush". And at the spot where the land meets the sea, limestone stacks are strewn about, all in various stages of being eroded and shaped by the ocean.  Here is a nice picture Jen got of the beach from a distance.

While Pete and Lauryn played football...

 

the rest of the family wandered along the coastline.  It was a cornucopia of sculpted rock rising out of the sea.  One of the stacks looked surprisingly like a human face, complete with lush green shrubbery making up the hair atop the sioluoetted face!  Here is Lindsay posing in front of several of our favorites.  

The beach also has a black lava rock tidal shelf (which looks somewhat like the surface of a blackened brain) home to flitting fish, anemones and various shellfish.  Just after Lindsay declared “We are never going to see a starfish here!” Jen spotted a large 11 armed (she counted) orange starfish clinging to a rock. 

   

Pete spied some fish darting about and Lindsay found about 20 variegated smooth rocks to put into her pocket (and of course then gave them to Jen to carry).   All told we spent probably two hours exploring this terrific beach, but had to get a move on to beat the incoming tide lest we get a little more wet than we wanted.

Our next NZ Frenzy destination was the Pancake Rocks at Punakaike.  These are limestone formations along the shores that have eroded into caves, tunnels and funnels, some of which create sounds and splashes when the water fills them. It is essential to come at high tide in order to appreciate the full glory of the place.  So, upon finishing the Motukeike walk with an incoming tide, we drove along to Punakaike and waited for high tide to fully arrive.  There is a nice boardwalk from the carpark that takes you along the shoreline and highlights various aspects of the site, some of which were named.  It kind of reminded us of Yellowstone Park with the named geysers and pools. We all had our favorite formations. Sudden Sound was just a hole in the bush 50 or so meters from the ocean, and occasionally you would hear an abrupt and very loud roar come from this hole as the the waves crashed against the rocks below and created a huge reverberation of sound and the faintest whiff of sea foam.  Chimney Pot featured a rock crevice about 50 feet in height/depth that emitted a puff of spray that looked like smoke whenever the waves built up. Neptune’ s Fury was the best however.  We had to wait patiently for the waves to build up (Lauryn had a talent for predicting when the biggest spray would come) then would hear a koosh/whoosh as the water streamed into the pool, followed by a hiss as it began to blow then a big boom as the water surged upwards in a fantastic spray.  The kids were embarrassed by Jen and Pete’s oohs and aaahhs (not unlike a firework display) but it was pretty awesome.

We decided to camp at Punakaiki Holiday Park, which luckily had plenty of space.  It ended up being a beautiful location with semiprivate camping spaces separated by large lush hedges.  Located right on the beach, we could hear the roaring of the surf in the background.  The rain cleared up and we were able to set up our tents without incident before some mist started to fall.  We bemoaned the lightly falling rain but it cleared up quickly to give way to a gorgeous full rainbow that arced over our heads and above a large limestone cliff as the setting sun shone through the branches of a large rata tree, casting a gentle glow around our campsite. Unbelievable. 

The next day we woke up to sporadic rain so decided to drive into Greymouth to do what most  families do on a rain day-a brewery tour!  Greymouth is a home to the craft brewery division of Monteith’s, a large NZ beer maker.  It was a very informative tour about the history of the company and the process of beer brewing.  It wasn’t that busy so right after we came in the guide “hopped” right to it and started the tour (beer puns are so funny).  At the end, we all got to pour beer from the tap and Lauryn did the best job filling the glass without overflowing (what does that say?) while Jen (who is more of a wine fan) did the worst!  As a small brewery they constantly change the beer recipes and only brew one batch at a time, each batch taking from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on the type of beer. Of course we left with a 4 pack of beer to sample later, and got to have the five beers we poured right then and there.  Good beer!   

 

When we left for the brewery, the clerk at the holiday park told us not to believe the forecast for rain all day, that it would clear, and voila, he was right!  So in the afternoon, we did some hiking right near Punakaiki.  First, armed with headlamps, we went to a short hike that ended at a small cave. We entered about 150 meters and into one large cavern and saw a few glowworms once we extinguished the lamps and were left in darkness.  Then we went hiking on the Truman Track, which is a beach/bush walk.  This was not one of the NZ Frenzy “must see or die” but it was mentioned in the book and we are oh so glad we went. The hike is an easy short 15 minutes walk from the highway  but winds through tropical jungle then through 8 foot high flax plants (green leafy vegetation with large spikes adorned with red flowers) which gives the feeling of a passing through a foliage tunnel.  There was various interpretive signs along the way that informed us about local plants as well.  When we reached the end we were afforded a beautiful vista from below of the limestone cliffs and a lovely waterfall that plummeted 60 feet from atop an eroded limestone cliff directly onto the beach.  We took our shoes off and wandered along the beach but our meanderings were cut short by that dreaded beast- the sandfly, which began to attack any exposed skin, specially our ankles.

We have barely mentioned the sandfly thus far, not because it is not deserving of our attention, but because we would rather not remember.  Yes, every paradise has its downside, and the west coast’s nemesis is a small evil insect that appears so benign yet leaves a nasty itchy bite.  Some places along the coast have sandflies so thick that they form veritable clouds. We had flashbacks to the lake in Minnesota where we spend half our time trying to avoid mosquito bites.  Unlike the unofficial bird of Minnesota, however, the sandflies disappear at dusk so that you are relatively safe at night.  Lindsay got over 35 bites (she has counted) and Lauryn’s left eyelid was swollen by a large bite.  Yes we have used Deet and we are trying to cover all parts of our bodies but these little buggers are persistent.  

Would we recommend this area anyway? YES!