The Down Under Expedition # 5: More Mountains!

Well, naturally -- mountains are everywhere you go in New Zealand.  My Valentines Day present to myself was going to be a day trip on the TranzAlpine, the passenger train that runs from Christchurch west across Arthur's Pass to Greymouth on the west coast.  It's one of the most scenic train trips in the world, all in modern coaches (which are called "carriages" here) with tall panoramic windows and even an outdoor viewing platform car or two.  It's almost always sold out in summer, and I had booked and paid for the trip months ago.  Then a brush fire broke out by the tracks, and damaged two bridges, the signalling system, and the tracks themselves.  The TranzAlpine train service was cancelled until April.  My ticket will be refunded in due course, but they have many thousands of refunds to process so it's going to take a while.

Anyway, I decided to retrace my path from 1994 and drive across the mountains on the same route.  I was told beforehand that the highway has been significantly upgraded since then.  In 1994, the long steep hill down the west side of Arthur's Pass included some single-lane sections where downbound traffic had to yield the right of way to upbound.  Backing uphill on a curving road with no real guardrail in a car with a standard transmission was kind of scary, to put it mildly.

But all that comes later.  To get to Arthur's Pass you have to drive from Christchurch for an hour across the flat, level farming country of the Canterbury Plains.  Even after you pass Springfield and arrive in the mountains, you still get plenty of twisting hills, bends, and assorted slowdowns before you arrive at the summit and the main event.  Ironically, Porters Pass which gets you over the first range of mountains is actually higher than Arthur's Pass, which crosses the main watershed of the South Island.  The black line twisting along near or beside the highway is the railway line I was supposed to be travelling on.

These two photos show, first, the twisting hill coming up Porters Pass from the east, and second, the more direct downhill grade on the west side of the pass.

Some way north of Porters Pass is the remarkable natural spectacle of Castle Hill, actually a series of hills with peculiar rock outcroppings on them.

Still farther north is the broad, braided riverbed of the Waimakariri River.  In spring flood the entire width of this channel could easily fill right up with water from side to side.

A fast Alpine stream flowing down into the sharp, narrow valley of Arthur's Pass.

The main event: the Otira Hill.  On the right side of the photo, look at the very top of the huge rockslide.  You are looking at the ledge where the road used to be, snaking steeply downwards at a grade of 16% or more, and only one lane wide in places.  It rejoined the present day road just at the far end of the viaduct.

The road had to be moved because there were only a few years left before the rockslide started carrying the entire highway down into the valley.  The picture is taken from a hilltop lookout known as "Deaths Corner", where the road used to twist sharply to the right and climb all the way up to that high ledge.  I suspect a number of careless drivers over the years failed to make the curve, hence the gruesome name.

When I drove the Otira Hill in 1994, I described it in my diary in words I could never forget:  "The road climbed high up onto the east side of the valley and then the bottom fell out of the world."  Here's an old aerial photo showing the road as I drove it in 1994.  The red arrow indicates the location of the lookout (Deaths Corner) where I took the above picture of the viaduct, and the blue line indicates the approximate location of the present-day road and viaduct.

Around the next bend below the viaduct, a waterfall and rockfall have both been tamed.  That rockfall path buried the highway about a month after I drove down 23 years ago, and that's when the shelter and waterfall chute were built

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The lookout point was being visited by a pair of keas, a unique species of alpine parrot found only in the south island of New Zealand/

Another picture, lower down the hill, shows why the valley is best called the Otira Gorge.

Farther down and out into the broader lower valley, but still with massive mountains close by on both sides of the highway.

It was from the railway company that I found out about the village of Moana, on the shores of Lake Brunner.  I decided to head off the main road in that direction, and had a delightful visit.  It started with lunch on the patio of the Stationhouse Cafe.  I then walked down the hill to view the rail station itself, and carried on around the back to get these views of the lake and its surrounding mountains.

The return trip to Christchurch was pretty much direct, with only two brief stops, and took just over 3 hours to complete.  Quite the day's adventure!

The Down Under Expedition # 4: Farewell to Nelson

So the Adam/Nelson International Chamber Music Festival came to an end Saturday night, and the next morning it was time for me to pack up and move on.

And I must admit, I was very sorry to leave Nelson.  I was really starting to feel at home there.  It's quite an experience to visit a city of 50,000 people and find yourself in the middle of spectacular scenery, beautiful old architecture, extensive urban services, plenty of culture and entertainment, and many, many fine cafes, restaurants, pubs, wine bars, brew pubs -- and all with a decided small-town vibe to it.  Well, you get the idea.  All these riches were located within a 10-minute or less walk of my très deluxe motel, the Palazzo Motor Lodge.  If you ever head to Nelson and plan to stay more than an overnight, I heartily recommend it.  Not only are the rooms beautiful and comfortable in every way, with full kitchen facilities, but the couple who own and manage the property go out of their way to ensure that everything is to your liking, as well as sharing tips on places to eat, things to do, and the like.  This kind of family-like experience is all too rare in Canadian and American cities in the context of a hotel property.

I also had a field day with the multiple restaurants.  Not the brew pubs, though.  I've drifted away from beer and more to wine in recent years.  However, Nelson is the centre of an active hop-growing industry and therefore, no surprise, the craft brewery capital of New Zealand.  Nelson is also surrounded by a number of active vineyards and wineries, and just a couple of hours by road from Blenheim, which is the wine capital of New Zealand!  Believe it or not, in six days I had different wines at every dinner except one, and every lunch except one, and never duplicated a selection.  That was with all white wines, and all from the Nelson area.  I didn't once get into any from Marlborough (the region around Blenheim).  

The best thing about Nelson was the extreme friendliness of the people.  Not just service staff in the tourism industry, but people sitting next to me at concerts, people I was introduced to, people sitting at the next table in a cafe or on a patio, everyone was so much friendlier than they would be in similar situations at home!  Believe me, Nelson has totally won my heart and I will be back!

(The Festival runs every second February.  Hmmm -- 2019?  2021?)

Once I finished packing up and checked out, I took the road east from Nelson to Havelock.  The entire stretch from Wakapuaka to Rai Valley was genuine mountain road, either snaking up and down the hills or threading through the narrow valleys.  So it took me about 90 minutes to drive to Havelock, where I had a mid-morning coffee and snack.  Two of my friends heartily recommended me to try a New Zealand style of coffee called a "flat white".  It uses less milk than a standard latte or cappuccino, with a thinner foamed layer on top, and allows the distinctive taste of the espresso to come through, nicely enhanced and not at all overwhelmed.  I'm hooked!  So I enjoyed a flat white facing a marina on the shore of Pelorus Sound, one of the ocean inlets known collectively as the Marlborough Sounds.  As the map shows, this coastal region has one of the world's most contorted coastlines.

After leaving Havelock, I followed what looks like the "direct route," the thin line winding along the shores of Pelorus Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton.  Ha ha!  Again, a mountain road every inch of the way, with innumerable sharp bends twisting your driver's arms into knots.  Most of the way the speed limit is 50 km/h, and you're doing well indeed if you can hold that speed!  But there are compensations, such as these terrific views of Havelock and the Pelorus Sound region from the mountainside across the inlet.

As you drive along the shores of Queen Charlotte Sound you enjoy beautiful views every inch of the way -- but it's almost impossible to find a safe place to pull off the narrow road and take pictures!  However, on the hill overlooking the small town of Picton there is a good-sized overlook and parking area.  And here you can see exactly what makes little old Picton so important to the entire country: the harbour where the car ferries arrive and depart from Wellington on the North Island.  Here you have one vessel from each of the two main operators at the docks, as well as a good overview of Picton town.

In Picton the long-threatened rain finally happened, but had the good sense to do its thing while I was inside eating lunch.  During my 75 minute stop I got a good meal, a good walk, looked into a couple of stores, and walked around down on the waterfront.

After that I drove south on State Highway # 1 to Blenheim, a reasonably quick and easy drive.  About 10 kilometres north of Blenheim the road suddenly popped out of the mountains onto the low, dry Marlborough plains and the sun came out -- wine country par excellence.  

But I wasn't planning any big-time sightseeing for the rest of the day.  As usual after a festival, I was pretty tired.  A good afternoon nap was next on the agenda.  For dinner, I went into town to one of the few restaurants open on Sunday, and had a delicious lamb dinner for about 60% of what it would have cost me in a Canadian restaurant.

The next day involved a very long and roundabout route to get from Blenheim to Christchurch.  The usual direct route, State Highway 1, has several sections both north and south of Kaikoura either buried under mountains or drowned under the ocean as a result of the November earthquakes.  But the alternate route is certainly a long one: all the way west to Murchison, and then back south and southeast to finally reach Christchurch.  So an early start was essential.

The trip ended up, with several short stops, taking seven and a half hours -- mainly because construction season is in full swing.  I must have gone through at least 20 different sets of roadworks.  And for almost the entire distance it was raining, just about to rain, or just finished raining.  The sun only came out as I approached Culverden, an hour north of Christchurch.  Anyway, rain or no rain, I did manage to get a few photos as the road wound its way between and over all those mountains.

A little by-note: a couple of Maori names appear in today's post.  As with all the Polynesian languages, from Hawaii and Tahiti to Samoa and Fiji, the Maori words are basically pronounced by sounding every letter.

Lake Rotoiti ("Roh-toh-ee-tee", just to give you the idea) at St. Arnaud, complete with ducks and dramatic cloud-capped mountains.

Maruia Falls south of Murchison.  I'm always up for viewing a good waterfall, but this one has a particularly unique history.  This impressive waterfall didn't even exist until after the great Murchison earthquake of 1929, which was a 7.8 on the Richter scale.

An Alpine valley east of Lewis Pass.

After the sun came out, the rock formations in Weka Pass just north of Culverden.

The Down Under Expedition # 3: Dealing With Mountains

The South Island of New Zealand is mountainous.  Although there are lowland areas, mostly along the eastern shore, the island as a whole is a complex of mountain ranges thanks to plate tectonics.

Nelson, where I'm staying right now, is on the western skirts of one mountain range.  Farther to the west there are more ranges stretching right down to the ocean between the two main islands.  The famous Abel Tasman National Park occupies the ocean end of just one range of mountains, the one separating Tasman Bay from Golden Bay (large red dot on map).  State Highway 60 winds along the border between Abel Tasman and the far larger adjacent Kahurangi National Park, which stretches all the way to the coast of the Karamea Bight.  Here's a map to show where everything fits together.

To really appreciate these parks you need to be in good shape, prepared to go backpacking -- or, as New Zealanders say, "tramping".  It's the national sport down here.  Everywhere you go, in towns and villages and even in cities like Nelson, you see "Backpackers" signs -- hostels or lodges dedicated to the backpacking business.  And it is big business.  For the most popular tracks, you need to have reservations months, or even years in advance, to get permission to hike.  Abel Tasman Park is also and especially famous for its scenic coastline, and sea kayaking is very popular here too.

Alas, such pursuits are now far beyond me, but there is one good way to come to grips with the country in a car.  It's State Route 60 which runs from Richmond north through Motueka and then across the mountains to Takaka and Collingwood in the Golden Bay district.  

The road across those mountains is laconically referred to as the "Takaka Hill" and I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying exactly what I think of such misleading information.  It's a mountain road, in no uncertain terms -- 25 kilometres of nonstop snaking bends and steep grades, and rising to an elevation of 791 metres above sea level which is certainly high enough to make the air both fresher and much colder than down below!  By the way, the Takaka Hill is one of many locations in New Zealand used for filming The Lord of the Rings movie.

The sign at the foot of the hill announces "Takaka Hill OPEN".  I take that to mean that this highway, like many mountain roads, can be closed in winter by bad weather.  And there goes the only land link between Golden Bay and the rest of the world (except by backpacking).

Anyway, here are some pictures taken during my two-day exploration of this region.

The pebbly waterfront of Ruby Beach (halfway from Richmond to Motueka), with a spectacular view of the mountains along the Nelson shore of Tasman Bay.

The lagoon behind several small islands along the coast just before reaching Motueka.  Abel Tasman National Park occupies the mountain region to the right.

South of Motueka, the dramatic rock formations and sandy beach at Kaiteriteri.  This is the point of departure for boat tours of the Park's shoreline, which take most of the day.  There's no dock.  The tour boats load by simply driving into the beach bow-first and lowering a gangway directly onto the sand.  That's the same way they load and unload at the various stops in the Park itself.

The eroded rocks of the karst landscape atop the Takaka Hill.  Believe it or not, this rock is marble, the same marble used to build the Cathedral in Nelson.  The rib-like erosion is caused by water leaking downwards through cracks or holes in the rock.  

A seven-minute walk from a car park brings you to these views from the Hawkes Lookout just below the summit of Takaka Hill -- back west across Tasman Bay towards Nelson.

Southwest view into the yet higher mountains of Kahurangi National Park.

Perfect weather for a day's drive like this!

A few minutes later, across the crest line, the Harwood Lookout gives a spectacular view across the Takaka Valley towards the high mountains in the west portion of Kahurangi National Park.

Far below, and six or seven minutes' drive away, a campervan (motorhome) makes its way slowly down the west side of the Takaka Hill.  The zoom lens makes it look a lot closer than it actually was.

Off in the distance, beyond the farmlands of the Takaka Valley, the waters of Golden Bay gleam on the horizon.  The town of Takaka is out of sight beyond the right edge of the picture.  

The Down Under Expedition # 2: A Day in Nelson NZ

The trip all went off much as planned, and I'm now settled in for a week in Nelson.  It's a nice-sized city of about 50,000 people at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island (in New Zealand, that population gets you into the national top ten).  Unlike North American cities of comparable size, Nelson's central area is very compact, and easily walkable.  The suburbs then spread out for quite a distance north and south along the east shore of Tasman Bay.

Nelson is said to be the sunniest city in New Zealand, and I believe that.  The surrounding hills are covered with a lot of dried grasses, a look reminiscent of cities like Kamloops in central British Columbia's dryland belt.

First, then, a few pictures of the landscape, and the inevitable mob of sheep:

Although the huge expanse of Tasman Bay looks very inviting, much of it goes dry twice every day at low tide!  On the shores of the bay by the entrance to the city stands this striking sculpture.

Now, into the city itself.  It's New Zealand's second-oldest city and the historic district on and around South Street certainly shows the mid-1800s heritage.

In the centre of the city, on Church Hill, stands the Anglican Cathedral.  Construction of this church along conventional Gothic lines began in 1925, but the building was finished in a more modern design of the upper portion, the bell tower and the chancel in 1965.  The banner on the tower is a promotion for the chamber music festival I'm attending.

Next to the church is one of the many splendid flower bed displays around the centre of the city.

Below Church Hill stretches Trafalgar Street.  The first tree-shaded blocks are lined with half a dozen different restaurants and pubs, all with outdoor patios.  Even though the summer weather hasn't been very hot here this year, the patios are still a wonderful laid-back way to enjoy the time.

One reason why Nelson is such a prime tourist destination is its proximity to the rugged mountain scenery of Abel Tasman National Park.  This park is famous for its backpacking trails and in particular for its coastline, accessible by ocean kayak, with beautiful pristine beaches, clear water, and colonies of seals.  My days for such activities are over now, but I'm going to head that way next and try to get a bit of the flavour of the Park anyway.