Arthur's Pass

A few days ago we moved up the West coast again and away from the Franz Joseph  Glacier (which was totally covered by cloud from 2 hours after we arrived!). We did get to see the glacier from a distance but didn’t manage a walk or photos. This meant a change of plan for the next day and we went to Okarito to a beautiful waterland area between the sea and the mountains. We did the Trig walk which was a 2-hour walk up through native bush to an amazing trig/surveillance lookout point. This was a great alternative to what is locally known as The glacier experience and we were amazed to hear the helicopters still flying in the clouded sky. We later heard from our NZ neighbours that they had been booked on a flight and had seen absolutely nothing that day.

White heron

Our decision to move away from the mountains was a good one as we had better luck with the weather and at a small jetty on the waterland area saw that boat/nature trips were an option. So Richard the boatman was phoned and duly arrived and we had a private boat trip over the lagoon. The water was like glass and Richard told us that there were not many afternoons when it was so calm. As we pushed off from the jetty the scene reminded me of something out of the game ‘Myst”, with wooden poles sticking out of the water and derelict pieces of large rusted metal laying around. Another really beautiful part of the landscape here is amazing driftwood, both large and  small. As it was also cloudy, the seabirds were in abundance on the lagoon and could be seen all around as we glided through the water. Also present were white herons that feed from the lagoon but were nesting just along the coast. It was truly a peaceful and magical place. Richard told us that researchers  from the University of Auckland have recently found out that the lagoon was formed by a tsunami around 1500.Back at the boat office I asked the lady where she did her shopping J. “In Hokatika, it’s about a one and a half hour drive, but you get used to it. Living here means tins and borrowing from your neighbours. And now we also have the option of ordering online with delivery. It’s quiet here in winter” she said, almost wistfully.

Kea

You’ve got a friend, Peter said as we pulled up into a car park  to admire a viaduct on the Arthur’s Pass road. This little feathered friend is a Kea and is native to NZ and is a funny but annoying parrot. They are incredibly curious birds but in recent years have discovered the rubber linings of car windows which they peck at. They are also fantastically successful thieves, snatching at sandwiches from innocent tourists and rummaging in rubbish bins. Luckily this one didn’t stay long.

Shortly after this film was shot, the weather took a turn for the worse and we ended up spending the afternoon and evening in our extremely cosy hotel Arthur’s Chalet. Well, cosy, yes with the log fire burning high in the restaurant as we ate our dinner of NZ lamb fillet with the rain and the wind coming down in torrents in the gale of up to 100 kph! I’m afraid we had to abandon our plan to walk in this (we are told) stunningly beautiful area. A pity because I really wanted to stay another night.

Just before I fell asleep that night, I felt a couple of drops of rain on my leg (stuck outside the duvet). On closer inspection, a small leak just like the one we get at home between the beams with a fierce South-westerly. When I mentioned this to the owner when we left he told us that he would have to get on the roof for an inspection. “The problem is” he said “the Kea, little blighters, get on the roof and peck around the nails, so they get loose.”

Akaroa

Het is zaterdagavond kwart over negen en ik ga een stukje schrijven over Akaroa waar we gisteren zijn neergestreken. De eerste Europeanen die zich er vestigden waren Franse walvisvaarders. Dat is terug te vinden in hier en daar een Franse vlag, enkele Franse straatnamen en in sommige gebouwen. Dat de plaatselijke garage ‘pneus’ verkoopt, dat ons motel La Rochelle heet en dat op het kleine politiebureau ‘Gendarmerie’ staat is een krampachtige poging het plaatsje meer Frans ‘cachet’ te geven dan het ooit heeft gehad. En dat allemaal om de toeristen te plezieren want Akaroa, met zijn schitterende ligging op de Banks Peninsula, is een nationale trekpleister.

Akaroa Harbour

De Banks Peninsula is een soort puist in het overigens erg vlakke Canterbury waarvan Christchurch de hoofdstad is. Het schiereiland is ontstaan na zeer krachtige vulkaanuitbarstingen enkele duizenden jaren geleden. Daarbij zijn Lyttelton Harbour en Akaroa Harbour ontstaan, twee diepe, azuurblauwe inhammen. De lavastromen zorgden voor even mooie kleinere inhammen en baaien. In een ervan, Okains Bay, hebben we vanmiddag op het strand gelegen. Dit gebied is met zijn tot negenhonderd meter hoge heuvels een van de mooiste van Nieuw Zeeland.

We blijven hier tot en met dinsdag. Woensdagmorgen gaan we naar Christchurch om daar de laatste nacht door te brengen voordat we donderdag op het vliegtuig naar huis stappen. Wat we gaan doen in Christchurch weten we nog niet. De stad worstelt nog steeds met de gevolgen van de aardbevingen van vorig jaar, dat merken we in de kranten en ook hier in Akaroa. Bovendien heeft de stad een speciale plek in mijn herinnering. Jullie horen daar nog over.

Tijdens het samenstellen van deze reisblog hebben we gemerkt hoe leuk het is om jullie reacties te ontvangen. Bedankt daarvoor.