Day 288-295: Kaikaura to Nelson in fast forward

Well this is going to be a little bit of a ­mixed bag of a post – in the long wait for Rob's video that ensued after our Sky Dives (we have them both here now, hurrah!) we got a little behind in our postings...so today I'm going to zoom from Kaikaura to Nelson in one fall swoop so we are once again operating in real time.

Kaikaura is a sweet little town. When we arrived it was being slowly swallowed by cloud rolling in from the sea that made the Seaward Kaikaura Range look like it was floating Avatar-style on a fluffy white bed (right). The pebble beach was hot underfoot and the sea was freezing.

We passed the day wandering around a school fête and then along the long Beach Road that makes up the town centre. It is a hotspot for those keen on seeing whales and albatrosses – but when trips begin at around $140 dollars, we were priced out of the market and forced to settle for antagonising seagulls instead.

There is however a very photogenic and – most importantly – free to see seal population at South Bay just outside of town. We paid those funny-looking things (left) a visit and also began a walk that follows the coast for about an hour along the cliff tops. From this vantage point the divide of grey cloud from the coast against the blue sky inland was quite magnificent. You could literally walk in and out of fog into searing daylight – it's difficult to explain but this pic (below) shows what I mean.

The following day we continued north on Highway 1 to Blenheim where we stumbled upon a local Radio Station's Summer Sundays in a park. Basically there was just a DJ and a couple of More FM flags and the perfect reason to get a picnic together and chill out in the shade for the afternoon. A perfect Sunday (below)

After a few days of relaxing we made the longer drive to Nelson, definitely one of my favourite towns in NZ. It is set on beautiful coast line with jagged rocks and sandy beaches, the town centre is compact and charming with everything you could possibly need in one place and the enlightened council there have even allotted a small area of park land as designated FREE overnight parking for camper-vans. Every town everywhere should have this – heavens knows it would make our lives a lot easier. Yes, we knew Nelson was great almost as soon as we arrived, and it would turn out that it was lucky we felt this way...

But we didn't know then what we know now and so after a day we continued to the northernmost tip of the South Island for some spectacular views and some challenging walking. The plan was to spend a day in Golden Bay and then do a long walk in the Abel Tasman Nation Park on our way back to Nelson. We found a great place to stay with some lovely Dutch folk just past Collingwood and in the morning made our way to “must see” Wharariki Beach which lies down a dirt track, through green fields with grazing sheep and over gloriously white dunes – and it really is a must see.

We dropped our bags on a stray tree branch and went for a paddle, the tide was coming in so we decided against one of the walks but did not, crucially, decide to move our bags before a particularly big wave swept in swirling our flip flops and belongings up the beach. Why am I telling you this? Flip flops get wet all the time. Yes, but cameras don't – and shouldn't, but Rob's one did. And back at the van it made only a scary clunky noise and the lens didn't open. For the first time in 290 days threesixfive would be without images.

And that is why we decided to return immediately to Nelson – to buy a replacement. Why put ourselves through a days gruelling walking around Abel Tasman if we couldn't even show you guys what it was like. Spirits were low. And, it seemed, the cost of this error would be high.

That said, the following morning after a bit of fiddling and vigorous blowing out of grains of sand the camera actually took a photo and started to show signs of recovery. It is early days yet but the prognosis is looking good. This did mean that we had some extra days in Nelson and, though we possessed a working camera, we'd missed out the Abel Tasman National Park – but all's well that ends well and the extra days turned out to be so necessary for me. But more on that next time...

Day 287: One day in Hanmer Springs

If there is more than one thing to do Hanmer Springs, 365 does not know about it. I don't even want to know about it if I'm honest...because the one and only thing that we did do in 'the Han (yup, pretty sure no-one else is calling it that) was more than enough for one tiny town.

That thing, as the name would suggest, is Spring-based. But we're not talking some pathetic little trickle of a spring somewhere in the distance that was once of some historical importance blah blah blah oh no! We're talking full-on outdoor water-park type complex with a spa, flumes, pools for children, pool for adults, pools where the kind of people that bring goggles to an outdoor pool could swim lengths, naturally heated sulphur pools, natural water pools for those not so keen on the smell of eggs, pools that were really jacuzzis, pools surrounded by sculpted rocks and greenery...I could go on; and all inside lovely grounds with benches and deckchairs and no silly rules that stopped people like us bringing in breakfast (pictured) and lunch and setting up camp for the day.

Basically, we were in holiday-making heaven...and all for a mere 18NZD (not even a tenner)

So all we did in Hanmer Springs – and this is an itinerary that I would recommend to anyone – is go to Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools until they close at 9PM and then get chips from The Log Cabin over the road. No-one could accuse this day of being action-filled but my was it wonderful.

Day 285-286: A window of sunshine at Arthur's Pass

Dear readers, looking over some of my last posts I have noticed a worrying increase in the inclusion of comments about the weather from yours truly. I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to all those who came to this humble url to find exciting, informative, dare I say even amusing travel blog and have been bombarded with a boring running commentary regarding rainfall in NZ. I promise that I will try to keep my inner Michael Fish under wraps hence forth.

With this caveat in mind let me begin where I left off...ah yes, winding up the west coast to Nelson. Well, yes, now this is going to be tricky because we have in fact diverted from that cause of action because of the poor...oooh...the...you know...there was too much...it was torrential...so we... Alright; here it is – it was raining so bloody much on the West Coast and the forecast was for more of the same so we nipped directly Eastwards from Greymouth (lovely town...awfully apt name) to make the most of a small window of sunshine we'd spotted on the horizon at Arthur's Pass.

By the time we arrived we had time for a beautiful late-afternoon walk to the Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall (a thoroughly drenching experience) and an early dinner with a spectacular backdrop of pinks and blues as the sun set over mountains.

We were up early again for another blustery walk as the shadow of the mountain on one side of the valley crept slowly down the mountain opposite. We were back at base camp and enjoying breakfast by the time the winds really picked up (160km/hr at the peaks) and we were driving east again by the time the storm that was tearing apart the West coast crept over the Southern Alps and things got really wet.

Though it would have been great to stay longer and do some more challenging walks and see some really incredible sights the *eh-hem* you know that thing wasn't on our side this time. Still, I think we made the most of our short time in stunning Arthur's Pass.

Now it is onwards and north-eastwards to sunnier climbs and, since it is now somehow February already, the final leg if you will of our South Island adventure.

Day 283-284: “And I'm freeeee, free-falling”

The day spent bumming around the hostel in Fox Glacier had worked; now the sun was out and we were ready to see the glacier itself. Conveniently it's only 5km out of town and easily accessible by road so we drove along and did a few of the short walks that showcase the ever-retreating Fox Glacier itself from a few different angles.

For obvious safety reasons, you can't just go up to a glacier and have a look around and so marked paths keep everyone but the guided tour groups quite far away. It was still spectacular though – and to see the valleys and river beds that it had carved through solid rock in the glory days of the last ice age was pretty impressive too.

Onwards we drove to a bigger and (arguably) better glacier just up the road at Franz Josef; the town is certainly more lively and it holds the prestigious (?) title of the worlds 2^nd best site for sky diving. I never know if being certified 2^nd best at something is actually a compliment...in this case it's second place to sky diving at Mount Everest, and anything that's second to Earth's highest peak can't be too shoddy I guess. But I digress; Rob had been talking-up sky diving at Franz Josef for the best part of this trip and – at least for the first two minutes of our time in the sky dive shop – I was still convinced that because I'd sky dived in Australia before, I wouldn't need to this time.

It didn't last and here, after a mornings will-we-won't-we with the clouds and the wind speed we made it up in the tiny plane and jumped out at 16,000 feet...

Rob's video has been miraculously saved from the depths of the interweb, so here it is in all its extremely-nervous-but-trying-to-stay-cool glory:

Kat's fear and flapping cheeks are available for viewing here:

And it was absolutely amazing! The views in the plane going up were worth it alone – we could see see Mount Cook and Mount Tasman (2 highest peaks in NZ) poke out over the clouds, and the Franz Josef Glacier with it's network of cement-coloured rivers reaching to the sea. It was magnificent. It was breath-taking at 4,00 feet and then we just kept. on. rising, until it was eventually time to swing our legs over the edge of a flying aircraft and go for it.

Nothing can really describe the exact feeling of falling at terminal velocity – a cool 200km/hr – but I think the look on our faces before, during and after sort of capture it...

Luck has really been on our side throughout this trip; it seems that we always somehow manage to time stuff like this to perfection and as we watched our vidoes back and dark clouds rolled in we knew we'd had the best jump of the day and one of the best experiences of this whole crazy year.

And maybe – just maybe – for the faint of heart, this'll be the last time we insist on showing you footage of Team 365 falling from massive heights :)

Shiney New Things

Everybody loves shiney new things and threesixfive is no different - so we've added a couple of new links on the toolbar above. Yup - just up there^^ between this post and the ridiculous list of countries we visit on this trip.

We've got an easy link to our Regular Features and the all-new 365-Favs, a kind of 'best-of' and hopefully a good way to catch up on anything you may have missed

Thanks for reading folks - let me know what you think...

kat x

281-282: Beautiful West Coast / Bastard sand flies

In 1990 the whole of the South West of New Zealand's South Island was recognised as a World Heritage Site, putting it in an elite with the likes of the Pyramids in Egypt and the Grand Canyon in the US. I'm not sure if it is the biggest World Heritage site (feel free to google and report back) but it has to be up there, surely. I mean – it's huge. We have already visited parts of it at Mount Cook and Milford Sounds but now we were joining the highway that winds all the way up to Nelson.

Out first port of call was the pretty little town of Haast; we started the day with a Whitebait Pattie for Rob (local speciality) and a visit to another very well done Visitor Centre. It seemed we had landed, all quite deliberately of course, at a great place for some walks on a day when the sun was shining – which is actually pretty rare in these parts.

So we followed the coast up, stopping at picturesque trails, bays, river mouths, forests and even a “swamp” where the high levels of Iron in the rocks had rusted and turned the water the colour of ale; we haven't fiddled with the settings on these photo...it really is that colour.

It was all going rather well until it came to settling down for the night and the lovely lake-side spot we'd found turned out to be swarming, and by swarming I mean literally infested, with sand flies. It was turning into a beautiful sunny evening but there we were with trousers tucked into socks, long sleeves, scarfs, constant re-application of repellent and we were still twitching and having to wave our arms around like crazy folk to try and defend ourselves. It was awful; I'm not sure if I got my moan on about them in the Milford Sounds post (just checked...I didn't) but if we thought they were bad then (and we did) this was something else.We set up a mosquito net over Emilio's door but it was soon coated in little black bodies, baying for our blood – and when they do bite, they do draw blood. Not the best night's sleep ever.

When we got up in the morning and let about 100 new hungry mosquitoes and twice as many sand flies into poor Emilio, it was time to leave. We were tired, bitten and it was raining with no sign of stopping. We drove to Fox Glacier and checked into a hostel where we enjoyed such luxuries as hot showers, a kettle (AKA constant source of tea for me), comfortable sofas, electricity and the real luxury of a sauna. It was R&R o'clock and as the continued to pour outside we knew it was the right decision.

Only a few pics for this one...and they are here

Day 278-280: Moving on isn't the same as getting moved on

When we arrived in Wanaka it was shrouded in a rain cloud so thick that you could barely see the shore of Lake Wanaka, let alone the mountains that usually form a beautiful backdrop on the far side of it [below - the next day, as it should be] The streets were soaking and our spirits were low – but luckily there was Cinema Paradiso.

This beautiful one-screen independent cinema is just the thing for a rainy day. Much like Notting Hill's Electric Cinema, seating is made up of comfy sofas and armchairs. There is one exception; perching at a jaunty angle in the corner is ¾ of an old Morris Minor that you can watch from- but only if you're that guy whose lingered conspicuously by the counter that becomes the front of the queue and made a dash across the room followed by a winning smile to your mate whose hung back to collect and carry in your pizza and beers. Oh. Yes – they have a menu too, and a wine list and they bake cookies so that in the half time break (yes, they have one of those for each viewing too) you can stock up on movie snacks again. It's absolute genius.

By the time we emerged from The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (fantastic, if a little lacking in the depth and detail that make Laarson's book so incredible) the rain had ceased and a few shy rays of setting sunlight were shining on this lovely little town. We ate and after much driving back-and-forth we slept.

And then it happened.

It was always going to happen, but this is when it did. It was 3:49AM and there was a firm knock on our window and a friendly-but-firm torch-wielding DOC officer in a hi-vis vest informed us that we were camping in a “no camping” site (reference here to the “no camping” signs we'd parked besides) and that the police we behind him and if we were caught in said “no camping” zone we'd be charged somewhere in the region of 500NZD each. We apologised for the mistake and he generously pointed us in the direction of the nearest DOC site, about 10km away, and on we drove. We had been moved on.

Well, we weren't about to pay $7 each for a nights' sleep that began at 4:30AM [many DOC sites are operated by leaving fees in designated envelopes that contain receipts that must be displayed in windscreens for “early morning” checks by site rangers] so two hours later after very little sleep we moved on again...voluntarily this time...back to the lake front where we snoozed undisturbed until 10ish. A terrible night's sleep all in all but at least we hadn't paid for it.

Perhaps going to a attraction that specialises in puzzles was not the wisest idea after very little sleep but the sun was out and we were keen to see the famous Puzzling World. It boasts an outdoor labyrinth [right] – which is really fun until you are widely lost and then it's deeply frustrating – and rooms of holograms and illusions that mess with even the most alert of minds [above]. Tables in the cafe have puzzles on them that you can try and try at before giving up and moving onto the next one. It's great fun.

Apart from this we spent most of our time in Wanaka next to the Lake; when the sun is shining it is the perfect holiday town...but after a day or two of beautiful sunshine and catch-up midday snoozes the dark clouds rolled in and it was time for us, again, to move on.