From Heli-hiking in Franz Josef to Te Anau

  Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  Wednesday 20th Feb Franz Josef
DP up early and packs up laundry, down to Rainforest Retreat to do laundry and book a Glacier Heli-hike, for NZ$360 each - a helicopter flight up to the glacier, then a 2-hour walk on it, followed by the flight back down. No positions for today, but can do it tomorrow at 3.15, which is better than nothing, but a bit of a worry, as the cloud usually comes in by this time. Dianne is determined to see the glacier properly this time, as last time she walked about 9kms in to the Glacier, and was too tired to properly explore it when she got there.
Laundry won't be available till 12, as staff are doing all the sheets, so drive back up to the glacier,

3. Franz Josef Glacier

and do the walk to Peter's Pool,

1. Peter's Pool, Franz Josef

a small tarn which has good reflections of the glacier, then, as we had not read the sign carefully, carry on a long way down to the river, and find we are on the Douglas walk which does a long loop back to the carpark. Do a crossing of the swing bridge, then retrace our steps up to the carpark. Decide this is enough as we need to conserve our energy for the helicopter hike, so back to town,

2. View from Franz Josef town

book in for two nights at the Rainforest campsite, and do the washing, diary,and charge batteries and generally veg for the afternoon.
At night we walk into town, and decide on Guzzi's takeaway, which has been relocated from the main street to a converted cottage. Settle for 2 fish, one chips, see an American couple order, then see a local family do a $70 order for the family tea. The US couple got their pizza remarkably quickly. It was far too big, offered us some. Suddenly there is a problem, Houston! A man who has been waiting patiently through all of this has complained that he ordered first, yet the US couple were served first. Turns out they got his. A simple solution of swapping orders is frustrated by the presence of BACON on the second pizza. Customer leaves in a huff, wife and family shat!
Walk around town after our greasy, but tasty meal, see them still in the market for a feed. Fair night, DP's itches on the mend.
Thursday 21 February Franz Josef
Decide not to veg all day. DP, who has learnt to never trust information given, checks at the helicopter office, and finds that the start time for the flight is 2.15, not 3.15 as advised by the booking office!
Drive out of town to the north (can't find other caravan park shown in our book), drive back to the glacier car park, and do the Pinnacle viewpoint walk, then enough of the glacier walk to get us down to river level. Walk is pretty, through dense scrub. Back to the camp for more vegging before driving down town and parking right outside the Glacier Tour office. The day has been glorious sunshine, but the clouds have started to come in a bit, but not too bad. We have our recommended 4 layers of clothing on the top, and are sweating, even standing in front of the fan. DP gets out of her bottom thermals, and, after consulting returning climbers, and checking with staff, get rid of the 300 polyfleece tops back in the van. Sign the credit card slip for $720, didn't hurt too much, then across the road to boot-up. DP's clod hoppers are OK, but MP gets a loan set of felt-lined boots, similar to Canadian workboots, and we both get Macpac Goretex waterproof tops. Sign the waivers, then out to wait for the choppers. There are 3 pads close together, with a central refuelling point with a long hose.
We are in the first group of 6, both in the back seat, MP on the port window. Surprisingly smooth, yet scary trip up the south wall of the gorge, circling high over the top of the icefall,

04. Franz Josef Glacier from helicopter

 and lower down before setting down in the "black hole", below the icefall, where the guide and a group of departing climbers waited with bags of equipment. The flight takes only 5 minutes, but both flights are the highlights of the day. The scenery was magnificent,

06. Franz Josef Glacier from helicopter

and the banking and turning of the helicopter made us feel like we were in an adventure movie.
Get our crampons fitted while waiting for the second helicopter

07. Helicopter landing at Franz Josef Glacier

to make up the full group of 11. It is quite warm at first, DP takes off her thermal top, and we tie our waterproofs around the waist. The guide is a 30-ish Kiwi, pretty relaxed type, introduces us all around, gives instructions on avoiding crampon-induced faceplants, then set off up the hill, on fairly slushy ice, easy walking, occasional running streams of ice water.
The sun is out most of the time, with occasional clouds. Good views over the ice down into the valley, and up the icefall, which shows a lot of blue in the cracks and caves.

08. Dianne & Murray on Franz Josef Glacier

The blues in the ice aren't as vivid as we remember from Perito Merino glacier in Argentina, but still pretty special.

08B. Ice Cave Franz Josef glacier

Get some good photos in a couple of ice caves.

10. Ice Cave, Franz Josef Glacier

09. Walking in ice tunnel FJG

11. Ice Cave, Franz Josef Glacier

Have a break just below the ice walls on the north side, avoiding the centre, where the risk of falling ice was greater.

16. Lake on glacier

17. Dianne & Murray in ice cave

20. Ice falls on Franz Josef glacier

Descend through the dirty ice of the central moraine, look in a cave which has a pool of water in it, then as a finale, descend a running stream in a deep groove, trying to keep boots out of the water as it becomes an ice tunnel.

18. One entering,one leaving ice tunnel

Walk back uphill to remove our crampons and wait for the helicopters. Another group which were following us get dusted off before us from a different pad, we have to hang in for 45 minutes, with the clouds coming in, and temperatures falling.

15. Glacier and surrounding mountains

19. Dianne in the ice tunnel FJG

Our 6 were the first to go, down the north side, then climbing to just clear a ridge before swooping down the slope in a move designed to scare, yet impress, the punters. We were sitting in the front seat for this, knew it was coming, but still freaked out a bit.
After a high speed approach and quick stop, we had to wait for the other copter. The landing field was a scene of organised chaos, with copters coming and going quickly, refuelling with engine running and passengers aboard, the ground handler walking between machines with the filler nozzle in hand, trailing a long fuel hose behind him.
It may or may not be fully approved, but looks to MP a bit on the cowboy side, with 20 or more people sitting in the danger zone waiting. Obviously want to service as many customers as they can while the weather is so good.
Give back our borrowed gear, buy frozen dinners at the supermarket, and hotfoot it back to camp to get out of our thermals, and down to the kitchen to get into our dinner. Get talking to an Irish couple, Tim and Joanne, who are on a round-the-world trip, have been in OZ, will be in South America. Talk well past the closing time for the spa, which we were considering using. Better night's sleep, topped-and-tailed so that Dianne doesn't hear Murray's snuffling and snorting.
Friday 22 February Franz Josef - Marahau (Abel Tasman NP)
Park as usual right outside the camp kitchen for breakfast (so don't have to make a dozen trips back for everything we've forgotten), then on the road to haul ass all the way to Abel Tasman NP, as we are running out of time to get back south for the Milford Track. It's not all that far, as the crow flies, and not even that far by road, 485 km, but it takes us the best part of 12 hours travelling, if not driving.
We are determined to avoid long scenic walks, but even so, manage to do a fair bit.

21. Typical West coast countryside

Avoid stopping at Lake Okarito, see lots of white herons on lamp-post flags in Whataroa, take photos of numerousfast-flowing rivers coming straight out of the high mountains. Stop at the Bushman's Museum at Pukekura, a highly non-PC tribute to bush activities such as timber getting, deer shooting and capture by helicopter, and pig hunting. Watch a well-made DVD with some grainy footage of helicopter shooting evolving into capture using net-guns. Looking at footage, including a man leaping from a helicopter to bull-dog a stag in the days when they were worth $2000 each, makes yesteday's hot dogging look mild. DP catches MP with a facefull of water looking at the "weta experience". Good photos of wild pig,

22. Pig at Bushman's Museium, Pukekura

"heath-robinson" prototype net guns, "big sandfly" model on building.
Ross had a lot of ads for mining related activities, but we resisted, carrying on to Hokitika, where we looked at the town, checked out the boat monument at the river mouth with information about all the ships lost on the river bar.
Drove a fair bit around Greymouth, looking for a supermarket, and found the port area, and the train station with a crowd waiting for the return scenic trip across the island. Found a giant warehouse shop, then the supermarket where we bought up big on supplies for the Abel Tasman park. Can't find petrol, so carry on up the coast to Punakaiki

23. Looking towards Punakaiki

and the famous Paparoa Pancake Rocks NP.
It had to be famous, as it was totally overrun with tourists. Quite a large headland, covered with dense vegetation, including NZ flax and palm-like trees. Have to line up at the vantage points to take photos of laminated limestone formations,

25. Pancake Rocks

26. Pancake Rocks

27. Pancake rocks

blow holes, and sea stacks with weird clumps of snake-like seaweed.

24. Unusual seaweed common over here

DP tries to buy a rain jacket at the NP Visitors Centre. These shops seem reasonably priced, but they had had a run on her size that day, possibly because heavy rain was forecast.
Get petrol in Westport, see the coal loading facilities and port, and head out on the road to Buller Gorge fairly late in the afternoon. Buller River is quite large, clean, but darker green

28. Buller River

than most of the rivers we have seen. The current is relatively gentle for a famous whitewater rafting course, and would require a lot of paddling in the lower reaches, but excellent for canoes or kayaks.
We see a large landslide on the South side of the gorge -turns out to be the slip associated with the 1929 Lyell earthquake which killed a heap of people and dammed the river. Stop at the worlds, or NZ's longest swing bridge, but have seen plenty, don't feel the need to part with $10 for the bridge, or ride the high speed flying fox.
Travel in gathering darkness through sandstone and limestone country, high mountains, deep valleys, heavily vegetated, with nice farming country in the valleys. Get to Motueka after dark, and find our way on a very windy road up and over the mountains of Abel Tasman to Marahau, our preferred camping destination. It is now after 9 pm, and drive around the waterfront, looking for the camping area. Find Old MacDonald's farm, so know we've gone too far. Back into main part of town, and finally find the camping area, which has no office on site. Drive back to find the office just closing up. Told to pick any spot, and pay in the morning.
Find the last chance spot beside the road on the path to the amenities block, and settle in. Rains quite heavily in the night. DP has the hot sweats, opens the side door for a while. Find out in the morning that MP's boot fell out in the process, and is full of water in the morning.
Saturday 23 February Marahau (Abel Tasman NP)
Still raining heavily when we get up,

29. Abel Tasman NP in the rain

share a $1 shower, and watch a local couple with young kids wind themselves up to take the water taxi with their camping gear and kids. See the Water taxi on a trailer behind a farm tractor loading wet tourists in the rain. Decide to possibly do it tomorrow, but in the meanwhile, drive up to Golden Bay and have a look at the other end of the Tasman walking track.
On the way back to the main road, take the coast road via Kaiteriteri, which is much prettier than Marahau. Get good photos of offshore islands, and a real, yellow sand beach.

31. Near Kaiteriteri Beach

30. Near Kaiteriteri Beach

Drive towards Motueka to get petrol, then north in drizzling rain, with low clouds, over some pretty impressive mountains, with lookouts and walks, but all is shrouded in low cloud.
Past Takaka, the weather clears somewhat. We take the road along the coast , where the waves are splashing onto the road at high tide. Look at the harbour at Tarakohe, which has an old cement works behind it, see the sandspit across Wainui Bay, with a deep water channel through the centre, then take the narrow gravel road up over the mountains and down toward the Park HQ and camp at Totaranui. On top of the range, make the decision to take the road to Awaroa Bay, as the tide is too high to walk there from Totaranui.
Unfortunately, the tide is also high in a mountain stream a couple of kms from the bay. After DP does an experimental wade across the stream, decide our Jucy Van may be a 4WD, but has an engine very low to the ground, so turn around and park, hoof it the "short distance" to the bay. Convince a car full of tourists to do the same. The walk goes on and on, at least 2 km, down the mountain and across a swampy lowland. MP hasn't had a close look at the map, and the LP maps are notoriouly poor on distinguishing between land and water, so it is all a bit of a surprise when we arrive at the water to find the track going south, as its destination is north. All becomes clear with a better look at the map. We also can't get all the way to Awaroa because of the tide. Unfortunately high tide is about 5am and 6pm, and you can only cross an hour or two either side of these times, which are not very convenient times.
Back at the van, we see we probably could have risked a crossing of the river, if we were more confident in it not starting raining again. Head back up the narrow, winding, slippery road, and down to Totaranui, which has a massive camping area (850 people), and not too many campers. The sun is out and the golden sand beach looks pretty flash,

32. Beach at Totaranui

but there are swarms of our old enemy, the sandfly. Veg out and read for a while, but don't feel like staying the night, so head back for Marahau. Stop to look at Wainui Falls on the way back, but abort the walk when we see it is 40 minutes, not 10.
Get better views of the steep country, and an excellent example of a do-it-yourself camper van behind a farmhouse.

33. One of manhy home-built campers we see

Back at the camp, find out about the water taxis, get a timetable for tomorrow, and hope for better weather. Get a better spot in the camp, and have a lazy meal of left overs. Rains heavily in the night - find that being under trees is a lot noisier than out in the open.
  Sunday 24 February Marahau (Abel Tasman) - Hanmer Springs
It is still raining heavily in the morning, with lots of low-lying cloud. Move the van closer to the kitchen to stay dry, breakfast while we wait for the weather to declare itself. Watch passengers for the first water taxi climb aboard in the rain,

34. Loading water taxi in the rain

and decide there's not much point going on the boat as can't see anything in the mist, and the coastline and beaches look pretty ordinary with the rough water, so head out via the coast road,

35. Rainbow - is it going to stop raining?

heading for Dianne's old stamping ground, where she picked apples for a week back in 1971,Mapua. Drive along the coast road, crossing a large, fast flowing river, and along a shallow water shore with a strong wind from the north west.

36. Rough seas before Mapua

Look at a boat harbour and channel, then into Mapua to look at the small boat harbour and boutique marine precinct. Heading out of Mapua on a minor road, pass what DP thinks could be the farm and packing shed where she worked, so stop for a photo.

37. Mapua - where Dianne picked apples??

 Pass through a very industrial Richmond, and on into Nelson, taking the approach road around the shore. It is raining and blowing from the north. Took some rough surf photos of the esplanade,

38. Rough seas at Nelson

which was jammed with local sight-seers, so it must have been particularly rough. Glad we weren't out in it on our Water Taxi.
Internet at the YHA, which is new, then look for a park in which DP slept when she was locked out of the hostel for missing the 10pm curfew, but the city is all different. Took a photo of the very high water level due to the wind and high tide.
Out of town the short way, then back through Richmond, out on the way to Murchison and the Lewis Pass.

39. South of Nelson-plenty of rain here

We had intended to fill with petrol in Nelson, but found ourselves out on the open road with not much. See a sign for last petrol for 200 km, so go back, but find the station closed. Decide that rural NZ may not be big on Sunday trading, so backtrack about 10kms to find another service station, also closed. About to head further towards Nelson when we spy a sign referring to 24 hour card sales. Nut out the complicated system of inserting card, punching in pin, selecting pump number, then reinserting the card for a receipt at the end. Simple enough when you know.
Carry on through easing rain, in hilly country with pine plantations. Have two monstrous hamburgers at an old pub in Glenhope, where we start retracing a section of the Buller Gorge, before passing through Murchison and then branching off the Buller gorge onto the Mafuia river leading up to Lewis Pass. Stop for a while at some impressive 15 m falls,

40. This waterfall has plenty of flow today

then at an excellent DOC campsite before climbing to Lewis Pass, for a stop at a small tarn in the saddle, with interesting alpine scrub, and lot of sandflies.

41. Went for a short walk at Lewis Pass

The terrain was generally drier on the east side, with a big river with high gravel benches against the valley walls.

42. Typical bench worn by big river

Toward Hanmer Springs the land becomes gentler, with irrigated fields, farms and hedges. There is a spidery high level bridge over the river canyon just after the turnoff to Hanmer Springs,

43. Approach to Hanmer Springs

 and the first of many adventure-based tourist traps. Check out the town, very neat and tidy, has that unmistakable air of a resort town about it. Flash hotels, coffee shops, souvenir shops, sporting and adventure agents.
Book into the Big 10 caravan park, then out to walk the town, and back for a modest tea after our monster hamburger lunch. MP talks to a Pom who is driving an antique, early model open-top Fiat, and watches while a young Irishman helps him reinflate a repaired tyre. They were supposed to meet other veteran car enthusiasts, but have suffered a number of breakdowns. Not looking forward to a night in a tent with a leaky air mattress. Rains late at night.
Monday 25 February Hanmer Springs - Waitaki (Almost Oamaru)
Take photos of the hot spring spa,

44. Hanmer Springs - manmade pools

but decide against going in, buy very ordinary pastries, then back over the spindly high bridge, and on the way to the coast, through pretty farming country

45. Rolling farmland

down through a pass with a railway through it to the junction with the main road. Look at the town of Waipara, which has wine area pretensions. Look for a new development indicated in the guide as being completed in 06, but in actual fact, it is still being promoted with a demonstration spa-unit. Drive past it on a brand-new road to nowhere, with good views back over the plains to high hill beyond, then out to the beach at Waikuku, which has a long grey beach, a surf club, and views of the Banks Peninsular. Talk to an elderly local couple who point out a sweaty runner on the beach as their doctor - he runs from the next town and back between morning and afternoon surgery.
Coming into Christchurch, debating whether to contact Jucy about our problems, see we are on the road which leads straight past. Takes a while to get attention, but a young Asian bloke knows a bit about the vans, and tell us where to find the oil filler, confirms we do have a 4WD, and cannibalises another van for a ventilation air scoop, and we are on our way, a lot cooler, and better informed. Because we were missing the air scoop, every time we slowed down (especially in towns) the hot air from the engine came straight through the air vents.
Decide to carry on down the coast through flat, irrigated farmland. See that we are going to get to Timaru in the late afternoon, so SMS an Hospitality Club internet contact, exchange messages, and arrange to meet for a meal at the Speights alehouse. Arrive early, so drive around the waterfront, then park on the hill overlooking Caroline Bay park and beach, and take the lift down to beach level, walk through the park, the walk-in aviary, and out to the very ordinary beach.
Driven back by sandflies, we drive back north, find the headland beyond the beach, drive past the abattoirs and a paddock full of big pigs to find a park and viewpoint. Walk along the Dashing Rocks Walk out to a point to get a view of the coast, which has a hard lava layer at sea level, and a very soft yellow tuff above.
Get drinks at the Speight's Ale House, check out the well-restored interior of the former port warehouse, and the impressive list of speciality beers on tap. Wait for Ross and Chris to turn up. Must be a type, as we immediately recognise them. Have a good talk on travel and NZ over grilled lamb and salmon. Turns out they are in the throes of redeveloping the strip club we have noticed just up the street, into two apartments, changing, among other things, the black and purple decor, and bringing the structure up to current specs as much as possible, without knocking it down.
They recommend the free camper parking which we have seen at the waterfront, but we prefer to be a little less exposed to the urban hoons, so drive out of town, and find a roadside rest stop with one other camper van, just short of Oamaru. Not too much highway noise during the night.
Tuesday 26 February Waitaki (Almost Oamaru) - Pukerau (near Gore)
The river we are camped by is mainly gravel, not worth a photo, so carry on South. One of the rivers is wide, and relatively shallow, but flowing strongly all the way across. Arrive in Oamaru about breakfast time, and are most impressed by the efforts made to retain the older buildings,

46.Oamaru - Victorian buildings

particularly the warehouses in the port district. Some of the streets looked positively European in character. Drive to the blue penguin habitat area, decide we don't need to pay $10 to see an exhibition, but most impressed by a flock of a thousand or so Stewart Island Shags (large, grey cormorants) and other seabirds occupying an abandoned jetty.

47. Steward Island shags en masse - Oamaru

48. Steward Island shags en masse-Oamaru

Take photos of the harbour at the end of the earth, then out to a yellow-eyed penguin beach, then back into town to the Town Gardens. Walked right around them in the rain, then headed south to the famous boulders of Moeraki,

49. Moeraki - ancient boulders

spherical accretions of calcite out of host mudstone, which is eroded by the sea to leave the boulders half buried in the high tide surf. The boulders have mostly been souvenired, but the larger ones, up to 2 metres diameter, remain. As they weather, they split into sectors, a bit like a pomegranate.
DP buys a waterproof top with a removable inner liner, hopefully effective against the rains of Milford. Carry on to the village. Like the tiny boat harbour, and quaint Fleur's Place restaurant, right on the point, a restored galvanised iron, and timber port building, but decide to breakfast al-vanno.
The road runs along the coast, green seas, white surf, a fairly strong breeze from the north. Just on spec, head out onto Shag Point, which is a lot better than we expected. Stop at the old port for local coal mining. Can see lots of NZ fur seals up close, and out in the extensive kelp beds.

50. Seals at Shag Point

51. Beach at Shag Point

Drive to the last point, take a walk in wind which you have to lean against. On the way back to the main road, photograph another classic do-it-yourself motor home.

52. Another home-made camper

Pass through Palmerston without comment, on over steep rolling hills into Dunedin, which is pretty impressive, particularly the railway station,

53. Railway station at Dunedin

and much bigger than when Dianne was last here. Can't find the old YHA, which is well-remembered for being at the top of a VERY steep hill, for which Dunedin is well-known.
Drive up to the top of the town, look at the attractive ambience of the Octagon, then head out to the Otago peninsular, following the narrow coast road winding around the edge of the very long Otago Harbour. It gets better looking as we head toward the point, so carry on all the way to the Royal Albatross Centre, at Taiaroa Head. No albatrosses about, but impressive cliffs into heavy seas, shags on the rocks, and seagulls in the car park totally oblivious of the tourist crowds. Good displays of wildlife, and the fortifications for the harbour in the visitor centre.
On the way back to town, take a road up and over the peninsular to the sparsely populated south side. Possibly prettier than the Banks peninsular, with secluded bays, narrow gravel roads, and steep valleys. The views out to the open ocean were particularly good, with real sand beaches and outlying rocks and islets.

54. Otago Peninsular

55. Otago Peninsular

Drive to Lanarch Castle for a quick look, but like all castles, this one was well defended, from the prying eyes of cheap tourist who didn't want to pay $15 for a look. Take a narrow road above the castle, but completely cut off by trees, and have to drive a km down a very steep track to get a turning point.
Follow the coast as best we can on the way back, end up in suburbs, then, by sheer chance, find ourselves out of the city, on the right road to Brighton. Unfortunately, we are low on petrol again, don't pass a servo all the way down this coast. Stop to look at surfers on big waves at Black Head, which has a quarry, and a sewer outfall, but this doesn't worry the keen surfer.
We have an idea where Matthew, our local contact, son of Dave and Lois, lives, even have a photo of it. We also have a street number, and locate it without problems, although there isn't much safe parking. Matthew's wife, Yuko (?) greets us, thinks we are from DOC, as she has phoned them about a yellow-eyed penguin on their beachfront. Thinks it is a juvenile, moulting, but when we slide down the steep grassed bank to the beach for a look, it has gone. There is a large pile of feathers, hopefully from moulting. The beach is pretty wild, with offshore rocks, kelp beds, and a small, but rough surf.
Catch up with Matthew, who was only 6 or 7 when we last saw him, talk travel in India and other places, while Yuko picks up their two children. Share their evening meal, get photos on the beach, instructions as to the location of petrol, and head out into the dusk.
Head inland after crossing the river at Taieri mouth, start a long and steep climb to the top of the coastal range, somewhat alarmed as the petrol gauge drops to zero, and the light comes on, but relieved to have it settle back on the downhill.
The servo on the main road at Waihola is closed, but we now know better, and find the card reader and fill up. It is fully dark as we cross the very large Clutha River at Balclutha. Have a quick look, then head for Gore. Look at a parking place high on a hill not far out of Balclutha, think we can do better, so carry on all the way to Pukerau, not far from Gore, before finding a rest stop right in the small town, about 10.30pm. Not ideal, but can get far enough back to be discrete. DP doesn't even get out, just hops over and into bed. Only fair night, as close to the road, and 3 trains through our living room during the night.