Pelorus Bridge, Marlborough

Real-time

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Three days ago we were already to leave Blenheim; chores and shopping done, friends caught up with, diesel tank full, fresh water tank full, rubbish disposed of. Just the black tank to empty on the way out of town. All good, until the lever came off the gate valve in David's hand as he was back-flushing the tank. Oh shite! Literally.

So it was back to the racecourse, explain our situation and get approval to stay a little longer (it's 4 nights maximum there and we'd already stayed our quota). Then a quick call to get a new gate valve sent overnight. And strict instructions from the 'Boss' not use the loo- luckily there are toilets at the racecourse, even if they're a wee (literally) way away. The valve arrived the next morning thankfully, and after some careful contemplation, David did a magnificent job of removing the old and replacing the new and we were good to go once again this morning.

Because David was feeling a little weary after all the clambering over and under the van doing the repair work, we decided not to travel as far as we originally intended to. Which is how we found ourselves on an awesome site beside the Pelorus River at Pelorus Bridge. Which is west of Blenheim on SH6, not far past Havelock and just before the Rai Valley, on the way to Nelson. We've passed through here often and it's always been on the 'must stop and stay' list but until today we haven't. It's time to start crossing some things off that list.

But first we had to weave our way down the track to the DOC camping ground...

...being very careful to not take out any of the trees along the way.

At the end of the track the camp opened up, with sites all around the boundary of Kahikatea Flat.

We turned right just before DOC amenity building- which reminds me of the Anchorage Bay DOC Hut on the Able Tasman track.

Pelorus Bridge is one of the more well serviced DOC campgrounds and the cost reflect this; $18 pp per night. 

We had to maneuver around a few more trees once we reached the river side...

...and continued along the track...

 ...until we reached the end and found another RV in the prime spot! Oh well, never mind, second best would be OK. But, as luck would have it, these lovely people were only here for lunch so we stayed hitched, had our lunch, relaxed a little and then...

...moved into the prime spot after they left. Perfect! This will do just fine for a couple of days, there are a few walks in the area and I'm sure David will do a bit of fishing too.

And what a way to finish off the day, local Green-lipped mussels and Marlborough Salmon for dinner. We stopped in Havelock on the way through and I knew from the last time we stayed in the village that the small 4 Square shop sells live mussels. I can never get over how cheap mussels are, anywhere in NZ. This lot, around 3 dozen, cost $10. Better than the 70 bucks it cost us for lunch at Mussel Boys in Havelock awhile ago. And we had left-overs so I passed them onto the visitors in two rental campervans that arrived later in the afternoon. Their smiles said it all.

Before I sign off, I had to post a few more photos that won't find their way onto another blog-

This awesome looking machine overtook us on our way to Pelorus Bridge and we found it in the carpark out by the cafe.

Everytime we stop at the Blenheim Racecourse we find ourselves a new spot, there are quite a number of different areas to stay. This time we were right on the fenceline and every morning (early) and evening we'd hear the rumble of hooves as a few dozen harness horses passed by and a thunder of drumming hooves when they raced the last circuit. They were being exercised either by sulky, like here, or attached to a frame on the back of a vehicle being driven around the course. This was taken from our door. Life on the road is never boring.

While visiting a friend in Waikawa (Picton) we went for a walk around the marina. We couldn't believe our eyes when we spotted a Quantum Catamaran in one of the berths. This was not just one of many Quantum boats we built and sold, this was once our very own Quantum, our demo boat that took us all around the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Hauraki Gulf, Northland and the Bay of Islands exploring. A boat we spent many happy hours on and the boat that sowed the seed for our wanderlust ways.

The last time we saw it, it was based in Opua, way up north, now it has Wellington as it's home town and it's still looking like new. Made us feel a little bit nostalgic.

And one last photo (from my cellphone) of a favourite dog from our travels, we met Blue, along with his parents, a couple of years ago at Kenepuru Head. Sadly John has passed on but we had lunch and spent a lovely afternoon with Jan and Blue reminiscing about old times and discussing the future. And you're still a gorgeous boy, Bluey.

Back to the beach blogs soon!

Dorothy Falls, A Memorial & The Blue Gorge

We stayed three nights in Punakaiki and would have liked to have stayed a few more but the weather was too temperamental and Easter was fast approaching so we decided to head straight through to Lake Kaniere and get a good site at the DOC camp before the Easter onslaught.

We did have an unusual encounter on the Cave Creek walk, I didn't mention it on the last blog though as I thought it wasn't quite appropriate to add it to the end. As we were making our way back up the track, David spotted a small dark animal on the track quite a distance ahead of us. I zoomed in on it and could only see a dark ball of fur.

A wallaby? Don’t be funny, there are none of those on the West Coast.  A wild cat? Highly unlikely out this far, but still a possibility. A big rat? Run for your life Shellie! We crept up on it and as we got closer it turned to the side and I could see that it was a possum, grazing on the track grass. Possums are nocturnal and this was about 4pm so either he forgot to change the clock for day-light saving, or more likely it was sick.

We crept up on it and got quite close before it heard us and ran into the bush on the side of the track. We quickly zeroed in on where it disappeared and David poked about in the undergrowth and under a large flax bush but didn’t find anything. As we were walking away I looked to the tree behind the flax and there it was, down low and staring at me with little beady eyes and gripping the trunk for dear life. He stayed put for quite awhile until David moved closer and he shot off up the trunk to the top at full speed. Where he sat and stared down at us again before crossing over to a larger tree and disappearing. That was our first encounter with a possum in daylight (and it wasn’t going to be too long before the second one either). He was just lucky that we saw him and not someone with a gun.

Our last morning at Punakaiki dawned fine and clear and from our vantage point (zoomed in) I could see that a steady stream of people were already checking out the blowhole.

Not far south of Greymouth is the iconic Taramakau single lane combined rail and road bridge over the Taramakau River. I think this is last remaining rail & road bridge on the West Coast, there used to be one over the Arahura River and a very long one over the Hokitika River. I chuckled at the road sign, there wouldn't be too many places that you'd see a sign like that.

We stopped in Hokitika for provisions and headed out to the DOC camp at Lake Kaniere which is 22kms inland and surrounded on three sides by mountains. We arrived mid afternoon to find that we had the large camp to ourselves. And so it was for the next couple of nights and then as you know, all hell broke loose- here are the blog post links from Easter-

A Quiet & Sunny Easter- Part 1

A Wet & Noisy Easter- Part 2

Easter Sunday dawned fine and with the weather forecast for more heavy rain we decided to do a little exploring while it was clear. We’d also just about had enough of all the power boat noise and needed to get out for awhile. The road continued on and turned to gravel just past the DOC camp, it’s a lovely scenic drive to the top of the lake, through thick native bush with the odd glimpse of the lake and  a few small parking areas beside some of the stream mouths.

About half way along and right beside the road are the Dorothy Falls, a multi-tiered 64 metre waterfall that must look impressive after heavy rain….hmm, it has been heavy rain so either they clear quickly or in fact they’re just a trickle usually. You can just see a tiny tier up the top and behind the front tiers. We decided there must be a few more tiers hidden up there.

And this will give you an idea of the height of the falls, David standing on a boulder at the waterfall pool. I took this from the road bridge.

Across the road from the falls is the Dorothy Creek Walk, a short track leads you out to the lake’s edge and, surprise, surprise, there’s the seat we saw from the boat when we explored up the lake a couple of days ago. What a beautiful spot to sit, relax and take in all the wonderful reflections.

At the top of the lake we pass between two ranges and cross over the Styx River which flows from the Southern Alps and joins the braided Hokitika River system further down stream. I now know that there are Blue Ducks/Whio up this river too- captivity hatched & reared ducklings that were released here once they passed their 'stoat-proof’ weight.

The road now enters the fertile river flats of the Kokatahi Valley where dairy farming is the number one industry. We’re heading towards the Hokitika Gorge- the Blue Gorge, and the road zig-zags across the farmland; left, right, left we turn, the road turns at right angles often. Obviously the farms were in place before the road which has had to follow the farm boundaries.

We stop to view the Kowhitirangi Incident Memorial along the way, a huge rock mounted on a plinth with memorial plagues and cast bronze description plates at the side. This is the site of New Zealand's first mass-murder. In 1941 an unstable farmer, Stanley Graham, shot dead seven men -including four policemen, two home guardsmen and a civilian before he was shot 12 days later and died of his wounds, after one of the biggest manhunts in NZ’s history.

Beside the memorial is this plaque explaining the events as they happened (click to enlarge if you would like to read them & excuse the patch job!)-

This part of the memorial is rather unusual but makes you even more aware of what took place in this peaceful farming countryside a long time ago.

There’s a lot of traffic passing the memorial as we read, and it’s all heading towards the back of the valley on a dead end road. The Hokitika Gorge is one of the top tourist attractions in the district and really is well worth visiting even though it’s 33kms from the Coast road and Hokitika township.

The glacial water (aka glacial milk) that flows through the magnificent granite Hokitika Gorge is a vivid turquoise blue and is caused by rocks, high in the mountains, being ground into a fine powder by the movement of glaciers. The suspension of white powder- known as rock flour- in the blue water creates an intense turquoise colour.

From the car park (it was full so we had to park down the road) there’s a short 2min walk to a viewing platform where you first catch sight of the beautiful colour made more intense and contrasted by the deep green forest that surrounds the gorge.

You’ll have to forgive me, but there are quite a number of gorge photos-

A swingbridge is suspended across the middle of the gorge and there’s a continuous file of people crossing back and forward over it.

On the rocks behind more people are clambering about.

Five minutes further on the track leads onto the swingbridge where only 6 people at any one time are allowed on the bridge. A group of children raced ahead of their parents and past us as we approached the bridge. One was very concerned to count seven after they entered the bridge, he quickly ran back shouting to the others he couldn’t follow because the bridge might break. It was good to see that he was taking note of the signs.

This is looking up stream from the middle of the swaying bridge.

And a further 5 minutes on and we arrive at another platform looking upstream and over a small pool that has formed at the side of the river. The rocks below are covered with people taking photos, there’s a gate in the fence (with a child-proof catch) that allows people down to explore.

There’s also a life-saving ring in case somebody falls in.

Which isn’t surprising when you see some of the places people are posing!

I catch David up at the swing bridge where he’s patiently waiting for me, and watching…

A fisherman on a rock downstream, there’s actually two guys, one is tucked in behind the rock out of view. I’m not sure how they got there but it looks like an awesome spot to be, even if there are no fish.

Back in the car we follow the road further into the hills; it’s a rough track but we’re hoping we might be able to check out the river somewhere along the way before it enters the gorge. After 5-6kms it ends on a gravel patch and it’s a surprise to see so many cars parked up. There are a number of multi-day tramping tracks that leave from locked gate so maybe there are a few people spending their Easter tramping in the mountains.

There’s also an overgrown and boggy walking track that leads down to the river which is quite a distance away, we decide to back up a side track and sit on our tailgate to have lunch while enjoying the birdsong and the distant rumble of the river. Just as we’re leaving another car arrives and a guy gets out and, with a whole heap of gear slung over his shoulder, heads off down a different track through the trees; his gear consists of a shovel, a pick, a gold pan and some other gold finding paraphernalia. Now that was not what we were expecting at all.

We Finally Quacked it!

Ok, well the corny pun is not quite correct because Blue Ducks (Maori name Whio), don’t quack, they wheeze (female) and whistle (male). Whio (pronounced fee-o) means whistle in Maori.

I’m interrupting the timeline of the blog posts once again to report that we’ve finally found ourselves some elusive Blue Ducks. We’ve been searching for Whio, New Zealand’s rare and endangered endemic duck in many places throughout the North & South Island; Tongariro River, Cobb Valley, Mt Arthur, Fyfe River in Murchison and Oparara Basin amongst others.

On Sunday, after a tip from a bird forum I belong to, we finally found a pair on a hydro canal near Hokitika. And the best bit? We didn’t need to get out of the vehicle to see them! We actually weren't going to go looking on Sunday because of the terrible weather which is still plaguing us and the West Coast, but we went tiki-touring and ended up in Blue Duck territory so we took a chance and struck gold.

We had a little luck on our side. A vehicle track ran along the edge of the hydro canal for a number of kilometres. We crawled along it with me scanning the canal and bank across the other side. Towards the end we came to a large settling pond where we found a guy fishing. The rain had just started in earnest but we stopped beside him and wound our window down to speak to him as he sat in his cab out of the cold & wet. I asked him if he’d seen any Blue Ducks, not expecting him to give a positive response. But he said ‘Yeah, I think two flew over 10 or so minutes ago, they landed up there somewhere, I'm sure they looked blue” pointing up stream and out over the large pond.

We pulled away and I continued scanning around the pond edge until suddenly I spotted them! Resting on a log, in the rain, over the far side of the pond. Just after I grabbed a couple of zoomed in shots (in case they disappeared before our eyes) the duck at the top jumped off into the water and started swimming away. 'Darn', I thought he was off to hide against bank in the darkness. But he stopped a little further up on another log and did a bit of dabbling before swimming on again.

This photo below (not zoomed) shows how hard it is was to spot them, they blend in very well- the two arrows point to the ducks resting on the logs after one had swum off. The dashes you can see all over the photos is the rain and it’s about to get worse. (Remember to click on the photos to see them enlarged)

The Blue Duck/Whio is one of New Zealand’s iconic species, it is rarer than the kiwi and is as well known the Takahe and the Kakapo, other highly threatened endemic birds. It’s a ‘poster boy’ & ambassador for our endangered species with many nationwide community protection projects in place. Genesis Energy have a long association in supporting and protecting Whio who inhabit many of the streams & rivers that supply our hydro energy. It is estimated that there are only 2000-3000 blue ducks remaining in the wild and unlike other threatened birds, whio can’t be moved to predator-free off shore islands, they rely on fast flowing alpine waterways to survive.

I wonder how many New Zealanders can name the bird that appears on our $10 bank note? A bank note that is coloured blue should be a good clue.

Our Whio, the one that had jumped off the log, carried on upstream swimming towards us along the opposite bank. Every time he disappeared behind the plants growing over the edge we thought he’d gone to hide but he’d then pop out further up stream. When he got to the narrower canal he started feeding over the rocks and under the water, working his way quickly upstream. When he dived under we could see him moving about on the stream bed before popping back up like a cork seconds later. We decided it was the male although they both are very similar in plumage. And that's now heavy rain you can see on the water.

Whio are river specialists, they inhabit clean, fast flowing streams in the forested upper catchments of the North and South Island mountain regions. They have several unique features; a streamlined head and large webbed feet with well-developed claws to enable them to feed in fast moving water. The upper bill has a thick semicircular, fleshy ‘lip’ allowing them to scrape insect larvae from rocks without injury. Even the ducklings have oversized feet & strong legs and are ready to swim in swift currents and jump onto large rocks & logs soon after hatching.

Whio mate for life and a pair will fiercely defend their territory which is usually a stretch of river up to 1.5km long. Our pair obviously have dibs on the pond and part of the hydro canal. And so far he is taking no notice of us on the other bank. David's quietly driving the ute along the track as we follow him upstream, I have my window down and the rain is pouring in and drenching everything on my side including me. But who cares. We've found whio!

Conditions were diabolical for taking photos- dark water and overhanging trees were the least of my worries. It was the worst possible weather conditions; by now it was gale force winds, torrential near horizontal rain and there's a thunderstorm raging above us. All of which tested my camera skills to the limit, all settings were wound out to the max in the end. But I am more than pleased with the results, even if they aren't that sharp.

At one stage he disappeared, so I quietly got out of the cab (sheltering my camera as best I could) and peered over the side and there he was standing on a rock below us. I’m not too sure who got the bigger surprise- him stretching his wings or me with my shutter speed to slow!

He wasn’t too perturbed….

….keeping a wary eye on me….

….before ducking his head under the water and giving the rock a going over……

…then checking me one last time…..

…..before swimming off.

He did disappear this time and the rain stopped about 5 minutes later (I was so mad with the weather, if only it had been clearer...but then he might have taken fright earlier or not in fact moved off the original log, so I should just be a little more thankful). What a thrill it was to finally see these beautiful Blue Ducks in their natural environment.

We hunted back and forward but couldn’t locate either duck again- the female having disappeared too. David did spot a large brown trout though.

Guess where we’re going today……