West Coast Wilderness Trail & the Whio

Real-time

While at Lake Kaniere, and with David giving fishing a miss for the day, we decided to check out our favourite Whio/Blue Ducks at the Kawhaka Intake which is fairly close as the crow flies from the lake but a good 40kms by road. We have to head back to Hokitika before heading north and then back inland on the Old Christchurch Road. We took a shortcut once we reached Kaniere village, along a forest track and over Blue Spur and down the Arahura River valley which is lined with dairy farms.

Then it was 16kms up the Old Christchurch Rd before we turn onto a familiar track (another 10kms further on and the road exits on to SH73, the Otira Highway to Arthurs Pass). This must be our 3rd or 4th visit to this special part of the Coast.

A 5km track runs along the bank beside the deep, dark and seemingly still waters of the canal... 

...passing several small coves...

...and a couple of larger pools along the way. The white foam spreading out over the pond is natural and comes from an inlet waterfall where it's thick and frothy as it enters the canal.

At the end of the track is a carpark...

...and the Kawhaka Intake, the water used to generate power further downstream.

The canal road we've just travelled and the track that carries further on up the river and onto Lake Kaniere is part of the West Coast Wilderness Trail, a 139km multiday bike trail that is very popular and very scenic. When we first visited this area a couple of years ago, we had the area to ourselves, the next time we saw a few people on bikes, this time we saw a few dozen. The Kawhaka section is also a very popular day trail. 

The Kawhaka Creek splits in two on the other side of the dam wall; part of it entering the inlet holding tank (up above) before continuing on down the canal. The other half spills over the dam wall and continues on down the natural water course.

On the other side of the inlet and dam wall the river stretches off up the valley. It's here and along the early part of the canal that we've found the whio/blue ducks in the past. I thought we'd probably not see the ducks in the canal (where we'd seen them up close previously) because if they were breeding they would have a nest up the river. If they had ducklings there would be no way they could get into the canal as the adults fly there to feed.

We climbed to the top of the dam bank and scanned the river for the ducks including the rocky beach where they sometimes rest and the rapids further up the river. We were disappointed but it wasn't a surprise not to find them.

We walked back tho the ute and had some lunch overlooking the reservoir...

...before deciding to walk up the trail a couple of kilometres to where the track met the river once again and where we could see on our map, a walk-wire crossed the water. We thought we might be able to scan the river there for the whio. 

Along the way we were passed by several cyclists. The track was a once an old stage coach and supply route to the Waimea goldfields.

It was a surprise to find the bush covered track suddenly opened up wide to reveal a small ramshackle farm...

...complete with one friendly but lonely bull (I actually have no idea if he was friendly or not but I assume he was given that there was just a single electric(?) wire separating him from us. 

The small paddocks were littered with overgrown wrecks in typical West Coast style.

And high up on the hill across the river was a small 'off the grid' abode.

This is 'The Farm' of Mr Paul Sinclair and until the cycle trail opened he'd have lived a charmed but isolated life deep in the West Coast bush. Now he's set up a 'coffee cart' at his front gate where he can boil the billy while chatting to people who stop on their way past, he even has a chalkboard sign 'Sinclair is in'  

He also takes people on tours around his farm and the old Waimea water race and goldfield settlement. He has an old flying-fox for access over the river when it's in flood, the 'walk-wire' we'd seen on our map.  This is a man making the most of the opportunities that pass by his gate. He is also the local trapper, protecting and monitoring our Blue Ducks.

We had a look up and down the river but still didn't see an ducks. A few more cyclists passed by while we were looking. This section of the track looks to have been washed away and repaired recently. We headed back to the carpark...

...taking one last look up the river when we reached the dam wall. Wait.....is that...no, it can't be...

...two blue ducks chilling out on the rocky beach. I couldn't believe my eyes. There they were resting on the beach exactly where we'd seen them on one of our previous visits. They had arrived while we were walking up the river. They definitely weren't there the first time we looked but I still had to check the earlier photo (up near the top of this blog) just to be sure.

It was a thrill to see them again although it would have been better if they'd had ducklings with them or were in fact sitting on a nest somewhere. I wonder if they've lost their brood already or possibly haven't nested yet. I've sent a query to Hokitika DOC to find out. I waited for 20 minutes or so to see if they felt inclined to move closer but they stayed put. Which was fine, I have plenty of Whio photos.

We drove slowly back along the canal, admiring the reflections, checking for more bird life...

...and wondering at the close call the driver of the vehicle that ran off here had. 

Back on the road we stopped to let this gangly and dare I say it, slightly ugly, pukeko chick run across in front of us. I love his developing blue bib...

...and his extra big feet! (apologies for the slightly out-of-focus shots- he was running fast!) 

While we haven't ridden the West Coast Wilderness Trail, we've visited and walked in a number of the sections and I'd have to say that if I was looking at cycling one of the many trails around New Zealand then this one would be up near the top of my list. 

The scenery is spectacular from pristine wetlands near the coast to luxuriant bush and forested valleys ringed by snow capped mountains just a few kilometers inland. There's historic water races and reservoirs, crystal clear rivers and stunning lakes, along with old gold mining fields and settlements and many beautiful old rail bridges. And then of course there's the prolific birdlife.

Taken on a previous visit to the Whio

Wash Day

Before heading to the DOC camp at Lake Kaniere, I was hoping to do some laundry in Hokitika. We hadn’t stayed in a commercial campground for while which is where I usually do the washing. Hokitika is just a small town and we found the one and only laundromat just off the main street.

There was a motorhome parked outside and a noisy bunch of girls inside with a ton of gear scattered about, music blaring & all three machines in use. We met the couple from the motorhome at the door, they were just leaving telling us they weren’t going to wait, they couldn't stand the noise.

We walked up town for a coffee & then I returned to the laundromat to see if a machine was free. The girls were still there and all the machines were still running along with the dryers. I asked one of them how long they thought they might be, and whether they needed to hog all three machines!

I didn’t quite catch what she said but another girl piped up and said loudly in a broad Irish accent ‘We’ll be here for the afternoon, we’re washing all our gear. We’ve got bed bugs!”

I said ‘Oh that’s great, you know the machines are cold water wash and that won’t kill them?’

She said, ‘That’s OK, we’ll kill them in the drier, it’s really hot in there’

To which I responded ‘I’m not bloody worried about your gear, what about everyone else who uses the machines?’

Needless to say I decided not to use the laundromat (and I’ll be seriously thinking about not using any public laundromat again after that). I’d rather hand wash our clothes which is what I did once we were set up at Lake Kaniere.

But of course, first you need a good water supply- I don’t like using our precious tank water on doing the laundry if water is in short supply. The initial wash isn’t so bad, it’s the rinsing afterwards that uses too much.

With the water supply sorted, it’s out with the most useful gadget in a RVers arsenal; the obligatory Warehouse flexi-tub. Add the eco friendly laundry liquid and the best tool of all, the plunger and I’m ready to roll. I use hot water from the van- the first hot water wash our clothes have seen in quite some time. The plunger works a treat and actually doesn’t take too much effort to use either. The only problem is the occasional splash back you have to endure when the sucker turns inside out as you agitate the clothes.

Then it’s time for the rinsing, we drive down to the tap and while I fill and rinse the washing a few times David fills the portable water containers to top up the tanks.

Then it’s back to the van to hand-wring the washing (me thinks I need a mangle…but where to attach it?) and then hang it on the drying rack attached to the side of the van. And hope like hell the sun keeps shining. Which it doesn’t. The rain set in that night and it took four days for the clothes to dry. At least we didn’t need to top up the tanks from the tap again. It's all swings & roundabouts in this game.

And all the time I was busy doing the washing I had an audience of locals watching from sidelines- I think they thought I might be stirring up a big pudding for them in the tub.

I love this lifestyle but sometimes, just sometimes, I really miss my Fisher & Paykel.

A sneaky weka making sure he's not missing out.

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.