Classic Boat Show- Lake Rotoiti

While we were at Lake Rotoiti, the NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show was held at Kerr Bay over the weekend. Sadly for the organisers the weekend was a disaster weather wise; there was torrential rain overnight on Friday which flooded much of the large grassed area when the displays were. For a brief hour or so on Saturday morning the rain stopped only to return mid morning and rain solidly until late afternoon. Sunday dawned fine but it didn’t last long with passing showers and the odd heavy fall for most of the day, it was also rather cold. The sun (and humidity) finally made an appearance mid-afternoon just as the last of the hardy competitors & stalwarts were packing up to leave.

I managed to take quite a number of photos in between the showers and have uploaded them to a Flickr album which you’ll find here if you’d like to see them all.

Below is a small selection if you don’t manage (or want) to check the album out.

The only ones pleased with the rain were the ducks!

Considering the weather & the distance people had to travel there was still a reasonable turn out from the public, although most sat in their cars or took shelter under the marquees whenever a squall came through. A sharp contrast to the previous weekend when jetboat racing was held and the weather was extremely hot and sunny.

This chap had the right idea.

There were a number of lovely old steamboats plying the waters, giving rides to paying guests.

The ‘old’ and the ‘new’-

The most popular boats of all were the ‘monsters’, classic motorboats over 18’.

While some of the racing was cancelled because of the weather, the monsters (named that by the organisers) managed to fit in a few races but they were off in the distance and hard to see because of the drizzle and haze.

Once launched or after a race, the boats pulled up on the beach in front of the crowd.

As we were walking over to the show a guy sitting on a chilly bin (esky) went roaring past us up the road, I found him later with his unusual mode of transport beside another little beauty. A Morris Minor truck towing the tiniest little caravan you ever did see. With the kitchen at the rear, water & ablutions on one side and a sleeping compartment  on the other this guy was set up for travel on the road. Given his age, I’m not so sure he’d manage to get himself through his bedroom door though. And he certainly wouldn't want to invite a lady back for the night!

These small hydroplanes were fascinating to watch, they travel at quite a speed. Although the bottom guy was having a few issues.

The model boats attracted some attention from the local ducks. Perhaps because I saw a few nearly get a boat up the rear when they swam across the race course.

This lovely boat belonged to one of our neighbours at the camp site.

The sailing boats raced back and forth across the bay, their colourful sails adding a bright spot to the overcast days.

A number of canoes, kayaks and whalers were paddled and rowed along the water front.

Although the weather put a dampener on the weekend it was still great to see all the old boats and to also see the joy they brought to their owners & especially once they had them in the water. The prize for the most dedicated would have to go to this guy who steamed his way up and down the bay for most of the day, towing a cute little dinghy behind him all the way….I really wanted to hitch a ride in that dinghy.

And just in case you missed the link above to the photo album, here it is again- NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show, Lake Rotoiti

Around Camp- Kerr Bay, Lake Rotoiti

We, once again, had a lovely time at the Nelson Lakes although it was extremely busy with all the comings and goings of  tourists, campers and people attending the Classic Boat Show which was held over the weekend while we were there.

I wonder how many people travel with a huge garden umbrella and deck chair in the back? He made a great subject for me though.

I don’t think this little Bush Robin can read, "Hey mister, the ‘Robin’ section is next door" (Kaka is a native parrot- and a noisy one at that).

Once all the overnighter campers had left the site in the morning, the birds came out to check over the campsite. The robin (toutouwai) to see if David had any spare bacon fat, a Silvereye (tauhou) feeding on the hebe next to our van and a weka that skulked through camp checking for leftovers and disappearing quick as a wink if he sighted anyone. Which is very unlike a weka indeed, they are usually cadging food.

And down on the waterfront was my little mate, the Mandarin Duck who was keeping company with another rare & endangered visitor to the Lakes, the Black Billed Gull. DOC has had to erect signs asking people to stop feeding the gulls bread (not good for their health) and also to stop throwing stones at them. A small flock took up residence at the lake in December and people seem to think they are just your regular old gull (not that people should throw stones at them either!)

The Kaka section of DOC’s Kerr Bay campground has 12 unpowered sites & is usually for sleeper vans and tents but with the Boat Show on over the weekend it filled up with caravans & motorhomes instead. With no larger sites available for the length of our stay (8 nights) we tucked up into a corner with plenty of room for tents & vans later in the week. That was after convincing the DOC lady that our footprint wasn’t any bigger than a caravan, awning & car…..

….or even a large tent, sailing boat & car!

Unfortunately for the boat show, the weekend was a disaster. The rain started on Friday evening and was torrential overnight and for most of Saturday. It dawned fine on Sunday but it wasn’t long before the rain set in again. It was such a shame for them as most of the activities were either cancelled or were shortened versions. I did manage to get quite a few great photos of the some of the boats and I’ll post a blog when I have them uploaded.

There are definitely some different & unusual mobile homes about and plenty with heaps of character. I love this little caravan; given it’s size I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not a toilet roll in the front window!

David went fishing a number of times but failed to catch one single trout which was a bit frustrating for him, although he said he enjoyed the trying. If he hadn’t have seen a trout rise and grab a bumblebee off the surface he would have convinced himself there were no fish in the lake!

On one of his trips I got him to drop me off halfway up the lake so I could walk the Lakehead track back to camp. I didn’t want to walk the whole length (8kms) and thought the half way mark would be about right. As it turned out it was 6kms back home which was fine although it was a pretty boring track. It did have lots of birdsong but the birds were all up high and other than a couple of rock slides to cross it was just a well worn mossy track through lovely bush with the odd ‘lakehead peep’ and gravel beach to visit.

Once the boat show was over the Kaka campsite returned to it’s usual purpose; an overnight camp site for the passing parade of people on the move. The Kaka site is on a large grassed area on a slight slope. We had one of the flatter sites and still had to double our leveling blocks on one side. Campers in tents or sleeper vans didn’t have that luxury and often had to re-position their tents or cars trying to find a level position.

I know people choose how to travel but I’m not so sure they know exactly what travelling in a sleeper van or with a small tent involves, especially at this time of the year when the mornings are damp & chilly. It may sound romantic and it may save money but it's not my idea of fun.

Most are only staying overnight as they move through the country trying to see as much as possible. Mornings involve wet tents and damp gear and if they've set up in the shade then the mornings are extra bleak. Laundry (when they can do it) does not dry in the hour before sunset- unless it’s your really small, smalls (oh how I wish). And three people, one car, one small tent and all their gear needs plenty of juggling to fit, although I see they have their priorities in order- beer, front of the row. And then again some people must do it just for the love of it- the older couple on their bikes, with just a small tent & a roll up squab to sleep on.

Monday after the boat show was a brilliantly fine and hot day, David went fishing once again but the lake was quite dirty after the rain. I met him over at West Bay for lunch and then he headed off again. West Bay was where we stayed for the unexpected rally last year, the camps were open now but there weren’t too many people in them. Most preferring to stay at Kerr Bay I suspect.

I drove down the road to check the bridge over the Buller River outlet, David had mentioned it was being replaced. I wonder if they’ll close the old one off completely, maybe it’ll be two one way bridges. What a shame if they do close the old bridge, another piece of history gone.

Nelson Lakes & in particular Kerr Bay is fast becoming one of our favourite spots. Hopefully the next time we’re passing through David manages to catch himself a trout.

We've now moved on to Murchison where there is a large NZMCA Park. Murchison is a small township with many cafes, it’s a half way point between the West Coast and the Nelson/Blenheim region and popular stop off point for travellers passing through, either for lunch, a rest or overnight. It’s also very close to the Lewis Pass junction and the route back to Christchurch. There have been at least 20+ NZMCA vans staying here the last 3 nights and I’m pretty sure we are contributing to the local economy extremely well.

The last two days have been extremely hot and each evening a violent thunderstorm has formed above the surrounding mountains. Luckily we've only heard the thunder & seen the lightening, the rain has kept to the hills.

Do Not Feed the Ducks

Can you guess where we are then?

A virtual chocolate fish for you, if you guessed Lake Rotoiti. We’re back in the Nelson Lakes again where I had all that trouble and distress with the duckling families last time. Now the ones that survived are all grown up and still up to their begging antics. They do the rounds around the camp sites every morning and evening. So far I have resisted.

We had a great time at Ward Beach (and I’ll hopefully post some more photos from there when I get them processed) although on the last day after a brilliantly fine, still and hot afternoon, a wild southerly blew in and gave us all (7 vans) a rough 30 minutes as tables and chairs, awnings and anything not tied down turned itself inside out. This was right on low tide and just after most of the men from the other vans had gone down to the water to retrieve cray pots and go paua (abalone) diving.

Once we were sorted with our awning, I left David to stow everything while I went to help the other women who were wrestling with their awnings and to shut doors & windows of unoccupied vans and to retrieve gear that had blown off into the scrub. Owners of one of the vans bought me a fillet of rig (shark) for my troubles. Amazing how it tasted just like the fish from brought ‘fish ‘n chips’.

Going by the size of the empty paua shells by their van I had my fingers crossed for some tasty paua!
After Ward Beach we headed to Waikawa Bay in Picton to meet up with friends John & Jan who had been away for a few days. We stopped at Parklands Marina Holiday Park in Waikawa Bay for the second time in our travels and were just as impressed as the first time. It’s a really lovely park with huge mature trees and lots of space. You just have to ignore the slightly eccentric owner (he is extremely nice and always has a smile on his face), he has a problem with a couple of Paradise ducks that think his camp is their territory. He thinks that if he chases them every time he spots them they’ll get the message and set up home base somewhere else. The first time I saw him, I thought he was chasing people who had used the showers without staying.

So if you see a white ute racing through the camp ground it’ll be him chasing the ducks. And if he happens to be in his Volvo, he’ll chase them with that too. I don’t think they’re getting the message though as they fly in every morning as regular as clock work. It doesn’t help that some of the camp occupants feed them (no, not me!)

We had such a lovely time with John & Jan; drinks and a catch up with another couple we know on Friday,  out for lunch in Picton on Saturday, watching cricket (NZ v Aussie) and generally relaxing, which is why I didn’t take any photos all weekend!

We left Waikawa on Monday and stayed at the Blenheim Racecourse (again) that night, stocking up on groceries and topping up with water, diesel and solar power (lovely and sunny) before heading towards the West Coast the next morning. This time we pulled into the grassed area beside the grandstand where we’d seen a caravan parked the last time instead of on the hard. There were at least 20 vans in and around the racecourse that night, it’s a very busy place at this time of the year.

The next morning we headed out back along the very long and straight road down the Wairau Valley towards the Nelson Lakes. We decided we'd stop at the DOC camp at Kerr Bay on Lake Rotoiti again, David wanted to get the boat out and do some fishing.

Having driven the road before (twice) I had a couple of places in mind to stop at and take some photos, one being the historic 131 year old Wairau Valley Tavern, a favourite watering hole & restaurant for locals & travelers alike.

I’d seen a sign to Lake Argyle and a large water canal nearby on our way past last time but didn’t stop, this time we pulled in to check it out. It’s actually a dam that feeds the Argyle Power Scheme which opened in 1983. The Branch River, which is a tributary of the Wairau River, feeds the lake. The colour is really unusual for this area, it’s the teal green colour of glacier fed rivers, more like the water around the Mt Cook area. Unfortunately the picnic area and boat ramp at the far end of the lake were closed because of the extreme fire risk in the area (on the way we saw the blackened hillsides where a big fire swept through a few weeks ago). We climbed to the top of the dam wall to check the lake out from top end.

And, since when have we had opossums in New Zealand? Opossums belong in the USA, our possums are Aussie imports!

And this time I took note of how far the vineyards stretched up the Wairau Valley. It's 100kms to St Arnaud & Lake Rotoiti from Blenheim, down a near straight road for about 70kms. The last vineyard finished 52kms from Blenheim! That's a bloody long ride on a bike if you're doing a vineyard tour don't you think?

The DOC camp at Kerr Bay has been under a lot of pressure, it’s that time of the year. Along with the tourist traffic every evening, there is a Classic Boat Regatta this weekend and most of the sites are booked through until Sunday. We decided we’d stay until Monday (the weather forecast for the West Coast didn’t look too hot for the next few days), I managed to sweet talk the DOC lady into booking the one available ‘tent’ site through until then- the available powered site was too small for us. Last night most of the sites were taken up with sleeper-vans and tents, tonight it’s campervans & motorhomes. A few classic boats and their owners have already set up camp nearby.

Lake Rotoiti is looking just as lovely as our last visit but I doubt there’ll be any snow this time. There's a number of school camps in the area and plenty of kids enjoying the lake, swimming and boating.

It’s not only the classic boats that visit the lake, last weekend it was the Powerboat Regatta (now that would have shattered the peace and quiet), I think they left something behind….

I was keen to see if the lone (& lonely) Mandarin Duck was still in residence. Sure enough five months later he is still here although looking a lot less conspicuous than he did last October. He’s lost his mojo big time. Amazing to think that this is the same bird. I wonder if his colours will reappear in spring or if he needs a female to get the dye (juices) running?

One final note- I have to thank my wonderful husband big time tonight. My computer has been playing up these past 3 days and I haven’t been able to connect to the internet- hence no blog posts. At first I thought it was because there was limited internet access in the areas we’ve been but I knew we had access here at the Lakes last time so then it became apparent that I had a bug of some sort. David has the patience of a saint and has slowly worked through every avenue trying to repair the problem and finally cracked it tonight! I am very thankful that I have a knowledgeable IT technician at hand whenever I have a problem, I can’t imagine what would happen if we both didn’t have a clue. It may take time (which I’m no good at) but he gets there in the end.

I know another lady who is very thankful too- we have a jar of home-made jam in our fridge to prove it. David sorted out Gill’s iPad at Ward Beach and she was ever so grateful (hi Gill). And it’s not only computers he looks after; last night a German couple locked their car keys inside their car. We now have a block of chocolate in the fridge too. Add to that my fillet of rig and it’s just like the suburbs where neighbours look out for each other, we have mobile neighbours who appreciate each other too.

To the Lakehead- Nelson Lakes

…and don’t spare the horses (horsepower)!

It’s only 8kms to the top of the Lake Rotoiti so once the weather settled David got the boat out so we could go exploring and he could go fishing.

When we’re camped beside the water David manages to manoeuvre the boat in and out by himself but when we’re a little distance away, like we are here at Kerr Bay, we've come up with a novel way of towing it to the boat ramp. We used to walk it all the way to the water from wherever we were, but after doing something to my hip at Kaiteriteri and being in pain for days, I refuse to pull it any distance now. It wouldn't be so bad if the outboard wasn't on there but then David would have to cart that and set it up at the water so it’s easier towing it down complete.

A rope is attached from a centre back eyelet underneath to an upright that’s in the wellside and David sits on the tailgate holding it off the edge of the door and balancing it as I drive very slowly down to the water. The drop down back wheels allow it to roll along quite nicely on the road and I just have to watch turning any sharp corners as the boat catches the corner of the tailgate. We’ve had some odd looks and comments from people but it works for us. And anyway they’re just jealous!

Black billed gull #E61 was at the jetty to see us off.

The snow capped Travers Range comes into view as we round the bend past Mt Robert on the right.

Along the way we hear helicopters again, this time over the St Arnaud Range that runs right along the left hand side of the lake. And far off in the distance we see two helicopters with buckets underneath, this time, we know from the date on the signboards, they’re doing the placebo 1080 poison drop. They must have a very good tracking system of where they've dropped as they look like tiny dots on the landscape as they move back and forward along the range.

The lake, mountains, hanging valleys, beech forest & SANDFLIES remind us of the Mavora Lakes (still our favourite lakes), along with the rock & scree slides off the mountains which fan out towards the bottom killing trees along the way. This slide must be quite a few years old, scrub and regenerating forest is already taking hold.

As we get closer we can see the Travers River gravel flat and a tiny hut tucked into the trees, there are many tramping tracks & huts up the valley and into the mountains here, to the right behind the Robert Ridge are the tracks through to Lake Rotoroa. The Nelson Lakes National Park is very popular with trampers and a good area for families to experience the great outdoors.

A little closer and we can see a couple of boats beached at Coldwater Hut (no, you’re not blind, one is out of shot on the right)

There’s no one in sight, they’ve probably carried on up the valley to the another hut which is about 2kms up stream or to a swingbridge further on.

This is as far as we’ll go this trip, we had lunch at the picnic table on the hut deck looking back down the lake with just the ducks and pesky sandflies for company.

That was until I heard a noise, and a sweaty, boot and pack clad guy stumbled around the corner of the hut and sat on the steps. I don’t know who got the biggest surprise, he rested there for about 5 minutes telling us he’s walked up the lake from Kerr Bay, on up to the swingbridge and was now making his way back down the otherside of the lake. Each side is around 12kms long as it weaves around many small bays and the round trip takes 8-10hrs without adding the walk to the swingbridge into the mix. It was now about 2:30pm so he had a few hours walk ahead of him.

We finished our lunch and headed back down the lake, this time a little slower with David trolling on the way. The wind was picking up and there were a few whitecaps about but we stuck to the side as I wanted to visit the Whisky Falls which were about half way back along the lake edge.

David stayed with the boat and I walked up to the falls which are almost 40 metres high. The remains of an illicit whisky still were found here in the 1880s, giving the falls their name.

It was a short sharp climb up to a viewing area which happened to be on top of a whole lot of interwoven and exposed tree roots where many people have stood over the years. It was with some concern, that in amongst the roots I saw a pack & jacket. There was no one about, I looked over the edge; perhaps somebody had thrown themselves over- not likely it wasn’t that high and it would have hurt hitting those rocks ;). I looked all about and wondered what to do. Perhaps someone had forgotten them, again not likely, you would know you’re missing your pack after walking in to here for 3 hours.

I was just about to check the inside of the pack when I saw a tiny red dot (a cap) appear over the rocks at the top of the bottom cascade (see left photo) and a guy came slithering and sliding very carefully down the wet and mossy rocks. The Czech Republic guy we’d seen at the hut! He’d made good time but what a silly man venturing up to the base of the falls. He told me when he got back that he’d been very worried as the rocks were extremely slippery and he’d had a couple of near misses. If he’d slipped and hit his head on the otherside of the rocks nobody would have known he was missing; well maybe I would have as I’d have had to check the pack. But still what a drama it would have been. Now he was keen to get back to Kerr Bay and asked if he could fit in our boat!

“Sorry mate” I said, “It’s a squeeze with two people and we're going fishing, you’ll have to get walking, you’ve still got a few of hours ahead of you” 

I walked back down to the track with him and he headed off again, I carried on out to the jetty to find David had disappeared. He’d decided to do a little fishing while he waited.

We cruised back along the lake, David fishing on the way. The lake had settled down and it was very pleasant. I stretched out across the boat, lounging in the warm sun. Arrrr…..this is the life! But I do need to paint those toenails when I get a minute.

David hooked a small brown trout on this run but it spat the hook before he got it close. It would have been released anyway. He’s been out three or four times since, nearly all day on Monday and is thoroughly enjoying it and the Takacat. Unfortunately he’s yet to bring home the bacon, he has had two beauties on, played them all the way to the boat but both have managed to get off. I think it’s because he’s being super cautious; he’s darn scared the hook will puncture the boat!

And while he’s been fishing I’ve been keeping an eye on the duck families and they’ve been keeping an eye on me.

Remind us to never park beside nesting ducks ever again! It's been a very stressful week; the duck with 9 ducklings now has only 4, I’ve had to round up a wayward Mum & Dad a couple of times when they've disappeared after chasing other ducks and not returning to their babies who were squeaking under the van. I found them sunning themselves beside the stream way down the other end of the park! I think they had a brain fade and forgot they were parents, and this has happened more than once too. This family is the only one that has a drake in attendance, although a fat lot of good he does most of the time; he pecks the ducklings heads if they get in the way. He sometimes returns to the van late in the evening with another couple of drakes, it's like he's out with the boys for the night.

These ducklings are the cutest though, they feed on the sandflies that hover around my ankles when I sit at the table, jumping and grabbing them and scampering over my feet as they chase them. Mum is adorable too, I call her Daffy Duck, she stands beside me, as I sit at the table, peering over my knees just staring at my face, she lets me pat her neck unlike the other mothers who launch attacks on me if I get near.

The family with the eight bigger ducklings now has only seven, one disappeared overnight a few days ago which was strange after such a long time looking like they'd make it through. This family are spread far and wide when they're moving through the area feeding and I've found some of them lost without their mother anywhere in sight. Most of the time they seem to meet up at some stage and the next time they pass through they're back to being all there.

I did have to catch one lonely duckling who squawked his way through the vans while we were sitting outside one evening, I tracked his family down to the stream way over the other side; luckily as he wouldn't have made it home before night. And just today I played pied-piper and dropped a bread trail across the park so Mum & 5 ducklings would follow me to the stream mouth where two ducklings were fending for themselves.

And then to add to the mix another duck came out of the bushes a few days ago with another 9 tiny ducklings. I swore I wouldn't get attached to them but I did notice that they only numbered 8 the next morning and yesterday I found another one of them upside down dead in the stream behind the van- he must have been the one with the sore foot. Then to add to their(my) woes DOC came to mow the lawns & weed-eat the stream edges and that scattered the family far and wide, She now only has 3 ducklings!

I can tell you, I’m ready to pull out of here today, that’s for sure, I'm sure the families will be fine, there's plenty of other suckers in the campground each night.

 We're heading back to Blenheim for a couple of nights then onto Picton before we cross over Sunday morning. We've enjoyed out time at the Lakes but it's time to move on.