Through the Nevis

 Real-time

Hi everyone & Happy New Year + one month!  I hope you're all well and coping with life in general wherever you may be in the world. It's summer here in New Zealand and we're all feeling very privileged to be able to get out and enjoy it without the restrictions many around the world are experiencing. Although some of us are still waiting for summer to arrive. Especially down here in the south of the South Island (someone must have heard me, it was 30c in Invercargill yesterday)

We had a lovely family time in Christchurch over the holidays and we're now in Southland where we had an appointment for a job to be done on the 5th-wheeler. That has now been completed and we're waiting for the weather to settle before heading off again. 

We had a week or so to fill in before having the job done so we spent it in Central Otago at Cromwell & at a rally near Alexandra. While in Cromwell we decided to drive, for the third time, the 'famous in New Zealand' Nevis Road from Bannockburn to Garston.

The Nevis Road is a 4WD road although in summer many 2WD vehicles are able to reach the Lower Nevis settlement from the Bannockburn end of the road. It used to be that 2WDs could make it through from one end to the other in late summer when the fords were running low or had dried out but no longer, the road (track) is very rough & washed out in many places south of the Nevis Settlement and the fords deep & rugged. 

Central Otago had had a lot of rain early in the new year so we weren't too sure whether we'd get through the 65kms to the other end but we were going to give it a darn good go. Once over Duffers Saddle, the view from the top of the Carrick Range down the Lower Nevis is spectacular. 

The Nevis River wends its way through the gorge at the far end and down through the valley. 

The green home paddocks of Ben Nevis Station on the far side of the river & Craigroy Station on the near side, provide a splash of colour in the otherwise typical Central Otago landscape of dry tussocks, spiky Golden Spaniard /Speargrass & rocky tors.

A lone caravan sits beside the river in amongst gold mine tailings from the Nevis' historic past. Alluvial gold mining is still carried out along the Nevis, as long as you have a permit. 

We stop at the old Nevis cemetery even though we've had a look before on one of our previous trips. There are some places you just can't drive past although the view never changes. 

One place that had changed was the old cob cottage near the cemetery. It's getting a 21st century makeover, with a new roof, doors, beams & a huge bank of solar panels (jealous much) amongst other things. 

Of course my photographer's eye much preferred the look of the old cottage.

David decided we didn't need to stop at the settlement this time as I already had photos. Before I realised we weren't pulling over we were past it. There was a little bit of muttering going on from the passenger seat for a short time before we hit the next ford... 

Gold mining tailing piles at the start of the gorge

...and then we were into the gorge, with more signs to warn those that think they are bullet proof. And twenty five fords was a little bit of an understatement as we were soon to find out. 

There were several easy fords through the gorge before we popped out onto the river flats of the Upper Nevis where a lot more mining was done in the early days. As evidenced by several large dredge ponds, multiple tailing piles, stark cliff faces and the remains of two stone cottages.

There are also several more 'modern' mining huts on both sides of the river which may well be used as fishing huts nowadays.

Just when we start to think the fords aren't anything to write home about, the mother of all fords appears before us.

We get out to check the depths and the best route through them, there are no gravel bases now, it's a muddy base. Some of the tracks are deeply rutted, others you can't see how deep they are through the tannin stained water. Just as we found along the Hawkdun Range, heavier 4WDs & off roaders have cut some of the fords up quite badly.  

The river has made it's own course along several sections of the track. We slip, slide & bump our way through and when we get out on the otherside to check, we notice that some of the fords have a small sign with a red arrow indicating which direction to take when there are multiple choices. The problem is they are all for the other direction, none on our banks. 

We suspect that direction arrows might have been used for a rally that has come in from the Garston end. 

We pass Roaring Lion Creek where we had lunch seven years ago while we were on a 4WD fundraiser over Nokomai Station. We came off the top of the range down the track you can see. That was such a fun day, we had a ball and still often talk about it. Make sure you read Part 2 if you click the link above, we had a grandstand view of a regular 4WDriver being pulled out of the river. 

Further on the river once again took over the track.

And then we came up on a washout that had created a sharp drop-off into the river. It had already claimed a few victims, a number of sump guards and bumper parts littered the river bank.

We couldn't squeeze through on the track above so took the most direct route over a drop of a couple of feet into the river.

Luckily we don't have a long overhang on the ute, although it felt like the tow bar caught the edge as we dropped into the river.

After all the rock 'n rolling and bouncing through so many fords and thinking we were through the worst of the fords, we decided to stop for a late lunch at a nice spot beside the river. 

It wasn't long before a guy on a bike pulled up behind us. Expecting a younger person on a trail bike (we usually come across them when out on 4WD roads) it was a surprise when he took his helmet off to see an older person. I offered him a hot drink but he was happy with the handful of cherries I gave him.

We got chatting, talked about the rough ford crossings we'd just done and then it got around to what we do in life. He said he worked for us so we guessed he had a government job. Yes, he said, he worked in Wellington but lived in Upper Moutere. After some more chitchat he introduced himself at Damien, David cottoned on straight away, I was a little slower.

It was Damien O'Connor. (Labour) MP for West Coast-Tasman, Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Biosecurity, Land Information, and Rural Communities! He was checking out Crown Land (Land Information) by riding his bike through many high country stations & 4WD tracks in the South Island. He had been on most of the tracks we've been on and was working his way through a few more. We had a good chat and then he was off. He took a selfie with us but would you believe it, I forgot to get a photo of him!

While we were talking to Damien (we're on first name basis now) I spotted a Karearea/NZ Falcon fly in to the top of that rock stack behind the bike in the photo above. When I zoomed in on the top I spotted TWO falcon chicks jumping about trying to get food off the parent. Unfortunately I didn't quite get the focus right on this photo, the wind was blowing quite strongly. 

The parent flew off  across the valley and landed on a rock high above us, calling and staying put, keeping an eye on the chicks while we had our lunch and a hawk soared through on the thermals. It was another good sighting we were able to report to the NZ Falcon Org who keep a track of falcon distribution around New Zealand. 

The falcon is one of our most favourite New Zealand birds and we've probably reported over 60 sightings since we've been on the road. Once tuned in to it, their call is very distinctive and we can instantly recognise it from miles away. This usually means a diversion from what we might be doing to track it down. Other times they just appear in front of us without warning; on a tree branch while walking, sitting on a power pole in the middle of a town, chasing prey past us while we're looking at a view or low flying straight across in front of the ute (which happened just a few days later on our way to a rally).  Falcons are much more common than you think.

The fords weren't finished with us yet, once again the river had gouged out the track and we bumped along sharp bedrock for a few hundred metres to the other side.

And then finally we were out of the valley and climbing steadily to the top of the Hector Mountains above Garston. Out my window and far below me, I can see the Nokomai Station track we followed on that rally up the 'Hidden Valley' to the top of the Garvie Mountains.

We head down the winding road into the Mataura River Valley, stopping...

...so I can take a photo of the amazing landscape along the top of the mountains...

...and another photo of the historic Garston Ski Hut, which I'm sure hasn't seen a good dump of snow in years.

The view out over Trotters Plain, Castle Hill and the Eyre Mountains is spectacular. The Mataura River can be see towards the back left below Castle Hill. SH6, the highway from Queenstown to Te Anau is in the centre and the track we're following in the slopes below. Click on the photo to enlarge. 

And a pano of the breathtaking view...

Finally we pass through the last gate with it's myriad of signs and head home to Cromwell (110km away), the fast way.

Weather Woes for the Holidays- Far North

Catch-up

We packed up and left Houhora before the forecast heavy storm arrived. We'd decided it would be best to return to the NZMCA Park at Tokerau Beach, park up there and sit the wild weather out along with the Christmas/New Year busy holiday period. 

With the top half of the North Island on a wild weather alert we didn't expect too may campers to arrive at Tokerau over the next few days. And we were right, there was just one other caravan on site when we arrived two days before Christmas and a only a handful of others trickled in over the next few days. This time we parked in the top corner overlooking the horse paddock and with just a peep of the beach behind. Just as we finished setting up, big fat rain drops started to fall and rogue gusts of wind rocked the van. The rain became torrential and the wind more constant... 

...and that was how it was for the next two & half days, a solid wall of rain bucketing down on us from the heavens above. We watched as the creek filled the floodway up and quickly grew wider and wider as it flowed through the back of neighbouring sections and into the NZMCA Park drain. We saved a few trips to the local fire station to get fresh water by collecting bucket loads of it off the awning overflow. We'd only just empty one bucket and it'd be full again within seconds; in the end our water tank was overflowing and the ground around us started to flood too.

Christmas Day was wet although we did get to see a gap in the thick grey blanket of a sky late in the afternoon. And we actually had a lovely day even though we were by ourselves. Of course we missed the family scattered around the country & overseas but we enjoyed the relaxed pace of being forced to stay indoors and preparing and eating a smaller Christmas dinner than we'd normally have.

Before we knew it Boxing Day arrived, the rain moved on, summer resumed and a few more campers arrived. And in fact Christmas Day was the last day of any significant rain we had for nearly five months as we travelled around the Far North, Northland, the Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay. 

Over the next few days an assortment of RVs arrived and, with plenty of space available on both sides of the drain, found themselves a spot in the sun.

Most were keen to check out Tokerau Beach as soon as they were set up and it didn't take them long to find the lovely wide grassed track that took them straight to the beach (a road separates the track entrance from the beach). The Park may not be quite beachfront but it's a pretty close second and I'd say it will quickly become one of many people's favourite parks. 

From the camp I managed to photograph a number of sunsets which were just as spectacular as the sunrises I captured from the beach on the last visit.

Released from our 'cabin fever' Christmas we decided to head into Mangonui and... 

... have another lovely fish 'n chip lunch at the 'famous in NZ' Mangonui Fish Shop again.

Lunch from our previous visit

Of course we didn't allow for a throng of holidaymakers who had the same idea! The queue came out the door and ran off down the footpath. 

We gave that idea away, purchased some of their delicious Raw Fish Salad for later and wandered back through the village, checking out the fishermen on the wharf and dodging people, dogs and vehicles along the narrow road through the village shops. All the cafes and the hotel were overflowing with people enjoying the holiday atmosphere. Before we left for home, I climbed the steep road and then several flights of steps up behind the village to photograph a church that had a fabulous view over the Mangonui Harbour. 

On the last day of 2018 we went on a tiki-tour around the Karikari Peninsula, calling in on some of the beaches we'd visited just a few weeks before. And what a transformation! The DOC camp at Maitai Bay had the full sign out although there were still a few spaces here and there. I guess some campers would have cancelled due to the weather and others were still to arrive after New Years Eve. 

The boat ramp and carparks were full and a small tent town had taken over all the camping bays at both the top & lower camps. When we stayed here at the beginning of the month there was just us and a couple of small tourist vans.

Waikato & Maitai Bays are side by side at the top of the Karikari Peninsula, both with beautiful golden sand crescent shaped beaches. There weren't too many people on the beach at Waikato Bay on this day but many more than the deserted beach we'd seen on our last visit.

And a sure sign that holiday makers & summer had arrived was the icecream van tucked up in the corner of the bay.

I did get the shock of my life when I climbed up to the top of the small ridge between the two bays...

...to see that Maitai Bay was full of people; swimming, sunbathing, picnicking and playing on the beach. 

A bit of a contrast to the last time I looked over the side. 

And even though the beach was busy (relatively so), there was still plenty of room at the north end of the bay.

We left Maitai to the masses and headed off back down the peninsula; I wanted to show David the stunning beach I had found when I went exploring during our last stay at Tokerau. This time we took a shortcut that I knew about but hadn't managed to drive last time because there was a large deep muddy bog blocking my way. I wasn't game enough to drive through it without David (to help get me out if I got stuck). 

You'll see it on the map below, Waimango Road is a public 'road' although there are a couple of unlocked gates to open & close. The surprise is at the end of the gravel straight where it has been left to the elements and farm vehicles.  From there on it's mostly a bumpy, dusty dirt track but a section of it skirts around the edge of a large swamp and that was where I'd come to a halt at the bog. This time the bog had mostly dried up (even with the recent rain) and I'm not so sure it was a 'shortcut' even though it  cut off about 10kms. It probably would have been quicker to take the longer route but hey, where's the fun in that?

The dirt track exited onto Puheke Road, the road that leads to one of my favourite beaches in the Far North. Last time I visited it there hadn't been a soul in sight; I had the whole beach to myself. Today I felt like, "Hey you guys get off my beach, you're spoiling the perfectness!"

In reality, there were just a few families enjoying a sunny day (and roughing up my perfectly smooth sand with their games). 

We drove up a gravel track to the top of the hill beside the beach (Mt Puheke- up here in the Far North where the sandy land is mostly flat, they call any sizeable hill a mountain). The carpark overlooked beautiful Puheke Beach in one direction...

...with a breath-taking view overlooking Karikari Moana (Bay) and the white sand and large dunes of Karikari Beach in the other. 

These are the large white sand dunes with the wetland and dune lake behind, that can be seen from the Maitai Bay road, and from the villas and hotel rooms of Carrington Estate (below).

We were amazed to see that a group of people had set up their tents (which looked to include the proverbial kitchen sink) on the slope below the carpark; a perfect spot overlooking the bay but I'm not so sure it would be comfortable sleeping on a slope. We were also surprised at how steep the track past the tents and down to the rocks below was, and then to see a ute and fishermen at the bottom. Hopefully they have good tyre grip to get back up the slope on the slippery grass.

And while I'm talking about being amazed, the next surreal sight was an ambulance arriving with it's lights flashing. What the heck? They were quick to ask if anyone had called 111, no one in the carpark had so they drove down to the tents, no one there had either. They'd come all the way from Mangonui, 40 minutes away and were just about to leave after checking back with base when over the rise from the direction of Karikari Beach came a young woman huffing and puffing.

The patient was stuck down in the rocks; he'd speared himself in the leg with his speargun while clambering over the rocks and he couldn't walk. The young woman found him and his mate on her way back up from the beach.

One of the ambulance officers set off down the track to find and attend to the guy while the other called back to base, a Mangonui firetruck would have to come out (another 40 minute trip), so the firefighters could stretcher the guy out. He'd be spending his New Years Eve in hospital, or at least in the out-patients no doubt.

And what were they looking at? (for those that follow my Facebook page), they were watching the paramedic heading off down the track.

On the way back down the road we stopped for one last photo overlooking Puheke Beach and then headed home (the long way round) for a quite New Years Eve.

On New Years Day  I was preparing dinner when I spotted out the back window, a tiny wisp of smoke on the otherside of Doubtless Bay around the Taipa area. It quickly grew and within a couple of hours smoke was billowing across the bay. I could see a couple of helicopters flying around and the orange glow of a large fire that had quickly spread through the tinder dry scrub. I later read that there were 5 fire trucks in attendance & 2 helicopters and it took over four hours to bring under control.

You may have noticed in the photos that between the NZMCA Park and the beach is a large horse paddock which held a dozen horses, most of them looked like retired race horses. Now, does this look the face of innocence? 

The horses provided quite a bit of entertainment each day as they made their way around the paddock grazing together, chasing each other, annoying each other, scratching each others back, checking any campers dogs out and generally being nosy.

So we couldn't stop laughing when we came home one day to see that one of the horses had ripped and chewed a great hole in the neighbours shirt which he'd hung on the fence. It does say in the shed not to hang washing on the fences (a standard rule in all NZMCA Parks), and it also said not to feed the horses! I chuckled even louder when the neighbour arrived later to see what had happened and commented that it was the only shirt he had with him! 

Wasn't me he said as he peered through the hole.