Half a Million Views

Real-time

Thankyou! Thankyou! Many, many thanks to each and everyone of you, I couldn't have done it without you lovely people! Earlier today my blog ticked over a momentous milestone; 500,000 page views, that's right, half a million clicks! 

I posted my first blog five years ago in August, 2012 but posted just four blogs that year as we prepared for life 'Out There' on the road. 2013 was really the year it all began and from there it took just over three and half years (43 months) to reach the 250,000 mark on July 30th last year. This means that the blog has had an astonishing quarter of a million views in just 13 months. Absolutely amazing! I am so grateful to you all for following us along on our travels and encouraging me with your comments, both on the blog, Facebook, travel forums and when I happen to meet you in person. I wonder where the next 500,000 clicks will find us. 

And because I can't do a post without at least one photo here's one from our recent travel through the Lewis Pass which is part of the Alternative Route, the one and only road between Picton and Christchurch at the moment and until the earthquake damaged coastal highway is repaired.

A beautiful mountain tarn at the start of the St James Walkway at the top of the Lewis Pass.

Ok, Dad, you can stop clicking now! 

Moria Gate Arch- Oparara Basin

The 30 minute walk to the second arch in the Oparara Basin is through some stunning scenery, the rainforest is an enchanted wonderland; a large variety of mosses in all shades of green cling to and drape off every available trunk, branch & twig. Soft green ferns cover the forest floor and taller tree ferns spread their feathery fronds overhead. There’s also alot of birdsong and the odd alarm call, as flashes of movement catch our eye as birds fly from tree to tree.

A lot of foresight, money, hard work & volunteer hours has gone into making the Oparara Basin the jewel in the crown of the northern West Coast’s ecotourism attractions. It’s a pity that the road can’t take bigger tour buses & motorhomes as many people miss out on seeing this spectacular area (actually, that in fact might just be a good thing after seeing the over-run carparks surrounding Punakaiki Rocks later on in our trip).

More enchanted forest and a natural moss topiary.

The track eventually led to this rocky hole in the ground. We were thinking this can’t be the Moria Gate Arch surely? Then David spotted a chain rope down the side of the rocks and after clambering through we inched our way down over the boulders into darkness.....

…to be greeted by this amazing sight- the Moria Gate Arch! The arch was named in 1984 after the mythical gate to the dark world in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And just to show you the shear size of the cavern, there’s David standing on the rocks to the side, looking for blue ducks again.

The Moria Gate Arch is viewed in 3D, there's the arch above- looking into the cave- then the one below looking down stream from inside, the rocks in front are about where David is standing in the photo above.

And the third one, looking back in the other direction, up-stream.

And up-stream again, with David silhouetted to put things in perspective.

Moria Gate Arch is spectacular and by far the loveliest of the two arches, a visual treat and an amazing feat by Mother Nature. Absolutely stunning.

We clamber back out through the opening in the rock meeting another couple finding their way inside. If you ever visit Moria Gate, don’t be put off by this odd entrance, it’s quite safe with the chain to help you up and down but sturdy shoes are a must to help with grip on the slippery rock surfaces.

The Moria Gate Arch Track forms a loop crossing over the Oparara River and passing the Mirror Tarn on it’s way back to the carpark. I decide to walk the loop- it’s another hour back to the carpark, David retraces his steps and will then drive to the Tarn carpark and meet me there. It is a shame as just a little further on the forest becomes even more beautiful- if that is possible- I could explore out here for hours, studying every little plant, moss and insect I came across. There are so many beautifully formed miniature mosses & lichen. I’m not sure the short bit of track with the moa print paving stones over the top of the arch is quite the look but I guess it’s providing protection.

It’s actually a surprise when I come to a short side track that leads to a lookout with a view back towards Moria Gate Arch. At this stage I hadn’t realised that those moa print pavers actually led me over the top of the arch. You couldn’t see down either side, it was just a track through thick bush. Clever idea and it does protect the arch.

The arch was stunningly beautiful from this angle too, and that tannin stained Oparara River just adds to the beauty and mystique of the place.

As I said the track just gets prettier and prettier, this has to have been one of the most beautiful walks I’ve done. I just wish David had done it with me.

I caught sight of movement a few steps ahead of me and found this beetle scurrying across the path. This is a native Stinking Ground Beetle, the Maori name Kurikuri means dog-like. It can give a sharp nip- one look at those pincers tell me that- and also emit a powerful stench if disturbed. I was unaware of that defense. I carefully transferred it to the end of this stick, took some photos and then poked the stick in a log, which the beetle quickly disappeared into. He must have been happy with me, no stench detected!

I stopped once again at the Mirror Tarn, the sun had come out a little since my earlier visit and the reflections were not so sharp. I found a henna painted WWOOFer with a weird hairdo contemplating life beside the tarn and taking up most of the tiny viewing space. He told me he’d brought a car load of backpackers up to the Basin for the day and they were off walking. He just wanted to soak up the beauty and I got the impression I was disturbing his peace with my clicking!

I left him to his solitude and headed back down the track which was running along side the Oparara River again. I met David about halfway, he’d brought the car up and was walking in to meet me.

We had an awesome day exploring the Oparara Basin, seeing amazing limestone arches, unusual caves and the most beautiful scenery- my highlight was the Mirror Tarn followed a close second by Moria Gate. I’d highly recommend a visit to this very special place if you are in the area. If you’re in a motorhome though, I’d beg, borrow or steal a car so you can get there safely. Or arrange a tour from Karamea.

I have a little story to share before I leave the Basin-

I very nearly lost my phone to the Oparara Basin- now that would have been a disaster & you’d most probably still be waiting for blog posts. I’d be lost without my phone’s ‘hotspot’ (yes, I could have used David’s, but he’s rather protective of his data).

You’ll remember I very nearly killed my phone when we walked the Sawcut Gorge, forgetting that I had it in my back pocket as we waded through a deep pool. After some tender loving care and much swearing and frustration David managed to nurse it back to health. Phew many $$$$ saved.

So it was with great alarm and an awful sinking feeling when I heard a ‘kurplunk’ as I rearranged my clothing after visiting the loo before we left the carpark for home. ‘Oh no, bloody hell’ I thought (or words to that effect) and without any hesitation (which really does surprise me) I reached into the bowl to retrieve my submerged phone. YUK, YUK & DOUBLE YUK. All I can say is thank God it was only number ones and double thank God that it was a regular toilet and not one of the usual DOC loos with the balance plate that empties into the tank as the weight goes on, or worse still, a long drop. It really would have been a gonna then.

I raced outside to the ute where David was waiting, clutching my dripping cellphone. All kudos to my ‘knight in shining armour’, he didn’t hesitate in whipping the cover and the back off and was straight into trying to rid it of the moisture. The phone died immediately (who wouldn’t), but he quickly smothered it in tissues & dried it as best he could then we wrapped it in tissues and I sat on it(!) to try and keep it warm to get rid of more moisture. Then we waited. 

The hand sanitizer and wet-wipes we keep in the glove-box were certainly put to good use that day.

Later, after a few false starts, some weird noises & crossed messages my phone burst back into life. And in fact a couple of quirky things it had been doing after the first save have now gone. It’s like new again! I wonder how many lives a phone has.....

Mirror Tarn Reflections- Oparara Basin

These stunningly beautiful reflections come from an amazing little pond deep in the Oparara Basin rainforest; the Mirror Tarn.

A forest pool of dark, tannin stained water surrounded and sheltered by tall trees, creates a surface reflection so perfect it’s difficult to see where the land ends and the water begins. It’s also hard to decide which way is up with the photos.

We can thank the foresight of a local bushman who saved the surrounding tall rimu trees from being felled, he saw the beauty in the pond and fought to save the tarn from being destroyed.

Can you see the face quietly watching?

The sun poked it’s head out for brief moment and lit up the bush in this corner.

With just the birdsong for company, this is a place for reflection and of reflections.

The Mirror Tarn was the absolute highlight of my visit to the Oparara Basin, it’s hard to imagine that such amazing beauty can be contained in one tiny pool of water.

Happy Easter Everyone- We're off to Lake Kaniere

Just a short blog post to let my regulars know that, rather than thinking we've disappeared off the face of the earth for the next week, we'll be enjoying ourselves at the Lake Kaniere DOC camp. Lake Kaniere is 22kms inland from Hokitika and I'm thinking that there won't be any cell phone reception there. After three mostly wet days at Punakaiki, we decided to head straight to the lake and get settled in there with a good site before the rush that'll probably happen over Easter.

Don't worry though, I'll resurface with a whole heap of blogs to catch you up to date, and some especially good ones too, of our visit to the Oparara Basin Arches north of Karamea and our time at the end of the road, Kohaihai.

Here's a taster; the Mirror Tarn at Oparara Basin.

Happy Holidays everyone, have an enjoyable & relaxing time, safe travels, and hopefully we'll all be able to catch the last of the summer sun (or some spring sunshine for those in the Northern Hemisphere).

Key Summit

The beauty of having ten days to explore the Milford Road was that we could pick & choose when to do activities that depended on the weather, in particular having a clear day to enjoy the views. There would be no point whatsoever in expending all that energy climbing the Key Summit on an overcast day & especially if there was low cloud.

So even though the day dawned with our first heavy frost, we knew it was going to be another clear sunny day. A good day to climb Key Summit.

Key Summit is a “small” (for this area) 918m summit, and forms the western end of the “Great Walk”; the Routeburn Track which takes 3 days to complete. A number of years ago we walked to the Routeburn Falls Hut, a day walk in from the eastern end of the track. Maybe one day we’ll be able to join the dots & complete the whole track!

Key Summit is a three hour return journey although it took us much longer to complete as we had lunch and an hour or so exploring the summit itself which is home to tarns and an alpine wetland. It also has glorious 360 degree views of the Darran & Humboldt Mountains & the Hollyford, Greenstone & Eglinton Valleys. And although it says three hours it would have taken us at least four without the exploring, for us it was quite a steep track, the initial 300 metres or so climbed steadily through mossy, silver beech forest on an often rocky & slippery track- not always as bad as shown below.

Occasionally there would be a break in the bush where a slip had happen or a tree fallen over & we would get a partial view of the snow capped mountains that would be awaiting us in all their full splendour at the top. These glimpses also gave us an excuse to pause & get our breath back- usually just as younger, fitter people strode on past.

Finally after an hour or so we arrive at a fork in the track, a signpost indicated the Routeburn Track continued on in one direction & the Key Summit in the other. It was with much consternation that David noted it was still another hour to the top including the Alpine Walk. He wanted to take the shorter 15 minute walk to the Howden Hut (along the Routeburn) but I was having none of it. We had come so far, we weren’t going to abort now. Just after this point we broke out of the bush and into the open & the track zig-zagged back and forward at least a dozen times as it climbed the last section up to the summit. Just when you’d think you’ve walked the last zig or zag another appeared. It was hot & tiring but we got there in the end helped along by the enthusiastic encouragement of people returning down the track, people who would have struggled up this section too- "not long now", "it's worth it" "you're nearly there".

Hollyford Valley

And then finally we were at the top in amongst an alpine tarn high in the Fiordland Mountains. What a fantastic view it was and an amazing wonderland in amongst the bogs & tarns.

Humboldt Mountains

This was the view across to the Darran Mountains and there in centre was the hanging valley with Lake Marian clearing in view. We had visited the Marian Cascade (Waterfall) the day before and now we had no need to walk up the steep & rugged Lake Marian track, we’d seen the lake from across the divide!

There is a lot of different fauna & flora up on the summit in amongst the tarns; tussock and stunted bush including this little tomtit, a very well camouflaged grasshopper & lots of tiny berries & flowers.

Alpine Gentian

But the most beautiful sight of all was the colour & reflections of the mountains in the different tarns dotted around the top. Deep spongy moss and other wetland plants surrounded the little pools and boardwalks protected the fragile environment from foot traffic.

And I'm sorry for the number of photos but they were all so beautiful it was hard to choose.

The stunted beech trees, some thought to be at least 400-500 years old were surrounded in lime green & rust coloured mosses, much like their counterparts back down the mountain, deep in the forest. Their branches & trunks were swathed in thick moss and more moss hung off the branches providing an ideal habitat for the insects and birds.

Before long it was time to retrace our steps with a quick stop at the one & only toilet on the track, tied down to protect it from the ferocious winds that must on occasions whip across this exposed peak.

Time for one last lingering look down the Hollyford Valley and a refill at a crystal clear, very cold trickle of water that was coming out the side of a bank on the edge of the track. Our very own Evian water source. We encouraged a guy walking uphill to put his head under it to cool down, it was a scorcher of an afternoon and many were struggling up the track especially after it broke out of the cool bush.

Evian, France 2006

It was a steady but not rushed walk back down to the carpark and by the end our knees and toes were complaining loudly, they had had enough of being forced downhill. Aside from the little bit of discomfort in the climb and then the sore legs on the return I would highly recommend this walk but the key (no pun intended) is to give yourself plenty of time. There’s no point in rushing up, having a quick look (ticking the box) and then heading home, where’s the joy in that.