Breathtaking Aoraki/Mt Cook

Catch-up

The time had come to hit the road again, leave Lake Tekapo behind and continue heading south. With a small window of fine weather forecast before another late spring storm was due,  we made the decision to head to Aoraki/Mt Cook for a couple of days. We’d passed the end of the road a few times on our travels but the weather was overcast and/or raining each time and as it’s 55km to the end of the road there’s just no point in visiting the tallest mountain in New Zealand if it has it’s head in the clouds all the time you're there- Aoraki is Maori for 'cloud piercer' so there is a good chance it might be hidden.

We stopped at the Lake Pukaki lookout (our 4th visit), joining dozens of others- it must be the start of the tourist season, every second vehicle is a hire camper or a tourist bus…

and had our first clear view of the Mt Cook looking very impressive at the end of the lake.

Our next stop was for lunch at Peters Lookout, a few kilometres along the Mt Cook Road.

The area is not that large and is up on a knoll and it’s not until you pull in that you can see if there are any parking spots available. We don’t usually pull into places like this with the 5th-wheeler on the back, unless we have a clear view otherwise we can find ourselves in a bit of a pickle if there’s no turning or too many vehicles.

Luckily we managed to pull into a spot on the side of the carpark because as you can see, there were once again, plenty of tourists! As it was, while we were inside the van having lunch, a rental car pulled up beside our steps. I swear I could have stepped straight out and climbed into the driver’s seat without touching the ground.

What a place to have lunch though, the view is breathtaking, looking down a millpond Lake Pukaki- if you ignore the jumble of felled pine off-cuts in the foreground- and, although you can’t see it here, the water is the beautiful aqua blue of the alpine lakes in the area.

We head off again after lunch and I keep clicking, I can’t get enough of such a stunning sight, along every straight and around every bend Mt Cook stands proud ahead of us.

David stops at Glentanner to take a phone call which allows me to take a photo from outside. It’s just 12kms from here to the White Horse Hills DOC camp at the end of the road. There's a commercial camp site at Glentanner but really, I can see no point in stopping there as all the action is at the end of the road. It would mean a 24km round trip everytime you wanted to do a walk or tramp from the Mt Cook village. Although, I guess if you want power or are in the area for a few days it would suit to stay at Glentanner.

The road levels out as we travel alongside the wide river plain that drains the surrounding mountains.

The Burnett Mountains back the Tasman River as it flows towards Lake Pukaki. The braided river system is good Black Stilt territory but we won’t be checking for any here, it’s miles across to the river!

Ahead of us, peeping around a corner, we can see the tail end of the Tasman Glacier and the source of the Tasman River (and the rock flour that turns Lake Pukaki it’s beautiful blue).

Finally we see Mt Cook village and the Hermitage Hotel tucked into the side of the valley.

The White Horse Hills DOC camp is located directly ahead below that small hill and under the shadow of Mt Sefton- I don’t know that yet though, I’m thinking it’s Mt Cook when we arrive (even though I’ve just seen it out to the right). Why? I don’t know, I’m not usually directionally challenged but I’m thinking the sheer size and grandeur of the surrounding mountains have thrown me. Once you’re actually underneath them, some of the peaks disappear from sight. And Mt Cook is hidden from view when you're in the DOC Camp, the small 'hill' blocks your view.

We pass the day carparks and head into the campground to suddenly come to a scraping halt! Hmmm…we’re too long at 15 metres, to get through the ford- you can see it on the far right of this campground pano. How embarrassing, David backs off and luckily he wasn’t moving too fast so we haven’t grounded and got stuck, just a few marks on the concrete and all ok on the van. Now what to do? We won’t be stopping in the camp tonight.

We back into the closest carpark to check out our options, and when a vehicle leaves from the corner we manoeuvre into that space and decide that this will do just fine for a couple of nights. We later hear that it’s fine to camp there if you’re too long for the ford and the carpark isn’t too busy. As long as you pay your fees, DOC are fine with it- whether that’s an urban myth or not we don’t know but nobody bats an eye at us over the next two nights. Well nearly nobody, we do get a few stares and plenty of selfies taken as day trippers pass us by, and then there were the tour groups….but you’ll hear about them shortly.

How’s this for the view out the front door! Pretty impressive don’t you think? Not your usual backyard sight. We sure do find ourselves in some spectacular spots. It’s about now that I realise that this is Mt Sefton not Mt Cook.

It’s kinda surreal too, preparing dinner under the shadow of a mountain while people walk past just metres away. I can never get used to that; everyday life on the inside while an extraordinary sight, and people that have paid thousands of dollars and dreamed for years of visiting New Zealand walk past outside. Ham & mushroom omelette with a side of asparagus anyone? And yes the window needs a clean, but I gave my window cleaner the evening off.

The DOC campground is obviously very popular- the next available campground is at Glentanner or it’s back to Twizel or Tekapo over 70kms away. With a number of walks available to do in the Park a lot of people wouldn’t have the time to do them if they come just for the day so staying a night or two makes sense. And although there’s plenty of space in the camp and it’s early in the season the site is about two-thirds full both the nights we’re there. There’s a large amenity block and the kitchen is very crowded in the evenings. So many nationalities and so many languages, it’s hard to hear over the chatter.

Mt Sefton has me enthralled, I keep opening the door to check it out as the evening draws in. The snow glistens and sparkles as the sun sets and a high wind whips across the peak. This photo was taken at 9pm, twilight lasts until well after 10:30pm, another thing I can’t get used to down south.

Early the next morning I hear a whole lot of chatter outside the van. Imagine my surprise when I take a look and find a Japanese tour party getting the run down on their walk to Kea Point. And then they start doing their warm up exercises, one lady even using the side of the van as a support while she stretches her leg!

Another group are further up the path and doing the same thing!

And the next morning, the same thing happens again! You’ve got to smile don’t you? But good on the tour leaders for making sure their clients are warmed up. I love the get-up some of them are wearing- daypack- check, sunhat- check, solid walking shoes- check, garters- check...wait, most didn't get that memo, woolly beret & fashion scarf- only if your day job is on the catwalk.

We had other visitors to our van too- quack, quack, Mum said, as I opened the door to a bundle of fluff checking out the door mat.

Dad was quick to join his family and they were all super friendly given that Paradise Ducks are usually hard to get close to. The ducklings were running over my fingers and pecking at my feet. This family have learnt the ropes of the campground and are obviously camp regulars, checking in on all the arriving vans to see if anybody had spare treats.

The ducklings are so cute, I love the colour combination of the Paradise, they really blend in with their natural environment of rocky streams and lakes edges.

Once they had finished entertaining me and posing for numerous photos taken by passing tourists the ducklings settled down on the warm gravel between our vehicle and the car next door. Mum flew up to the roof to keep watch and Dad stood(sat) guard on the otherside.

Six of the ducklings huddled together for a time, one settled down on his own…

…before he started shivering and decided to join his siblings by piling in on top of them. Altogether now……awww!

You should have seen the faces of the couple who returned to the car, they couldn’t quite decide what to do; take photos or clap their hands to shoo them away.

Tent City

Central City Camping Park here in Invercargill, is a very popular camp ground especially with cycling tourists & in particular German cycling tourists. Every day brings a new wave of  people watching & entertainment for us as some depart & others arrive to find a spot to put up their tent. Our van is right beside the tent area and when there's too many for one side the overflow moves to our other side in the spot that we had when we first arrived.

We have felt very sorry for some of the tents & their occupants especially when the weather has been lousy, which has been more often than not for the last three weeks. The rain has been torrential some nights and the wind horizontal but still they arrive some looking like drowned rats. I guess they have no other options when they're working to an itinerary. It certainly isn't my idea of fun, lying on a very thin foam mattress inside a very small tent where you have to bend double to move about or in fact in some, only able to crawl. And then having to contend with the constant rain & wind and the occasional single digit overnight temperature. If it was me I'd blow the budget & stop in one of the cabins overnight.

 

The late afternoon sunshine dries out tents & people

The couple below decided to have a lay in while their fly-tent (the outer case) dried out, the two guys in the green tent at the back were here for quite a few days, one of them had very bad toothache and had to wait for a dentist to open after the holiday break. There could be nothing worse than being ill, living in a tent through a wet & miserable few days. They had their fly tent stretched to it's maximum to keep the rain out.

 

"Please- no naughty business outside our front door!"

Along with young couples, groups of two or three young guys & a few older couples on cycles there have been a few single middle aged men on motorbikes & in cars holidaying in tents too, these two enjoyed a few drinks on the table near our window.

The couple in the yellow & grey tent above had a few problems with the airbed their first night. It was unceremoniously hauled out of the tent in the morning and dumped in the rubbish. Later that day they arrived back to camp with a large box & a new air bed which was pumped up by foot pump outside the tent.....wrong move, they couldn't then fit it through the tent flap, it was so large. Some air was let out and it was squashed inside and re-pumped up again. This time it took up all the floor space & more, the lower sides of the tent disappeared underneath the mattress and it looked like an overblown odd shaped balloon when they picked up the whole thing to position it. Still, going by the squeals of delight emanating from the tent that night they were obviously pleased with their purchase!

Two French couples arrived in this car with so much gear which they then proceeded to spread far & wide while they discussed where they were going to set up camp. This spot looks great but it's right underneath the trees and when it rains the drops are huge! I think they were in for a sleepless night.

 

And rather than spread more of their gear out in the kitchen & dinning area they decided to take over the one table which they shifted close to their tents & our slide out. I don't think they quite realised how much we can see through our dark tinted windows.

 

 

This young German couple, and by young they looked in their late teens although I'm sure they were not, it's just us getting older, set up their tent and then knocked on our door to see if David had any tools. They had a broken fan belt, I wondered why I had earlier seen him carting engine facia and surrounds into their tent. They had actually slid off the road and hit a bank earlier in the day. Once again (Mt Maunganui was another time) David was able to help out with repairs, we've also had people asking for help with tent pegs, change for the laundry and we offered storage for hiking packs underneath our van when the rain has been torrential.

I felt the sorriest for this couple, they had the smallest tent of any I've seen. Virtually an oversized sleeping bag with strings attached. And they were here when the rain was at it's hardest and for a few days. They had no fly tent so their single layer was a sodden mess, they had a bit of plastic at one stage but that kept getting blown off & then they purchased a tarpaulin which stayed on a little longer but wasn't ideal. While they were away during the day, David kept having to weight it down with blocks of wood to keep it in place.

This is how you emerge from a tent without getting your socks wet......

And then you sit on a plastic bag to keep from getting your bum wet while you text home...."get me out of this God forsaken wet & miserable place!" This is the couple who had their packs under our van (they were on foot), initially they had them in the tent & then found out there was no room for themselves!

The sun was shining on this morning (but not for long) when these two couples loaded up their two tents, bedding, groceries, two large suitcases and themselves into this tiny wee shopping basket of a car and drove off. I wonder if they realised how winding & steep some of the roads are in NZ when they bought the car, probably sight unseen, from some unscrupulous person who just might have said "Sure, no problems, it goes like a dream" (around town). I bet they had to double their driving time after a day or two.

So as you can see we've had our fair share of entertainment while we've been sitting out the bad weather, plenty to keep us amused as we watch the daily highs & lows of camp life. Then there are the camp regulars but that's a whole nother story......

Kaikoura- Don't look now...

We were parked up in the rain on the Kaikoura waterfront having lunch when I looked up to see this. There‘s even a woman under one of the raindrops sitting in the back seat with a video camera! I doubt it will go viral but I guess we’re going to make it onto someone’s home movies.

After lunch we carried on along the waterfront to Fyffe Point where the Peninsular Walkway leads around to a couple of seal colonies, not that we had intention of doing the walk in the rain but I was hoping there might have been a few seals resting near the carpark.

And there was, and not only on the rocks but lounging about under the flax bushes beside the boardwalk. They reminded me of the big fat sows (& the occasional boar) from the pig farm of my childhood.

 

At only a metre or so away, they were totally oblivious to any observers, not even opening an eye to check us out. A geese family wandered about in amongst the seals & I was waiting in trepidation for a seal to take a snap at them but no, they slumbered on.

There's also a another seal under the flax bush on right

 

After the visiting the seals we carried on south along the rocky coastline following the narrow & winding main state highway through a couple of tight tunnels that had us checking the sides as we passed through.

We pulled into the NZMCA Park at Parnassus in North Canterbury with it still raining & where we were greeted by a noisy & friendly peacock no doubt looking for hand outs.

The Association have about 18 parks scattered around the country and as long as you are members you are free to park over at any of the properties for the miniscule fee of $2 per person per night, basically just helping with maintenance, some just request a gold coin donation. And even at this tiny amount some quibble & moan & from experience leave without paying. I can’t understand it, $2 is hardly going to break the bank & look what you get, a safe & secure resting spot for the night in a good location. There are some that aren’t even aware that a payment is required; those are the ones, I bet, that hold up the long lines of traffic. Totally ignorant to the world around them.