South Island in the Back of a Hatchpack (p.2)

Day 3 (August 23rd), was perhaps the worst day for me. It was raining all night, and though we stayed dry inside the tent, as soon as it came time to break camp everything got soaked. It came to my attention that I am a camping snob. As soon as it rains, I'm out. So it was with soaking shoes and dampened spirits (at least on my part) that we made our way to the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki. They were pretty spectacular, but the weather hadn't improved so I was keen to get the pictures taken and get back to the car.

As we made our way to Greymouth, the sun came out, and like magic I was back into the road-tripping mood. We stopped at a Fresh Choice parking lot to dry out our stuff. The tent was laid out over the car, and jackets were hung wherever there was room. My trusty low-top Converse all-stars (double tongue and double laces) were still dripping, so I laid them out next to the hatchback. Then, Kiwi-style (barefoot), I walked into Fresh Choice with Andrew and Tessa for taco supplies. Steven watched the car. Since the Warehouse (New Zealand version of Walmart-Sam's Club) was across the way, I decided to purchase some jandals to wear while the chucks dried out. By the time I was out, the hatchback was packed once more and Andrew was pulling out of the parking lot. I jumped in and off we went to Noah's Ark, my favorite backpackers of the trip. We were greeted by an enormous yellow labrador, and each of the rooms was themed with a different animal. Steven and I chose to tent out in the cozy backyard while Andrew and Tessa opted for the rooms. Nothing like hot tubbing beneath the stars to remedy the morning's horrid rain!


Day 4 (August 24th) was very pleasant. The destination was Franz Joseph, and we made a couple photo stops along the way. 

One spot in particular was a gorge, the name of which escapes me except for the fact that it started with an H. The blue you see in the picture is the exact hue of the water. Absolutely gorgeous! 





Spirits were much improved. One curiosity was that my shoes had disappeared into the boot/trunk, so I had to tramp around in jandals. Once arriving in Franz Joseph, we checked in to Monroe Backpackers before heading towards Fox Glacier to meet up with Andrew's friend Tom, who would be our host in Christchurch. 

Upon arriving at the trail to Lake Matheson, I came to realize that the reason why I couldn't find my trusty low-top Converse all-star double tongue double lace shoes was because they were back at the Fresh Choice parking lot...in Greymouth. This resulted in me wearing jandals and socks for the remainder of the trip. Surprisingly, they survived the whole thing.


Day 5 (August 25th) was filled with some chance meetings and good entertainment. The day started off looking sunny and bright, and my plan was to find shoes. Andrew and Steven drove off to Gillespie's Beach near Fox Glacier shortly after breakfast, and Tessa went on a tour of the Franz Joseph glacier, leaving me to explore Franz Joseph on my own. As some might not know, when left to my own devices I end up doing one of two things: nothing, or something that in retrospect might not have been the smartest decision. 
I began by walking around town. I discovered three things: 
1) Franz Joseph does not sell shoes. Anywhere.
2) Franz Joseph has a lot of tourist places.
3) Franz Joseph is a pretty quiet town on a sunny day. Save for one particular group of kayak tour guides.
I found them tossing a rugby ball in the street. After some classic Kiwi conversation/flirtation, they let me join in their game. I discovered I was pretty good at kicking the ball. As my confidence grew, my focus strayed from the sloping asphalt. As I ran for one particularly high throw, I discovered I was running into the asphalt instead of across it. Needless to say, the dime-sized scar on my palm is a pleasant reminder of that time. After a while the guys decided it was time for lunch, so I headed back to the backpackers to find my tube of Neosporin and a bigger bandaid. First adventure of the day complete!

My next phase came after lunch. I decided that, shoes or jandals, I was going to see this glacier everyone kept talking about. So I grabbed a map from the lobby and headed off. 20 minutes later I reached the bridge that crossed the glacial river (I took my time. Walking in socks and jandals takes some getting used to). 40 minutes after that I reached the first trail. If my map-reading was correct--and in solitary situations it usually is--the trail would take me past something called "Peter's Pool" and end at the carpark. Excellent! So off I went. Peter's Pool was definitely worth it; if my camera had better batteries I would have taken many more pictures. Once at the carpark, I found the trail to the lookout of the glacier. I discovered that the best way to walk uphill in jandals was going backwards. 

By the time I returned, it was around 4:40pm. Off I hobbled (the jandals weren't the best support) to the bridge, missing the sun by about 10 minutes. I chose that point to take a breather. I noticed a guy taking pictures of the mountain, which still had some sunset on it, so I decided to take one as well. He offered me a ride back to town, and I gratefully accepted. I discovered his name was Brad, he was from Indiana and was studying environmental science at Purdue. In addition, he was staying at Monroe's as well! What a coincidence. We invited him to dinner and he and Tessa hit it off right away. We ended the night by heading out to the Blue Ice bar, where a man named Turtle showed us how to poledance. In all, a very satisfactory day. 

In Which a Mid-Semester Break Road Trip Occurred

After a long hiatus in the South Island for mid-semester break, I have returned to Palmerston North. Shortly after our return, a giant earthquake shook Christchurch, but that’s another story. Here is the road trip story.

In Which I Tour the South Island in the Back of a Toyota Corolla Hatchback

The legendary hatchback

The first thing I learned about planning a two-week road trip was that no matter how much we planned in advance, the plans would change. The second thing I learned was that a two-week road trip is a quick way to suck your wallet dry, even when attempting to be frugal.  The third thing I learned was that cramming four people, packs, a tent, a ‘chilly bin’ (cooler), and plenty of eggs into a tiny car and driving hundreds of kilometres to take hundreds of pictures is one of the best experiences I have had here so far.

The ferry

Day One (August 21^st) started out early. Not bright and early, because not even the sun was up yet. Just early. We drove down to Wellington and made the 10:25am ferry. A pleasant part of the day was watching the sunrise over the hills. Another fun realization was this was my second ferry ride ever (the first being the ferry to San Francisco, which I soon realized didn’t count for much). 

Welcome to Picton!

Upon arriving in Picton, we took to the road, and a very winding road it was. It was worse than a sine curve! Luckily no one got carsick. 

Our first night was spent on a fun little campground near Abel Tasman beach. Dinner was definitely the highlight of the night. Steak with fried onions, potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes), and carrots! First night in a tent since Girl Scouts! The sleeping bag didn’t do its job very well, but I had enough layers on to get through the night.

Fun side story: At around 4am I had an insane urge to go to the bathroom. It was a 75 meter walk across a flat campground, with no other campers except us in the area. Upon my return, I see a figure standing just outside the realm of my flashlight beam. I’m very close to the tent, but I freeze when I realize the figure is headed straight for me. To add to my terror, it starts to run. I’m ready to scream bloody murder when I realize that it’s Steven. Needless to say, I gave him a piece of my mind. Why was he out of the tent at such an hour, you might ask? The same reason I was.

Abel Tasman Beach

Day Two (August 22^nd) began with pancakes and a nice hot shower. After packing up, we walked out on the golden sands of Abel Tasman Beach. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we were there during low tide so there were plenty of shell-filled tide pools. I collected quite a few empty shells for necklaces. Some crazy guys decided it was a good time for a swim. :P Weather couldn’t have been better! 

Bit chilly for a swim?

The drive to our next destination—Westpoint—proved a bit rainy. After struggling to find a place to spend the night, we settled on a paddock—for free!—thanks to the owners of the Star Tavern. It was a bit muddy rolling in, and the hatchback needed some assistance, but we got everything set up just before the rain came in. We ate dinner then went over to have some drinks as a thank you to the barkeep. I made two friends; technically 3, if you count Duke the border collie. Olivia (7 in September), and Sam (who is 4 and likes Crunchy and princess dresses). It’s hard to trade stories with people who are three feet tall, so we just talked about school. It was an awesome tavern, and judging by the bills on the ceiling we weren’t the only Americans to pass through. Would have been great to hear some of their stories, but as it was Sunday night I think they were keen to close early. 

A Brief Update

Hello everyone! I had a marvelous time during mid-semester break road-tripping with Andrew (UK), Steven, and Tessa, but due to the time-consuming assignments I left until I got back, I keep running out of time to post the epic journey. This is a friendly thank you for keeping up (for all...four? five posts?) and I will get the trip up shortly!

-B

preview: the south island had beaches. with shells.