Heading North again

Leaving Queenstown

By mid-August it was definitely time to get moving. I had decided to go and live in Wellington, but although I was looking forward to exploring that city, I was still reluctant to give up my nomadic lifestyle - I had found, and was to find again on this trip, that I felt very much at peace as long as I kept moving.
I got on an InterCity bus, and headed for Franz Joseph, with only the vaguest plan of what route I would choose after that.
We came across this quintessential New Zealand scene on the first day - sheep mustering on the slopes below a high country station.

Pukekura

InterCity buses are a great way of getting around New Zealand. They are full of interesting people (from little old French men with ornithology books, via backpackers and locals, to dignified Korean ladies with enormous sunglasses and faux-Chanel handbags) and the drivers are a relentlessly cheery bunch, often providing a running commentary that includes everything from geological data to local gossip. The buses stop regularly for photos and leg stretching and meals. One such pit stop between Haast and Fox is the Puke pub and Bushman's Centre - these two institutions make up a village with a permanent population of 2 (not including the deer).

The West Coast, again

It was weird to travel through the same landscapes in the other direction. The weather was also very different, and it really brought home how important the weather is to our impression of a place or an event. Remember that picture of wild, crashing waves under a stormy sky a few pages back? (If not, check it out here.) This is the same beach on a lovely sunny day. The masses of driftwood are the only sign that this place isn't always as tranquil as this.

Paua

The paua is a species of abalone, quite common all around the coasts of New Zealand. You can eat paua, although opinions are divided on whether it is worth the effort, and mostly it is the shell that is valued. Maori artists have long used it for decorating carvings and making jewellery (the large carvings in the whare runanga in Waitangi had eyes made of paua, for example), and today you can buy everything from ashtrays to hairclips made from paua in tourist shops. After a storm you can sometimes find whole shells, as opposed to broken pieces like these, on the beach, but most of the paua used in souvenirs is harvested directly from the sea bed. It is illegal to dive for paua with any kind of breathing apparatus, but despite this, there is an abundance of it available. In fact, it is so common that many people use the gleaming shells for ashtrays!

Commercially polished paua shell

Some paua I found on the beach

Pendant made from polished paua

Somewhere, over the glacier...

I arrived in Franz Joseph in the late afternoon. As you may recall, Selina and I had contemplated doing a helicopter flight last time we were here, but the weather had been against us. Without much hope, I asked the receptionist at the backpackers if there were any flights so late in the day, and lo and behold - within fifteen minutes of arriving in town, I was walking to the helipad, and ten minutes later, we were in the air.

Everyone should have a helicopter on standby, for when they are feeling low. It is the most funnest thing I've done for ages. We (me and two Aussie guys I'd never seen before) flew up through the glacier valley, past thickly forested hillsides, to land on the snow high above. It was exhilarating and beautiful beyond words, the setting sun colouring the slopes pink and gold. We threw a few snowballs and ran around for a few minutes, before climbing back aboard to be taken down over the glacier proper, the helicopter swinging in great zig-zagging banks close above the immense, deep-blue cracks in the ancient ice. As we headed back down to the helipad, we could see the river, burnished and gleaming in the sun, snaking its way across the plains all the way to the sea. It was the perfect ending to a long day's travel, and an unforgettable experience. As toys go, helicopters are pretty awesome - I can't wait to do it again.

Landing on the snow near the top of the mountain

The tail of the glacier, snaking down the valley

Christchurch

On the bus the next day, I met a Japanese guy who told me about the TranzAlpine railway - supposedly one of the world's greatest train journeys. By the time the bus pulled into Greymouth, the Western terminus of this line, I had made up my mind to skip Nelson (where I had figured I'd go next) and go to Christchurch by train instead. However, due to a weird introspective mood that descended on me during that trip, I didn't take a single picture. The route traverses the island from coast to coast by way of goes the Arthur Pass, which offers many splendid views of remote and desolate hill country, and there are several spectacular bridges and tunnels. You are just going to have to imagine it.

I stayed in Christchurch for two or three uneventful days, hanging out with a few guys from the hostel. Among other things, we climbed the Cathedral tower, which overlooks the central square.

Kaikoura

I managed to get my sticky paws on a relocation car, ie, a rental car that is needed somewhere else and that you thus can drive for free, in Christchurch, and chose to drive up the East coast to Picton. This is a lovely stretch of coastline, including the popular holiday town of Kaikoura, which specialises in all things water-based, in particular whale and dolphin encounters. I stopped there to buy some picnic food and then drove until I found a less densely populated stretch of beach, where I took a break from driving, in the company of many sea birds. Heading North again, the skies cleared and the Seaward Kaikouras, a mighty chain of peaks, became visible ahead.