Arthur’s Pass to the west coast

This morning we got up to bright sunny skies. We could see the tops of the mountains that had been obscured by clouds the day before. The tallest one had big blocks of snow in the valleys.

After digging out my suitcase and putting on a few more layers I took my cup of tea and a granola bar and went outside to have breakfast.

After we had all eaten we walked down to the river together where the kids tried to find appropriate skipping stones. Patrick resorted to just picking up big rocks and plunking them into the middle of the river. I’m not sure he wasn’t trying to splash us.

Camper packed up, beds away, we headed up the road back to the visitor center to use the toilets, brush our teeth, and get some advice on the best hikes for today, given the visibility was very good. We also checked what kind of bird we’d seen. It was a Tomtit, like this:

We drove to Devil’s Punchbowl where we set off towards the waterfall. It wasn’t long before it came into view. The first part of the hike was rocky but flat, then we crossed the bridge, with a great view of the waterfall and the steep part began, with intermittent sets of steps. Before long, I was huffing and puffing. My husband was breathing normally. This frustrated me to no end. I work out on a regular basis. He never does, yet I’m the one that is tired. I hate it when my body doesn’t cooperate with what my mind wants it to do!

I made it to the viewing platform just below the base of the waterfall. It was gorgeous!

We stayed and took a few pictures and then the rest of the them decided to climb up the rocks to the base of the falls. I set off walking down the track by myself. It was nice to be able to set my own pace and to stop and look at anything that caught my fancy.

I found a spot dappled in sunshine where I could see the waterfall through the trees. I stopped and absorbed everything I could see and smell and hear.

It feels so decadent to indulge my sensuality like that, something I rarely do, but love. Why should it feel decadent to immerse myself in that moment, that experience, to put my whole self into what I am doing, feeling, touching, tasting? Isn’t that what it means to live life?

I took myself out of the moment to try and write about what was happening. While I did that, they caught up to me and we walked down the hill together.

We ate lunch at the Bottle Store Café sitting out on the patio in the sunshine. We had pies again. Something you don’t get in the US – savory pies, I had chicken and Brie, my daughter had vegetarian. While we were eating a Kia (rare native NZ bird) came and walked along the railing right next to us.

We drove over’s Arthur’s Pass through Otira valley. At the overlook we saw another Kia!

We came through the mountains and suddenly we could see the sea, the sunlight glinting off the surface of the water. It was gorgeous.

We had read in the guidebook that there was a holiday park right on the beach, but we didn’t want to say anything to the kids until we knew they had space. It was called Shining Star Holiday Park.

It was a little pricey, but we went ahead. We were not sorry when we walked from our campsite on to the beach. Gorgeous!

We went to the store to get supplies for dinner, given that we had access to a full kitchen and barbecue. We went with grilled lamb again, given that it was something we couldn’t get as easily or as cheaply in the states. Just salad, bread and grilled mushrooms to go with, and of course, a good bottle of New Zealand wine. The wine went straight to my head. The food was delicious. It was a pleasure to sit outside and prepare and cook our meal. When my son was checking the weather forecast for tomorrow and reading out the temperature at home (about 20F) we were reminded once again of how lucky we were. Where else in the world could you do a beautiful waterfall hike in the morning and walk along the beach in the afternoon, with only a couple hour drive?

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach, marveling at the brightness of the stars.

It was a bit of a struggle to find the path back because the beach was so dark, no houses!

Afterward we went to the glowworm dell. The walls were full of tiny specks of light.

Our first day on the South Island, picked up our camper.

Got up this morning. No leg swelling. Very relieved. At the airport they had some really cool props from Lord of the Rings. The first was a life-sized Smaug from The Hobbit. They also had two giant flying eagles. Gandalf was riding on the back of one of them.

Not what you expect to see at the airport, but then, this is New Zealand, made famous by Peter Jackson.

We picked up our camper and after a not so quick stop at the store to stock up, we headed west out of Christchurch toward Arthur’s Pass.

We stopped at Castle Hill to view the strange limestone rock formations, some of which show evidence, such as rock drawings of Maori visitors from hundreds of years ago.

I walked over to the bottom of the hill, but decided not to do any climbing as my legs had swollen a little and were sore.

We stopped at the entrance to Arthur’s Pass National Park and got out to look at the Waimakariri, a braided river.

After checking out the visitors’ center

we drove back to Klondike Corner. The Ranger at the visitor center had told us that there was camping on both sides of the road, so we chose the small track across from the main bathroom area. We trundled down the pot hole Road, camper shaking, through a wooded “tunnel”. Around the bend there was a small pull off. We all agreed that was a good place to stop for the night and went about making dinner, as we were starving!

After eating we went on a walk. The river was nearby. The rocks on the way were really interesting, and that from a distance they looked Baron, but upon closer inspection you could see Moss and Lakens growing on top, creating a soft spongy walking surface.

The river it’s self was clear light blue water. It’s split in the several channels, some of which were higher than others. The one in front of us was a few feet deep, but too fast moving to imagine trying to Swimmin. Plus, it was really cold.

We got back to the camper, and after a few hiccups managed to get both of the beds set up. Kids in the upper bed, John and I down below. I went outside to brush my teeth.

It was just about dusk, looking in to the forest, a small bird was chirping from a distant branch, it flew closer and then closer. It was small and grey, possibly a grey warbler.

It was cold in the camper, I got under the covers with all of my clothes on, including my jacket. I slept that way all night. In the morning, I said that if it was going to be that cold we needed to buy some more covers for the beds. The kids were cold too!