Weather With You

"It won't happen overnight but it will happen"...... Ah yes, It's New Zealand's favorite daughter Rachel Hunter. Yup, I watched New Zealand's got talent....Today we took the short trip from Havelock to Nelson.
After not too long on the road we approached "civilization".
"Civilization" is very easy to recognize; there are little machines on the sides of streets at measured intervals. The deeper you get into "civilization" the more frequent they are..... Yes, I'm talking about parking meters... It was the first and only time that we've come across them on this trip so far.
Anyway back to Rachel Hunter.....As I mentioned in my last entry camping has been given its marching orders and we are dead set on sleeping anywhere but the Bat Mobile. We stayed in the Admiral motel just outside of the CBD, which meant a kitchen, indoor plumbing and a TV (it would've been rude not to use it).
The bed was comfy, the room clean and the kitchen in good working order. I even got to use an old Kiwi favorite, the electric frying pan. We hit the shops in downtown Nelson.......first stop Countdown where we encountered a problem that we are not used to having in Europe.... Errrrm the portions of meat were too BIG!!!!!  After umming and ahhhing a bit we settled on roast beef; some tatties, carrots and pumpkin made for a very yummy dinner. Dodo got her first taste of another Kiwi favorite too.... "The  Warehouse" (where everyone gets a bargain) We had a great laugh and came away with some sunscreen, and other goodies, that we needed for our trip. I loved Nelson, just a few streets with small shops, a helping of local eateries, and a cinema. I really liked the architecture too, it was old colonial style with a just a dash of Art Deco. Definitely a place I'd like to visit again.

The next morning we got up feeling decidedly more chipper and after sleeping in a real bed we were raring to go. Using some of the roast beef from the night before and a large helping of cheddar, piccalilli, and various other items from the salad bin, I made sandwiches for the day's journey which, promised to be a little more challenging than the ones that we had done so far. The destination on the cards for the day was Takaka. It wasn't the distance that was the problem, but the fact that we had to cross the Takaka hill worried me just more than a little. The long and windy stretch of highway has steep drops on either side that threaten to swallow you up if you don't keep your eyes firmly on the road in front of you.  Luck was with us and apart from some strongish  winds the weather was on our side (coming back over however, would be another story altogether). The sun was shining, our spirits were high and we headed towards Abel Tasman Road.
In Dodo's guide book she'd read about a little inn, owned by a Swiss couple. The biggest selling point was that it backed right on to the beach. We couldn't see it from our room, but it was literally a 2 minute walk. As it is not yet high season, apart from a few dog walkers and some kite surf enthusiasts checking their equipment we were all alone; time to kick back relax and enjoy the sunshine. All this time waiting, hoping, praying for good weather and I had completely forgotten how harsh the New Zealand sun is and half an hour later we had to take cover. We did some food shopping and returned to our room with the intention of going back out. Yes, I'm that naive, things being as they are the weather turned to custard and were once again forced to use our inside voices. The one thing I have to say that was really special was watching a family of Pukekos (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/pukeko/1) collecting the worms that had been driven up to the surface by the afternoon rain right outside our windows. They really are beautiful birds and I really enjoyed their company on a rainy Monday afternoon.
Now, if we were to believe the weatherman the rain was supposed to stay away until Tuesday evening and Wednesday would really be a day to take cover....  You'd think I'd know better than to trust weather men.

Tuesday started slow and lazy and was followed up by a trip out to Farewell Spit.  The road out there was quite narrow but flanked by dark green streams leading to and from the ocean. The water was rough and where there weren't crashing waves, the wind blew large ripples that headed slowly, but in a breaking rhythm to towards the shore. The water was covered with an uncountable number of black swans, all with their heads tucked up tight between their majestic wings on their elegant bodies. I have never been partial to these temperamental birds and now, the sight of so many of them huddled together seemed downright ominous. We carried on to the end of the road where there was a cafe/lookout point. Up until now although, I have been shocked by the price of food, I feel that we have always spent our money well and gone away with full and happy tummies; today however, our stomachs and wallets were about to receive a rude awakening.....

The cafe looks quaint and inviting, run by a couple of kids (if I said they were clueless, and it wouldn't have hurt them if they jumped in the shower ,every now and then, I would be grossly misleading you.) I'd had a fabulous Seafood Chowder in Kaikoura and was eager for a repeat performance. Oh, I got one alright just not the way that I had hoped for, it was completely void of taste but somehow managed to upset my stomach so much that I felt it all afternoon.  The way Dodo's mussels were prepared was a complete travesty and I'm not even going to waste your time explaining what a waste of good shellfish and money they were. Please, please do not spend one red cent there, you'll only be disappointed.

As you may have already guessed shortly afterwards it started to rain... so we headed back to the inn to nurse our sore stomachs and smarting wallets.Sometime, many hours later driven by our tentative but grumbling tummies we headed back into "town". At  all the restaurant doors we turned up at, dripping wet and hungry we were told that they were no longer serving food at, the ripe old hour of, 8 pm. My Italian friends can feel my pain I just know it. As we were about to give up,  we saw the warm glow of lights in a cafe tucked behind some trees. At this stage I had given up all hope but surprise! They were open late! Hot food and cold pints; the light at the end of the tunnel.

The rain was really coming down by the time we left and when we awoke the next morning it was pelting the plexiglas window in the ceiling, so hard that I thought it was going to come through. We packed up our few belongs and headed back towards Christchurch, where the plane is waiting to take us to a big party on Saturday. We went back the same way as we came, as the Bat Mobile is not the most comfortable vehicle to drive in bad conditions and we decided it was better not to brave Arthurs Pass in that kind of rain. After finally making it to the other side of Tarkaka hill (not a moment to soon, as the petrol light was "screaming feed me, feed me, feed me") we took state highway 6 which runs right through the middle of the South Island until it veers off to the left towards Greymouth and the West Coast.
I have never seen so much native bush in my life. The tea trees, and ferns stretched from the roads edge up steep hill sides to the left and right of us for 100's of kilometers.  A fine mist was rising up from between the trees making this lonely place even more mysterious. Just when you thought that you couldn't look at it any more, the native bush gave way to rows and rows of trees that grew so tall that they blocked out all the light from above. All the while as we marveled at the scenery the rain pummeled down on us and the numerous animals we saw along the way. Some of them trying to take shelter under nearby trees and hedges, others resigned to their fate remained rooted in place and seemed not all bothered by the the cold afternoon "showers". We got to a point where fire had obviously ravaged through this quiet part of the country. Some trees lay in ruins, scattered around like uncared for toys, others stood tall and proud wearing their blackened bark like war wounds, determined to soldier on and fulfill their job of bringing beauty to this Southern paradise.
State highway 6 changed in to state highway 85 and then in to 7. Each with a different sense of beauty. As we hit state highway 7 and headed back towards Hanmer Springs the trees cleared and we could see the effect that the relentless precipitation was having on the river below; It was dark, swollen and angry. The rapid waters moved swiftly and threatened to carry with it anything that got in it's way. I guess I now understand the tiny Hobbits dislike of water.  This was Mother Nature, once again showing her power and that she was not to be messed with.  All of a sudden up ahead I could see a patch of blue sky, the dark clouds were turning a lighter, friendlier colour. The sun was trying to break free. I could almost feel the sublime effort she was making.

Driving along this windy road deep in the heart of New Zealand's largest island, I was reminded of a legend that I was told of at primary school; the Maori legend of  Rangi (the sky god) and Papa (mother earth) who were separated by Tane the god of wind many years ago. Rangi and Papa still feel this loss immensely and in times of great grief Rangi sheds tears upon Papa to show his love for her. The mist that you can see rising out of the bush is Papa sighing. The love of Rangi and Papa survives to this day and continues to nurture both us and earth on which we live.

Four Seasons in One Day

I think the thing I like best about the New Zealand bush is the smell: the dampness, the denseness, the silence. If you stand there in the bush and breathe really deeply, the smell of the decomposing leaves and the Punga trees will over power all the other smells, and I almost feel like it could be another time entirely.  A time where the world was a totally different place, where dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the internet had not yet been invented. This is how I felt walking up the well worn path, from a parking space on the side of State Highway 1, going north from Kiakoura. The only signs of people were the little bridge and the Department of Conservation (DOC) signs along the track.
10 minutes after stepping in to the Jurassic Park like surroundings, we approached a waterfall; in the pond at the bottom of this fern covered natural wonder, were half a dozen seal pups frolicking in the icy cold water. The DOC sign informed us that the baby seals played here while their mothers were out at sea collecting food. So I guess this was a marine version of a playgroup.  We walked down the path, crossed the road and sat on the rocks to watch the larger mammals at work. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat was amazing, the fact that it was next to the longest state highway in the country, was nothing short of a miracle.

We got this tip thanks to our pintsize friend Libby who we met over our flat whites that morning. She was sweeping the cafe next to our hotel dressed in purple pyjamas and mismatched pink socks, this was the same attire that she wore when she crossed the street to buy some carrots .....  and no she did not put on any shoes. Libby often goes to see the seal pubs on the way back from the swimming pools..... this is of course if she doesn't fall asleep..Libby is four years old, has one medium sized brother, a larger sister and a dog called Ellie. Libby's mum owns the Pot Bellied Pig cafe in Kiakoura. Libby's mum suggested that we stop and check out the seal colony that lies about 20 minutes outside of town. Cheers Libby's mum choice tip.

Now correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that a place that you go into to buy stuff is called a shop, like the "4 square" Libby's mums got her carrots from. Well here in the South it seems to be called a store. The first time I heard it was from our BFF Tania (see earlier entry) then from an assorted number of people from there onwards.Not that it really matters, I was just curious.... Anyway the next place we stopped at to top up on caffeine was a little shop/cafe called The Store. (see there it is again.... anyone else noticing a pattern) The spacious cafe with a massive selection of very naughty sweet treats almost made me want to run straight back to the Batmobile and high tail it out of there. We didn't and you wouldn't have either as soon as you looked out of the double glass doors that opened out on to the deck. We took a seat at an old round table which, had been rusted by the sea breezes that blew over the rugby field size verge of grass and wafted up to the cafe.

We gazed out on the ocean, sipped our coffees in silence and  guarded our treats from the various assortment of birds that were circling the table with one eye on our food and one on the competition.....until.... a jumbo sized bus of extra large people on a Lord of the Rings tour burst in to the roadside oasis and shattered the serenity. Holy tourists Batman, It's time to get out of here. After a quick costume change (i.e. goodbye jeans, hello shorts) We were on the road again, heading in the direction of Marlborough...  ahhhh wine country..... home to over 40 of NZ vineyards including the makers of my favourite drop.... Grove Mill......After a sweaty and slightly irritating tiki tour,* we arrived at Grove Mill's short gravel driveway, we drove up to the main building and........ you guessed it closed for the weekend.... Not cool guys, not cool.

We decided to cut our losses and kept heading north towards Nelson. We drove into Havlock and along the side of the road we saw the beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound. On a whim we decided to stop for a bit of a picnic. I say a bit of a picnic as the wind had really picked up and it was no longer really "outside weather". Whilst eating our fabulous sandwiches we consulted our trusty campers guide and found that there was a lovely seaside site just 20 minutes up the road.  We quickly polished off our sammys and headed off in search of the beach (in the hope that the weather would remain consistent and change again). The camping ground was quite empty and low and behold the weather did change again and we settled down on the grass to enjoy the late afternoon sun. Paradise! However, as dusk approached so did the mundane task of moving everything around from a seating to bedding area. Not quite tears before bedtime but the axe had well and truly fallen on camping. One chapter closed and another was about to begin...

*Kiwi for driving around. Sometimes with no particular goal in mind. Otherwise known as the long way (favoured by taxi drivers worldwide)

Baby it's cold outside

Camping's hard work, and it's sure as heck not romantic. Who knows maybe I'm just too old for this sh##. Truth is it's just not my thing. We tried it in a tent, and this time we "upgraded" to a camper van. The thing about camping is it's only fun if the weather's good and you have absolutely everything you need. So, I beg of you all next time I call you up to tell you about the fantastic camping holiday I'm planning, feel free to stop me, no I implore you to stop me and remind me that I just don't like camping!!!!!
In saying that I'm really glad that we did choose the camper van option. If we didn't there's no way that I would have been able to park next to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, drink a steaming hot mug of tea and immerse myself in my writing.

The weather is freezing cold outside, it's colder here than it was when we left Switzerland, and people it's winter there. I crawled out of bed this morning, dragged myself down the road to get my morning dose of java and was confronted with the sight of snow capped mountains and a biting breeze. Being outside was just out of the question, so we jumped in the B-Mobile and went for a drive. First stop was the supermarket to buy rope...What for??? We did some washing yesterday, and there is no drying room in the hotel.  One of the things that camping doesn't cater for if the weather isn't good... well bugger it... we bought some rope and hung it up in the back of the campervan to make an impromptu washing line.... and it's doing the trick nicely thank you very much.

So there I was in the snug as a bug in a Batmobile with a cup of cranberry tea, a washing line and an Ipad (sounds like the start of a bad joke) and I said that camping wasn't fun; truth is days like this are the ones that we remember forever. The wind howled around our little tin can with such force that the seagulls were stuck in midair beating their wings in vain but not moving forward at all. Sitting there with my tea cup warming my hands I couldn't have been happier... well... maybe camping isn't so bad after all... (this is where you guys start jumping up and down waving your hands in the air and refer me to the opening passage of this text)

So I mentioned crayfish in my last entry, for those of you who don't know Kaikoura is Maori for eat crayfish. At the end of the main street here, by the beach, there is a little food "caravan" not unlike my dad's Swiss Deli Roller ( the girls who work for my dad are way better looking though....) Here you can buy a BBQed crayfish and eat in on the beach (or in your camper with Crowded House rocking your Iphone) If I spent the rest of the day looking through the internet, I still wouldn't find a word that would adequately describe our lunch, so I'm going to go with an old favorite.... YUM.