Weather Woes

Hello from the other side!

Double win, because 1) Adele reference and 2) I am now on the other side (the Christchurch side) of Arthur's Pass. So witty, I know.

Once again, the weather has me seeking shelter at a library, but it might be for the best as my tuckered legs probably didn't want to hike again today after two tough hikes this past weekend. So, another chance to update the blog world of my goings-on.

Following Nelson, I journeyed south to St. Arnaud, where we spent Christmas, to do some more hiking there as Nelson Lakes National Park is stunning. The weather forecast didn't look great so I opted for a quick day hike to the top of St. Arnaud Range. After trudging up through beech forest for 1.5 hours, popping out of the bush line to this view was very rewarding! It was a bit cloudy at the very top but lower down, one could see for miles. A good start to my solo travel adventures. 

Lake Rotoiti and the town of St. Arnaud on the right. 

The drive from St. Arnaud to Westport on the west coast was lovely, weaving alongside the majestic Buller River.

Why go around a cliff when you can go through it? That notch on the far side of the river, called Hawk's Crag, was blasted out of the rock bluff in 1869 to fit one lane of vehicles.

There's this great phone app called CamperMate, which I hope everyone traveling by car in NZ knows about, that displays everything from free campsites, holiday parks, wifi hotspots, public toilets, things to do, and much more. It has been a much-appreciated lifeline in the last few months, and has taken us to all sorts of neat places for a place to park our van for the night. One lovely place it took me to, just south of Westport, was Jack's Gasthof, a little cafe/bar with an adjoined campground in the middle of nowhere. With beautiful grounds, delicious pizza and a great atmosphere, it was well worth the $8 per night to stay.

And the hydrangeas are out in full bloom in NZ right now, I just love it!

The following day was one of my favourites in a while. I drove a stunning section of coastline from south of Westport to just north of Greymouth, stopping basically every kilometer to gawk and take pictures and soak up the beautiful ocean views. I've always thought myself to be a mountain girl at heart, but the ocean really had me that day!

No penguin sightings (yet), but couldn't resist snapping a pic of this sign.

The Te Miko cliffs, which European explorers in 1846 had a hard time scaling during their west coast exploration, resorting to the use of an old Maori ladder made of wood lashed together with flax.

West coast, best coast.

Pororari River Gorge, dominated on both sides by huge limestone cliffs

Most of the spots I explored were fairly secluded and not super touristy, until I arrived at Punakaiki, the site of the famous Pancake Rocks.You can't tell from my pictures but it was a human highway snaking along the 20-minute loop from the highway to the rocks and back.

Waves crashing in the surge pool, called Devil's Cauldron.

The biggest blowhole, called Putai, sending up a small splash of water from the depths of the fissure. On stormy days, this can act like a geyser, dousing those on the viewing platform with a salty spray, but the sea was calm when I was there. And you can see here that the rocks do look like stacks of pancakes, as they are named!

The sea and wind have eroded the limestone rocks into these cool forms.

Despite being pretty tuckered from the day of exploring, I ventured out from my holiday park to a secluded beach that my off-the-beaten-path guide book, Frenzy, talked about, for a stroll at low tide as the sun descended into the sea. Off the coast of this beach were heaps of sea stacks eroded into all sorts of neat shapes. I wandered the beach for more than an hour, admiring the beauty of this photogenic coastline.

Sea stack selfie

As the tide was at its lowest point, starfish- and mussel-covered rocks appeared on the beach.

The dark clouds of the incoming storm added an ominous look to these geographic wonders.

From this day onwards, the weather has been mediocre at best, and rainy or drizzly 90% of the time. Gross. Made for a wet, cloudy drive east along Arthur's Pass, which is supposed to be dazzling on a good day, so that was a bit of a drag, but I've learned to make the best of things and take what comes, as there's nothing to be done about the weather.

...take away the clouds and voila!



The Otira Viaduct, as I saw it, but according to Google...

I hit up a few local short walks near Arthur's Pass Village, first checking out the main attraction, the Devil's Punchbowl Falls.

131 m high, this lofty falls is quite spectacular, sending wisps of water tumbling down from a small nook in the clifftop.

The Bealey Valley Track

This track was only 30 minutes or so, but Frenzy told me you can continue up the unmarked but still discernible trail alongside the Bealey River until you reach the valley end. It was quite the trek, and I almost turned back several times as it seemed a bit unsafe to be hiking and rock-hopping alongside a fast-flowing river in less-than-ideal weather conditions with steep avalanche chutes on all sides and not a soul around, but (sorry Mom) I'm stubborn and wouldn't let the slight hint of danger turn me around. The view at the end was well worth it! My pictures aren't the greatest due to the cloud and drizzle unfortunately. There were waterfalls pouring into the valley from all sides and steep cliffs rising up into the clouds. I felt like I was miles from civilization.

Tried to get a few of the many waterfalls into this shot.

(Cloudy) view back down the valley where I came from.

Nevertheless, I was happy to make it back to Lola without incident, and headed back through the village to a free campsite a few kilometers south for the night.

The next day, the weather looked slightly more promising so I started up Scott's Track to Avalanche Peak, which towers over Arthur's Pass Village. The track was brutal, climbing 1100 meters in 2.9 km. Luckily there were lots of spots to stop and enjoy the views.

From partway up the peak, looking north across the valley to the Punchbowl Falls.

At the summit, there was a nosy kea trying to snag a treat for lunch. These birds, as I said in a previous post, are the world's only alpine parrot, and they're also not in the least bit scared of humans. It's cool that they come so close, though, as you can get a good look at their beautifully-coloured feathers. Not so cool if they try to steal your lunch though.

I stayed up at the summit for about half an hour and eventually the clouds moved aside to give a taste of the views from this 1833 m peak. Well worth the sore legs!

After the hike, I continued east towards Christchurch and checked out a few other Frenzy recommendations: Cave Stream Scenic Reserve and Castle Hill.

In the middle of the photo, to the right of the river, you can see an opening in the cliff where Cave Stream comes out. The stream passes under the hill for 594 meters, due to the slightly acidic water dissolving the limestone over time and diverting the stream from its original path until eventually it passed entirely underneath the hill. Anyone can walk the length of the cave, although I was too tuckered to do that this visit but hopefully we'll pass by here again in the next few weeks.

Castle Hill is so named because of an array of limestone boulders scattered randomly over the hillside. This is rock-climbers paradise! I saw quite a few people bouldering among the rocks.

Fun fact from Wikipedia: in 2002, this hill was named a "Spiritual Center of the Universe" by the Dalai Lama. Also, nearby Flock Hill was the backdrop for the climactic battle scenes of the Narnia movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

That's all for now. Here's hoping for an end to this rain!

-Sonja