Day 2 – Christchurch to Punakaiki

The morning of Day 2, we grabbed our MadCampers van and off we went!

We looked at the weather (Met Service is a great weather service in NZ) and noticed that we were going to miss our window of our first major tramp in Franz Josef on the west coast if we didn’t rearrange our itinerary a bit. No Albert’s Pass, which is supposed to be gorgeous. But, because the elevation was high. there would be lots of rain with freezing roads and 35 kph winds that day. So, we went north to Lewis Pass, which was also wet but not as high and not as windy. It was still gorgeous.

Before we hit the pass, we had decent weather. Much of the first leg of this journey from Christchurch to Charleston reminded us of Petaluma.  There were lots of black Angus grazing and lots of agriculture – grass and some cabbage-looking things. There were rolling hills and cute little towns, like a block long, along the way, as well as rivers and creeks.

Amuri, just before Culverton where you can golf 18 for $20 NZ (Papa, take note for your journey here), was super cute. We didn’t stop because we were on a mission to get through the pass while the weather was still good and it was light. But, whoever goes there next, please stop there and tell us about it!

After Lewis Pass we stopped at a cute town called Reefton.  It had very clean public restrooms, a SuperSav grocery store that was WAY better and less expensive than the New World grocery store in Christchurch (weird, I know), a nice looking camping spot and sweet people at all the little stores we went into.  We wanted to go to the distillery in town but C had to drive and we said we were not drinking until we made it to Central Otago (3-4 days into the trip).  BTW, you should never drink and drive in NZ, I mean not even 1. The roads are crazy.

Hwy. 69 out of Reefton toward Punakaiki was full of valleys of cows surrounded by mountains. I wished we would have stopped to take a picture of this old mama next to her tractor and cows on the side of the road. She waived to us. Just adorable! In another pasture someone had marked their cows’ tails either blue or pink. Shouldn’t they know the difference in their cow’s genders?  Obviously, I’m missing something.

Carnet found the most amazing campsite at Punakaiki called Punakaiki Beach Camp. We had mountains on one side of us and the ocean on the other.  Just magical.  We went to sleep with the sounds of waves at our head.

A few things we learned on day two of the South Island:

1. They LOVE naming every little creek.  Mary may have had a little lamb, but she also had a shit load of creeks. 
2. The markings for tramps and walks are quite good. They are yellow signs everywhere that point which way to go to the trailheads. We decided to pass on a walk they named “Foulwind Walkway”.  
3. EVERYWHERE you look there is beauty.  The word that keeps coming to mind is “majestic.”
4. Don’t listen to Google on time to destination.  You have to go slower than predicted because the roads are really wind-y (and sometimes windy), there are one lane bridges everywhere, and you want to stop off the side of the road fairly often to enjoy the the majesty (see?) that is Mother Nature. 
5. We are #vanlife people. Of course, many of you knew this already. But, we were thinking we may just sell everything and get a van and roam the world for the rest of our lives. Totally kidding. Although quite doable, Carnet and I have to work out the point of the indoor bathroom which I required. Carnet wanted me to pee outside instead of in the van toilet so we don’t have to find waste stations and empty it so often. But, after the sand flies attacked me in very exposed places, that was not happening. Other than that, we’re loving our van!

Day 3 – Punakaiki to Franz Josef

The next morning before we left our campsite we did a quick walk to Pororari Lagoon lookout. It was a lovely little 20 minute walk along a creek. The subtropical Nikau Palms were breathtaking and everywhere.

We rolled into Pancake Rocks (pic above) where the rocks actually look like stacks of pancakes. There were also pretty great blow holes. We were about an hour before high tide but the blowing was still crazy good.

Onward! We drove past a town called Shantytown and thought of our good friend Boehm. It made us laugh.

Our next stop was Hokitika. C had the brilliant idea of listening to a Spotify Genesis playlist. We hadn’t heard some of those songs in 30-35 years. Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel – outstanding musicians. PC on percussion – what a powerhouse.

We loved Hokitika. It’s a cute town. We decided to choose Pounamu (jade-like rock) jewelry for each other as that’s what you’re supposed to do – pick out a piece that speaks to you for someone else. The traditional Maori designs include: Koru (Spiral), Pikorua (Twist), Hei Tiki, Manaia (head of a bird, body of a man, tail of a fish), Mere (sort of bowling pin or baton-like), Toki (vertical rectangle). They all mean different things. We each chose Pikorua for the other without knowing it. It can mean flow of energy between the spiritual and physical worlds. It also signifies bonding of two lives together for eternity. Lovely!

We stayed in Hokitika for a walk along the river on one side and the ocean on the other where there was “River Art” day, which consisted of people making sculptures out of driftwood. The “art” was very rudimentary but it seemed like everyone was having fun, especially the kids!

After Hokitika we did another breathtaking drive down the coast to Franz Josef. Stunning, all the way down. This is something you do not want to rush.

C found yet another awesome campsite called Rainforest Camp, located in Franz Josef. This time, we backed up to a stream and again had a secluded little section to ourselves. We went to a bar and had a beer (no, we didn’t make it even 2 days before we imbibed – damn!) and really delicious food – a perfectly braised lamb shank in a red wine reduction and salmon over pea and ginger risotto. We watched a bit of the Australian Open and conversed with a kiwi and his lovely Canadian wife who was a spitting image of Meryl Street, both now living in Vancouver.

Off to bed in anticipation of our “difficult” rated Robert’s Point Track tramp to the glacier tomorrow!

Day 4 – Robert’s Point Track and the glacier!

We woke up to a gorgeous sunny day. This is why we rushed south. We knew we needed to get up early and get the tramp done before the rains started and the other trampers got in our way – ha!  That tramp was the best hike (save for one in Oahu many years ago that wasn’t actually a legal hike to go on) we’ve ever done.  It consisted of 5 suspension bridges that only allowed anywhere from 1 to 5 people on them at a time, several creeks (one which we had to take our shoes off for and wade across), enormous and slippery rocks we had to scramble up and down (think Lord of the Rings scrambling over rocks scenes), several waterfalls, and a spectacular glacier view at the top. 

One word: Epic.

It was a roughly 5 hour tramp up and back, like most reviewers and All Trails said. If you go, and you definitely should, the conditions need to be nearly perfect. If it’s too wet, it will be dangerous. You’ll slip and fall and likely hurt yourself or fall down a loooong ways. If it’s windy, the suspension bridges would be a bit harrowing. If it’s cloudy, you won’t see the waterfalls or the glacier at the top, which is the whole reason to do this tramp. We lucked out! Everything went perfectly.

We were so happy that when we made it down we went to another bar in town to have a Hazy IPA.  As luck would have it, we hit happy hour!  After showers and a rest, we went back for the “spirits happy hour” and had 2-for-1 Tanqueray and tonics from 9-10 p.m.  We wouldn’t have gone but we wanted to see Coco Gauff play.  Boo, she lost. But, I’m happy for Sabalenka. She seems to have gotten out of her own way enough to secure a few titles now. That’s something those of us who are head cases should continually strive to do – get out of our own way!

Tomorrow – another town, another awesome tramp!