Calypso's Journal: The North & West Coasts of South Island

The Beautiful Marlborough Sounds

We couldn’t have asked for smoother conditions to cross over to Picton on South Island. The scenery travelling through the Marlborough Sounds was stunning and this all started to look like the makings of a fabulous holiday. And to make matters even better, we found a very good deal on a small Canon camera while in Wellington which is streets better than that horrid ‘thing’ I picked up in desperation while we were in Fiji. It may not be the ultimate but I LOVE IT!

Overlooking Picton

After spending the first night at a campsite in Picton, we drove westwards along the northern coastline through the incredibly scenic Queen Charlotte Drive towards Nelson. Every corner, every hill, every valley, was a scenic wonder. I put my new camera to use in a BIG way.

Picturesque Mountains & Valleys

Our first dismal day stopped us from seeing much of the scenery on our way up to Golden Bay the next day but fortunately, this was sort of a dead end road which meant that we had to return along the same route. By doing so, it gave us a second chance to see the missed vistas and the following day dawned with clear skies and magnificent opportunities to see it all.

However, by now the ugly tooth saga was taking its toll. The Chinese dentist in Wellington had refused to touch it so now we’re off looking, hopefully, for a dentist without such reservations. Luck was with us. Paul managed to find one who, despite being really fully booked, took him in as an emergency and was able to sort him out and save the tooth. For a few days prior to this, he had been living on painkillers and for those of you who know my husband well, you’ll know that things must have really become serious if he resorted to taking a pill of any description let alone a severe pain killer.

Some of the fun postboxes along the way

Back on the road, we passed mile after mile of apple orchards, groves of kiwi fruit, pears, peaches, plums, hops, vineyards (and funky postboxes). A veritable fruit basket of delicious goodies. The ‘honour box’ system still works here allowing one to stop at any number of unmanned stands along the way, place your money in a box and walk off with a bag of freshly picked fruit. Without being really down on the country, can any of you who know the score imagine the likes of this in South Africa?!? What fruit? what box? in fact, what stand?

Throughout the entire trip, we passed pasture after pasture of sheep which was no great surprise. However, in addition to these, we passed fields of deer which are bred for their meat value as well. For years we've heard jokes about the Kiwis and their sheep and, believe me, there are still plenty of them here but surprisingly, dairy cattle are now outnumbering the sheep. The dairy industry in New Zealand is huge.

Anyone for 'venison?

The weather continued to excel, albeit somewhat nippy, and we’re now heading for Punakaiki down the west coast. The road signs sort of give one a clue that we’re not exactly in tropical climes anymore.

The further south we went it just got colder..........and colder................... and colder!

They look as though they were manmade

Punakaiki is well known for its blow-holes and odd rock formations known as the Pancake Rocks. This 'pancake'-layering of the limestone was created by immense pressure on alternating hard and soft layers of marine creatures and plant sediments thus forming their unique appearance. They really are quite intriguing.

We thoroughly enjoyed the changing scenery and the convenience of the camper van gave us the opportunity to stop at any number of campsites and picnic sites along the way, most offered some of the most amazing tranquil views and settings.

Frans Josef Glacier

By now, we’re seeing snow-capped mountains galore and have reached the Frans Josef Glacier where we can just see Mount Cook way in the background. This glacier is 12 km long and terminates about 19 km from the Tasman Sea. Due to strong snowfall, it is one of the few glaciers in New Zealand (& the world) which is still growing. We hiked for just over an hour to the base of the glacier and back but didn’t take the guided tour up onto the glacier itself. Such events are all just a tad too pricey here in New Zealand.

Fox Glacier

We were still feeling fairly energetic by the time we reached the Fox Glacier just further down the road so we hiked to the base of that one as well. Great scenery, great hike and, all in all, thoroughly rewarding.

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