More Queenstown and St Patrick’s Day

Tuesday was cool and cloudy with some rain and so was a day to catch up with posting blog notes and email as well as some much needed laundry.

The weather improved in the late afternoon and I met some people at the Irish pub while sitting outside with a nice cold Guinness. A couple of the guys were from Wellington, and I got some good hints for great places to eat if I make it back there, and a girl from Market Bosworth which is very close to my sister Allie’s town. She has been traveling for a couple of months and is one of the first people who has decided that it is not for her. I think it is great that she has done it and now knows what she wants, but most people I have met very much enjoy this somewhat nomadic lifestyle.

I was going to try the paragliding but discovered that for a little more money I could rent a Cessna 172 at the Queenstown airport for a 45 minute flight with an instructor. Overall better value.

What an experience!

The airport sits in a valley very close to “The Remarkables” a mountain range that is about 8000 ft and several other high terrain areas. It is challenging for the scheduled flights and no less so for light aircraft. After some discussion with Alex the instructor (he is from Morpeth in Northumberland UK) we decided on a route that flew us up a canyon towards a place called Lunar Lake and then beyond where you come around the corner and there is the big lake that Queenstown is located on. 

We climbed to 4000 ft and still had mountains on both sides of the plane. The views were magical (another superlative) and I was pleased that I was able to fly and hold altitude as well as I did. 

Queenstown airport is almost in the center of the picture

We came back down the lake and the airport is straight in front of you. There was a Qantas 737 backtracking on the paved runway so we were instructed to circle and land on the dirt runway that basically intersects the paved runway. The weather was excellent and the whole experience was really good fun.

I had been out for a walk in the morning over to the city park, and am impressed by how well all of the parks are kept. I think I commented on the one in Masterton and of course Christchurch. It really adds to the overall impression people have of the place.

Someone had also told me that there was a yacht moored on that side of the bay that had belonged to Winston Churchill back during WW2 and had been used for some War Cabinet meetings. A local businessman bought it about 20 years ago and shipped it here and did extensive restoration work.

Anita on the way to Pog Mahones for St Patrick's Day

On the way back I met Anita who works on the front desk at the hotel and she is from Dublin and was off to the pub for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. All of the staff are very friendly but also a little sad as the hotel will close at the end of March as the lease is up and the landlord will not renew.

Anita invited me to join the celebrations with her friends, which I did after the flying.

By the time I got there they were well in to it and the whole place was hopping. There was Irish music inside, with a Japanese girl that plays bouhran and fiddle. Very well I might add.

Throughout the evening I met and had interesting conversations with lots of people. There was a US Army medic on R&R from Afghanistan, and lots and lots of genuine Irish, as well as some honorary Irish just for the day.

Everyone had a lot of fun and nobody I saw was too wild with the possible exception of Adam who is a large Aussie guy who would randomly take off around the pub in his “mankini” Quite a sight but harmless enough. 

The West coast and Queenstown

I arrived in Queenstown on Sunday evening after a 7 hour bus ride down the remote west coast and over a couple of mountain passes. I have decided that I will rent a car and retrace my route when I head back north at the end of the week and take some time to stop and enjoy the various places we saw on the way down. I have purposely chosen to travel on the now iconic Atomic Shuttle bus system as this allows me to look around instead of at the road, and to meet people along the way. It has worked well.

I have found that I am coming across the same people in different places. Yesterday I met the French guy who was one of the passengers on the glacier helicopter trip at the top of the mountain in Queenstown. There have been several other “repeat meetings”

There are lots of Americans in Queenstown, but they have been few and far between on the road so far. I met a lady from Oregon who is traveling with her daughter and a guy from Colorado but that is about it. Lots and lots of young people from all over the world some of whom have been traveling for a couple of years. It is possible, and I believe quite easy to get a temporary wor permit for a year both here and for Australia and it can be extended for a second year with no big issues. Most of the jobs are in the service industry or fruit picking. Some places offer a room and food in exchange for 3-4 hours work a day. 

The old fella is sleeping...I hope!!

We stopped several times on the way down including a lunch stop at a salmon fish farm that looks out over a large wetland, and at a little remote café with a grass airstrip opposite.

There was an elderly gentleman on the bust from Australia (I estimate mid 80s) who had been left behind by his tour bus and was having to play catch-up. He had a walking frame and we had to help him on and off the bus. The driver was most accommodating and was going to deliver him to his hotel after we were dropped off. Better service than his tour company evidently!

I think I have mentioned that I am concerned about my seeming over usage of superlatives when describing the places and things I am experiencing.

Queenstown will again test the use of superlatives. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Period. The scenery is stunning and the whole town is clean (very little litter anywhere in NZ) and there is lots of variety of places to eat and things to do.

Based on advice from Jen Grant who was here a couple of weeks ago I booked in to Thomas’s Hotel which is an upgrade in creature comforts from most of the places I have been in, but certainly not the lap of luxury. It is however right on the lakefront with superb views and easy access to everything. 

 Above two pics are from my room

I was originally staying two nights and then moving to Te Anau but will base myself here for the next few days as Wednesday is St Patrick’s Day and likely to be a load of fun.

I am going to Doubtful Sound on a day trip Friday and that includes a trip to a hydroelectric power station.

There are lots of “adventure” tours here all the way from Bungee jumping from a bridge with a six second fall (no thanks) to jetboats on the river to parasailing. There are lake cruises and loads of other activities.

There is a good Irish pub close by called Pog Mahones which is a misspelling of a Gaelic saying. 

It is a lively place and should be a good base for St Paddys Day. I met a girl and her Dad from Dublin who were traveling together and she is staying on to work, and another couple who have just finished working for Cirque du Soleil with one of their traveling shows. They have a house her as their base. Not a bad gig.

The Glacier experience

There are many glaciers in this region, but the two most famous are Fox and Franz Josef. Franz Josef is about 20km from the sea and right now is moving rapidly (in glacial terms) at approx a meter a day. Most move only centimeters in a year. It is dependent on the snowfall over the preceding 10 years or snow that packs new snow on the top and pushes down on the base. The other unusual aspect is that the glacier is plowing through a rain forest. I took a walk this afternoon to the base of the glacier, or as close as they will let you go unescorted. There is a car park and then a short walk in the rain forest and the path winds around and then suddenly you make a right turn and you are looking at the glacier about 2 km away. The weather changes rapidly and the valley is steep sided so you can feel the cold air coming off the ice the closer you get. Basically you walk up the riverbed that is very rocky but with a decent path and markers and you get within about 500meters of the base. There is a constant danger of icefalls and some of rock falls and slides. 

So called "Victoria Falls" The water coming out of the base of the glacier

They have full day and half day guided tours and also helitours where you are taken on to the glacier in a helicopter and hike for about 2 hours and then taken back down. There are also aerial tours with a glacier landing, which is what I chose after some deliberation. I actually did this first based on the availability of seats. I think it was a Bell Jet Ranger and seated 6 plus the pilot. The heliport is about 300 meters from the hostel (as is everything else in town) and you can hear them going and coming constantly. When we landed on the glacier there were five others there at the same time from different operators.

The ride up is dramatic as you pass close to the sides of the valley and then fly over the ice field, and then over the ridge where it becomes Fox Glacier rather than Franz Josef. 

Banking  through the valley following the glacier

The decent is a series of dramatic turns following the sides of the valley and then over the village of Fox Glacier and on back to the heliport. It was all over too quickly but was a great experience. I had hoped to do it in a fixed wing 185 but I was the only one wanting to go and it is a minimum of two!

Franz Josef. No photos!

I arrived in Franz Josef last evening after a pleasant and unhurried morning in Greymouth. I gauged it about right as any longer and I would have run out of things to do. Their library has free wireless Internet so I was able to upload some photos and complete a blog page. That is proving more difficult here.

Franz Josef is here because of the glacier and no other reason that I can determine. It is a little touristy and busy. I had dinner in one place and took a walk afterwards and was looking at a menu at another place (maybe tomorrow I thought) There were two ladies who were quite vocal in their warning that I not eat there. This was much to the annoyance of the waitress (Understandable) but they thought they had lousy food in small quantity (if it is bad food who needs plenty of it!). Anyway we moved on and had a beer at the place where I had eaten. One of them is a pilot for Southwest based in Baltimore and the other is a (now unemployed business consultant) They have both volunteered on projects in Bolivia and we talked about Habitat and various issues and generally had a fun evening.

The views of the surrounding mountains and the glacier are astounding. I am conscious of the constant use of superlatives in my blog, but they are justified and my photographic skills constantly under whelm me.

I think a separate post on the glacier is the best plan.

I have mentioned that food is fairly expensive, particularly eating out. When I was in Greymouth I bought a “Cold bag” basically an insulated carrier and some food that I carry with me. All the hostels have fridges and you write your name on your stuff and your leaving date and prepare what you need. At a minimum I am doing breakfast and some lunches this way and the occasional dinner. There might be the occasional beer that finds it’s way in to the cooler, but generally not for long!

I am probably saving $20 or $25 a day this way with minimal effort. I am on the bus again tomorrow for the long haul to Queenstown. It is basically 8 hours.

There is some prospect that I may be able to pick up a rental car that needs to go back to Wellington, and there is a website where you can check. Often these cars can be had for the price of the gas and maybe a few $$ a day. I loke the bus travel for the people connections and ability to look at the countryside, but you cannot stop at will to take pictures so a car for part of the journey is somewhat attractive. I have not driven since I left home over 2 months ago so I am a little out of practice and they drive on the left!! We will see what happens.

Christchurch and over to the west coast

It is Thursday afternoon here and I am now on the west coast of South Island New Zealand.

The west coast region boasts 31,000 permanent residents and 12,000 of them live here in Greymouth, so when they claim remote they are correct.

I spent yesterday in Christchurch and it’s surrounds. I walked down the hill again (third time in total) and caught the local bus in to town, about a 30 min ride. Cost about USD$2 for the one way trip so great value. I also discovered that the house is approx 170 meters above sea level about 560 ft.

I walked around a little and visited the cathedral, and decided on the gondola ride, which involved another bus ride. I chatted with a couple from Knoxville TN on a tour of Australia and NZ.

The top is 455 meters above sea level and only a couple of km away.

There is a great view of Lyttleton harbor which serves Christchurch and it looks like a lot of wood products are shipped from there. Access by road is through a tunnel but there is a train line also.

It is possible (I discovered later) to hike down from the top of the gondola ride to the harbor. I would have done it if I had known. 

I took the more leasurly route by going back down on the gondola and on to Lyttleton on the bus (the same tcket worked as it was under 2 hours since I bought it. Saw a couple of Cat loaders with log forks and , as always a Volvo!!

Back to town and finished up at the Botanical Gardens. They are beautifully kept and there was a flower show that starts today so a lot of activity. 

I wandered back in to town, had a cold beer, and a nice chat with a NZ couple getting ready to start a business, and then met up with Tom for a ride back to the palace!

Tom has joined the volunteer fire brigade in Sumner, so he had training. I got my act together for an early departure this morning on the TransAlpine train.

The train leaves Christchurch at 8.15 and Tom gave me a ride on his way to work.

When I took the Overlander on North Island there were 4 cars. This train had 8 cars, and while not full was probably 80% full.

It crosses the fertile Canterbury Plain and starts it’s climb to Arthur’s Pass at 727 meters or about 2400 ft 

That is me below the sign blending with the scenery!

As always the scenery was magnificent even though there was rain and low cloud that limited the view some. After Arthur’s Pass the train goes through a 8km tunnel on about a 3% grade so dropping about 240 meters and then on to Greymouth arriving about 1.30.

A flurry of activity ensued as people collected their bags and rental cars or caught connecting busses on down towards Franz Josef Glacier or Queenstown. I will be doing that tomorrow. My accommodation is more than adequate but does not compare to the house in Sumner. That was a nice break but I am very happy with what I am finding with the hostels in general.

I am off to Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers tomorrow until Sunday morning. There is a possibility that I may be able to fly from Franz Josef and land on Mt Cook on a ski plane. How cool is that!

I have pushed my departure from NZ out again and will now be here until the 24^th leaving only a short time in Australia. I am keen not to rush NZ but know I will have merely scratched the surface in about a month.

I met a couple on the train today from Sydney who waxed eloquent about Tasmania and my friends April and Steve have already told me essentially the same. That may be where I spend my Aussie time.

Travel to Christchurch and Sumner. Nice digs!!

I left Picton on Monday and traveled by Atomic Shuttle, a local bus service on South Island. I bought a pass that allows me to book on line and it is roughly USD$7 per hour traveled. An added bonus is that they will stop at your hotel to pick you up, so no lugging 20kg bags down the street. At least not yet. 

 

  

V Rod and other Harleys

 

 

  

Atomic Shuttle in KiaKoura

The journey takes about 5 hours and the service is designed to connect with one of the ferries from North Island. The route is down the east coast via Kiakoura which is famous for whale watching and being able to swim with dolphins. I will probably try to come back up this coast on my return. There was some great surf (to watch rather than be in!) and seals sunning themselves on the rocks. We will see what time allows.

We reached Christchurch around 6.45pm and I am going to stay with a son of a family friend from the UK. Now I have not seen Tom since he was about 8 and he just turned 40 I think. He is currently house sitting ina place called Sumner which is about 12km out of Christchurch. The owners are visiting family in Egnland for a couple of weeks.

What a place. It is a couple of km out of Sumner and is on a steep hill/bluff. I estimate that it is about 500 ft above the ocean with a fabulous view and the house has a pool and tennis courts and a killer view.

 

  

 

Seeing as how he did not know me from Adam it is very kind of him to offer a room and also to cook an excellent risotto when I arrived. I did come bearing some wine and beer and we spent a pleasent evening getting to know each other. He is consulting with the local government in Christchurch on IT issues, so I have had the house to myself and taken the opportunity to catch up on laundry and some trip planning. 

 

  

Way steep narrow driveway in Sumner

I also walked down (and back up the very steep road) to see the village, so I got my exercise for the day.. Now I am having a beer to make up for it!.

I have decided to extend my stay (again) until the 24th and reduce the time available in Australia. I am staggered by how much there is to see and do and know I will only just be scratching the surface after 3 weeks or more and just focusing on South Island. 
I will be taking the TranzAlpine train on Thursday and then making my way down the west coast to Queenstown and Te Anau which is the gateway to Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound in Fjordland in the very southwest. Not sure after that!
Visiting Christchurch tomorrow. It is billed as a "traditional English town in the south" We will see.