Final Day

We woke to find that we had not slid down the mountainside into the bay.  For the last time we slowly made our breakfast and listened to the birds squawk outside.  We packed up the rest of our stuff, squeezing wine and gifts into the bags.  After dumping the gray water and waste and filling Van to the brim with water Aundra took the wheel and we headed inland to Christchurch. 

We survived the twists and turns and got into the flat land.  At one point there was a heard of cows walking along the road causing the traffic to cross over into the other lane. It was quite the country adventure.  Soon we were to have city adventures.  We put the address for the propane fill up in the GPS and we were off to fill up the last of Van’s tanks. 

Into Christchurch we went.  With the entrance into the city, we were greeted with fewer roundabouts, more stoplights, and one-way streets.  As we zigzagged into the center of town. Van felt like an elephant in a china shop.  The city had also looked like several elephants had taken it out. 

Several earthquakes have ravaged Christchurch.  September 2010 a 7.1 with damage but no fatalities hit them. Six months later, in February 2011 another earthquake hit, 6.2.  This is the strongest earthquake in an urban area ever recorded.  185 people were killed.  It was this earthquake that did the most dramatic damage.  We found out that what buildings were left standing have since been labeled unsafe and need to be demolished.  It’s estimated the damage is over NZ$20 billion.

It was like Christchurch couldn’t catch a break.  There were two more after shocks, 5.6 and 6.0 in June 2011 and a 5.1, 4.2, and 5.5 in January 2012.   Within this 2-year period, September 2010 to 2012 there were 4,423 earthquakes over 3.0.  This heartache was apparent in the city, blocks of rubble; dozens of construction sites, and of course the collapsed cathedral. Though neither has been in a war torn city, this Christchurch had the distinct feeling of having been through a war.

The city is trying to rebuild.  They are placing new artwork and creating open space where possible.  The young people are pushing to recreate their city.  It felt very hip and up and coming, in places like a square with food trucks and a mini golf hole for anyone to play. 

There is also the cardboard cathedral.  Built in 2013, this building is a symbol of hope for the people.  

This does not mean they don’t remember those who were lost.  Across the street from the cardboard cathedral is a block of white chairs.  

These chairs symbolize the people who were killed in the February earthquake. 

Being born and raised in earthquake country it was eye opening to see the destruction of an earthquake and the struggle of the city to rebuild itself.  Maybe, if we ever return, we can see it be the thriving city it appeared to once be.  With these heavy thoughts we leave Christchurch to reinvent itself.

We put the address to Wilderness into the GPS and prepared to bring Van home. 

Day 11

As the sun rose and peeked through the clouds above us we watched them sink on top of Mt. Cook and it’s neighbors.  We slowly got packed up in bits and pieces hoping for the sun to out power the clouds, to no avail.  As we hit the road we drove through the land of Ork battles, where open planes run up against steep peaks.

We stopped at Lake Tekapo for a morning hike up to an observatory.  From the top of the hill there were views of the teal lake below surrounded by saw toothed mountain peaks. At the base of the hill was a hot pool spa.  We decided we needed a warm soak to relax a bit as the end of our travels neared.  Floating in the hot pools we recalled the adventures of our trip, glow worms, waterfall hikes, climbing the day before.  We dragged ourselves out of the hot pools and into Van.  We made ourselves lunch and ate on the grass near Lake Tekapo absorbing the southern hemisphere sun and admiring the last of the mountain scenery. 

Now it was time to head off to the west coast and Christchurch.  Ahead of us was the longest driving day of the trip. We had to cover the agricultural zone of New Zealand.  For the first time since Wellington we found ourselves on a four-lane highway.  On either side of the highway were fields of rolling grains and other crops.  We crossed the longest, and least impressive bridge we’d gone over, in Rakaia.  From there were decided we had time to see a bit more of New Zealand. 

We chose to save Christchurch for tomorrow and venture to the Banks Peninsula, just south, and stay in Akaroa.  Again, we were along the coast then quickly back to the rolling hills of sheep.  Van skillfully guided us through the winding hills and down to the bay. Having found another Top 10 Holiday Park we found our van spot for the night.  Sadly it was a bit sloped downward, but it was one night.  All we needed was to pack and enjoy our last night. 

For dinner we decided to head down to town.  We soon found out that Akaroa was French.  In 1838, a French man bought it.  He encouraged people to come and immigrate to the town. Because of it’s French roots, the town felt like a little village in the Parisian countryside, gables and picket fences.  We walked down the steep hill on which we were parked and into town. To get to the town center we passed the mini golf and crossed the cricket pitch, looking for a place to have dinner.  Two blocks into town, outside of the historic church being restored, we realized neither of us had our wallets.  Feeling stupid we hiked back up he hill and chose this time to unplug Van and drive down to the town center. 

We parked and walked along the harbor edge to find a small restaurant.  Being a cool damp spring day the outside umbrellas were tied up and table empty but inside the large glass windows was an inviting café.  Being the last day, and having tried lots of New Zealand wine, we chose to order the local beer sampler.  Aundra ventured to try another of the local meats, venison, while Owen had chicken.  Both meals were delicious and, as it was our last night, indulged in two desserts. 

Full of good food and beer we bundled ourselves up and walked back to Van.  Back up the hill we went to our sloped site.  A few bags packed, bed made up, and feeling both sad to end our adventure and ready to go home we settled in for our last night in New Zealand. 

Day 10

We woke by the river, with the sun gratefully warming Van. We packed up and drove along the river though the town of Wanaka, and rounded Lake Wanaka to get to our appointment with our local rock climbing guide in an area called Rivendell (no kidding), to the climbing area Hospital Flats (not so auspicious).  

We met Dave an ex-pat from New Caanan, Connecticut, with a thick Kiwi accent to which he seemed clueless that he had. Clearly used to guiding complete newbies at climbing, he gave us a couple of very easy climbs. He quickly caught on, and ramped up the difficulty considerably. A couple of fun but challenging arête climbs gave way to him suggesting a lead climb.  After we both zipped up Are You Sure? Dave thought it was time to up the ante,  culminating with an overhung and burly climb called Critic’s Choice. Rated a New Zealand 20 (the equivalent of a 5.10b/c), we were thoroughly exhausted by the time we’d finished, just as Dave introduced us to a couple of NZ’s best climbers who promptly warmed up on our culminating climb.

We parked Van back in town, and got some lunch. Owen got fries with his meal again as the “tomato sauce” or ketchup had a delicious blend of nutmeg and vinegar. We walked around town, stopping in a local yarn store, and a few local establishments, enjoying taking our time. But indeed we once again had to hit the road. On our way out of town, we stopped at Puzzling World, a museum of illusions and puzzles, and featuring a fairly large labyrinth. With some fun and cool exhibits in the museum behind us, we hit the maze, and quickly found that we’d underestimated the challenge, as we weaved back and forth, retracing our steps many times, and finally finishing after hitting all the corners which were part of the goals. We probably covered 4km over the hour plus we were in there. 

Finally we found ourselves back on the road headed for Lake Pukaki. 

As we wound past the alpine peeks we were surrounded by flat open grasslands with a wide river cutting through.  The banks of the river and surrounding hillsides were covered with purple, lavender, pink, white, and yellow lupine.  We were continually and repeatedly astonished by the vistas we were approaching, and after each turn our jaws dropped a little further, until we got to our camping site at the base of the lake, which had a perfect reflection of the Southern Alps and Mt. Cook looming over. 

We sat in Van drinking wine and uttering expletives as the clouds rolled through the mountains and the sunset, streaking the snow capped mountain and clouds with yellows and oranges and reds. One of the most astonishing spots we’d ever been.

Day 9

We woke to the rain pitter-pattering on the roof and windows of Van.  It’s another rainy day on the west coast of the south island.  We packed up slowly, in no hurry to get out into the rain.  Fox Glacier was down the road and a short hike from the parking lot to the glacier.  A similar layout to Franz Joseph, with the town and iSite just a couple of kilometers and a small bridge from the entrance to Fox Glacier. The hike was similar as well, though much more wet, as the rain was persisting. This hike however, brought us considerably closer to the glacier, with a higher vantage point so we could see the glacier river flowing out of the bottom of the ice caves. 

After bumping into several of the same people we’d seen at Franz Joseph and navigating a large group of Japanese tourists, we made it back to Van and hit the road again.

Before leaving the west coast, we made one last stop as the rain began to subside, to check out a beach with some special inhabitants. Once again, we hiked a couple of kilometers through what was the most classically rainforesty rainforest we’d seen, to appear on a beach on a small cove. 

The Sea

We were given the heads up by a non-english speaking man that “they,” (while pinning his elbows to his sides, and flapping his hands about), “are that way”. We dutifully followed his directions along the beach and rocks, dodging the incoming tide, and found two women standing atop a boulder on the beach. We climbed up and waited until we spotted movement. We pulled out the monocular, and quickly pulled into focus two penguins scuttling out of the rocks onto the beach. Their eyes were highlighted with yellow mascara, and bodies adorned with the classic tuxedo. This truly gave a sense of how far south, and how close to Antarctica we really were.

Penguin 

Penguin Coming Out of the Sea

Now it was time to put our camping coordinates into the GPS and leave the coast heading inland.  We had some rock climbing to do. 

As we drove through what is told to be the most rainy of the alpine passes, we had dry roads.  As we followed the river through the tight narrow roads we saw the top of the gorge was dotted with windmills.  The first sign of clean energy we’d seen in this land of coal, timber, and sheep.  As we crested the southern alps the river changed directions and lead into teal lakes surrounded by jagged saw tooth peaks. We descended following the river towards Wanaka. We ended the day with a campsite recommended by Wildernests,  located right along a serene river surrounded by orange poppies, yellow lupine, and willows.  In this quaint and quiet site we washed our potatoes the river, pitched our camp chairs, and enjoyed our dinner and wine.