Have I told you about the infamous sandflies that inhabit the west coast and the females bite like mad? Well we seemed to miss them at Doubtful and Milford Sound but at Haast they hit! I've had about 30 odd bites on my feet and Roy has none!
Finally we left the
beautiful West Coast and took the road over Arthur's Pass heading to
the east side again.
Weather was gorgeous as
we stocked up with provisions at New World in Greymouth before the
steep climb.
Brief photo call at the
Otira Stagecoach Hotel to snap Gollum and Gandalf and the other ogre
things that I'll have to ask John about, I think they're Orcs?
Lunch at Temple Basin
track head before doing the the track, which zigzags steeply 500
metres to the ski club buildings to give magnificent views of Mt
Rolleston and Kaimatau across the valley.
Drove short distance to
Arthurs Pass Village and got a site on the DOC campground at
Avalanche Creek Shelter, which was at the side of the railway near the
entrance to the Otira tunnel, 8.5 kms long and a gradient of 1 in 33.
It was bored from both ends in 1908, the two ends met in 1918 and
opened for traffic in 1923.
Had a look in Visitor
centre and he advised we do the Devils Punchbowl Falls walk this
evening instead of tomorrow as forecast is rain.
What a stunning walk
climbing 150 metres up a series of steps to a viewing platform of
this spectacular 131 metre waterfall. Another fantastic day!
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| A WEKA |
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| ON THE PASS ROAD FOUND GANDALF |
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| AND GOLLUM! |
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| ORCS?? |
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| OFFERS ANYONE |
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| A KEA IN THE WILD, THE ALPINE NEW ZEALAND PARROT WHO'S VERY MISCHIEVOUS |
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| OTIRA VIADUCT |
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| LUNCH AT TEMPLE BASIN BEFORE THE HIKE UP |
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| STILL SOME FLOWERS IN BLOOM |
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| TEMPLE BASIN HIKE |
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| ALMOST TO THE SKI HUTS |
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| WE MADE IT! |
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| DEVILS PUNCHBOWL FALLS |
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| DEVILS PUNCHBOWL FALLS |
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| I FOUND A BELL AT ARTHURS PASS VILLAGE CHAPEL |
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| COMING OUT OF THE TUNNEL |
FROM THE TASMAN SEA TO
THE PACIFIC OCEAN
After a nights camping
at the top of Arthurs Pass, we headed downhill and across the the
east side. We've had to do a short diversion due to road closures on
main road that takes us north to Kaikoura where we hope to take a
boat trip to whale watch. When we leave we may have a bigger
diversion as road north of Kaikoura is also blocked from cyclone
event but fingers crossed they get it open in time.
A lovely day, quite a
long drive but places to see on the way. Weather has improved from
this mornings drizzle on the tops and much warmer this side.
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| WAIMAKARIRI RIVER |
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| WAIMAKARIRI RIVER |
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| LEAVING ARTHURS PASS |
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| CAVE STREAM EXIT ON RIGHT SIDE |
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| CAVE STREAM ENTRANCE |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| FURTHER INTO CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| CAVE STREAM AREA |
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