Monday 26 March 2012

Time Off For Good Behaviour

Currently having a couple of days off in Oamaru. As mentioned in my last blog the office at the Waikouaiti Motor Camp is not open during the day. On my second day there the owners daughter opened the office after arriving home from school. To say that customer service at this camp is not taken seriously would be an understatement as she was in her dressing gown and more interested in texting than serving customers. Shortly after this I was talking to Fred in the caravan parked next to my tent when I heard a car pull up behind me. To my surprise it was Alan my walking buddy. He had gone for a job interview and was driving past and tracked me down.It was good to see him again and he stopped and had dinner with me. A Swiss couple Marion and Stephan started a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle at 8pm and I wondered what time they would get to bed if they intended to finish it. Next morning the jigsaw was back in it's box in pieces. They told me they still hadn't finished it at 12.30am when they went to bed.

 As Fred from the caravan next door was going to the shops he gave me a ride and I restarted walking from the shops as I had walked there the day before. Initially I was carrying my large back pack. The first 4km was on a back road and then 5km on State Highway One. While walking along SH1 Charissa phoned me and I was sitting on my pack when a ute pulled up and asked if I was all right. This led to an offer of a ride which I decline but the driver agreed to take my pack on to his destination.Coincidentally the drivers name was John Morgan the same name as an ex work colleague. John was heading for a grain farm near Shag Point some 10km away. I then walked another 8km on side roads and 2km back on SH1 and easily found the farm. The owner Ronald Sheat advised me that there were no motor camps or backpackers locally and I asked if I could camp on their lawn. This led to the offer of sleeping in his partially completed gypsy caravan in his shed, I eagerly accepted the offer. Ronald even provided lighting, chair and radio for me. His wife Fran gave me a cup of tea and later even gave me my first home cooked meal for awhile. Later I sat in the caravan reading my book with one of their kittens warming my lap, domestic bliss!

Next day Ronald was heading north and offered to take my pack onto the Hampden Motor Camp. I left at 8.20am and walked 2km on SH1 before dropping down onto the beach at Shag Point. Walked several KM's up the beach with one rocky headland to go around. Walking along a rock ledge I came to a spot blocked by a landslide. Rather than go back I scooped up handfuls of gooey clay to expose the rock beneath so that i had somewhere to place my feet without slipping. I had been advised that when I got to a river I would have to rejoin the road but the river proved to be easily forded without even getting my feet wet. I carried on to another headland and clambered over rocks and had to get down into the sea.  In several places the sea was up to my knees.  There was one deeper part where the sea entered a cave and my shorts got wet. There was lots of bull kelp which made life interesting and was quite slippery. Finally arrived at a small beach below Moeraki Lighthouse. Clambered up the grass covered hill only to discover a deer fence at the top. To make matters worse the fence had an electric wire at the top. I did try to climb over but got a zap and so decided discretion was required and walked back down hill and found an alternative way up to the lighthouse. After viewing the lighthouse (photo taken for you Neville!) I walked down a metal road for 2km and rejoined the beach and walked past Moeraki Boulders.Near here I met Marion and Stephan again, the Swiss jigsaw puzzlers, and they advised me that my pack was waiting for me at the Motor Camp. Finally arrived there after walking about 18km for the day.  This was the best Motor Camp to date, Reasonably priced, no charge for showers, everyone friendly and nice clean facilities. The owner Alex offered me a ride to the local shop as he was going that way and that he would give me a shout. Five minutes latter he called my name, I wondered how he knew it as I had not introduced myself yet. Apparently he had seen my blog address on my backpack and checked it out. He thinks I am a "crazy feller". When I went to pay at the shop I realised that  I had left my wallet back at the camp so had to walk back to get it.

Once again my pack was taken on the next day, this time by Marion and Sebastian Walked mostly on the beach this day with every short of rock, stones, pebbles, pea gravel and sand.Luckily it was low tide and I managed to get around several headlands. Sometimes I was wading up to my knees. At one point I came across a Seal colony and rather than disturb them I walked around then climbing a very steep hill. Later disturbed 3 seals and we all got a fright. When eating lunch I saw some seaweed moving 50m along the beach and it turned out to be a sea lion. Later after crossing a river a man appeared above the beach took my photo and then walked away without making eye contact.Finally came to Taranui beach where families were building sandcastles and surfers were in the surf. After walking around the top of the headland at Taranui I found Kakanui Motor Camp and was reunited with my pack again after walking 17km.

For the 4th consecutive day my pack was taken on again this time to Oamaru by the camp owners. Another 17km day. A short track from the camp led to the road and then I walked across farmland and then road again for about 4km.Managed to get back onto beach but the small pea gravel was very tiring to walk on so
when I saw an old road above the beach I climbed up to it. The road was officially closed to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians as it was falling into the sea but was better that the slow progress on the beach.At the end of this old road I found a local couple who gave me advice for further up the beach.Latter a couple walking their dog gave me contradicting information. Climbed a hill over farmland before getting back onto the beach.Saw a few seals on the beach and later while wading around a headland there were two seals fighting just 1m above my head on a rocky ledge. One jumped into the sea at my approach but the other just looked at me.Later found a good path above the beach and followed that to Oamaru. When I got to the end of the path I found a notice saying the path was closed because of subsidence, although I'd seen no evidence of it. The path also ended in a commercial penguin watching area and i had to climb a tall gate to get out. I booked into a backpackers and about an hour later was very glad I wasn't in my tent as heavy rain and hail flooded the main street in front of the back packers. Next day the local paper had a colour photo on the front page of the flooding.

Having a couple days rest here before heading North again tomorrow.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Two's Company

I met Alan on the Otago Rail Trail and he expressed an interest in walking with me for a couple of days. On Saturday 17th March we left Dunedin heading for Aramoana as I restarted my walk north. A fairly boring walk alongside the road to Port Chalmers. We  missed the start of a walkway which runs for about 3km and had to finally gain access by illegally crossing railway tracks. We stopped for lunch in Port Chalmers. After lunch we once again walked alongside the road along the foreshore around numerous bays to Aramoana. A total distance of about 28km for the day.

We camped on the Domain alongside a German couple and we all exchanged travel stories. It was great to have someone to chat to while walking and I found Alan to be an ideal travelling companion. He is a 27 year old an Argentinian touring NZ mostly by push bike. Although there is a large age gap we found we shared a similar sense of humour.

The next day we initially followed a DOC track up a steep hill through a sheep farm. From the top there were great views looking out over Aramoana and the Otago Peninsula. At Haywards Point we headed off across country over more sheep country and at one stage through a native plantation where we both got scratched by an unidentified tree and the the stings were still there the next day. At one stage I climbed a gate and then heard a noise behind me and Alan had fallen while climbing and landed on his back with his feet hanging over the gate. Luckily he was unhurt. He had to stay in that position until both cameras had been put to use to record the event for posterity. The final stretch for the day was along Long Beach where we had heard about some caves. Inspecting the 4 caves we decided to camp in the largest one. Although we had only covered 7km for the day it had been difficult country.
One of the other caves was already in use by Dave who had cycled out from Dunedin 3 days previously. The cave we camped in was huge, about the size of a large aircraft hanger. As all good cavemen do one of our first tasks, after setting up our tents inside the cave, was to light a fire. We had to walk quite a way to gather  wood but eventually gathered enough for a large fire. When speaking with Dave when we first arrived I invited him to visit us later and about 8pm he arrived with a large log for the fire, I guess that's the neighbourly thing to do when someone moves into the cave next door!

On Monday morning we walked into the nearby settlement and filled our water bottles. A short sharp walk up a tar sealed road, eventually led us to a track around an inlet. The rest of the walk around the inlet was on a metal road for several kilometres and then a 4 wheel drive track took us to Purakaunui Bay. This is where our plans came unstuck. We had intended to walk uphill under power pylons marked on the map, over a railway and downhill to Waitati. Unfortunately the power pylons turned out to be power poles and the the land underneath was covered in gorse and impenetrable. Our back up plan of waiting for low tide and walking around the headlands also proved impossible. Eventually we found a faint and steep track up hill which eventually went on the outside of a railway tunnel and then beside the track before dropping down to a car park at a road end. The road led us into Waitati. During my walk I have made a habit of talking to people I meet as this often leads to gaining local knowledge as well as giving me some social contact. The only person we saw on entering Waitati was Paul who was  trimming a huge hedge. On stopping to talk with him and telling him of our plans to camp on the local reserve he turned out to be a custodian of the keys to the reserve toilet and said he would pop down later to unlock them for us. This has happened time and again on my walk that the right people show up at the right time. Total kms walked for the day was 10km.  While I went to the local shop Alan checked his emails at the local library and found that he had received a job offer in his line of work from a local gold mining operation.

Next day Alan heading back to Dunedin and I walked 24km, partly along SH1 and partly along a back road to Waikauaiti. At one stage I came across contractors/ surveyors preparing for roadworks. I was advised that they were getting ready "to move the bumps to somewhere else". As I had not had a shower for 4 days and also needed to do some washing, recharge my cell ph and check my emails I needed either to book into a backpackers or a motor camp. The Waikauaiti Motor Camp was the closest. The tariff was a bit steep @$20 a night but I was going no further that day. The camp office was unattended but a resident directed me where to set up my tent. After setting up I heading off for a very much anticipated hot shower, my first for 4 days. I got very grumpy when I found that the showers cost $1, I had no change and there was nobody around to give me any. When much later the manager appeared and I expressed my feelings about the cost of the site, having to pay extra for a shower, no customer service during the day and the lack of facilities in the kitchen he wasn't very sympathetic. I am staying here two days so that I can get my washing dried.

Today is a rest day from walking. So for relaxation I read my book, I walked the beach, walked to the shops and walked a local nature path alongside a lagoon. 

Thursday 15 March 2012

Otago Rail Trail

On Thursday 8th March Charissa drove me to Auckland Airport and I flew to Dunedin. This was one week later than planned due to a tummy problem. After leaving Dunedin airport I hitchhiked to Middlemarch to walk the Otago Rail Trail. The initial road I took from the airport was a quiet country road and I saw 3 cars in the first hour. Luckily the 3rd car picked me up and took me to Outram. I enquire there about purchasing camping gas for my stove but without luck. The 2nd ride from just outside Outram took me all the way to Middlemarch. Tricia the person who picked me up lives with her husband in Otago during the summer and in Queensland during the winter. On arrival at Middlemarch I enquired at the info centre about anywhere to purchase camping gas but was informed that nowhere sold it. I was in luck however as they had a large mostly full canister which someone else had left behind which I could have for nothing. The lady also advised me that there was free camping across the road on the domain. I set up my tent in a sheltered area near the rugby club rooms. All was well until 7.30pm when the local rugby club started to gather for their weekly practise and my tent was where they usually park. So there was me in my tent surrounded by utes! It did work out well though as not only did they invite me to use their showers but also invited me in for a beer or two after the practise. This turned into an hilarious night as they told outrageous stories. Unfortunately they are too much of an adult nature to repeat here.

The Otago Rail Trail follows the route of a former railway line for 150 km from Middlemarch to Clyde (or vice versa). Set up in 2000 it was the first rail trail in NZ.  Each day dozens and sometimes hundreds of cyclists use the trail. There are even sometimes fools who walk the trail. I was going to be one of those fools.

On Friday morning I set off from Middlemarch to walk the first 30km to Hyde. On leaving Middlemarch it was quite foggy. As the fog lifted views of the wide valley the trail runs through became visable. There are hills both sides of the valley. The countryside can be quite bleak and baron. There are numerous sheep farms. Scenes for Lord Of The Rings were filmed around here.

At the first road crossing I met Jane who was driving a van as support for a group of cyclists and she agreed to take my pack on to Hyde.  I made good time arriving about 3.30pm. Yes it was a Middle(sized)march My pack was at the Hyde cafe and I enquired there about tent sites and was told I could set up beside the cafe. Judging by prices charged elsewhere it was quite an expensive site @ $15 just for the site and use of the toilet, no kitchen facilities and $5 extra for use of the shower.

The following day I walked from Hyde & seeking Ranfurly 32 km away. I walked the first 10km then found a couple at a trail side car park in a house bus to take my pack on to Ranfurly. Due to the vastness of the view and country here it can get quite "samey" walking all day but I still enjoyed the walk. In the afternoon 4 of the cyclists going the other way all told me the same thing in different ways " oh your the walker, your pack has arrived safely in Ranfurly". Set my tent up at the Motor Camp in Ranfurly and in contrast to the day before it cost $13 for tent site and full use of kitchen and showers. A good clean and tidy facility. Met a couple in the kitchen Tony & Pam, ex dairy farmers from Taranaki  who both also used to work for the Dairy Board in Wellington. Pam was biking parts of the trail while Tony drove the van. They agreed to take my pack onto Oturehua the next day.

A later start next day due to getting up late after a restless night and looking around the Art Deco buildings before departing town. I met  the first walker I'd seen so far just before Wedderburn, a retired farmer now living in Queenstown who was born around this area. He has returned every year for the past 4 years and walked a different section of the trail. Not long after that light rain started to fall. At Wedderburn I met a couple and their teenage son who had stopped to eat lunch in the station building while driving back to Dunedin. They shared their thermos of tea with me This helped to warm me up and put a bit more energy into the walking. The day before a hot spot had developed on my left heel and it started to get worse on this afternoon and I had to keep stopping to put bandages and tape on it to prevent it becoming a blister. After Wedderburn the rain gradually set in and became persistent heavy rain. I arrived at the Oturehua Tavern  to collect my pack and dripped water through their bar. I was feeling cold and miserable as I booked into the Crows Nest backpackers after having walked 23km for the day. Annette the proprietor made me feel welcome and offered the use of a hot tub. Usually this cost $60 but as other guests staying in cabins had used it I could have it for nothing if I didn't mind using 2nd hand water. The tub was situated outside so I sat in a hot tub in the rain holding an umbrella! It did the trick and quickly warmed me up. Although I was staying in a dorm room I was the only one so literally had the place to myself until the people from the cabins came in for breakfast next morning.

Thank goodness the rain had stopped the next morning and headed for Lauder 23km away. Before leaving Oturehua I visited the local store which is the oldest continuously operated store in NZ and still has the original wooden shelves and displays of bygone products alongside today's products. I was unable to find anyone to take my pack on so carried it the entire day for the first time on the trail. Most cyclists I saw on the trail say hello or good morning or just wave, occasionally one will say something about me walking or comment on the views. On rare occasions one would stop and talk. On this day Alan an Argentinian riding part of the trail stopped to talk before going on his way. Later up the trail I met him again and he shared some of his lunch with me. We shared stories and he seemed quite interested in my walk. Alan will feature later in this blog. Walked through more scenic and rugged country today. Also walked through two 200m tunnels. When I arrived at Lauder I enquired at the cafe about tent sites and Shirley the owner said I could camp behind her cafe for no charge and she even left the cafe toilet open all night for me. This was in complete contrast to the cafe at Hyde and more like the friendly reception travellers receive on the trail. As I was sick of my own rice dinners I walked over to the pub to see what was available for dinner but as there was a large group who had just ordered I just had wedges rather than wait. I met and had a game of darts with Bruce who had been an insurance salesman until recently. He had been made redundant and with his wife had purchased the local Schoolhouse Bed & Breakfast just two weeks previously. I surprised to learn that the B& B has 24 beds, 23 of which were taken that night and this was the large group who had ordered dinner.

The next morning Shirley from the Cafe arranged for one of her staff to take my pack on to the Chatto Creek  Tavern some 19km away. I arrived there about 2pm and my pack at 3pm. In the meantime the proprietor Lesley had offered me to set my tent up in the pub garden. Initially I agreed but as it was early decided to push on and walk a few more kms. In the event I walked another 9km and unable to find any ideal camp sited set up beside the trail for the night after walking 28km. Met a couple in the morning who were also waking the entire trail but in the opposite direction. These were the only people I met who were walking the whole way. Unlike me they had pre booked B&B's and so were committed to a certain distance each day.

On my final day on the trail I was away at 8.30am, being short of water I had cheese,salami and rice crackers for breakfast instead of my usual porridge. 1.5km along the trail I found what would have been an ideal campsite for the night before, complete with toilet. I saw nobody from 5.30pm the day before until 9.30am when Ben cycled up behind me and pedalled alongside as I walked and we talked. He is a young guy from Whangarei who was recently been made redundant and had decided to come down and do the trail amongst other things. I walked 9km into Aleandra, booked into the Motor Camp set up my tent. Then walked the final 8km of the trail to Clyde. Ben was also at the end of the trail awaiting his bus back to Mosgiel. There was a nice sign in the shape of a train at trail end and Ben took my photo alongside it. I thought it strange that there was no similar sign at the start of the trail. Feeling a great sense of accomplishment after having walked the whole 151km in 6 days I walked into Clyde and ate a large lunch to celebrate. After lunch I walked around the historical part of Clyde and then walked a 12km trail back to Alexandra. This was one of my bigger days at 32km.

I bought fish and chips for dinner and was surprised to read in the out of date newspaper wrapping about a sad event. Last year I was following another blog Mikes Hike, Mike had walked over 2000km through the South Island with two dogs raising money for charity. The newspaper article related how one of the dogs had recently had surgery was in a cage in Mikes home when the house caught fire and the dog died.

Back at my tent I was tracked down by Alan the Argentinian who was staying in a different part of the same camp.

Yesterday was a rest day and I spent most of the day in the Alexandra Info Centre reading a book. I also went to the Library caught up with my emails and read the local papers. On the front page of the paper was a photo and story of the large train sign at the end of the trail I had been photographed at the day before and had been surprised it was also at the other end of the trail. Apparently the sign had only been officially unveiled a few hours before I got there and at the same time had also been unveiled at the other end.

Yesterday Alan and I caught a bus back to Dunedin where we are both staying at a back packers and tomorrow Alan will join me for two day as I restart my journey up the East Coast.

Friday 2 March 2012

At Last - Photos


                                                     My granddaughter Kaylah.


       Oban Stewart Island - Starting point for 3 weeks of tramping.

                                  Seal on Stewart Island

  My first night in my tent on Stewart Island. I only used my tent twice on the Island as I mostly used DOC huts.

 Mt Anglem, Stewart Island, 980m. Snow had fallen a few days previously.

                Deer in front of one of the huts on Stewart Island.

  Stewart Island Kiwi have evolved to come out during the day unlike their mainland cousins who are nocturnal. When meeting other trampers, one of the first questions was "have you seen any kiwi today?" I saw 5, heard many more walking through the undergrowth but only managed to take one photo.

 One of the DOC huts on Stewart Island, I spent two nights here on my own.

 Inside of the above hut, showing the clean but basic facilities. This was an eight bunk hut, others were as small as 6 bunk or as big as 24 bunks. The long drop toilet for this hut was up a steep hill with 50 steps (yes I counted).

 Stewart Island Robin on Ulva Island, less than 200 of these exist.

 Sterling Point, Bluff South Island, the starting point of State Highway One and start of my long trek north.

            Giving a talk at Waverly Park School Invercargill.

 Bill Richardsons Truck Museum, Invercargill. Home to over 200 vintage trucks.

                    Looking across to Bluff from Tiwai Point.
My pack can be seen on the left with Mitch my mascot holding onto my wherespoppy logo which also helps as a warning sign to traffic when walking on roads.
 Mataura River, this river is lined with hundreds of whitbaiters huts on both sides of the river.


          Waipapa Point Lighthouse with a sea lion on the beach. I saw many sea lions from here north.
          Slope Point, southernmost point of the South Island. An uninspiring spot!

               Taieri Point Railway, Chunky acting the goat.

     Moeraki Boulders. Haven't walked this far north yet but visited here during my Xmas break.

              Baldwin St Dunedin, steepest street in the world.

                          Yellow eyed penguin, Curio Bay.

                 
The Chasm & Lovers Leap Otago Peninsula.

                     Sea Lions, Surrat Bay, Catlins


YHA Hostel & Motor Camp Catlins.
Stayed here for 4 nights and later returned and looked after it for 2 weeks while the owners went away.



My Friend Jan who I walked with for 4 days on Stewart Island. The next 4 photos were taken by Jan on Stewart Island.
             

Mud, glorious mud. Note front pack and back pack. Front pack was used to carry provisions sufficient for 3 weeks.






Nugget Point, Catlins. One of my favorite places so far.