Making Progress

I spent 4 nights at Owhaka not only is there plenty to see and do in the area but I was also suffering from a sore knee. I made two side trips from Owaka one to see Jacks Blowhole a hole in the ground 200 metres from the sea where the sea can be seen surging 55 metres down. The other trip was to Nugget Point, I was very impressed with the scenic views here of the lighthouse, seals, spoonbills, shags etc. A lady staying at the hostel I was staying at was going there and offered me a ride. It was an interesting drive at 60km/hour on the main road, few gear changes and much labouring of the engine!

Instead of paying for my tent site I did a few hours cleaning/vacuuming etc, the upshot of this is that I am travelling back there in early February and will be managing the Youth Hostel/Motor camp for ten days while the owner goes on holiday. This will not only help replenish my funds but will give me some skills I might be able to use later.

From Owaka I walked to Kaka Point up the coast and mostly over farmland. I had phoned the 4 farmers concerned and gained permission to walk over their land. Unfortunately the day was wet and low cloud meant I couldn't see where the headlands were and had to walk every little headland and inlet due to very poor visibility so walked furthest than I would have if it had been sunny.This was steep sheep country and the grass was wet and slippery. Craig the owner of the hostel drove my pack to Kaka Point so this was the 4th day I didn't need to carry it. Saw one seal and one sea lion en route.

I stayed 2 nights in my tent at the Kaka Point Motor camp as my knee was still playing up. Met Wade and Penny who were having a few days camping with 3 young children, they not only fed me but took my pack onto Balclutha where I walked to after Kaka Point. A fairly boring walk on roads from Kaka Point to Balclutha, I had phoned Colin and Dianne the night before and they collected me from Balclutha and took me the 6kms to their farm and showed me great hospitality and home cooking. They are the parents of Kim who I gardened for at Waipapa Point. The next day they took me into Balclutha where I visited a Physio for my knee. In the Health 2000 shop in Balclutha, Elaine provided me with a cup of tea, muffin and nuts to nibble on.

Reaching Balclutha is bit of a milestone for me as it is the first town of any size I have reached since leaving Invercargill, it is also the end of the Catlins.

Balclutha to Kaitangata was the first day walking with my large pack for some time and as it was all on roads a fairly uneventful walk, I did get off the main road at Stirling and walked the long way round through Inch Clutha. The Motor Camp at Kaitangata is quite small but clean and for the same price as a tent site I was offered and took a bed in a back room.accessed through a large storeroom holding vehicles and caravans amongst other things. The camp had 3 permanent residents one of which was a self opinionated older man who quickly told me what the faults were with my walk where I should have walked etc etc. He also told me his sister ran the local shop and later when I said I was off to the shop and I would tell her that he sent me he said better not do that as he used to live with her but they kicked him out and they no longer talked. I wonder why! I assume that his was the room with very thin walls next to mine where the TV went all night tuned to BBC World News.

After little sleep the next day I walked roads again to Wangaloa and camped on the Domain behind the Golf Course. Jack, a volunteer groundsman at the Golf Course provided me with pork, fish and frozen peas for dinner. The walk from Wangaloa to Toko Mouth was mostly along beaches but no wild life to speak of. Camped at the Toko Mouth Domain. Asked some people travelling in a caravan if they could sell me any vegetables and was given silver beet and oranges for which they refused payment. Had a later start than usual from Toko Mouth as I had to wait for low tide to walk across the river. Forded the river at 9.30am and got the bottom of my shorts wet but they soon dried. The walk was mostly along beaches and through a couple of small settlement where the cribs are mostly original and little sign of any modern construction. One exception is the home of Ken and Marg Tustin who invited me in for lunch, gave me so much food to take away with me it was embarrassing (but also very welcome as several days without shops). Ken kept asking me what they could do to help me. He is well known as being the person who has written books, been on TV etc trying to prove that there are still Moose in Fiordland, apparently DNA proof from hair samples is not enough to convince most people! Walked into the early evening as I had another creek to cross and finally pitched my tent in very windy conditions after crossing Akatore Creek about 8pm. Saw one seal colony and one sea lion today.

As my time is up on this computer I will have to stop here and do another update in a few days about my travels to Dunedin. I would like to thank all the numerous people who have showed me kindness by providing food when my supplies have run low, in each case I have offered to buy food but my money has been refused.

Thanks again to all those who have posted comments, it's great to know that people are reading this.

On The Road Again

I am pleased to report that my back is now fully recovered and I have resumed the walk.

Spent 3 weeks of  R&R in Dunedin with Charissa. We booked a self contained unit, at Portobello on the Otago Peninsula, belonging to Bill & Orma Blackler, they were fantastic landlords and looked after us really well. Did most of the usuual tourist things, Albatross Colony, seals at Shag Point, Cadbury Chocolate Factory, Speights Brewery, Worlds Steepest Street, also visited Oamaru and Port Chalmers.

I'm also pleased to say that I put back on the 7kgs I lost on Stewart Island. Naomi and Chunky returned me to Curio Bay (the last point I walked to) on Friday 7th January. That night we saw several of the Yellow Eyed Penguins as they returned to their nests at dusk. Next day I recommenced my walk sans large pack as Naomi and Chunky picked me up at the end of the day and returned me to Curio Bay again. As I left Curio Bay I walked along the beach at Porpoise Bay and was enthralled for 30 minutes by a group of 20 or so Dolphins playing in the surf, jumping out of the water and surfing in on the waves, one of the most pleasurable experiences of my walk so far. As I passed through Waikawa I spoke to some people manning a Fire Control Centre and was surprised to learn that there were 5 out of control fires in the area caused by controlled burn offs in the area several months previously which had suddenly sprung to live again in the peat soils, I saw no sign of the fires myself. It did reinforce for me how dry my trip has been so far compared with those in the northern parts of NZ who have had lots of rain. Nothing much else of note that day. I walked 32km and was well pleased with the days progress without my large pack.

The next day Naomi and Chunky drove me to Papatowai where I booked into the camping grounds and set my tent up. They then returned me to my finishing point of the day before so this was my second day without the pack. Just as I was about to start I realised that I had left Pak N Save (my stick which had been with me since Stewart Island) at Curio Bay. Chunky offered to return to Curio Bay to collect it but I said it wasn't worth the expense and time for what is just a stick. Later while eating my lunch just off the road I saw there car head back to Papatowai and realised they had in fact returned to Curio Bay found my stick and placed it in my tent. I was very grateful but also felt guilty as they had travelled 106 km out of their way for a stick!!
Only walked 11 km of my route that day but also did some side tracks and a small length of beach where the largest sea lion I have seen to date rushed at me as I had obviously intruded into his comfort zone, as I am now well used to seeing them I continued walking but got ready to run if he had intruded into MY comfort zone.
Found a good axe laying on the side of the road and propped it against a road marker so hopefully somebody has found it by now. When I arrived at my tent I found not only my stick but a selection of edible treats!

That night I spoke with some other campers in house buses (Robert & Roz, Garnet & Marlene) and learnt that they were heading to Owaka the next day which was also my destination and they readily agreed to take my pack. This means that I have now walked 3 days without the pack. This may not sound like much but is a major boon to me. They also replaced my tatty map with one not only in better condition but also showing more detail. Yesterday I walked 26km form Papatowai to Owaka mostly along back roads but the first part along a beautiful sandy beach  which was really quite spectacular. Saw one more sea lion. My route took me past Purakaunui Falls, otherwise known as the wedding cake falls and seen on numerous calendars and postcards etc. I took the short track in and while I was pleased to see it there was not a lot of water due to Southland having it's driest summer for over 50 years. Arrived at the camp, which is also a Youth Hostel and former Maternity Hospital and collected my pack and set my tent up.

There is a very good small Museum here in Owaka which doubles as an Information Centre and local Library.
The receptionist has provided me with the names and ph numbers, from the councils mapping system,of 4 local farmers who's land I hope to cross in order to get to Nugget Point without taking the long way around via roads.

Today I am having a quite day, I will try hitchhiking to Jacks Blowhole a natural feature where the sea surges through caves someway inland. As this is to the south of where I am and not on my route I feel hitchhiking rather than walking is legitimate.

Finally thanks to all those of you who have placed comments on my blogs, I really do appreciate receiving them and knowing that you are actively following my progress.

Slight Change Of Plan

Well I said from the outset that I would be adaptable and that's what I've had to be. Got as far as Curio Bay and my back was giving heaps of pain and difficult to get in and out of tent and even sleep. So on Thursday I hitch hiked into Dunedin to see an Osteopath. Took 4 rides to get here, about 180km. First two rides were the same person as he dropped me off then picked me up again half an hour later! Next ride was in a fertiliser truck which caused me some pain getting me and my pack into the cab, final ride was from a lovely Israeli couple Shasha & Ziggy who crammed me into their already very full car and dropped me right in the centre of Dunedin.

Saw an Osteopath yesterday morning, Andrew Aitken from Osteopath Works who knocked a third off the bill as a contribution towards my walk! Back is slightly better but these things always take time. I have a history of back problems so this is nothing new and hopefully only a temporary set back! Will see Andrew again next week if necessary. I will now be in Dunedin for 3 weeks until 8th January as Charissa is coming down for two weeks over Xmas and New Year. All being well I will hitch back to Curio Bay on 8th January and recommence the walk from where I left off.

In the mean time I will enjoy the delights of Dunedin and probably wont place another post until after New Year.

I wish all my friends and supports a Merry Xmas and a Happy and safe New Year.

Slowly But Surely

First two apologies, sorry for all the spelling mistakes in my last blog, I was in a pub on Stewart Island and it was costing a fortune as I had to keep putting $2 in and it was a slow connection. Sorry also for not posting since then.

Crossed back over to the South Island on Friday 2/12 and booked into the Bluff camping ground, the following day i did all the local walks around Bluff, On Sunday 4/12 my walk North started in earnest. Starting point was Stirling Point the beginning of State Highway One where all Bluff to Cape Reinga ventures start.I arrived there at 7.45 expecting to have to wait awhile until someone else arrived so that I could get them to take my photo by the signpost but a minute later two car load of young people drove up with radios blaring rap music.They had obviously been at an all night party but luckily had a sober driver, a young lady who happily took my photo.The walk from Bluff to Invercargill
was uneventful and took about 8 hours for the 30 odd km all on the road,

I stayed with Nicole/Shawn and Tobi again, this time for 3 nights. I was shocked to find on weighing myself that i had lost 7kg while on Stewart Island. I knew it was tough but didn't realise it was that tough! The days were fairly hectic and included shopping for items I will need later. I also had to get my shoes replaced as the heel had starting to come away from the pair I had. This was to cause me much angst later. I also gave a presentation to Tobi's school, Waverly Park, telling them all about my walk. Shawn arranged for me to visit Richardsons Truck Museum a world class display of over 200 vintage trucks which is not generally open to the public, I also did some last minute (for me anyway) Xmas shopping and wrapped and couried them off and bundled up some stuff I'd decided I didn't need and dropped it off at the local branch of my ex employer LIC from where it will get to Christchurch and I will make arrangements later to get it to Hamilton. It was great spending time in a family situation and I was made to feel very welcome but the time went very quickly. On Wednesday 7/12 Nicole kindly dropped me off at the turnoff to Tiwai. I had tried to book a tour of the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter but they were booked out but I was given permission to walk across their land. I sleep in my tent that night not far from the beach near Waituna Lagoon.Walking on the beach was difficult due to the the small pea sized stones which dragged at my feet.

The next day I only spoke with one person, a retired farmer who kindly refilled my water bottles and gave me route directions. The walk up the side of the Mataura River was a surprise as it was lined with hundreds of shacks used by local whitebaiters.I slept by the side of the river that night. The following night I slept in a camping ground at Fortrose at the start of the Catlins. I have not been doing very large distances yet as my replacement shoes have given me blisters!

On Saturday I had walked about 10km and had turned down a side road to visit the Waipapa Lighthouse when local farmer Tim Barker stopped on his motorbike for a chat, long story short they have a holiday home on their property which they normally rent out at $130 a night, I have been staying here for the past 3 nights and doing 4 hours gardening a day in lieu of rent. Tim and his wife Kim have a large garden surrounding their home on a 500 acres sheep farm. They have 3 children including a 10 week old baby and the garden had gotten away on them. So i have been weeding and pruning  for 3 days. It's been great to spend a few nights in comfort again after 3 nights in the tent. Today I had finished my 4 hours by lunch time and then walked about 14km to Slope Point via the Waipapa Lighthouse.It was the best walk yet, lovely weather, firm sand and I was able to take my boots off and walk in bare feet for about 2/3rd of the way. Slope Point is the southern most point in the South Is. Tim collected me from their and tomorrow morning i will get dropped off their again to resume my journey north. Destination tomorrow is Curio Bay and the submerged petrified forest.

Have taken quite a few photos which I will hopefully be able to add to a future post.Speak to you again soon.

Mud,Sandflies & Kiwis (and my small part in a big drama)

Have now been in Stewart Island for 2.5 weeks and completed 2 major walking tracks. to say that these were challenging for me would be an understatement.  The tracks are administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) who also look after the huts I stayed in each night. The tramps involved many steep sections which as i was initially carrying 3 weeks worth of food I found physically exhausting, initially I was also suffering from blisters but these have all resolved themselves now. At the end of each day there was a hut to stay in after walking for anywhere between 5 and 10 hours. Stewart Island mud is legendary I am now an expert mud grader, from the sticky slippery stuff right through to the watery variety. From inches deep right up to above my knees in places. The huts are basic but clean from 6 to 24 bunks with plastic covered mattresses for you to place your sleeping bag on, a cold water tap and a long drop toilet some metres away from the hut. The path to one toilet was flooded and another was up a hill with 50 steps (I counted) to reach it! Some days i walked with other trampers and others I walked on my own. I made friends with Jan (pronounced Yun) a dutch- kiwi guy and we walked together for 4 days, I was slower than him so I left earlier in the morning and he caught me up later and we would walk together until we got to a hill then he would go ahead and then wait for me. Some huts carried advertising for a local helicopter co, if the walk was proving more difficult than expected to give them a call and for $500 or more they would come and get you. Initially a voice in my head kept telling me that there would be no shame in giving up but I did persevere and I'm glad I did. 

Sand flies did not tend to annoy on the track but could be very troublesome at the huts. At one hut there were so many inside that we decided we needed to kill them all before going to sleep, so all 10 of us went on a sand fly killing spree until they were all gone. We then realised that we all needed to pee before going to bed and therefore agreed that rather than all going out individually and opening and shutting the door each time thus letting squadrons more inside we all went outside at the same time all disappeared into the bushes and all went inside again at the same time thus only opening and shutting the door twice.

Besides the mud and the sand flies the other topic of conversation was spotting kiwis. On Stewart Island Kiwi have evolved to come out during the day and it was every ones hope of seeing at least one, I spotted 5 during the 18 days and even got a photo of one. I have been in NZ for over 40 years and this is the first time I have seen Kiwi in the wild. One guy from the Chech Republic saw a kiwi walking towards him on the track so he stood as still as he could and the kiwi walked right up to him and pecked his boot then went on its way, how special was that.

I met many interesting people on the walks. One of which was a Norwegian called Anders. I had spent 3 days and 2 nights on my own having seen no one at all and thought that this would be the 3rd night on my own when Anders staggered into the hut and fell onto a seat. Anders is 34, 130 lb and 191cm tall, a large man but he was absolutely exhausted. He had been taken by plane to another hut a few days before to photograph Kiwi, the hut was remote and the plane had landed on the beach. On the day the plane was due to come back to get him  the weather had worsened and gale force winds were blowing, convinced the plane would be unable to land in those conditions he had decided to walk to the hut where I was staying in the hope of catching a water taxi,  problem was he had 50kgs of luggage. He took 6.5 hours to walk 15.5 kms to the hut, this was the flattest track on the island and i had walked the same track in both directions the week before in 6 hours but with only a day pack. Anders readily admitted that he was not very fit and had got half way and decided to leave half his luggage on the track and return to get it. The luggage he carried with him was 25 kg of photographic equipment and he left behind all his clothes and food etc. There was no way he could have completed the return trip to collect the rest of his gear in the condition he was in. I heated him up one of my meals and once he had recovered enough we both returned to collect the rest of his luggage arriving back at the hut just prior to midnight. As there was no cell phone coverage at the hut I was unable to notify anyone of where Anders was. The next day I set off for the next hut in terrible conditions, with gale force winds, a very wet muddy and hilly track and it took me nearly 10 hours to get to the next hut, still unable to get any message out. The day after that I arrive back in Oban the only town on Stewart Island and when I went to report Anders whereabouts I learnt that he had been the centre of a Search and Rescue operation. The plane had managed to land on the beach where he was supposed to be picked up but to find no sign of Anders and he had left no message in the hut book to advise that he'd walked to another hut. Fearing the worst they had people searching the beach for miles. Due to the weather the water taxis could not reach the hut he was at to check that and the only helicopter on the island was too small to fly in those conditions so they had to call out another larger helicopter from the Mainland. Eventually they found him at the hut and brought him back to Oban. He is not very popular with the authorities, due to the high cost of searching for him! Being a small community i overheard people talking in the supermarket about the man who had gone missing and that he had been found. If only I could have got phone reception I could have prevented a very expensive search and rescue operation.

So that's my little bit of drama to report. Still have some small walks to do on the Island so have extended my stay until Friday will then cross over to the mainland and start my northwards walk from Bluff . So will probably post another report in about a weeks time.

Start Of The Journey

The journey has finally started. Thanks to Mike and Christine who put me up for the weekend and to Mike who got up at 4.45am so that he could get his chores done before he took me to the airport. Charissa came to see me off at the airport and we both got a bit emotional saying goodbye.

I had 3 uneventful flights leaving Hamilton at 7am and arriving in Invercargill about 1.45pm.The only thing of note during the journey was a verbal spat with the operator of a cafe in Wellington Airport who don't provide water apart from the bottled variety available at $4 a bottle.

Was met at Invercargill Airport by Nicole Wright a friend of my daughter who took me to a couple of outdoor shops so that I could purchase a couple of things we then picked 5 year old Tobi up from school and then to her home. Walked back into town and purchased food supplies for the next 3 weeks on Stewart Island and Tobi then helped me to cram them into my already full pack. I will be wearing a small front pack for a few days until the supplies start getting used up. Later met Nicole's husband Shawn. They have all been very hospitable and happy to assist me in any way. I would call it southern hospitality except they are originally from Rotorua.

Tomorrow I cross over to Stewart Island on the ferry and commence walking the day after, the same day that rain is predicted. It is unlikely that I will be able to post any more on this blog until 28th November. Talk to you all then.

Unemployed and Homeless

Friday we moved out of the house, a long busy day getting Marilyn shifted into her new home.
When I called into the supermarket afterwards the checkout girl asked me if I'd had a good day, to which I said it had been busy. She said "you'll pleased to get home then", yes I said I would  but no longer had a home to go to. She didn't know what to say to that. I'm now officially unemployed and homeless.  Have also made the final delivery to my storage facility.

A big thanks to Brian Grahams-Smith from Creative Signs Solutions in Hamilton for the donation of "wherespoppy" flags, they have made a brilliant job of them  I requested 2 and got given 10, so will be able to give some away to supporters. I will put one on my pack and one on my tent.

My daughter Naomi challenged me to shave off my beard and then let it grow and not trim it until I finish the walk, I have today shaved my beard but will reserve the decision about whether to trim or not until later.

I have a couple of photos to add to this blog at some stage but because I am on a strange computer with nobody around to help will post them later. One photo is of my mother (who is in a rest home in UK ) holding up a "wherespoppy"  sign the other photo is of my granddaughter who made a wherespoppy sign out of shells on the beach. As I've said I will post these later but in the meantime I'd like to challenge everyone to see who can either get a photo of someone famous to  hold up a "wherespoppy" sign or take a photo of a "wherespoppy" sign in an unusual location.

Tomorrow morning I fly to Invercargill, cross over to Stewart Island on Tuesday and start a 3 week tramp on Wednesday.  I'm surprising myself about how relaxed I am about starting this new adventure. still very much looking forward to it though.