Ocean Views

 Moving slowly northwards, we stopped at two "new to us" Pops (Park over Properties) with ocean views.  There are so many places available to park up here in New Zealand, so it's always good to try somewhere new and exciting when we travel.

Leaving Wairau Tavern it was a short 52km  to our next stop, Conway Flat Ocean Edge.  The photos looked delightful, vans parked on the cliff overlooking the sea, room for large vehicles and pet friendly. We turned off SH1 at Hundalee and drove down to the coast, finally spotting several vans and motorhomes parked up in a large paddock.  This is the place.

We parked longways against the cliff edge, not too close, I worriedly told Robin,  not realising till later that the instructions were to park at 90 degrees.  Luckily there were not too many vans there, but I'm sure we would have been asked to move in the heart of summer.  Never mind. we will know for next time.  

Our stop for the night

Peeping over the cliff we could see the wavelets roll in.  This is a good area for fishing, we were told.    It was a lovely restful day indeed, and we were lulled to sleep with the soothing sounds at bedtime.  There was no show of catching the sun rise over the ocean the next morning, we slept so well that the sun was well up by the time we surfaced.  This is a wonderful place to stay and we certainly plan to return in a future South Island trip.

A great view of the coastline 

It was time to move on the following morning, to our second ocean view stay. The 140km drive up SH1 took us through the busy town of Kaikoura and along the previously earthquake damaged parts of the coastal road.  This netting structure hangs out like a verandah to protect the vehicles below from rockfall - we don't remember seeing this in place when we were down this way a couple of years ago.

And here are the tunnels again

Continuing on our way we saw glimpses of the snow capped Southern Alps again.

Snow on the mountains

We turned off SH1 at the tiny village of Ward, and the first thing we saw was this happy Mama pig.  She wandered over to the fence to show me her very best side.

Hello piggy

The instructions said to place our fees in the letter box next to the large white rock.  

There were a few other campers on site, and we found ourselves a spot overlooking the beach and settled down for the afternoon.    There is nothing nicer than being by the sea.

Overnighting at Chancet Pop

Gemma had a fine time exploring the grassy bank, safely secured with her lead of course.  Goodness knows what she was tracking in the grass, probably little bugs and insects I expect.  This kept her so occupied for such a long time that she didn't have her usual afternoon nap.  You know what cats are like, they generally sleep the day away.

Gemma is hunting tiny things hiding in the grass

Someone started a painted rock collection here and it has obviously grown and grown over time.  

The painted rock collection

The following morning we woke to a pink tinged shot of the sea and clouds.  The weather report promised  fine weather, but very windy conditions, not so good for towing at all. 

Pink tinged clouds in the morning

Weka Pass, Balmoral, and the Waiau Tavern

 It was a wet and miserable morning when we packed up and said goodbye to Kaiapoi.  I got rid of the rubbish while Robin filled up with water in the camp, we filled up with fuel at McKeown's and we started on our way north.  But.......we forgot to go to the dump station - that was a first for us.  Luckily the GPS told us one was coming up shortly at BP station in the little town of Pegasus.  As Robin did his blue job I went into the cafe for coffees, just what we needed on a cold and chilly morning.  Mmm, real coffees, what a nice start to our trip.

Nothing beats a morning coffee

Turning onto SH7 took us through Weka Pass.  That brought back memories of our 2012 South Island Safari with the Coles, Turnbulls and Canvins, and on the "must do" list was a trip on the vintage Weka Pass Railway.  AS I remember, that was another cols, miserable day too.  Wonder if I can find any old photos?

Weka Pass  Rail trip

Our lunch stop was at the very royal sounding Balmoral Recreation Area.  No royals popped out to meet us, and then I remembered that they are having a family summer holiday in Edinburgh.  Such a lovely site, surrounded with pine trees, and  very peaceful indeed with just one other van in the grounds.  It would be great to stay here for a night or two on a future trip.  Gemma enjoyed some time outside on her lead.

Lunch at Balmoral

Fed and watered, we got on our way again to our stop for the night at Waiau Tavern.  No charge to stay for the night, but there is an expectation that travelers would spend a little money in the bar, or have a meal.  Which is quite fair and reasonable, we think, when the parking is free.

Waiau Hotel

We were directed to a paddock beside the tavern and told the bar opens at 4.00pm.  With the weather being wet and cloudy over the last few days, our batteries were getting a little low, so Robin got our trusty red generator out and fired it up.  That soon took care of it.

He belongs to the Red Generator Club

Opening time rolled around so we went over for 4zees, just the owner and us in the tiny bar.  Plus a rather feisty ginger kitten who calls the tavern home.

The owner Lindsay told us about the 7.8 Hurinui-Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016.  The epicentre was located close to Waiau township and the fault ruptures ran for more than 180km along known and previously unrecognized faults.  The hotel was badly damaged, then while waiting for council permission to rebuild, was burnt to the ground by squatters.  This new tavern is much smaller but serves the community well.  While the landlord was chatting to us he noticed a regular pull up in his ute, went to the fridge, selected a bottle, pulled the top off, and had it ready and waiting when the customer walked in the door.  How is that for service!  With Lindsay's partner who does the cooking down in Christchurch buying supplies for the week, the kitchen was not open.  So our pub meal never happened, never mind, we had plenty of food it the caravan.

Across the road were some info boards about history of the town and the 2016 earthquake.  Waiau  is a Maori name meaning flowing water.  For 60 years Waiau was the terminus of the Waiau Branch, a branch line that ran to the town from a junction with the Main North Line in Waipara.

All about the earthquake

The Waiau Lock-Up (Jail), built in 1866 was moved to this site with community help.  In the early days there was a succesful escape with a well prepared plan.  A strong fast horse was kept saddled at Daniels Hotel awaiting the moment when the (unnamed) prisoner was brought out for transfer to Christchurch.  While the constable's attention was averted he made a dash over the fence to the stable, galloped off, forded the flooded Waiau River and got clear away.

It was interesting to stay in this little town, instead of driving straight though.  We found out all sorts of things, soaking up some history while enjoying a night in the tavern grounds.

Round and About in Christchurch

 There has been plenty to keep us busy in Christchurch.  I was quite keen to have another ride on the Gondola but it was rather expensive, so we decided against that.  So instead,  we took a drive up to the top of Dyer Pass, a narrow twisting road very popular with cyclists, who seem to dice with death with the cars as they whizz along.  We were doing a return visit to   the cafe The Sign of the Kiwi, famous for their date scones.  Yes, we had been there last time we were down this way, but it was well worth another visit.  We secured a table, and sat and enjoyed our afternoon tea.

It was a lovely sunny day

The Sign of the Kiwi was one of four rest houses built to provide access and refreshments for people walking on the Port Hills, back in the 1920s or so. 

In the old days

There are wonderful views from the top of the pass, looking down into Christchurch from the front of the cafe,  and looking the other way towards Lyttelton.  We had never driven down the other side of the pass, so decided to give it a go.  

Looking towards Lyttleton 

Down and down we drove, more twists and turns, and finally reached the the lookout over the harbour.  We looked out at the HMNZS Canterbury was docked in her home port for several days.  There was a large gazebo on the deck, which we supposed was for some sort of celebration.

Map at the lookout

We journeyed  back to camp through the Lyttelton Tunnel, which seemed to go on and on.  Mr Google told us that the tunnel is the longest in the country at 1970 mts long.

Tunnel entrance

Of course, our trip to Christchurch was to spend time with my son Michael to celebrate his 60th birthday.  He had a busy week as he had flown up to Wellington to spend a couple of days with his Dad, then flew back down again in time for our arrival in Christchurch.  I had booked a table for dinner on Friday night at the Platform Brew Barn, a riverside establishment in Kaiapoi, quite close to where we are staying at the NZMCA park.  This was a busy and popular establishment indeed, and we took a little time checking out the menu.  It was an easy choice for me, roast pork, Robin chose sirloin steak, and Michael decided on a burger.  Don't ask me why, but we all ordered dessert as well.  We really didn't need it, but it did taste nice.

Jenny, Robin and Michael at his birthday dinner

Then we met up for Sunday breakfast.  This was another very busy cafe in Mega Mitre 10 building and we ordered our breakfasts, and sat and chatted away, reminiscing about earlier times, as you do.

 Sunday Breakfast

While we were at the store, we bought a new fire alarm in our caravan.  The current one had taken to chirping at us during the night over the last few days, strangely enough, never in the daytime, for some reason.  So we needed a new one, and it is now up in the ceiling. looking after us.

Sunday is our last day here in Kaiapoi, so we decided to check out the local beaches.  They were not too far away at all, just out of town.  A choice of two, the Pines and Kairaka beaches.  Quite dangerous for swimming, according to the signs, and we noticed fishermen sitting expectantly with their rods in the water.  Wonder if they had any luck?

Kairaki estuary

Time to head slowly towards the ferry tomorrow, we don't sail back till next Sunday, so can take our time.  But where shall we stop?  Not sure, but probably somewhere we haven't camped before, we think.

Kaikoura to Christchurch

 We woke to a stunning view at Kaikoura the next morning, the Southern Alps were a snow capped picture indeed.  The rugged Southern Alps are the backbone of the South Island and extend about 650 kms (400 miles) along the western side of the South Island.

Snow glistening in the morning sunshine at Kaikoura

It was a 150km drive and took us up and over the Hundalee Hills, with plenty of sharp twists and turns, and with so many trucks on the road we were almost guaranteed to meet a truck on most corners.   Luckily we survived this notorious stretch of road unscathed and then continued along the coast road.  This road and the adjacent rail line was particularly hard hit and damaged in the 2011 earthquake and a lot of work has been carried out to put it right.  It's always fun driving through tunnels and we went through two tunnels on this trip along the coast, cut through solid rock.  What a job that must have been, back in the day.

Here comes a tunnel

After a short lunch stop in Amberley, we continued on, arriving at our destination about 2.00pm.

Kaiapoi NZMCA Park

Our previous visit to this camp was 18 months ago when it was newly opened.  We were minor celebrities back then when we were interviewed for the local newspaper about our views on the new camp.  Of course we were impressed.  This camp is sitting on Red Zoned land after the earthquake, and many houses were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished.  Further housing and commercial development is prohibited, and the land can only be used for low impact activities, such as this camp, community gardens  and sports fields.

Our interview back then

South island, here we come.

 Our van was packed, including the winter woolies, and we were heading south.  Just a short 10 day trip, to visit my son Michael and celebrate his 60th birthday with him.

We left home on a chilly Tuesday morning, driving along Transmission Highway to arrive at the Bluebridge Ferry Terminal in good time.  Handing the paper work over to the girl in the kiosk, she handed over the boarding pass, and asked us, could we  manage 5 flights of stairs, or she could park us close to the lifts.   We must have been really looking our age, we thought, as we replied, close to the lifts please.  We were guided into the correct line, and sat and waited till the ship berthed.  We were travelling on Cook Strait Feronia.

Here she is, coming into berth

We waited patiently while the northern bound travelers disembarked, then the trucks drove on board.  Finally cars, campervans, our caravan and a couple of motorbikes were waved on board.  And yes, we were parked quite close to the lifts, thanks to the thoughtful check-in girl.

Gemma is hiding away in our van, no doubt wondering what on earth is going on

Everyone seems to make a bee-line to the cafe on these trips, including us.  It was a late lunch for us, so we purchased some sandwhiches, and a drink, sitting in the cafe for a while.  A little way into the trip,  the ship was starting to roll and we decided to leave the cafe and go and sit in the Quiet Room which we had spotted.  Oh dear me, just walking up the corridor was an effort, holding on to whatever was handy, as we tried to keep on our feet.  I'm sure we looked just like a couple of rather drunken OAPs as we stumbled about, it was not easy at all.  We curled up on a couch in the Quiet Room, waiting for the rolling ship to quieten down.  Eventually it did, and we went out on the deck as the ship glided through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.

Gliding through the Sounds

We made good time, and arrived in Picton a little early.  Our first overnight stop in the South Island was just a short 8kms away at Koromiko.  There were only a couple of other vans in attendance, so there was plenty of room.  This is a lovely place, surrounded by beautiful mature Totara trees.  The custodian came to get our fees, and remembered us from our previous stay.  She used to have a Birman, so was particularly taken with Gemma.

We awoke to fog the next morning, no sign of the other two vans, they must have  left bright and early.

A foggy morning

After a leisurely breakfast there were just a few whisps of fog around, and we got ready to move on.

Overnight at Koromiko

Next stop, Kaikoura, we decided.  After a chilly night, the weather was lovely and getting warmer as we drove along.  We passed through Blenheim, and drove past many, many vineyards, this is certainly the area for fine New Zealand wines.  Oh look, there's some snow on the mountain tops, away in the distance, always a lovely sight to see.

There's snow in the distance

Driving along the coastline, we were looking for a nice place to pull off for a lunch break.  How about this, with a great view of sea.  It was such a pleasant place to relax and eat our sandwhiches, watching the waves rippling ashore, and smelling the salty sea air.

Not a bad spot to stop for lunch

We were only 20kms or so from Kaikoura so got on our way, and soon pulled into the Kaikoura NZMCA Park.

This camp consists of several bays, so after checking them out, decided on the lower one.  Not too full, so plenty of room again.  It was such a nice day we sat outside for a while, making the most of the warm South Island sunshine.  But once the sun started going down, we could tell we would be in for another chilly night.  Just as well we have an efficient diesel heater to keep us warm and toasty.

Staying at Kaikoura tonight.

Just staying the one night here, then moving on again in the morning.  Next stop, Christchurch.