Kaikoura

Our next destination was Kaikoura.  From Waipara we headed north, stopping at the next town, Cheviot, for gas and have a snack at the Cheviot tearooms.

Leo hadvthe down under favorite, lamington cake and I had a very sweet coffee walnut slice (about 1/2 icing so very sweet).

Then it was on up Highway 1 past cattle and sheep farms, up into the hills and then following the windy coast and through tunnels for 2 hours.  We checked in at the Kaikoura Top Ten Holiday Park.

Kaikwoura was a bustling tourist town and the campground was full of locals and internationals for the weekend.

It's just a short walk from the campground to the centre of town

Invasive but pretty lupines

And the beach is just across the main street.

We walked down to the Albatross Experience office to reserve an albatross boat tour.  We stopped for a tea in their bright cafe.

Meanwhile the weather was getting stormier.

A Japanese couple were trying to change a flat tire in the weather so Leo helped with the tire while another fellow helped them contact their rental company with the aid of  Google Translate.

The Miami Beach of New Zealand

Back at the campground people's tents were flying around. Leo helped a couple take theirs down.  They moved it in close to a hedge. Later in the evening we walked down to the beach.

The beach was very loose cobble and hard to walk on.

Let's call this silver gull (red-billed gull) the Bird of the Day!

Otira Valley Hike and on to Waipara in the Rain

 

We got up at 7 a.m. and drove back past Arthur's Pass Village up to Otira Valley. We were the first to the trailhead, no wonder, it was cold and misty and foreboding rain.

This was our last chance to see a rock wren but there wasn't much birdlife happening on this frigid morning.

It took about an hour to reach the bridge and the end of the established trail where the rock wrens were reputed to hang out. Of course we saw nothing.

On the way back down it started to rain but we made it back to the car before getting too wet.

Lots of pretty unidentified alpine vegetation

We then continued west back to the coast where the plan was to head north to Greymouth and continue up the coast to Westport and a prime birding spot called Cape Foulwind.  That didn't seem like the best idea in this stormy weather.

The weather forecast was for rainy weather for the next week so we changed our plans and decided to head to the east coast where the weather looked more favorable.

More attractive foliage, Otira Valley

It continued to rain all the way to Greymouth where we stopped for lunch at Blanchy's Cafe and Bakery.  

Chicken bagel and a caramel cookie slice at Blanchy's, a popular Greymouth lunch spot.

Coming out of Greymouth we encountered at least 5 pairs of pukekos acting silly on the side of the road. They can't help it, big feet!  Bird of the Day! Then we turned east and took the Lewis Pass route to the town of Reefton, and old mining town turned very cute tourist town, where we stopped at the Broadway Tearooms and Bakery for a tea and goody. 

We continued on the winding roads up the pass and over to the east side of the island.  It all looked like it would be very scenic except for the bad weather and the hidden mountains.  We arrived at Waipara in the pouring rain at 4:30 pm and checked into the Waipara Sleepers, a funky backpackers with railcars converted to sleeping units and a few campervan spots.

It had everything we needed, showers, a heated kitchen, and best of all, no sandflies.

Arthur's Pass National Park

 Searching for rock wrens, we got up early and drove back up the Pass to hike up the Temple Basin Track.  It's a ski hill and a steep hike up to the chalet.

It's fall in New Zealand so wildflowers were not at their peak but there were still some blooms.

I couldn't find the names of any of them.

We were a little early for birds we just heard a few peeps at the trailhead.  We were the only people hiking up but eventually we ran into people hiking down who'd stayed at the hut overnight.  A ranger we met hiking down told us there'd been New Zealand pipits and keas seen at the hut recently.

Taking a break

A high school biology class had stayed overnight an we met two girls who were very impressed we'd made it up in 2 hours at our age.  They were hoping to see Kea but no luck.

Hikers hut in the background

While we were talking we spotted some pipits and after that they were everywhere.

Enjoying the views

We waited for the class to leave and then  hiked back down to a bridge where rock wren were often seen but no luck. 

Leo did get some good shots here of pipits though.

New Zealand pipit, not the fanciest bird, but endemic, a lifer and Bird of the Day!

We drove back to the village for lunch at Arthur's Pass cafe and store.  There's pictures all over the place of keas hanging out on the patio but we never saw a one here over several days.  Still a good spot for a latte and lamb and kumara or a chicken and cranberry pie.

After lunch we decided to hike the short 1 km track to the devil's punchbowl in the afternoon heat.  We  seriously underestimated how tired we were from our first hike.

It was a very busy hike, very steep with lots of stairs.  

Clearly over it

On a positive note, we ran into a mixed flock of gerigone, fantails, Rifleman, silvereyes and tomtits.

Right at eye level so Leo was able to get some photos of pipipi.

Back to the cafe for a reviving latte and a slice and we headed back to our campsite with a few stops for short hikes.

We walked a short distance along the Waimakariri River on the O'Malley track where Leo got this shot of a tomtit.

A view back toward the highway Bridge over the Waimakariri River:

Lovely forest.

We stopped along the river to take in the views.

We stopped in an open area for supper, hoping to avoid the dreaded sandflies but they soon found us.

So back at camp we went for another long hike until dusk and then had a murderfest of flies so we could go to sleep in the van.

Driving Day to Arthur's Pass

 

Waimakariri River Valley

We drove north from Okarito to Hokitika where we stopped for coffee and a slice and to use the wifi in their very nice modern library and to find an atm.  Hokitika was the setting for The Luminaries,  the Booker prize winning novel by Canadian-New Zealander¹1 Eleanor Catton about the New Zealand goldrush.  Unfortunately I can't remember much about the book because it is surely the most boring Booker prize winning novel ever written.  I struggled through all 832 pages of it because Leo gave it to me for Christmas (okay I might have skipped a few pages).  Do not recommend.

Nowadays Hokitika is a pretty big town for the west coast with a big wide main street.

And a clock tower in the centre of the roundabout

I left my tablet in the library and had to run back and pick it up where I left it in the toilet! Luckily it was right where I left it.

Hokitika is quite touristy and there were lots of wool stores specializing in merino and possum (!) wool. Not only that but New Zealand supermarkets often have a frozen dogfood section.  Here in Hokitika I noticed a big pack of possum (!) dogfood.  I knew they were poisoning the (invasive) possums but they must also be trapping and/or hunting themtrapping and/or hunting them. 

We continued north, then turned east and up the Taramakau River Valley.  Eventually we drove up into the narrow winding ascent of Arthur's Pass with several construction delays.  We stopped in Arthur's Pass Village to visit the information centre to ask about hikes and the best places to find blue ducks,  rock wrens, and orange-fronted parakeets. 

 You can camp in the parking lot by the info centre but that didn't sound like fun so I'd already booked 2 nights at Hawden Valley Shelter Campsite.  The ranger informed us that yes you could see blue ducks and parakeets in the Hawden Valley but you'd have to hike 18km return up the Hawden River with multiple river crossings to find them. Maybe not.

I didn't realize when I booked but Hawden Shelter is a 30 minute drive down from the Pass.  We came to this beautiful wide river valley (Waimakariri River)

It looked like the perfect setting for a herd of bison, or elk or antelope.  But this is mammalless New Zealand so it was empty.

We crossed the river and followed gravel roads to our campground.  The place was deserted except for a few cars parked for the Hawden Valley Track.  We found a great site

with this fabulous view up the valley:

No sooner had we settled in when we heard some screeching and saw a big bird fly into the tree next to our site. I thought for sure the infamous nuisance Kea had arrived to steal our supper.  I stead it was this guy:

New Zealand Falcon, lifer and Bird of the Day!

He stuck around for a good while, and Leo got some close ups.

We ate supper but the sandflies were coming in by the millions so we went for a long walk to escape them.

Note pants tucked in socks to protect my ankles from the sandflies

We walked over to the start of the Hawden Hut track but soon came to the first river crossing. It was not shallow, so probably a good call not to hike the trail.  We continued to walk until sunset when we returned to the van and moved it away from the trees in an attempt to escape the sandflies.

Then we fled into the van which was now filled with the evil flies.  We turned on our headlamps and systematically squished them by the hundreds as they were attracted to the light.  Finally we could fall asleep.