Bevan the Big Kit Camper goes for a tootle around NZ's south island

[bPeteb]

More around the Kerr Bay campground








Day six Covid test (we’d done one on Day 1 as well) and negative as expected. All clear. Nevertheless, we masked up when indoors for most of the trip.



Then we tried to start Bevan and he just didn’t want to. We tried a few times then called Cherine before calling the AA. bAl kept trying after Cherine suggested his battery might just be very cold and eventually he came to life. I called the AA back to cancel the call out and off we headed to the hopefully much warmer west coast.

 

[bPeteb]

Stunning drive to the coast




via Lake Rotoroa




wood pigeon



lunch at the tea rooms in Murchison




when the tiny bakery was closed again, then through Buller Gorge

these two thiings, apparently pronoucned the same way, were just on the side of the road




to Westport and up to Mokihinui. After the rain the north of the south island had endured we’d started to see some road damage due to landslides. We were about to see much more.

 

[bPeteb]

I’d decided we’d stay at a holiday park called Gentle Annie for our Feb trip and that’s where we stayed Whitfield Caravan Park Gentle Annie Caravan & Camping Reserve We just arrived, misunderstood what we read at the unattended ‘office’, and just went and parked in the very not busy powered site area. When we realised we’d read a note for people with bookings, we went online and booked and paid for our site.





Gorgeous place. Amazing land. Beach and tree covered hills. I can’t remember if it’s 1200 acres or hectares. Owned by the same family since the 70s. Jessie, who is now running the park with his wife and family, was born and raised there. He told us it was a pretty special upbringing. We didn’t doubt him.




In summer it would be even better. They have a huge wood fired pizza oven and you buy the ingredients from them, or bring your own of course, to make pizzas. Even this far west they’d suffered damage from the rain and storms. It was being repaired and they were also building a new outdoorish shower ‘rotunda’. If you are ever up that way we highly recommend.

Finished the day with a beautiful sunset, a few games of cards, more sausages and some tasty craft beers.

 

[bPeteb]

Day 6 Mokihinui to Karamea

More of Gentle Annie.




We drove up to the end of the property and walked up to the Gentle Annie Point Maze



From up there we got a great view further up the west coast and back down the beautiful property

 

[bPeteb]

The road to Karamea up over the range was 23km of winding mess. So many washouts. It was only after we got to Punakaiki that we realised that we could have been stuck up there if any of the washouts had completely collapsed and taken both lanes of the narrow road out.

We stopped at Lake Hanlon.



It was a tad more than 750m, all uphill. We got to the top and bAl said to me “what was that about?” I looked at him and realised what he was asking. 20m up a hill usually saw me totally out of breath and I’d just powered up the hill leaving bAl in my wake. I have no idea what’s going on. Maybe the infliximab has done something, or the prednisone, or I actually still had some clots in my lungs and the eliquis has miraculously cleared them. Whatever it was, hills were no longer my enemy. Lake Hanlon was also created by the 1929 earthquake. Nothing here before then.





We drove through lovely little Karamea up to the end of the road




at the campground at Kohaihai.
Kōhaihai Campsite

It’s the start/end of the Heaphy Track, one of NZ’s many great walks.

 

[bPeteb]

Again, with my one hour limit we only walked as far as the Scott’s Beach lookout but it was a lovely walk through the nikau palms and up the ridge to the lookout where we ate some delicious ginger kisses bought at gentle Annie.

 

[bPeteb]

Back to Karamea where we walked down and asked the caretaker at the Karamea Domain camp ground Karamea Domain Camping Ground - The New Zealand Camping Guide if he had a powered site. One left. It’s whitebait season on the west coast! What a cracker of a site.



Very old school motor camp. A big old ‘facilities’ building that housed a fully equipped kitchen loaded with stuff people had left behind, a gigantic dining room, a lounge room with tv and the bathrooms. It was excellent, and only $32.

river behind the camp with whitebaiters in action



We walked down the road to the very old (1876) Karamea Village Hotel. A great whitebait pattie for dinner



followed by a bloody excellent lemon meringue pie



bAl’s roast of the day was humungous and his double choc brownie delicious



Maybe a few too many beers consumed but that’s what an open fire burning near you forces you to do

 

[bPeteb]

Day 7 Karamea to Punakaiki

The old school camp facilities




After brekkie we went for a wander along the edge of the estuary



where we watched a whitebaiter have no luck





the Karamea Village pub, circa 1876



The 1929 earthquake that created Maruia Falls also destroyed a thriving port. Huge amounts of debris came down the river valley and the port literally silted up.

 

[bPeteb]

Then we drove out to the giant Rimu tree and another nice walk






We stopped at Vinnie’s Cafe where I had the best pie I have ever eaten, and I have eaten a lot of pies. Chicken and cranberry. Just wow!!!!!!!!!!



bAl chose venison. Way too gamey for me





We drove back over the range, through Westport where we stocked up on some more beer and then headed up to Denniston, an abandoned coal mine famous for its ‘incline’. Denniston's history

 

[VPS]

Loving this - very confused when you were talking about Lake Rotoiti because there is one on the North Island as well

 

[bPeteb]

 

[bPeteb]

Loving this - very confused when you were talking about Lake Rotoiti because there is one on the North Island as well

yes, there is. Friend of mine from AKL commented about that when I posted it on facebook

 

[bPeteb]

Here’s an example of what the washouts we encountered on the road between Mokihinui and Karamea looked like. This one on the road up to Denniston.



Then it was on to Punakakai



another unbooked campground Punakaiki Beach Camp - Camping, Cabins & Houses - Paparoa Track Services

Here it was pick a site, any site. We picked as flat as we could find and it happened to be close to the beach as well




We wandered up the path behind the beach and had a wander down onto the sand.

 

[bPeteb]

Punakaiki is a lovely little place, famous for the pancake rocks and a seal colony. There was a for sale sign outside and the wheels in our heads started turning. What would it be worth? So we asked - $3m. Then we found out that the large group of about 12 sitting near us was here to check the pub out before signing on the dotted line. Boo.

bAl looked out the window and could see the sky colouring up. The NZ west coast is a bit famous for iot’s sunsets and this one was no exception. Gorgeous. And yes, that’s a surfer coming out of the frigid water with a winged surfboard.











Great dinner, excellent service and way too many beers, wines and eventually spirits.

 

[bPeteb]

Day 8 Punakaiki to Hokitika and 9 Hokitika

Weird showers at the campground. Like the taps in a plane loo that only run for a few seconds the water in the shower lasted for all of 20 seconds before having to press it again to start the water, or keep pressing it to keep it flowing. It’s a campground that needs some work. We wonder if it’s maybe for sale






why have porridge in the van when you can get this at the pub instead?




the road out of Hoki towards Greymouth then on to Hoki




Our trip was based around spending some time with bAl’s sister and his two nieces in Hoki. We stayed two nights at Hokitika Kiwi Holiday Park and Motels | Motel, Unit and Campground Accommodation in Hokitika, New Zealand and spent a couple of days helping around the house. The holiday park was brand new and when the trees grow up between van sites it’ll be lovely. Again amazing facilities.



bAl already hard at it trying to fix a leak around the chimney flue

 

[bPeteb]

We still had no NZ cash and knew we’d need some eventually so went to the ATM and tried to withdraw with my Citbank card. I tried three ATMs and they all errored. I called Citibank and they wanted to send an ID confirmation code to my mobile but of course it wasn’t connected. Two calls later, and after logging into the app to work out the ID they needed from me, the account was reactivated. How weird I could deposit $1000 into it, but not draw it out!

Everyone wanted a break from work on the house so we went and walked part of the Mananui Tramline and then down to the lake. 90 minutes was achieved with much relief when the van and the loo came back into view.







Fish and chips the first night and dinner at the pub the second night where they served the best ‘kid’s platter’ - fried food plus fruit, cheese and even chocolate - followed by a bowl of ice cream



Great pork belly and shanks.

 

[bPeteb]

Day 10 Hokitika to Fox Glacier

Motor camp facilities




I left bAl alone to spend some time with the family and had a wander around Hoki. It’s a nice little town that has direct flights to Christchurch.

 

[ellen10]

Loving your trip report and photos. We are heading to Nelson next March (delayed trip) for 6 days of cycling around Nelson and surrounds.

 

[bPeteb]

We headed south




and drove into Franz Josef village. It was very sad. All of the glacier guide businesses that had been open 19 years ago when we last stayed had closed. Just a couple of heli guide businesses were left


Climate change is real. Both Franz, and Fox Glaciers, are disappearing.

19 years ago we walked up the river valley and straight up onto the glacier. You can't even walk down into the valley any more

 

[bPeteb]

We were tossing up between Fox Glacier and Haast as our overnighter and after a quick visit to Lake Matheson







Fox won. We stayed at Fox Glacier Lodge https://www.foxglacierlodge.com/ a great little lodge with six cabins, a b&b and 12 (I think) powered sites.





Dinner at the Cook Saddle Cafe and Saloon. Again an open fire made us drink a couple of beers too many.