It’s been another busy week or so since we last updated A Bad Day Camping…, and we’ve come a long way during that time. Since we left Wanaka and the wonders of Puzzling World behind, we’ve been heading up the West Coast. The West Coast is a spectacular part of the country. In case we needed any help understanding how special this part of the country is, when we were staying at Welcome Flats Hut someone happened to leave behind a West Coast booklet explaining exactly why it’s so great here. Why anyone would hike 10 miles or so with a regional development booklet in their backpack is beyond me, but it gave us something to read as we ate our dinner at the hut. Of course, it talked about the beautiful mountains and glaciers, the wonderful and honest people of the region, the promising energy industry…and on and on and on. Amazingly, there was no mention of the most dominating force of this region–the infamous sandfly, or blackfly.
The West Coast is one of, if not the most unpopulated part of the country and the reason must be the healthy population of these blood thirsty biters. West Coast blackflies make New England’s blackfly population seem like it is on the brink of extinction. As long as you’re moving they aren’t much of a bother, but the moment you stand still a black cloud descends upon you. We got quite good at jumping in and out of the car as quickly as possible and skilled at killing the ones that managed to get into the tent or car with us. As a result, Agy is in desperate need of some cleaning (not too different from her owners), and we probably can’t donate blood for another 56 days. Since our surf guide for New Zealand says, “…West Coast surfing is a spooky experience. Firstly, the swell is nearly always big, in fact you’re almost always waiting for it to drop and clean up before heading out. You will also be sharing the breaks with a wide range of marine life–many of which have big sharp teeth! Combine this with extremely cold and often murky water, and you have a true Kiwi hardcore surf destination.” We figured the blackflies provided enough bloodletting so we stuck to the mountains.
That said, we’re not actually sure that the blackflies were the worst thing we encountered. Following an overnight trip to Welcome Flats Hut-a fantastic hike up to some hot pools and mountain views) we headed to Fox and Franz Glaciers. The glaciers themselves are magnificent, and we really enjoyed the moments of sunshine that we had at Fox glacier. At Franz, however, we took a short hike up to Sentinel Rock which gives a nice view of the glacier and valley. We got to the viewpoint and not long after a bus load of tourists struggled up one by one, each huffing and puffing and saying almost exactly the same thing upon arrival, “I thought this was supposed to be a short hike.” Now, I don’t know if this is common for people on bus tours as a way to cope with being so close to 25 other people, but after their passing the trail smelled like the very worst part of a department store. You probably know what that means–the perfume section. The part of the store where in order to pass through with the same number of brain cells you had at the start you have to hold your breath for the duration. I think these folks were suffering from perfume induced asthma. We quickly ran for the car once again and continued north.
Next up was Pancake Rocks–another unique coastal rock formation with shows of crashing waves and blowholes. Check out the pictures on Flickr. We continued north to Nelson Lakes National Park–a place we wish we had more time and more sun to explore in. And finally, we made it up to Wharariki Beach at the northwest tip of the south island. The weather wasn’t great while we were there, but it’s a remarkable and rugged beach. We owe Pete a huge thanks for the recommendation on Wharariki and Glenorchy as well. Thanks Pete! Your map and advice have been really helpful!
Currently, we’re in Nelson figuring what to do next, but it won’t be long before we leave the South Island behind and head back North to, hopefully, warmer weather. We’re both ready to spend some more time exporing the North Island’s beaches, caves, lighthouses, surf spots, waterfalls, and whatever else we find on our way. Next WWOOF site is a cheese farm in Eketehuna!
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Tags: backpacking, mountains, National Park
As we enjoy our first day close to (over?) 90 degrees (so strange when the trees haven’t even leafed out yet), I am amazed to think about how you are heading in to winter. What a big world we live in! Summer is calling you!