What a sad week for our lovely Port Hills, which amazingly featured in my last blog still intact only days before the fires broke out there. We had commented on how dry it looked and with the strong norwest wind fanning the flames they quickly engulfed hundreds of hectares of grassland, bush and forests, along with a dozen or so houses on the way. We were in the hills the day the fires started, having dinner with friends, but just around the corner from the fires. We hardly noticed them apart from the wisps of smoke rising over the peaks. In fact , it was an idyllic evening with a great meal and spectacular sunset. Hard to imagine that only a short distance away the fire crews were battling to save our lovely recreational area and the very expensive homes there.
Saturday Peter and I left Christchurch in the first heavy rain for months. Good news for the firefighters I thought, but actually it impaired vision and made it harder to find hot spots. I am pleased, though, to read that they have got the fire more or less under control but unfortunately are not allowing people home again. There is a huge risk of more fires. I even joined Facebook, which I have always avoided, in order to be a volunteer for housing of evacuees. There were thousands of offers so I was not required. At least I am prepared now if I ever have the chance to help out somewhere. For those who know I am on Facebook, I will probably rarely use it so please continue to write emails.
We were on the way to a Winery tour concert at Waipara, with the prospect of rain, which would have been a pity, but we were well prepared. In fact, as it happened, we had a wonderfully dry evening with very pleasant temperatures and no wind. It was a brilliant setting
And the massive crowd with their deckchairs and picnics were treated to three hours of fabulous music from Benny Tipene, a cute young singer, Brooke Fraser with her strong, fine voice, and the little lady I particularly wanted to hear, Bic Runga, who has been delighting audiences for decades with her soft melodic sounds and relaxed manner.
It was a beautiful evening with delicious Waipara Springs wine and wonderful pizza leftovers from lunch! We had airbnbs. Mine was in a modern home with family and Peter stayed with a very chatty lady in an older typical wooden home of the sixties. Both very welcoming. I sadly had a rather disturbed start to the night due to a rather large white tailed spider just above the bed. The family was asleep and I had nothing with me to kill the spider. I tried to sleep with the light on, hoping it would stay where it was, as they are nocturnal. Of course, I didn't sleep, nor did the spider. As it started to head downwards towards my bed, I found some mosquito repellent, sprayed it and then poured boiling water on it to kill it. A bit mean I guess, but the infections they cause can be fatal!
Next stop Kaikoura, one of our favourite local places to visit, and the poor town so badly hit by the massive November earthquakes. I must admit to being surprised at how intact most of the town looked, but of course know how much they have suffered. First views of the coast made me feel so happy and so grateful that road workers did such an incredible job to fix the road so quickly to give people access again. So much road and bridge repair, clearing of landslips, all of which were evident but which allowed access to this special and spectacular coast.
Lunch spot with views towards Kaikoura. So good to be back!
We had a fabulous afternoon around the stunning coastline. The limestone rocks thrust up , not only by the last quake, which lifted the sea floor more than a metre, but over millions of years, were fantastic.
And nestled in amongst the rocks were the many fur seals, seemingly oblivious to and bored by all the tourist attention!
Unusually we also found a very cute, but sadly probably sick crested penguin. Not sure exactly of the species. It was really lethargic, but then so were the seals!
We found a brilliant place for drinks, the Pier Hotel, with just breathtaking views over the beach, sea and mountains in the distance.
Really tasty Sauvignon too! So we went back for a scrumptious meal and more sauvignon in the evening, with window seats! The hotel even had a free shuttle service so this meant Peter could enjoy a little more wine! Perfect.
Next day the sea mist had rolled in, but nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed walking out on the rocks again, admiring the little rockpools and the lazy old seals. A couple did make the effort to sit up at least
But generally, they were rather sleepy, but usually with one eye open checking that we didn't get too close
It was then time to tackle the inland road to Hanmer. This road was the first to open only 3 or 4 weeks after the quakes, thanks to workers working round the clock in pretty dangerous conditions, as the quakes and subsequent landslides continued. Wow, what a massive job. They have managed to get the road open in both directions, but they are still very busy working on it, so much of the road was a 30kph speed limit. No problem because it gave us a chance to enjoy the breathtaking scenery all around us. I did feel very sorry for the crews working in what were certainly temperatures over 30.
Some parts of the road were just dead straight without a soul ahead of us, but care needed all the time as there were some quite deep potholes along the way
Just out of Hanmer we stopped to let Peter experience the thrill of jetboating. Luckily, the owner was happy for me to go along for the ride. I am hopeless going fast in cars, but somehow jetboats feel safer! Probably the most hair-raising part of it was the drive down to the river on the back of an off road bike. I will have to put a photo of this in the next blog cos Peter has it. My fear is certainly not captured on camera. My knuckles were white from hanging on so tightly! . It was an almost vertical shingle pathway so I felt the whole bike would somersault forewards. At the end of the trip I did it again, but this time the driver reversed up the hill. Unbelievable and very thrilling. I was pleased that it was only at the top he told me that the path scared him too!
What an awesome ride down the Waiau river in perfect conditions. It was a very personal trip with very few passengers and a driver, who after 20 years of jet boat driving, still clearly loved every moment of it and the truly stunning scenery.
Definitely beats an office job!
It was simply fantastic from start to finish.
It was great to actually go up to the bungy jumping bridge and see it from below. It isn't used so much I feel, but must be spectacular. I hasten to say that a bungy jump is NOT on my bucket list.
Here the view of the bridge and looking towards Hanmer and its forest from along the road
It is really gorgeous, isn't it?
We stayed at a campsite out of town, in the forest. What a great choice, as it was so quiet apart from the sound of cicadas, birds and occasional livestock. As I write this I am being distracted by one of the local residents!
I am sitting in the shade of a huge pine tree, surrounded by forest and looking out over the forest clad hills. Heavenly sound, scent of pine,and fresh gentle breeze. In the sun it must be over 30, but here perfect.
We had so many highlights in Hanmer yesterday, starting of course with the jetboat, followed by several hours relaxing in the thermal pools. What a wonderful place this is now. They have landscaped the area beautifully with native bush and trees and you still have expansive views of the hills around.
The highlight of highlights was yet to come as we returned to our studio flats after fish and chips followed by drinks in a lively bar area, to experience the most sensational sky I have ever seen, or can remember. With no street lights around and with only one or two lights in the camp, there is virtually nil light polution, allowing you the chance to see more stars than ever before. The Milky Way and Orion stood out but it was hard to tell the planets because so many of the billions of stars seemed so bright. Sitting there under the stars in the silence of the night, enjoying the still very pleasant temperatures and of course a tea 😀, was certainly one of the most memorable moments of my many trips over the past years.
Breakfast in the sun wasn't bad either!
I think that I will be doing a lot more road trips in the future. What a wealth of glorious experiences.
How very true! 😀
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