12, 13 April 2015
In 2011, I took the scenic train between Greymouth and Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. This time I chose to drive on this highest road crossing the Southern Alps.
State Highway 73 passes over Arthur's Pass and is the highest of only three roads crossing the Southern Alps, the other crossings being the Haast Pass and the Lewis Pass. However, Porters Pass, on the same road, is higher (at 939 m) than Arthur's Pass, but it is not considered one of the alpine passes, as it is located in the Canterbury foothills
Otira viaduct carries State Highway 73 over a stretch of unstable land, replacing a narrow, winding, dangerous section of road that was prone to avalanches, slips and closures. This was also one of the scenes which you can never see in the scenic train.
At the Otira Viaduct Lookout, Kea can be seen easily. Kea is a large species of parrot and the world's only alpine parrot. They can be found in forested and alpine regions in South Island of New Zealand. Now uncommon, the kea was once killed for bounty due to concerns by the sheep-farming community that it attacked livestock, especially sheep. It received full protection in 1986.
We stopped at Greymouth for dinner in a Chinese restaurant and we arrived in Westport at late night. It had been a rainy day and the night turned out to be very cold. We stayed in Westport Kiwi Holiday Park in a chalet. Bedding and linen was not included in the room fare and we paid $5 per bed for it. The floor was always sandy no matter how many times we swept the floor as sands can be easily trapped in hardwood floor. I guess that was the reason the broom was provided in the room.
The kitchen was clean, empty and quiet, which was very unusual compared to other backpackers and holiday parks. We actually did not know cooking utensils needed to be hired. We spent some effort looking for a pot the next morning when we wanted to cook breakfast
Almost every corner in the park was quiet and lonely
I love this shower rooms. Very spacious, and unoccupied.
Westport was one of the places in New Zealand with most memories, after Onuku Farm Hostel. This town was where I have spent 1.5 months working in one of the well-known producers of frozen food, Talley's with a big group of Asian friends from different countries. I bet the staff would have forgotten me after years and hence I did not go in and say hello.
We all used to stay together under one roof. We party, we gossiped, we drank, we sing, we
grabbed for kitchens/showers and some weekends we went for short vacation.
The job was tough, the pack house was cold but we could earn well here.
We dealt with Hoki fish almost every working day, once a while dory. If we were lucky, we may see different types of fish like tuna.
This was also the place where I gained the most painful memories. One of them was undoubtedly the chilblains sickness on my hands.
Since we could not cook this morning, we quickly drove to New World Supermarket to grab some breads for breakfast and headed to seal colony which is 10-minute walk from Tauranga Bay car park.
We then headed to Punakaiki via the scenic Great Coast Road which has been named one of the Top 10 Coastal Drives in the world according to Lonely Planet. Along the way, we saw beaches, nooks and crannys.
The Pancake Rocks are most spectacular in the Putai area. They were formed 30 million years ago from minute fragments of dead marine creatures and plants landed on the seabed about 2 km below the surface. Immense water pressure caused the fragments to solidify in hard and soft layers. Gradually seismic action lifted the limestone above the seabed. Mildly acidic rain, wind and seawater sculpted the bizarre shapes.
The weka (also known as Maori hen or woodhen) is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand.
We continued our journey to Hokitika Gorge. Sometimes you see photos of a tourist spot and think yeah right, it can’t look as good as that in real life. The Hokitika Gorge is one of those places. The vivid turquoise water surrounded by lush native bush looks too good to be true. It is a short walk from the carpark through a mainly rimu and podocarp forest to a viewing platform where the water has to be seen to be believed. You can walk a little further across a swing bridge to get closer to the stunning blue river and the sheer ravine but unfortunately it was closed for access when we were there.
We then drove into a forest which led us to Lake Mahinapua
On a good day, you should expect a spectacular view like below
We continued our driving journey to Fox Glacier and stopped by at this place which I forgot the name. I thought my dad might have a picture on the signboard and so I have dug into my pool of pictures but to no avail.
You may be interested to know my working experience in Talleys and my terrible experience of chilblains.
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