Over the Hills & Far Away: Mid Semester Break (part 2)

This is the second part of my post about the trip I took during my fall break. If you haven't read the first, you can click into it from the side bar to the right.

The second half of our trip started at our friend's house in Nelson, where we awoke to a blue, cloudless sky. The concept seemed a bit foreign after five days of grey, and it was a welcome change. Day six took us up even further northwest, to the very tip of the South Island. We passed through Takaka, a cool, frontier-esque town with a large climbing population that gather at a place called "hangdog". While we were there we couldn't help but notice an awesome slackline set about 15 feet over water. Really cool, but we quickly set off again.

Moving up north, we went through an area known as Golden Bay, over a wall of high hills from the rest of the island, and known for its gold sand beaches and sunny days. We finally reached the Farewell Spit in the afternoon, a huge land formation extending into the Tasman that provides a natural barrier to much of the northwestern portion of the island. It was beautiful, and much less crowded than most of the places I have visited in New Zealand thus far. This also marked the farthest away from Dunedin that we could travel while on the south island.

That night, we drove 30 kilometers on dirt roads to reach a campsite that we were sure we would have to ourselves. Our guess was right, but the roads were crazy, and in the dark, there was one portion that I can safely say is the single scariest 10 feet of road I have ever seen. It wasn't until the next morning that we were able to see just how insane it was, and though the first picture below doesn't show it well, the second one sums up my feelings nicely. In short, if you drifted a little too far, there was no shoulder, just a 10 foot high or so drop off that would flip your car, and then send it rolling about 1,500 feet down into a valley. Nice... Perhaps this is a good time to mention that most roads we have seen here are similar in that, while they are decently well maintained, there is little shoulder area equalling no forgiveness. Maybe this is why there were 14 fatal accidents during a 7 day span last week in NZ... my theory as to why the population is so low here.

Day 7 was spent in Abel Tasman National Park, one of the most commercial and popular areas of the country. This is primarily because Abel Tasman is only a 45 minute drive from Nelson, and it's main beauty is it's accessible coastline where gold sand meets perpetually calm waters (due to the Farewell Spit). People like to go on kayaking tours here, and we had planned on renting some out, but there were only tour slots available, which didn't sound fun for a group of kids looking to get away from people. Abel Tasman was cool, but amongst the beauty of the rest of New Zealand, somewhat forgettable.

Day 8 saw us drive east and meet up with the Pacific once again at Picton, where one would catch the ferry to reach the north island via the Cook Strait. From here it was only a short hop down to Blenheim, in the heart of Marlborough, one of the fastest growing wine regions in the world, and the premier area for vineyards in New Zealand. We decided that while we were there we might as well stop and see what a winery was all about. True to form, we didn't go to the biggest, and avoided the tourist attractions. Instead we asked around and picked one that is instead small, family owned, known for quality, and has its own dog.

Called Lawson's Dry Hills, the winery is in the southern area of Marlborough, which apparently gets more sun, colder nights, and drier weather (hence the name), making for distinct grape varieties. We met with Sue, who showed us around, as there were no other people there for a tour, and we got to see some of their grapes actually in harvest and pressing, which was really cool. I really respect that the winery is and has always been family owned and operated, and the atmosphere lacked all snobbery, which is something I commonly view in relation to wine. The entire time the vineyard's dog, a yellow lab (like mine at home) named Tomi, was sniffing around at our heels too, adding to the laid back atmosphere. The general area reminded me of home as well, with the golden hills that rose from the vineyard casting shadows similar to those in the Boise foothills that I love so much back home. It was a bit of paradise for me.

Day 9 was spent in Christchurch and on the Banks Peninsula, the latter being much, much better. Christchurch was ok as far as cities go, but there really wasn't much for  a guy like me to do there. Poor college students who have been on the road for 8 days aren't going to be spending money in the shops. The impression I got was of a city very proud of its English heritage, with the main attractions seeming to be Cathedral Square and the Avon River, where people could pay grotesque amounts of money to 'punt' along the tree-lined stream in small, guided boats. Not for me. There was a mexican restaurant there though, and while the food was only ok, it was nice to finally get some burritos in a country lacking food variety.

The Banks Peninsula on the other hand is a big area (if you look at the map it is the giant knob sticking off the middle of the east coast) formed by two giant volcanoes erupting at once. This created huge hills (not quite mountain status) that shoot up out of the sharp bays that stretch into the center of the peninsula at the caldera of the larger volcano.

From here it was a long drive back into Dunedin, taking up the 10th day of our trip, and completing the circuit of New Zealand's south island. We arrived in town at noon exhausted, but with dry clothes and tents as the entirety of the second half of our trip was under sunny skies.

I am still tired as I write this blog post, but that is part of the fun of traveling. Our little car has been holding up incredibly well given the strain we've been putting on it, and I hope it can keep up for another 2 months. This post also marks the half way point of my journey in Aotearoa, which is hard to believe. In one way it feels like I just stepped off the plane in Auckland, and yet in another, I feel like I have been here for a really long time. All I know is that there is still a lot that I've been missing here in New Zealand, and before I come home I will see more of the open road.

Take care everybody.

Jake