Two intrepid walkers - on a road trip #2

Hello there. Here we are back on the road again.

Make yourself a pot of tea, or coffee, put your feet up

and join Sis and me on the next part of our journey.

When I left you last we had had a break in Otira for lunch 

and now we are headed to the West Coast.

Once you cross over the mountain the landscape changes dramatically. The West Coast is a very narrow strip of land on the coast, bounded by mountains and the sea and we drive through ancient, beech forest to reach it. Rainforest. 

But today the sun is shining and as we drive north up the coast we are in our shirtsleeves. Definitely overdressed. Once we are over the Taramakau River bridge we are almost there. This is a road/rail bridge which throws some people, like my GKB when he first drove on it, but we grew up with it so no problems there. :)

We booked in at the camping ground and decided not to have a cuppa but to go and visit our aunty, who is still living in Greymouth, and have one with her. She was out. Oh well, we had other places to go in connection with our reunion next year. The hotel PR lady was next. She was away for the day! A restaurateur we wanted to speak to. He was finished for the day! We weren't having much luck. I  guess that is what happens when you do things on the spur of the moment. Let's try aunty again on the way back to the camping ground. Aah, finally, she was home and we had a nice visit - and finally too, a hot cup of tea.

We bought fish and chips for tea and ate them back at the camping ground and then decided to go for a walk on the beach. These are not sandy beaches and neither are they beaches I would swim in, the Tasman Sea is too rough and rugged for me. But they are enjoyable to walk on. Not that we went far as the wind was coming up, making it a bit cool and unpleasant. It's winter, remember.

The camping ground is at the beach, leave the grounds heading west, cross a narrow track/road and you're in the flax and grass that borders the beach. As we were heading back we saw a large bird run across the grass in front of us - then another one. A pair of wekas. Weka - also known as wood hen or Maori hen. They had no fear and posed for us before calling to each other and disappearing into the scrub again. But as luck would have it none of my photos turned out so this is a photo of a postcard with a Weka on it. The photo is taken by Dave Foster. We also saw these on the roadsides as we were travelling on the West Coast side.

Weka, by Dave Foster

With the wind getting up and darkness falling we decided to have showers and call it a night. It was 7:30pm! We read and chatted and planned a programme for the reunion, but mostly we read. I couldn't believe how tired I felt. Sometime in the early hours of the morning I woke up, then there was an almighty thunderclap. Sis reckons it was the lightening that woke me. With the thunder came the rain, and did it rain. The West Coast of the South Island gets torrential rain and I hadn't experienced it for a long time

 - welcome home :)

It was still raining when we left in the morning about 10:00am. We caught up with the people who had been away the day before and decided to have a cooked breakfast before we headed off. Above is the view out of the tearooms window as we ate.

And this is what it was like as we were leaving Kumara and heading back towards the mountains, with no let up as we headed into Otira where there was a beautiful rainbow. We drove right into it and I decided to enjoy the moment instead of trying to capture it.

Can you see though, how it is coming down between the mountains and therefore having nowhere to disappear to.

It was a long haul up the mountain behind two large trucks, I think our top speed was about 15 kpm and we kept waiting for the engine to cut out. Eventually we came to a short passing  bay but it was long enough for us and we made a run for it. Through the passes on the Canterbury side the sun was out and it was a pleasant trip through to Christchurch. Another overnight stay and then we headed back to Otago and the meeting I had to be home for that evening.

**************

I hope you've enjoyed our road trip.

I'm joining Amy, and others, for

Five on Friday

so why don't you pop over for a look as well.

Diana

By the way, don't ask me what mountain I crossed, I don't know to be honest, just that it is part of the Southern Alps . Growing up if we were going to Christchurch we were going  'over the hill'. We drove up the mountain, or took the railcar, and went through the passes but it has never occurred to me to find out which mountain we crossed. We knew the name of the passes, that sufficed. Maybe I should find out!

Two intrepid walkers -some hometown snaps

Some snaps taken around my hometown a few years ago,

 just five as I want to join Amy for Five on Friday.

Tainui Street, part of the shopping centre.

A greenstone fountain (New Zealand jade), 

also known in Maori as pounamu.

The South Island is also known 

as Te Wai Pounamu, or Greenstone Waters.

The Grey River taken from

 the flood wall along Mawhera Quay.

The railway station and i centre

 on the left and a hotel on the right.

Another hotel, both hotels are heritage buildings.

Be kind to one another,
Diana

Two intrepid walkers - on a road trip

I hope you will take a few minutes, maybe five, 

make yourself a coffee or tea and join me 

as I take a road trip to my childhood home.

Well it's been over for a week or two now but when my little sis was here on holiday from Australia we went on a bit of a road trip. All in the name of the reunion we are having at Easter next year. 

We had intended heading back up Central and knocking off a bit more of the rail trail but got chatting and decided on a completely different plan. Dunedin to Greymouth and back in four days, because I had a meeting to get back for. That's a round trip of over 1130 k's and meant we were on the road most of the time without a full day anywhere.

After making sure my GKB was okay with baching for a few days we got on the road. He didn't fancy a menage a trois of any kind anyway and quite honestly even though the campervan was supposed to sleep four it would have been pretty crowded. Comfortable enough for two though.

After a couple of hours on the road, we decided to stop for lunch at one of the rivers we crossed on the way. There was a fair wind blowing but we got out and stretched our legs, took a photo or two and some of some tourists as well, with their camera. (We are so nice like that, ha ha). The name of the river eludes me now but it is the same braided river I showed you in an earlier post with the ducks swimming on it. The photo above is a tiny sheltered braid close to the bank. Very pretty but the river itself is rugged. If you look hard you can see the Southern Alps in the background on the left. And then we headed for Christchurch to stop for the night.

There are a lot of road works and rebuilding going on and at one point we went round this roundabout into a little detour and came back out where we had gone in. Don't ask! I think that was as we were trying to get onto the Coast Road as we left the next morning. Anyway we went through here several times over two days. We had just enough time to get parked up at the camping ground/holiday park when we arrived when my grandson rang to say his partner had just finished work and was on his way over to pick us up for dinner. Time for a quick wash and tidy up and away we went for a lovely roast dinner.

The next morning, after an early start and finally negotiating the road works we turned inland and onto the West Coast Road. That is the Southern Alps we are heading for and which we had to cross. Heading home, well to my childhood home which I love.

Above is Castle Hill, no castle just these rather wonderful rock formations which from a distance do look like a ruined castle, we pass this on the way. And then a bit further on we come to the Bealey River, we're up in the mountains now and although there is no snow where we are, it's on the tops and cold.

Over the bridge and before we knew it we were in the Otira Gorge and driving over the viaduct. So different to when I was young, when you had to drive a lot higher up the mountain on an unsealed road with no barriers to stop you going over the edge. 

The photo above is taken through the van window, a waterfall above the road with the sluice to carry it across the road above the traffic. We stopped for lunch in Otira village, next to the railway station at some picnic tables and then carried on to the coast. We were on the downhill run now. We can hear the call of home :)

And I think that is where I will leave you today. I'll pick up here again in about a week and tell a little more. 

Joining Amy for 

Five on Friday

Diana

Snaps of Hyde

Some photo's my GKB took of the little stop 

at Hyde while Sis and I were walking. Just five photos

 so I can join in with Amy over at Five on Friday.

The bridge over the Taieri River at Hyde.

A little church with a wonderful stone wall and iron gate.

The Otago Central Hotel at Hyde.

Cafe sign. The cafe is in the hotel.

The Hyde railway disaster memorial.

This is further down the cycle/walking track.

joining Amy at:

Five on Friday

Two intrepid walkers - day two

A long post so you might want to make a hot drink,
 or a cool one, and settle in for a while.

setting out 

On day two of our walk we had a plan!

We would begin at the other end 

and come back to where we were going to start.

Clear as mud?

We had talked over where we would be going and decided 

that we would begin where we would have finished if 

we started from where we finished the day before.

Oh dear, I think I'll stop there before it gets too confused :)

(I think it's the Irish coming out in me).

Hyde railway station

We headed up the road to Hyde and duly set out

walking back towards Middlemarch - after a comfort stop.

 We figured that doing it this way we would be walking downhill. In reality the walk from Middlemarch to Hyde

 only rises 100 metres, so not a huge climb over 28 k's.

derelict wagon filled with old wood, this was the worst one.

We weren't sure where the first passport stamping station was

 so we called in to the local cafe where there just happened to be a full complement of the various stamps. Once we were stamped the walk proper was on. The first corner we went around brought us to the Hyde railway station, no longer in use of course and now privately owned, with a few derelict wagons on sidings. 

And a hundred yards further down the trail was the stamping booth!

We hadn't gone too far when we decided that perhaps we were walking too fast and should go at a slightly more leisurely

 pace than yesterday so that we didn't get so tired. So we slowed down a little. We looked at more stuff. And stopped more often.

There were a lot more cyclists about today so we had to give way to them as well. And as most of them were travelling in the same direction as us it was quite interesting and reminded me of when we were in Japan and cyclists are just considered to be pedestrians on wheels. They used the footpaths and you were always checking behind for them, they did have bells. It's surprising how quickly you adapt though. And so we adapted on the trail.

We came across these cows relaxing before the heat

 of the day set in. These ones were chewing their cuds...

...but this lady was on a mission.

Can you see her in amongst the bushes?

When we first saw her she had her front legs up in the tree

 but had settled for this by the time we got the camera out.

She had climbed up on a rock to get at the delicacy she was after.

Well, what was it, you may ask?

gathering apples

She was after apples. All along this section of the trail was lined with apple and pear trees. There were bushes covered in clusters of red berries as well but we couldn't identify them and they were too far away to see them properly. Not handy like the trees. 

gathering pears

The trees have grown from the cores of the fruit thrown 

out of the train windows by passengers as it was travelling from Cromwell to Dunedin. So some of them must be getting on 

for one hundred years old. We gathered some fruit and put it

 in our bags to bring home, this did not lighten our load 

as we were walking :) But they were really sweet when 

I cooked them up once we got home. Compensation.

There were also a lot of different flowers growing and

 we wondered whether they had been part of some ladies

 gardens as they weren't wild flowers.

We only had one other stamp to get on this part

 of the trip and that was at the Rock and Pillars hut.

We took photos of each other here as well but they are so 

inelegant they are only for private viewing, haha.

We were pooped for some reason. We had some

 refreshments and got on the trail again. Didn't let our

 feet dangle this time either, we learnt that lesson.

looking towards the Taieri Range

The countryside is very dry and we came across 

this reservoir which feeds down to one of the 

farms and is probably part of an irrigation system. After we

 had been walking a few hours we looked up and 

Sis said 'that looks like your car over there'.

And I replied 'and that looks like my bloke over there as well'.

my GKB taking a video of us

He had brought the car back and was waiting for us with a 

full thermos and the tea and coffee. He was very good to us.

We had arrived at the Hyde Railway disaster memorial and we stopped to have a look and a bite of lunch.

There is a picnic table over the stile and behind the trees. 

The cairn is the memorial to the 21 people who died in 

the train crash in June 1943. The train would have been packed as it was on it's way to the Dunedin Show. We had walked through the

 cutting where it had happened about 100 metres or so further back.

stone plaque

The problem with stopping for half an hour, sitting with your feet up and just generally relaxing is that you don't want to start again. Oh dear. So we didn't. We had walked for three hours, only covered half the distance we intended but as the sun was getting very high in the sky decided to call it a day. We have a 6 km section to finish off and will do that next time. Maybe.

Then again we might just start here, which is the bridge over the river from Hyde and takes us  in the opposite direction to what we had been going, towards Clyde, which is the final destination. 

We didn't think we had done too badly, we walked 21 kms altogether and that is a half marathon!

We didn't have ice creams today, we all went back to the

 camp and fell asleep on our beds instead :)

Sis is coming back in May to do some more walking, 

I'm not sure about that as it will be winter, we'll see.

***************

joining Amy at:

Five on Friday

Have a good week,

I'll see you again soon.

Diana

Two intrepid walkers - day one.

As you know my middle sister has been over from Australia, visiting. One of the reasons is that for quite some time we have been planning to walk the Otago Central Rail Trail. Well we have finally begun our journey. Of course there is nothing to be fearful of on the trail, except maybe our legs not wanting to keep going :)

On Tuesday 1st March we picked Sis up at 8:15am 

and headed up to Middlemarch where the trail ends/begins.

A quick comfort stop and were on our way by 9:15am.

This was the view as we started out.

The Rock and Pillar range on the left and the 

Taieri Range on the right. And lots of farm land.

As we walked Sis told me about the trip 

she had had on the Trans Siberian Railway and this

filled in quite a bit of our time as we walked.

We didn't notice the time passing. 

We did notice quite a few of these heading

 in the direction we had just come from. Or the end for them :)

Everyone called out greetings and were very friendly.

And yes, looking forward from the start,or looking back

 from where we were it seemed an awful long way to the corner.

But it was a coming up. Just above the gate in the right of this 

photo is a bend in the trail.And when we turned the corner  

we came across the first hut and stamping post. Ngapuna. 

The huts were built after the style of shepherds huts to provide shelter for such intrepid walkers and cyclists as ourselves. 

Oh, were we pleased to see it. Inside we went, bags down,

 drinks out, snacks out and some of that winter gear

 taken off and packed in the backpacks. Yes when we started out it was rather cool but after an hour of fairly solid walking we were feeling quite warm, and the temperature had risen slightly.

And just in case you are interested, that long straight walk was seven kilometres and we had covered it in an hour!

How do we know this? All the information is in the huts,

 along with maps and details of the area you are walking in.

Needless to say, the next part of the walk was slightly slower

but we did the walk in good time for a couple of older gals.

 The next section was also a bit more scenic 

with some interesting sights.Can you see 

the rabbit in the picture above? It hopped slowly

 along the fence line and took very little notice of us.

Then it took off into the gorse.

On one side of the trail was dairy and sheep farming.

This is two paddocks, the cows are in a paddock behind.

Then a bit further up the track were these three old 

girls keeping out of the midday sun.They just looked

 at us and kept on chewing, probably thinking

 "mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun".

Four k's more of walking and we were at Moynihan's Hut, 

a very welcome sight. We stopped here for a few minutes 

as well. The huts are very basic, corrugated iron 

and a wooden form inside to sit on. And we took the 

opportunity to sit each time, but made the mistake

 of letting our feet just dangle. Big mistake at this point

 as they didn't take too kindly to hitting the trail again.

Three hours and 14 k's after we set out we reached our destination. 
We were met at the Rock and Pillar Station by my GKB with
 the car and, another flask of hot water. For  a hot cuppa. He was such a lovely patient support person, he drove us back to camp
 and then took us to the shop to get ice creams :)

Originally we had intended to walk to Hyde which was 28 k's in all, but were so pleased to see our great supporter with the car we decided to stop. It was all a learning curve and set us up for a more relaxed walked the next day and more realistic expectations.
But I'll tell you about that another day. Thank you if you have stayed the distance -  I really should have warned you to make a pot of tea before you started reading.

joining Amy at:

Five on Friday

That's it for this week.

I'll see you here next time. 

Keep well.

Diana