Author: Ian

Saturday 23 March

Today I travelled from Westport to Murchison, then over the Lewis Pass to Waipara and freedom camped at Glenmark Reserve.

Sunday 24 March

To Christchurch Tasman Holiday Park which took over the Top 10. Stopped and explored all the coastal villages and beaches enroute to Christchurch. Explored parking at Christchurch railway Station for Tuesday morning Coastal Pacific trip before checking in at Tasman,

Monday 25 March

Laundry and housekeeping followed by Coffee Club lunch at Northlands Shopping Mall.

I checked out the laundry first thing in the morning to see how many coins I would need to do two loads of drying and washing. However there was a sign in the laundry that it was a “cashless” system for operating the washers and dryers. You scan a QR code and when the website for using the machines comes up on the iPhone you click on the machine you intend to use, pay the wash or dryer charge via credit card, then set the temperature (for wash) or heat and time for dry, push start and the system gets underway. Clever stuff.

I seem to be constantly finding new ways current computer systems are easing transactions. When paying online for my tickets to travel the Coastal Pacific there was a question “are you a Senior Citizen – if so enter your Gold Card number in the box below”. When I did this and clicked “next” there was an immediate response, “confirmed”, and the ticket price dropped by 10%. However, on the train the Café staff told us that their Eftpos machines would not work until we arrived in Blenheim or got back to near Christchurch, and they preferred customers to use cash for purchasing food and drink. For those without cash they would run up a tab and come round with the Eftpos machine just before we reached home.

Tuesday 26 March

What a great day out on the train trip. It was 5 ½ hours each way, and I spent half the time going up in the viewing car, and about a 1/4 of the time there on the return to ChCh. The day was cool, windy and sunny going up along the coast, but once we left the coast heading inland to Blenheim it warmed up noticeably. Returning it was sunny through from Picton to the coast but then cool again and overcast with low cloud until we headed inland toward Greta Valley, with a sunny evening all the way home.

Leaving ChCh the sun rose as we headed up to Waipara with a good view of the Glenmark Reserve freedom camping site from where I had photographed the Sunday Coastal Pacific passing by.

My camping location at Glenmark Reserve, Waipara, as we passed at 5 to 8am. It seems to be busy every night.

Sunrise on the hills at Greta Valley.

The coastal views were superb, with lots of traffic on the road.

This truck followed us before and after Kaikoura, so the driver must have stopped for a cuppa while we collected passengers at the Kaikoura stop. The photo angle shows the train as being very long.

The viewing car has handrails designed to prevent people leaning out from the edge of the carriage. I was able to hold the camera at arm’s length to get my views of the front of the train.

Viewing car at the rear going up allowed for great pictures of the front of the train – going back to ChCh the viewing car was behind the engine giving good views of the rear of the train when rounding corners.

Going up the loco was in front of two service cars (baggage and freight), followed by the Scenic Plus carriage (expensive first class service) followed by a Cafe Car, two passenger carriages then finally the viewing car – seven cars plus engine total length. We were just under half full going up, then totally full to Kaikoura going back where a group of a dozen passengers left. Overall the service was well patronised.

I took loads of landscape photos on the trip, showing extremely dry conditions in Marlborough. However the many vineyards were a great contrast from the stock fields.

Vineyard between Blenheim and Picton.

Salt works processing operations at Grassmere with salt streaming onto a stockpile.

I took 255 photos on the trip which will provide great memories in the future. Today I head back to the West Coast via Arthurs Pass, freedom camping on the way towards Greymouth. Will update you on my travels before Easter Sunday.

Wednesday 27 March

Wednesday I began the return to the coast. Rain set in midmorning and around 12 noon I had to take off-road shelter as a huge storm battered the van. I found a thick hedge I closeted the vehicle against at an off-road parking area at Aylesbury near Darfield as rain and hail and strong wind buffeted the van. My objective for the day was to visit the limestone Tors at Castle Hill after travelling over Porters Pass. However, when I arrived at the Tors carpark at around 3:45pm it was very cold and windy and given the return walk to visit the limestone features would take over 40 minutes I decide to camp early for the night and come back early Thursday morning.

Mistletoe Flats DoC campsite for Wednesday night.

It was well sheltered and although very cold outside the gas heater in the van kept me snug. In the morning there was snow on the tops of the mountains all around me.

Thursday 28 March

So I got back to the Castle Hills Tors parking area 20 past 8 Thursday morning with no one else around. The Tors are named Kura Tawhiti now. It was cold and dry with misty drizzle on the hill tops as I set off on the 40 minute loop track in a blustery wind, so strong that gusts threatened to blow me off the track at times.

Parking area with Tors in the distance.

Main group of limestone formations.

The loop track proceeds up around the back of this group with loads of formations over the rise.

It was cold, but I was well wrapped up with Lexie’s old wool-merino hat down around my ears. She gave this headgear to me years back when she got a new one.

Fortunately several areas of the track provided shelter from the wind.

It was then on to Cass where the railway siding shed became famous from a Rita Angus painting.

The modern Cass where goods trains can drop off wagons for local farm stations.

Inside the shed was a book exchange library where someone had left a postcard of the iconic Rita Angus painting.

I had a cuppa while parked beside the railway and as it was 10am I began to work out where the TranzAlpine might be – had it gone through Cass already? I reckoned it might be close given the time it left Christchurch and the distance Cass was on the way to Greymouth. And then, suddenly I could see the 3 bright headlights of the engine way down the line, and then the train came thundering through.

Two engines were hauling the train.

I noticed not only were there two engines, there was two of everything, café cars, viewing cars, first class Scenic Plus cars, and four (instead of two) regular passenger cars – the train was twice the size of the Coastal Pacific which I took on Tuesday.

It seemed quite a coincidence I happened to be at Cass when the train came through (but that was not the end of my train experience that day).

I went on to Arthur’s Pass into steady rain as I approached the Village at 11:30am. I wanted to visit the Devils Punchbowl Falls behind the village, but it was so wet that maybe I had to miss out and carry on to the coast. I went into the DoC Visitor Centre and the lady behind the reception desk was on the phone and I heard her say that the rain was going to ease from 1pm. I then asked her about the weather and access to visit the 131 metre falls. The description of the walk to the falls said there was a 150m climb up to the base of the cascade, which seemed to be out of my level of capability. She confirmed the rain was scheduled to ease from 1pm, and said the climb to the punchbowl pool at the base of the falls involved 400 steps. OK, not for me, but she said there is a good view from the second bridge on the walking trail, and before the steps start.

Devils Punchbowl falls from a distance (only half the height visible) with new snow on the tops – this was around 1:30pm when the rain had fully stopped.

Then it was on to the top of Arthur’s Pass and down the Otira Gorge.

The 1999 viaduct which did away with “Deaths Corner” at the top of the Pass (rain had recommenced and spots got on the camera lens).The viaduct slopes steeply down as the road descends the gorge.

Going down the gorge I was in a huge traffic queue behind a large transporter that was carefully descending in low gear on the steep grade.

I arrived at Otira about 3:15pm and after taking photos of the quirky hotel there noticed 4 railway locomotives coupled together at the station.

There were Lord of the Rings themed sculptures at the hotel.

So I went through the pedestrian underpass to the station and realised that these four engines must be on standby to assist trains to climb the steep grade up through the Otira Tunnel. The down-slope engine was idling so I thought there must be a train coming soon, and sure enough at 4pm the TranzAlpine appeared in the distance, pulling up to stop at the station while the idling engine hitched up to push from the rear of the train.

TranzAlpine pulling into Otira – how about that – twice in one day to see this train.

It was a long train, as I explained before.

Two engines pulling at the front and this third engine (facing backwards) was pushing from the rear.

I spoke to the guy in the hi-viz jacket who coupled up the rear engine, and he said once they get to Arthur’s Pass they uncouple and come straight back down the tunnel to assist the 5:15pm coal train. That will require more than one pusher engine because these coal trains are huge.

So, Thursday was a big day. Late afternoon I arrived in Greymouth and checked in for 3 nights at their Top 10.

Friday 29 March (Good Friday)

I did a loop from Greymouth back up the road to Otira then turning left at Jacksons to take the scenic route via Lake Brunner back to Greymouth. At Kumara, where the last gold rush in New Zealand took place in 1876, there were 25 story panels in the village green covering the history and families of the area.

The gold rush story – these 25 story panels were large and full of information. Needless to say I did not read them, but have photos of the lot to study at leisure.

Lake Brunner was calm and warm, with the village of Moana full of holiday makers.

The house boat harbour at the lake.

Saturday 16 March

Today the Kaikoura Mountains provided a summer vs taste of winter contrast.

Friday morning, 15 March.

Saturday morning, 16 March.

And the whale watch vessel I travelled on on Thursday is the Te Ao Marama.

Passengers are all seated in the cabin ready for the 30 knot dash out over the Canyon.

Hitting 30 knots well out from the marina.

Sunday 17 March

Now for the Sunday Weka Pass trip.

At the photo stopover the train reversed down the track out of sight in a cutting, then travelled back at speed to give us this view. One passenger had stayed on the covered open wagon.

Passing through a typical cutting on the way to Waikari.

Approaching Frog Rock cutting on the return journey. Main road down slope far right centre is near where I took the next photo of the afternoon train trip.

Afternoon train exiting Frog Rock cutting on the climb to Waikari. Uncovered open wagon directly behind the engine.

Frog Rock from the highway.

Weka Pass is home to loads of limestone outcrops both sides of the road and railway.

Monday 18 March

Following my Weka Pass Railway trip yesterday, today was my 2 hour return walk to the Maori Rock Art in a valley behind Waikari. The steep climbing and descents was taxing at times, but it was highly satisfying to have made it.

Half-way up the first climb looking back down to the Waikari Village. My trusty hiking poles taking a rest.

The view into the valley and the rock overhang in which the art work is located. Note from the fence line the steepness of the climbs and descents.

There were dozens of figures spread along 30m or so of overhang. Many had been enhanced by colouring, but you could see lots of faded images below the enhanced ones.

The black and red images were of undefinable creatures. The whole overhang section of the rock art wall was fenced off with wire netting. Many years ago vandals had spread black paint over parts of the wall, and so protective fencing had been erected after restoration work was completed.

Monday afternoon it was on to Hanmer Springs where I freedom camped overnight some 7km out of town.

Tuesday 19 March

Rain set in during the night so when arrived in town 8am Tuesday morning the town was rather dreary with mist low over the surrounding hillsides. However I was really impressed with the huge trees lining the streets, and the modern shops reminiscent of Queenstown. I did not visit the hot pools but sneaked a picture through a back gate.

A small hot pool before 9am opening. By 10am the parking area outside the pools entrance was crowded with cars. Overall Hanmer was a very modern pleasant place.  

As I wasn’t going to the hot pools I took off for the west coast over Lewis Pass, enjoying a very scenic drive through to Maruia Springs and Springs Junction. I had lunch at the DoC Marble Hill Reserve where in 1964 a deep concrete wall had been constructed across the Alpine Fault to monitor any creep or other movement. A narrow gap in the wall was sited exactly over the fault line, but nothing has been detected so far.

I spent Tuesday night freedom camping near Reefton. But that afternoon I visited the site of the old power station, the ruins of which were featured in the 1985 Beacons documentary. I did a piece to camera climbing down steps to the generator location and commented on how derelict the site was, and said this place should be a national monument, being the first community electricity scheme in the southern hemisphere. Well, to my surprise, some nearly 40 years later this is exactly what is happening. The site was busy with building activity as a fully restored power generation system is underway financed by $2.5m of grants and $365k of local funds and in-kind work.

You can see the building work through the “window” in this story board. A new 220kw generator from Sweden is to be installed.

Wednesday 20 March

Today I was early on the road through to Westport and the Charming Creek Walkway. The last time Lexie and I visited was in 2017 when the track access from the coast road at Ngakawau (north of Westport) was closed due to huge slips in the gorge leading to the Mangatini Falls at the top of the 2 hour return walk. We had first done the walk back in the 1990s, then again in 2015 and loved it, so missed out in 2017. Well, 7 years later the track is still closed, so I went through to Seddonville, and up a winding 10km gravel road into the Charming Creek Mine location to take a 4 hour return hike into the Mangatini Falls from the opposite direction. The walk is along the tramway via which coal was transported from the mine in the hills above Seddonville along the Ngakawau Valley to the Mangatini Falls at the head of the Ngakawau Gorge before dropping steeply down to the coast road.

I packed lunch and a drink and set off 11am along the easy grade of the rail bed, which had its original wooden sleepers still evident in many parts. Arriving at the Falls 1pm I then lunched at a story board shelter and headed back 1:45pm returning to the parking area at the old mine ruins 3:30pm (a four-and-a-half-hour expedition). Wow, it was a taxing venture but very worthwhile. Old coal mining equipment as well as sawmilling ironmongery and accompanying story boards was fascinating.

Walkway commencement.

The old tramway had bits and pieces of old wagons in several places. Old sleepers were still there in many parts of the track.

The “locomotive” hauling the coal wagons was actually powered by a large petrol driven Allis Chalmers tractor engine.

The tunnel at the end of this section of walkway took the tramway through to a view of the Mangatini Falls before the rail track began a steep drop down the side of the Ngakawau Gorge (photo above) to the coast for unloading onto conventional train wagons.

Tunnel entrance heading downslope. The raised rail on the right is actually a wooden centre rail for braking the train on the slope down to the coast (right hand rail is not visible, being covered in leaf litter.) You can see the braking centre rail in the B&W photo above.

The Mangatini falls viewed from the tunnel exit.

So Wednesday evening it was Freedom Camping at Hector alongside the highway bridge over the Ngakawau River right on the coast.

Thursday 21 March

Thursday was an exploration day of the Denniston Incline, starting with a 40 minute return walk to the bottom of the incline at Conns Creek where wagons reaching the terminus of the incline were assembled into trains for transport to the coal loading facilities at Westport Harbour.

Conns Creek bottom of incline in the early 1900s.

The designers of the incline put in rails at the same gauge as the main railway along the coast which meant that the coal wagons coming down the incline were assembled in the large marshalling areas at Conns Creek into full trains which then took the line down the valley to the coast and on to Westport. At the harbour cranes were used to lift the coal wagons off their wheel base, suspend them over the ship’s hold, and workers sprang the doors in the bottom of each coal wagon to dump the coal load into the ship.

Marshalling area at Conns Creek.

Train heading down the Waimangaroa River Valley 2km to the coast main line.

Dozens of wagons made up this full train heading for the coastal main line. The 2km long rail line above is now the walkway I took in on Thursday during my 45 minute return walk to Conns Creek from the coast highway parking area.

Conns Creek bottom of incline today, with the crane for lifting supplies into empty wagons to be taken up the incline still preserved.

A full wagon ready to start rolling over the top of the incline. The brake house (roof in bottom left of picture) controlled the speed of the cable which lowered the wagon down slopes as steep as 1 in 1.3.

Brake house foundations today with coal wagon in same place as 1951 B&W photo above.

You can see two illustrated story boards on the right of the above photo – the Conns Creek and Denniston locations had loads of almost brand-new explanatory boards of exceptional quality. It is from these I photographed the B&W illustrations in the before and after pictures above.

Friday 22 March

Last night and tonight I am at the Westport Holiday Park with internet access, and power to recharge camera and computer batteries. The weather has been fine, sunny for large parts of each day, and warm both night and day. I went indoors today for a couple of hours in the Coal Town Museum, a totally modern facility compared to the one we filmed in for Beacons in 1985.

Tomorrow, Saturday 23 March, I head back over the Lewis Pass via Murchison to Canterbury where I will Freedom Camp en route to Christchurch, arriving there Sunday afternoon for a three night stay. Monday will be housekeeping, and Tuesday 26 March I will take the Coastal Pacific to Picton and back, leaving 7am and returning 7:30pm. I wanted to do this trip before daylight saving ended, and leave a gap of some weeks before doing the Tranz Alpine  Christchurch to Greymouth return. I will pick that trip up when I come back through Christchurch later in April. On Wednesday next week I will travel back to the West Coast and to Greymouth via Arthurs Pass.

Monday 11 March

At the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre I took in the two major display halls, Knights of the Sky (WW I) and Dangerous Skies (WW II).

Knights of the Sky: British pilot who crash landed into a tree in German territory being given a cigarette by German pilot while soldiers inspect his tree bound plane.

Dangerous Skies: Lockheed Hudson shot down by Japanese over New Guinea Jungle.

Tuesday 12 March

After having a beach walk and leaving the Marfells Beach DoC campsite I peeped over the fence into the Grassmere Saltworks before late lunching at the Kekerengu Café and stopping overnight at their beachside camping area.

Wednesday 13 March

This started as a windy and showery day on the way to Kaikoura, but I managed to get good photos at the five Cultural Art stopover areas on the newly reconstructed coastal road. These off road parking and landscaped areas include sculptures and display boards relating to Maori heritage, local plants, wildlife and landscape. The seal colony at the Ohau stop overlooked the breeding area with hundreds of females and their pups littering the rocky and grassy foreshore with pups playfully tumbling around with each other in mock combat or frolicking in tidal pools.

Grey fur seal.

Pups at play on land.

Pups at play in their “private” swimming area while mums and feeding pups relax on the rocks.

The rain showers eventually cleared by the time I got to the seal colony in Kaikoura, but there were no seals there. Anyway I wanted to climb the hill behind the parking area (the hiking poles were really useful) and walk the clifftop track to the shearwater colony Lexie and I Last visited 20 years ago. It is now surrounded by a predator free fence, and had grown in size remarkably with hundreds of breeding burrows on the hillside.

Shearwater breeding ground.

Thursday 14 March

After a light and early lunch I joined the 100 plus other whale watching folk on the 1:30pm cruise out to the GPS location where the local sperm whale group had been seen that morning by the two earlier cruises. It was around a 30 minute 30 knot (54kph) dash through 2m swells first over the inshore shelf (water depth 40m) then out over the Kaikoura Canyon (850 to 1200m depth) to where the whales feed at depth (they can dive up to 2000m for 40 to 60 minutes in their hunt for squid as well as small deep water fish). When we reached the spot where whales had been last reported, the boat shut down engines and a hydrophone was used to pick up sperm whale clicking sounds. This gave us the general direction and distance to where they were likely to surface. As everyone aboard scanned the sea for tell-tail spouts from breathing blow off, two whale watching light planes and a helicopter began circling low over the water about 500m away and then we spotted a spout. The crew quietly took the vessel to within about 30m of the whale.

We knew it would only be on the surface for around 10 to 15 minutes while it recharged its oxygen levels before deep diving again. The crew knew when it would dive by watching for two deep breaths in a short interval, and they then said it will dive on the count of 6, and sure enough after 6 counts the tail went up as the whale took off vertically for the deep.

We were told it would be 40 to 60 minutes before it came up for air again, so we all began to look for another whale which we found about 20 minutes later. The crew have names for the several whales which frequent the canyon at this time of year, and the two we saw had Maori names which I am unable to recall. They identify them by the tail flukes with their distinguishing chips and gaps.

After the second whale sighting the crew took us on a direct line to the coast to look for seals and dolphins. While miles away from the coast two seals popped their heads out of the water to look as us as we sped by while another was lazily lying on its back on the water surface. As we got closer to the shore we were suddenly surrounded by dozens of Dusky and Hectors dolphins in a mix of small and large groups.

They frolicked around the vessel as we cruised slowly through them, with groups both sides and in front and rear of us. Overall we really got our money’s worth on the trip which lasted from 2pm to 4:30pm on the water. [By the way, if any trip does not find a whale, Whale Watch refunds 80% of the $165 adult ticket price.]

The vessel had 3 large TV screens which were used to provide commentary during the trip, and at other times we could follow the tracking map (shown here) indicating our position, speed and water depth as we travelled.

Friday 15 March (today)

Took a long walk on the foreshore Esplanade through town before a couple of hours in the Museum. Great displays re whaling as well as local history and records of the 14 November 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake (7.8 magnitude). I must say the road and rail restoration following the earthquake has resulted in the best bits of infrastructure I have ever come across in NZ. The new road is excellent, superior to any of the new roads I have been on this past several months.

Saturday 16 March (tomorrow)

Tomorrow I am away to Waipara to freedom camp overnight in the local Domain before the Weka Pass rail trip Sunday morning. Will be out of internet access for 3 days or so until I reach Hanmer Springs.

I am Ian Gunn of Tauranga, New Zealand, and following a lifetime filled with travel experiences shared with my late wife Lexie (1938-2023), am now travelling widely via motorhome exploring NZ. In addition, as a New Zealander, I currently travel overseas to Australia from time to time.

Lexie and I met within a group of mutual church friends in 1955 while tertiary students in Christchurch, and kept in touch intermittently over the years, meeting up in person in Scotland in 1961 while Lexie was teaching in the Borders and I was a postgraduate student at Kings College, Durham University in Newcastle upon Tyne.

We subsequently cemented our relationship by marrying in NZ in 1963, then living in NZ, Australia and Scotland up to 1969 when we settled in Auckland with our son Calum, born in Glasgow 1967. As a family we travelled widely throughout NZ and subsequently continued overseas travels. Calum first went to Europe then worked in the US for engineering consultants and the World Bank, travelling extensively in the Americas and Asia. Lexie and I motorhome (or RV) journeyed for 13 months throughout North America in 1984, then during the 1990s and early 2000s journeyed across, up, down and completely around Australia in numerous individual trips via motorhome. as well as taking motorhome trips to the UK and Europe. Calum meanwhile married Alicia from Lima in Peru while both were working in Washington DC, and they have travelled extensively in Europe and the Americas while taking breaks from their busy professional lives in Wellington.

For our family it has been, am Gunn, will travel.

This blog provides glimpses of my ongoing motorhome travels in NZ as well as the occasional visit to Australia