From sea to ice

Well, here we are on the west side of the south island after driving through what is called Buller Gap, complete with a “swing bridge” (what we would call a rope bridge) over the chasm. I (Pat) have to confess I walked out as far as the drop off started and immediately turned back. Sir Douglas the Fearless continued on his swaying way across while I was content to stand with the sand flies and other fearful ladies and watch from afar. After that we visited Pancake Rocks where the limestone was laid down in thin layers was exposed in pancake-like stacks by the eroding action of the sea.

Before I go on, for our friend Carol, yes we have visited a winery, the Mission near Napier and bought some of their Syrah. Yum!

Some of you have asked about Rhoda the Road Maggot, our trusty VW 2004 6.6 metre camper van, complete with stick shift on the left. It is actually fairly easy to drive and handles well on the hills. We just put it in a lower gear and off and away! The benches inside make up into a bed at night. There is a gas stove and grill, a microwave, fridge and lots of storage space. We even have an office (front of the van). The table becomes part of the floor of the bed. Quite well planned out actually.

Yesterday we motored up toward Abel Tasman Park, up what is called Takaka Hill to Nguara Caves. We are not sure, but the twisty and steep road to the caves may have inspired the Maori to say “takaka” (roughly translated as “saintly defecation!”). During the cave visit our group arrived at the section called The Cathedral where the guide asked for a volunteer to sing to demonstrate the great acoustics. Silly question! Sir Douglas sang Libera me from Fauré’s Requiem. Being of the shy and retiring type, I shut up. After our slalom downhill we drove to an amazing beach where I immediately ran for a swim to ease the tension.

The south island is not crowded at all and the fact we are going in the opposite direction from most traffic helps. Campgrounds are plentiful and never full. We stay mainly in the Top 10 Holiday Parks, all of which are well equipped.

We’ve been getting our heads around the NZ accent. Mainly, they have different vowel sounds. I am Pet over here. Someone mentioned the other day ‘Oh, to be young and futt (fit)’. Car sounds like “cah”, although people in the south add a rolled R. Day is dye-e with more of a diphthong even than we use. You write with a pin and stick with a pen. And the other day we heard our first ‘Goo-dye-mite’.

Today was glacier day, a time to find out if the NZ variety match Columbia back home. We hiked up to both Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers and much preferred the latter. We stayed at the bottom of both, unlike others who take tours to walk on top of them. The Fox Glacier valley reminded me a bit of Yosemite in California with the huge glacial cliffs.

We are in total agreement that New Zealand is an amazingly beautiful country where the topography can change within minutes. The west coast is rainy and the rain forests are full of ferns and moss while at the same time you have towering mountains above you or are two minutes from a beach………and………there are fewer people who live in this country than in greater Toronto!