Spring had arrived though, the snow was melting fast and it was time to be moving on. A sad farewell to Queenstown, again. I hope it is not long until my next visit.
Back up to Methven for a few days to catch up with my friends at the Mt Hutt Bunkhouse. Two bluebird sky days with great snow conditions followed, oh yeah and some party times too... not fit to be written about here. I was lucky that the South Face chutes had reopened. Probably the best area of Mt Hutt skifield.
I later discovered this was a double black diamond run. I am well stoked with my progress on the mountain this season, having been confidently riding these very steep slopes in good and not so good conditions. Another sad farewell to Methven and the Bunkhouse crowd.
So I was on the road again, over Arthur's Pass to the West Coast. A fantastic drive through the mountain pass with fresh snow down to the road and bluebird skies again.
Such amazing scenery, the road winds it's way down through the mountains to Greymouth where the Tasman Sea relentlessly smashes onto the pebble beach, and the sun was setting on the horizon.
I had to meet my friend Till in Motueka, so we could walk the Abel Tasman Track. So the next day I was on the move again. I arrived at 4pm and neither of us had the right gear for a 5 day expedition. With my friends German efficiency, we had everything sorted by 7pm, and were in the water taxi at Marahau by 9am the next day for the trip up the coast to Toteranui. I later discover on his last trek he got lost in a forest at night with no torch....... The track is one of the Great walks in New Zealand but not too long at 51km. Loaded up with tent, sleeping bag, stove and food for 5 days this was another story.
Without having done a season of snowboarding and hiking every day up the mountain, I think I'd have struggled with this track however as it turned out we made good time every day. The coastal track crosses golden beaches with emerald seas and then up over the hills covered with lush green forest and towering fern trees.
It had a real South Pacific island feel, a real South Pacific island adventure with only a little bit of imagination required. The only time constraint were the tides, we could only cross the river estuaries at low tide. Four days of sunshine, one of rain and an amazing thunder storm. At night listening to huge gusts of wind as they traveled through the trees and then almost flattening the tent as they past. The camp sites and beaches were deserted with it 'being out of season'. This gave it an extra wilderness feel to this already amazing area. A great success, the food even lasted the 5 days!
After a day to recover I headed to Takaka and Golden Bay. This is an incredibly beautiful and isolated area. Snow capped mountains, peaceful rural farmland and desolate windswept beaches. The only road in is over Takaka hill. At 800m this would be called a mountain in Scotland, and it's a treacherous road of hairpin bends winding it's way from sea level to the top and then down again, to get there.
Golden bay was the first anchorage and landing point of the Dutch sea fairer Abel Tasman, in 1742, after an incredible journey around the south of Australia. The calm and tranquil Pohara beach, the constant sand storm at Wharariki beach, the shear cliffs at Farewell point, and the endless sands of Farewell spit. After 3 months of travel in New Zealand I am still amazed at the diversity of the landscapes within the South Island.
Driving back over Takaka Hill I take the diversion for Harwoods hole. An 11km gravel road leads to the edge of the forest and to the path onwards. This mature beech forest reminded me so much of Lord of the Rings. It had a primeval, almost enchanted feel, I really expected to see little hobbits watching me from behind the trees. The hole itself is 50m wide by 176m deep, down to the cave system below. Carefully does it scrambling on the rocks to look down, there's no guard rail.
After a brief visit to Nelson, my time in the South Island was nearly over. I realised what a chilled out life I had been leading, it was two weeks since I had been in a bar! That was remedied by a chance meeting in Nelson with a friend from Aberdeen. Then along the winding road to Picton to take the ferry to Wellington and the North Island.
