Around New Zealand: February 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Queen Charlotte Track

Monday 18^th to Thursday 21^st February 2013

Day of Trip = 51 - 54

The Queen Charlotte Track is one way to experience the Marlborough Sounds in all its glory! We embark on this 3 night, 4 day tramping adventure on Monday.

It’s 71km in total, and we cover 51km in the first two days…a huge distance! The best thing about this track is how well it is serviced, we take the Cougar Line boat from Picton out to Ships Cove (where Captain Cook spent most of his time in NZ), and say goodbye to our packs! Yes that’s right, the packs are dropped off by the boat each day at your destination, so we only need to carry a light day pack.

The track follows private land for a big chunk, so there are no DOC huts. Private accommodation options range from cheap backpackers ($30/pp/night) to resort style hotels (up to $1250/pp/night!). We don’t mind the backpackers, it means we get a bed and shower each night, and eat pretty well as the boat carries our food for us!

It’s a pretty spectacular tramp, with very nice views across the sounds, sometimes even to the North Island. We have hot sunny weather, and definitely enjoy our evening swims…avoiding massive stingrays when we can!

We finish off with a night in Nelson at a boutique B&B…relaxation!

Weka - very friendly birds!

Gourmet cheese and crackers snack (weka looking greedily on!)

The interislander and bluebridge ferries passing by

Grey blobs are MASSIVE stingrays & brit tourists are oblivious!

Last rations day 4!

71km done!!! Time to celebrate!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Marlborough – Blenheim wine trail

Saturday 16^th February 2013

Day of Trip = 49

We pitch our tent in the nicely situated Blenheim Top10 campground, extremely friendly staff there twist our rubber arms to take on the wineries of the region…by bike! No worries about drunk driving this way!

Not much to say here... a lot of wine was tasted, not a spittoon used, we ended up with 7 bottles of wine from different vineyards to show for our efforts. Very fun day!

We like this slogan...pity it was closed

French cheese platter...yum

Friday, February 15, 2013

Marlborough – Rainbow Road to Lake Tennyson and Hanmer Springs, through to Molesworth Station!

Tuesday 12^th to Friday 15^th February 2013

Day of Trip = 45 to 48

St Arnaurd to Hanmer = 112 km 4wd only
Hanmer to Blenheim = 207 km

Time for some off roading! After our chillaxing in Whites Bay we are keen to explore inland, and there is a pretty cool 4wd-only gravel road that cuts through two massive stations – Rainbow and Molesworth.

After a quick scenic lunch by Lake Rotoiti in Saint Arnaud (beautiful clear lake nestled between massive mountain ranges) we head south on Rainbow road. It’s slow going – we average only 30km/hr, but it gives us plenty of time to take in the stunning views. It’s like nowhere else we have been so far and feels completely different to the North Island. We’ve been transported into a film set of Lord of the Rings! We freedom camp on the banks of Lake Tennyson, another very picturesque lake, sheltered by some hardy beech trees. Fairly rough track to get there, including a river crossing, but Haden is stoked to give the truck a test. We camp for two nights and have the entire lake to ourselves the whole time…awesome to get so isolated, it’s incredibly peaceful. We attempt a swim…fooled by the warm edges of the lake we jump in, and get the shock of our lives, its bloody freezing!

The abundant sandflies shoo us on to Hanmer springs…we couldn’t miss the natural hot pools (and hydroslides!) so decide to spend the night (in a boutique hotel…we deserve it haha!).

The return loop is back up through Molesworth Station, again a spectacularly scenic drive through mountain ranges back to Blenheim. Hard to believe this land is right on our doorstep, we are glad to have experienced it!

Facts about Molesworth Station:

Extreme weather – during our warmest summer in ages, they have already had 3 snowfalls this year! Snow covers the station for 8 weeks in winter with plenty of frost the rest of the time. Average rainfall is 670mm in the east and over 3000mm in the west.
Heaps of endangered flora and fauna are found here
They farm 10,000 angus cows for beef
Original cob cottage still stands, built in 1866
180,787 hectares – NZ’s biggest farm