The south island’s east coast is very dry. The westerly winds come through the Tasman sea, dump all the moisture on the west coast, float over the southern alps and glide across the eastern plains as dry chinooks.
Or so we’re told.
From Dunedin we travel along the east coast and inward to the Canterbury plains. From there, we spend a warm but windy day at the secluded lake Ohau, tossing the disk and fishing for trout. The next day we head to the fabled Mount Cook campground.
Mount Cook is the highest elevated mountain in New Zealand. About 3,700 metres above sea level. We camped right at it’s base. And it was so rainy, we couldn’t even see it. Setting up the tent in the pouring rain; the sandflies somehow enduring the wet to get their evening meal, we raced to the shelter as soon as we could and did everything possible to stay dry.
It was a tough night.
But, hey, this is New Zealand, and all you have to do to get a dose of better weather is drive a couple hours, and it’s as though you’ve traveled to another world entirely. Further up the plains, we found the promised dry and windy climate we’d read about.
The beautifully blue alpine lakes kept outshining each other. From Lake Ohau to Lake Pukaki and onto Lake Tekapo, the scenery was stunning: snow-capped mountains, golden yellow shrubs and grasses, then shimmering robin-egg blue lakes rippling in between.
Or so we’re told.
From Dunedin we travel along the east coast and inward to the Canterbury plains. From there, we spend a warm but windy day at the secluded lake Ohau, tossing the disk and fishing for trout. The next day we head to the fabled Mount Cook campground.
Mount Cook is the highest elevated mountain in New Zealand. About 3,700 metres above sea level. We camped right at it’s base. And it was so rainy, we couldn’t even see it. Setting up the tent in the pouring rain; the sandflies somehow enduring the wet to get their evening meal, we raced to the shelter as soon as we could and did everything possible to stay dry.
It was a tough night.
But, hey, this is New Zealand, and all you have to do to get a dose of better weather is drive a couple hours, and it’s as though you’ve traveled to another world entirely. Further up the plains, we found the promised dry and windy climate we’d read about.
The beautifully blue alpine lakes kept outshining each other. From Lake Ohau to Lake Pukaki and onto Lake Tekapo, the scenery was stunning: snow-capped mountains, golden yellow shrubs and grasses, then shimmering robin-egg blue lakes rippling in between.
Tramping has certainly grown on us. We’re finding we need less breaks. Less water. Reaching the top comes faster, but still never ceases to disappoint.
Once again we pile in the charmingly rickety ghost mobile and we move onto Christchurch, which has been our destination for the better part of a month. Max is scheduled to meet some of his friends from Germany on the 3rd of February. We spend a couple of semi-restful days in Christchurch- which is a bevy of activity. The damage caused by the earthquakes of 2011 and 2012 still permeates the town- but not idly so. There is work being done- from destruction cometh creation. It was pretty inspiring, if not a little humbling.
Max’s friends' flights were delayed. It’s a shame to say we had to say goodbye to him much sooner than expected. Our mutual friend Julia was headed further up the coast to Kaikura, a town famous for it’s fishing and aquatic life. We hitched a ride with Julia and drove through the Waipara valley into Kaikura, which in Maori roughly translates into “eat crayfish.”
Crayfish is also known as rock lobster. And in Kaikura it is wicked expensive (we’re talking about 50 dollars for half a cray, upwards of 100 for the whole thing). We decided to cut out the middle man and take a trip out on a boat to catch them ourselves on a fishing charter.
The charter, run by an incredibly hospitable man named Gerard, brought us out to get the fish, explain how to identify males and females, and how to measure them in accordance with fishing laws. Not to mention that we got to see very active, very playful dolphins on our way to the crayfish pot. Those creatures can really leap into the air. Tim, an English fellow on our boat, described it perfectly, “you can’t write this!” he exclaimed. So I won’t try.
Luckily, Julia had her Nikon at the ready, whereas Bryan was busy recording one of those videos where you forget to press the record button.
Once again we pile in the charmingly rickety ghost mobile and we move onto Christchurch, which has been our destination for the better part of a month. Max is scheduled to meet some of his friends from Germany on the 3rd of February. We spend a couple of semi-restful days in Christchurch- which is a bevy of activity. The damage caused by the earthquakes of 2011 and 2012 still permeates the town- but not idly so. There is work being done- from destruction cometh creation. It was pretty inspiring, if not a little humbling.
Max’s friends' flights were delayed. It’s a shame to say we had to say goodbye to him much sooner than expected. Our mutual friend Julia was headed further up the coast to Kaikura, a town famous for it’s fishing and aquatic life. We hitched a ride with Julia and drove through the Waipara valley into Kaikura, which in Maori roughly translates into “eat crayfish.”
Crayfish is also known as rock lobster. And in Kaikura it is wicked expensive (we’re talking about 50 dollars for half a cray, upwards of 100 for the whole thing). We decided to cut out the middle man and take a trip out on a boat to catch them ourselves on a fishing charter.
The charter, run by an incredibly hospitable man named Gerard, brought us out to get the fish, explain how to identify males and females, and how to measure them in accordance with fishing laws. Not to mention that we got to see very active, very playful dolphins on our way to the crayfish pot. Those creatures can really leap into the air. Tim, an English fellow on our boat, described it perfectly, “you can’t write this!” he exclaimed. So I won’t try.
Luckily, Julia had her Nikon at the ready, whereas Bryan was busy recording one of those videos where you forget to press the record button.
After we collected the cray, we headed back to Gerard’s house where we cooked up the beasts. Rose, one of Gerard’s WOOFER’s, showed us how to steam them, and carve them up. After that it was all do-it-yourself. All the groups from the day were there- we spent the evening drinking several glasses of wine, courtesy of Gerry, plus smoked Grouper wings, cheeses, and of course, crayfish. All told, Bryan and I ate about two crayfish each, total. Not a bad deal.
We rounded out the evening with a dancing competition to the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash. Several couples participated. I asked Julia to dance, and we came second. But coming in at first place was a dutch lady named Serena, and non else than Bryan. It was deserved.
Later, one of the fisherman, who was from Israel, caught me doing a couple lazy haka moves. He calls me out:
“Hey Canada- if you do a haka for everybody here, I will give you Paua”
...I didn’t know what Paua even was. But hey, I’ll rise to the challenge, I thought.
I haka’d to the best of my ability. Later I found out from the Maori skipper that I pronounced a ton of the words wrong. “But don’t worry bro, it’s all about your kawa, aye bro, your strength. You nailed that, bro.” (The skipper was a capable diver who, I kid you not, had a fake leg up to his hip, and several half-fingers. We learned it was a shark attack. A mako shark. Crazy stuff.)
Having finished, Israel gave me a Paua, which I discovered is a mollusk whose shell is used to make unique and beautiful jewellery, and whose flesh sells in china for over two hundred fifty dollars a pound. They prepared the animal for me- removed the guts, the beak, the teeth, and the next day I hammered it out, dredged it in flour, and fried it in butter. Easily the most delicious seafood we’ve ever tasted. Kaikoura was special. An amazing authentic experience that rivals our best in NZ.
This country just keeps getting better and better. Keeps demolishing our expectations wherever we turn. So we’ll keep turning, filling the memory banks, meeting new people and tasting new foods, expanding our horizons and discovering all that we can.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the world and all that’s in it. “I want to see it all” we’ll say. Sometimes, though, it’s the smallest of instances, the most intimate of scenarios that reveal the big truths of this world; the profound spirit behind a people, and the place they come from. The smallest window points the way to the most focussed image.
In the courtyard of a small house in a small fishing town, in a small island in the south pacific, we saw an authentic and true portrait of humanity.
And it was beautiful.
-K&B
We rounded out the evening with a dancing competition to the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash. Several couples participated. I asked Julia to dance, and we came second. But coming in at first place was a dutch lady named Serena, and non else than Bryan. It was deserved.
Later, one of the fisherman, who was from Israel, caught me doing a couple lazy haka moves. He calls me out:
“Hey Canada- if you do a haka for everybody here, I will give you Paua”
...I didn’t know what Paua even was. But hey, I’ll rise to the challenge, I thought.
I haka’d to the best of my ability. Later I found out from the Maori skipper that I pronounced a ton of the words wrong. “But don’t worry bro, it’s all about your kawa, aye bro, your strength. You nailed that, bro.” (The skipper was a capable diver who, I kid you not, had a fake leg up to his hip, and several half-fingers. We learned it was a shark attack. A mako shark. Crazy stuff.)
Having finished, Israel gave me a Paua, which I discovered is a mollusk whose shell is used to make unique and beautiful jewellery, and whose flesh sells in china for over two hundred fifty dollars a pound. They prepared the animal for me- removed the guts, the beak, the teeth, and the next day I hammered it out, dredged it in flour, and fried it in butter. Easily the most delicious seafood we’ve ever tasted. Kaikoura was special. An amazing authentic experience that rivals our best in NZ.
This country just keeps getting better and better. Keeps demolishing our expectations wherever we turn. So we’ll keep turning, filling the memory banks, meeting new people and tasting new foods, expanding our horizons and discovering all that we can.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the world and all that’s in it. “I want to see it all” we’ll say. Sometimes, though, it’s the smallest of instances, the most intimate of scenarios that reveal the big truths of this world; the profound spirit behind a people, and the place they come from. The smallest window points the way to the most focussed image.
In the courtyard of a small house in a small fishing town, in a small island in the south pacific, we saw an authentic and true portrait of humanity.
And it was beautiful.
-K&B