Crossing the South Island

Hello,

Well since I have last spoke to you I have racked up a lot of km’s crossing from east to west and back again in NZ. Unfortunately Betty is nearing her maker with the smoke and drink problems getting worse by the km. I think the end is nigh and I’ll soon be looking at a new form of transport and a new direction.

I started my journey from the northern town of Picton. Picton is the main port on the South Island of NZ for the ferries between the two islands of NZ. The town was very pleasant but had a very high number of tourists.

I headed south and west travelling initially through the world famous Marlborough wine region. The many km’s of vineyards gave way to once more stunning mountain scenery. The weather turned and large “straight” rain made driving hazardous, I stopped in the Nelson Lakes National Park district and enjoyed the damp views of the lakes.
The km’s ticked by and passing more stunning landscapes similar to the Ardeche in France with roads cut into the rocks with precarious overhangs and sheer drops! Only slowing to give way on the single lane narrow bridges and occasional ford crossing I made good speed to the town of Westport.

As I had spent a few nights without washing facilities on arrival at Westport I opted to stay at the “top 10” campsite. The site was very busy and well run; I met some Irish travellers (not gypsies!) who arranged an impromptu singsong round the campfire. I could have almost been in the emerald isle as we sipped whiskey and sang along to the guitar and violin.
I went into Westport town and discovered that there was not much to see. It gives you some idea about the availability of the Internet in NZ as when I asked in a cafe if they had Wi-Fi I was given very blank expressions and no answer.

The following morning and under a bright sun I set off to journey further south. The starting of Betty attracted much attention (and large clouds of smoke!) and I decided that this was the calls of her final death throws.

The coast road was undulating and covered in the most amazing fauna. The plants and animal life was amazing with many fantastic views and deafening noises when stood admiring the views. I continued south and made time to stop and explore the famous pancake rocks.
Stopping and cooking bacon sarnies in the heat of the sun while looking down at the beautiful blue waters made me very happy and forget about the pain Betty was in!

I then began the crossing back west across the challenging Arthurs Pass. At points the gradients were between 10 and 20%, Betty was struggling with the road to say the least. Sorry to be boring but the views were once again stunning with snow capped mountains and beautiful valleys.
At the summit of the pass was a great viaduct; when stopping to admire the view Betty was attacked in a bizarre manner with the local bird life pecking at the lower end.
Towards the western end of the pass the mountains were utilised as Ski resorts; I felt I had to take a break from the journey to visit the “Porters” Ski Resort.

I drove on West until dusk by which time I had reached a town south of Christchurch called Ashburton. I headed down the deserted farmland gravel roads for about 20km in the direction of the sea and finally hit a “no exit” road. Luckily there was a small area that was sheltered and allowed me to park up Betty on the edge of the cliff. Once again the next morning I was awoken by a brilliant sunrise, watching the bright sun emerge from the blue sea was another sight I will not forget.

The next day the journey south to Dunedin was a real struggle – Betty was not well and the winds made it difficult. The views between the sea and the snow capped alpine mountains was nice though. I stopped at the town of Otago en route to visit the Yellow penguin and Blue penguin colonies, nothing spectacular but interesting nevertheless. The most exciting thing was the emergency manoeuvre I had to complete as a mattress flew off the roof of the Ute and onto the road in front of me. The driver of the Ute didn’t realise and thought I was being aggressive when I tried to alert him by flashing my lights. Eventually it dawned on him and he pulled over and I wish that I had a photo of his face when he realised the mattress was no longer where it should be!

I crawled into Dunedin late and stayed at the “top ten” campsite, watched the film Cinderella Man and pondered Betty’s life in my hands! The following morning I drove to a couple of garages and booked Betty in for a check up. This could not be done for a couple of days and so I moved into a hostel and left Betty to her fate.
The hostel was really pleasant and situated up a steep hill around 10 minutes walk from the centre of Dunedin. Dunedin was a very pleasant city with many attractive sights for the tourists and opportunities to explore the local area though outdoor pursuits. I visited the advertised “steepest road in the world” but to be honest walking around Dunedin there were many to choose from.
Students ruled the streets while I was there as it was the beginning of a new academic year. The first year fresher’s were enjoying the week long “orientation” activities and it was not unusual to see smurfs, tree people and cavemen staggering around.`

In the hostel I made friends with a couple of English girls, Claire and Helen, and spent a good few days with them exploring the local area and chilling out watching films. Highlights include a Bridget Jones evening (including a screening of the film and plenty of wine and chocolates) and walks on the Otago peninsular (including a close encounter with wild Sea Lions on the beach – there camouflage works well!).

During the time at the hostel I received the fateful call regarding Betty’s future, put simply she needed a new engine – the result cost did not make sense with how much I would sell her for so I took the decision to get rid of her as she was. The mechanics at the garage helpfully agreed (I bought them a few crates of beer) to arrange something and so she eventually ended up going to the wreckers yard!
It was a final sad act to remove her number plates and deregister her at the local AA. I was left with a large void in my life and will now take a few days to work out what I want to do next and how I will get there.

I’m starting by travelling back to Christchurch with Helen in their car Trevor. So until then its goodbye from me with a final farewell to Betty (RIP), our time was short but event packed and a lot of fun! I would not change it.