|
North Island
Day One I made it through customs and suddenly realized that I was really here. All I had to do was buy a tent, get some food and find a campsite. There I was with my 80 litre rucksack with greasy hair, blood shot eyes and realizing that I was really rather smelly after n hours traveling. Just then the clouds parted revealing a golden ray of light that shot from the sky accompanied by choirs of angels and there it was … a shower room. I had to take advantage of it and it was free too. So clean and delicately scented I wandered outside to get a bus out of Auckland and buy a tent … or so I thought. I mentioned to a couple of shuttle bus drivers that I wanted to go to Manaku City and buy a tent and go to a campsite. They all got confused as to why I wanted to go out of town. They were convinced that I should be going into the central backpackers in Auckland and partying all night. I tried explaining that I was jet lagged and didn't want to see anymore people as I had been crammed in with them for the last few days but they were having none of it. It didn't help that for some reason they thought that I was saying Tan and not Tent. So I was taken to central Auckland and left outside a camp shop (hello! Why am I in the city?!). I bought a tent, a penknife and some meths (for when isolation sets in and I need a drink. Or just for my stove) and then had to walk all the way to the bus station to get a bus right back out of town again. I hate bus journeys in unchartered territory. I can't relax in case I miss my stop. Every time the bus slows down even slightly I find the nearest person to nudge or prod " Is this my stop?" No fear though as even before we reached my stop there was a visible sign that said Manakau City Centre. Hoorah! One-step nearer to sleep! Unfortunately I didn't know where the campsite was and ended up walking 3kms with my knees buckling under me with the weight from the bag. I was a little concerned as to how I was going to go backpacking if I couldn't lift the bloody thing! Oh and when I got to the campsite I discovered there were no instructions as to how to set up the tent. So I beat my head against the nearest tree for 5 minutes then inserted rods, rammed in pegs and tied guys (ropes!) until I had a rough tent shape in front of me… and I crawled inside. The sounds of NZ. I haven't mentioned them yet. When going through Auckland I thought that there was a scooter or a motorbike following the shuttle bus. It turned out to be Cicadas (crickets but for some reason I kept thinking they were called Sedaccas as in Neil Sedacca). One on its own sounds like a strimmer, a couple sound like a scooter and a tree full sound like a rain stick containing a heavy downpour. It is loud. The belief is that if you can hear them then the weather will be warm. As I'm being deafened I expect nothing but sun… possibly droughts. Day Two I woke at 3.30am. I listened to the radio, couldn't sleep, put on the torch and tried to read, batteries went out. By 6am I just had to get up and so did the sun so at least I could make a cup of tea by daylight. I felt like I was spinning the wrong way. It's a bit like a hangover or… more like that point when you lie down and you're drunk and its not so much the room that's spinning but when you shut your eyes it feels like your body is spinning around. That's how I felt. On top of that I was trying to deal with the whole camping thing. I had never done anything like that. I suppose its campsite etiquette… getting used to sharing everything with everybody, especially cooking space. I've had to put up with people cooking all sorts of things as I'm trying to eat a meal. . I walked into a supermarket and by halfway round it it seemed that the only products that didn't have meat and dairy in it was the cereal and bread.ok so I'm being over dramatic but remember that meat and dairy are the industries here. I was beginning to think I was going to be living off of rice and beans when I turned an aisle and in front lay the fresh and glistening vegetable section. Luscious, ripe fruit and perky vegetables just waiting for me to take them home. The cheapest fruit was… the pineapple!! I was in a country where the pineapple is the cheapest fruit!!!! Oh yes! Still food isn't cheap here so I'll be watching the purse strings, or the wallet Velcro. For information on the meat and dairy industry in New Zealand visit SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation). I perused my travel guide and had a huge list of places that I wanted to go to but I suspected that I would have neither the time nor the money to go to all these places. But at least it occupied my time and meant I could plan my escape from the campsite.Every meal time I was surrounded by people cooking chicken, eggs and unidentifiable meats and watched in horror as the frying meats spat all into my food. I ate on my own in the tent because jet lag has given me a foul temper. When someone makes a joke and I have to fight down the urge to either a) be as rude or sarcastic as I possibly can (as the joke isn't funny) or b) give withering stares while wondering if I suddenly develop tourettes will they leave me alone then it is time for me to spend quality time in my own company. By the time the sun went down I was asleep. Day Three A strange idea entered my head today … a car. . Hmmm… it would save carrying the rucksack and save on bus fares as I could sell it at the end of my trip. Worth a thought. I amused myself today by going to the shopping centre and pressing my face against the windows to admire the latest goods. I allowed myself the pleasure of buying the cheapest watch with an alarm that I could find. Before I left I had mentioned to someone that I looked forward to not having to follow time. I would rise with the sun and go to bed when it sets. As it is I need to know what the time is to catch buses but in protest I bought the most unfashionable plastic digital watch I could find. And I got my ticket to Te Kuiti where I would be working with DOC. A little bit about my tent. I was beginning to develop a rapport with it. The novelty of it all hadn't quite run out but I suspected it might. In the shop my first impression was that it was huge. Gargantuan even. For one person it is a BIG tent but consider the size of my bag and the general inability of myself to keep things tidy. Now also consider the fact that my tent suffers from the reverse Dr Who effect. Everyone who knows Dr Who knows that his Tardis looks teeny from the outside and huge on the inside, reverse it and you have my tent. It looks like a mansion on the outside ( admittedly a silver and orange igloo shaped mansion) but inside its chaos. I've had to allocate areas inside for food, cooking equipment, rubbish, my clothes, toiletries and sleeping. The problem is everything gets mixed up. The previous night the vegetables infiltrated the sleeping area and I woke up in broccoli and alfalfa sprouts. I had spent too much time in the tent and cabin fever was currently top of my 'Things To Do'. As long as I spent all my time away from the tent as possible and everything agreed to stick to its designated areas everything would be fine. Day One Today I journeyed to Te Kuiti. I wont go into detail about the inability of the tent to fit into its original packaging or the mad people at the bus stop who asked me the same questions non stop or that I'm partially deranged from lack of a decent cup of coffee. On to the bus journey… … people will tell you that the scenery in NZ is amazing, beautiful and stunning. Believe them as they tell the truth. The countryside I went through ( and its almost all countryside) was lush and green. By that I mean green. REALLY green. With me so far? I never realised that there were so many vibrant shades of green. Maybe it's because I came from snow covered landscapes still in the grip of winter. I was mesmerised. The most disturbing thing I saw on the way was a truck with 0800-DOWN-COW on the side. I wish I could believe that it's not for what I know it's for. Te Kuiti is a small town about 3 hrs South of Auckland ( by bus anyway). It is a town of one main street and it is the Sheep shearing capital of New Zealand. Well, it holds the annual New Zealand Shearing and wool handling Championships. There is even a huge statue of a sheep shearer sheering. What he is shearing is anyones guess because it didn't look like a sheep. It had a fleece but was severely lacking in the head department! Luckily there was no sheep shearing while I was there. In fact there was no sign of sheep at all.Typical of me to find somewhere that so blatantly goes against my beliefs. Additionally it was Te Kuiti that King Tawhiao and his followers fled to after the battle of Rangiriri(1864) and also where Te Kooti came for sanctuary. The town is basic but there is plenty to see in the surrounding area, the main attraction being the Waitomo Cave On arriving I dragged my bag to the campsite where it is basic but the owners are lovely. This is something I am still trying to get used to. I was told before I came over that the Kiwis are the loveliest people I would ever meet. That they are helpful and obliging and want to make sure that everything is alright. From the moment I landed everyone wanted to help. It's a genuine want. They aren't being helpful for their own benefit or a false helpfulness ( like surly teenage shop assistants). I cant really describe the pleasantness as there isn't a word to describe it without sounding like I'm not sincere. Every time somebody is polite or helpful I am taken aback - which tells you something of the culture we live in in the UK anyway. Maybe I'm simply a cynic. Watch out for ants! I was lying outside the tent on my sleeping bag basking in the warmth and eating some plain crisps ( the only kind that I have found that are vegan). I dropped a bit of a crisp on the grass beside me and carried on writing. When I looked over the entire crisp was covered in ants and on closer inspection the ground was crawling with them. They will probably invade my tent in the night to steal the remaining crisps. Day Two I woke this morning to find that the entire local ant population had to decided to share my tent in order to get out of the rain. I didn't see them last night as it was dark when I got into the tent but there were hundreds crawling everywhere. I dealt with it admirably by erupting at high speed from the tent leaving the ants to sleep on my sleeping bag, rummage through my belongings and eat my food. I checked on them to discover that the flies had joined them. As I couldn't stay in the tent I went downtown to the DOC office to check about the meeting time tomorrow for the Weta weekend...and they showed me a Weta. If I catch them tomorrow and avoid going "bleeeerghaurghyech!!" it will be a miracle. They are big bugs. BIG bugs. I can't back out now though after telling EVERYONE that I am going to do it.I headed back to the campsite where my gaze fell on a 'For Sale' sign attached to a vehicle that I obviously needed.
Or do what I did which was none of the above and buy the first vehicle you see because it looks cool.hmmm. It soon became clear that buying a camper van was not up there with the ten most intelligent things I have ever done. Simply purchasing the light blue Mitsubishi Delicia with 70's brown interior has got me embroiled in some domestic issue involving the owner of the campsite, his ex-wife and his sister.I'm not entirely convinced about the sincerity of these peoples helpfulness now, but if nothing else it is occupying my time. The beginning of the Weta weekend. I have to say I'm a bit concerned after seeing yesterdays Weta. These giant invertebrates predate the dinosaurs but there are only 2 known populations of them in New Zealand. The aim of the Weta Weekend was to create another population. If a fire was to catch in the reserve then the whole population would be wiped out. Our task was to collect them in tubs and take them to another site for release. Ok, so maybe it doesn't sound like such a grand project as relocation of elephants but its also just as necessary. A huge bag of gloves was emptied out. Not wanting to wear the
leather gloves I dutifully picked out a pair of material gloves. My principles
may have been intact but after 4 hours in a thicket of gorse it was the only
thing that was. Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! For those who do not know gorse is made
up entirely of spikes but this was EXTRA spiky. I had puncture and scratch marks
on my hands,arms,back and legs. After the photo call with the weta the few that were found were relocated. Some were taken for captive breeding. Great for the species but crap for the individual. After all this we headed back to base with orders to meet up again later for a barbecue. The barbecue was held at the Waitomo Caves and what a fantastic evening! Everyone was catered for ( by this I really mean me!) I got vege-burgers,felafel and salad. When it got dark two people (sorry I really can't remember their names!) researching bats talked to us and showed us a long tailed bat. Many people think that New Zealand doesn't have bats but there are in fact two species: short tailed - the larger of the two and more likely to bite you and the long tailed. Long tailed bats are smaller (males 8-10g Females 10-11g). The number of long tailed bats appears to be declining but by catching and tagging them it is possible to estimate the population and find out how many new bats there are each year. It is a great expenditure of energy for a female to produce and raise young. A newborn bat is not far off the weight of its mother and the mother will have to fly while carrying the young, which is attached to her nipple ( ouch!) for about 3 weeks...although I should add that the female bat leaves her young to roost while she goes out to feed and then returns to move it to a new roost.It appears that Long tailed bats are in decline and so they are periodically monitored to keep an eye on the population and to make sure that new bats are continually being born. This involves catching and tagging the bats before releasing them again.
Harp traps are used to catch the bats. Two layers of vertical wires are hung up across cave mouths or the flight paths of the bats. This design confuses the bats echo-sonar so although it can tell that there is something in its path it believes it can get through it. The bat slides down the wires into a double layer bag where, when it realises that it can't crawl out, it moves upwards, hangs upside down and roosts. When they get the bats the researchers weigh them, sex them and ,if they dont have a tag, tag them. I was assured that the traps don't hurt them and no bat has ever been damaged (as in cuts, tears etc) by one of these traps. I'm still weighing up the pros and cons of conservation work but I firmly believe that it is important and that it lies within maintaining and expanding and protecing natural habitats in the wild. After releasing the latest bat we went into the Waitomo caves. The limestone caves consist of staligtites and staligmites and walls that are covered with gloworms. The light comes from bactreria in their gut. There were also loads of cave wetas. They have longer antennae than the other weta as it helps them to find food in the dark. Oh! and loads of spiders everywhere. It was an amazing day and we wearily headed back to Te Kuiti with the full moon shining overhead and the call of the Morporks echoing around. Day Two I think Gary communicates with the weta. He knew exactly where they would be. He would look at a gorse bush and using his special x-ray eyeballs and telepathically calling to them he would part the gorse bush (possibly psychically) and one would be sitting right on the branch. Right there! The day was over too soon but did I catch a weta? Yes, I caught one (*see Thanks). Soon I had said my goodbyes and was away in my trusty little van heading for Lake Taupo. The joy of having a new vehicle is gradually finding out about its odd habits. The more time you spend with it the more oddities you find... a bit like a human relationship. Everytime I heard a squeak I was convinced that the steering coloumn would cease to work by dropping out the bottom of the van, a wheel was about to roll by or the whole thing would explode in a fiery ball of death. I made it to Lake Taupo in time for a sunset and subsequent night fall and stayed in another campsite. I am beginning to hate them. They are full of families or couples, none of who want to speak to someone on their own.They are probably of the assumption that anyone travelling on their own has no friends and shouldnt be spoken to. 
Lake Taupo fills the crater of a volcano that erupted round about 186 AD. So far not very impressive. The erruption was recorded by both the Chinese and the Romans so I think we can assume it was fairly big. Plus the lake that fills the crater is 30km in length so just picture the size of the explosion. The town of Taupo itself was uneventful. It has 'The Craters of the Moon'. Much, MUCH more impressive than it sounds. The bubbling mud pits look a little bit like moon craters if you squint, pretend there isnt a load of vegetation and have an overactive imagination. 'Craters of the Moon is a complete exageration but the bubbling mud and steam vents are amazing... and it is free!
I picked up my guide book to see what was in the area and it happened to mention a walk that is very popular among both tourists and Kiwis. The views are reputed to be amazing and there is an emerald and an azure lake halfway through. I decided I would do it and so drove to Turangi ('Trout Capital of the World'- I really pick the places),booked into a backpackers called 'The Bellbird Lodge' and got my ticket to take me to the start of the crossing. It is better to get a bus as cars are targets for theft in the car parks. The lodge was a homely style place and with me being a backpacking virgin it was perfect for breaking me in. The next morning everyone in the place was up and waiting for the bus which dutifully drove us to the start of the walk...and left us there.
I think I need to explain. The Tongariro Crossing involves a climb up the
Devils Staircase (Examine the picture on the left and try and find the people.
No they really are there. See the miniscule white dots going up the side?
Those are people. I think you will agree that the name speaks
for itself) to Mangatepopo Saddle between Mount's Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. It
continues across the South Crater to a ridge leading to the Red Crater (1886m,
the highest point of the crossing). The track decends down to three lakes and
then across Central Crater to Blue Lake. Finally it is downhill past the
Ketetahi Springs to the finish.Oh and its total length is 17km and it takes
about 7 hours to complete. Napier-including North Havelock and hastings I travelled back up to Napier through Taupo but this time with Kath who I walked the Tongariro crossing with. She was nervously filling in time until she met up with her boyfriend who she hadnt seen for 6 months due to travelling around Nepal, China, Tailand, Malaysia, singapore and finally New Zealand. It puts my little travel quite to shame. Anyway, we went via Taupo to Napier. (Taupo was the same as the last time but with the added attraction of a torrential downpour and being kept awake in a YHA by blokes snoring. Believe me its times like this that the mind considers suffocation to aid sleep.) Napier was hit by the biggest earthquake in New Zealands recorded history in 1931. It measure 7.9 on the Richter scale and there were in excess of 600 aftershocks. Only some wooden buildings remained but they were subsequently burnt down by uncontrollable fires.The land became 2 metres higher,the lagoon drained and land was reclaimed from the sea. The whole town was rebuilt in the style of Art Deco and I had been told by various people that it was a beautiful town. I'm not sure what I expected but I didnt get it whatever it was. Disappointingly the Art Deco buildings have been covered at ground level by American style billboards and shop fronts ruining the appeal of the buildings. The highlights of the visit to Napier were the excellent Health Food Shop, blue skies and blue Pacific seas and a little cafe where I got a huge bowl of marinated vegetables with tabouli. There is also Cape Kidnappers. This is a gannet colony a short drive from Napier. I would recommend checking the tide times though as when we went it was high tide and impossible to get along the beach to where the gannets are. We amused ourselves by getting lost and ending up in a slightly derilict campsite car park where a group of people wearing what looked like matching prison overalls raking leaves ( or possibly concealing bodies). We were momentarily concerned that we wouldnt get away due to the van developing some problems 1) a slow flat tyre and 2) the engine continuing to go after the ignition was switched off and not always starting up again right away. We managed to leave with all our original limbs but no sign of any Gannets. To fill in the rest of the day we went to North Havelock ( wealthy and posh) and Hastings ( has a real stuffed horse on the pavement. Neither of us were impressed). Neither worth a stop at but the scenery on the drive there was beautiful. Sunny with blue skies and green hills. Blue and green are colours that play a huge part here but I can safely say that I never got tired of the combination. Wellington-including surroundings I dropped Kath off at the bus stop and continued on my own. I had to travel the 319km so that I could catch the ferry to the South Island. Distances are huge in NZ and normally I would be loathe to drive for hours on end but it doesnt bother me here. The roads have very few cars.So I drove to Wellington under the illusion that I would get some shopping done, stay in a hostel and go out for a meal. None of this happened. I got lost in a one way sytem and failed to remember that it was St Patricks day so there was no room at the inn. I had to drive back out of town and stay in a holiday camp where there was nothing...nothing at all to do. Went to sleep and as I was drifting off I thought "hmm what a strong smell of petrol..."
Onto the South! |
I looked like
I had simply found the biggest gorse bush in the area and jumped into it and
then rolled around in it for a bit. And do you know what? I didn't find a single
weta and I was trying... really I was. I crawled to the darkest depths of the
gorse reserve, looking in the darkest places, braving spiders and standing in
swamps and I found none! Phil found a GIANT giant weta and when we had all
regrouped asked if anyone wanted to hold it. Everyone else remained silent
except for me who, like an eager child, was leaping up and down going "me! me!oh
me!!!"
I got a leaflet to
accompany the expidition which has loads of references to "Notice the
lichen","Notice the rock formation". Unfortunately for me I couldnt see any as
the cloud descended shortly after starting to climb 'Devils Staircase'(like
walking up a 1660m high flight of stairs). I was cursing the fact that I might
as well have been home in Scotland with this weather and I was going to get no
photographs of Emerald lakes, towering active volcanoes and interesting lichen.
Then there was the ridge between the South and Red Crater. It would be accurate
to say that I almost killed myself on it. Naturally I was the only person to
experience this problem. As it was foggy and there was nobody ahead to follow
and no visible poles I tried to cross part of the ridge where the path had
eroded away leaving me with a plummet to certain death. I was just wondering if
anyone had ever died while on the mountain when my foot slipped and I ended up
hanging by one hand as my foot tried to get some grip on flaking dust. Obviously
I managed to climb up but I was shaking, cold ( ice crystals were beginning to
form on everyone) and wanted to get down but in a more sedate way. I was
beginning to think that I had come all that way for nothing, that all I would
see would be fog but as I came down the scree slope the cloud lifted. Through
the wispy, gradually thinning cloud the Emerald lakes with steam vents and the
smell of sulphur were revealed. It was an amazing sight. Beautiful. It took a
further 3 hours to reach the end of the crossing and when I got back to the
backpackers I treated myself to a huge back of crisps and roasted red pepper
hummus.