Kevin and Melissa Wallace escaped from Auckland about 15 years ago and bought their piece of paradise in Port Albert not long after.
Looking over towards Port Albert
The house along with a huge orchard sit on the top of a ridge overlooking the back of Port Albert and there’s a peek of the Kaipara too.
Great parking
Fiona and I arrived in Rafe and keen to check it all out, were there when Kevin popped in and was very happy to show us around and we were invited to check out the orchard on the other side of the house.
Fruit for Africa
After plugging Rafe in and opening some vents, I went for a wander to see what was what.
Part of the Orchard
There is a fantastic shower with a loo, a dump station and UV treated water. It was all there.
We had a great night there and all for $20 for us both.
In the morning, Kevin popped in with some Avocados and a Lemon which was great. Fantastic hosts sharing their lovely place by the Kaipara.
If you’re heading to Port Albert and go about 4k’s past the turnoff, you’ll find it on your left or on the App.
The Netspeed Speedtest
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Grandsons, Ayden and Liam were both really looking forward to seeing some boiling mud for the first time and if we could, the famous Pohutu Geyser.
Click on an Image for Hi Res
Fiona, Ayden and Liam on the way to the Geysers
We left early and walked about 100 metres to Te Puia all well connected by tunnels under the roadway. The family pass which was normally $150 odd seemed appropriate and because there was a NZ special discount, we were able to show our drivers licenses and get nearly $50 off ! A big saving.
The base of the Geysers
There just enough time to get the boys an ice cream and us a coffee before the next tour was due to head off with Guide Kiri.
Kiri with the Tour group
She was fantastic and as the Geysers were still building up a head of steam, after teaching the group of about 60 in the tour how to pronounce the full name of Whakarewarewa(and a lot more), she took us first to see the craft academy. Whakarewarewa is the abbreviated form !
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
In the gallery
Wax moulds for Bronze statues
Stone work
Baskets
Carving
One of the smaller Geysers before it disappeared into the cloud
Burial ground
People watching the Geyser
Fiona, Ayden and Liam on the way to the Geysers
The site
I didn’t realise but they have a full Academy for training craftsmen from Bone or Stone carving to Wood Carving, Jewellery and many other skills. They work on show for the tourists behind and below a walkway and you finally end up in a Gallery where the work is available to buy. The trainees have uniforms and have a full apprenticeship/graduation ceremony. It is an amazing setup. Very entrepreneurial and all done very nicely. I was impressed.
The base of the Geysers
The steam was building up so Kiri took us down to the Mud Pools then onto the Geysers. Unfortunately there was a grey sky and the steam and the clouds all merged so it was impossible to really see the water let alone photograph it. The boys enjoyed it and also got to sit on some warm concrete which was nice as it was only 10C!
Boiling Mud
We spent about 4 hours there all up and we decided it was time to head back to Rafe and go and warm up in the Hot Pool.
Pohutu Geyser is in there somewhere
As I say, I was very impressed with the way it was all setup. Paths and bridges are a long way from what I remember from the old Whaka village with them all being well engineered and maintained.
A fun day for young and old 🙂
I’d forgotten what a windy old road it is to get to Akaroa but after Arthur’s Pass, it was easy. There were a lot of camper vans coming out of Akaroa so I’m pleased we didn’t do it at night.
Remember, you can click on any of these images to see the higher res version
Lunch with a viewEnjoying the viewFun in the waterEager Seagulls hanging about for scraps
The weather continues to be kind to us with another great day. Water like glass and the cafes and eateries were chocker. Parking was awkward but we parked in trailer parking by the boat ramp as you first enter Akaroa. I believe this is also a place where you can overnight for free.
People were just our there enjoying themselves. It was neat to see and the locals seem very genuine with their wish to help you. Very like the west coasters.
French colourThe Bistro
We checked into the Top Ten campground up on the hill with a park overlooking Akaroa .. Possibly French Bay vineyards and cheese places on the way back to Christchurch.
A stunning part of the South Island, Arthurs Pass .. a repost
The view from our park at Jacksons Retreat
After lunch in Hokitika, we walked back over the bridge to the SouthPark NZMCA park and got ready to leave for Arthur’s pass. We were going to stay at Jacksons retreat which has won several awards as campsite of the year. They had something I’d never seen before which was 4-5 bay open side barn like structures set up for Motorhomes. While we were there, there were three tents and a Motorhome in one of them. The weather must be that rough that they have to shelter in these structures! All the Motorhome parks are set up on terraces, all getting a view of the bridge to Lake Brunner and the river. It is well setup with new clean toilets and showers and a laundry. A nice spot.
It the only place to stay on that road until Arthur’s Pass and then you’re at the mercy of the Keas!
Remember, you can click on any of these images to see the higher res version
The old pub at Otira
We stopped briefly at Otira and Arthur’s Pass but cruised on to Klondyke for lunch, a nicely setup stop by the river.
When’s lunch!.. At KlondykeAt Klondyke in the Arthur’s Pass National ParkKlondyke in the Arthur’s pass national parkArthur’s PassAnother Arthur’s Pass picLake Pearson
I remember Arthur’s pass being a pig to get through but even with a nearly 8m Motorhome found it relatively easy.
Over the mountains on the road from Darfield to Christchurch
We stopped regularly for piccies and eventually at Darfield for a cup of tea before we arrived at one of NZMCA ‘s larger parks at Weedons, just out of Christchurch.
Another oldie but a goodie repost from the South Island..enjoy
South of Hokitika off the main road is Tree Tops. It’s an amazing set of elevated walkways in the trees supported by poles. They’re about 20-30 metres off the ground set up as bridges between platforms.
Remember, you can click on any of these images to see the higher res version
Chris and Fiona on the tourChris and Fiona on the walkwaysThe view of the lakeThe two in red on the walkways
There is also a tower with is about 60 odd metres up which look out over a lake and the sea.
The huge tower with Fiona in the red
All the trees and bird life have little explanation boards at each stop and it’s all very well thought out. There is quite a big cafe there and plenty of parking for Motorhomes.
After years of climbing high things and going to stupid places to get pictures as a newspaper photographer, even up to the top of fuel silos, I couldn’t do the high tower at tree tops. Just the thought of that little bit if metal and a few bolts for each step gave me the willys. I’m sure it’s quite safe, just me! Funny how you don’t think about these things when you’re young and silly😃
We left there and parked in the NZMCA’s park by the Hokitika bridge.
Another great night with some unusually great west coast weather!
Shantytown near Greymouth is always an interesting place to stop.
Some neat stuff to see. Another old post. Enjoy
The Shantytown train and station
This was a great way to spend a day when I suspected that it might another tourist tatty type of setup but it was anything but. We spent a good few hours looking over the various bits of old furniture, clothing, printing equipment used by the Greymouth Star, old houses, a ride on a steam train and much much more.
After checking out a water powered stamping battery, after a small wait, we were on a steam train to check out a sawmill 1k up in the hills.
Remember, you can click on any of these images to see the higher res version
Fiona checking out the waterwheel
Fascinating to see the steam engines setup expressly for pulling logs out of the hills and one was operated by two pre teen brothers.
Cobb and Co buggy and shedTrain at the stationTwo young boys check out the TrainThe Tin Pub
After this, we walked down through a gold mining town largely built of corrugated iron with a pub, a gold mining merchant and some houses.
The main street
We stopped for lunch in a reasonably priced cafe in the village and moved in to the town hotel, the church, the newspaper office, Hannah’s shoe shop, and a hospital. I’ll let the pictures tell the story from here but it was a well spent several hours and well worth doing if you’re in area – 10ks south of Greymouth
Me and Gary having a rest at the end of a long hard day!
Don’t forget to click on the Images to enlarge .. oldie repost
NZMCA park at Westport
Yesterday morning, we met Jim, the custodian of the Westport NZMCA park. What a neat guy, the park is fantastic and it’s clear to see that he lives and breathes the park. We are fortunate to have people like him and other volunteers looking after our parks.
Earlier, we’d ridden the bikes into Westport town centre, about a 15 minute ride, Google reckons it 10 minutes 🙂 .. We must be slow buggers! It took us about 20 🙂
The girls found their Postie Plus and Gary was looking for a barber. We didn’t really do much but it was nice to get some exercise in the sun and check out the town. Once back at the park, we loaded our bikes, got ready to go and we headed in to get diesel, lpg and water from Caltex.
Great outlook from Punakaiki
We were heading then for the Punakaiki pancake rocks and blowholes. I hadn’t seen these since I was about 10 yrs old so it was nice to see. Doc has done a really good job of the pathways and it’s a fantastic feature of our landscape.
Violence in the water at PunakaikiClassic look of PunakaikiThe view south at PunakaikiFairy Terns on the rock at PunakaikiFiona and Chris on the steps at PunakaikiThe Punakaiki rocks
After an hour their and lunch in the carpark, we moved on to Greymouth.
We are staying in a Motorhome park behind a service station 5 minutes walk from town. Great spot. We walked around to the Speights Ale house on the Quay for a meal. We’re moving on to Hokitika tomorrow to do the tree tops walk.
Murchison was a great spot. Having water and the dump station in the park was a treat. After sorting out Rafes various tank levels, we headed towards Westport.
Once in the Buller gorge, I really wanted to get a water rushing over boulders pic but where the road was close to the river for this shot, there was no where safe to pull up a 4.4 tonne Motorhome safely.
After going through Fiona’s dark moments from the previous day for missing out on the crafts and cheese shops, I was determined to find some interesting stuff to stop at and we found it.
Motorhome parking at LyallLyall Motorhome parking
Marked on the map as a “rest area” but also listed as a DOC Motorhome overnighting area, was the old Gold mining town of Lyall. The town went bust in the 1880’s and has all gone now but there are walking tracks, several swing bridges, a cemetery and signs of old gold mining all around the area.
There were half a dozen Motorhomes and a couple of caravans, many of their owners off hiking the paths through the remains of the town.
Fiona and Chris went off for a trot and found the cemetery and some of the bridges.
The river through the treesThe river form the swing bridge
A really interesting stop and a really sheltered spot for Motorhomes if you wanted to stay the night.
Leaving there our next stop was Inangahua where the big earthquake was centred. There is a museum there with lots of information about Lyall and the earthquake in Inangahua which is well worth a look. We also stopped at the cafe next door for the most amazing pies. Mine was Chicken curry with cashew nuts, made on site with the most amazing pastry. Chris and Gary commented on how good their pies were too.
The cutout for the road in the middleThe cutout rock over the road
We were back on the road and heading through the Buller gorge crossing several one way bridges and an amazing cut out of a cliff, also one way. Fiona managed to get a picture of it as we drive through it on my cell phone. I looked in the rear vision mirrors at Gary behind and there wan’t a lot if room around the van with the overhanging rock. Quite something !
Half an hour or so later, we arrived at the NZMCA park on the waterfront at Westport after a quick trip to the supermarket.
Fiona on the beach
A walk on the beach and a bbq tea and the day was done. Another great spot to stay. Blue skies and the wind has dropped off. A great day in paradise.
This is something every Kiwi should do.. fantastic trip done in late 2015 early one morning. Enjoy.
Madam with the special Bedford Bus
After a night of rockin and rollin with the wind( I thought that only happened on boats!), we were up a 6am to drive to the Spit to meet the tour bus. Nobody had really had any sleep since 3am when the big puffs came through but we were all looking forward to a great trip so it didn’t matter. The wind was blowing 30-40 knots creating a mini constant sand storm.
A tree washed out from Golden Bay with the bus
The bus picked us up from the carpark at 7am from a paddock next to some forestry equipment. This is set around the tide so we could get back safely. There were about 8 of us on the bus and off we went.
We headed down the beach. The trip is about 30ks to the end of the spit.
The dunes under the lighthouse
We stopped briefly to check out a tree which had been blown around from the bay around the end of the spit and washed up on the northern ocean side and got buried in the sand.
A tree washed out from Golden Bay
The dunes under the lighthouse
The lighthouse
After crossing a creek and about 45 minutes, we arrived at the lighthouse and to have a cup of tea and muffin in the lighthouse keepers old house. This has been done up and maintained by the Eco tour operators and DOC and was in its original form as it was when the lighthouse keepers left in the early 80’s. Some of the lighthouse keepers families have donated pictures as they were at the light. The history and artefacts on display are amazing. I didn’t realise that the lights ran on kerosene, like a gas light with a mantle right up until the early 50’s in some if these lighthouses.
The lighthouseMadam leaning into the wind
Back to the bus and we were off to have a wander in a sand dunes. The wind was howling by this stage so the sand was flying.
Footprints leading up from the Bus
After a trip to Fossil point to look at some fossils of shells. ( I found Gary 🙂 ). After that we were dropped off back at Rafe in the paddock.
A must do trip for every Kiwi, I thoroughly recommend it.
Where we were staying at Peski’s just out of Geraldine, was an easy 4k’s ride in to the town.
Geraldine has a fabulous Car, Truck and Tractor Museum along with washing machines, old cinema projectors and anything of note. Its an amazing place.
Click on the Images for Hi Res
We set off on our bikes to ride to the museum and spent an hour or so having a good look around.
Fiona with her great auntie Jeannie’s Morris
Fiona’s great aunty Jeannie’s old 1948 Morris is in the museum so we were keen to check it out as Fiona had travelled in it often as a small girl. Legend has it that Jeannie drained the radiator water every night and refilled it with hot water in the morning saying “it started so much better. Anyway, Anti Freeze will rot the engine”! And there it is tucked in the corner.
We moved on to two other buildings where we found an old Gypsy styled Motorhome built on a 1926 International chassis by John Britten when he was in his early 20’s.
John’s Motorhome
Between 1972 to 1975, John purchased the old 1926 International Truck Chassis and set to turning it into a Motorhome for his travels around the South Island.
The Tiller
Everything is hand made. All the woodwork and engineering including the Califont for heating the water was all made by John.
The interior of Johns truck
On the sides, there are two hinged wooden doors as windows. There is even some stained glass on the back. It really is stunning given he ws so young and I guess it is no surprise that he went on to do great things with motorbikes and come up with the Britten race bike.
From the back. A nice stained glass window on the back. Note the opening wooden windows.
A great find and there is a lot more to see here. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
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