Leaving historical Hokitika behind us our vehicle growled up into the Southern Alps once more, past ‘Death’s Corner’ (!) and into the small town of Arthur’s Pass.
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| Miner's hut, Arthur's Pass |
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| Spot Dora and Simon on the ridge |
Roger wanted to “do a summit”. After some research on the Wilderness site and debate over which mountain (Qn: would we really need crampons? A: yes) we chose Avalanche Peak (1833m) as a safe summit climb: a 5km walk that climbs over 1km vertically. We checked in at the Visitor’s Centre where the sensible staff warned us the weather was coming in off the West Coast and not to do anything stupid. We promised to turn back if we couldn’t see.
The 20% gradient and rocky, loose surface of Scotts Track soon made itself felt on our legs, but we made good time to the bushline and out onto an exposed ridge with steep drops and stunning views up the mountains and up and down the aforementioned Pass.
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| The weather rolls in |
Alas, as we neared the summit it was smothered by a dark cloud, and with the weather visibly coming in we didn’t do anything stupid; we nipped back down the mountain, tried to swim in the famous Devil’s Punchbowl waterfall, got just as wet getting within 20m of it, admired the gold miners’ tiny cottages lining the road, and bid farewell to the Pass.
As our vintage van (its odometer read half a million kilometres) descended into the foothills of the Southern Alps, the beauty of Lake Pearson and surrounding mountains captured us so strongly that in a moment of spontaneity we stopped there for the night. More used to setting up camp in the dark, we enjoyed the long evening light and sunset next to the lake.
Dinner was becoming increasingly inventive as we ran low on supplies (thank goodness for pesto) – who would have thought you can present a restaurant-worthy dessert of stewed pears and dark chocolate from a Jetboil? (It turns out you can’t, but it still tastes nice). After dinner we re-aligned our chakra with some flow yoga, in hiking boots, at the edge of the lake. And later admired the starry night:
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| Morning meditation |
The morning brought with it a hunger for pies and a thirst for wine. We sated the former in Oxford, New Zealand, with a bacon and egg-filled pastry.
The latter, however, had to wait until we got to the Waipara valley, which has recently come to wider connoisseur attention in NZ. We snuck in a first tasting on the road at Terrace Edge, a modern-feeling family-run vineyard where we had an excellent yarn with the mother of the family, who ran the tasting. We went away with a “Liquid Geography” Riesling and a jar of superb olives.
Waipara Springs (about 15min into the trail) was our first stop: a lengthy sun-filled, platter-accompanied tasting (wines not as good as Terrace Edge), where the proprietress expressed surprise that we were biking round in our “good clothes”. 
We soon found out why. Some gravel hills and off-road peddling led us up through the fields of grapes, past a closed cellar door (too much time spent at previous vineyards!) to Black Estate. Unfortunately the most delicious of these wines were also $60+ so we bought cheaper blends from two of their slopes rather than the pure from one!
The view as we peddled back to Kym’s winery, Torlesse, was bright green under a huge sky. Kym was excited to show us the finished, level patio and we did a haphazard tasting to celebrate with him. This turned into an hour and a half of mutual entertainment during which we tried everything from pinot to sticky Riesling to port to cassis. Finally, Kym’s wife rang to see where he’d got to (and whether he’d finished mowing the lawns) and we left weighed down with our spoils: pinot, sticky Riesling, port and cassis.
That evening we managed to complete Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which given it was the extended edition was our greatest feat of the trip.
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| Christchurch Transitional Cathedral, made from rolled cardboard |
On the way over the Port Hills and through Akaroa to Onuku Heights on the Banks Peninsula Roger and Simon ran up Gibraltar Rock and back in a record 12 minutes, ensuring we were on time for dinner and Jack and Charlotte's place. It was lovely for Roger and me to be back! Dinner was a team effort; together with Jack and the German woofers (Working On Organic Farm travellers) we served and ate a huge salad, venison fillet and roasties and an impressive cheeseboard, Whittaker's chocolate and Torlesse port.
The next morning we struck out up the hill behind the farm house, through regenerating bush (mostly kanuka), learning more about the farm and flora as we climbed. We also kept an eye out for possible mountain bike tracks in case Jack diversifies to attract thrill-seekers! Near the trig we joined the Banks Peninsula track and enjoyed another clear, stunning 360 view over the harbour inside and down the slopes of the old volcano on the outside.
We left Akaroa via the scenic drive to visit my cousin Henry and his family. It was lovely to catch up after several years, Simon and Roger were big hits with the kids and we learnt how to use a Japanese abacus! Our journey came full circle back to Mark and Katie's, where we ate delicious pulled pork buns and ended up staying the night ahead of our early morning flight back to Welly and work.
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| Tui (we think!) in the late flowering kowhai |
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