Hello there, and welcome back to a continuation of my travels around New Zealand's southern Island.
After sleeping next to a port for one night like some sort of homeless person, it was time to return the campervan. Now I can't quite remember why but for some reason I stayed in the campervan return place of about 4 hours!
To be fair it basically had everything we needed in order to plan the next journey. It had free wifi meaning we could use that to look up more campervans, transport, accommodation etc. It had free tea and hot chocolate, free water refills and get this. It even had showers! Hot steamy showers! I hadn't had a warm shower since back in Queenstown so that was pure bliss!
Despite all the time there it was extremely difficult to find another campervan so we had to settle with a car and then find accommodation on the way. The plan was to head north west to the other side of the country to then loop back round north, east then south back down to Christchurch.
So after wasting nearly a whole day of researching, refreshing and washing lol we headed to the airport (which happened to be right next to the campervan hire place) to pick up the car.
And here it is
As you can see, it's kind of like a people carrier and is in fact a Toyota Prius. The reason for this was because it had a bigger fuel tank but also should there not be any available places to stay, I could sleep in the car. Not the most comfortable, but beats being shredded by sand-flies outside.
However it was simply too late in the day to start heading on a long car journey so we found an air bnb to stay for the night before heading out.
The next morning we finally set off on another mini adventure not knowing what lay ahead.
We were headed for a place called Greymouth on the far side of the Island. Ideally Nelson was the main place of interest but there were a few spots on the way which required daylight in order to see so Greymouth at the time seemed like the most logical choice.
Once again, the journey didn't disappoint. It would take us through Arthurs Pass. A name which rang a bell but I had no idea what it was actually like before setting off. I was windy roads on the map which is usually a good sign.
It didn't take long to reach the edge of the mountain range surrounding the pass.
Every now and again I'd approach a bend and see the mountains in the near distance, flanked by lush forests either side.
Sometimes you come across a big open plain which was previously hidden from the surrounding mountains.
Eventually you'll come to an opening with a small bridge crossing a river. This is a main attraction sight and has places to park up to take in the views.
Crossing the bridge
After parking up, I got out to stretch my legs and have a proper look round.
The water here reminded me of the blue pools. The colour of the water just didn't seem natural for a river. Up until New Zealand I'd never seen a blue river before. I realise that sounds stupid but everything I'd seen before would either appear black, brown or clear enough to see the Tesco shopping trolley dumped there.
I believe the reason for this colour is something to do with the Glaciers to the West. Some sort of chemical reaction causes this bright blue colouration? The water was also freezing as I found out when I dunked my head under. As cold as the blue pools? Yep, colder I'd say. 4 Degree's maybe 5 tops. I could feel my face still tingling as I got back in the car.
Here's the bridge we just crossed
Of course I've taken pictures as you see here but they really don't do the place justice. I realize I say this with a lot of places but it's true. You can't capture the epicenes of this location in a photo. It's pure bliss.
Like always, I hardly ever edit my photos. As I've explained before I capture the REAL view. I agree that some photographers make places look amazing, but they have to be the right day, the right time, the right weather, the right angle, the right lenses and the right filters or effects. Then you go there only to be severely disappointed.
Anyway, I thought that was it for a while as we drove out from the main section of the pass. But then something caught my eye.
That's right, another waterfall. This turned out to be Devils Punchbowl Falls, another popular attraction I was unaware of. Time for a closer inspection.
After Finding the car park and walking track, we crossed yet another crystal clear stream at the bottom of the falls.
and another picture worthy view
Getting closer...
Not far from the falls was another path leading to a viewpoint.
It seemed odd that a path this far in the middle of nowhere was so well preserved. It was like a fairy-tale path in the woods. The grass and moss didn't seem real. Even the tree's seemed to line up perfectly with the edge of the path.
For me, sometimes it's little things like this which I like. Not spectacular but not ordinary either.
Another mini waterfall
Now the viewpoint wasn't bad but the sheer shrubbery meant that taking a picture wasn't really worth it, so I didn't. There was also a lot of electrical pylons and wires about the place which kind of ruin the atmosphere. But you can't have it all.
However, further down the road..
We were starting to run low on time in order to reach the destination with sunlight but I had to stop here.
But wait, what's this?
That's right, It's a Kea. The same flying devils I met back on my way to Miford Sound. It turns out they like Arthurs Pass just as much.
What are they planning?
This was yet another eye opener, and to think this road is just a normal commute for a lot of people living here.
After spending nearly the whole day stop start, constantly stopping heading up walking tracks, taking pictures of the scenery I was glad to be heading for some sort of accommodation.
What follows was possibly the worst night of my travels. It's so bad that I may just have to rant about it in my next post hehe. But people love to read about the misfortune of others for some reason. Like when someone falls over and someone else finds it funny.
So I might go into further detail on my next post.
Till then, thanks for visiting.
Fantastic post as always xxx cant wait for August and another adventure with you x
Thank you for your support, who knows what we'll see :-) x
Great post! I love New Zealand and your pictures and narration made me want to go back there again. This is one of the few places I haven't been to yet. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your input and reading my post. It's nice to hear when people actually read through my material. This gives me the will to continue.
A lot of people mentioned Arthur Pass when I was planning my NZ trip a few year ago but it was a bit out of way so I never really explore what it was all about. It's pretty impressive!!
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What an interesting adventure, full of great landscapes and some wild life encounters, too. Great article and photos, keep up with the good work! 🤗