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Middle Earth Tour 2016/17

Started by Ianab, December 10, 2016, 03:22:12 AM

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Ianab

OK, after several years of threatening to just "go bush" to avoid Christmas and all ensuing madness, and Lil saying "would like to see the South Island properly". Here is the plan. Over 3 weeks we will be in these places. I think there are 4 x 2 night stays. but most of the others are one night stands, with easy 2-3 hours drive to the next place, Time to look around and check in by dinner time.

So we have...

Stratford (Home)
Picton
Pakawau
Westport
Franz Joseph
Haast
Wanaka
Te Anau
Invercargill
Dunedin
Oamaru
Omarama
Geraldine
Amberly
Greymouth
Hamner Springs
Kaikoura
Wellington

Feel free to trace that out on Google maps, it's a few miles.

Kaikoura was hit with a big (mag 7.8) earthquake last month, but at least one of the roads in should be fully open next week, so we haven't canceled out of there. Changed a ferry booking because direct road wont be open any time soon, and got an extra night in Wellington.  The Last thing a tourist town needs after a natural disaster is no tourists... Campground is still open (if you can get there) so we will go. Maybe charter plane ride to look for whales because it's fun, and helps out a local guy that used his plane for emergency transport in the days after the quake.

Otherwise, it's pure tourist. Milford Sound. Mt Cook  etc, with visits to Fangorn / Edoras / the Barrel River / the ford at Rivendell and Laketown rtc. I will post some pics from some places and see if people can pick them from the movies. :)

Anyway only serious challenge is convincing the family that all they NEED to take will fit in the Toyota Blade hatchback. With 3 females that might be a challenge, but I'm saying we can go to the Cook Islands for 2 weeks with luggage that fits, so we can do NZ with the same. We could take Lil's Caldina wagon, which would be perfectly OK, but it's a 1.8 compared to the smaller and more comfy Blade with a 3.5 engine. Mt pass? What Mt pass  ;D

Anyway, my story is that that they have shops in the South Island. If you have forgotten some little thing, you can buy another one.

Anyway, this is basically a place holder for a travel blog. We leave on the 22nd, Christmas will be at the beach at Pakawau, New Year at Te Anau. Will have laptop / camera and all the campgrounds have wifi, so will keep things updated.

Did I mention it's Summer  ;D
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Jeff

Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

LeeB

If you take enough pictures I guess we can all come along that way. Looking forward to seeing the journey.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Magicman

This is exciting and will be interesting to follow.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

SLawyer Dave

New Zealand is definitely on my Bucket List.  Have a great trip.

Ianab

OK. Because we will be on the road over Christmas we had a small early family get together yesterday. We got lucky with the weather, about the best day of the summer so far. Weather usually comes right February, about the time school starts again from memory. Kids got to open most of their gifts etc.

So we could set up out on the lawn, borrowed the gas grill from Lil's work, sawhorses from the workshop and a couple of large boards with a Reindeer tablecloth over them and we are good to go.







And for desert we have Strawberries / Cream, cheesecake, Pavlova ( a sort of Meringue cake with cream and fruit on it) and jelly.



And you can clean up the present unwrapping carnage with a rake.  :D



So an early Merry Christmas from NZ.  ;D  The loud Island Shirt doubles for Summer and Christmas.  :D



We will be online when we are on the road, and will stash a few (small) gifts for the kids to open on Christmas morning at Pakawau Beach.

Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

samandothers

Merry Christmas Ian and safety travels.  I look forward to the trip.

WDH

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Ljohnsaw

John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

thecfarm

I want it all. I see a grill. I know what them der grills are used for!!!
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Ianab

Leaving the North Island along with the rest of the tourists. :)



Weather was average, but the sea was pretty smooth and the rain mostly held off until dark time, when we arrived.


Sailing into Tory Channel, about an hour more to Piction



Passing one of the other smaller ferries in the channel.


View down the channel


Taylor checking out Picton in the rain, just before we docked


So it's daylight now, looks like a nice enough day, and we are off of Pakawau, which is over in the North West corner of the Island. Via the Pelorus river (The Barrel River from the Hobbit)
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Magicman

It's fun traveling with you Ian.   smiley_thumbsup
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Jeff

Where is the picture of the children buried in the back of the car?? ;)
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Ianab

Quote from: Jeff on December 22, 2016, 02:58:39 PM
Where is the picture of the children buried in the back of the car?? ;)

Haha, so true. Cooler bag and the "electronics" bag has to share the back seat with them. Currently at Pakawau, which is about the last actual "place" before the road ends. I use the term "place", not Town. I have 1 bar of phone signal, and although I think there is internet up at the shop, there isn't anything down here beach front. So I will do more pics soon.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ianab

OK, edited some pictures

Picton this morning. This is the Ferry way came over on, it's done another trip overnight, and is about to leave for the Nth Island again.


Export pine logs waiting for a ship at Picton.


At the lookout Taylor runs into a Weka bird.  These are another flightless naive bird, but not nocturnal, and not shy either. These ones seemed to just hang out at the picnic area / lookout. Taylor was not at all sure about this strange wild looking bird walking up to her, and was all ready to get back in the car to get away from it.


Then we stopped at the Pelorus River bridge, which was where the "Barrel" scene from the Hobbit movies was flimed.


Down at the river level.


Found some Hobbits....


Cool forest reserve around the river. This is a big ole Totara tree, probably 1,000+ years old.


Anyway, weather is clearing up here at the beach this evening after a nasty little squall came through. Weather looks good for tomorrow. Get in some local site seeing tomorrow, then Christmas eve here at the beach.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

thecfarm

A nice way to spend Christmas. Family and trees.  ;D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WDH

Now you will probably grow hair on your feet. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

samandothers

Quote from: WDH on December 23, 2016, 07:54:55 AM
Now you will probably grow hair on your feet.

:D :D

Thanks for the pictures and tour!

Ianab

OK, Christmas Eve here at Pakawau Beach. Been a great summer day, so we have been seeing the sights.

First stop was Te Waikoropupu Springs. (try saying that 3 times fast),
Some nice forest around the springs.


And the main spring.


This pool has about 10 cubic meters of water coming up per second. It's hard to show how clear it is on a photo, but the science guys say it's got 63 meters of visibility. (Distilled water is about 80 meters) Anyone that's done any diving will understand how clear that is.


I have video that shows it better, but not the internet connection to upload it yet.

Then we went up the road a bit to the Pupu Hydro / walkway. This was an old goldmining sluice project that had been converted to generate hydro power in 1929. It had later been abandoned and neglected until a bunch of locals decided to rebuild it, and formed an incorporated society to rebuild and maintain it. It makes about 250k/w pretty much 24 / 7, the power is sold to the National Grid, and the society actually runs at a profit.


1/2 hour walk from the car park gets us to the top of the penstock which is 350 above the power house.


Then you can follow the headrace along the face of the hill, which is close to vertical. The walkway is built along the top of the water race's concrete wall. Tayor was a little concerned at first, with a 2ft wide boardwalk, running water on one side and a 350ft cliff on the other. But she managed it fine.


Checking out the view. That's the water in the head race behind them.


Follow the race for a mile or so and the river is coming up to meet us, and the gorge isn't as steep.


Until we get to the intake weir and a bridge over the river.


Then about an hour walk up and down a decent 4WD service track. View from the top of that track, the car park is at the end of the road you can see  in the middle of the picture.


Then we went up to the end of the Road at Farewell Spit which is the Northern tip of the Sth Island. Viewing point at the end of the road. You can walk a couple of miles further up onto the beginning of the Spit, but after the mornings walking, no one was very keen.


Back to our horribly crowded beach in front of the cabin.


For a quick swim before dinner.


So that's Day 3.  Day 4 we are heading to Westport. It's a fair drive again, but though some very scenic country, so we will get some leg stretch and photo breaks in.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

sprucebunny

Thanks for the great pictures !!

The spring and the hydro are very cool !

How much tide is there at the beach ???

:christmas:
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Ljohnsaw

Wow!  Thanks for the pictures.  In the spring, is that the water that is welling up in the middle?  It almost looks like you are on the top of a mountain.  Where is the water coming from?

I don't know what the water clarity is on Lake Tahoe, but it is pretty amazing as well.  The one time I had my 18' boat out on it, we were pulling out from the dock.  I panicked when I thought I was about to hit a large submerged rock.  I tried to push off with my oar.  Turns out the boulder was probably 30 feet down!  No depth perception when the water is that clear.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

SawyerBrown

Oh my goodness, this is so timely!  The Mrs SawyerBrown and I just locked in a Feb 18 to Mar 7 trip to New Zealand.  Flying into/out of Auckland, but that's as far as the planning has gone so far.  Please continue to post pictures and give your recommendations, this is great!  Also if you have any suggestions on the north island, that would be wonderful.  Unfortunately, we're trying to cram an awful lot into just over 2 weeks ... the Mrs gets homesick (or just sick of me) after that, so we have to limit time away.
Pete Brown, Saw It There LLC.  Wood-mizer LT35HDG25, Farmall 'M', 16' trailer.  Custom sawing only (at this time).  Long-time woodworker ... short-time sawyer!

Ianab

Just checking in at Westport, and at least I've got wifi in the cabin here.

In the first day my Brand New Phone died. I didn't actually NEED a new phone, just Lil had bought a new top of the line one and got another free phone thrown in on the deal. And it was better than my 6 month old unit.So I spent the afternoon before we left getting all my favorite Apps installed, accounts synchronized etc, and it dies. Anyway, as luck would have it, we where next door to a cellphone shop (3 hours from home). Took it in, they confirmed it was dead, contacted our local branch to confirm the warranty, and gave us a new one. So can't complain about their service. Just the new one is blank  and needs about 1 gb of updates ::) Anyway its happily sitting here downloading updates now.

QuoteHow much tide is there at the beach ???

Not very much, maybe 6 ft max, and it's a very sheltered beach in the Golden Bay inlet.

Quote from: ljohnsaw on December 24, 2016, 11:49:00 AM
Wow!  Thanks for the pictures.  In the spring, is that the water that is welling up in the middle?  It almost looks like you are on the top of a mountain.  Where is the water coming from?

I don't know what the water clarity is on Lake Tahoe, but it is pretty amazing as well.  The one time I had my 18' boat out on it, we were pulling out from the dock.  I panicked when I thought I was about to hit a large submerged rock.  I tried to push off with my oar.  Turns out the boulder was probably 30 feet down!  No depth perception when the water is that clear.

It's basically on the valley floor, surrounded on three sides with big limestone hills (like the one we climbed to the power station) In fact the springs are around the middle of the picture looking out from the top. Rainwater on the hills seeps down into cracks in the limetone and creates these underground rivers that normally flow out to sea. At that spot there is a fault line the interrupts the limestone aquifer, so the water is forced to the surface. Because it's been filtering through the rock for ~10 years, it's almost pure, apart from some minerals don't affect the clarity.

The water you describe in Tahoe sounds like regular "clear" water, the stuff you look and say "Wow that's clear". The water in the spring is next level clear.  :D You might see the bottom from 200 ft if you filled a lake with it.

Quote from: SawyerBrown on December 24, 2016, 12:40:49 PM
Oh my goodness, this is so timely!  The Mrs SawyerBrown and I just locked in a Feb 18 to Mar 7 trip to New Zealand.  Flying into/out of Auckland, but that's as far as the planning has gone so far.  Please continue to post pictures and give your recommendations, this is great!  Also if you have any suggestions on the north island, that would be wonderful.  Unfortunately, we're trying to cram an awful lot into just over 2 weeks ... the Mrs gets homesick (or just sick of me) after that, so we have to limit time away.

2 weeks wont be too bad if you stick to the North Island. What sort of things do you want to see? It will be late summer when you are here, and that's usually the best weather. But no good sending you to the beach if you want to go bush walking in the Mts. You can easily do both in the same day of course, see yesterdays post.  :)

Anyway, off to edit some photos from today.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ianab

Farewell to Pakawau





Back over the Takaka Hill. The road zigzags up the face of the hill to the low part on the left.


We stopped and climbed the hill to the high spot as well.



Real Hobbit wilds up there with eroding limestone rocks everywhere.



And stopped for lunch at Lake Rotoroa

Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ianab

Checking in from Franz Josef, a small town near the bottom of the West Coast.

West Coast is rugged and exposed to the prevailing weather. Rough seas and LOTS of rain. (It's raining this morning).

Stopped to check the sights at Punakaiki.





Still have palm trees this far south.



Then we stopped at Hokitika for some groceries (last supermarket f, or a couple of days). Kids spotted a "Native Wildlife Centre" across the street. Although a bit dubious we went and had a look. Was actually surprisingly good. They had a lank of BIG freshwater eels, and it was feeding time. You could hand feed them, and even touch them, just keep your finders away from the sharp end.



They also have Kiwi, Tuatara, and a big pond of Koura (like Crawfish) that you could try and catch / release. They had been there a few years and knew the game, but still wanted the bait. I did eventually catch one.

Having a look around here and on the Haast (onle 1.5 hours South). Rain is supposed to ease off at lunch time
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

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