Why is it that every time we have to set out on a long journey the weather gives us a wet and miserable send-off. We feel certain that Cyclone Wilma sends some of her left over rain clouds to keep us company. A reminder that just because we have had better weather on the South Island it may not last for ever! And so it was no surprise that we were woken this morning by rain hammering down on the roof of the 'van.
However, we actually left the campsite in a slight drizzle, which had disappeared within a few miles, although we did get the occasional reminder all the way to Christchurch. The cloud was there the majority of the way and we actually climbed into it and, indeed, through it on one occasion.
The road from the west coast to Christchurch, SH73 (also known as the Great Alpine Highway) is commonly known as Arthurs Pass and rises there to 924 metres/2,800 ft
which is higher than the Lewis Pass (912 metres/2,750 ft) and which we traversed some days ago. The highest point of this road is actually Porters Pass (945 metres/2,850 ft). It is a fantastic route to follow and if we thought our crossing through the Lewis Pass was spectacular then this road today certainly topped it. The mountains, still as green as ever, rise straight up out of the ground; no foothills at all, or at least we did not see any until we were well down the other side. We began to see large areas of shale on the tops of the mountains as we climbed higher and higher and the temperature dropped steadily. The road twists and turns; hairpin bends and ninety degree bends are a given, with sheer drops to the valleys below. In between the climbing we crossed vast, wide glacial plains, evidence of what happened here thousands of years ago, for the glaciers have been gone from this northern part of the Southern Alps for a long time.
Sir Edmund Hillary apparently did his training on the Southern Alps before having a crack at that old chestnut, Mt Everest.
The trip has improved immeasurably for all travellers since the construction of the viaduct which crosses the Otira Gorge (replacing the “goat-track” and making the road accessible to campervans at last.) This is an incredible piece of civil engineering,
which we sadly could not really appreciate as the weather had closed down on us when we reached that point and we were driving through low cloud. The link attached shows it in its true glory. (http://davidwallphoto.com/images/%7BE1563D0B%2D98E8%2D4D3B%2D9A1D%2D471C44A4DFE3%7D%2Ejpg)
However on a fine day the views must be great.
We stopped any number of times to take photos
and to let the traffic that had built up behind us get past. The attitude of the overtaking drivers is one of gratitude that you have done the right thing, rather than complaints of motor vans being a nuisance. This encourages you to look for opportunities to let people pass! It is obvious that Clarkson is treated with the correct level of disrespect in New Zealand as he is now in Mexico!
We did actually stop in the 'town' of Arthurs Pass. Not somewhere we would want to stay for a great deal of time, as it is literally between the sides of two mountains and we doubt the sun touches the ground very much, even on the best of days. We had a cup of coffee and then moved on. However we did see two Alpine parrots (keas) there.
We made very good time and decided to stop and have some lunch in a really nice little town called Springfield. The eating house we chose was the Yello Shack Cafe which sold 'Yummy Homemade Food' and it was! We were able to sit outside and eat our lunch in some glorious sunshine.
Rather than driving straight down in to Christchurch and our campsite, which would have really told us that our holiday was ending, we turned off down the SH77, named the Inland Scenic Route. We parked at the side of the Waimakariri Gorge for a while to watch the waters roll past
and then moved on to Oxford. Having visited Cambridge earlier on North Island, we decided we ought to go for the double. We have to say that, of the two, Cambridge was much more interesting.
Our final stop was in Rangiora. We got out of the 'van and had a walk through the town. Believe it or not we found the (amazingly large) library was open, on a Sunday, and it was packed with folks of all ages. The range and selection of books was most impressive and they also provided free WiFi, internet connections and a host of other facilities. There was also a small room for exhibitions and we were able to have a look at paintings by local artists.
Entering Christchurch was a bit of a rude awakening. The volume of traffic was very high, certainly compared to what we had found in our travels in South Island to date. It was very well behaved but being strangers in the town made the finding of the campsite interesting! We have to say we have quite embraced the idea of GPS after this holiday and doubt whether some of our travels would have turned out so well without the electronic voice telling us where to go. To her credit, she never led us wrong once, although she was inclined to have a hissy fit if you didn't obey her instructions to the letter!
So now we are coming to the end of the final posting of the blog from the campervan, as tomorrow we return it to Maui (not without some relief – the water heater has began exploding again and we have been without hot water for three days) and our next entry will be from our hotel room at the Commodore Hotel, Memorial Avenue, Christchurch. Quite what will be in that entry we don't know but that has been the story all through this holiday. Each day has brought its own surprises and tales to tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment