When we reached the coast, we decided to head north to Karamea, one of the furthest and remote spots on the coast. There's not much happening in this small village but it's great for visiting one of NZ's lesser-visited areas of natural outstanding beauty, the Oparara Basin. Set within the Kahurangi National Park, it's an area full of rainforest, huge limestone arches and caves to explore. The road to reach the Basin is a rough, windy 14km track. We were advised not to take 'Dougie' so we arranged to hire a car for the day to make the trip easier. Despite some wet weather, we enjoyed being 'adventurers' and discovering the impressive arches on our walk and then explored the vast caves with our torches shining the way. Sam and Ben loved the site where we stayed, especially the comfy lounge where they befriended mostly young backpackers, many of which were completing the nearby Heapy Track long-distance walk. We gave a lift to a friendly Czech guy - Zee - who had completed the walk, back across the mountain pass so he could continue his adventures.
Heading back down the coast, we visited Punakaiki where we saw the impressive 'Pancake rocks' - strange rock formations with the wild waves crashing into them and up through the blowholes. We decided to visit 'Shantytown' - a 'historic' period town from the 1860 goldrush era in NZ. To be honest it was a bit naff, with fake shops set up with dummies and bits of old equipment, but the boys seemed to enjoy it, especially as it had a steam train ride (the highlight).
We loved visiting the town of Hokitika, with a beautiful coastline full of driftwood. There had recently been the town's annual driftwood sculpture competition so we enjoyed walking amongst them, spotting the prize-winners which were really quite ingenious. We stayed at an amazing DOC site next to Lake Kaniere where we cooled off in the beautiful waters, leaping off the end of the jetty with a view of the Southern Alps as a backdrop. Wonderful.
A stay in the 'off the beaten track' village of Okarito has to be one of our highlights. It is located next to a tidal lagoon which is fed by the wild,West coast seas and dangerous currents. The beach is vast with beautiful, wide skies but the lagoon is sheltered so that it makes an ideal spot for kayaking and is a haven for wetland birds. The backdrop are the snow-capped peaks of the alps. Here, we saw some incredible sunsets and clear night skies but unfortunately the area also attracts pretty ruthless sandflies and noisy chirping insects. We went for an early morning paddle in a canoe which was lovely, spotting birds and drifting with the tide. Ben was not on his best form but the poor boy had fallen out of bed in the early hours of that morning, which was pretty traumatic for everyone. The bunkbed is high up but miraculously he was unscathed apart from a grazed chin and sore jaw. Poor Ben.
Leaving Okarito, our next stop was the popular glacier towns of Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. Here you can visit the famous glaciers and there are plenty of trips available for tourists to do this via helicopter which buzz around the valley. When we arrived the good weather turned and we had a wet and misty stay. Not ideal for the mountain views. However we did walk to the Franz Josef valley and saw a good view of the mighty (if much receded) glacier. Arriving in Fox Glacier village, the weather was still wet but the next day we awoke to a perfect, crystal clear morning, which was just as well as we had booked to do a...skydive!
This was an amazing experience and had been on Jonny's 'must do' list of things to do in NZ for sometime. The skydive was in the most incredible location with views of the huge glacier and snowy peaks of the Southern Alps. We could not have asked for more perfect weather. We chose to jump from the highest height: 16,500ft which required oxygen masks on board the plane. Unsurprisingly, the skydive company did not offer a babysitting service so we took turns with our jumps with Ali going up first and Jonny going straight after with the second plane run. We did have the same instructor though - a great guy called Peter who was thoroughly professional as our skydive tandem partner. With Jonny's jump, he was to be the first one out of the plane, which was pretty daunting. The plane ride alone was amazing and really smooth with super views out of the window. It seemed to take an age to reach the required jump height but gave plenty of time to enjoy the view and for Peter to go over the 'jump' procedure. Suddenly the plane levelled out and it was time. The green light came on and the door was pulled open. I swung my legs out and Peter gave a clear '3,2,1' countdown and out we fell. The experience of jumping out of a plane is so absurd it is difficult to describe or imagine but for the first few seconds it felt like death. My eyes were closed but then opened to see the ground far below with my face being contorted by the airspeed and breathing quite difficult. But then we were freefalling and I tried to take in the 70 seconds of the dive with the views, all the while trying not to notice the speed at which the ground was coming up beneath us. But then Peter signaled and at 5,000ft opened the parachute and all at once we were thrust into the silent and calm float of the parachute - and joy and relief that the chute had successfully opened. The glide back to earth was brilliant with Peter giving me control of the parachute so that I could make turns in the air. The landing was thankfully smooth, sliding to a halt on our backsides.
I would definitely say that the skydive was one of the most incredible things I've experienced and surpassed all expectations. Ali also enjoyed her jump but unfortunately felt nauseous on the parachute descent which did twist and turn somewhat. She came back to earth looking very green and the poor girl had to spend most of the day lying down to recover. She is a delicate but beautiful soul.
Just a quick note on us in ascending order...
Ben: He has no boundaries, is brave and incredibly reckless. Left to his own devises he will climb into other peoples campervans and tents (we are often clambering over strangers things to extract a giggling Ben). He will even get up at peoples tables and get offered dinner. He is so independent but when we go off for a walk along a path, round a lake for example, he will run in the opposite direction and the only way we can get him to come along with us is if he is carried! He is getting much taller and no longer seems like our little baby. He has not said a word but makes himself understood by a range of squeaks, facial expressionsand hand signals.
Sam: Is as talkative and interested in people and the world as ever. He introduces himself to everyone and asks hundreds of questions (Jonny calls him the 'camp busy-body'). He loves singing and making 'music' with anything he can find (stones, stick, cutlery). He wants to read everything and cannot get enough of listening to the stories on Jonny's ipod. He *sometimes* offers his brother affection unprompted. He makes everyone laugh, he's 'silly' (quote from Sam). He loves the water and playing 'motorboats' on his inflatable surfboard (thank you Tom and Rowena).
Ali: Is loving spending so much time outside, especially around water and trees. Swimming in the cold and warm water is a particular pleasure. She is often scheduling her three men and hurrying them along. She is sleeping well. She would like to shower more and a bath would be beyond amazing.
Jonny: Is rarely seem without gaffa-tape or a tool in his hand - patching up Dougie and toys/books that the boys have broken. He is wearing out his only three t-shirts and his hair/facial hair ranges between Fraggle and Tom Hanks in Castaway. He is keeping the family sane by carrying, removing, and herding the boys along and keeping our possessions in working order. He's especially thrilled by the mountain views and swimming in the lakes (bonus if his favourite things can be taken in at once!). He is happiest when he is hoovering the van - his happy place (weirdo).
We are thankfully all surviving and getting along as a family despite various mishaps along our journey but we are enjoying ourselves and not ready to come home yet.
We hope you are all well, thank you for reading, please do let us know your news, we'd love to hear from you.
Buller Gorge swingbridge
Oparara Basin
The Blue Boy Explorers
Heading to the caves
Exploring the caves
Double rainbow at Karamea
Pancake rocks
Shantytown train
Shantytown
Hokitika sculptures
Hokitika
Lake Kaniere - picture by Sam!
Lake Kaniere
Okarito lagoon
Sunset at Okarito
Morning canoe trip at Okarito
Canoe trip at Okarito
Franz Josef glacier spotting
Beautiful morning for a skydive
Suited up and ready to go
Boys with Dad in a silly outfit
