February 2013

February 2015

Been to castle point need to start taking camera out and about.could have got some good shots today.Big cray boats on very large trailers with long drawbars.Castlepoint itself is very impressive.head to wellington tomorrow.5th wheeler towing very well but can be difficult in tight places.

Had a very windy night at castle point sand blowing all over vehicles and the rig.had a pleasant drive to wellington and ended up parking at petone working mens club.the rimutakas are quite narrow and twisting but quite enjoyed the drive.listening to the cricket in the rig.first day of the cricket world cup

Stayed at petone workingman’s club before crossing over.worried about crossing as forecast 40knt winds.wasnt too bad and headed to Nelson lakes.Lovely spot.Went for a kayak beautiful lake but hard to catch a fish.Nice walks lots of eels under jetty.Eels are protected on this lake.

Went to Murchison and stayed at NZMCA park.$6.00 night for me and Joc.Went swimming in Buller river.Even Joc got in in her bra and Panties.Lots of screaming and profanity 

After this we moved on to Westport and headed on down the coast to Punakaiki and stayed in Porarari river carpark.Next morning got up early and parked up at Punakaiki rocks and went for the tour down to the pancake rocks.We then went for a 3hr walk.Was really good.On the way to Punakaiki we stopped and picked a huge bowl of blackberries and also enough mussels for a good feed.Made blackberry jelly and blackberry crumble.

From Punakaiki we headed down the coast and did a few things in Greymouth then went on to Lake Brunner at Iveagh Bay.Ken and I tied to catch a trout but didn’t do any good.Beautiful spot and need to come back and get the kayaks out and spend some time on the lake.Went fishing again in the morning and at last had some luck catching 3 trout.Had breakfast then hit the road and went across to the Arthurs Pass road.Very enjoyable drive all the way to Franz Josef.Stayed in NZMCA park went to town ended up in a bar watching Blackcaps thump England.All over in 12.5 overs of NZ innings

Still at Franz Josef.Heading for Haast today.Woke early again.Watch said was still only 11.30pm took me a while to figure out my watch had stopped.Battery must be flat.Probably be Wanaka before i can get a new one.Went for a fish last night at lake Mapourika.Holds salmon and trout.Told it is a good time of year to target the salmon so we deployed the spinners for an hour or so but with no result.  Transfered to the fly rod and put my successful lake Brunner fly on but had no touchs at all.Ken had no success either.Jocelyn and Vicki went to the hot pools and had a very enjoyable soak.Its  about 140kms to haast so shouldn’t be too long a day driving.Looking forward to catching up with Rod.

Met Rod at Haast and headed down to our destination at the Cascade River block.Travelling through on the Jackson River road we were all taken with how beautiful the area was.Also the isolation was part of the appeal of it all.Coming over the Red Hills We got our first look down at the Cascade River and surrounding bush edges.It just looked like an outdoorsmans paradise.The Martyr river also wound its way down the valley to join up with the Cascade further down towards the sea.We got down to our campsite set up and headed off for a look for a deer.Ken and I had just got set up in our respected spots and we heard a shot over where Rod had gone.So that was venison in the bank.Ken and I saw nothing and Rod had got another crippled hind.Next morning we put the jet boat in the water and headed down stream toward the mouth of the Cascade.On the way we spotted a lot of trout moving out of the path of the boat.At the mouth of the Martry in a very deep clear pool there was numerous  very large trout cruising the depths.down further we set up the rods and started catching a few. then down by the mouth we started hooking into the kahawai.On the way back Ken suggested to Rod maybe he could give the girls a few thrills in the jet boat and all going well untill it all went wrong and we ended up parked up a steep bank high and dry out of the water.

Unfortunately in the process ken and I got fired out of the boat and into the turbulent waters of the cascade River.I  came out unscathed but unfortunately ken suffered some very painful damage to both of his lower legs.Once the initial pain eased he found he could move around ok but both of his legs were very swollen.Next day Ken took a rain check and Rod and I went fishing.I tried the softbaits which proved a huge success.I caught a number of  large trout and Rod also did well on his favourite lure.By the time we got back the weather was starting to pack up so we did the same and packed up and headed out.We ended up staying at Pleasant Flat D   oc camp just before the climb up and over the Haast Pass.We said goodbye to Rod at Haast.Had a Pleasant evening and in the morning headed over the Pass stopping at the Blue Pools and also Makarora for a coffee.Then we hit the road and headed for Wanaka.Ended up camping at Albert Town in a council camping ground by the river.Went to town checked out Puzzling world and did a bit of shopping at Brendon and Sharons Bidvest outlet store.What a great shop.Allsorts of exotic food.Then  back to camp and Brendon and Sharon called in for a beer and wine.We had one of the trout caught at the Cascade for tea.Jocelyn cooked it in a Yellow curry and everyone was very impressed with the dish. Tomorrow we are off to Twizel to the canals which are famous for very large trout and salmon.This will also allow us to go to Mount Cook and the Hermitage where we hope to do some epic walks.

Well we made it to Twizel and the canals. Nzmca camp right on the canal by the salmon farm.We got to see quite a few salmon and trout caught.Unfortunately we struggled to catch a fish.Took a while to find out the different rigs the successful fisherman were using.lost a couple of good ones and saw a nice 17lb rainbow caught.Went up to Mt Cook for a look. The mountain and glaciers were awesome.Unfortunately Kens legs were still a bit sore so the epic walks were put on hold.Display on Sir Edmund Hillary at the Hermitage is really good.Well worth the visit.Got back to camp and the following day we picked up James and Grace from Kurow where we met Rod.They have come to stay for a couple of nights.We moved up to lake Benmore at the OhauC outlet.Council camp $15 a night for family.Lovely spot right on the lake edge.Alot of fish get caught around here.Salmon and trout.I caught my first trout out of my kayak today.Will return to this camp and spend more time here.We had to get the kids back for school on monday.

We shifted to Rods and dropped kids off ready for school monday.Emptied out the rig of clothes that needed washing.Got out the hose and washed the ute and the Sundance.Then pulled everything out of the storage cupboards and resorted them.Enjoyed our time with the family.We then headed off to the Wainakarua River mouth.The track is a bit rough going in but quite a pleasant spot.Unfortunately the sea was just rough enough to make it rather awkward to get paua which was our main objective.Rod and James came down on day two and we spent quite a bit of time in the water but we were getting hammered by the waves.We came out with only one keeper and a significant loss of blood from the rocks.But oh that one paua was exquisite.Shelled,beaten,sliced then fried in butter and fresh garlic.We will have to try again when we get to Kaikoura.When we headed out we met the Lamb family at the Waitaki River picnic area and had a nice lunch before saying goodbye and we headed north through Geraldine and went to a DOC camp called Orari Gorge scenic reserve.Camp was empty.Nice camp spots amongst the trees.The bellbirds were everywhere so the birdsong was amazing.We set up camp and went for a walk up the doc track.Took just over an hour at a brisk walk to complete the loop back to camp.Very enjoyable but we were experiencing some significant thunder on the last stages of the walk.Had dinner and sitting  reading when an almighty flash and immediately followed by a tremendous boom of thunder.Jocelyn rose off her chair with a shriek and a very bad swear word.

Rained through the night.Next morning I had breakfast and repeated the walk of the night before.Enjoying the bellbirds morning chorus.

We were going to do the washing but turned out the water when it came out of the hose was very brown.So we decided not to fill the tank here.Moved off and had a look around Geraldine then went to Arundel reserve by the banks of the Rangitata River.Had lunch then went for a drive up to Peel forest.Carried on up the Rangitata river.Its  a no exit road but it goes a long way.The further up you go the more impressive the mountains get.It becomes real thar country.might be a good place to come back to and try some fishing.I know hunters drive up the river to get access to some great thar hunting.

We noticed we had run out of our road user miles by about 2000kms so i made a quick trip into Geraldine after breakfast and topped them up while Joc did the domestic chores.Left Arundel reserve and took the inland scenic route towards Methven.Got to the Rakaia Gorge and waited inline for bridge repairs.Lucky we arrived towards the end of the 25 minute wait time.Decided we would head to Lake Ellesmere and stay the night.Took a very round about route following instructions from the NZMCA bible and the GPS.By the time we got there we were well overdue for lunch.The lake is very large and I hear can get very windy.It is salt water and a very murky green colour.Having a bit of trouble with my back at the moment so i am finding it a bit hard to walk and do exercise.Hopefully it will come right quickly.Have decided we will go to NZMCA park at Weedon tomorrow and park up then we can take the ute and check out Christchurch and Banks Peninsuila.

March

Met Barry and Desrae for lunch at the top of the Gondolas then they came for dinner and drinks round at the park.  This morning we are off to Kaikoura.