North Canterbury section…11. North Canterbury
North Canterbury section…Hanmer Springs and the Celebratory Fry Up
Time to refuel on the protein before another section. The last two sections have been epic in several ways. Physically pretty demanding and a test of nerve and resolve at times, but beautiful, and packed with memories. With weary bodies, and the unsettling events of Christchurch weighing heavily on our minds, we set off hoping that the Te Araroa might take it easy on us for a few days.
Next we head back to Lewis Pass and Windy Point to start the Arthur’s Pass section. We hear the terrain should be a more relaxed which is welcome news, and a chance to do some straightforward regular ‘walking’ and get some strength-building miles under our belts.
Hanmer Springs was a different sort of town, tanned chino wearing tourists lined the streets and they even sold caviar in the local 4 Square! It’s affluence and popularity is all down to it’s hot springs, of which there are numerous pools of varying temperatures. I only know this because I read the brochure, we never actually got round to poaching our persons, partly because of our blog work load and partly because of the human drama being played out on the tv before our eyes..
We did of course have time for a ‘Heart Stopper’ Breakfast. Seriously, that’s what it was called!
Christchurch Earthquake
We’re both completely fine. We felt it though. Such a bizarre sensation. We’re 80 miles away, and so luckily there’s no damage here in Hanmer Springs. Initially I wrote this description when I imagined it was only a very small local event. I had no idea we were feeling the edge of the huge quake in Christchurch.
I was outside on the decking in the motel writing for the blog. I thought I felt someone stomping on the decking and wobbling my screen. Pissed off I grumpily looked up to see no one there. The doors behind me were rattling, and my chair was shaking a bit. Confused I thought for an instant that Cookie was mucking about wobbling the chair to scare me then I realised the chair was against the motel wall and the whole thing was wobbling. I stood up and the floor was going side to side a bit like the sensation of being on a boat.
Cookie popped his head out, “is this a..?” “Yeh! Earthquake!”
Felt bloody weird!! :) We’re ok though. All fine here. You get occasional very very subtle wobbles 2 or 3 times and hour. Feels a bit like someone turning over in bed next to you. But nothin bad.
We were in the supermarket when one went off. Looking down the aisle at the shelving units as they tilted alternately back and forth was very odd! It makes you think you’re seeing things. I was trying to grab a can of olives at the time and they slipped out of my grip. It sounds more dramatic than it was though. It was extremely subtle here. Just a strange experience.
We turned the tv on and saw the live footage of the aftershocks that brought more of the cathedral down., and it started to sink in what was actually happening. Very distressed people recounting how they’d just seen facades of numerous buildings collapse in front of them on top of screaming people outside in the street. Terrible, horrific stories. It’s hard to imagine that this was all happening live and just down the road.
We’re hoping to hear about some hiker friends, Michael and Elna, who were in the mountains in the last section of trail. They were going back to Christchurch, probably yesterday (22nd). Hoping they were running late and were still in the mountains.
Also – a very lovely young couple who gave us a ride from the end of the trail in Boyle village, who were driving back from Nelson to Christchurch after a friends wedding. Watching the news, i just hope they are alright. There are such awful images on the tv… The complete devastation. But also stories of heroism, hope, and survival. The resilience of the people here is incredible.
I’m watching right now as they are still finding people alive in multistory buildings that have been totally and utterly flattened. It’s pretty astounding. Hopefully as communications are restored many more people listed as missing will be able to be reunited with their families.
So glad we are several days behind our original schedule, as we’d planned to visit Christchurch these last few days. So thankful I am such a slow-coach hiker!
Hope Valley ‘Halfway Hut’
So we set off from Hanmer to hitch back to the trail. Catching two lifts – two couples picked us up – both had been in the earthquake, and both were heading out of Christchurch. But both couples, while escaping an earthquake zone were still lovely enough to decide to pull over and help two strangers standing by the edge of the road. How wonderful is that? This seems the ultimate example of the generosity and selflessness we’ve experienced from people in New Zealand.
The first couple were in a central park when cracks appeared beneath their feet, and the trees began to fall around them. The second couple were leaving their damaged house behind with a car of salvaged possessions, unsure if they’d ever be able to go inside again. The girl was a teacher at a local school with her classroom of small children when the quake struck. Imagine trying to protect all the kids. Absolutely awful! And yet both couples seemed cheerful, and expressed feelings of being thankful or lucky. Pretty humbling. And even though petrol has run dry across the region the last couple insisted on dropping us all the way to the very start of the trail. What amazing people.
Above, is our first pit stop for the day, to sign into the log book in the ancient hut! Looks quite cute in the clearing don’t you think? :)
Easy Flat Stuff
Phew! This is my kind of walking! :) And a good thing too, we’re knackered! Packs full of dried pasta, noodles, fresh veggie treats, and some meaty goodness too, to get us through a week or so in the wilderness. Hoping the world is a little calmer next week when we emerge from the other side.We started this section with far too much booze, on top of our regular 1 litre of rum, we managed to end up with 2 litres of wine and a couple beers left over from our last night in Hanmer Springs.. Mainly to blame was a boozey lunchtime bloggin’ session in the pub which left us in high spirits when we called in at the supermarket on the way home! Everytime we stopped for a break I plied Nicky with alcohol to lighten my load, not good practice to make fast progress I can tell you!Hope-Kiwi Lodge
When we saw our hut for the night described as a ‘lodge’ on the map we wondered what to expect. A chef? A bar? ;) Well it was actually a pretty nice spacious ranch-style hut. An old cattle farming building maybe ? Complete with a Farmville style log fence, garden lawn, wood panelling and separate bedroom spaces – a bit of a luxury!We shared the hut with a young couple who were surprisingly reluctant to help us polish off my bag of wine. But I was determined to see it away that evening, so me and Nicky persevered alone in front of the steadily shrinking bladder of country red :) I think the following morning was the first time I can remember waking up with a hangover on-trail.Bog ‘Bridge’, well half-a-bridge..
This bridge fell a little short of our expectations this morning! Meaning there was a bit of bog big wading to be done shortly after breakfast. Cookie dove in first, quickly to discover that the mushy layer of floating mud masked quite a deep pool of suspiciously smelling water.. Ergh! It’s a bit early in the morning for squishy boots!
About an hour from Hope-Kiwi Lodge at the marshy headwaters of the Kiwi River, there appears the be half-a-bridge missing. It only looked about a foot deep, so I decided to run across employing the ‘less time my feet are in the water, the less wet my boots will get’ method, the amusing video clip I was filming at the time is testament to how surprised I was to find myself knee deep in mud shortly after.. Going to need some bleeping-out on that clip!Mossy Mammoths
There are some huge trees in this forest. And I guess you don’t get to be their age without being battered by a few biblical storms. There’s always a few blowdowns to climb over, around, under, or through. But here they are of a different magnitude altogether. This guy looks like he’s been sleeping a fair old while though, being slowly absorbed into the fabric of the landscape. Thanks to whoever hacked a path straight through this giant! That musta been hard graft.
Cute Toadstool
Yey! Not seen one as perfect as this since the Queen Charlotte track at the top of South Island. He’s gotta cheeky smile on him, half tempted to draw his eyes in ;) Sometimes you see toadstools gnawed away on top. All I can imagine is there must be some seriously swirly-eyed possums dancin’ ’bout the forest on a Friday night. No wonder they make those bloody crazy cackling noises!
Strung Up Bunnies :(
This was a particularly sad and gruesome sight to be greeted with on coming out of the forest into the pasture flats of the valley. Two Hares stung up by their feet and left to decompose :( Not even sure if they were dead when they were put up. Very sad.
People call them pests – but I can’t imagine what damage a ‘big rabbit’ is going to do to a cow? It’s a great way to scare the tourists off anyway! A gross and unnecessary display.
