Murray Taylor wanders down the South Island West Coast with his dad, ‘The Whale’, and the ‘Little Whale’.

It’s a cold frosty morning, and I’m off on a trip around the South Island with my father (John) and a Nissan camper bus (aka Zarra ). With the Suzuki (‘Little Whale’) hitched behind the ‘Whale’ we depart for the trip into Wellington and an overnight stay at the bach. 

The day’s fine for the short run to Ngaio to disconnect from the ‘Whale’, free to roll, fully packed to the roof in the rear, as John and I head down Ngaio gorge for that all-important booking at Bluebridges freight office. Paperwork done, the ship’s arriving and it’s not long before we are parked on the main deck alongside the ramp watching all the trucks and other vehicles load. The ramp is closed, and it’s all quiet on deck as the “Straitman” sets sail for Picton.

The ship has slowed and now in reverse, then a thump and all stop, the ramp is opening, it’s daylight again and it’s time to discharge for our short drive to our accommodation in Picton.

Saturday morning, the “A” frame is attached and all connected to the back of Zarra, our 6.5m Nissan Civilian Camper for the onward trip. Into Blenheim for supplies, and before long it’s onwards to Nelson Lakes and the Howard valley road for the first night’s camp.

It’s a nice crisp winter’s morning as we leave the camper behind and Little Whale’s heading for the Porika road, up through the farm land and onto the track as we climb up through the bush, past the free mining area, down the other side to the views of Lake Rotoroa. Time for a few pics before heading back towards camp, and visited the memorial sluicing cannon further up the valley to finish the morning off. Then we reconnected to Zarra: onwards and upwards, down the road to Murchison for a quick refuel as we headed for Slab Creek (DoC) campsite just past Reefton, and a very quiet night at a great location.

Zarra is left behind, this time in Reefton, as Little Whale gets to go 4WDing, into Soldiers road and onwards to Big River and the big red shed at the track end (not that big red shed!) with all the old winch gear for the mine inside. 

A great slow drive in fine weather with lots of stops along the way, with no rush or time table, it’s just great what one sees that we’ve missed in the past. On the return trip a detour to the Reefton lookout, a short 4WD track that gives one a view over the town.

Back to Zarra for a reconnect for the drive over the saddle and onwards to Ikamatua for the night, where we’ll stay at a cousin’s place and the opportunity for my father to catch up with family and what’s happening.

The next day is fine on the coast as Zarra is left behind again and we head for the ‘Smiths’ farm and access to the Napoleon Hills and tunnels. After a brief stop for a chat and to pay our fee, it’s through the locked gate and into low 4WDas we head up the farm track. Not long, and we head through the boundary gate and enter the bush for the climb to the town site and a stop at Napoleon Hill Cemetery, a fenced-off area in the bush, easy to miss. Then it’s along the hill top, until we start heading down the hill; the track’s getting rougher as we stop alongside the Chinese Tunnel, which leads through a spur to what was a mining area.

It’s not long before we are in the creek itself and stop in a patch of sun for a few minutes. Then we travel downstream, through the gorges, the tunnel with the remains of a riffle box, and before we know it we are entering the last tunnel , to pop out in the Waipuna river. 

It’s slow going down the river as we admire the scenery and the quietness of it all’ we’re the only vehicle around. Not long before we go under the Waipuna road bridge to double back up onto the road, and a short haul back to Zarra for a reconnection, and we are trundling our way west to Greymouth, via the Pike River memorial for lunch, and then Blackball to collect some honey and sausages for dinner.  

At Greymouth it’s time to restock our supplies, get gas and fuel all the vehicles before heading to Nelson Creek, an old gold mining area now open to the public  for fossicking and our campsite for the night.

Temperatures are starting to get lower as we head south, visiting a number of places along the way over the next few days – Goldsborourgh, Hokitika Gorge, Lake Kanieri, the glaciers, Gillespies beach, Ship Creek and Jackson Bay; with no real time frame to work with it’s just stop and go as required or as we liked. 

We stopped at  the Arawata River bridge for lunch and then a drive to look for the Haast Hollywood Highway Concept road which was showing on our new road map, so leaving Zarra behind we headed up the Cascade Valley towards Martyr Saddle and the lookout to the Red Hills and down the valley to Barn Bay. 

We never did find the entry way to the concept road, though, and I do hope it stays that way. Back at the bridge, we reconnected Little Whale and headed back towards Haast, stopping on the way at a sign that read “Whitebait for Sale”.

Heading up the Haast road, darkness was fast approaching as we find a layby in which to park up for the night. Next morning a short drive and park, a walk to see the Roaring Billy Falls, then another stop at the Gates of Haast,  stopping also at the walk to the Blue Pools. as I walked down the track it brought back memories of having crossed to the Blue 40 odd years ago while heading into the mountains for a 14 day Christmas tramping trip. Not this day though, just to the pools and back. Then it was on down the valley to camp beside Lake Hawea for the night. 

Wanaka, land of tourists and people, my how it’s grown over the years and continues to do so! We stopped for food supplies and to take a few pics of the Wanaka Tree, before it was up and over the crown range, pass the Cardrona pub, and ending the day at Clyde.

The next day was a fine, but cold, morning  with clouds around as we leave Zarra at Mitchell’s Cottage, and Little Whale heads up Symes road in the clearing clouds to above the snow line and a photo stop at the Obelisk. And then it not long before we are heading back downhill to reconnect for the drive through to St Bathens, the pool, and the pub, before heading to Hawksdun Runs campsite. 

The weather was great as we set up camp and had tea. The temperature had been falling all day, but with a clear sky one was  looking forward to a run through the Oteake Conservation park and possibly more.

It was cold overnight, the reason for that very obvious as I opened the door onto a very white countryside as far as the eye could see, and stepped outside into around 50mm of fresh snow; it had snowed most of the night from the looks of the countryside. 

With no snow chains for Zarra, and the weather still very overcast, we decided to head back out to the main road, as there was one small hill in the way which could cause a problem. We packed and headed on our way, breaking through to the gravel until the hill, almost to the top and we came to a halt – time to release Little Whale so that Zarra could complete the trip to the top.

A bit of a walk to collect Little Whale, reconnect, and we are on our way, through a white countryside heading for Naseby for a look around the frozen village and its history.

Being early in the morning there was not much open, so we left and headed for the coast via Palmerston and Katiki rest area for breakfast/lunch, just up from the Moraki Boulders, all the while watching the sea roll in, and the sun shine. Then a peaceful drive up the coast with a brief stop in Oamaru for fuel and supplies before heading to our overnight stop at Waihao Box on the coast out from Waimate. It’s where the Waihao river goes out so sea through a large wooden box built under the gravel bar, a dangerous place, but most interesting.

It’s a day for driving, so after a brief stop in Waimate, we head on up the true left of the Waitaki River before crossing on the new bridge between Hakataramea and Kurow. The last time I was through the bridge construction was just about to happen; now it’s all finished with a great picnic spot on the island between the bridges, with a sample of the old bridge and its history.

The rest of the day was spent with a side trip around Twizel, looking at the old plant and seeing how the town’s filling out with lots of new houses, before we stopped on the shores of Lake Pukaki at another freedom camping spot, looking up the lake towards Mount Cook as the sun set.

Leaving another great campsite we headed north, trying to stay away from the traffic. We took the inland route, heading over Porter Pass for a camp at Klondyke Corner, back in the snow and frost which had left the area.

The time was fast approaching when we needed to think about heading for the boat, but my father had made a comment about wanting to see Charleston and the bay in which the boats had berthed, So heading over Arthur’s Pass it was to Greymouth for a brief stop before heading up the coast, stopping at Punakaki for a walk out to the blow holes and a breath of west coast fresh air.

It was not long before we headed off for Charleston, turning left down towards Constant Bay which was the main harbour for the town during the Gold Rush.  Lots of history, with notice boards telling one all about the little port, the arrivals and those that did not make it ashore, a walking track to signal hill, from where the entrance was controlled as to being safe, etc. We camped that night in the bay, with no one else around, just the sound of the waves hitting the beach.

Leaving Charleston behind we headed for Cape Foulwind, and it was a foul day as we stopped for lunch and watched the sea crash in against the coastline. Having come this far, we headed further north to Waimangaroa and parked Zarra in the local rest area, before heading up the hill to Denniston.

The weather not being all that great we had a drive around, looked at Burnetts Face and its history, before a walk around the top of the Incline. Then we headed downhill,  with a short detour to the base of the incline before heading back to connect  Little Whale. We headed back to Westport and then up the Buller passing Murchison to end up at Kawatiri Junction, the end of the Nelson railway line, and to a not so quiet campsite as it’s right alongside the alternative route to Christchurch. Every few hours one would feel the rumble as the trucks crossed the bridge before heading south towards Murchison.

The morning was fine and overcast, so after breakfast I went for a walk to see the old rail tunnel and the bridge, some of what’s left from the railways days; interesting indeed, and well worth stopping if you have the time.

Our next stop that day was at the Hope Summit and the walkway to the views about, then it was downhill turning left on the Motueka highway. It was not long before we are parked up on the foreshore just outside Motueka, looking over the remains of the twin screw steamer Janie Seddon; lots of history around the vessel. 

Lunch over and we are on the road again, our last night of freedom as we turn right at Canvastown and head up-valley, destination Butchers Flat campground at the head of the valley. The valley is full of information about the gold mining days, with information boards set up along the way. The road is single lane a good part of the way with a couple of fords, and could be real fun in the winter. 

The campsite has a lot of history relating to the gold days and the water flume that was built. It’s also rather high above the river, a nice quiet place for our last night on the road. It was over all too soon as the new day arrived and we headed for Picton, to unload, clean the vehicles and repack Little Whale for the trip across the strait.

The South Island is a great place to travel and explore; having a camper van and 4WD meant going places others would not travel, but even so the time spent was still not enough to see what the island really has to offer. There’s the bottom half to yet do – all going well that’s next year, but maybe earlier in the year to avoid the start of winter!