Fiordland Tramps and Papatowai Waves

The last week has been action packed. I took a bus from Invercargill to Te Anau to meet a friend for some tramping in the mountains. We did a 3 night hike on a trail called the Greenstone. It is just South of the famous Milford Sound. The road to get there was beautiful. The mountains are very steep and many streams fall down them into the lakes at the bottom of the valleys. The hike was also through similar valleys. We stayed in huts provided by the national parks service. The last night we bunked with a French guy and a German girl who also met on the trail. We were running low on food, and they were generous to give us some of theirs. The next day we hiked together through some difficult terrain. The trail was rarely free from rocks and roots. After the hike we went out for some amazing pizza, which was especially satisfying after three days of backpacking food.

I arrived at Papatowai Beach yesterday. The wind was blowing something fierce, but not in the direction one would expect. It went out to the sea rather than in from it, which made for quite a site. The swells from the ocean continued to crash and fall back against the beach while the wind created its own waves heading the opposite direction. Millions of little white caps stretched out into the distance across the deep blue water. I'll have to post a picture once the internet rationing has stopped.

I got a ride to the Catlins coast on the Southern tip of New Zealand from a freight truck driver. The Catlins is a remote area without any large settlements, but it is rich with natural beauty. The truck driver who gave me a ride has the fortunate task of driving back and forth through it everyday from his home in Waikawa. He gave me a ride that far in exchange for some assistance with his deliveries. I watched the brightly lit hills pass by as he gave a stiff-handed wave and a nod to every passing vehicle.

In Waikawa I met a man named Peter who told me about the band he and his son founded called "The Possum Pickers." "Stephen wanted to play the old music," he said of his son. Peter drove me up to the hillside where the he and his son's families still reside. Stephen came down to Peter's place with his grandfather's fiddle in tow, an old, battered thing, and a homemade bow patched up with some utility tape. With the rest of the family gathered around, we talked and played for a couple of hours. Stephen's fiddling had quite an old-timey sound. It sounded unique, but also authentic, with a good rhythm and an edgy sort of intonation. His grandad (Peter's father) had played at dances at the town hall down the road. Fiddling was the music of choice then, before the piano accordians came over after the war, later came the saxophones, and then the electric guitars. Fiddles weren't heard much after that. "I'm driving down the road," says Peter, "and here I see a guy carrying a fiddle! And I think, 'Now you don't see that everyday!'"

I spent the night at a hostel in Waikawa. It was nice to sit by the fire drinking tea and talking to a French girl named Adeline (sweet name!) about surfing. She told me how she was paddling out to catch a wave and a school of dolphins were swimming around her. Later she said she saw seals and penguins from the same vantage point. I was tempted to try it for myself, but I was already late for my stay at Papatowai Beach.

I got a ride to Papatowai beach from a Austrian guy who was looking for a good spot to do some fly fishing. Papatowai is a small cluster of homes and businesses along the ocean. An estuary runs inland near the town. The home I am staying at overlooks the spot where the estuary meets the sea, making it convenient to take seaside walks and quick swims (the water is freezing). Diana and Keith manage an impressive garden, 3 chickens, 2 donkeys, and a very efficient home. I met their son in Dunedin, and he recommended I come and stay for a while. It is really a great place. Diana writes childrens' books and Keith is a school teacher. Vinny, from England, is also WWOOFing here. We have been helping with a home addition and some firewood in preparation for winter.

So that is the update. I will post some photos as soon as a get to a place where the internet isn't so expensive. Diana has been regulating us since we are on pace to exceed the monthly usage limit, so I'll wait on the photos. I'll be here until the 8th when I'll go up to Dunedin for a few days and from there I'm thinking right now I'd like to get to Wanaka where there is a A&P Show happening (NZ for county fair). There will be many agriculture sorts of things there including sheep dog contests, livestock, arts and crafts, etc. After that on to Nelson and Marborough Sounds for more WWOOFing.

Oh, and my flight back to the USA is now for June 2nd, so if anyone would like to rendezvous on the West coast of the USA after that, let me know.