Mount Arthur and the West Coast

Our last weeks on the South Island

By Heather & Pravin

October 21^st, 2019

Back To work

Pravin and I worked at a fruit tree nursery in Appleby, just outside of Nelson, for a total of about 5 weeks between January and February 2019. It was the easiest job either of us have ever had, and the hours were perfect for making the most out of summer - 7:00AM to 3:15PM. We were seasonal contract workers, and although we were prepared for long hot days labouring in the strong NZ sun, we got incredibly lucky and were chosen for the budwood processing team, rather than one of the field teams. That meant we were working alongside a really nice team of permanent staff, who had fully outfitted a barn-type building as a break (or "smoko", as tea breaks are known in New Zealand) area, complete with instant hot water for drinks, a large fridge, comfy sofas and even a flush toilet and running water. The nursery fields were spread out over a huge area, and most of the field teams were usually out in the sun all day, and for break times, just had a shade awning, a water tank, and a pit toilet. We also weren't doing anything even close to labouring - we worked under covered sheds, and our work days mainly consisted of trimming the leaves off of budwood sticks, either manually or by feeding them through a machine; sitting in a circle and chatting while counting the number of buds on each stick and sorting the sticks accordingly; and then packaging up bundles of budwood, wheelbarrowing them to industrial-sized chillers, and logging the totals in a spreadsheet. The nursery actually has a blog post that explains how they grow fruit trees here: https://www.waimeanurseries.co.nz/blog/how-we-grow-fruit-trees-budding/.

Nelson experienced a record heat wave during our stint at the nursery, and the owner was nice enough to hire out an ice cream truck and have it drive around to all the work sites and give all ~200 staff free ice cream to beat the heat! We also lucked out with having two paid days off due to local holidays, and we timed our employment just right to catch the free catered monthly staff lunch. Not bad for only five weeks total!

After working irregular shifts and rarely actually getting 40 hours per week at my first job, it was a nice relief for Pravin and I to both have Saturday and Sunday off, as well as the afternoons. We headed to the beach to swim most days after work, and because our jobs were so ridiculously easy, we had lots of energy to head off on weekend adventures right after finishing work for the week on Friday afternoons.

mount arthur

On the Friday of our first full week of work, we decided to do an overnight hike in Kahurangi National Park and hike to the top of Mount Arthur for sunrise. It's one of the tallest peaks around Nelson, and as we could see it from the deck of our flat, we had been wanting to get to the top for quite a while. Leaving straight from work, we drove for about an hour up to the trailhead parking lot, and hiked about another hour or so in to the Mount Arthur hut. The huts provide mattresses, but we also brought our own camping mats because were worried that all the bunks might be full, given the hut's proximity to the trailhead and the fact that it was a Friday evening. We managed to snag the eighth and final spot inside, but it was looking as though Pravin was going to have to sleep on the deck outside.

We spent the evening making quesadillas for dinner and playing cribbage at the picnic table outside, and then for some reason one of the other hikers decided to light a fire in the hut's wood stove. It was a mild evening, and the cramped hut was full with 7 adults, which meant that it was guaranteed to warm up once everyone was squished inside for sleeping. As predicted, in no time at all, the hut became an absolute sauna. It was going to be impossible to sleep inside, so I also inflated my camping mat and Pravin and I both slept outside on the deck, along with a family who had arrived too late to get bunks.

The temperature was much nicer outside and it wasn't going to be a long sleep anyways! We set an alarm for 3AM, and hit the trail with our headlamps, in order to make it to the top of Mount Arthur for sunrise. The route was easy enough to follow, and it was still quite dark when we made it to the summit plateau.

The views were everything that we had dreamt of, and we couldn't have picked a nicer morning to be up there for sunrise. We could see the hill on which the house we lived in was located, the wide sandy beach that we swam at most afternoons, and even the fields of the nursery where we worked. It was freezing cold and the wind was howling enough that it was hard to walk against the gusts, so we hunkered down against a small rock wall and heated up some water for coffee while we watched the colours of the sunrise change.

Back To Abel Tasman

Our next weekend adventure involved heading back to Abel Tasman National Park yet again. We had car-camped in the central portion of the park and kayaked the southern portion, but we hadn't yet visited the northernmost section of the park. After work on a Friday afternoon, we drove up and over the Takaka Hill and descended down towards the Wainui Bay trailhead. As we were lacing up our hiking boots and having a quick snack before hitting the trail, I had quite the shock when I realized a weka had jumped into the wagon and was sitting on the front passenger seat! I shrieked in surprise and Pravin ran around and opened the driver's side door, and the large bird scuttled out the other side.

Our first campsite was a short couple of hours' hike from the carpark, and we arrived just after sunset but just in time to have a beer on the beach while it was still light out. Rising early the next morning, we checked out the historic 1896 Whariwharangi Hut that was located next to the campsite, and then hit the trail heading south. The weather was gorgeous and it was hot and sunny as we wound our way up and down through the trees and along pristine sandy beaches. At one point we dropped our packs and made a quick detour down to a lighthouse, where there was a project set up to try and start a gannet colony. Gannets are a type of bird that fly over the park as part of their migration path, but the peninsula where they currently nest is at risk of eroding completely. Conservation staff decided to get creative in the hopes of attracting gannets to set up a colony in Abel Tasman, so they built a number of gannet mannequins and have a constantly-looping soundtrack of "friendly" gannet calls playing on hidden loudspeakers where they want the gannets to build a new home. So far it hasn't worked - but maybe one day the gannets will get curious and decide to set up a satellite colony!

Our campsite for the second night was at Waiharakeke Bay, but that wasn't our end destination for the day. Upon reaching Waiharakeke Bay, we dropped our packs and set up our tent, but we continued on down the trail until we reached the famed Awaroa Bay. To get to the sandy beach, you have to cross a large estuary, which can only be crossed at low tide. The sun was unrelenting and due to how soft and mucky the estuary was, it took quite a while to make our way across and find some shade. The reason that Awaroa Beach is famous in New Zealand is because it was actually purchased by the general public and added to the national park as part of a crowdfunding campaign to preserve the area from development. The waters are incredibly clear and the sand is as white and pristine as could be - it was easy to understand why Kiwis wanted to keep this area in a natural state.

Eventually we headed back towards our campsite after a longgg day on the trail. We ate dinner on the beach and crashed hard at bedtime. The next day we had to get back to our vehicle at the trailhead, and instead of going back the way we came, we decided to head inland at a certain point and take an alternate route back. It was steep and hot and dry, but it was nice to see a different area of the park that was certainly much less travelled than the coastal route. After getting back to the car, we stopped at the lovely Tata Beach and had a long swim and a nap on the sand before eventually making the afternoon drive back to our flat in Nelson.

The Nelson Fire

While we were working at the nursery, Nelson experienced New Zealand's worst bushfire since the 1950s. It started not too far from the nursery that we were working at, and when we were leaving the site one afternoon, we noticed a large plume of smoke that was growing shockingly fast and seemed disturbingly close. We quickly found out that a bushfire had been started by sparks from farming equipment lighting tinder-dry grass, and with record-dry conditions, it grew scarily fast overnight. Over the next couple of weeks, over 3000 people ended up being evacuated and the skies over Nelson were thick with smoke and the buzz of firefighting helicopters was constant. We could see the orange glow of the fire from our flat, but we weren't in any danger where we lived. The nursery was on evacuation alert and we had to drive through a checkpoint to get to work, and many of our coworkers had been forced to evacuate their homes. The scary thing was that several more bushfires started while the main fire was still burning, some of which were due to natural causes and tinder-dry conditions, but others were actually started by arsonists. Everyone in town was terrified that their area would be next, and we were so spooked that we even started taking our passports and back-up photo hard drives with us when went out!

Riwaka Resurgence

By February 2019, with our time in Nelson running short, we did our best to make good use of any spare time we had, exploring the area and swimming at the beach almost every afternoon. After spending the morning at the Motueka Farmer's Market in the next town over, we decided to check out the Riwaka Resurgence, which is a natural water feature where a crystal-clear stream emerges from a cave in the hillside. The water is extra-clear and ice-cold as it is filtered through a series of limestone caves before flowing out of the cave. At one point, the river forms a gorgeous turquoise pool that begs to be swam in - although the water is bracingly cold, it didn't stop us from jumping in!

Ashley Visits!

One of my oldest friends from back home, Ashley, was scheduled to come visit us in New Zealand in mid-February, so we handed in our notice at the nursery and began to get organized for moving out of our place, as our lease was up at the end of the first week of March. First however, we had a big schedule of fun things to do with Ashley! We had a quick couple of days together in Nelson, seeing the sights, paddle-boarding from the beach, and enjoying catching up in the sun - after all, it had been over two years since Ashley and I had last seen each other, back when Pravin and I left Canada in January 2017!

To continue catching up on the last couple of years, Ashley and I headed up to Golden Bay for a quick girls getaway. We stopped at a ton of beautiful places on the drive up the coast, including a hike to Wainui Falls in Abel Tasman National Park and a swim at Tata Beach, and eventually found our way to our cozy Airbnb in Pakawau Beach. Grabbing a few beers, we spent the last bit of the evening exploring the beach before retiring to the pub for a delicious dinner of mussels. The next morning dawned with one of the most spectacular sunrises on the beach - the colours were amazing! After breakfast on the porch, we packed up and drove up to the very tip of Golden Bay and spent ages running around on the sand dunes of the stunning Wharariki Beach. On the way back down the coast, we took a chance on a detour and ended up doing a quick walk through native bush to the eerie-but-beautiful Kaihoka Lakes, on the west coast of the Golden Bay peninsula. We couldn't pass by the Mussel Inn without stopping for another helping of mussels, so we filled up on more fresh seafood before continuing back to Nelson and arriving just in time to catch an epic sunset from our deck.

We had one night's sleep in Nelson before setting off again with Ashley; this time we were driving down the West Coast of the South Island. Our first destination was a beachside Airbnb in Westport, where we were reminded of just how rugged the West Coast is compared to the warm and sheltered waters of Nelson's Tasman Bay! The wind was wild and the waves were huge, but we had a great time exploring the area, including checking out a surf competition and hiking through a seal sanctuary.

The next day we drove down the coast to visit Punakaiki (also known as Pancake Rocks) in Paparoa National Park. The waves were wild and the crowds were big, but we saw huge eruptions of seawater from blowholes and had lots of fun doing some short hikes along the coast and exploring some caves.

We had a long drive to our next destination, which was Franz Josef Glacier. It's a small town that is incredibly popular with tourists, and when we went to book accommodation, the only spots left in town were dorm beds in a massive hostel that plays host to buses full of young backpackers on group tours through New Zealand. The good news is that due to its popularity, it had a great happy hour with a fun live band playing late into the night!

Arthur's Pass

Sadly, after our time in Franz Josef Glacier, it was time to part ways with Ashley. She was continuing on towards Queenstown on her own to see some more of New Zealand, while we were spending a couple of days camping at Arthur's Pass before booking it back to Nelson to sell all of our household goods and hit the road again. Arthur's Pass is a beautifully-located historical settlement built at the top of a mountain pass - descending down the east side will bring you to Christchurch, while descending down the west side will bring you over to the small, rugged towns of the West Coast.

It's the one "big sight" that we hadn't yet checked out on the South Island, so we were very excited to finally arrive in the town. After stopping in at the national park office to get a weather report, we headed out right away to hike up Avalanche Peak, which involves gaining about 1200m of elevation in only 2.5km! The trail was steep and challenging but the views at the top were mind-boggling and made us instantly forget our fatigue. There was a friendly kea at the top, and the alpine parrot just hung out with us and watched us take photos and have snacks, coming right up to within a few inches of us and fearlessly posing for photos.

I had been having some knee pain recently, and the descent was brutally painful on the knee. I hopped and hobbled and lowered myself down the trail awkwardly, and it took me ages to reach the trailhead. We were spent by the time we got back to the wagon, and forced ourselves to eat some cold pasta for dinner before climbing into the trunk and passing out. Arthur's Pass is noted for having a very curious and very naughty kea population, and there were were warning signs at the campground that we were staying at, alerting potential campers that kea were frequently ripping holes in tents to get at the goods inside. We have an awesome MSR tent that has accompanied us all around the world, and we weren't about to let a kea destroy it! Instead, we decided to test out our Subaru Outback's versatility and sleep in the back. The seats back folded down completely flat, and with our camping air mattresses, we were actually quite comfortable and cozy. We were also dead-tired - which may have helped!

Castle Hill

It was pouring rain when we woke up in Arthur's Pass, so we scrapped our plan to hike near the pass and instead drove down away from the pass and towards Christchurch, quickly leaving the rain clouds behind and finding beautiful blue skies as we approached Castle Hill. It's a unique and striking area where massive limestone rocks jut out of the grassy hills and form quite the strange site. We spent some time walking among the rocks and climbing up for better views, and even took a nap in the warm sun. Eventually we made our way back towards Arthur's Pass, hoping that the rainy weather had let up. Unfortunately it was still quite miserable, so we hunkered down in the visitor's centre cafe and wrote some postcards and sipped hot chocolate to pass the time. The next day we were due to head back to Nelson, but we decided to do one more hike first, and that was up to the Bealey Spur. On the way up, we passed a really cool historic sheep herder's hut, and funnily enough, you can actually still sleep in its bare-bones sapling bunks and even use the barely-vented open fireplace if you dare. After spending some time at the top of the spur, taking in the jaw-dropping views of the snow-capped Southern Alps all around, we reluctantly set off back to the car. We had a long drive ahead of us, and a ton of things to do back in Nelson in just a few short days.

goodBye Nelson!

We arrived back in Nelson on March 1, and vacated our rented flat on March 6. In 5 short days, we sold everything that we had accumulated during our time in Nelson, which was bedding, furniture, kitchen goods, bicycles, etc. - all thanks to Facebook Marketplace! In the end, we very nearly broke even on everything, which wasn't a bad trade-off for 6 months of constant use after we had purchased almost everything second-hand to begin with. We deep-cleaned the flat and had the carpets cleaned, and somehow even found time to celebrate Pravin's 31st birthday on our last night in town!

We walked down to our favourite neighbourhood pub by the beach and had our final overpriced ($11/pint) beers in Nelson and marvelled at how our time living in town had flown by. We had hosted lots of visitors to our flat, including my parents, Pravin's brother Amesh and his wife Jessica and their baby Anjali, my sister Nicole, and most recently, Ashley. We never took our amazing ocean views for granted, and spent much of our time hiking, biking, running and chilling on the beach. We became experts in local Sauvignon Blanc, enjoyed weekly takeout chicken 'n chips and always went for the Sri Lankan food at the Isel Park Market. I revisited my barista days working at a cafe while Pravin experienced factory life processing mussels in bulk, and we had our first "couples' interview" where we landed summer jobs working at the fruit tree nursery together! We couldn't have picked a more picturesque place than Nelson in which to settle down and recharge our batteries (and bank accounts), but we were more than excited for the next phase in our journey - living out of our Subaru Outback and exploring the North Island!