The Southern Alps, The Tasman Sea, and Wekas

New Zealand's Southern Alps

I am happy to report that we finally made it to the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea.  Wow!  It has been quite a journey for us.  We zig-zagged back across the south island, nearly to Christchurch, and spent the night in a special little town called Geraldine.  From there, we took the road to Sheffield, and as we were coming out of town ran into another road sign.  Albert Pass was closed.  It was our only route to the West Coast from this point.  It was noon, and the next road update wouldn't occur until two that afternoon.  What to do?

We chanced it.  It was sunny, so no new rain had fallen.  The trip to Arthur Pass would take us over an hour's drive.  If the road was open, we were an hour's drive further than we were now.  If not, we would need to turn around, go back to the east coast, and take another road further north.  The extra two-hour delay seemed worth the risk.

Arthur Pass Lookout, New Zealand

We stopped at a lookout point just below the pass and noticed a line of cars coming towards us.  That meant one of two things... either folks were turning around or they had opened the road.  We were delighted to learn that the road was now open.  Hallelujah!

After we crossed the pass, we learned why the road had been closed.  First, there was a section with a 16 percent grade that crossed under a diverted waterfall and tunnel.  Water was pouring off the end of the tunnel in sheets of water.  Further up, the edge of the road had washed away in several places.  Finally, we crossed a one-lane bridge that had obviously been covered in water, with a raging creek-turned-river below.  Road crews worked with heavy excavators, digging out the creek so that it could hold more water flow.

South of Arthur Pass, New Zealand

Finally the Southern Alps that I had so longed to see came into view.  They are absolutely stunning.  This whole west coast is what I had thought all of New Zealand would be... remote and beautiful.  The road weaves between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Alps.  It is fascinating to pass through lush tropical rainforests with 12,000-foot mountains in the backdrop.

We camped at Lake Mahinapua, a wonderful, quiet reserve.  Here we met our first flightless bird, a Weka.  Once plentiful, they are now protected.  They are also supposedly very reclusive.  This little fellow was not at all shy.  In fact, David held up his phone to take a photo of the bird.  It came right up to him and pecked his finger.  No harm done, he was our constant and close companion for the evening.

David photographing the "reclusive" Weka 

New Zealand Weka... look at those feet!

New Zealand Weka

Wekas are indigenous to New Zealand.  They are flightless birds, about the size of a chicken.  When they run, they often spread out their little stumps, I suppose to give them balance.  They are also quite quick when they run.  The birds weigh about two pounds and are said to poop their body weight each day.  They are omnivores, eating fruit and bugs and the occasional lizard.  They are also thieves.  They prefer shiny objects and will steal them to look them over.  Thankfully, our little visitor was well mannered.

When we awoke the next morning, we discovered two adult Wekas in our camp.  After breakfast, David and I took a short hiking trail near our camper and discovered our little Weka friends had a surprise for us.  They had two baby chicks hidden in the marsh grass about fifteen yards from our camp.  The chicks were very shy and headed back into the grass if we made any sudden moves, but I was able to take a few photos of them.

Weka chick

Weka and chick

We continued south this morning and saw further damage along the road side.  Crews were removing trees from portions of the road where the great slide had crossed.  It is suppose to begin raining again on Sunday, so we will head north before then in case there is further road damage.  Our ferry to the north island is scheduled March 3.

Washout along the roadside

Tonight we are camping at the Okarito community campground across the lagoon from the Heron Sanctuary.  Hopefully we'll see a heron fly over.  We've already taken a short hike to the Tasman Sea and a trek along the marshlands.

David at the Tasman Sea

The weather is cool and sunny.  Our camp hosts tell us a kiwi lives in the area and often comes into the campground at dusk.  Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could see him?