Forever Young*

1 March 2010












Collected our hire car and set off along The Queen Charlotte Drive, a road with numerous twists and turns and almost a ‘wow’ on every corner at the spectacular vista spread out before us – we had a long way to drive so had to restrict the number of photo stops. We passed through Havelock, the self-proclaimed green-lipped mussel capital of the world which sits on a bay by another stunning view – this time of Perilous Sound (and Gregg has certainly heard a few of those in his time at gigs best forgotten). From Havelock on through Nelson, then Richmond, then Wakefield – er, have we taken a wrong turning? Then on through the Upper Buller Gorge with the wide Buller River slowly gliding past and tall mountains either side densely planted with conifers, which is where we stopped for our picnic lunch, bought in Picton before we set off because we knew there were no settlements on the way. A quiet spot by the river with a picnic table seemed ideal...until the midges arrived not in their ones and twos but in their hundreds and thousands. Chris’ statement that “I have read about these they are just very annoying, they don’t bite” was quickly proved wrong as droplets of blood began to appear on Gregg’s arms and legs (Christine was sensibly wearing trousers). Rather like a scene from a farce we tried to gather up all the picnic food whilst frantically waving our arms in the air, and occasionally slapping legs – ouch, and getting back in the car without letting and of the little bleeders in with us.
On to the Lower Buller Gorge, a very narrow and dramatic section where, in a number of places, the road hugs the cliff face and the river thunders past on the other side. We emerged from the gorge on the west coast of South Island and on past Te Miko – perpendicular cliffs that presented an impenetrable barrier until 1886 when a huge hole was blown through it so that the coast road could be built – it wasn’t completed until 1927. And so to our destination for the night near Punakaiki – the Te Nikau Retreat a.k.a. YHA Hostel, Punakaiki. We were greeted by the warden who was so like Frances De La Tour playing one of her most school ma’mish characters we were a bit taken aback but realised that she has to set ground rules for us young people. We have a delightful wooden cottage in the forest with its own kitchen and deck looking out into the dense sub-tropical forest. We walked through the forest down to the beach and had our first glimpse of the Pancake Rocks and back along the Truman track through the Paparoa National Park. A huge wave crashed ashore whilst Gregg was photographing the rocks and he got very wet but isn’t saltwater supposed to relieve the itch of midge bite? The change in flora as we climbed from the beach up to the limestone cliffs past streams and sinkholes was quite dramatic. The first section lashed with salt spray and ripped by the wind and was covered in sea primrose; near the land is a zone of flax which can survive the salt; in the final zone away from the sea grows a forest dominated by rata and rimu – two beautiful NZ trees – but the forest is thick with tree ferns, nikau-palms, supplejack and kie-kie vines which thrive in the protective canopy. As you will gather we have managed to buy a copy of the Observer Book of NZ Flora.
The day has been overcast for most of the time but it is still very warm, as it began to get dark the rain arrived and with it a knock on the door from the Frances De La Tour character from earlier – she came to warn us that one of the bedrooms (of course we have two bedrooms this place can sleep five, it is YHA after all) sometimes leaks so to be careful where we put our clothes. Wasn’t that kind? Or was she really just checking up that us young people weren’t having a rave with our bottles of Mateus Rosé and Cliff Richard records?

Our YHA cottage