/ South Island, Southland / By George
After leaving Mavora Lakes we made our way down to Tuatapere, turning onto the Southern Scenic Route off SH 94 at The Key. The day was clear and sunny and the drive easy and scenic (132 kms). We stopped at Clifden to view the old suspension bridge (no we didn’t visit the caves) and have some lunch, despite it being mid afternoon. This has become a bit of a habit now – late to rise, much to see, places to get to and “Oh I suddenly feel hungry, what about lunch”. We were welcomed at the suspension bridge by the local chicken, which appears customary according to others. The bridge was the first built over the Waiau River, which was swift flowing and dangerous to cross at that time. This is still NZ’s longest suspension bridge ever built and was opened in 1899, being replaced by a more modern bridge in 1978 to service traffic to and from the Manapouri power station.
We intended staying at the Tui Base Camp, a NZMCA Camp Saver, as we needed a good shower and the laundry. We also knew we could get LPG at the local service station, albeit by ‘Swap a Bottle’, which is definitely not our preferred method of buying LPG. We didn’t realise that the reception area for the camp was in fact the local pub and restaurant, but this was useful later when we decided to dine out! The camp consisted of a motel type block, a two storey facilities building, which also provided accommodation, another small building that seemed to house two units plus the grassed area for motorhomes and caravans. Its always refreshing to have a full sized shower cubicle after showering off grid in the motorhome and these ones were in excellent condition and built very robustly! The camp location was superb being right in the middle of town and directly opposite the adequately stocked 4-Square supermarket.
I had no expectation on what Tuatapere would offer, but after walking around it I would have to say the minimum necessary to support the small populous and local farming community. There are no frills here and the most thriving business in town would be unsurprisingly, the farming and agriculture supplies store. Like many small towns there is now an emphasis on art, history and culture, with the classic old bank building now an art gallery (closed by the time we arrived in town); the picture theatre window display stuck in a time warp; and two other shops, although permanently closed it appears, are now museums by default. We checked later and the Disney movie advertised in the cinema window was actually released in 1974! The doggie in the window was looking a little forlorn at the thought that the last movie screened here was in 1985.
The museum itself was closed when we arrived, but by the external displays is heavily based on the history of logging and milling, which supported the residents of Tuatapere for the whole of last century. With the restructuring of the Forestry Industry in New Zealand in 1987 Tuatapere suffered badly and 120 timber mills operating last century in the town’s vicinity, had reduced to just two by 2006. What we see today in the town is a direct result of that depletion in employment and like many rural towns in New Zealand derelict retail shops, houses and infrastructure services are all that remain. There has been some effort by stoic locals to build a reputation to attract tourists, but this is well off the once heavily populated major tourist routes and is more a brief stopover town than a destination. It does provide access to the lower Fiords and in particular the Humpridge track 3-day loop walk. This is more for the experienced hiker, but even that is stifled currently by the lack of overseas tourists. Locals have developed a short nature walk, which is still a work in progress and whilst to be applauded would not rate on the list of NZ’s must do’s. The obsolete railway station, which sits adjacent to the campground looks like it is being restored, although the last train ceased in 1976 and there is no sign of the tracks any more.
A major highlight during our visit though was the perfectly clear sky, which enabled us to view the total eclipse of the moon and the resultant ‘blood moon’. Whilst you really needed a large telescopic lens to get any sort of meaningful photo Debbie did pretty well with her 140mm, hand-held at that!
A major highlight during our visit though was the perfectly clear sky, which enabled us to view the total eclipse of the moon and the resultant ‘blood moon’. Whilst you really needed a large telescopic lens to get any sort of meaningful photo Debbie did pretty well with her 140mm, hand-held at that!
We achieved what we needed to in Tuatapere though by having a decent shower, catching up on the washing, powering up the batteries, clearing out the rubbish and the motorhome ablutions and loading up with some necessary groceries. The Blue Cod, chips and salad dinner at the pub was a bonus and most enjoyable.
The Met Service and NIWA were putting out warnings for heavy rain and gale force winds coming in across the Canterbury region over the weekend, with likely flooding, slips and resultant road closures. We therefore decided to hunker down, although I never thought that the south coast of the South Island would be a refuge. Never having been here before I had the impression, particularly from those that had travelled to Stewart Island, that the coastline on Foveaux Strait was largely savage with swells, waves and strong winds. It was routine to be seasick on the trip across the strait to Stewart Island rather than otherwise. However we had little choice and any way, although the weather was predicted wet and windy in the deep south it wasn’t to be as bad as further north. We decided to head for Monkey Island, a free camp that would be in the lee of the sou’east winds.
Enroute we stopped first at Gemstone Beach (Tai Tanui or Aroapaki), which was was windswept and alive with rolling breakers, curling up in the steep approach to the shore and crashing on the array of coloured pebbles. True to its name there were a number of people with buckets scouring the beach searching for the elusive ‘gems’, which apparently do exist in many forms. Various coloured rounded stones of different geological species exist here and avid collectors, of which Debbie is one, pour over them like a hen searching for corn kernels. So far the area was true to my beliefs!
We moved on next to Orepuki, another town now existing midst a rural community, but that once thrived when industry was rife in this area. The discovery of shale and coal in this area in 1879 made for a rapid but brief boom town with a population of around 3000 at its peak. Prior to this a settlement had been established as a result of the discovery of gold in the black sands along the beaches. Industries flourished in gold mining, shale (oil extraction) and flax. The shale oil extraction plant closed in 1903 and although timber milling continued until the 1950’s the town diminished in population leaving today an assortment of abandoned stores and relics. I will mention more below regarding the Orepuki Beach Cafe, which is the oasis in the desert in this town.
And so it was eastward further to Monkey Island, so named it is thought after the Monkey winch they used to haul the boats ashore. The island itself is only accessible by foot at low tide. Despite the rocky shoreline the beach is very sandy with few shells and very flat, with the sea retreating a considerable distance at low tide. During our three night refuge here a number of motorhomes and caravans were present or stopped for a short stay, whilst the wind and rain continued to varying degrees. We made good friends of caravanners Stephen and Nicola, and also Paul, who was currently travelling alone in his self-built quirky caravan with a distinctly warm and cosy homely feel. It was the kind of weather for sharing company, coffee and hot chocolates and taking periodic walks when there was some abatement in conditions.
Despite the brooding clouds and chilling wind, when the tide retreated the beach was left with a mesmerising pattern of smooth sandy ridges coated in a thin layer of dampness to reflect the sky’s foreboding. This was punctuated by the granite rocks that were robust survivors against the action of the sea. We saw little sunshine but appreciated the glow from the sunsets nonetheless. After making acquaintance with the above mentioned caravanners we headed for a morning tea at the highly recommended Orepuki Beach Café. The café offers baked on the premises breads and superb generously portioned cakes and scones, together with farm to table meats and vegetables included in their main meals. The café is situated on SH 99 adjacent to the Orepuki township in an immaculately restored villa and is extremely popular.
After our delicious morning tea Paul kindly took us over to Cosy Nook, a free camp destination we were considering staying at. He had advised we should look at it as, whilst worthy of a visit, it really needed reconnaissance before making any final decision on a stopover. The weather and ambience was not inviting here, with a handful of seasoned cribs nestled in an isolated and windswept bay. The waves breaking over the rocks at the entrance to the bay were sending spray in all directions and it was easy to see why there had been a number of boating mishaps here in the past. Access was possible but not ideal for a motorhome and the parking was limited to one small area in a very exposed location. The location and baches may be more picturesque on a sunny and balmy day, but we agreed this was more of a day visit destination for us. We left this for the fishermen and hardened crib owners.
We headed back to the more populated Monkey Island for another night or two. A few locals would drift in and out, some on horseback and others in vehicles venturing onto the beach when the tide was out. On the second day the wind had dropped a little and the rain stopped long enough in the morning for us to venture out to Monkey Island at low tide. The island is surrounded by large rocks and I had to navigate through these to reach the steps up to the island lookout. Debbie was not keen to take on this climb, still very conscious of a seriously broken ankle from two years ago. The climb was neither long nor difficult beyond the rocks, but it was bitterly cold at the top. The steps continued on the seaward side of the island, but I had no desire to go any further in these conditions.
After three nights at Monkey Island and virtually no sun we were running short on power. We had exhausted sightseeing here so it was time to move on. Some useful info – Monkey Island free camp area is on compacted ‘gemstone’ basecourse and although there were some large puddles from the consistent rain there was plenty of hardstand parking available. There are parking bays on grass on the left hand side as you drive in. These bays are actually privately owned (some are cordoned off) and are not for free camp use. There are two toilet blocks with two toilets at each, a large refuse skip for your rubbish, but no other facilities. We enjoyed the spot and especially the wonderful company of other campers.