Over The Hills And Around The Glaciers To Okārito We Go

March 24

I was a fan of Cash, the owner’s dog at Wild Earth Lodge, until this morning at 6:15 a.m. when he started barking non-stop and interrupted our blissful sleep. On and on he went. I tried to block out the sound by putting a pillow over my head, but no luck. After what seemed like an eternity of barking, I shouted “SHUT UP!!” and magically all went quiet. I don’t know if I startled the dog into submission or if the owner heard me and brought the dog inside, but there was no more barking after that. Finally peace and quiet.

The owner had said Cash had been preoccupied lately with a possible possum in the barn. Mitch said he heard something rustling in the bushes all night and on our porch. I guess that was it. It kind of stinks that we have a four-hour drive today and we didn’t get much sleep.

We packed up and left our sanctuary around 11a.m. and headed over Haast Pass and further north up the West Coast to Okārito. Population: 30.

Along the way, we drove through a deep valley along the Makarora River, called Haast Gates. To steady myself, I gripped the car’s grab handle on the hairpin turns and hoped the road would soon straighten out.

We stopped at Knights Point Lookout (thanks for the tip, Sabatiers!) and marveled at the views of the rugged coastline and the Tasman Sea.

The monument at the lookout commemorates the opening of the road in 1965 and the location where the workers constructing the road from the south met up with their fellow co-workers constructing it from the north to complete the highway.

The sandflies were out and they were hungry, so we didn’t stay long. We got back in the car and found the coconut cooking oil spray in our food bag to douse our ankles. Damn sandflies!

Bruce Bay further up the road was our next quick stop to stretch our legs and have a snack. It is where the Māori first landed from Hawaii and today the landing spot is used as a marae, or meeting ground. The Bay is named after the paddle steamer PS Bruce, a vessel that provided transport for early gold miners.

We drove another hour and arrived in Franz Josef to stock up on groceries at the small Four Square. It’s the the only grocery store we passed for the last four hours and within 20 miles of Okarito, a 30-minute drive from where we’re staying. Our product choices were limited at this basic store and we bemoaned the lack of a fancy New World market, our favorite for groceries here in NZ.

We finally arrived at Tui Cottage in Okarito, a charming, quirky cottage overlooking the Tasman Sea.

The house contains many family heirlooms and antiques and we enjoyed exploring the interesting decor and garden.

The backyard of the cottage is on an airfield and the runway runs just behind the house. I hope we get to see some aircraft take off or land. The locals said there are a few flights each week.

We went for a walk around town, which consists of 0 restaurants, 0 shops and 1 coffee joint, which happens to be located inside the Okārito Kayak business. We passed Donovan’s Store, the oldest building on the West Coast.

We bought some bottles of natural sandfly repellent from an honor system kiosk that was set up on the street.

The payment jar was full of cash. I can’t get over how people don’t suck here. No one steals the money in the jar. No one steals the products lining the shelves. People are honest and decent. Have I become so jaded and hardened living in America that I’m amazed by the Kiwis integrity? Why should I be surprised by people doing the right thing? Sheesh. I am embarrassed to be American sometimes.

We walked down to Okārito Beach, full of driftwood and beautiful rocks.

The Tasman Sea was wild and rough and definitely not for swimming.

We also got a quick lesson on what to do in case of an earthquake here — We’re pretty much screwed in the unfortunate event. There’s not much high ground that we can see anywhere near us and going inland involves driving our car up this very narrow channel of land between two lagoons.

We’re hoping to take a boat tour of the lagoon if the weather cooperates. It’s home to 76 species of native birds like the White Heron. We’ve already seen and heard Bellbirds and Tūīs outside our cottage windows. We are booked on a lagoon tour Tuesday morning and a Kiwi spotting tour on Tuesday night. The rarest breed of Kiwis, the Rowi, live in Okārito. They are only found here as this is the only place in the world where they are found in the wild.