Wellbeing

People go on holidays for all sorts of reasons, and they choose the type of holiday to suit their purposes. Caroline and I both needed to get away from city life, and find some peacefulness. We chose a road trip as it means that you're never tied to one place, and we went to the south island of New Zealand as it has few people and plenty of nature. This wasn't a trip to laze and relax, but it was to explore and refresh the soul. This was fully achieved, and at times, the sheer beauty of the places I saw nearly brought me to tears.

I've already written about much of the trip, but the feelings it evoked are important. We flew into Christchurch, and drove straight out to get away from the largest city on the south island. Our first drive was across country from east to west coasts, and we weren't sure what to expect. What we were treated to was a beautiful drive through hills and mountains, skirting beautiful rivers and lakes. It was a pleasant surprise just how beautiful this first day turned out.

Day 1 was a pleasant surprise

Day 2 was a drive down the west coast starting in Greymouth, and ending in Haast and travelling through glacier region. We caught a distant glimpse of the Fox Glacier but I was probably most impressed by the coastal beaches. Hokitika and Haast have interesting seafronts to explore, and the coastal road has its share of scenic stops. There were plenty of fast flowing rivers running down through this region, but there were also the start of our invasion of sandfly territory. These insects are merciless, and it doesn't matter how much repellent you use, they will get you. However, it is a small price to pay for the experience for this amazing region.

We stopped at the side of the road regularly, and were almost always treated to something beautiful, like this fern, the national symbol of New Zealand

We left Haast and headed inland with Arrowtown our destination. Arrowtown is a small town about 15km from Queenstown, the adventure playground of the south island. In fact, the road to Arrowtown crosses the Shotover River, where the famous jet boats traverse the beautiful river while scaring the shit out people! Following the Haast River was a truly beautiful road,one of the most beautiful I've ever driven along. There are plenty of scenic stops along the way with Haast Gates being perhaps the most spectacular, a roaring river gorge. Our stop in Arrowtown saw us stay a few days while New Year struck. We spent most of New Year's Eve in Queenstown, but as the crowds grew in the evening, we decided to leave and head back to Arrowtown and quiet. The NYE show in Queenstown just wasn't the sort of thing we were looking for on this trip.

White water at Haast Gates

The highlight of our stay in Arrowtown was when we decided to drive to Glenorchy. We were having breakfast in Queenstown, and wondering what to do, neither of us really wanting to stay any longer in the picturesque little central Otago town. It had just become too busy, and in our state of mind, that was not what we wanted. As soon as we started driving we knew we'd done the right thing, feeling better on the open road, and suddenly treated to the most beautiful lakeside drive you could wish for. Glenorchy is about 45km from Queenstown, and very part of that trip was stunning.

Big sky, bold colours over Lake Wakatipu on the road to Glenorchy

From Arrowtown we traveled a short hop to Te Anau and took a trip to the fjord Doubtful Sound. This is really remote, with no access from road. We took a boat across Lake Manopouri, a beautiful start to the trip, and then a bus ride across to the Sound. The conditions were haunting, with low clouds masking the mountains, and at one point, the Sound cruise stops, turns off its engines, and just drifts allowing those on board to listen to complete silence, save for some birdsong. It was raining, so many people decided to stay inside the boat, but Caroline and I were outside and the lack of sound was also something beautiful.

Hauntingly beautiful, Doubtful Sound

We drove from Te Anau to Lake Tekapo, an area I'd never heard of. Lake Tekapo is a designated area of darkness making it one of the best places in the world to see stars. The lake itself is a rich turquoise colour in sunlight, and is shadowed by Mt John. an hill with an observatory on top, and amazing views in all directions. Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand is only an hours drive from Tekapo and the range dominate the western skyline. At night we drove around the lake, found a deserted spot and just looked up. Sorry, no photos, as me camera wasn't good enough, but at one point I thought I was looking at a bright sky rather than a night sky. And most amazingly, this is not apparently the best time of the year to see the stars! This whole area whispered of serenity.

Lupins and mountains from Mt John

Reflections on Lake Tekapo

Our last day was a short drive to Christchurch so we loitered around Lake Tekapo savouring its beauty in the morning. We took the Inland Scenic Route to Christchurch passing through the dramatic Rakaia Gorge. It was a final farewell to this beautiful roadtrip which finished as it began, with a pleasant surprise.Once again we expected little from this final drive, but in the end we just had to admit that the south island of New Zealand just doesn't stop giving sights of vast beauty.

The Church of the Good Shepherd on the edge of Lake Tekapo

Sitting in Christchurch Airport, Caroline and I were physically exhausted and almost drunk on the sights and experiences of our roadtrip. More than once we Caroline caught me staring into space with a smile on my face, simply reliving a moment from our time in New Zealand. Mountains, passes, beaches, rivers, gorges, flowers, waterfalls, lakes, fjords, animals....and a great deal of peace.

I woke this morning in Melbourne, feeling ready to tackle city life again. And to plan the next trip....

Doubtful Sound

The centrepiece of our trip to New Zealand was a trip to the fjord, Doubtful Sound. We have traveled to Fjordland before, and cruised around the picturesque Milford Sound. Doubtful Sound is much bigger than Milford, and we very remote. To reach Doubtful Sound you need to catch a boat across Lake Manapouri, and then drive along a track, over the Wilmot Pass and into the Sound. We were hoping for a great display, and weren't disappointed.

Misty and mystical Doubtful Sound

The west coast of New Zealand receives about 8 metres of rain per year with rain falling about 200 days of the year. So it was not a big surprise that it should be a wet day. This only added to the atmosphere, with the clouds often highlighting the mountains, and hiding them. Even the boat trip across Lake Manapouri was pretty spectacular.

Clouds across the mountains, Lake Manapouri

But the highlight was definitely being in the fjord, a most peaceful and hauntingly beautiful place. Here are some images of the day.

Mossy rocks and waterfalls

Raining in the Sound

Some of the many islands in Doubtful Sound

Clouds clinging to the Mountains

Waterfalls that looked as if they were coming straight from the clouds

The overnight cruise passed us in the Sound

Even More Beauty

The first time Caroline and I came to New Zealand, we were enchanted by the small town of Queenstown, situated by a lake and surrounded by breathtaking mountains. We walked the Milford Track that time and was wowed by the beauty of the fjord Milford Sound. We thought so much of Queenstown that we encouraged our good friends Nick and Zoe to come there with us, and we traveled back to Queenstown, spending quite a bit of time around the town itself and the northern towns of Arrowtown and Wanaka. Again, we were spellbound by the beauty that we saw.

Today we had breakfast in Queenstown and then headed in the other direction, south along the lake towards Glenorchy. We had read and heard that this was something special, but we weren't prepared for the sights we saw. Glenorchy is about 45 km from Queenstown, and the drive took in some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever witnessed.

Amazing light on lake Wakatipu

Lake side drive

Foxgloves and shadows on the water

Ominous mountains overlooking Glenorchy

The long view back from whence we came

We were fortunate to have great conditions adding colour and shade to the water, mountains and clouds, but it's hard to believe that natural beauty such as this isn't amazing in any conditions, or with any processing.

A silvered view across Pig Island towards Glenorchy

Happy New Year

While many people talk of how bad 2016 was in political and celebrity death terms, for me it was a year of illness and pain. Taking into account that I'd hardly been sick the previous 20 years, it hit me harder than it should. So I'm hoping that 2017 is better, and what better way to start it than to be in one of my favourite places, with Caroline, my absolute soul mate.

The SS Earnshaw in front of Walter's Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand

New year is a time for resolutions, and all I intend is to be true to myself. Most of my friends will be celebrating their New Year after me, as New Zealand is one of the first. I wish you all a 2017 that is kind to you.

Whole Lotta Roadtrip

So far, there has been a lot of driving, a lot of stopping, a lot of wows, a lot of walking, a lot of seeing and a lot of beauty. We traveled down the west coast from Greymouth to Haast via glaciers, and then cut inland following the Haast river until we reached Arrowtown, where we are staying for the next few days. Here's a few shots of the places that have wowed me.

Driftwood on the beach near Haast

Roaring Billy Falls

Snow peaked mountains viewed from Pleasant Flat

How blue is that water? The Blue Pools

Caroline at the Blue Pools

Lake Hawea

Roaring Meg

To sum up, Caroline and I are exhausted physically, but on an amazing high from the experience so far!

Beauty

I was very moved by a quote I saw the other day by the Czech novelist, Franz Kafka:

Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who has the ability to see beauty never grows old.

With that in mind, I intend to think in terms of beauty, and in my own Kafkaesque way, stay young. I am currently in the South Island of New Zealand with Caroline in search of the beautiful. We have hired a car and are driving around the South Island. Today we picked up the car from Christchurch Airport and drove across Arthur's Pass to the west of the Island, finishing in Greymouth. Here are some things I found beautiful...

Lush Greens of the Tussocklands

A carpet of purple lupins

Lake Coleridge

Lupin on the banks of the an unknown river near Lake Pearson

Glaciers in the background of the Waimakariri River

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I don't expect everyone to find all the things beautiful which I do. But even a small piece of beauty can gladden the heart, and roll off the years.

Cracked Pepper

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I'm not sure who says it, but I suppose I could "google it", and come up with a reasonable answer. The problem comes when imitation is done in poor taste. Like a bandwagon of novelists writing about young wizards, cover bands who actually have the talent to create their own music, and right wing fascists pretending to be caring politicians.

Anyway, as most readers of this blog will know, the things I love most in this world are chess and coffee. (of course I love the beautiful people that surround my world the most, but I don't really like describing my friends as "things"). The chess world is pretty exciting at the moment with a host of top level events seeing out 2016, headed by the World Championship currently being played in New York. For me, though, the chess world has been a poor imitation of what is was 12 months previously as I have had a year of illnesses which have prevented me from playing much chess. While I enjoy watching and studying the game, nothing beats playing and competing. I have entered a tournament in a couple of weeks, and will see how I go because I've been in quite a bit of discomfort recently, and had brain fogs, but if I can play ok then I'll be happy.

Coffee is my other passion. I love sitting at a cafe, reading a novel, and drinking a long black. I've been asked why I don't buy a coffee machine. Well, the simple answer is I like sitting at cafes, reading a novel with a long black! I have been to hundreds of cafes around Melbourne and the quality of the coffee, service and food varies, but I don't mind, I keep going back to my regular favourites.

One thing I have noticed, however, is how some cafes seem to be trying to imitate their classier, chic rivals. I like the fact that you don't have to be in central Melbourne to get a decent coffee, but I sometimes cringe at some of the food options and service quality of places. My pet annoyance at the moment is cracked pepper. I'm happy to dine in an Italian restaurant in Lygon Street and have a waiter come to me when my meal is in front of me and ask if I would like cracked pepper on it. Sometimes I'll say yes, sometimes no, but the whole thing seems appropriate there. I've started noticing that more and more places have waiting staff hanging around with pepper grinders, ready to pounce on customers with their request to serve you cracked pepper. I've even had cracked pepper ground on to my food before I could stop the overeager waitress. I've seen looks of disappointment on the faces of waiters at cafes when I'm sat with a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and I've even had a young waiter edging towards me as if he was wondering whether I would actually like cracked pepper on my porridge. I kind of feel sorry for that young man who will probably never know whether I wanted cracked pepper on my porridge or not. Did he lose his establishment a customer by not offering cracked pepper as an option?

I'm not the only critic of cracked pepper offerings (Huffpost)

To be honest, the cracked pepper thing is beginning to die down. Just as well really, as it seems a bit of a contradiction to walk into a greasy spoon, order eggs on toast, and be offered cracked pepper and ketchup. There needs to be a sense of appropriateness, and I don't think any less of a cafe because it might not be as classy as those in the next suburb. As long as the coffee is drinkable, the food is ok, and the staff are friendly, there isn't much more you need. Except maybe some cracked pepper on your breakfast Muesli....