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Westcoast S.I 2024/2025
  • Tania and Allan Simpson
  • Tania and Allan Simpson

Westcoast S.I 2024/2025

Adventures with Marise & Nigel Read more
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  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler

    Hokitika

    January 9 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Founded as a gold mining town back in the gold-rush days, Hokitika is famous for its pounamu (greenstone), whitebait, it's mining history, and it's sparsely populated wild scenery.

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Stunning, breathtaking azure blue water
    1

    Hokitika Gorge Suspension bridge

    January 10 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    A true gem — brilliant turquoise water fringed with stark white limestone cliffs and lush green rainforest — Hokitika Gorge is one of the West Coast’s most instantly recognisable scenes.
    It’s also one of the easiest to access. An easy, well-formed forest trail leads to this visual feast representing nature’s most glorious colour palette.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    1Straight tall Rimu trees
    Can zip line from tower for $120. No thanks !!! It wasn't the height that stopped me.It was the costFriendly Weka

    Tree Top Walkway

    January 10 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Experience life with the birds high in the ancient Rimu and Kamahi tree canopy.
    Easy access for all to enjoy along a steel platform 20 meters high and over 450 meters long.
    Thrill seekers will feel their hearts pump, and the adrenalin rush as they climb to the top of the tower 47 metres above the forest floor or gently sway in harmony with the forest on the Mahinapua Springboard.
    Look out over Lake Mahinapua to the majestic Southern Alps and Tasman Sea!    Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    The drive into the lake

    Lake Mahinapua

    January 11 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Once a lagoon at the mouth of the Hokitika River, it became a lake when the river shifted its course. Lake Māhinapua was the site of a significant battle between Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Wairangi Māori, and is regarded by them as a sacred site where swimming and fishing are prohibited. In European times it was part of an inland waterway that carried timber and settlers between Hokitika and Ross until the building of the railway. Today it is protected as a scenic reserve for boating, camping, and hiking.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler

    Mahinapua Hotel

    January 11 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The most beautiful country pub l have ever been in.
    The Lake Mahinapua Hotel has been welcoming travelers since 1905 and has a heritage deeply rooted in the gold rush era where it originally served as a vital resting place for gold miners and travelers. It was owned by a Scotsman from Edinburgh who came to the West Coast as a miner and dredge worker in the late 1800s.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    1View for the night from the front
    Beautiful old pub with the biggest open fireRoss fireOutdoor garden area at Ross PubRoss Chinese MemorialRoss Finish lineRoss stocksRoss Beach at the end of the roadRoss Beach Top 10 campsiteThe dome InteriorInside the domeInside the domeDome accommodation at top 10Scones made in the motorhome and had with blackberry and apple jelly from store next doorGold panning. High expectations!!No success

    Ross

    January 11 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Ross was established in the 1860s, during the West Coast gold rush, and became an important centre for miners. At its largest, the town had around 2,500 inhabitants, but the population declined after local goldfields were depleted in the early 1870s.
    Quartz was occasionally mined on Mount Greenland, a nearby ridge, but little more gold was found until two miners discovered a large 3.1-kilogram nugget in 1909.
    From 1872 to the early 1900s a number of Chinese lived and worked in Ross, and a Chinese Miners' Memorial Garden on the shore of Ross Lake commemorates them.    Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler

    Totara River Bridge

    January 12 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The Totara River rail bridge is a historic truss bridge that crosses the Totara River in New Zealand. It was part of the Hokitika-Ross railway line, which closed in 1980. The bridge is a key part of the West Coast Wilderness Trail, which connects Hokitika to Ross. But sadly, in August 2024, the bridge was closed as it was deemed unsafeRead more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Here, fishy fishy

    Okarito River and Lagoon

    January 13 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We came to Okarito to look for the white heron. We only saw one from a distance. But what a beautiful place. Okarito Lagoon is New Zealand's largest unmodified wetland. A coastal lagoon, it is 130 kms south of Hokitika, covering an area of about 12km.
    The lagoon is home of many species of wading birds, including the extremely rare Kotuku.    Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    To foggy to get the perfect reflection on the lakeThe reflection on lake Matheson in the winter on a perfect dayAnother view of the reflection lake1Many stepsSphagnum MossThe many vans parked up, while their occupants do the lake Matheson walk

    Lake Matheson / Fox Glacier

    January 14 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    At Lake Matheson, near Fox Glacier, nature has combined exactly the right ingredients to create truly stunning reflections of New Zealand's highest peaks - Aoraki (Mount Cook) and Mount Tasman.The waters of Lake Matheson are dark brown, so on a calm day they create the ideal reflective surface. The colour is caused by natural leaching of organic matter from the surrounding native forest floor. By a happy coincidence, the mountains to the east are perfectly positioned to reflect in the lake.
    The walk from the car park takes 40 minutes to the pontoon, or 1.5 hours around the lake.    Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Driving towards Haast and Jackson Bay
    The drive towards HaastShip Creek, stop off on our way to Haast and Jackson BayShip creekPhoto Taken from the Arawhata bridge as we head to Jackson BayOur view from the motorhome window. Stunning!!!Looking back at the motorhomes from the WharfCrayfish restaurant at Jackson Bay. This place is in the middle of nowhere.Allan's happy with his haul of Mussels at Jackson Bay.

    Jackson Bay

    January 14 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Jackson Bay marks the farthest extent of the West Coast's road network: the small road which meanders along the coast from Haast, 32 kilometres to the northeast, terminates at the sleepy fishing village of Jackson Bay.

    Jackson Bay is a working fishing port - boats are tied up at the long wharf that stretches out into deep waters. A popular fishing spot in summer, it's a great place to catch crayfish and just meander.
    Feel the sheer isolation, as if beyond the end of the road is the unknown; although south of here lies Fiordland and Milford Sound.    Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Lake Hawea Trail Ride
    Beautiful scenery along the way on the lake rideLooking towards the lake from town

    Wanaka

    January 15 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Biked from our campsite into Wanaka and completed a 22km loop trail ride around part of the lake and into Albert Town, then back to Wanaka.

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Brunch in a glasshouse out in the garden at the Cardrona HotelGeneral store in Cardrona

    Cardrona Hotel

    January 17 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Established in 1863, the Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand’s oldest hotels and is one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. In it's hey-day Cardrona was a prosperous settlement and significant commercial hub for the area. During this period, the hotel - one of four in the township - offered accommodation, livery services, and an accommodation stop for itinerant travelers. The historic hotel facade is representative of this now vanished town and is an important part of New Zealand’s history.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Beautiful lupins
    Very tranquil

    Longslip Station / Lindis Pass

    January 17 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    This lovely POP is part of Longslip Station, a large farm station on the north side of the Lindis Pass. Located at the beginning of Birchwood Road, the POP is just 20kms from Omarama. The access track opens up into a large flat paddock ringed with white painted rocks right beside the Ahuriri River.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    Torlesse wineryHiding in the vines at Torlesse WineryViews from our biking wine trail.Another waipara winery.Wine tasting at Torlesse WineryHard day on the wines!! And all our purchases.

    Waipara

    January 20 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Waipara is a wine and tourism district in Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River. Its name translates to "Muddy Water", wai meaning water and para meaning mud. It is at the junction of state highways 1 and 7, on the Alpine Pacific Touring Route.Read more

  • Tania and Allan SimpsonWestcoast S.I 2024/2025Traveler
    On the way to Kaikoura
    Amazing to see this large pod of dolphins as we were heading towards Kaikoura.Blenheim RacecourseA very busy cafe with plenty of bike riders stopping by for a refuelOmaka Cafe and MuseumThe brown hills of BlenheimSo much wine!!!Wither Hills BlenheimWither Hills BlenheimSpeights Ale House in BlenheimLovely way to spend the last day of our trip.Boom town food caravan at Foresters Winery

    Blenheim

    January 21 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Blenheim is a town on New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known as a gateway to the wineries of the Wairau Valley to the west. In town, the Marlborough Museum chronicles the development of winemaking. The Omaka Aviation Heritage Center houses filmmaker Peter Jackson’s collection of World War I aircraft, displayed in sets re-creating their flight history.Read more

    Trip end
    January 24, 2025
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