GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #44

Hello once again loyal followers.
This edition acknowledges the start of another adventure in the scenic wonderland that is the south island.
First stop after disembarking the ferry at Picton was Whatamango Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound.


The mussels in the bay were easy pickings and made up the principal ingredient of mussel fritters in beer batter - expertly cooked to perfection!!


About 30kms south of Blenheim, on the coast next to the Lake Grassmere salt works, is Marfells Beach.
A pleasant walk around the coast brings you to Cape Campbell and the lighthouse.


Regular campers at Marfells bring all their toys for harvesting the sea.
I was lucky enough to be given a crayfish by guys who head around the coast on quad bikes at low tide and set their pots each day.


Across the island via Lewis Pass and a visit to the old coal mining ghost-town of Denniston.
Rail wagons full of coal were sent down a 45 degree incline to the valley below - plenty of accidents and more than a few deaths!


The Buller River escapes to the sea at Westport and this camping spot is at the river mouth.

No trip to the west coast should ever be undertaken without a stop to view the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki.

The famous Putai blowhole spews seawater high into the air when conditions are right.
This was my 6th visit to the rocks, and the first opportunity to capture the blowhole working.

Lots of history associated with gold mining and plenty of tunnels and workings to explore on the coast.

Lake Ianthe is about 35kms south of Hokitika.

So much rain falls on the west coast that sometimes lakes get a little over-full.

The Harihari Coastal Walk proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated.

The swollen Poerua River made a determined effort to sweep me away.

My trusty tokotoko stick came to the rescue and saved me from a dunking, and possibly a drowning!

Lake Matheson was formed many moons ago by the receding Fox Glacier.

In the right conditions it provides a great reflection of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.

I felt the Christchurch earthquake in Franz Josef when it struck on 22nd February.

A visit up to the glacier is compulsory.

The terminal ice face is just beside my left shoulder in this shot.

Time now to start the drift south and east.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #43

Welcome back loyal viewers.
Sorry about the delay between updates.
A trip to Fiji for a wedding presented a chance to dress like a local, and a romantic photo opportunity with my first wife.


Upon return from overseas it was back into the Bus With No Name and off to the Coromandel Peninsula for a nostalgic tour over a few weeks.


Here I am at New Chums Beach, about 15 kilometres from Coromandel town on the east coast.
Locals consider this place to be an unspoiled gem.
I don't understand what all the fuss is about regarding development of the bay.
Providing decent access and sensible building can only be good for the place.


A leisurely stroll over the historic Tauranga Bridge spanning the Waioeka River.

Camped in the Waioeka Gorge with the old Manganuku road bridge in the background.

Yet another attempt in vain to entice a trout onto my lure.

This time in the Waioeka River.


The tractor and trailer provides transport around the coast of Cape Kidnappers to view the largest land-based gannet colony.

Gannets are quite large birds and go about their activities oblivious of the sightseers.

Some local humour at Castlepoint on the Wairarapa coast.

The sign reads "HOME OF THE LOST SOLES".

The southern tip of the north island is marked with the Cape Palliser lighthouse.

250 steps up to the tower provides a good workout for the legs.

Next update will be from oversesas in the south island.

Thanks for viewing.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #42

Here's a bit of excitment readers!!
An exclusive from my winter hibernation spot in The Far North.
On Friday morning 20th August 2010 58 Pilot Whales stranded themselves on the west coast of Karikari Peninsula at the remote Karikari Beach.
This location is 3 kilometres on the opposite coast from where I spend winter at Maitai Bay.
This was the scene on Friday afternoon.





Helpers in wetsuits were hard-pressed to keep the animals upright in the surging sea.

A tractor was used to drag the dead whales above the highwater mark for later burial.

Project Jonah and local volunteers made it out to the remote spot where the whales stranded.

The live whales beached in the water were rocked from side to side.

Each surviving whale had a person allocated to talk to it!!!!

Those animals that had stranded highest up the beach were kept wet with buckets of water.

Two of the youngest helpers looked after the smallest whale. This baby calf was thought to be a couple of weeks old. The prognosis was not good, and it didn't see it through the night.

This young girl adopted a baby whale and stayed with it through Friday night.

The Whale Savers decided to transport the surviving whales from Karikari Beach across the narrow peninsula to Maitai Bay.
This was the Saturday morning scene on the calm east coast beach 'my' Maitai Bay.

One of the baby whales survived the night and its girl minder was with it for the refloating. Unfortunately, it was not one of the lucky 9 that made it out to sea.

During the 3 kilometre road journey from the west coast to the east coast of the peninsula the whales were kept wet.

Each whale was lifted off the transportation trailer and gently lowered into the water to refloat.

This is the heavy artillery used for the transportation and refloating.

Very close to kick-off. Thirteen whales had been transported and refloated. Teams of up to 8 people have held each surviving whale in the water for hours prior to releasing them all together. Four kept returning to shore and had to be shot.

A poignant reminder of the 45 whales that died here on Karikari Beach. This sheet covered one of the whales that the volunteers tried to keep alive by dousing it with sea-water. The sheet has been swept by the wind and tide a kilometre away from the stranding.

The graveyard.

Blood stains the pristine white silica sand in the dunes where those that didn't make it now rest in peace.

So ends The Whales' Tale.

Final score - 58 stranded, 13 refloated, 9 made it back to the ocean.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #41

Hello, yet again, faithful reader.
This update has something of an eerie spiritual feel to it. I am revisiting places that began my inaugural journey three years ago.
Sealing of the northern-most road in the land has been completed at last and the drive to Cape Reinga is now a breeze.



My stopover point at the top of the island is the Department of Conservation camp at Tapotupotu Bay, a few kilometres from Cape Reinga.


At the northern end of the beach is the start of the Coastal Walkway which is a 2 hour 30 minute 4.5 km hike to the Cape.

Cape Reinga, 'Te Rerenga Wairua - The Leaping-place of Souls' is of great spiritual significance to Maori.

As a pakeha, I too am moved by the very strong spirit that shrouds the area.

This is a very special place.

Informative plaques which have been cleverly etched into sheets of steel unobtrusively provide a guide to the area.

Legend has it that departing spirits of the dead jump off on their journey to their spiritual home of Hawaiki.

The currents of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean clash here.

A little hard to believe that this visit was made in the middle of winter.

Everywhere else is a long way away.

Down the newly sealed road about 20kms and then about 10kms east on a gravel road is Te Hapua.

Te Hapua's greatest claim to fame is having the northern-most school in the country, also the northern-most Ratana church below.

Back to my favourite hibernation hangout and a chance to do a bit of exploring around the local hills.

This track is through bushy hillside and climbs to give great views of the Karikari Peninsula and beyond.

My special wintering-over place in the Far North, Maitai Bay, is the small bay directly behind me. The other beach in the left of the shot is Waikato Bay.

In the distant background is Houhora on the Aupouri Peninsula.

So ends another chapter.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.