Turned around, and other oepsie’s.

Yeah it happened, I had a little over 2 hours drive to the next place, and it was the most straight forward trip ever. Go to road, turn left, drive for about 150 kilometers, turn left you are there. Really that was it. Just follow the road. For a very long time.

I know to Europeans 150 kilometers doesn’t sound to long, but forget going 130, or even 50 in the hills. Yeah those Kiwi’s are funny like this.  (and yes they do call themselves Kiwi’s). They claim to have hills, nope it are not hills it are mountains. The roads are more then 15 % steep, going up or down. And some corners are 25 kilometers an hour and even at that speed it is scary as hell.

But on this very simple turn left, drive and turn left trip I managed to get turned around. The reason is simple, there are a lot of pretty places on this trip that are worth of a look and it was a short drive so plenty of time to stop at all pretty places.

I went to a place called the blue pools and those pools where blue alright, then to a waterfall  called fantail after a little bird. Didn’t see the bird but the waterfall was beautiful. And next waterfall. And the next and that is where it happened. More then 90 kilometers in the trip so well over half way I got turned around and started driving back. Not realizing it until I was 60 kilometer back and saw that same fantail waterfall sign and thinking “didn’t I see that waterfall on the other side of the mountain?” well yes I had. So it the 2 hours trip, that with stops was about 4 hours suddenly became 6 hours because I am an idiot.

Ah Well it was a pretty drive, not to busy and once I realized what I had done the solution was easy. Namely turn around and drive back. What I did. Then went for a late lunch. And two hours later I was in Frans Joseph glazier. That is the name of the town. It isn’t really an ice sheet, that is 20 to 30 minutes’ drive up the mountain.

Didn’t go to the glazier, why not. Well I had seen one with the helicopter and I don’t like snow and ice, that is why I am here during the European winter. It is summer here.

So next day I went to the hot springs and spa. Got a total body massage and spend about an hour soaking in the hot springs.

Then I wanted to change back into my clothes only to notice that I had done another oepsie. I had changed in the male dressing room before the massage. It was empty and I don’t read or speak Maori. So how am I to know that wahini ( or something like that) is female.

Luckily I found a friendly male to get my bag out of the male dressing room and into the hot pool area. So I could go to the female dressing rooms.

Once out of the hot pools on the other side of the road somebody was selling poffertjes. Yes I kid you not poffertjes in New Zealand. ( this is an insiders Dutch joke sorry). Only the poffertjes plate didn’t work due to lack of electricity. So had some Mexican instead.

After that to the wild life sanctuary, or so it was advertised. They had real life Kiwi, as in the birds not the New Zealanders themselves.

Had to pay 12 dollar for it. And it was a joke. Yes there where to Kiwi’s in the dark. Hardly visible, and some very ancient lizard like creatures that have been around longer than the dinosaurs. That was okay and wild life like. But the rest was a plastic fake glazier that was very plastic and fake. Some old newspaper clippings that had been blown up. A fake fossil dig and a very big shop where you can buy the same touristy junk as everywhere else but at double the price. Okay been there done that.

That night there was a storm so lots of rain, but it was the west coast so there is supposed to be a lot of rain.

Next day off to the next stop.

To be completely honest I could have done without these two stops. The next one was a house outside of any kind of town. So if I wanted to eat or do anything I had to drive. Not my favorite thing  do. Closest town was Greymouth and the place was about as interesting as the name sounds. So not at all.

And the biggest if not only touristy things to do where some rock formations about 30 minutes’ drive up the coast or a very very very touristy shanty town about 20 minutes inland. That was a very fake gold miners town from begin 1900. I did both or else I would have died of boredom.