New Zealand Diary, Day 7

Day 7: Top o' the Track

We would be spending the day around the Torrent Bay area, doing some more river kayaking and hiking. After another hearty breakfast, and packing our morning snacks, we were back out at the beach hauling our kayaks down to the water. The tide was just coming in, and as we started around the somewhat massive sandbar, staying close to the shore to avoid the main boating channel, we paddled across some shoals in the lagoon that were shallow enough for our paddles to touch bottom with a normal stroke. We got past the mouth of the river--barely more than a creek--and paddled on up. Just before we reached our destination was another shoal. This time the kayaks' draft was just too deep, and our guides Whitey and Sophie assisted most of the group by dragging the boats across the 5 m length of gravel bed.

Paddling our boats around the bend, we found a shallow beach area surrounded by trees, with a small track visible. We drove our bows up onto the beach, and Whitey tied all the kayaks together and to one of the trees, so they wouldn't float back down the river unoccupied. We started up the track, which followed a small creek and in places was very wet and muddy. Suddenly the track seemed to dead-end, and Whitey led us across the creek and a small pile of boulders to Cleopatra's Pool (which appears on Google Maps).

Cleopatra's Pool is actually a pair of pools near the bottom of the stream it's on, which flows into the creek we had just walked along. Between the upper and the lower pools, the water flows down a crack in the rocks across the face of the wall separating them, creating a natural water slide. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the adventurous ones who went down the slide, but one of our group took some video, including DW. If that video turned out, and I can get it emailed to me, I'll update this post to include it.

When we got back to the kayaks, we could see why Whitey tied them up: the rising tide had caused the beach to all but vanish. As we rounded the bend, it was easy to see that the shoal that we'd been dragged across earlier now had plenty of water to carry the boats. Since we were going downstream, we all took it easy and took in the scenery. As we crossed the lagoon again, we caught an occasional glimpse of the rays, coming up into the brackish water to feed on the mollusks that teemed there.

After a sumptuous lunch of leftover ham sandwiches, leftover cucumber salad, and little tortilla-bowls filled with a sort of custard made with the leftover mixed veggies (they were very good; I had two), we all got our day-packs and hiking boots ready to head up the Cascade Falls track. This is where Whitey had promised us a surprise at the end.

Crossing the creek

We started out by crossing Lagoon Street and walking along Manuka Street, past residences and rentals, and at the inland end of Manuka Street a Department of Conservation (DOC, the agency in charge of National Parks in NZ) campground. We then started up the hill. Whitey assured us that it would be steep for a while, then mellow out. We kept waiting for the mellow part. After a few sets of stairs--some made with boards and posts, some made from the rocks--and a couple of creek crossings, we came to the path that led to Cascade Falls. But that wasn't our destination. Whitey said ours was "just around the corner."

Solitude on the track

Oh, my, but that was a big corner! We climbed some more, and when we got to the top of that hill, Whitey explained a scheme whereby each of us could have about ten minutes of solitude on the track, just to admire the sights and sounds. He had to explain it three times, but eventually we all understood, and Team Extreme was off down the track, losing a member here and a member there until we were all all alone. I took advantage of the first couple of minutes to take a few photos and have some water, but then I just stood there looking, then listening with my eyes closed. It really was a grand experience.

From there it was up the next hill for a ways, until we came to the top of this track--there was a sign informing us that it was maintained no further. We had arrived at another set of pools separated by cascades.

These were larger even than Cleopatra's Pool, and probably about 300 m higher. We decided this was a good spot to have a snack, and for some of us, a swim.

After a few minutes, Whitey picked up a stone and banged it on the rock near the water a few times. It took a little while, but eventually his surprise for us appeared.

That's right, there were eels way up here at 400+ m above sea level! These, as you can see, are very accustomed to humans. They allowed us to stroke them in return for feeding them slices of roast beef. They even raised their heads out of the water to get it.

After feeding three eels what I estimate to be ¼-kilo of beef, we started back down the track. In fact, we were running a bit late, as one of the lodge staff who needed to help prepare supper had come with us. We spread out, and for a while I was again alone on the track, but with the knowledge that our guide was behind me, so as long as I stayed on the track I would not be lost.

I had no trouble making it back to the township, but when I got to the intersection of the two streets, I found that I had not paid attention to which driveway belonged to the lodge. Fortunately there aren't that many, and I only made one wrong guess.

After supper we sat in the great room talking, realizing that this was Team Extreme's last night together. Shortly after dark, Whitey came in and asked if anyone was interested in going to see a glow worm cave. For those who haven't heard of this, allow me to explain that there is at least one major tourist attraction on the east coast of the South Island that offers a view of these creatures. We were being offered a chance to see the phenomenon at no charge. Some of the group had already seen them, and opted to stay at the lodge. DW and I had not, so we joined the group of 8 including Whitey and Sophie.

Armed with flashlights, we walked northward up the beach, past the tree swing, and across a muddy flat that would be wet at high tide. There we found a small worn track that led up and over a hill and back down to a beach on the other side. This one was separated from ours by a pile of large and small boulders at the bottom of the hill, so that we could not simply walk around the beach even at low tide. Once on the beach, we turned and walked a few meters, and saw the opening to the cave we were after.

Whitey went in first, and shined his flashlight on the entrance so that the rest of us could find our way in without using our lights. The cave was just about large enough for the 8 of us, not quite tall enough to stand upright. Whitey cautioned us to stay low and not touch the top of the cave, because that's where the glow worms were. Once we were all in and seated as comfortably as we could be, Whitey turned off his light, and we were treated to a clear, starry sky on the roof of the cave. In fact, Whitey even facetiously pointed out (verbally, since we couldn't see him) a couple of constellations.

(If you read the Wikipedia article linked above, you'll understand why I was unable to get any photos of this scene with my cheap point-and-shoot digital camera.)

Whitey told us about the glow worms, how they were the larval stage of on insect that dangled silk snares to catch the prey that was attracted by their bluish glow. He also mentioned that there were in this cave some wetas, a type of cricket, which some people dislike. He turned on his light to show us a couple. They were brown, about 3-4 cm long, with longish legs, but they don't jump or fly.

Once we were done at the cave, we made our way back over the hill and down the beach. A few of us stopped at the lodge, while the rest of us went on to the lagoon side of the sandbar to see the phosphorescence I mentioned in Day 6's post. This is a somewhat more common phenomenon, but for those unfamiliar with it: There is a type of microorganism that lives in the sea water, that emits a bit of greenish light when excited or disturbed. This behavior can be elicited by tossing a bit of sand into the water, thus disturbing a relatively wide swath of the wee beasties. The higher the concentration of the little buggers, the brighter the light. It was only about medium on that night, but still quite an entertaining effect.

After a few minutes, we'd all decided it was time to retire for the night, so back to the lodge we went. The next day we would be paddling our way back to Kaiteriteri to catch the bus back to HQ. I think I was asleep before my head…