A Bush Walk - A Random Wall and A Very Close Call!

From the photos I've seen, Marble Hill Campsite looked like a nice place to stay. For awhile now, I've wanted to visit but it's a DOC camp and no dogs are allowed. However, recently I was passing by and the dogs weren't with me, so I stopped to check it out.

Marble Hill Campsite is located 5km east of Springs Junction, on Lewis Pass Highway (SH7). It's a large area suitable for any length campervan, with a selection of hard, flat areas to park, and little secluded nooks for the smaller campers and tents.

Near the end of the campsite, on the left, is a shelter and it's here that the popular Lake Daniell track begins, it's about 8kms one way and can be done in a day. The shelter is also where the Sluice Box Walk begins. The sluice box is a deep, narrow gorge along the Maruia River.  

The track winds through a beautiful beech forest. Every now and then I noticed a splash of colour, which stood out amongst the many shades of green and brown. Nature really is breathtaking!

It wasn't long before I came to the Sluice Box Bridge. Usually, it's an easy 5 minute walk to the bridge, however I took a little longer because I kept stopping to take photos.

The colour of the water below was stunning.- another of nature's gems. 

As tempting as it was to continue walking, I had a long drive ahead. The rest of the walk would have to wait for another time.  

As I was nearing where I'd parked the car, I noticed a worn, grass track leading towards a low concrete, wall  - I went to investigate.

I'm pleased I did because I discovered this random concrete wall had been built for a purpose. The wall was built by scientists in 1964 and is 24 metres long and 1.4 metres high, with most of it underground. 

It turned out that the wall hadn't been randomly put there, it had been precisely placed to sit through the middle of the Alpine Fault. Scientists were monitoring movement in the Alpine Fault and their theory was if one side of the fault moved in relation to the other, it would be measured on the wall.

It's reassuring to note, since the wall has been there, it hasn't moved, and because there's been no movement in almost 60 years it indicates that the Alpine Fault doesn't make small movements. Instead like most active faults in New Zealand (and worldwide), it makes large movements!

And close to the wall, is a fenced area that Maruia School children have adopted as a restoration project for two vulnerable frost flat plant species.

Time was marching on, so I wandered back to the car, stopping to admire wildflowers amongst the grass.

Not far away were several campers nestled at the edge of the beech forest. It looked like a great spot!

I was pleased I'd spent a few hours exploring and can see why many people recommend it. 

Leaving the campsite, I stopped at the main road to give way. There were no vehicles on my left and on my right, I noticed a vehicle in the distance. So I pulled out. However, within seconds, I saw that the vehicle on my right was being over taken - the over-taking car must have been in a blind spot. I only had seconds to react, which strangely, at the time, felt longer. There was no option except to drive straight ahead, which fortunately happened to have a pull over area. I was literally seconds away from being hit and what surprises me to this day is how calm I felt in those split seconds.

However, afterwards, I didn't feel so calm. I kept replaying it over and over and questioned myself over an over. By the grace of God, I'd narrowly avoided being in an accident. It's been a wake up call. Check, check and check again!

Life could have changed so quickly.   

First Overnighter

I decided to have the first night away in our 'new' bus not too far from home. Bernie was working so it was just me and the dogs.

After looking at the NZMCA app and reading posts in various Face book groups, I chose to go to a DOC campsite near St Arnaud - Teetotal Camp. First, and most importantly it was dog-friendly,  with several walks right beside the camp. Secondly, we hadn't been away overnight in this particular bus, I thought if I ran into trouble, I was only an hour from home.

We (Oakly, Boo and I) arrived just after midday on a hot summer's day. Only one other camper was there so choosing a spot to park was easy. I decided on an area beside some trees for some shade for the dogs.

As I mentioned, one of the reasons I picked Teetotal Camp was due to reading some Facebook posts. One post had shown photos of dogs in a river and with that thought in mind Oakly, Boo and I set off for a walk. Usually I don't walk the dogs during the day in summer as I'm mindful of how hot it can get for them. However they were itching to get out to explore and I figured they could cool down once we got to the river.

After walking for more than half an hour there was still no sign of a river. I thought of turning back, the dogs were hot and seeking shade to rest. However, I thought if we turned back they'd have to walk another half hour or more and still wouldn't get to cool down in the river. But, how far away was this river?

After some toing and froing, I decided to keep going, hoping the river wouldn't be too much further. Oakly is 13 now and in the last 12 months has started slowing up. Nowadays he likes to stop every few metres to smell everything in sight, so it was a slow walk.. 

In the distance I heard some dogs barking and when they appeared, along with their owner, I asked how far ahead the river was. She told me there wasn't a river ahead. Fortunately she lived in the area and suggested rather than returning on the same track, we follow a less trodden path. She knew the area well and explained the shorter route. So off we went.

Oakly handled the return-walk surprisingly well ... it was Boo who struggled, so I had to carry her some of the way. I felt awful having them out walking in this heat.

It was great to eventually see the campsite! 

And, after a nice, big drink of water we lay down to rest.

The dogs signal when they're ready for dinner - I never need to check my watch. It's alwaysbetween 4 and 5pm. When they indicated they were hungry, they ate in the shade and not long after were napping again.

I had a rough idea how to turn the inverter on so I could turn Netspeed on, but when I tried it didn't work. Normally, this is when I'd see if Bernie knew how. However, he wasn't there so I had to figure it out myself. I know it's not rocket science but the set up in this bus was different than our previous set-up. However I'm pleased to say, I figured it out!  Then I celebrated a successful day with a movie and wine.

Later that evening I messaged my Facebook friend to ask where the river was that she'd posted while staying at Teetotal. I laughed when I read her reply. Turns out, when she stayed there they took a day trip to Nelson and stopped at the Motueka River to give their dogs a swim. When posting photos of their time at Teetotal she'd included the Motueka River photos. LOL.

Wow, we could have walked for hours and not found a river! Thank goodness we stumbled across that local lady walking her dogs!

Rarangi, You Little Beauty!

Not long ago, we met a fellow NZMCA member while in Westport who mentioned he was from Rarangi. He asked us if we knew where it was. We were embarrassed to admit that we didn’t and even more sheepish when we discovered it was near Blenheim! Less than two hours from home.

Rarangi is a small coastal settlement just north of Blenheim. Maori named Rarangi as the place where the sun rises.

There were lots of parks when we arrived at the DOC campground - we settled under some pine trees with an outlook of wild flowers. I couldn't get out of the bus quick enough when I saw masses of colourful flowers. And of course Bernie was just as quick to put the jug on! And while he happily did that, I took the dogs off to explore.

Close to the bus was a gravel path leading to the beach, with the sound of crashing waves nearby.

The photo below is looking back at the campground from the beach. There are toilets and cold showers. Dogs are allowed at Rarangi providing you get a permit from the local council. Gaining a permit can be done online or by phone. It's free and all that's required is information on your dog/s such as breed, colour, male/female, registration number and age. The camp has many areas of hard gravel suitable for parking and a large area for tents too.
 

There are two walking tracks nearby, both begin at the northern end of the beach. One leads to Whites Bay and the other is a short track to Monkey Bay. The track to Whites Bay takes about an hour and doesn't allow dogs. So I took the short ten minute walk up over some stone steps to the small, secluded beach known as 'Monkey Bay'.

The Great Wall of Rarangi.

Looking down into Monkey Bay.

Later in the afternoon, Bernie joined me on the beach. He had his binoculars and we looked out over Cooks Strait towards the North Island. I wish I had a zoom lens (maybe Santa will bring me one?!). We could see the wind turbines on the shore of the North Island. If you look closely at the two photos below, you'll be able to faintly see them.

The Rarangi beach environment hosts a number of very rare native insects that are only found in this area. One is a stone moth and the other is a mat daisy jumper. Also Katipo spiders can sometimes be found around the foreshore. I did my best to find them, uplifting logs and searching in amongst the foreshore fauna but I didn't see anything.

Once Bernie was ready for a look around I showed him the walk over to Monkey Bay. We climbed back up the steps (there really weren't very many) and stopped at the top to read the information boards and admire the view. 

Although I was keen for Bernie to see the little cove below we decided not to go any further when we spotted a wedding party below, having photos taken.

At the northern end of beach just beside the steps leading to Monkey Bay, is an ideal spot to watch waves breaking against the rocks.

Another highlight for me were the wild beach flowers. They were about thigh-high and came in a variety of yellows, reds, pinks and whites. I'm so pleased our visit coincided with their flowering.

Later in the evening we walked along the beach again and met a local guy who asked if we were going to see the glow worms that were in hidden caves near the walkway to Monkey Bay. We'd planned to wait until it was dark and then we were going to take our torch along to see them. But sadly, he told us someone had let off fireworks inside the cave, which killed the glow-worms. We never did go and check to see if any had survived.

At dusk, I decided  to walk a little of the track leading to Whites Bay. I knew I'd run out of light so I didn't go far - just far enough to get a photo over Rarangi (can you can see the Rarangi Golf Course on the right of the road?).

With the sunset came a golden glow, bringing an end to an enjoyable day of exploring.

The next morning was Armistice Day, the 11th day of the 11th month. It seemed fitting to take some photos of the sun rising on the anniversary of WW1 ending. The colours seemed symbolic - blood red and reminiscent.

Even the sea reflected the mood.

Not long afterwards we packed the bus and set off. 

Picton was only quarter of an hour away, so we headed there to have breakfast on the foreshore. It was still early morning - calm, warm and peaceful. The perfect spot to enjoy a coffee while watching the morning unfold.