06-11-2008 from Franz Josef to Haast.

Travel blog about our trip to New Zealand in October/November 2008
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Pieter
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06-11-2008 from Franz Josef to Haast.

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6 November 2008 - Haast, New-Zealand


Yes, it still is 5/11 and we’re only just back from diner, two delicious sirloin steaks with a pepper sauce, a fantastic crispy fresh salad and chips with mayo, jummie!! For now we are enjoying a drink while resting our tummies and then an early night (it’s 21:00 at the moment). But first something else, Pieter fell in love!!! But not with me… There is a cat at the campsite, they are just finished cuddling and now he wants to take the cat home with us :zucht2:.
The cat reminds him of Archimedes, the love of his life… and that’s what all the fuss is about :lach1:. It sure was a beauty, long haired and very important, not losing any hair. At the tearoom in Shantytown this morning was a blue short haired cat that came to visit Pieter and this one thought I was nice too 😊. Beautiful cats galore over here.
The ladies over here are “different”!! During diner we saw lots of really “different” ladies :lach1:. Oké, time to stop, hopefully we’re able to enjoy a wireless connection tomorrow (hope so but don’t thinks so)! (M)

6/11 Haast Township – A nice name for very little! But hey, it’s quit and dry. No wireless, but there is an internet kiosk, so we’ll be alright. We arrived very early in order to change the boiler, but that hadn’t arrived!
I don’t want to talk about it anymore, it only makes me grumpy. It’s our holiday: so we’re going to have fun!!!
Oké, luckily the weather was dry this morning, but very cold. It was close to freezing. But we managed to get started (I was up at 5:30 because of the pain in my back) and left the campsite at 8:45 to arrive 15 minutes later at the Franz Josef glacier. After gearing up we walked up to the glacier in order to get a good view and that’s what we managed to do. For a better view we would have to walk a lot further, so we didn’t :lach1:. So, back on the road again.
We arrived at Lake Matheson at 10:15, where on a good (early) morning you can see Mount Tasman and Mount Cook mirroring in the water. We found an image in our travel guide , but we were to late and the wind already rippled the water of the lake. Still we took some nice photos and walked for another half hour!!!
The clock showed 11:00 and we were getting hungry, but all the fancy bits and pieces at Fox wasn’t for us. The road heading south takes us in to a kind of no-man’s-land, which is very beautiful, but not a lot of places to eat. At 12:15 we came across a sign with a knife and fork and a little further we found the Salmon Farm, near the Paringa River. Here we parked the campervan at a real salmon farm, with salmons splashing in the basins. There was also a nice café to grab some food. We had the idea to get a pie and a sandwich or something along this line, but after reading the board we really got hungry. So we went for a full meal, Pieter can tell you about the salmon, but I can say that the ribeye steak was delicious and scrumptious! Compared to yesterday this was even better, it looks like the further south you go, the better the food gets.
There was a counter with the freshest of stuff for a salad, there were even boiled tatties in the skin, drenched in a kind of Bearnaise sauce. I’m salivating again thinking back at it! We’re good for the day, tonight just some kind of snack, we already got our drinks and the laundry is spinning (the towels still stink since the flooding).
After a wonderful trip and some very beautiful stops at the Tasman Sea, we’ve been back and forth a couple of times between Haast Junction and Haast Township, two distinctive different places :lach1: and after filling up on petrol, booze and another NJET from the garage man followed by an irritated phone call with United we now enjoy the sunshine.
Behind us more and more sunshine and in front of us, in the mountains, it’s raining again. Beautiful to look at, I’ll ask Pieter to take some photos, we only got some 1300 made :sad1: :lach1: :lach1:. Not to mention the films we made. I’ll leave it at this, the laundry has got to go in the dryer, I want to take a shower and for the rest of the day we’ll see what it brings. We’re in no Haast (hurry)!!! :lach1: (M)


As said, this morning was very cold, the electric heater could barely get the campervan warmed. After the roulette of making toilet we went on our way and we even covered lots of ground walking today. Weird, we aren’t this active normally :lach2:.
About the salmon, it’s no Scottish salmon, but this one was also very nice. Warm smoked salmon with black pepper is what’s being served here and I must say, it tastes really good. If ordering a piece of salmon this size in a restaurant back home, the cook will go bananas. From the one portion I’ve got they’ll take three portions in the Netherlands. The salad was also delicious, it’s been a long time ago I had lettuce this fresh and crisp. With veggies like this even I would eat more of them :lach2:.
The view out over the Tasman Sea is magnificent, as you can see on the photos and what a mesmerising sound, the surf breaking on the beach. Very relaxing.
We’re not going to say much about the heater, they’ll get one more chance tomorrow morning and if not, we’ll figure it out by ourselves. We don’t believe in fairy tales anymore and we’re keeping it warm as is. We will certainly not get this to ruin our holiday.
Meanwhile another 4 campervan have arrived plus some guests for the motel, making it save to say that the number of people in Haast has doubled :lach2:. Seriously, there is no more to it, but there is a supermarket and a bar/restaurant. For our drinks we had to get back to Haast Junction :lach2:. It’s nice and quite here and the sun is shining, warming up the camper, where is the air conditioner when you need one :knip2: :lach2: :lach2:.
Luckily the nest is back in good order again, the eggs back where they belong and the birdy back on the nest :knip2:, it’s becoming a daily routine :lach2: :lach2: :lach2:. It’s no wonder with all this bouncing on the roads, a Dutch road builder named KWS could do very good over here :knip2: (P)
Don't put your mouth into motion, before your brain is in gear.
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