THE THREE ALPHA TRAVEL

Takaka is a very beautiful hippie (mostly) village on the Golden Bay area of NZ. We stay at Barefoot Backpackers run by a Scottish lady and her partner; really good people. The next day we say goodbye to Stefania and drive with Nils back to Westport. Tinka is there waiting for us and we all decide to drive to Greymouth. I did not see much of the Golden Bay but I have the feeling it is very nice. Even nicer than the Gold Coast in Australia maybe… Especially Takaka strikes me as a village similar to Byron Bay but less touristic and spoiled. If I ever go back to New Zealand again I promise to start my trip from Takaka! In Westport we have our last dinner together. Steaks and wine!

Being here works perfect for me as I can now take the Tranzalpine train to Christchurch. The route is thoughtfully called one of “the greatest train rides of the world”. It takes me about five hours (with a bit of a delay) and passes from Arthur’s Pass, a magnificent section of the Southern Alps. Once in Christchurch I have three days to relax and basically hang out until I go back to Oz. Consumption habits kick in and I buy a second hand Lonely Planet book on “Southeast Asia On A Shoestring”. It makes me start thinking about the rest of my destinations. Yummy!!!

See you back in Australia then, ciao!

Ready for my second Great Walk and after a very rainy day in Karamea we consult the DOC office (Department Of Conservation) before we start. They say it is all good to go! Stefania is not equipped at all for the walk but it should be OK. The problem here is that the track is not circular like the Kepler but one way, so we send the things we do not want to carry by post to the next city; Takaka.

After doing the Kepler, this one seems easy enough even if it is longer (80 kms) and also a four day track. The first day is the most spectacular one as we follow the Tasman beach and the weather is brilliant for it. On the third day in the hut, Nils appears. He has decided to do the track too but in one day less! I am happy to see him and we all complete the track together. He has left his car on the end of the track and he’ll now take it to go back to Westport to pick up Tinka (that has moved from Karamea in the meanwhile). I know… complicated! In any case we’ll meet again in Takaka.

The Heaphy river from the Heaphy Track