The next day, we bade farewell to our Backpacker Lodge, to Monique, and to our free soup, and headed north up the West Coast. Our aim was to head to Abel Tasman (at the tip top of the South Island) and relax for a few days. After a few hours of driving, we stopped for a rest in a (very) small place called Ross. It was once we had gotten out that Kristen, one member of our roving party, remembered something. “Wait! Steve lives here! We need to find a jade shop!” Turns out that a friend of hers had come here a year before and bought jade from the only jade craftsman in the town. We quickly found him by the massive chained goat outside his shop (I guess the ‘Jade’ sign in front of the shop might have helped as well). He told us everything there was to know about jade- how to tell if it’s fake, how to decide what is a good purchase and what is overpriced, and (of course) what the symbols they are carved into mean. Jade (and bone) pendants are worn quite commonly here in New Zealand- there are several shapes meaning several different things (I won’t go into detail here). When we were at polyfest in Auckland, all of the Maori Kapa Haka groups had pendants, as do all of my friends from New Zealand. I inquired about them, and the significance of jade (AKA greenstone). Apparently, you are not supposed to get a pendant for yourself- they must be given to you. Often, they are blessed (though it doesn’t have to be by a Maori person). It is something that is worn with pride- and I stood with rapt attention as all of this was being explained to me. We spent a few minutes with Steve from Ross, then went on our way. We quickly discovered that the windy mountain roads are too long to allow the trip in one day, however, and after 4 or 5 hours of driving, we decided to stop at a place called Punakaiki.
Punakaiki is right on the shore- and it makes Franz Joseph look like New York City. It has no gas station, no grocery store, no nothing. It has 2 cafes, and some lodges, and that is it in terms of human amenities. What it lacks in these, however, it more than makes up for in natural beauty. Punakaiki is located near a national park, though that is no surprise. National parks cover so much of the south island that it is a wonder that any place can be more than an hour’s drive away from one.
We got into our lodge and set about exploring. The area looked like southeast Asia, according to a traveling friend of ours who had been there. Again, rainforest coated mountains went straight into the sea. We walked along the beach, and found rocks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We decided within 5 minutes that we should all quit school and gather pretty stones to sell to tourists- you couldn’t walk 3 steps without finding a stone that caught your eye. Along the beach were rock formations jutting out of the water- they looked almost like ships about to set sail, their tops cloaked in greenery. I walked to the end of the beach to one of these pillars, and marveled at it- beaches back home don’t have this. Hell, it’s flat for hundreds of miles from the coast where I live; this sight was incredible, unreal, and unbelievable.
To complete the picture, I walked past a ridge falling into the ocean, and came upon… heaven. Beyond this ridge was a private bay- no houses, people, no nothing. It was surrounded by limestone walls coated in trees and shrubs, and had a supreme view of the sunset. Unfortunately for me, it was only mine for a small while- within minutes the German guy in our group (his name is Jens) ran into the bay with a large stick, planted it in the sand, and claimed the land for himself. I was now standing on private property- the diminutive kingdom of Jensland.
I don’t think I have ever seen a place so beautiful as this (similar to when we drove through the mountains). The sun was perfectly tilted in the late afternoon sky- the area was peaceful, serene and secluded. And once again, there were no people. Back home, even ugly beaches are surrounded by beach homes, bars, surf shops and fast food joints. Here, there is nothing. There are abounding rivers, and beautiful seas; pristine coastlines and ecologies that make a biology major want to work here forever, and it is empty. I felt truly blessed.
We got back for dinner, and made a simple pasta meal (a step up from the free soup we had been living off the past two days). One thing that I love about these places is that at dinnertime, you meet people from all countries and walks of life. The kitchen becomes alive with strange aromas and languages both familiar and foreign. It really is the heart of the hostel. At dinner we met another Canadian (Andrew kept getting lucky) who told us all of the cool places to go on our second week of the trip. Turns out he had pretty darn good advice.
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