A Mini Road Trip to Cape Foulwind over Lewis Pass

In a lot of ways this road trip would be a little different than others. Including a, to us a wee bit challenging, quest: What do you do if neither tramping, climbing, nor longer walks, are an option - with one of us still recovering from injury?

Instead of tramping boots I packed a bikini.

Instead of interesting looking tramps/peaks we marked a hot pool spot in the middle of the mountains as one of the destinations.

Instead of not showering for a few days in a row, I will have literally soaked my entire body over and over again - sauna, ice cold water, hot pool and all.

Instead of simply looking forward to being in the mountains, this time I am almost desperate to leave city life behind for at least a wee bit.

Some of us seek comfort in a nice warm bed sheltered by four steady walls. While I can't deny that this is pretty awesome after weeks/months living in a tent or car, I can also say that there's a limit to it for me. The more time I spend in a city, the more I want to get away from it. Undeniably the last months on and off lockdowns sped up this desire to get away even more.

There's beauty in the simplicity of spending time in the outdoors and away from dense collections of buildings and people. Being humbled by the very basic needs all of us, without a doubt, have in common. Basic needs that, at the bottom line, all aspects of our more or less modern lives circle around. The closer I get to the rawness of nature the more I am reminded of the reason why I am, you, we, all, creatures are. Which is simply to, and just, be. No matter how much fear a news feed holds, no matter how much pressure someone puts on us, including ourselves, no matter how much we've had to go through in our individual lives.

With one of us still in the making of being able to do longer walks again, this time we opted for the light version of this valued time away from the city. Still camping, nature, mountains, woods, but never too far off the path (or road in this case).

Our stops during the trip were:

Maruia Hot Springs pt. 1 - Reefton - Carters Beach - Cape Foulwind Walkway -  Lyell - Maruia Falls - Maruia Hot Springs pt. 2

Below is a map with markers for a bit of visual context.

Following is an overview of our road trip stops with a few short notes.

Camping, different sorts of accommodation and specials are offered. Check out their page for more information.

In their welcome brochure it stated that they run completely off the national grid, electricity being provided by a hydro electric generator. The water that serves as a source for this generator coming from a mountain creek just above the resort. Things like this make my little eco heart smile.

There's no mobile connectivity. Access to wifi can be purchased via vouchers. Or you save yourself the effort and enjoy the bit of digital detox.

I haven't been to a sauna in years and entirely forgot how nourishing it can be. I mean, once I got over the initial moments of "Whaaaaaattt? another 13mins?? I'm already sweating like crazy!" Not to mention the friggen ice cold bath after each sauna round.

We spontaneously stopped here again for another night on the way back to CHCH.

Lyell and the Old Ghost Road

In Lyell, a wee spontaneous stop for us on the way back to Christchurch, we discovered some ideas for a future multi day hike. The former gold rush settlement now serves as a DOC campground. It can also serve as a starting point for The Old Ghost Road Trail, a track that can be done by foot as well as mountain bike.

For me this wee stop included an odd encounter with a mysterious wild goat on the way to check out the settlement's old cemetery. Odd because it was in the middle of the woods on somewhat steep terrain and without any obvious farmland around. My theory is the goat is the x-th generation of former domesticated goats left behind when the settlement was abandoned. I'd like to think that some of their descendants now roam the woods wild and free.

Mysterious, mysterious. Her (or him?) and I - after a few minutes of intense starring at each other, I think both of us equally amazed by the opposite's presence - came to a peaceful agreement:

I backed off a little, let her snack, then she gave me one last stare before disappearing into the woods to let me check out the cemetery.

This must've been the wildest animal encounter I've had in New Zealand so far. I mean, besides birds, birds, lots and lots of birds. I'm not gonna lie, her (massive!) horns looked quite intimidating  (Do female goats grow horns?)