Around The World In 80 Waves

After a night spent in a car park right on the waterfront in Wellington I woke up with something of a sore head and found a note saying I owed the council $40 attached to my windscreen.

Apparently paying for parking does not allow sleeping in your vehicle, which is considered camping. The charge for parking was $10 and the charge for camping is $50. Had I parked the car and slept on the floor adjacent to the van it would only be $10, all of which is a bit ludicrous but par for the course with my racking up big bills of late.

The guy at the car park is only doing his job and is good enough to give me a discounted rate when I try to sort it out, but I need to head north towards Hastings so don’t stick around long.

My drive takes me up over the mountains and more stunning scenery, but as you can see it is a bit of a grey and cold day and it is for this reason that I stop and offer a lift to a hitch hiker. (Having walked 20 km in Mexico with nobody stopping I couldn’t do the same to somebody else.)

The stereotypical image of mauris would be something along the lines of this picture, but Matiu who I gave a ride too was far more interesting than that. He was conveniently also on his way to Hastings having just sold his car near Wellington, but was soon telling me all about his work trying to motivate young mauri kids through music.

We played some of the recordings he had put together with the youngsters and I have to say I was a big fan of what he called contemporary mauri music. I had hoped to be able to share some of it with you but sadly he hasn’t got back to me, so you will have to imagine yourselves elements of rap, R&B, soul all based around mauri culture and in the native language.

Matiu is a really colourful character who I discovered  has not always had the best of luck, so I hope his recent good fortune bodes well for him.

Having spent so much time on my own he made fascinating company as we drove past the wonderfully named Cape Kidnappers. (Another thing attributed to Captain Cook after mauris tried to ‘free’ his Tahitian cabin boy who they thought was being held hostage.) I was getting all the traditional perspectives on landforms, heritage, etc. rather than the more PC guidebook version.

It wasn’t long before we had arrived in Hawkes Bay, which is famous for its wines and I was surprised to see so many sheep wandering around in between the lines of vines. We bid each other bon voyage upon arrival in Hastings and I go looking for an old friend.

I stump up the cash for another ferry crossing back to North Island. Marlborough sound really is pretty but it isn’t anywhere close enough to justifying why it is $300 to take a campervan across.

My credit card takes the hit and I try to forget about it as soon as possible.

I arrive in Wellington and find a campervan park right on the waterfront where I stop for the night. I get settled in and then head straight out into the city to see on of the lions tour matches.

It is so long ago now that I can’t even remember who they were playing, but given I missed much of the game due to getting my time differences wrong that is not surprising. I caught the last five minutes of what was a rout and there is nothing much to report on the game itself.

I did however make some new friends in the bar which had plenty of ex-pats in it enjoying a night out. I got adopted by a table of computer animators who were all originally from the UK but now based here and working for Peter Jackson and the other movie companies based in the area on post production work.

It is more than a bit parky at the moment and we a freezing as we go on a bit of a pub crawl but it is a fun night for me despite missing most of the game.

New Zealand reminds me so much of Wales. Like at home the people are very friendly and I seem to be greeted with Good Mornings and Hellos everywhere I go.

The geography is also so similar to that of North Wales. The fauna and flora may be different but the colours and textures of the geography are identical.

Half the country is devoid of people, but wherever you do stop you will always see rugby posts rather than football pitches at the sports grounds in all the little towns.

All of which means that it is all the more baffling that Wales cannot seem to beat the All Blacks. There are just another 15 blokes after all. Wales have a good team at the moment and their scalp will inevitably come, but I don’t think we are playing them this autumn, which I will put down to the New Zealand boys running scared!

When I returned my surfboard to Kaikoura I asked about a waterfall that I had been told about over on the other other side of the island.

The surf shop staff confirmed that it exists, and that I should drive back along the coast road past the Mangamaunu break I had surfed in the morning, carrying on for a few kilometres more and then look out for a lay-by on the left just after a big bend in the road.

Again their directions were perfect but if you knew nothing about the place it would be so easy to miss or just ignore this little sign at the side of the road or the little lay-by where you can park up.

There are a couple of cars there but nothing to attract your attention. I get out of the van and follow the sign which directs you into the woods.

You then follow this innocuous little path up the hill and through the woods for a few hundred metres.

Nothing really exciting so far I know, but you keep pushing on over a couple wooden bridges that cross the Ohau Stream and continue up the path. 

Eventually you will come to this rather pretty waterfall. Before you go further click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAd6aO9O61Y

The temptation to read further must be great and I realise that at this point you are probably thinking what is so special about the waterfall? You know that I’ve seen Iguazu Falls in the middle of a rainforest.

However trust me when I say you should watch the video before reading on to see why it is so special. You will get the same impression I did when I walked around the last corner.

The waterfall’s plunge pool and all the surrounding area is littered with baby fur seals. They are everywhere and from what I gather  their parents have been told them to flop and slide all the way up the kilometre long stream from the sea shore to go and play in the waterfall area, which seems to be some sort of seal creche.

I cant tell you how much I wanted to run back down the hill in order to grab my wetsuit and dive into the middle of them in the pool. They are really inquisitive and come right up to you, and I’m dying to play with them, but don’t want to frighten them off.

There are too many threats to the young in the ocean from orcas and other predators so the young are sent inland where they are safe. However there are no duty adults in the stream or waterfall keeping an eye on things. There are just the pups.

They are in the water, you can see them climbing the freshwater stream, on the rock and are even in the trees! You are almost tripping over them. So cute!!!!! I stayed here for ages just watching them play. A magical place.

After waking up I start the day with a drive from the caravan park into town to see if I can lay my hands on a board.

The friendly people at Kaikoura Surf give me a warm welcome and, as with all surfers I meet, are very interested in my adventures. 

I have a great conversation with them, hire this lovely 9’2″ longboard that will suit the cruisey surf  I’m feeling like having on the water today, and then asked them for directions because I have heard about a fantastic break north of town that will be perfect for that.

The girls in the shop confirmed what I had read and tell me how to find the break easily. “Drive north 5 or 6 kilometres and once you are alongside the railway line pull into the first lay-by you see.”

I head north and sure enough, right on cue the railway line appears and the lay-by too. Straight forward directions which are effective have been in short supply on this trip!

What I hadn’t quite expected was the perfect conditions I found upon arrival. It is a classic right hand point break where the wave wraps around the headland and just keep on peeling for hundreds of metres over the rocks on the shoreline.

I was barely stood looking at the break for ten seconds before I was running back to the van, jumping into my wetsuit, running across the railway line and then launching myself out across the rocks into the break.

I caught loads of rides on the bigger surf board I am using today, enjoying walking the board and getting nose rides. The rides are so long it is quicker and far less tiring to get out and then walk back along the shore than it is to paddle. What a wave!

I have been missing my own longboard at times but this really made up for it. We just don’t get waves like this in the UK.

The scenery you are surfing towards is pretty spectacular too. What a fantastic break. This wave alone almost made the extortionate ferry crossing from North Island worthwhile.

After leaving Christchurch I drove north until I got to the small town of Kaikoura, which is on the east coast of the south island of New Zealand.

The town actually developed as a whaling port, but now actually supports itself largely by taking tourists to view the whales that regularly come close to the shore, instead of harpooning them as they used to!

The unique bathymetry off the coast at Kaikoura results in the sea bed falling from sixty metres in depth to more than a thousand when it drops into the Kaikoura canyon.

This results in a environment rich in nutrients and huge amount of marine life interacting at the undersea wall, and of course larger animals then coming there in search of an easy meal.

Giant Sperm Whales, Sperm Whales, Humpback Whales, Blue Whales, Minke Whale, Pygmy Sperm Whales, Southern Right Whale, Beaked Whales, several varieties of dolphins and not forgetting Orcas or Killer Whales (i.e. The ones with the biggest teeth!) are all knocking about under the water here. There are probably angry fish too, but I will choose to ignore them whilst here because any of the others would most likely scare them off. I will quite happily pass on seeing any of them whilst on my surfboard though.

My whale watching experience in Mexico was so special I can’t imagine anything on offer here being as good or allowing me to get as close to the animals for health and safety reasons, so I think I will pass on the mammals this time and focus on my own fun in the water.

The Victoria Cross is the highest award for bravery that can be awarded to members of the British Military. The medal which is inscribed with the words ‘For Valour’ is awarded for exceptional acts of courage or self sacrifice, and is often awarded posthumously because the individuals give up their lives in the course of their duty.

They are very rarely awarded and it is quite unusual for there to be more than a handful of living recipients alive on the planet. I recently read a book Called ‘Victoria Cross Heroes’ which detailed the lives of the individuals concerned and the reasons for their medals being awarded. It was inspiring stuff and I would certainly recommend it to anybody.

It was in this book that I first became aware of Charles Hazlitt Upham, who was a resident of Christchurch, who was actually awarded to the Victoria Cross twice and is the only combat serviceman to have been done so.

Many servicemen and women serve gallantly without being recognised so I wont labour the point, but thought I would share his two citations with you (as posted in the London Gazette) because he was such a top bloke:

First VC

In March 1941, Upham’s battalion left for Greece and then withdrew to Crete, and it was here that he was wounded in the action, from 22 to 30 May 1941, that gained him his first VC. When informed of the award, his first response was: “It’s meant for the men.”

War Office, 14th October, 1941.

Second Lieutenant Charles Hazlitt Upham (8077), New Zealand Military Forces.

During the operations in Crete this officer performed a series of remarkable exploits, showing outstanding leadership, tactical skill and utter indifference to danger.

He commanded a forward platoon in the attack on Maleme on 22nd May and fought his way forward for over 3,000 yards unsupported by any other arms and against a defence strongly organised in depth. During this operation his platoon destroyed numerous enemy posts but on three occasions sections were temporarily held up.

In the first case, under a heavy fire from a machine gun nest he advanced to close quarters with pistol and grenades, so demoralizing the occupants that his section was able to “mop up” with ease. Another of his sections was then held up by two machine guns in a house. He went in and placed a grenade through a window, destroying the crew of one machine gun and several others, the other machine gun being silenced by the fire of his sections. In the third case he crawled to within 15 yards of an machine gun post and killed the gunners with a grenade. When his Company withdrew from Maleme he helped to carry a wounded man out under fire, and together with another officer rallied more men together to carry other wounded men out.

He was then sent to bring in a company which had become isolated. With a Corporal he went through enemy territory over 600 yards, killing two Germans on the way, found the company, and brought it back to the Battalion’s new position. But for this action it would have been completely cut off.

During the following two days his platoon occupied an exposed position on forward slopes and was continuously under fire. Second Lieutenant Upham was blown over by one mortar shell, and painfully wounded by a piece of shrapnel behind the left shoulder by another. He disregarded this wound and remained on duty. He also received a bullet in the foot which he later removed in Egypt.

At Galatas on 25th May his platoon was heavily engaged and came under severe mortar and machine-gun fire. While his platoon stopped under cover of a ridge Second-Lieutenant Upham went forward, observed the enemy and brought the platoon forward when the Germans advanced. They killed over 40 with fire and grenades and forced the remainder to fall back.

When his platoon was ordered to retire he sent it back under the platoon Sergeant and he went back to warn other troops that they were being cut off. When he came out himself he was fired on by two Germans. He fell and shammed dead, then crawled into a position and having the use of only one arm rested his rifle in the fork of a tree and as the Germans came forward he killed them both. The second to fall actually hit the muzzle of the rifle as he fell.

On 30th May at Sphakia his platoon was ordered to deal with a party of the enemy which had advanced down a ravine to near Force Headquarters. Though in an exhausted condition he climbed the steep hill to the west of the ravine, placed his men in positions on the slope overlooking the ravine and himself went to the top with a Bren Gun and two riflemen. By clever tactics he induced the enemy party to expose itself and then at a range of 500 yards shot 22 and caused the remainder to disperse in panic.

During the whole of the operations he suffered from dysentery and was able to eat very little, in addition to being wounded and bruised. 

He showed superb coolness, great skill and dash and complete disregard of danger. His conduct and leadership inspired his whole platoon to fight magnificently throughout, and in fact was an inspiration to the Battalion.

Bar to VC

Upham was evacuated to Egypt, now promoted to captain. He received a Bar to his VC for his actions on 14–15 July 1942, during the First Battle of El Alamein.

War Office, 26th September, 1945.

Captain Charles Hazlitt UPHAM, V.C. (8077), New Zealand Military Forces.

Captain C. H. Upham, V.C., was commanding a Company of New Zealand troops in the Western Desert during the operations which culminated in the attack on El Ruweisat Ridge on the night of 14th-15th July, 1942.

In spite of being twice wounded, once when crossing open ground swept by enemy fire to inspect his forward sections guarding our mine-fields and again when he completely destroyed an entire truck load of German soldiers with hand grenades, Captain Upham insisted on remaining with his men to take part in the final assault.

During the opening stages of the attack on the ridge Captain Upham’s Company formed part of the reserve battalion, but, when communications with the forward troops broke down and he was instructed to send up an officer to report on the progress of the attack, he went out himself armed with a Spandau gun and, after several sharp encounters with enemy machine gun posts, succeeded in bringing back the required information.

Just before dawn the reserve battalion was ordered forward, but, when it had almost reached its objective, very heavy fire was encountered from a strongly defended enemy locality, consisting of four machine gun posts and a number of tanks.

Captain Upham, without hesitation, at once led his Company in a determined attack on the two nearest strongpoints on the left flank of the sector. His voice could be heard above the din of battle cheering on his men and, in spite of the fierce resistance of the enemy and the heavy casualties on both sides, the objective was captured.

Captain Upham, during the engagement, himself destroyed a German tank and several guns and vehicles with grenades and although he was shot through the elbow by a machine gun bullet and had his arm broken, he went on again to a forward position and brought back some of his men who had become isolated. He continued to dominate the situation until his men had beaten off a violent enemy counter-attack and consolidated the vital position which they had won under his inspiring leadership.

Exhausted by pain from his wound and weak from loss of blood Captain Upham was then removed to the Regimental Aid Post but immediately his wound had been dressed he returned to his men, remaining with them all day long under heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire, until he was again severely wounded and being now unable to move fell into the hands of the enemy when, his gallant Company having been reduced to only six survivors, his position was finally overrun by superior enemy forces, in spite of the outstanding gallantry and magnificent leadership shown by Captain Upham.

His story doesn’t end there however, having been taken prisoner of war (POW), he was sent to an Italian hospital to recuperate but attempted to escape numerous times before being branded “dangerous” by the Germans.

One attempt to escape occurred when a group of POWs were being transported in open trucks through Italy. Upham jumped from the truck at a bend and managed to get 400 yards (370 m) away before being recaptured. He had broken an ankle in jumping from the moving truck.

Another attempt occurred when he was being moved between prison camps on a civilian train while guarded by two Germans. Upham was only allowed to visit the toilet when the train was travelling at high speed, to prevent him from jumping through a window. Nevertheless, Upham prised open the toilet window and jumped onto the tracks, knocking himself unconscious.

On a third occasion, he tried to escape a camp by climbing its fences in broad daylight. He became entangled in barbed wire when he fell down between the two fences. When a prison guard pointed a pistol at his head and threatened to shoot, Upham calmly ignored him and lit a cigarette. This scene was photographed by the Germans as “evidence” and later reprinted in his biography (Mark of the Lion, by Kenneth Sandford).

After this incident, Upham was considered extremely dangerous and was placed in solitary confinement. He was only allowed to exercise alone, while accompanied by two armed guards and while covered by a machine gun in a tower. Despite these precautions, Upham bolted from his little courtyard, straight through the German barracks and out through the front gate of the camp. The guard in the machine gun-tower later told other prisoners that he refrained from shooting Upham out of sheer respect, and as he could see German soldiers coming up the road who he expected to capture Upham. He was soon recaptured and sent to the infamous Oflag IV-C (Colditz) on 14 October 1944.

Investiture

King George VI had invested Upham with his first Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 11 May 1945. When the recommendation was made for a second VC, the King remarked to Major-General Howard Kippenberger that a bar to the cross would be “very unusual indeed” and enquired firmly, “Does he deserve it?” Kippenberger replied, “In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham won the VC several times over.”

Upham was also Mentioned in Despatches on 14 November 1946.

Post war

After the war Upham returned to New Zealand, and the community raised £10,000 to buy him a farm. However, he declined and the money went into the C. H. Upham Scholarship for children of ex-servicemen to study at Lincoln College or the University of Canterbury. Instead he obtained a war rehabilitation loan and bought a farm on Conway Flat, Hundalee, North Canterbury. It is said that for the remainder of his life, Upham would allow no German car on to his property.

Top Bloke. It is a pleasure to have even been in his home town.

I have reached Christchurch on the East coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As I do so it occurs to me that it will be the furthest point away from home that I will be on my travels 

In 2011 the city was absolutely devastated by a huge earthquake and a number of large after shocks that followed. Many lives were lost and large parts of the city were ruined by the quake and the scale of its impact is still there for all to see.

Many significant buildings both old and new were left unusable. This included the city’s rugby stadium which was going to be used in the rugby world cup held in New Zealand later in the year.

Driving around the city I can see there is still loads of repair work to do. Plenty of huge buildings are still shored up with scaffolding and a huge section of the city itself is fenced off as a construction site.

I didn’t take my van for a spin along this particular stretch of road but saw several places like it. It is such a shame because the city clearly had a lot of character.

In an effort to retain that charm the most wonderful story I have heard of in relation to the earthquake was that of the ‘Farmy Army’. In the aftermath of the quake all the farmers from the surrounding hills filled up their pick ups with food and drink, chucked a spade and some tools in the back with them and descended on mass to the city to help out wherever they could.

Every now and then one is quite proud of the human race.

Having travelled the length of Arthur’s Pass there was still plenty of the Southern Alps left  to cross.

Pushing on I was delighted to stumble across Lake Pearson, which is as good a title for any lake that I can think of. I had to stop to enjoy the view and see what wildlife I could spot. 

The lake itself is hourglass shaped and in all honesty if somebody were to name a lake after me (unlikely) I would want it to be one somewhere as beautiful as this.

There wasn’t a breath of wind on the day I was there and the view was amazing.

I couldn’t resist stopping once more at the top of the next hill to look back at it.

You have to say it is in quite a pretty spot.

Well done to the Pearson concerned, for whatever your achievements were to merit such an honour.

I’m not going any further south on this trip so I head eastwards towards Christchurch, which entails crossing the Southern Alps. The van and I are climbing steep hills almost as soon as we leave the coast.

The route through the mountains I am taking is known as Arthur’s Pass and the scenery is simply epic. 

Using this road you can access many of New Zealand’s ski ranges.

Stopping for my first ever ski in the southern hemisphere would be very tempting but time is against me and I need to push on.

It seems that around every turn in the road the mountains are even more majestic that the last ones. 

It had to take a picture whilst travelling the length of this particular valley. After all I am in New Zealand, which is known as the land of the long white cloud to the local Maoris, and this cloud must have been five miles long.

It was hard driving and only a few days previously the entire area had been covered in snow. The campervan hire company had even equipped me with snow chains to traverse this road, but I was grateful not to need them.

The route across the island takes several hours but I loved it and once more am reminded of the rugged beauty of back home in North Wales.

The mountains here are are very similar to those in Snowdonia back at home, and were used as the location for Mordor in the recent Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy.