Woza Wanderer: April 2013

Fri-Sun 26-28.04.13. Luke had stopped work at Southern Pine Products, Hornby & started work at Douglas Furnishers, makers of office furniture, more to his liking, near Moorhouse Ave. Flush with bucks, Luke shouted Leah & I a weekend at Maruia Springs, Lewis Pass, about 200 kms from Christchurch.

26.04.13. St James Walkway car park, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine bog & tarn, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left & middle, Chorus Range & Libretto Range right

26.04.13. Alpine bog, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts behind

26.04.13. Alpine tarn & beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Chorus Range & Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Alpine bog, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left, Chorus Range middle, Libretto Range right

26.04.13. Alpine bog sedge & coral / lace / snow lichen, Cladia retipora, Lewis Pass top

We stopped at the top of Lewis Pass by St James Walkway car park, surrounded by Alpine ranges. We did a short walk by a tarn bog through mountain beech forest, with magnificent views of beech-forested & cloudy Libretto Range, Chorus Range & snowy Spenser Mnts. By the tarn, mountain beeches, Nothofagus solandri, were spectacular dominants with old man's beard lichens festooning branches.

26.04.13. Mountain beeches festooned with old mans beard lichen. Beech-forested Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Lichen on mountain beech branch, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine mushrooms, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Lycopodium fastigatum, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Snowberry, Gaultheria depressa with pink fruit & associated Alpine flora, Lewis Pass top

After Christchurch's quake hassles over the last couple of years, it was good to see Alpine flora & all its close associations again.

26.04.13. Alpine beech forest & waterfall, Libretto Range, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine bog & beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left & middle, Chorus Range right

26.04.13. Astelia & associated Alpine flora, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Mountain beech forest, Nothofagus solandri, festooned with old mans beard lichen, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Chorus Range & Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Alpine beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Libretto Range & waterfall behind

26.04.13. Alpine bog & beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left & middle. Chorus Range & Libretto Range right

26.04.13. Alpine beech forest, Lewis Pass top, Spenser Mnts left & middle, Chorus Range right

26.04.13. Alpine celmisias & associated lichens, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine Pentachondra pumila with red berries & associated flora, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine astelia & associated flora, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine astelia by bog walkway, Lewis Pass top. Beech-forested Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis, mountain beeches, Nothofagus solandri & Alpine beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis & associated Alpine flora, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Craspedia & associated Alpine flora, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine bog & mountain beeches, Nothofagus solandri, festooned with old mans beard lichen, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine bog & beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left, Chorus Range middle, Libretto Range right

26.04.13. Pixie cup lichen, Cladonia pyxidata, Alpine bog, Lewis Pass top

26.04.13. Alpine bog, tarn & beech forest, Lewis Pass top. Libretto Range behind

26.04.13. Alpine tarn, Lewis Pass top. Spenser Mnts left & middle, Chorus Range & Libretto Range right

In the car park there were 2 bronze plaques on rocks:

HISTORICAL PLACES TRUST - NATIONAL

LEWIS, MALING, STUART, TRAVERS AND
ROCHFORT EXPLORED THIS AREA.
FROM 1860 - CANNIBAL GORGE WAS AN
IMPORTANT MAORI EAST-WEST ROUTE

AMURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES
THE OFFICIAL OPENING
OF THE LEWIS PASS HIGHWAY
ON 30th OCTOBER 1937...

27.04.13. Maruia Springs bath houses left & massage rooms middle

27.04.13. Maruia Springs carpark & guest rooms

Maruia Springs in Lewis Pass beech forest was Japanese owned, so our weekend beside Maruia River was in a Japanese decorated room with cloudy mountain views. There were Japanese staff in Japanese attire; guest kimonos optional; 2 Japanese bath houses, separate male & female; 3 thermal rock pools; hot springs waterfall (utase-yu); foot bath; 3 private spas; Japanese massage rooms.

Although there were separate male & female bath houses, swim suits optional, as the female bath house was being renovated when we visited, everyone shared the male bath house, swim suits expected.

27.04.13. Maruia Springs footbath

27.04.13. Maruia Springs private spa rooms & Maruia River

27.04.13. Maruia Springs door to male bath house

27.04.13. Interior of Maruia Springs male bath house. Blurry pic was due to bath house steam

27.04.13. Thermal pools (onsen) & hot shower (utase yu) Maruia Springs

There was a Japanese restaurant with Japanese red, drum-shaped bridge (taiko bashi) idea swiped from Korea & China 15 centuries ago; a Japanese fireplace in the middle of a dining table (irori) with cast-iron kettle suspended on a pole above & white, digital disklavier playing background music. At one meal, to wash down our half baby chicken & salad, I ordered a Sapporo beer & Leah ordered a glass of Waipara Pinot Gris. Afterwards we both enjoyed a plum liqueur with ice.

27.04.13. Taiko bashi, barrel shaped bridge, entrance to restaurant, Maruia Springs

27.04.13. Irori fireplace table & kettle, Maruia Springs restaurant

27.04.13. Digital disklavier, Maruia Springs restaurant

27.04.13. Kimono, parasol & paper wall screen, Maruia Springs restaurant

27.04.13. Flowers & wall hanging, Maruia Springs restaurant

At reception there was tourist stuff for sale - Japanese door curtains, bath sandals, kimonos... The whole shebang was based on Japanese traditional hot springs (onsen), with Kiwi culture & food fusion of course.

Only hassle was Leah forgot to take off her silver necklace, so 40 degree, sulphur waters tarnished her necklace. Saturday morning it rained solid, so we had outdoor hot pools to ourselves, thankful the rain quelled sand flies. They had their revenge on Sunday morning.

27.04.13. Silver necklace tarnished by sulphur spring water, Maruia Springs

Sat night, helicopters flying beech forest valleys kept us late awake. Sun night, TV One News reported that a van had overturned on Lewis Pass, so helicopters transported injured to Christchurch Hospital.

Maruia Springs was back-dropped by mountainous beech forest both sides of Maruia River. Sun morn, we wandered a bit of Maruia River bank to see the black pipe which took water over the river from hot springs on one bank to resort pools on the other bank. We had a good view of Maruia Springs resort: guest rooms & restaurant above, massage rooms, bath houses, granite rock pools & private spa rooms below, back-dropped by mountainous beech forest.