Named after the first European to discover New Zealand in 1642. He was looking for the rumoured great southern continent, sailed right past Australia, hit Tasmania (in case you hadn’t guessed!) and then the top part of South Island thinking it was the mainland.
After a drive across the national park, we hit the coast and walked a very small part of the coastal path, with a view in both directions from the headland.
It certainly gave us a taste of the park. It’s a very pretty area, so unspoilt it really needs some time hiking to appreciate.
Suprisingly hot weather, considering the forecast and amount of rain last night.
Today, we were due to head down the Buller Gorge, however plans change, and back south to Picton we head, over Takaka Hill with stunning views, through Nelson and a coffee stop that turned into lunch with a view of Able Tasman.
We took the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive back to Picton. Beautiful scenery, though the water has totally browned thanks to last night’s rain.
Little had we realised when we stayed in Picton that just beyond the ferry terminal that there was a huge logging port!
Finally, to Picton with fish and chips on the front.
Back to Oxleys for a little Paddy’s music!
Yes, Mark, it is too early to put the home hues to green. It is 8 in the morning!
Back down through Blenheim to pick up the fast road northwest rather than the slower scenic drive, though this route is mighty scenic!
You can see the harvesting season is imminent, though no machinery spotted on the vines yet.
North through Havelock. A much smaller town than expected. Pretty much just a marina full of mussels and a pier…..
The road then heads east to Pelorus Bridge with a worthwhile coffee stop. A fab coffee and so was the pie!
A very scenic pine forest drive with many lorries full of logs, through Nelson, and stumbled on a cute little public rose garden.
Further north a few more vineyards, and now we also have apple orchards and hops, then up and over Tākaka Hill with amazing views over Nelson and then West.
Tākaka, a small town west of Abel Tasman National Park in the huge sweeping bay of Golden Bay.
Te Waikoropupū Springs a little out of town are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand, the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and contain some of the clearest water ever measured.
Of course, a silver fern.
A lovely room for a motel, with a bath under the stars!
Well, the clouds and the rain too, but still really lovely.
A lovely meal first in Dada’s in town. No, we didn’t choose it because of the name! The walking route in to town was along the old tramway.
The motel even had their own little gloworm cave and supply of avocado!
The Queen Charlotte Track is a popular tramping and cycle track setup in the early 80s following the route Captain Cook would take from Ships Cove.
You can walk the whole track over four days. On our time budget, we went for a one day stretch, which involved a boat to the start point of Furneaux Lodge, and back from the end point of Punga Cove (yes Mark, it sounds like Byker Grove!)
James Cook named the Queen Charlotte Sound for the wife of British ruler George III, in 1770.
A sound is a valley that is then flooded for some reason. In this case, it was the sea level rising at the end of the ice age. Interestingly, Milford and Doubtful are actually fjords, not sounds.
First, a stop at Motuara island to pick up some people. The island was the first island to be rewilded.
When the Europeans moved into the area, they used it for farming, removing much of the natural plants and trees. They are now going through a period of rewilding by removal of the poisonous pines and animals that had been imported that were killing the native birds, namely stoats, rats, ferrets and possums. Firstly, on islands that can be easily isolated. Once the bird populations have increased, they can then be reintroduced to other areas of the country.
We then stopped at Ships Cove. This was the first place Captain Cook stopped in New Zealand, and he liked it so much that he ended up staying 270 days over 5 visits. This area had not been farmed, so you could see what the natural planting was.
A quick stop at Resolution Bay to drop some other walkers and feed the blue cod. Apparently, they, and indeed many other fish, change from female to male to get the right mix.
Finally our stop and we are off tramping!
Made it!
A very nice meal at Escape to Picton for our reward, with a very nice Marlborough to help it down. The baked avocado with soft blue cheese and caramelised onion was the winner though.
Kaikoura is the home of the sperm whale, so we had to go and see them. Up to the Whaleway Station, Whaleway Road.
Sperm whales are named after the waxy substance, spermaceti, in their heads. When they reduce the temperature of the wax/oil, which then solidifies it is then heavier than water to enable them to dive. They then stay at the bottom up to 3km deep eating for, on average, 45 minutes. They then warm up the oil, meaning it is lighter than water, thus returning to the top to breathe and rest, floating. The part you can see at the surface is the front 2/3. They stay at the top for 10 to 15 minutes. The dive at the end of the rest is when you see the tail.
They eat a tonne of food each day, mainly giant squid up to 16m long. One washed up on a beach and measured in at 11m.
There were plenty of dusky dolphins coming to check us out and a few common dolphin. Dolphins are very sociable animals and one of the few animals that mate for fun. Apparently in filming, one female was found to mate with 7 different males in one minute!
The northern royal albatross weighing in at 10kg, of which we saw a number, were stunning. With a wingspan of up to 3.6m, they glide huge distances without using much energy. They can travel up to 30,000km without a break. It is thought they can sleep on the wing.
They have no predator but are reducing in numbers through human fishing incidents.
A northern giant petrel and another smaller petrel also visited.
From a chilly boat with a scarf and gloves to shorts in 20 minutes, and we are on our way north.
A quick stop for some crayfish.
Wow! That was amazing!
Aloe!
Next stop at Ohau Point Lookout, a very busy seal colony. Lots of pups playing.
Followed by another amazing scenic coastal drive north. A little inland and we found vines on the rolling hills. The rolling then became much steeper and without vines. On the final bend, the huge flat valley appeared with wineries everywhere. Much more commercial and very flat.
When in Marlborough…..
The Legado 2021 was certainly the winner!
Much less of the vines are covered here. They have much less trouble with birds, whereas other areas that grow fruit have many more birds attracted for this reason. Some vines just had the bottom part where the grapes are netted.
The grapes for bubbles have been picked already. The rest is due to commence in the next week or so, a little delayed due to humidity. A little more dry sun required before they are ready. It will then be 12 hour days for all, the majority being picked by machine.
We, of course, then took a little drive around the vineyards of Blenheim. A few names you would know. It really is a very large area!
We are staying in Picton for a couple of nights. A “classy and modern” establishment
Oh dear!
Great view though
A short walk to Bob’s Bay and back to warm the legs up for tomorrow.
Wow! What a scenic drive! Certainly on the repeat list, and would do the train too.
From the Canterbury plains we head north through Waipara…..
Ok, for any of you ladies reading recognising that name, yes, we didn’t make it through! If you are going to do a tasting menu with paired wines, then this is the place to do it!
The food was amazing. The reisling, contrary to the German, was dry and lovely. The chardonnay was not too sweet and had been oak aged, very controversial. I loved it, and we both loved it with the fish. The deep full body red was fab with the chocolate, too.
On up north and not long before we were following up the coast.
Some really easy nature watching right from the road.
And arrived in our home for tonight. A little more nature spotting and time to chill. Well if your hotel has a champagne bar what is a girl supposed to do?
Followed by a little star watching in a cloudless sky. Mars was very clear. Kaikoura is in the process of applying for data sky status. You can definitely see plenty of stars here!
Not much improvement on the blowholes. High tide is still a while off. Will have to come back next time!
The cavern, however, was amazing. You were able to climb a long way in with torch light.
A few shots to give you an idea of how impressive the coastline is
Apparently there are penguins here!
A few stops on the road east. Some historic baths, now in the middle of nowhere, and Londonderry Rock, and huge rock that had been carried for miles on glacier.
We then caught up with the trans penine railway, following the route for a while to the Morrisons bridge.
It was such an amazing bridge that at the other end of the bridge, it had another little rope bridge, one person at a time, from the bridge to the land!
We then followed along the beautiful Otira river, at which point I am sorry to say those on the train disappeared into a tunnel and missed the amazingly steep Otira gorge.
They then reappear just level with our motel at Arthur’s Pass. A strange little place with nowhere really to eat and nowhere near as mountainous as I had expected.
After checking in, we had the opportunity for a little hike up to the Devils Punchbowl waterfall, of course, with a few more bridges to keep me happy. The view at the top, though, was worth the climb even without the bridge trade-off.
Dinner was in the next town of Bealey. The venison was very good and would certainly stay there for the view. Looking forward to seeing it in full daylight tomorrow.
The town of Franz Josef is a cute little town where most people there are tourists, and the only people living there work in the tourism industry. At dinner last night, we joked that it is probably the same guys working in all the shops and restaurants. This morning, it was proven….our motel chap said he saw us in Blue Ice and told us what we ate! He was serving there helping out his aunt! No wonder he had recommended it, though he also recommended all of the other three restaurants in town!
As expected with a glacier right there, the town is right next to a river, however across the years the silt in river has built up so much that it is higher than the town, with the need to keep building up the sides. Sounds a little dangerous, but I’m sure they are monitoring it.
A quick goodbye to our favourite glacier and North we head.
Okarito, a cute little seaside village, off the beaten track, with a wetland and other walks, and of course a gold rush history of which the wharf remains.
Their evening kiwi tours have a 95% success rate. That’s going on my list for when we move to Queenstown!
A brief stop at Ross, another goldmining town, though they think there is still $700 million of the gold still there, so you can pay to try panning.
Heather is checking whether this is more comfortable than those on the St Peters Village Tour!
Next stop, Hokitika Gorge with a beautiful blue-green river thanks to melt water from the glacier above.
Did I ever mention………?
Weirdly, the other end of the bridge said 2020!
A quick stop in the town at the end of the river.
The pancake rocks did not disappoint. Made from limestone a lot of years ago, however, like the shell groto, they have absolutely no idea how they came about!
There are also blowholes where the waves have created caves and then broken through the roof. The tide was out, so will hopefully be more impressive on a pop back tomorrow.
Franz Josef Glacier. The steepest and fastest moving glacier in NZ. It is the west side of the mountain range with Mount Cook, the hooker and tasman glaciers, etc
The reason that our heli hike was cancelled was that, being early, they would not have had the opportunity to check out the route after the bad weather. Having arrived late yesterday, we could see they would not have been able to go up that day, and indeed, we had not heard any helicopters. The weather today, however, was promising, and the choppers were certainly flying.
With the heli hike cancelled, we took the much needed opportunity for a little lie in. A nice facon sandwich in the room as we had a little hob, and sat down to work out which walks we would do, ideally not too far away incase they called, and working out whether to wear our heli hike clothes or have them on standby.
Mark put his phone on loud as we had given them the NZ sim number, and 5 minutes later, it rang. YES we said!
And yes, I will totally bore you with photos! Don’t worry, there are more if you want them, just give us a shout. What an experience!
The guide, Cale, was brilliant. Very patient and no rush for any of it. From ensuring we had the right amount of layers to putting on harnesses and crampons, and double carabiner clip-on to safety lines.
First, the heli ride. We needed to weigh in once we were loaded up with our over coats, over trousers and harnesses, to work out who would sit where. Being one of the smallest I got a front row ticket!
After watching a rather scary rock fall on the far valley, which our chap had to fully report, a crampon and pole stop, and we were off!
This was the highlight. A very tight squeeze and a hole at the bottom! Yes, we needed to get through where the rope goes!
We met one of the guys up there who checks/makes the routes each morning. It moves so quickly that we were the first to do some of the route. At the other extreme, it is due to rain on Sunday, and the crevices we walked through would likely no longer be there after the rain. Nature at its most amazing!
Before returning to the chopper, we also saw a small avalanche a distance off.
To put it in perspective the A and B and the B are where we went, and on the second picture, the two glaciers are hooker on the left and tasman on the right that we visited a few days before.
We later took a walking route to the nearest you can get to the bottom. 3km from the end!
For dinner, we visited the Blue Ice restaurant. Definitely recommended. I had the best stuffed chicken……,filled with spinach leaves, camembert cheese, chorizo, and sundried tomatoes wrapped with bacon and served with potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and mushroom bacon sauce. 👌
Followed by a very dark walk down terrace walk. So lovely to see glow worms in a natural habitat, jf not a little spookey. Some country people kindly helped us find our way without our lights on, and it was a spectacular show from the glowworms.
A few things to see just outside Queenstown before heading north. Firstly, Edith Cavell Bridge over the shotover river. Built to assist in the goldrush. A miner decided its name, though the council disagreed as they thought her too controversial. He painted on the side of the bridge, and it stuck!
Did I ever mention I like bridges?
Arrowtown Chinese settlement from the 1880s. Very interesting to see some of the buildings that the Chinese men lived in when they immigrated at the time of the gold rush. Some are tiny.
And then on to the Kawarau Bridge, the birthplace of bungy. The world’s first commercial bungy operation opened at the Kawarau Bridge, surprisingly as recent as November 1988. It now attracts more than 500,000 people each year.
No, we didn’t, but we did do the zip! Who knew there were so many options?
After watching a chap going upside down……
Up and over the crown range with fab views over Queenstown and the river we jetted up yesterday.
Established in 1863, the Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand’s oldest hotels, and is one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era.
They obliged with a light lunch. Bao buns and frickles – fried pickles (gherkins etc) – recommended!
The Cardrona Bra Fence of course needed a stop
I’m sure there is so much more to this beautiful town, however it had to be done #ThatWanakaTree
We then headed north via the amazing Haast Pass with numerous waterfalls and other vistas.
Most bridges here, unless they are in a big town, are single lane. I guess they just dont have the amount of traffic to warrant a full-size bridge. We certainly haven’t seen a rush hour or a traffic jam, not even in the big towns. So we were not surprised to find the Haast bridge at 737m long was still just one lane, but with a couple of passing places. Apparently, it is the 7th longest bridge in NZ and the longest one lane bridge.
Through Fox Glacier and a fairly late arrival to Franz Josef to hear the weather has been awful this past day or so.
Apparently, there were 1444 lightning strikes in the westland in the 24 hours to 7.30 this morning! We had a brief thunderstorm last night in Queenstown, but the rain had finished by the time we had left the pub.
Our glacier helicopter hike tomorrow morning has now been cancelled due to the bad weather. 😭 Hoping for a cancellation tomorrow afternoon or the following morning, but unlikely.
The best view of the town has to be from above, and thankfully, they obliged with a gondola.
The route up was rather steep, and so was the bmx track. This place is full of thrill seeking activities!
Such a beautiful view and perfect weather.
The tandem paragliding called me. I had wanted to do a sky dive in North Island however, the weather had not timed right for it. I went for it, booked for a little later, thankful I had changed out of that dress this morning!
First the luge…..
What fun! The first one, of course a little cautious, enjoying the view. By the third speed rather than view. By the fifth, speed and view!
We returned ready for my take off to discover the wind had lifted and they were no longer taking off from the peak. They were putting on minibuses to another location, however, our 4pm jet boat did not leave us time 😭 💔
The jet boat was exhilarating, though!
The TSS Earnslaw steamer built in 1912, so 110 years old. A beautiful old boat inside and out.
The woodwork in the lounge is made from kauri
From here you could watch them load and stoke the coals.
A lovely chilled sail across to the other side. We had found a piano in the bar and thought, how lovely and sat nearby.
A brief hop off to check out the gardens while those dining on the other side finished.
We then noticed the bottom fact on the leaflet
And returned to find these!
Entertaining!
On landing back in Queenstown, we found our own kind of live music who, after his set, then took requests. A very good creep, though, didn’t beat Roders!
The cocktails were fab, but such a wait that you sat back down and they brought them to you. Amazed that they remembered who’s they were!
Right at the end of the evening, the lady of the couple right next to us……. come on, then, are you coming up for a dance so we did? No idea of her name, and they didn’t say goodbye. How random!
We have fallen in love with Queenstown. Mark is going to be a jet boat pilot, and I’ll be a tandem paragliding pilot!
A third drive past my fave lake Pukaki and a third chance to take photos. Shame I missed the shout out for massages there!
The Hooker Valley track is a very popular and well pathed route. A little up and down but generally an easy hike with stunning views.
Have I ever mentioned I like bridges?
You can see the end of the Hooker Glacier at the far end of the lake under Mount Cook and plenty of icebergs floating into the lake, having calved from the glacier.
We then did a hike up to view the Tasman glacier. Very steep, but worthwhile!
A long drive to our Queenstown home for a couple of nights. Could do with a little less walking for a few days!
Rather nice that, even as visitors, we are included in the NZ census today.
The day is all about steep. Another early start. Just us at sand fly beach.
Oh ………..and these guys….
What an amazing start to the day! On to tunnel beach
And the steepest Street in the world.
The route north…
A short drive today
A quick cheese factory stop. Evansdale Cheese. The factory was very rustic. They commenced making cheese in 1977. We bought a few cheeses. The brie is their main product, and amazing! It is much thicker than ours.
At one point of the story it mentions that he started another branch in Oamaru called Whitestone.
Moeraki Boulders and Elephant Rocks
Not surprised to read it was used for Narnia in the first film.
A fab watering hole stumble……now this is the kind of business we could run! Welcome to River-T in the Waitaki Valley. The vines were planted in 2007, and they only started producing their own wine in 2016.
1 and 6 my faves….. a barrel ferment Pinos Gros 2019 and the Pinot Noir 2021. Well, a bottle of each for our lake view this evening would be a great plan!
It was also nice to check out the Whitestone brie and blue.
Finally, to Lake Tekapo for the evening
We watched sundown at dinner, and then the moon appeared from behind the mountains
The Dunedin Railway Station aka ‘Gingerbread House’. The booking hall has a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 tiles of Royal Doulton porcelain, and the platform is 472m long.
A ‘lil champagne always makes a morning smile!
Having waved Dunedin goodbye, we followed the gorge all the way up to Hendon Station.
The bridge at Hendon was shared between the rail and the road.
At Hendon station a little time out.
Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Garden. The only Chinese garden in the southern hemisphere.
Of course with a little oolong and dim sum. Both highly recommended!
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, covering all nationalities and all styles from Monet to…..
Waking up in Te Anau today, ready for a trip to see glo worms, which are endemic to NZ. A short half-hour boat ride over Lake Te Anau, which is the 2nd largest lake in NZ after Lake Taupo on North Island.
This lake is the largest containment of freshwater in Australasia and is fully drinkable without treatment.
The Tunnel Burn (stream) flowing through the Te Anau Glowworm Caves originates from the Murchison Mountains. We visited the Te Anau Glowworm Caves (250 metres long), which are the lower part of the much larger Aurora Caves system.
The system is dated at 30-35 million years old, although the section we visited is dated at less than 12,000 years old, making it very young in geological terms.
Before going into the caves, we were able to watch how they produce the sticky string like threads in which they catch their prey, together with what happens when they get too close to each other. Who needs prey when you have a tasty neighbour, who is likely to also be a family member?!!
Within the caves, we boarded a boat manually pulled by the guide, taking us further into the darkness. The lights of the glowworms were amazing!
Just a small portion of duck wings for lunch!
A drive to the south east area. Nugget Point with a viewpoint and walk out to the lighthouse. On the rocks below we could see fur seals, and some playing in a little rock pool.
Then on to Roaring Bay Penguins & Seals Observatory which is basically a beach with a hide.
They return from their day of hunting late afternoon. We could see from the google reviews that not all visits are successful.
Having arrived about 6pm, after an hour looking hard over the whole sweeping bay and spotting in the water various penguin shaped bits of seaweed, finally Billy waddled out about 7pm much bigger, closer and much more obvious than we had been looking for!
By 8.15pm we declared Billy definitely didn’t have friends and headed off, and 1.5 hours later having a very late arrival in Dunedin.
A 5am start. A quick step out to look at the sky just in case. No aurora, but an amazing array of stars (out in the darkness……)…… and the milky way! I’ll settle for that!
A little gutted it had gone by the time we had googled how to take a photo of it, but a sight I will never forget.
A 7am sailing then a coach and then another boat to get to the sound.
An amazing sunrise on Lake Manapouri
After the first boat, we followed the original 1880 track called the Wilmot track pass by coach through the mountain range out to Doubtful Sound on the ocean side. If we went direct west from here, the first land we would hit would be Argentina!
The whole area here is 1.2 million hectares called the Fiordland National Park.
Covered in a cool temperate rainforest made up mainly of silver beech and mosses that hold up to 26 times their weight in water, of which we sampled a little squeeze.
They don’t measure rainfall in millimeters or even centimeters. It is measured in meters, and on average, they have 10 metres of rain per year, making it one of the wettest places in the world.
The largest waterfall here is 830 meters high, called Browne Falls. Amazing site, although it is disputed whether it is a waterfall or a river. Whoever knew that it could be disputed!!
We definitely had all 4 seasons within 15 minutes….hail and icy cold to hot and sun bathing weather!
Leaning into the wind
Amazing vistas every minute, from colourful to dark and sultry.
The view down to the sound from the top of the Wilmot Pass, along with the most photographed dead tree in New Zealand…..
Fave meal so far in Redcliffe Cafe. Definitely our kinda place, and live music to add. New NZ term for the dictionary……. sticky……. meaning dessert wine
Back for another sun down in Te Anau
Certainly fallen in love with the Fiordland National Park. ❤️
Considering the forecast was thunder, it’s rather sunny, though raining somewhere!
Our friend returned too
A chilled morning and then off to the port for our cruise via the Milford swing, of course!
Here she is!
A lesson learnt in the few days we have been here…… don’t believe the forecast. So much for thunder and rain, it was beautiful! An absolute scorcher of a day though thankful to the forecast we had much needed coats for the front of the boat and especially the close up on the falls!
First of the year. With this weather it had to be done!
Back to Te Anau the way we came yesterday. We had to check out the mirror lakes again. How different from yesterday!
The front at Te Anau is very pretty.
A beautiful clear sky tonight, but still no sign of that Aurora
Another prompt start for a scenic drive through to Milford Sound on the west coast.
Mountains get in the way at times….
…though rather that than the cycle route!
A prompt start, though a good start….. we need one of these!
Scenic from the start. A brief coffee stop in Te Anau and on to the main route. Many stops along the route, our favourite being the mirror lakes. The weather is so changeable that by the time we had visited each of the photo points, the drizzle had paused, and the clouds lifted, the image had changed so much!
…… and a few other nice stops along the way.
We had heard at Te Anau that the route was busier than usual. Methinks Mr Google can be easily fooled! Yes, we are all just parked, and no traffic!
Weirdly, we spotted a car the same as our with the next plate number – PEN994 – heading in the opposite direction!
Apparently, it is raining down in the sound. It is the wettest inhabited area of the country.
Some well placed lights before the tunnel gave the opportunity to jump out of the car for better photos.
Once through the tunnel the hairpin bends kicked in and waterfalls everywhere.
Not sure when the phone service went, but we didn’t see it again!
What a beautiful place! We had booked a mountain view room. Wow….. when a place actually does look like their website photos!
A friendly weka came and said hello.
We spent the evening watching and listening to the waterfalls and the wildlife.
The winning wine with dinner was a Wet Jacket pilot noir. Interestingly, a vineyard we had noticed not far from Queenstown. We may have to call in!
Not too far then, and of course we detoured straight away on to the “inland scenic route 77” to the beautiful Rakaia Gorge
…. and an hour long rather hot hike that was totally worth it!
A brief stop for lunch with a view of those mountains that are slowly getting closer
A few more km and lake Takapo appears for a brief stop, and then on to the amazing Lake Pukaki
Over the Lindis Pass, amazing views all the way.
Then in to the Central Otago area. The town of Cromwell had to get moved in the 1980s to flood the valley for power, so they moved the buildings up the hill first. Very quaint.
Shame it was shut!
….and finally arrived in Queenstown. What a lovely, vibrant town it is, and awake so much later than anywhere else! Well, you can’t go to Queenstown and not have a Fergburger, right?
Top marks from me, and I don’t really do burgers!
So popular they had to end the queue at 9.40 for 10.00 closure!
A day on the trams. We are staying right by the first tram stop. The first tram we had was 100 years old last year and from Christchurch.
The city seemed hugely overshadowed by the earthquakes of 2011, with most buildings having either been taken down to rebuild, been rebuilt, or being made safe.
We had wondered why some car parks were gravel, to discover these are where buildings have been taken down.
The February 2011 earthquake hit the city the hardest of the four, in which two buildings actually fell and 185 were killed. Interestingly, there is a question over whether the two buildings should have been condemned, so they are probably now more cautious.
The cathedral has only just had work started on it. Princess Anne recently visited to consecrate the new memorial, only it’s not quite finished!
The temporary cathedral aka cardboard cathedral was really quite impressive.
The botanic gardens were a lovely place for a stroll, and had the best rose garden.
This chair and otto had been made with people’s broken crockery to mark the earthquakes.
The quake museum was very interesting, explaining the concept and effect of liquefaction, which actually ruined more properties than the shaking, and the new construct basis of isolation so that buildings move separately from the ground.
Other problems caused by the earthquake included brewery that lost power so the beer fermented for longer than normal, creating a much stronger beer.
Memorial to those that died and the injured.
In true British style, of course, a little punting
Very good of Francis to nip back down south to punt for us! 🤣
The Canterbury Museum is currently closed and will be refurbished. They emptied all the displays and it is currently home to a street art exhibition. Very unique and slightly odd but certainly enjoyable!
You can see this guy is now clamped on his pedestal. Apparently, he fell off in the earthquake, and it was two days before they found his head!
Dinner was a stumble on Sakimoto Japanese Bistro by the tram station. What amazing food! Edamame beans, gobo chips, kara-age chicken, deepfried eggplant in a sweet miso sauce, tuna sushi roll, angus beef tataki, and top marks on the allergy too!
An early start, but what an awesome view from breakfast!
This morning we did the bay of islands tour out to the hole in the rock.
It was still too choppy to go through the hole, but we did see some dolphins.
This afternoon we spent at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. The treaty between the Mauris and the British was signed in 1840. The tour and museum was very interesting, and of course another (different) cultural show!
Back to the Charlotte for dinner and a little live music, and then an espresso martini in the bar next door, which last orders was 9pm….. on a Friday!
An amazing view from the village of Omapere where we stayed……
You can see on the right hand side of the photo the amazing sand dunes. They do trips across there to body board down them. We were a little heartbroken to discover that due to the weather, the trip would not be running for a few days!
We went back to the kauri forest to check out the largest kauri tree in the world.
You can just see Mark at the bottom to give you an idea of scale. It is thought to be about 2000 years old. The total height is 51.5m and the girth 13.8m!
After two weeks we have finally done the vineyard thing. Marsden Estate near Kerikeri in the Bay Of Islands. Wow! Amazing wines and food! Snapper and Chamborcin – a red that we had never heard of!
The people at the vineyard said that the temperature had dropped from 24° to 9° which is colder than their winter!
On to the beautiful town of Kerikeri, with a very impressive waterfall…..
Kemp house in Kerikeri – the oldest house and the location of the first vineyard in New Zealand.
Finally arrived in Paihia, abandoned the car at the hotel and jumped on the ferry to Russell, once known as a place of ill repute.
Stopped at the renowned The Duke Of Marlborough Hotel for a quick snack and….. oh look they know about Marsden Estate too! Cheers!
Got chatting to an Australian couple. She reminded us very much of Cali. They seemed hooked on the Rose. We told them to check out the vineyard!
On the ferry back we ran into the American couple we were chatting to on the way across… and then a quick drink with them in the only place open…… the Charlotte….. named after a rather “popular” lady from the local history. The place seems to shut very early….. the ferry only got in at 9.30!
Leaving our hotel still with electricity, we drove past many homes and businesses without. There were police directing traffic on many junctions where the traffic lights were out, and some other interesting sights…..
First stop was the waterfalls at Karekare. The beach some walk away is where much of the film the piano was filmed.
We then visited Piha beach which is equally beautiful and much more accessible…..
Stopped for lunch in their local cafe who thankfully has a generator! Very interesting to hear the locals comparing stories of last night. It sounded like most of the village was without power and phone.
We then headed up the kauri coast through the kauri forest with a quick stop at the kauri museum which was very impressive!
New Zealand is expecting an Antarctic blast. The weather forecast for here says rain and thunderstorms all day with very high winds from lunch, however, hot water beach seems to have avoided all of that with the sun out most of the morning.
Hot water beach…..what better way to start the day than digging a hole in the sand which then fills with water to sit in, with thermals heating the sand/water….. so much that you burn your……….ouch! You have to do it two hours either side of high tide, which was just after 8 in the morning. It sounded so touristy we almost didn’t do it, but hey when in NZ……! Surprisingly, being out of season and with the expected weather, then it was not at all touristy, and was a great experience. Sorry the photos are on go pro….!
Back to the chalet for a shower, give them back their spade ($10 hire at the beach….once the shops were open, so it is the done thing for hotels to have a stash to lend) and late checkout.
News is that a town west of mount Taraniki has been wiped out by a cyclone and heavy snow has fallen on the south island.
We continue on our tour round the Coromandel Penninsula which is not too bad considering. Quite sunny, just very windy and the occasional downpour.
I don’t need to mention the amazing scenery again?
Thought we should stop for a coffee to work out the plan of action and ended up staying!
Check out the size of the local Coromandel mussels!
….. and then headed up to the hotel just north of Auckland shortly after 8pm thankful to be out of the wind in a sturdy hotel rather than the chalet we had last night. The wind really picked up about 7pm to 55 mph!
Oh what a lovely lazy morning!…….. and a beautiful veranda for a cup of the local tea and open a few presents!
A short pop to Nga Manu Nature Reserve. Finally we have seen a kiwi!
They are nocturnal hence the bad lighting!
There was also a very interesting talk on eels. They are only found in New Zealand. They can live up to 100 years, but they only spawn once in their lives by migrating to Tonga and then they die!
Straight back to the lodge to enjoy a glass of sparkling in the hot tub
So Mark has booked a beautiful lodge in the grounds of a huge estate.
Yes, that is a double shower, and yes, of course it has a hot tub – out in the forest!
Tonight we have a table booked in the next village. Absolutely amazing food and brilliant service. Then to top it all, it turns out it is a gift from the girls! I am so spoilt!
The drive south, not on the main road, which adds a couple of hours to a three hour journey, with such amazing scenery, full of rolling hills and some less rolling, covered with sheep and cows. We could not believe how much beautiful land there is without many people!
We followed a sign to Waihi falls which we had previously marked. It was 18 minutes from the road…. of rough track!
The waterfalls were definitely worth it!
We finally got to Martinborough, a wine region by Wellington. Still not many vines though!
Napier was destroyed in the early 1930s by an earthquake and resulting fires, meaning most of the current buildings date from around the same period ie art deco.
We stopped back in Rotorua again last night. Yet another hotel where you have to check out the hot pools, much nicer this time as they were outside.
On our way to Taupo today. We took a little detour to check out a geyser and ended up stumbling on some bubbling mud pools. Very funny to watch!
Next enroute, a few waterfalls.
Aratiatia rapids:
Huka falls:
In Taupo we found a little natural spa on the side of a river. What a great experience!
En-route to Napier, a very scenic drive, not only did we notice many trucks with logs on, but you could see the various “ages” of pine tree plantations…. some newly cut, some a few years old, and some ready for cutting…. all in need planting sections.
Napier is just on the edge of the Hawkes Bay wine region…
The random play all for some reason started playing UB40 – red red wine as we passed! Though for a wine region……. there didn’t seem to be many vineyards!?
So a “wh” is like our “ph”, and sometimes the “a” sounds more like a “u”!
We drove up to Whakatane last night and stopped in a huge motel room. Lovely to spread out a little and do a little barbecuing……… lamb of course!
Now on our way to white island for a trek around New Zealand’s most active volcano.
With friends!
OMG! Words cannot explain how amazing that was!
Then to finish off, whilst sailing round the island we saw some huge flying fish! Each one was about 30cm and out of the water for a good five to ten seconds.
….where the mauris still live by the sulphur springs…
Of course we had to do the cultural thing! We also had a hangi meal, where they cook the food in the ground, and went down to see the geyser. It looked really impressive in the dark!
We’re on the road!….. heading for the Easter Jazz festival at Tauranga.
We absolutely love this place! Just got ID’d to buy a bottle of wine in a supermarket……. they check all customers that look under 30! Good job we had passports with us!
Tauranga jazz festival…….. our kind of place – live music, sun, and a little grape and hop juice with a good view!
Also amazing to see trains whizzing by full of logs…. where are they heading to?
Heather and Mark's travel blog 