Thursday 26 March 2015

We've had a good last day today. Took the ferry over to Davenport and walked, and walked, around. Went to the Navy museum and then to the North head which was quite a climb. Lots of defence history here. We just got the ferry back to Auckland and are having a coffee before we go back to our hotel to get changed and off to the airport.

Wednesday 25 March

NZ is very happy this morning after last nights cricket game. We heard the cheers and fireworks going off from the Skytower last night about 11. Even on the 9th floor of our hotel we heard the commotion. Apparently they have reached the World Cup Cricket Final for the first time.

We took the bus down to the harbour this morning and got tickets for the 10:30 harbour cruise. We stopped off at Rangitoto Island for about 15 minutes, it is a dormant volcano and they are trying to keep it pest free and a safe environment for native wildlife and fauna. Lots of dock and marina areas here. 

Auckland is quite hilly so we have to watch which direction we want to go. We took a green bus on the inner link today, for $2, and went to Hiwic, a fine historic house built by an English couple from Devon about 1860. He had two wives and 21 children over 35 years. The guide working there was from Yorkshire and had been here 9 years, small world!

We took the bus again and saw some more areas of the city before grabbing a sit down and coffee at the quay area. Tonight is our last night to go out for dinner, we are hoping to find a restaurant serving lamb but no luck so far (only fancy places). 

Tomorrow we have to check out of the hotel and hang around town until about 4 before we head to the airport. We intend to take the ferry to Devonport and stroll around and have lunch before going back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Not sure if there will be any opportunities to upload tomorrow so this may be it. Our flight leaves Auckland at 8pm and arrives in Vancouver at 1:15 pm same day, then we fly to Toronto at 4 and arrive at 11:25pm, suspect this will be the longest day we've had so far, 42 hours.

Tuesday 24 March

Another drizzling morning, good job we are leaving the seaside and heading back to Auckland. We set off about 9 and travelled for an hour before stopping at Whangarei Falls to do the loop walk to the falls. They are claimed to be the most photographed falls in NZ so why should we be any different? We then continued on to Whangarei Town Basin, where we also stopped on Sunday on the way up here. It was quieter here this time and we wandered around a bit more. We came across some seniors playing a ball game so we asked them what they were doing. I think they said it was called 'Plonk' which is similar to Boules. There are lots of boats here in the marina, apparently it is a good sheltered spot for when the summer storms cyclonic storms hit. We had a coffee and then wandered around the shops. One of the shop assistants was from England, she spends six months here then six months in England, her husband lives her all the time, guess it works for them. We chatted for a while then moved further down the store where two ladies were working on a wall hanging, they'd done two years and had one more year to go. Not sure what it was called, some sort of tapestry that would be hung in a community building. We decided we'd hung around long enough and carried on until we reached the pullout to buy the toll ticket for the expressway. We reached the hotel in Auckland about 3 and quickly unloaded the luggage and checked in, we then left to return the rental car. Lots of traffic, moving quickly, good job we had the satnav or we'd have gotten lost for sure! We then had a 20 minute walk back to the hotel but continued on down to the harbour area and explored a while. It started to rain and we'd left the jackets and brolly at the hotel so we went in for a Mexican meal so we could shelter. It was still raining when we finished so we ended up buying a brolly. We found the red city link bus which goes past our hotel, it is uphill so is well worth the 50 cents a ride.

Monday 23 March

We awoke this morning to overcast skies and drizzle so we didn't rush. We went into town about 9 and had a walk around and a coffee. We took the 10:30 ferry over to Russell, which only takes 10 to 15 minutes. The rain had just about stopped by now and it was brightening up. We first went to The Pompallier Mission where Catholic missionaries translated religious texts into Maori and printed and bound them. They had setup a pioneer printing workshop and a tannery and a guide gave us a tour. This side of the river was considered a hellhole, with lots of grog shops and houses of ill repute so they had their work cut out! The Wesleyans (sp?) and the Anglicans tried to run them out of town too.

After this we had a look at the old Anglican Church and then had lunch before we went on a boat trip around the Bay of Islands. We had only been going about 20 minutes when we came across a pod of about 30 bottle nose dolphins who were pleased to swim alongside us and show off. We hung around for a while then sped up again and left them behind. We saw Motuarohia (Roberton Island) where Captain James Cook anchored the Endeavour, one of 144 islands he counted here. We continued on to Cape Brett Peninsula where there is a lighthouse, and then on to the Hole in the Rock where our skipper very carefully steered the boat through. Then we continued through some more islands as we headed back. It was then time to go back to the hotel for a cold beer before going out for dinner.

Sunday 22 March

We had a long drive today so we were on the road by 7. We grabbed a takeaway coffee about 8 and sailed through Auckland (on the motorway) and over the Harbour Bridge by 10. About 25 km later we had to stop and buy a ticket for the toll road portion of State Highway 1, you either do this using cash at a machine or use the Internet. We continued on, planning to stop at Whangarei for lunch but they seem to do roadwork on Sunday's and we hit a detour that took us around, on a smaller road, and added at least 45 minutes to our journey. We did eventually get lunch but not until after 1 so I was pretty hungry. We stopped at Whangarei's Town Basin which has lots of restaurants around the marina. It was a gorgeous day and had reached 25C. We continued on to Kerikeri and visited the Stone Store, NZ's oldest store, which opened in 1836, and the upstairs is a museum. We also had a guided tour around Kemp House, which is next door and was built in 1822, it is NZ's oldest building. Then we had a quick look at St. James Church, opened in 1878, and one of NZ's oldest churches and graveyards. We then only had a 20 min. drive to Paihia where we will be staying for two nights. This area is called Bay of Islands and is part of Northland, it is on the east coast. We are staying in a lovely motel in a large bright and cheery room. We relaxed for an hour or so and had a cold beer before going out for a nice fish dinner. We had a walk after dinner and could hear the Pacific Ocean waves gently lapping on the beach. I think we will sleep well tonight.

Saturday 21 March

Busy day today but very little driving so Ian gets a rest.

We started by visiting Te Puia a Maori thermal spot and arrived there for the 9 am tour, before it got busy, we were lucky there were only 6 of us. Our guide Rose taught us a little bit of the Maori language, which we all forgot in two minutes, and after greeting us told us we were now part of her family and proceeded to call us all Auntie and Uncle for the remainder of the tour. She showed us around for about an hour, we visited the carving school and a weaving workshop, the Nocturnal Kiwi House (we still didn't see one, it was in darkness but they were sleeping), the Pohutu Geyser erupting, and the bubbling mud pools. After that we went to the cultural performance to see a welcome, dances, singing of a love song, and what everyone wanted to see - the world famous Haka. It was all good, except the loads of Tourists from Japan, and Korea who basically take over and are very boisterous, the lady on stage had quite a job controlling them and getting them to sit down and not spoil it for everyone else. When it was time for volunteers to learn the dance they ALL wanted to be on stage (and they loved it), we found it pretty hilarious ! After that we went for coffee and a scone before wandering through the thermal area again and watching Pohutu go off again. Next up was a visit to the Government Gardens where there are lawn bowling and croquet lawns, a rose garden (lots still in bloom), and lastly a visit to the Rororua Museum. The Museum was built as a spa at the turn of the 20th century and you can see the old bathrooms. You can even go in the basement where all the piping is that was used to move the waters around the building. This place was also used for convalescing soldiers after WW1 and WW2. There was a film about the 1886 eruption of Mt. Tarawera, and just for effects they had the seats jumping and sliding about to simulate the action. We then toured the Maori gallery and saw another film on their young soldiers exploits in WW2, 90% of them didn't return but the young lads wanted to go and prove themselves along with the other Kiwi's.

Friday 20 March

We left Napier this morning driving through a flat area with market gardening and loads of vineyards. Lovely ornamental grasses growing roadside. It's a clear and sunny 12C with a promise of 19C later. Ten minutes later we were in rolling hills again, with lots of small farms and sheep. Once we reached Taupo it was time for a break. We had coffee sitting outside and then a walk around. We then moved on to Huka Falls, they're quite small but are famous for the amount of water that gushes through a narrow chasm on the Waikato River. The North Island produces 50% of it's power from this river. Next up was a 2 mile Boardwalk trail through Craters of the Moon, which shows some of the thermal activity in the area with hissing crevices, and lots of puffs of sulphurous steam. We then continued on for another hour until we reached Rotorua where we are stopping for two nights. We walked around Kuirau Park, with more geothermal Boardwalk trails, then Ohinemutu which is a lakeside Maori village with a 1905 meeting house and St Faith's Anglican Church. We couldn't get inside either and had to take our photos outside. We then walked back to the city centre and couldn't pass a Tunisian restaurant without having a very tasty early dinner.

Thursday 19 March

We set off this morning ready to start exploring more of the North Island, we'd arranged to pick up a new rental car at 9 and of course this meant a 12 minute walk with our suitcases. It looked a little overcast from our room but once we got to the lobby we could see it was drizzling, out came the raincoats and off we went but it had stopped by the time we reached Thrifty. Remarkably we managed to drive out of Wellington and not make a wrong turn. We drove through the Hutt Valley, and over the Rimutaka Range with lots of curvy roads and forests. First stop was at Featherston, a sleepy small town, for coffee and a freshly baked date scone (huge, so we shared it). We continued on and stopped again later for a bit of lunch at Masterston. We've noticed there are loads of bakeries in NZ, you can always find several for a coffee and a snack or lunch, everything always looks so good. This area is mainly farmland with cows, crops and orchards. 

We arrived in Napier, in the afternoon, our final destination for today. Napier is part of Hawkes Bay and this area produces a lot of wine. Napier was almost levelled by an earthquake in 1931 and had to rebuild. Today Napier has one of the best collections of 1930's architecture in the world. There are many examples of Art Deco buildings with lots store fronts on the ground floor. It is a nice seaside town with a palm tree lined front. Temperature reached 19C today but there was a bit of a chill in the light wind. 

After a good walk around we checked into our hotel and put our feet up for a while before going out for dinner. We'd found a nice looking Turkish place in the afternoon and headed back there.

Wednesday 18 March

Wednesday 18 March

We've had a busy day here in Wellington, New Zealand's capital. We first headed to New Zealand's Parliament precinct which consists of the Executive Wing (known as the beehive), Parliament House, and the Parliament Library. After being cleared by security we were given the OK to join the first tour of the day, at 10. We had a half hour to kill so looked around the shop (there is always one) and some ex hits then settled on a cosy leather couch for the wait. All bags, camera and phones had to be checked in a locked area. We completed the tour, with about 18 others, it was quite interesting, similar to the way things are done at home except you vote twice - once for your local representative and again for the party you want to govern. At one point on the tour we had to wait while a TV interview was being recorded, after they were done they turned the camera on us - hope I looked nice and tidy for my TV appearance!

Next we went to Old St. Paul's cathedral which was built in 1866 of four types of timber in gothic style. They also have a modern stone built cathedral which is nowhere near as impressive.

Next was the Old Government Buildings, the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere, built in the 1870's in a style imitating stone. It was used by NZ parliamentary cabinet and various departments until 1990, now it is used for the students of Victoria University Law School.

We found a lunch place, a chain called Wishbone, that does lovely sandwiches, soups, etc., but Ian tells me the coffee wasn't good. 

Next up was a ride in the cable car up to Kelburn, where at the top is a cable car museum and the botanical gardens. The ride didn't take long but had great views. It was very blustery up on top but we were told Welly is always windy.

We then had a coffee at an outside food truck (they are very popular here) and a sit down in the sun, next we headed to the Museum of City and Sea. Lastly, we had another hour at the Te Papa national museum again. Ian liked the fact that everything we did today (except the cable ride) was free, a very tourist friendly city. 

Found out the building where we are staying is the old Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company building. Thought it had a familiar feel to it 😀

Tuesday 17 March

We had a lazy morning as we didn't have to be at the ferry terminal until about 10. We had to return the car first but it was at the same location so easy enough. The weather was a mix of sunshine and overcast so was promising. We got checked in and proceeded to the departure lounge, passing a board that let you know the type of crossing to expect: calm, light, moderate, heavy and storm. This morning it was heavy. An announcement was made that the boat was late, due to the weather (cyclone Pam) and we'd be delayed a little. Turned out to be about 45 mins. late leaving and 1 hour 15 mins. late arriving. There were numerous announcements on the boat advising passengers moving around to hang on, going outside the decks would be slippery, sea sickness pills were available at the shop, crew would be coming around with ice chips (and sick bags) - they were getting us worried! Even the Captn. made an announcement saying we'd be leaving the shelter of the sound soon and once we reached open seas it would be rough, expect 4 to 5 metre swells, and he was detouring slightly and deploying the stabilizers. It turned out to not be as bad as I thought, either the drugs were really good or I've become a better traveller. The only problem was trying to walk a straight line without hanging on when I went to the cafeteria to get myself some lunch, I felt like a drunken sailor!

Once we reached Wellington we had a shuttle booked to meet us and take us to the hotel, he was on time so got to the hotel quickly. It is another Quest studio apartment so is very comfortable and centrally located. We put warmer shirts on as it was cool and blustery and set off to visit the Te Papa (national) Museum, we stayed until 6 when they closed. Very good museum, we did the highlights, and found an Indian restaurant not too far away for dinner. Excellent lamb korma, the lamb just melted in your mouth. Back to the hotel to put our feet up and plan tomorrow's activities.

Monday 16 March

We wondered what the weather would be like this morning, due to Cyclone Pam passing close to the east coast of the North Island, and then coming south - how close we don't know yet. It wasn't raining but was very overcast, we asked Jonnie on the hotel desk what to expect. We are heading up the coast today and taking the 11 a.m. Ferry on Tuesday morning. We were told it would probably not be a very nice day, getting worse as we approached Picton, in the north where we get the ferry. Swells of 8 metres were expected for Tuesday morning! We set off and it remained overcast with the sun trying to get through right until about noon, better than expected. We did a detour to Gore Bay to see the Cathedral cliff formations and had a walk along the deserted beach, things were still quite calm. We made our next stop at Kaikoura about 11:30 where we had a coffee and then visited The Fyffe House, which was built by a Scottish settler who realized there was a lot of money to be made whaling here. He was one of the first settlers and was soon joined by his nephew. Very interesting house. We also went to Kean Point to see the seals lounging around, the guidebook says don't get within 10 metres of them, or between them and the water. I guess nobody told the seals! They were lounging on the pebble beach, some under the bushes and didn't care when you walked by. We even saw one waddle across the beach and a girl had to scramble to get out of the way quick.

We then left town and it started to drizzle, and gradually got heavier as we made our way north. Two and a half hours further to Picton, when we arrived we went straight to the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum where they have the Edwin Fox, the worlds third oldest wooden ship, which was built of teak in Calcutta and launched in 1853. It has been used to carry troops to the Crimea, convicts to Australia and immigrants to New Zealand. The ship is preserved under cover and you are allowed on it, including down the hold, it is quite the ship to see.

We checked into the lodge and were told the Cyclone has been downgraded and our crossing tomorrow, while not pleasant, will not be as bad as previously expected. Good news! I did buy some sea sickness tablets specially made by a pharmacist in Kaikoura (where they do whale watching trips in rough seas on a regular basis) so hopefully I'm prepared.

We've just been for a walk and had a fish and chip dinner, choosing your fish isn't as easy as at home, I don't recognize a lot of the names of fish. I had Tarakihi, Ian had Orange Roughy, what can I say "he's not as adventurous as me".

We have borrowed a couple of dvd's from the lobby, they don't seem to mind how many, just bring them back in the morning. It says a lot about the people and travellers here, the motel people are all very friendly and everything is spotless, I expect the travellers all leave the rooms in a good state and everyone is happy. Very pleasant I must say.

Sunday 15 March

HWe set off before 8 this morning, we kept hitting pockets of fog/mist and it took about an hour to burn off everywhere. The low hanging mists made some of the lakes very picturesque. We had a two-hour drive to Hokitika, our first stop. It is an old (1860) frontier town where gold was discovered. We had a walk around the downtown and quay before going into the museum. This area has a lot of Greenstone shops (jade) but we weren't tempted. We had coffee, filled up with gas and hit the road inland again. We took the Arthur's Pass route back to Christchurch, which climbs 3,000 feet to the summit. We took the Devils Punchbowl walk which climbs to the base of a 131 metre waterfall. We hit the road again and crossed several more one lane bridges. Apparently we crossed 31 of them yesterday, they are very popular here, everyone waits their turn to cross, some of the longer ones have a layby on each side in the middle in case two cars need to get by. Maybe this is an option for our Wellington County bridge(s) rebuilding - sounds cheaper than two-lane bridges. The scenery is changing again, we've gone from spectacular snow topped mountains to forest covered to shale covered. Then as we neared Christchurch we suddenly came across the famous Sheffield Pie Shop (which I'd read about) and Ian slammed on the brakes and pulled over. We had to walk back a bit but we went in to see what they had left, after all it was Sunday afternoon at 3:15 so I wasn't expecting much. We were in luck, they had quite a selection, we both got a Morroccan lamb pie and an apple pie for dessert. We put them out of reach so we could have them for dinner later, I have to stop with the pies I'll be putting on the pounds but they are so GOOD.

Another lovely sunny day, reached a high of 24C.

We managed to navigate the one way streets and get to our hotel, luckily we'd done it last Sunday so knew our way. We got checked in and did a load of laundry while we ate our dinner and washed it down with a cold beer - ahh life on the road is not so bad!

Saturday 14 March

We were on the road before 8 as we have a lot of driving today. We decided to take the shortest route to Wanaka, via the Crown Range Road, which involves a lot of climbing up many, many switchbacks. We had amazing scenery all day, just about covered everything - rolling hills and forests, mountains, coastal road with lovely deserted beaches, rain forests and finally glaciers. We kept stopping at lookout points and went on several trail walks. Lots of photos today, and lovely sunshine and blue skies with puffy clouds on top of the mountains. Started off about 9C and climbed to about 19C. We arrived at Franz Joseph for our overnight about 6. Our motel is called Glacier View and it certainly has one. We just got back from our dinner out and are now relaxing with a cold one looking at the view, a lovely pink sky on top of the Franz Joseph glacier. Internet connections are apparently quite poor on this west coast so fingers crossed I can upload this.

Friday 13 March

We had a lazy day today, nowhere to rush off to so we didn't set an alarm. It was 8:30 by the time we rolled out of bed and after 10 before we set off for a walk around Queenstown. It ended up being a shopping day as it started to drizzle and Ian realized how many outdoor clothing shops there were. He's been looking for a raincoat for a while and found one on sale after the second shop. We then walked around the harbour area, how pretty it is, Q'town is on a lake surrounded by The Remarkables (mountains). Next up was Ian fancying a pie (again) so we backtracked to a bakery we'd passed earlier. He tried a venison pie and I had a lamb and mint, must admit they were some of the best pies we'd ever had, we will certainly be in several more bakeries before this trip ends! We've read the NZ's like their pies and can see why.

We then headed out of town to Arrowtown, about half an hour drive away. It started off with two sheep farmers and the gold was discovered and it quickly turned into a gold prospectors town. The Chinese settled here, first as prospectors, then tradesmen or market gardeners. We walked around the old Chinese settlement, which is now a recognized heritage site, then the town, where we succumbed to more shopping, and then The Lakeside Museum for a couple of very interesting hours. It ended up being a lovely sunny 20C. We then headed back to Q'town and stopped at a supermarket for some NZ wine to go with dinner. Then we went to Pedro's Lamb for a takeout lamb shoulder and Rosemary potatoes. We'd seen an ad for them at the hotel, they do takeout only and are an award winning establishment. We were NOT disappointed, the lamb was awesome, especially with the wine, all enjoyed in the lovely kitchenette at our hotel. I wish Pedro's had a branch in Elora!

Thursday 12 March

Early start today, we were on the road at 7 heading 20 mins. away to Manapouri where we start the Doubtful Sound cruise. We decided on this instead of Milford Sound because it is supposed to be ten times longer with a lot less people and boats and more remote. First we took a 45 min. boat ride across Lake Manapouri then an hour overland by coach, then a three hour cruise on a catamaran along Doubtful Sound right out to the Tasman Sea. It was named by Capt. Cook as he didn't sail up it because he was doubtful there would be an easterly wind to carry him back, apparently he was right, they only get one about once a month. It was a beautiful trip but it was overcast and the water was almost black so it was difficult to photograph. We saw Dolphins, birds and fur seals along the way. We got back around 3pm and had almost three hours to drive to Queenstown. The drive was lovely and sunny and 24C, we made it in good time and checked into our lodge for two nights. We have a really big room with two beds, couch, kitchen table and chairs and enough room to have a dance in the middle!

We walked down the hill into town and had a meal in an Irish Pub, then a good wander around.

Wednesday 11 March

We were awake early again, no big surprise. Jumped out of bed at 6 and hit the road before 7:30. We had 298km to cover today but there was no rush. It was a lovely sunny morning after some rain last night. It was only 9C but warmed up to about 15 later on. It seems easy to catch the sun in NZ, I already have a white watch band line, started using sun block this afternoon. Ian bared his legs and wore shorts, my white legs were more bashful!

The countryside changed considerably on our journey today, it started off with a few hills which gradually got bigger and bigger and ended up with glimpses of mountain tops in the distance on both sides. Loads of lambs in the fields today, and surprisingly deer - apparently NZ is the biggest exporter of venison in the world. We passed through a few towns, one was called Gore and we stopped for coffee and a walk around. We sat outside under an umbrella and had a "tall black" (coffee) which was too weak for our taste, we will have to go back to drinking "long black" which was only a cup but nice and strong. The towns are quite old fashioned, with many old buildings operating as various shops and businesses - quite like the 70's. We walked through a small dept. store, it was like turning back the clock. We found a bakery with a large selection of meat pies that Ian just had to try - we were spoilt for choice. It was only 10:45 but we had an early lunch, they were awesome. We basically travelled west across the island and arrived at our destination of Te Anau about 2pm. It sits on the bottom edge of Lake Te Anau which is the largest lake in the South Island. We walked around part of the lake for about an hour and a half then went to the hotel for an hour's rest. Next up was a visit to the Fiordland cinema to see Ata Wenua, a 32 min. film about the Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Site. We are going on an excursion to get a closer look tomorrow. We then had a fish and chip dinner and watched the sun set on the lake before heading back to the motel.