Day 21/22 NZ - 21-22/1/2011

We the holiday is all but over. Our last day consisted of a slow start up as we only had a couple of hundred k's to do and we didn't have to have the car back until 4pm. The weather looked OK at the start of the day but it quickly turned quite cold ready for our drive through one of the coldest areas of NZ - Arthurs Pass. There are only 3 or 4 places in the South Island where you can cross from the east to west and Arthurs Pass is one of them. The road is very windy as it makes it's way up and pover the pass. The most impressive part was the 'viaduct' which, although the photo doesn't show it, it very steep. It is a pretty impressive engineering feat. Another section of the road had a 'cover' over the road and a waterfall diversion. That section was VERY steep.

The town of Arthurs Pass was freezing and it is the middle of summer! There is also a railway line that goes through AP and it's the main freight link between east and west. It has a 8.5km tunnel in it which took 37 years to build starting in 1886! Quite amazing really.

The drive into Christchurch saw the waether turn colder and wet which was fine given that it was our last days drive. We spent ages trying to find a place to empty the toilet and waste from the camper which we had to do before returning it. Finally we found one and returned it on time. Our motel for the night was next door which made that whole process easier and the motel was next door to the airport which made our transfer for our flight a piece of cake.

We spent that last night in our room relaxing, having our meal delivered to our room. We set the alarm for 4.30am to make out 6.50am flight and all went well today with the flight and we arrived back home at about 11am Melbourne time.

Thanks for reading and if you want some help preparing a trip to New Zealand, let us know! 

Day 20 NZ - 20/1/2011

On the Neve b/w glaciers

Whoa!!! That was sensational!!!! Our 30 minute helicopter ride which cost us plenty was worth every cent! There were 5 of us stuffed in a small cockpit. We were up the back to start with so could only see out the side but the view of the glacier was amazing. It is also massive! Fox is 13km long and Frans Joseph is 11km. We flew up FJ first and the actually landed on the neve between the 2 glaciers close to the top of the mountain area. Interestingly you lose all perspective of distance up there. There was a peak which looked like it was about 3-500 metres away and the pilot said it was more like 3 km. Sure enough when we took off later, he was right. It is easy to see how people get lost in the snow. He also spoke about what pilots call a ‘flat out’ where the perspective is even more distorted and they might try and land on a slope which just looks flat. At the landing site we were standing on solid ice about 150 metres thick. To be standing up there after that sensational ride was incredible. Have I used enough superlatives yet?

Top of Fox Glacier

Frans Joseph Glacier

We got to do the second half in the front albeit quite squashy. At one point I lost my stomach when we flew over a ridge which dropped away. I remember when we flew over the Bungle Bungles in WA how you don’t realize how fast you are travelling until you come in for a landing. Suddenly you gain some perspective of the land moving beneath you and you realize that you are travelling quite fast. A helicopter ride itself is an amazing experience but to do it over these glaciers and in amongst the mountains was unbelievable. DEFINITELY worth doing!! We had planned to do the 90 walk to the foot of the FJ Glacier but it seemed like it would be an anticlimax so we bailed.

As our flight was so early we got off to a very early start today so we spent time souvenir shopping. It was then time to say goodbye to the glacier area and head for Hokitika. There was more interesting scenery along the way and even more rainforest. NZ really is a beautiful place. We took a drive out to Hokitika Gorge which was rather nice but the colour of the water wasn’t as good as expected due to the heavy rainfall recently.

We are now at Jacksons Retreat in the ‘town’ of Jacksons which is up on a hill overlooking a braided river and surrounded by mountains. Although it’s a bit windy, it’s a nice spot for our last night in amongst the surrounds. Tomorrow we stay at a motel next to Christchurch airport.

I am pretty tired and whilst the distances aren’t significant compared to Oz, the type of driving coupled with the size of vehicle makes the driving more tiring. It’s  now 6pm and tomorrow we go through Arthurs Pass which should be nice and then clean up and return the van by 4pm.

PS – I thought I’d finished for the day but we just did a walk through the rainforest up the hill on an almost well marked track to a waterfall. It wasn’t big by comparison to what we’ve seen lately, but it was very beautiful. On the way back we visited the toilet block and it would have to be the best kept set of facilities that I have ever seen in a ‘caravan park’ and I have stayed in many. The kitchen/lounge (which they seem to have in most CP’s over here), was boarding on luxurious.

Day 19 NZ - 19/1/2011

It didn’t rain all night but we were glad to have the dry camper to sleep in. Our journey today was taking us to Frans Joseph Glacier and a couple of things of note on the way were as follows. 

-          The beach at Bruce Bay (near Haast) – the sign about the debris and then the debris!

-          The scenery – fantastic as usual. We were surprised about how far the rainforest areas spread. We had no idea that it was the predominant vegetation near the glaciers. We would have expected barren landscape

-          Looking at the glaciers – they are amazing things. I was actually quite disturbed seeing the Fox Glacier. Along the road they had signs showing the position of the glacier at different years. Since 1935 the glacier had retreated about 1km! I guess it is summer but the size of the ice chunks floating down the big and swiftly moving river was amazing. They do say that the glaciers are a good indicator of global warming and I found seeing it directly quite shocking.

We booked into a spot at Frans Joseph Glacier – the town – from Haast so we didn’t have to worry too much about our arrival time. It has given us peace of mind while travelling. We arrived at the FJ Glacier for a look and took a walk to a view point called Peters Pools. While looking at the FJG we watched a helicopter fly over up towards the glacier and Mandy said “now that would be good to do!” She still hadn’t decided on a birthday present so I said let’s do it. After a bit of deliberation we decided to do a 30 minute ride over both glaciers and with a snow landing where we get a view of Mount Cook.

We are camped in beautiful camping park which is quite classy but has been left quite natural in amongst the rainforest. We even managed to eat dinner outside. I have now have some dry socks to last me the rest of the trip thanks to $4 and a tumble dryer.   

Something that has been puzzling me is how the lakes get their colour over here. Well Google  to the rescue and “The amazing turquoise blue colour of Lake Tekapo is created by "rock flour": the glaciers in the headwaters grind the rock into fine dust.  These suspended particles in combination with the sunlight create Lake Tekapo's unique water colour.” So there you have it. 9.45 and it’s now time for bed. We have an 8am flight tomorrow!

Day 18 NZ - 18/1/2011

I’ve been having loads of weird and quite vivid dreams for a few nights now and last night was no exception. A text from Jess woke me at 6.38am (it had taken a while to come through) and then another dream that we’d slept in to 9.15 and I’d missed my jet boat ride woke me at 7.20. Thankfully it was just a dream! After packing up, we headed up to Arthur Point – a few k’s from Q – and waited until 9.30am. Mandy – the chief photographer – was on the shore as we set off – I had the front seat to myself (except for the driver thankfully). It was a fantastic experience and it’s amazing how maneuverable the boats are. It was like he aimed for the gorge walls and literally missed them by cm’s. Very exciting. Look closely in the photo's - I am the sunglassed dude in the front seat. They then tried to sell me $59 worth of photo’s and video’s of me and my various facial expressions. Tempting but we had all Mandy’s photo’s. Well worth the $119!

After refueling, food shopping and emptying everything we set off along the Alpine Scenic Drive to Wanaka. It was very steep and provided unbelievable views – again! I would love to drive it again but in the other direction so that’s something for next time.

View from the Gates of Haast Bridge

Alpine drive from Queenstown

We arrived at Wanaka at about 1.30pm – much earlier than we’d expected and it had started to rain with the forecast of heavy rain to come. Decisions to be made! We had lunch (more peanut butter) and looked around the shops for a little while then decided to keep moving into the Mount Aspiring NP where we planned to stop in a rest area somewhere for the night. The 2 sides to situations presented itself again. This time, the rain - not so good -  provided lots of water for the various waterfalls we passed - very good. We stopped at Fantail Falls, Gates of Haast, and Thunder Creek Falls, all of which were spectacular – the Gates of Haast most so.

It’s now 6.15pm and I am sitting in the van with Mandy beside me, keeping out of the rain and away from the sand flies, typing away and waiting for another yummy dinner. As we have got a bit further today we have more time tomorrow to check out the rest of this NP and then the glaciers.

Day 17 NZ - 17/1/2011

The question when we woke up was going to be – is it sunny or cloudy? The winner is – cloudy. Oh well! Should be speccy anyway. We were up and ready for our 9.55am journey having both had a shower. Our boat was dwarfed but all the others and only took 75 people. In fact there were only about 30 so we had plenty of room to move. We sat out on the front deck. It was cold and we got splashed a bit – especially once we left the Sound and were in the Tasman Sea. They had had 100mm of rain on the night of the 15/16^th and so there were LOTS of waterfalls to be seen. There are normally only 4 permanent and they were ‘thumping’ even more than usual. (There’s always 2 sides – it was cloud and wettish BUT the waterfalls were even better.) It was a sensational trip which we thoroughly enjoyed. I asked the skipper about the Milford Track and it sounds great – we are keen to do it sometime in the future.

After a bite of lunch – I’m onto my 8^th day straight of peanut butter sandwiches for lunch – we headed for Queenstown! The drive south was even better than the day before as the sun had decided to appear again. We stopped into Te Anau for a bit to book in for my jet boat ride tomorrow and then took off again. The next section of road we found a bit dry in comparison to most of the rest so we listened to Len Beddell (the famous Australian roadmaker) speak to a Rotary Club – very funny. Again the drive north alongside Lake Wakatipu was fantastic but this time with loads of sun.

We’d decided on a roadside stop for our O/N this time and went to a place called Twelve Mile Delta Camping Area which was about 12 miles west of Queenstown on the way to Glenorcy. It was a fairly new area set aside but very nice on the lake and after finding an OK spot we walked around and found a nice secluded spot near a little creek. I had to negotiate the van around some tight squeezes to get there but it was a beautiful spot – our best for the trip – and it cost $0!

We had left over Chicken Curry for din dins sitting in the sun beside the creek and then the lights went out at around 10.30pm.   

Day 16 NZ - 16/1/2011

Our challenge today is to enjoy the wondrous drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound. I think we’ll manage it but let’s see.

After a good night’s sleep – can you believe how late it gets dark here? It was still a bit light at 10pm! It plays havoc with your body clock – we left just before 9am and started off brilliantly with the drive along the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu. We coped ok with the view but our eyes were tired. After leaving the lake, we had a rest from the intensity of the scenery until we reached Te Anau. This section of our journey was punctuated with a coffee/hot chocolate stop at Mossburn. After a rest to buy, of all things, a nail file, at Te Anau, our senses had been sufficiently rested to cope with the remaining 120kms to Milford Sound.

It is without doubt a beautiful drive – waterfalls, views, tree lined ‘tunnels’ and stunning scenery. The closer you get to Milford sound, the more intense. A couple of spots we particularly liked was firstly Mirror Lakes. A bit too much wind today to fully appreciate it. The second was the rest area at the northern end of Lake Gunn. Sand Flies are a bit of a pain but with a bit of repellent, I think it would be a wonderful spot to camp for a night. We even contemplated doing it on the way back. Shortly after this you start climbing towards Homer Tunnel – a 1km long tunnel which allows access to the other side of the range, otherwise Milford Sound is really only accessible by boat.  Something not even shown on the map is ‘Falls Creek’. (photo) As you are moving down a steep section, suddenly there is a one-lane bridge. There were about 20 people standing on the bridge. We stopped to have a look and saw a very powerful waterfall running into the river that we were following. It had been raining all morning in the area and we think that the number of waterfalls and the amount of water was accentuated by this. The other consequence was that there was quite a bit of low cloud obstructing our views of the mountain tops. Still the water was spectacular.

At the entrance to the tunnel there is a large open area, with ice, waterfalls and very tall mountains close beside you. Unfortunately the low cloud obstructed the view a little and it was quite cold BUT spectacular. The size of the area was deceiving and ice which looks a metre high was 3 metres high as a few brave souls went and stood beside it. Look for the orange spot in the photo. This area was used as a camp for when they built the tunnel – by the way it was started in 1930 during the depression and was only finished in 1991 – and doesn’t have any direct sunshine between April & September!

After a few photo’s we headed into the tunnel and started what turned out to be a constant decent for 18kms into Milford Sound. Again it was absolutely stunning. We stopped – along with 200 others – at ‘The Chasm’ which again was a thundering waterfall through a narrow chasm (obviously). (photo) We are not sure if the quantity of water was more than usual but you could hear the low frequency pounding of the water.

Thankfully we’d booked a spot as the camping area was otherwise full. The sand flies were a bit of a pain so after walking around to look at the wharf and a few views we spent the rest of the time in the camper.

Milford Sound looks spectacular (photo) and we have a cruise on the sound booked for 10am tomorrow so look forward to that immensely. Hopefully some of the cloud may have miraculously vanished overnight.

Our plan for o/n stops from here is Monday – Queenstown, Tuesday – Lake Wanaka, Wednesday – Fox Glacier, Thursday – Greymouth, and Friday – our last day L - Christchurch.

Time for a yummy chicken curry dinner!

Day 14/15 NZ - 14-15/1/2011

We left Christchurch after a late start – Mandy’s Birthday is our excuse – and set out for Lake Tekapo. The drive for a while out of Christchurch was VERY flat for a while especially in comparison to the rest of the trip. We headed for route 72 which was listed as the ‘scenic drive’ and the further we got, the more it lived up to its name. In particular Rakaia Gorge/river. We saw a glimpse of a view of this on the left and I had to turn around to check it out. This involved 5km drive down the mountain and then back up again but it was definitely worth it (photo). The photo doesn’t do it justice. From here on it was a spectacular drive with new views and beautiful scenery all the time. Eventually we saw some snow covered mountain and wondered if we had seen Mt Cook. All this continued until we reached Lake Tekapo. What an amazing place. The colour of the lake is a sky blue colour (which I must research to understand why). We had cracked a sensational day where upon reaching Lake Tekapo, there were no clouds and it was around 25 degrees. What a perfect day for Mandy’s birthday!

We found our spot in the camping area, raced down to the shops to book a table at one of the restaurants and then started to have a look around. There were lots of people enjoying the water on such a nice day. The little church next to the lake was small but nice and it has a view of the lake out a large window behind the pulpit. I actually asked the priest if people listened to his sermon. He laughed.

After a nice shower, 6.30pm arrived which was our prearranged time for a skype call with Terry. It was great to see him and have a chat for a while. We didn’t want to move the camper again so we walked the 15 mins to the restaurant along the side of the lake. Our table was on the grass outside and we had front possie for a view of the lake – very nice. I had my first ‘stone-grilled’ steak which was rather yummy. It gets dark very late here so we walked back at dusk at around 9.30am.

It was a fantastic day for a birthday – have I said that already?

Day 15

After emptying all the tank – the smelly one included, we set off for Queenstown. A few k’s down the road, we caught our first sight of Mt Cook (we didn’t actually see it yesterday). It’s different country out here. The area around the mountains if very flat and then seemingly out of nowhere a steep mountain rises up and it is very steep. So, the road to Mt Cook alongside Lake Pukaki was easy and not windy at all. After about 50 k’s of this road we reached the Hermitage and stopped for a coffee and a look around. You can see the blue tinge on the glaciers and it was clear enough to be able to see the top of most of the mountains.

The drive from Trizel (50k’s south of Mt Cook) was rather boring in comparison to what we have experienced. So much so, Mandy finally managed to write some postcards while we were driving. This was partly due to the fact that it had become quite overcast. We arrived at Cromwell and the scenery started to pick up again. In particular the Kawarau Gorge was rather speccy to say the least. The road follows the river flowing through the middle of what it a fairly narrow valley and it is quite weird as you seem to be always going downhill but the river always seems to be getting lower compared to the road. Sounds logical except the river is flowing the other way – seemingly up hill. One of the things I am always surprised by is the amount of water flowing and the the pace of its flow. There were some jet boats available along this river and I am pretty keen to have a ride on our way back in a few days – we’ll see.

A short distance out of Queenstown we passed another place where people intentionally throw themselves off a bridge with a rubber band attached to their feet. This one was the home and origin of the bungy jump. Not as high as others but VERY well frequented. I cannot understand why people want to do it. I have no interest AT ALL, especially at $180 for about a 10 second adrenaline rush!

We reached Queenstown and it probably has about 500,000 beds available and there are young people everywhere. A very nice city with lovely surroundings. The rest of the day happened in this order (approximately).

-          We found our camping spot - $50 a night – YIKES!

-          Booked another spot for tomorrow night at Milford Sound and a boat cruise for Monday morning

-          Went to the supermarket to stock up

-          I got stung by a European Wasp on the back of my neck – ouch!

-          Jumped in the camper for a drive around for 30 minutes

-          90 minutes later arrived back at the camper for dinner at 8pm.

Another great day!

Day 13 NZ - 13/1/2011

It pretty much rained all night last night and we were grateful for the camper when it came to pack up. Again it was a quiet start to the day as far as kids were concerned. After all the waking and going back to sleep that I usually do, we woke around 8.15. Yay – sleep in. We had planned to go to the Hot Springs which opened at 10am so we had plenty of time for a lazy get up. We thought we’d miss the crowds but alas everyone else had the same idea. Apparently a week ago in the peak they had 5000 people through in one day. Yikes! It’s a bit similar to the Peninsula Hot Springs but much bigger and a bit more developed. Despite that it was very nice and we spent 2 hours soaking up the warmth in the beautiful sunshine. I think I got a bit burnt actually.

While I’m on the subject of weather, I think we have done very well. It’s only rained once and that was last night and it was overnight. We are now in Christchurch and it’s a beautiful day and the forecast is looking great. We feel quite lucky given what is happening back home.

One of the stunning views

Thrillseekers Canyon

Thrillseekers Canyon

 After sorting out yesterday’s blog, loading up some photo’s (we had a bit of trouble last night) and preparing a quick lunch, we set off for Christchurch. With the normal stunning scenery, we had a couple of quick stops along the ways to take photo’s. In particular, Thrillseekers canyon – another bridge over a gorge where you can put your life in the hands of a couple of people with a long stretchy rope. We arrived in Christchurch at around 4.30, booked into the camping area, chose the best available spot, and then drove into the city to check it out. It’s always interesting looking at different cities, although I’m happy to have a quick look and then go back to the bush. On the way in we realised that it was probably right on peak hour but the traffic was pretty good actually. We found a parking spot for our large machine right in the middle of town then we wandered around and Mandy took a few photo’s of the interesting sights.

We look forward to another quiet night and then will head to Lake Tekapo tomorrow. It’s Mandy’s birthday tomorrow so we’ll have dinner out and I’ll try to hook up with the kids on Skype.

Day 12 NZ - 12/1/2011

A nice quiet and secluded night at Pelorus was had and we were ready for our longer drive to Hanmer Springs. We decided not to head for the west coast but to return the way we had come and see the coast road between Picton and Kaikoura. Firstly the coast road between Havelock and Picton was SENSATIONAL to say the least. (photo) Every new corner brought another stunning small bay with beautiful views and crystal clear water. What a fantastic drive. This was the road we meant to take heading west but we realized we missed it as the turnoff was right next to the ferry landing.

After leaving Belnheim we were heading for the east coast. This bit was quite different from the rest of the landscape with long, flat, straight stretches. We then hit the east coast and it was a lovely drive and much more rugged scenery than before with beautiful views along the way (as we had come to expect). At one point before Kaikoura, we thought we saw some seals on the rocks so stopped to check it out. There were hundreds sunning themselves so we managed to get some close up photos while prepared a quick lunch. This is where the camper is fantastic. It was quite cool outside and we could just look out the windows. Getting up close to the seals was easy although we stayed far enough away just in case.

The weather was overcast and cool so we decided only to stop in Kaikoura just to do some quick food shopping and then head to Hanmer Springs as there was a bit to see there. The road to HS didn’t disappoint. Again every corner revealed another stunning view. It actually became a bit overwhelming. 

We took the recommendation of our book and went to the campsite past the town. Quiet, sheltered and not too far away.

We relaxed loading up photo’s, checking-mail and reading the paper, as well as catching up on all the news on the floods all from the comfort of the camper as it had started raining. The inside toilet even came in handy too, and we were thankful for upgrading to the slightly larger unit as we stayed inside for the rest of the evening.

The morning plan is to go to the springs from 10am, have some lunch and then head for Christchurch.

Day 11 NZ - 11/1/2011

It amazing how quiet Caravan Parks are in NZ. I woke as 6am this morning and got up at 6.30 to start working on my blog for the past 3 days. I finished around 8am and there was still really no noise in the park. How do they get all the kids to be quiet? Mandy slept well and woke at 8 and we were ready to go by about 9.30 after a lazy start and our first night in the camper. We visited the bank to exchange some money and Kathmandu to get another cheap jumper for me. $139 on sale to $40 plus a Summit Club discount to $31, then the exchange rate brings it down to about $25. Bargain.

We then set off for Abel Tasman NP up north. On the way we realized we were going to go through a town called Richmond and the end of the road was at Collingwood. We hoped we’d see a sign listing both and we did – except we didn’t have the camera ready. We arrived at the NP at around noon and went for a short walk which turned out to be a long walk getting back to the camper at around 2pm. (photo)

A quick couple of sandwiches made and off we set for Pelorus Bridge which took us back the way we’d come. I needed a little snooze in Richmond so Mandy went to check out the shops and sort something out for my dinner. We arrived here around 4.30 pm and have camped in the small and very quiet campground in a lovely spot that reminds us of Cape Tribulation in far north Queensland. After setting up, we went to check out the bridge and it is a beautiful place that is very peaceful. The water is flowing fast and crystal clear. Another short walk took us to the suspension bridge (photo) and I managed to convince Mandy to tie the camera to the bridge and get the self timer happening. The most difficult part was not rocking the bridge too much between pushing the button and running into the photo. It is a pity it was cloudy here as we think the water colour would be spectacular with the right light.

Our dinner tonight consisted of leftover Thai for Mandy and a tin of Chunky soup with bread for me. Not too shabby! We were also treated to the passing near our feet of a largish bird (photo) but we couldn’t recognize it. I was browsing through the local paper later and saw an article on the Weka bird that was returning to the bush in parts of NZ. When I looked at the photo, sure enough, it was the bird WE had just seen.

A bit earlier to bed tonight as we have a 350km drive tomorrow to get to Hamner Springs and some sightseeing along the way. Should be fun.

Day 8 > 10 NZ - 8-10/1/2011

We’ve spent a few days with Rob, Kerri, Trene and Bec so I haven’t had much of a chance to keep the blog up-to-date so here is a bit of a whirlwind through what we’ve been doing with the other Lakes.

Saturday 8/1

·         Time spent at the beach

·         Quad bike ride along the beach

·         Spa after the beach

·         Final lunch and clean up

·         Travel from Waitarere Beach to Wellington (the long way) which included

·         Manawatu Gorge - beautiful

·         Ekatahuna - to visit Walle’s “parent’s”

·         Masterton – for a 6pm snack

·         Crossing the Rimutaka pass – amazing and very windy road

·         Checking out the view of Wellington from Wainuiomata

·         Finally arriving home in Johnsonville for a 9pm Fush ‘n’ Chups dinner in front of the movie ‘Evan Almighty’.

Whew! We did heaps but is was a great day and we saw and experienced heaps.

Sunday 9/1

Rob had a little list of things we were going to see so here’s the next whirlwind drive around Wellington

·         Visit to the NZ Parliament building known as the ‘bee hive’

·         A trip up the cable car to the W Botanic Garden and a quick look at the CC Museum

·         Up the mountain to have a look at the wind turbine – I should say at this point that the weather was overcast and quite cold and the wind was blowing a gale. In fact we had to do some washing and before we left and we used heavy duty pegs to keep them on the line. When we returned later that night, the pegs had done their job and no washing had left the line, but the pegs had put holes in a few of our clothes in the process of hanging on. So suffice to say, the turbine was turning quite well.

·         Along the coast to Island Bay (SE of Wellington) for a look, toilet stop and then some lunch at a nice little café

·         A quick visit into Kathmandu to take advantage of the sale and to compliment our wardrobe with some warmer clothes

·         Around ‘under’ the airport to look at the waves crashing

·         Up to the Massey Memorial to check out the view

·         Up to Mt Victoria to again check out the view

·         A coffee break at Oriental Bay

·         Back to Johnsonville to fold the washing, some dinner, meeting the neighbors during dessert, a little trip planning, packing up ready for our early getaway

·         And finally sleep at about 11pm

Whew! But again we did and experienced heaps.

Monday 10/1

I woke at 6am to an absolutely beautiful day with, wait for it, NO WIND and no clouds. A perfect day for the ferry ride. We had to leave at 7.20am to pick up the camper in Lower Hutt and get to the Ferry terminal by 9.30 for a 10.30 Ferry to the South Island. We felt a bit rushed but the timing was all OK as it turned out.

We had a fantastic 3 ½ days with the Lakes. It was fun, relaxing, tiring, easy and got to see lots of the Wellington area in the process. THANKS HEAPS Rob, Kerri, Trene, Bec and Walle for your hospitality, company, and tour guiding. Much appreciated! Thanks in particular for the use of your credit card to help pay for the hire of the camper when our pre-arranged bank transfers didn’t happen and we found ourselves short – whoops! We’ll pay you back – promise.

The ferry left bang on time and Mandy and I quickly found a spot that we stayed in for the rest of the 3.5 hour ride. The beautiful day created smooth seas, clear skies, and lots of photo opportunities along the way. We even saw a seal swimming by. A wonderful journey.

We arrived safely in Picton and made our way to Nelson to the well oiled machine that is the Tahuanui Beach Holiday Park. We booked in, parked and got a bit acclimatized to the camper, then drove off to go shopping and get some dinner. After culling the photo’s, sorting out the bank transfers, having dinner, washing up, and trying to make some decisions about our itinerary for Tuesday we climbed into bed and fell soundly asleep.

Day 7 NZ - 7/1/2011

Rob & I drove off to Wellington today to drop off the car a bit early while Mandy & Kerri went shopping. As we dropped off the car early, we got an $85 NZD discount on the hire – nice. Bec met us at the Ferry Terminal and we all drove back to the Bach for a late lunch. While in Wellington, we got the Internet sorted. It seems that I used HALF of my $ amount on the SIM while getting it working in Melbourne for about 2 x 30 second connections. Yikes! International roaming is VERY expensive.

Foxton (a nearby town) has built a replica and working Dutch windmill which Rob was keen to tell us about. The day before he said that could have a look tomorrow or take a photo. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do either. When the time came today, we went and had a look and from an engineering point of view, it was fascinating. Massive timbers, simple but clever mechanics. It was pretty impressive overall.    

We then went to the Waitarere forest area to see where Golum had crawled and another walk along the beach. Today there were thousands of stingers that had washed up making walking in thongs (sorry that should read jandles) a risky business. What I couldn’t get over was all the driftwood that has washed up. Go to a beach in Melbourne and you might see the odd tree branch washed onto the sand. Here there are complete trees, massive stumps, and hundreds of ‘odd tree branches’ – quite amazing.

 

Back to the Bach for a yummy dinner (3 helpings of sweets for me) and then a game of “Imaginiff” which was heaps of fun.

Tomorrow we are off to Wellington via some unpronounceable places which should be good.

Day 6 NZ - 6/1/2011

 Slept a little longer today which was nice although I still woke early enough to do the Day 5 entry (not on-line mind you as the internet still wasn’t working). After packing up we managed to leave by about 8.20am. We didn’t have much sightseeing time as we had to get to Talihape by 2.30 to meet Rob.

We arrived at Turangi at 9.45, had a quick coffee (or at least Mandy Did) got fuel and tried to find the river walk that Mandy had read about. Found it. It started off in a very uninteresting way and we wondered if we were on the right path. Fortunately it got better and better and we reached our end point – the Major Jones Bridge – which was an old suspension bridge about 10m above the water. One of the things that I am realising is that there is much more water in NZ compared to home. Any river like this in Aus would be a bit of a trickle but here it was fast moving and big. After crossing the river, the track started to climb high up into the trees so we ended up above the river with a 30 – 40 metre sheer drop below us.  

We then headed for Mordor (which is in the Trongariro NP). It looks a long way on the map but NZ is a relatively small place so we got there quicker than expected. Unfortunately we couldn’t see Mt. Ruapehu due to low cloud cover. We reached Whakapapa (careful how you pronounce this) Village and the Chateau looked extremely out of place – apparently this is where Karin Jooste has stayed lots of times. After a quick check of the visitor centre, we went further up to Iwikau Village which is basically a ski resort. Again due to cloud cover we decided against going on the chairlift. It was cold and windy! By the way I think this is Mordor. Back in the car at 1pm and we head for Talihape looking out for the various sights Rob instructed us to find on the way.

1 – “lots of gorges along the long and winding road west of the NP” – one gorge and a relatively straight road which only took 10 minutes to drive

 

2 – “look for the giant carrot at Ohakune, then go back to the last dairy and buy a chocolate éclair” – we found the carrot but the dairy was seasonally closed – very disappointing Rob. It was here that we actually caught a glipse of Mt Ruapehu too. From the south we could see the snow covered mountain in amongst the clouds.

3 – “the train wreck memorial near Tangiwai” – we found this.

4 - Lastly, we had to meet at the giant gumboot at 2.30pm. We found it and found Rob, Kerri, Trene & Walle.

After a quick snack, we headed for Gravity Canyon. I’d forgotten about this completely so I hadn’t had a chance to psych myself up for the Flying Fox. At $155 it’s an expensive 10 minutes but what a ride it would be. 1km long, along a narrow (40m) canyon at about 160kph – very impressive. It will have to do this next time. Apart from the rides, it was an amazing gorge.

 

Off to Waitarere Beach and we arrived there at around 6.30pm. We had a nice BBQ dinner, a walk on the beach in the dark, some yummy sweets and then bed. All this was punctuated with lots of laughter.