Wanganui to New Plymouth

As we left Wanganui in the morning we were a bit late and decided to have a breakfast in town before leaving for New Plymouth. The previous day whilst walking around town we had seen a ‘Celtic Café’ which sold home made Pasties and we decided we should by some for breakfast. However they were also cooking an ‘Irish Breakfast’ and so we ordered that and sat outside in the street beneath the flowers and sipping tea and enjoying eggs, bacon, black pudding etc. With the sun shining Wanganui looked a very nice place and much nicer than it seemed yesterday.Its amazing what a good nights sleep and a big breakfast can do.

On leaving the town we discovered that the town is much bigger than we expected and there were also some very nice living areas in the hills overlooking the town.

The drive from Wanganui at first was quite boring with mostly flat roads until we got nearer to New Plymouth and the hills started to appear and there was no obvious shortage of rain here as everything was green. In a small town outside of New Plymouth we noticed a garage with a bright yellow Austin 7 (I think) in beautiful condition. We arrived in New Plymouth and found the Motel and discovered what they meant by ‘Compact’ Studio Room, actually hardly any room to breathe and nowhere to sit and eat food.

So off we went for a walk around the town, there is nothing special abouth this place, and although we did a couple of miles but really this is a Port City and not to nice. In the evening rather than sit on the bed and eat we went and found a ‘Seafood’ Restaurant, we hoped only it turned out to be an up market fish and chip place. It was Ok but not quite what we expected.

We are now starting to plan our road trip from Cairns to Sydney, we have booked the car but we need to book 9 nights Motel rooms en route and as Easter will conflict we believe we should book early and so we spent some time on the internet and now we at least have an idea what is available.

Tomorrow we leave for Taupo

Wellington to Wanganui

We left Wellington in the sun and headed North on Route 1 which started as a motorway and slowly deteriorated in to a minor road although there was some heavy traffic at first. We stopped at Porirua Bay and took some photos and then had a coffee in Paraparaumu a nice little place on the sea.

The journey for the next few hours was quite flat and only when we got near to a town called Bulls did the scenery improve. Bulls is a boring place in the middle of nowhere which decided it wanted to become famous and so used the word Bull after many names. So you have the local police station called ConstuBull etc. See photos on web for more details.

We arrived in Wanganui about mid afternoon and headed down town where they had decided to brighten up the place by putting flower baskets everywhere, and it worked. At about 5 pm everything closed, apart from the odd café/bar. We went to the only decent bar in town and had a beer before heading back to the Motel for dinner and a DVD from the Motel reception. Our first impressions of Wanganui were not to good only, see tomorrows blog for an updated on our views.

Our day in Wellington

The sun was shining as we awoke and as the noise of the traffic from the street below increased it was time to see some sights. However we needed to spend some time using an internet café with fast lines to fully update the Phanfare Blog where we had over 400 photos to upload. The place we chose was great, it had a very fast line, was air conditioned and clean and tidy unlike previous internet cafés we have visited. Also they had a computer repair centre which we used as in the last week or so our notebook had developed the annoying habit of repeating everything we typed, we typed, we typed etc. So we spent a couple of hours updating the blog photos and emails then we were able to leave the laptop with them and they cleaned out a couple of problems for us. So after spending a considerable time there we hit the streets.

We took the Wellington Cable Car up to the top of the hill and then went into the Botanical Gardens which stretch from there down into the town. The gardens were very nice although suffering rather from the lack of rainfall. The rose garden has over 300 plants and was beautifully laid out though the flowers were getting past their best. There has been quite a severe drought in certain parts of New Zealand and the land is quite parched and dry they are hoping for a wet winter.

The streets of Wellington are quite lively and there is the ‘Arts Festival’ currently taking place. After touring the city for about five hours we headed back to the computer shop to collect the computer, finish the photo upload and make some hotels bookings for our Brisbane trip in early March. We have three full days in Brisbane and have decided that we will stay in town and take trips out as eventually when we drive from Cairns to Sydney it could be tiring.

Then we headed for the Regent Cinema for a Japanese dinner followed by a Coen Brothers film, ‘No place for old men’, which apart from being a violent was very good with a really black humour.

A very enjoyable and most satisfying day indeed.

Blenheim to Wellington

The Ferry was due to depart from Picton at 09.40 hrs and we had to be there one hour in advance and so we had an early start to drive the 40 minutes to Picton. The weather was really great but after about two hours the clouds came back and it looked like rain again.

However we boarded the ferry, not a patch on P & O or any other line operating across the English Channel. The PR stuff on the InterIslander website made you believe you were going on the latest ship with all mod cons but in reality this ship was at least 30 to 40 years old and was not a true roll on-roll off ferry but something that looked to have been converted for the D-Day landings.

The journey took about 3 hours and we arrived in Wellington at about 1315 and headed off to our downtown Hotel.

We spent the afternoon walking along the waterfront and the streets of Wellington looking at the shops and arcades and there were loads of people just sitting in bars or street cafes not too much intent on work. Some of the new buildings going up in Wellington are quite different architecture to what you would expect, see photos, and also there is the Wellington Arts Festival on.

The wind blew like crazy, and this place has a reputation for strong winds and even typhoons but it was not cold. Whilst walking along the sea front we almost got blown over.

We were looking for the Tourist Bus which used to circulate this town but apparently it has stopped which is a shame but anyway tomorrow we will go up the cable car and see the Botanical gardens.

Whilst on our walk we called in to a couple of internet shops as I have some photos to upload and asked what speed their lines are, mostly we got a blank stare and the answer was ‘very fast’, but how fast I ask, ‘we don’t know’. When you have loads of photos to upload you need a fast line or it can take forever. We shall see how fast when we pay them a visit.

When we booked this complete trip some many months ago we were unaware that an ex business colleague of Noel’s ( Brian Wyeth) now lives in New Zealand and so we made contact to make arrangements to see them. We thought they were based in Auckland but they are about 5 hours north of Auckland. So now we are very busy re arranging our North Island schedule, cancelling some hotels and booking new ones so that we can meet up which Brian and Sheila, which we are really looking forward to

Nelson to Blenheim

The weather overnight changed to lots of rain. We left the motel and headed in the direction of Blenheim via Picton and immediately started mountain climbing in the heavy rain. There was mist all around and after a while we stopped for a ‘cuppa’ at Pelorus Bridge at the top of the Rai Valley. They sold great cakes there which of course we should not have, (but Noel did!).

Next place that appeared out of the rain was Havelock the home of the Green Tip Mussel but as it was too early we did not stop and try them. The route from there to Picton offered the main road and also the ‘Grove track’ which we, of course, had to try. It is actually called the Queen Charlotte Drive but we prefer for some reason the first version. The journey along the cliff edge in the pouring rain and mist with odd views of sea inlets below was really nice and a great pity it was not dry and sunny.

We had though of having lunch in Picton but it was all Burgers and Chips or Chicken and Chips and so we slide right through and headed off to Blenheim where we found a ‘Subway’ outlet.

Our plan was to spend the afternoon visiting some of the Vineyards and so we tried to check in early at our Hotel. We are not quite sure why we had booked a 5 Star Hotel (perhaps Noel had had a drink the night he booked it or it just sounded good) but we had and anyway it was not too expensive. So when we tried to check in they could not find our booking. B Great! And they were full tonight. They rang the local tourist board office and asked them if they could find us a room. We were told that every room in town was fully booked and we had no chance except perhaps if we tried this B & B slightly out of town. With no choice, we thought, we headed of this B & B and passed four Motels showing Vacancies, strange we thought. Anyway the B &B was nice but neither Jennifer nor I are keen on this type of accommodation and it would have also meant that we would have to eat out again. We then asked how much and she said how much were we paying at the 5 star Hotel and she would equal it. ‘No way’ I thought. So we back tracked into town and tried the first Motel we had seen where we had a great choice of rooms and five minutes later we were in our room next to our original hotel.

We then headed off for our wine tour and went to the Vineyard where they make Cloudy Bay, which we like, but the prices seem very high, NZ$ 39.00 for a 2006 Chardonnay (around £17.00), we don’t normally pay this at home. We then went to another Vineyard where they want to charge you for wine tasting, bugger that and so we left and went to the local supermarket where we got a good Australian Chardonnay for NZ 10.00. I really cannot understand these prices for NZ wine, it is local yet they all seem so expensive compared to wine prices that we see in UK. I am sure we have bought Cloudy Bay Chardonnay in England but not at £ 17.00 per bottle we haven’t.

So as I am writing this, the sun is beginning to show through and the temperature is beginning to rise as the wine chills nicely in the fridge.

We picked up a nice punnet of strawberries on the way back to the Motel and so they will complete a simple meal tonight. Interesting, in the supermarket was a notice referring to kids who stray from school and are visiting shops instead and this particular brand of supermarket has a notice saying that will not serve kids during school hours and if they do come in to the store the police will be called. Perhaps they could try this in UK.

Whilst reading the newspaper tonight it would appear the North Island has had huge amounts of rain and high winds, cutting off towns, blowing boats inshore and cutting off electricity to homes in Auckland. The South Island which should get more rain, 300 days in Doubtful Sound, has had hardly any rain and the power output from the Lake Manapouri reservoir is low as they are limited to the amount of water they can use therefore the smelter plant is not receiving enough electricity. It’s a strange old world.

Look out Collingwood here we come.

We awoke to the sound of rain, but it did not deter us, and we left to drive up route 60 to Collingwood, the end of the line.

The Heaphy Track, a walking route, from Karamea ends here but it takes quite some days to do. We drove up in the pouring rain and mist and arrived in time to have an all day breakfast overlooking Collingwood Main Street. This was and interesting place with quite a history dating back to the 1900’s when it was a small trading port. It was not a total success due to the tidal flows which disturbed shipping timetables but nevertheless it was used for the export of sheep(what else) and GOLD, so it did have some history. Today it’s pretty much on its last legs with a number of shops and houses for sale. The journey back was more picturesque apart from an old Volkswagen mini van which had turned over on the main road.

The weather today for photography was not good as there was too much mist which restricted views although there were odd glances of high mountains, lots of greenery and steep high roads with no security and plenty of sheep.

We decided to hit the local Pizza hotspot tonight and only found that the owner used to work for a company that supplied Warehouse Computer Systems to my ex company. It’s a small world.

Fuel prices here in NZ are receiving a lot of coverage due to the heavy price hikes. Unleaded fuel is now £ 0.75 per litre and Diesel is now £ 0.52 per litre at the present rate of exchange. I don’t know what they are complaining about.

Tomorrow we leave Nelson for Blenheim, the heart of the Marlborough wine area, should be good.

Nelson Day

We had decided to use today to explore the town of Nelson. Although we have been here before we did not remember it too well.

It is a typical New Zealand town but they have tried to make it look nice with lots of trees and flowers baskets everywhere. We left the Motel and walked along the sea front until we reached the town. Following a quick coffee we walked the streets looking in shops etc, nothing special but enjoying the location.

We noticed a Fish & Chip place on the front and so headed there for a bagful of fish and chips which were very good indeed. Perhaps not to good for the waistline but you cannot win all the time.

The weather was quite nice and sunny without being too warm and was just right for sightseeing. After a good days walking we finished up in the Cinema watching Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in a good comedy called ‘The Bucket List’. It’s about two guys, one very rich and one not so well off who end up in the same hospital ward on the ‘Sell by’ date list who then decide to see the world. Amusing and although it was not liked by the critics we enjoyed it.

And so to bed.

Karamea to Nelson

The sun was also up this morning and the clarity of the air means that you can see for a great distance and also the colours are amazing. The journey to Nelson took us through the Buller Gorge, the gorge is very long and criss-crosses the same river until we reached Murchison a small town in the middle of nowhere where all the tourist buses stop on their way to the West Coast. The journey was through high mountains, across rivers and creeks and finally getting lower and arriving in Nelson mid afternoon. We settled our selves in this motel and then arranged the car ferry from Picton to Wellington for later this week and also caught up on a few outstanding emails.

For dinner, we decided to head downtown rather than self cater and the Motel boss recommended a nice seafood restaurant on the waters edge called the ‘Boatshed’ which sounded familiar and when we got there we realised that we had eaten here once before the last time we were in New Zealand in 2001. We had Nelson scallops to start followed by local Turbot, this restaurant is great and now one of my favourites.

On the way back to the motel we found a car wash and surprisingly there were no Polish or eastern bloc workers, I am not sure why, but they could make a living here. The car was very dusty because of all the gravel roads here.

The Motel is called ‘The Beaches’ we are not sure why as it is some way from the beach however it is nice and clean and modern and advertises ‘fast internet’. HA! I checked and this fast internet is actually very slow about 512, not fast at all, perhaps I may sue.

Karamea-A day of rest

The sun shone and we took it easy as this was our day of rest. We did a short walk down town to the supermarket and returned back to the motel for lunch and eventually dinner. We spent most of our time reading our books whilst listening to the sounds of nature.

This is a very relaxing place and the motel has great views and very spacious accommodation.

I forgot to mentioned yesterday two things, one is that on the way up the coast there were road signs warning you to watch out for penguins and the other was the habit of American and New Zealanders who live out in the wild to leave a car in the space in which it stops until it rusts away. We noticed many old cars by the side of the road with the tyres flat and covered in dirt and with grass several feet up the side of the vehicle. I assume and believe that the people who do this either have no money or just don’t care. We also saw quite a number of people living in 20 foot sea freight containers and also old, very old, buses and caravans. Not quite what we expected.

Greymouth to Karamea- Its like Chalk and Cheese

The sun was shining as we left Greymouth, no more said about this place, but within 10 minutes driving we had hills, then mountains and then the sea. They said in the ‘Rough Guide to New Zealand’ book that this was a good route with amazing scenery and they were absolutely right.

On one side was a 200 foot drop in to the sea and on the other side soaring mountains so you had better watch out whilst driving. Last time we did this route, about 8 years ago, the weather was foul and so we could not see much but this time it was great.

We stopped at Pancake Rocks where the sea forces water up thro’ blow holes and it’s quite impressive to see. This was quite a tourist attraction as there were lots of cars, campervans etc and the car park was virtually full.

We left Pancake and continued our drive to Westport, and although we did not stop it looks a much better town to visit. We will stop here on our return from Karamea as we have to back-track a couple of hours.

The road to Karamea also has a great review and we were not disappointed. When it said in the book it would take just over two hours to do the 90 kilometres I thought that was too long but I was wrong. This road has more twists and turns than the Tony Blair Government only this time the road views down from the mountains overlooking the forest and sea were really great and boy was it hot.

We finally arrived in Karamea and nearly missed the Motel as it had changed names and owners. Karamea has a population of perhaps a couple of hundred people and relies on farming and tourism with a big National Park just up the road. This is a great motel our room is more a bungalow with a huge living/Dining/Kitchenette and also a large double bedroom with a king-size bed and large bathroom with a walk-in shower. The view from our lounge (see photo) is great overlooking fields and mountains and with cows grazing in the field in front of us.

After dinner we headed down town to see the action, Ha! However we found a pub/motel where we stopped to have a quick drink and guess what they were showing ‘Coronation Street’ on the big screen television, so we went outside to do some people watching only there weren’t that many to look at, six actually.

This is a very nice place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life, shame we are only here two nights but we have things to see and places to go.

Franz Josef to Greymouth

Well, neither of us slept well in anticipation of our big flight , only Oh No!! it was grey and cloudy at 0645 when we got up however we went and checked in and they said come back later.

So we had breakfast and then went to the Franz Josef Glacier and yes it was covered in cloud and mist.

On the way back to the car we watched this little Fantail bird display That was a shame really as it could have been a very nice Glacier to see It looks like our luck has left us and when we went back again to the Airline (for the want of a better word) they said maybe this afternoon or maybe tomorrow. It would appear that the best time to visit the Mountains and Glaciers is in the winter months when the snow is fresh and the air is clear. We shall now hold this item as a TO DO.

So we left to drive to Greymouth via Hokitika and en route we passed the usual beautiful large lakes with no one on them and continued through the heavily forested conservation areas, interesting but boring after a while.

We stopped for lunch in Hokitika and wandered around and we wondered why we had stopped at this easily forgotten town which sells Jade Trinkets to the tourists. The best part of this town however, was the road leading out.

We arrived in Greymouth, we thought we had stayed here during our last NZ visit 8 years ago, but we are mistaken as we would have remembered how bad this place is as well. After our in house dinner we headed down town to see the highlights only it was closed. So we thought, let’s go to the Cinema, Yep you guessed, it is also closed Monday to Wednesday and so back to the Motel we went via the supermarket to purchase a bottle of red ‘cheer me up’.

You may be wondering what Jennifer and I talk about in the car whilst we are travelling for hours on end, we decided today to review the best bits so far. So in no particular order, we like Akaroa, Stewart Island, Christchurch, Dunedin, Doubtful and Milford Sound’s and the Mount Cook mountains, and finally the road from Lake Wanaka to Haast.

Tomorrow we head North again to the outskirts of humanity and we have loaded up the car with sufficient food to take care of the Chinese Army on the march. We are going to Karamea for two nights before heading on to Nelson.

Haast to Franz Josef Glacier

A grey day greeted us. The Hotel wanted the equivalent of 9 pounds for a continental breakfast, blow that, so we used up our fruit and found a toaster. we really are tight sometimes.

We left and drove up the coast in the middle of a forest it seemed like. This area is a totally protected scenic reservesand nothing is done to change it and the sand flies love every minute of it. We had read about the ‘Possums’ this little furry animal introduced here many years ago to start the fur industry but now they have taken over the country and it is believed there are more possums than sheep.
They are trying to catch them but they seem to outstrip their captors however cars are having more luck.
Whilst driving every mile or so, you see a little pile, or big pile of fur, where the possum has been hit by a car. They call this ‘Road Pizza’ a good name however I do not think we will try it.

The road advertisements for safe driving are quite good here and they are aimed at speeders ( a sign says 100 kmh is not a target, it’s the maximum) and another one to help stop drink driving say's

Don’t

DRINK

And

DrIvE

Quite effective really, but I digress.

The journey to Frans Josef Glacier took about two and a half hours with most of it being in forest, so many trees and shrubs, and finally we reached the Fox Glacier. As we drove up the road to the Glacier there were markers showing where the Glacier was 200 years ago, and 100 years ago and after another two kilometres and a five minute climb uphill we were able to view and take a few photos. As mentioned earlier, the weather today was not to good and so the photos of the Fox Glacier (mint) were not great.

We arrived in Franz Josef Glacier and had lunch and phoned Mount Cook Ski Planes to see what the position was re weather etc and as expected they said NO. However they said tomorrow, Monday, should be good and so we are booked on tomorrow’s 0830 flight over the Glaciers and Mount Cook and we hope that we shall make a landing on the Glacier, better than missing in think.

After a very good lunch we went to our Motel, this is a very nice place with chalet style rooms, and a small seating decked area and a small cooking area. We also have an interent connection, not fast, but was able to catch up on the last few days blogs and some outstanding email's. We nowlook forward to our flight tomorrow with anticipation.

Twizel to Haast- Just when you thought it could not get better!

We had to retrace our steps for about 90 minutes as we are driving to Haast in the West Coast of South Island. We left the Hotel around ten and headed back over the Lindis Pass which was much nicer today as the sun had appeared. We travelled over to Lake Wanaka where we stopped for a quick lunch before heading North again on route 6 to our next destination called Haast, a World heritage Site.

The journey started off by travelling next to Lake Hawea for about 20 miles and then this lake petered out and we rejoined Lake Wanaka for a while. We were surrounded by high mountains covered in trees and with snow on the very tops. We came across a waterfallcalled The Gates of Haast which was very beautiful, this journey ranks as one of the best we have completed. Yes, the mountains are not so dramatic as those leading up to Milford Sound but somehow with all the greenery, lovely perfectly coloured lakes and millions and millions of trees all waving in the sunlight you begin to run out of superlatives to describe the journey. Just Bloody great!!!

After about 4 hours we arrived in Haast to stay the night. Actually there is not much here apart from one Hotel where we are staying and perhaps two or three Motels, two dogs and cat.

We had decided to stay here and booked in advance as the next main town was about a further two hours away and we thought the journey from Twizel to The Glacier Franz Josef would be too long a day and we were right.

We had an early meal of fish and chips at the café in the Hotel, not great, but we have had worse and then drove up the long road to Jackson Bay only to find it was further away than we thought and so we gave up and came back. This place is at the end of the road and basically you cannot go any further South. There is no Mobile/Cell phone coverage here and the Hotel Internet speed (28 minutes to log on,read three emails and replied to two)is well placed amongst the African states. This is a World Heritage Site and one of the few remaining natural areas in the world today. Our part drive down to Jackson bay was like going through a South American rain forest and very remote. The Hotel is fairly basic and expensive for the accommodation but beggars cannot be choosers. The weather forecast for the next few days is pretty good and so we will try to sort out a Scenic Flight in the next day or two.

Twizel Day

We awoke to the sound of pouring rain and that was ominous as far as our scenic flight was concerned. We phoned them as agreed just after 8 am and they confirmed every flight was cancelled until after lunch and so we should check back at about 1200. Anyway, we headed off toward Mount Cook town and spent some time in the visitor Centre and then visited the airport and they suggested we came back about 3 pm and with a bit of luck we would go. So we left the Airport and took a 45 minute walk up a steep and rocky hill to see a receding Glacier next to a lake which looked very dirty but in fact was a mixture of Ice, Rocks and water. Not the greatest of views but good exercise none the less. When we got back to the car park there were about five Classic Jaguar Cars parked, they were on a South Island tour, just like the Classic Bentley lot.

By this time we need to check with the Airport and so drove there only to find that the one hour flight with all the interesting bits such as landing on the Glacier was not possible due to visibility reasons however they did offer an alternative for about 25 minutes which we thought would not be much different from the views that we could see from the ground. We have therefore decided to bide our time and hope the weather changes over the next day or two.

We drove back to Twizel and the rain started briefly again so we walked around this major town, ten shops and three restaurants/cafes and spent a short while doing email etc.

Having looked at the menus around town we have decided to stay in the hotel again tonight for their buffet.

Getting connections to email in this part of New Zealand can be hard whilst it can also be slow and expensive.

Queenstown to Twizel – Valentines Day.

After several days of good weather we awoke to a grey sky and drizzle – Great. It has just been announced that there is a drought here so now it’s raining. Anyway it’s time to move on to Twizel and hopefully a flight around Mount Cook.

Our route took us up the Kawarau gorge past vineyards and bungee jump sites to the town of Cromwell. After the dramatic scenery of the gorge the land flattens out into farmland with many orchards of apple, plum, cherry and peach trees to name a few. Cromwell celebrates this with a huge sculpture of fruit at the entrance to the town and so we stopped and bought some peaches and cherries etc.

The town is beautifully laid out with a stream running through the shopping area and lots of trees and flowers. Here we had a coffee before moving on to find a picnic spot for lunchtime. We travelled up the Lindis Valley which is really lovely and a very hilly and found a perfect spot under trees by a small brook where we had lunch listening to the birds sing.

We arrived at the hotel around teatime and decided to eat at the hotel tonight. The Hotel was running a buffet with local Beef, Lamb and Pork and we both agreed that the Beef and Lamb tasted so much better than expected and the colour of the Lamb was much redder than we get in UK but the taste was really great. Had have a couple of glasses of wine to go with it though and Noel had Australian Shiraz as the wine waiter also agreed the NZ red’s are not to the same standard as the Ozzie

Our last full day in Queenstown

We decided to make today a walking/exercise day rather than drive around as we are due to drive to Twizle tomorrow morning.

We headed off downtown and joined the queue to get on the Coal driven twin screw vessel TSS Earnslaw for a 90 minute Lake Cruise.

This is an amazing old vessel which was made in Dunedin and then driven to Invercargill many years ago, and then cut in to several pieces and shipped by Train to Kingston, the other end of the Lake from Queenstown, and then re-assembled and ever since it has been used for day cruising. The vessel is about 60 metres long and 9 metres wide and a very comfortable boat to ride in.

The weather was a bit cloudier today but still it was a nice way to spend our late morning and as we had bought a Subway roll before leaving we were able to have lunch on board.

We then climbed part of the hill to ride on the Gondola to the top of one of the mountains that overlooks Queenstown there is a magnificent view from up there. Apart from coming back down again by Gondola, you can also paraglide, cycle or Bungee. We did not try any of these but instead had a nice cup of tea and went down by Gondola the same way we came up.

We dropped in to the Patagonia Ice Cream parlour they sell some wonderful ice cream and as good as any American Ice Cream that we have had.

We then headed back to the Motel and I took a few photos of Hotels and Motels, many of which are fully booked and so its imperative to have bookings made in advance particularly in the high season.

Tonight we have decided to stay in and have a salad in our room, read and watch TV in preparation for our next few days of travel

Queenstown – A very active day indeed.

The sun shone as we got up this morning and whilst Jennifer attended to some important washing, my socks, I planned the day based on the tons of information that was available. I also checked on scenic flights which we are anxious to do and we have a booking for Friday 15^th from Mount Cook, not cheap!! But the cost of a one hour flight for the two of us is about the same as a business fare to New York from London, so we really hope it will be worth it. We are due to land on one of the Glaciers, this should be very interesting.

We left with a quick drive through Queenstown and headed out to the Snow Skiing area of the Coronet Peak and with the sun shining it was great to see such wonderful views over the Town and Lake.

We drove almost to the top, as far as the line of mist and then decided to head down and there we saw a one legged man cycling up this very steep road. How he did this I cannot possibly imagine as I doubt whether Jennifer or I could have done it with two legs.

Then off to see the famous ‘Shotover Jet’ boats racing through the canyon, it was quite hair raising as you can see from the photographs. But it was well worth the visit.

We then headed of the historic old Gold Rush town of ‘Arrowtown’ which is a very nice place with lots of good shops and restaurants and so we had a quick bite here and wandered around and went to the Chinese Settlement. In the late 1800’s over 8000 Chinese from the Guangdong Province came here to make their fortune although most of them did not. They built their own small town right by the river.

Just as we were leaving Arrowtown we came across two old Bentley motor cars that are part of a large group who started touring the South Island about two weeks ago. Two lovely cars although a garage mechanic nearby mentioned that one of the other cars had a brake failure and went head on into another car, the damage to the car was more severe than the damage to the occupants.

Now it was time for ‘Bungee Jumping’ at the famous bridge. This is a dangerous sport in my book and not for the faint hearted. Here you stand 150 feet above a fast flowing river lined with rocks and you jump head first and hope you don’t hit your head on the bottom. Not the best way to spend your day and so we felt that we needed a drink and headed of the (Winery) as they call it, we English call it a vineyard. So we visited Chard Farm Winery and sampled a few wines, but not drinking, just slurping as the true professional does it, Noel was driving so could not drink. We finally purchased a nice bottle of ‘Judge & Jury’ Chardonnay for us to test at some later date. Perhaps even tonight we may try it.

By this time it was around 4.30 pm so we headed back to the Motel via the supermarket to buy something for tea.

Te Anau to Queenstown

We left Te Anau for the three hours, or so, drive to Queenstown through the rolling countryside and with ‘The Remarkable’ mountains coming in to view. It was a lovely journey and the weather was very good with a temperature around 22 degrees Centigrade with mostly sun. We stopped for lunch next to the Lake just outside of Queenstown and ate our Subway rolls we had bought in Te Anau.

This is a Post Box outside a Farm

We arrived and located our Motel on the main road in to Queenstown, a bit noisy, yet on the other hand close enough to walk in to town without having to worry where to park the car.

As we checked in Noel hit the door locking button of the car remote

only to find it did not work. Our immediate though was that the battery had gone but when asking about it in reception it was mentioned that this was a common occurrence due to their special internet WiFi links? I have never heard of this before.

The photo on the right is the view from our Motel

Noel last visited Queenstown in 1988 and says the change is

incredible as now it’s the centre for the ‘all action’ sports of Bungee Jumping, The Shotover Jet boats, White water rafting, mountain climbing, yes you have it all but none of the things we wanted to do but we have discovered a Vineyard tour which is a little bit more to our style.

We then walked around town for a while and picked up some hot pies for tea, then sat on the side of the lake watching the world go by until the skies started looking a little bit angry and it looked like rain, we were not dressed for rain, we were dressed for the sun.

Last night whilst we were having dinner at the Chinese Restaurant in Te Anau, the heavens opened for about as long as it took us to eat our dinner luckily it had stopped by the time we had to leave. But wow! did it rain, we did not want to get caught in that.

We also used the time in town today for Noel to get a haircut and also to go to an Internet Café to update the Photo Blog but even here the line speeds are slow, perhaps 2 meg so it takes a long time.

Tomorrow we are going to find out about Scenic Flights over Mount Cook and the best place to do them from, before we head off to the Vineyards and perhaps watch the Bungee Jumpers break their legs, or something. When walking home there was an attractive young lady who had possibly tried one of the above activities as she was gingerly walking on crutches.

Queenstown is a bustling place with many restaurants of all types and coach loads of visitors, fun for a couple of days but we do enjoy the quieter places.

Our day Trip to Milford Sound

We awoke to the sound of rain, however by the time we left it had stopped and the road was dry. We went through the Te Anau Downs, as they call them and in the early stages of the journey it reminds you of bits of the New Forest, but not for long.

We stopped for a short while at the ‘Mirror Lakes’ where you can photograph the water and the scenery and they merge in the middle. On then through a town called Knob Flat, (must be a reason it’s called that?) until we reached Homer Tunnel that goes through the rock into the Milford Sound World Heritage Park.

You could see the snow and ice in places and when we got through the tunnel the weather had changed and become very cloudy and really not suitable for photographs.

We booked our place on the ‘Encounter’ tour which lasted about two hours and fifteen minutes. It was very enjoyable with the boat getting almost within touching distance of the solid vertical walls of the fiord. Again we saw New Zealand Fur Seals (actually a type of Sea Lion), much closer this time, and then the boat nosed in to the wall of the Fiord at the bottom of a large waterfall and we all got quite wet but it was fun.

It would appear that the mountains in this region are loaded with all types of minerals and if mined it would make New Zealand the richest country in the world, only they won’t mine it.

You can see in the Phanfare photographs how small the boats look against the size of the mountains. Apparently Sir Edmund Hilary used to practise his rock climbing here before taking on Everest. There is one mountain nearby that many experienced climbers cannot make because the sides are so steep.

So after the boat trip (as it had rained a bit whilst we were out) we headed home for a hot shower and a quick change before another Chinese Dinner.

The last two days have been perfect, such fantastic scenery and all now controlled to stop any mining and hopefully protected for all time.

Doubtful Sound - No picture I have taken can do this place justice

A reasonably early morning and we left for Manapouri to connect with our ‘Day Trip’ to Doubtful Sound. The journey consisted of a 55 minute Boat ride to Deep Cove on Lake Manapouri, a 40 minute coach ride and then another three hours on the Catamaran in Doubtful Sound. The first boat journey to Deep Cove although beautiful could not prepare you for the rest of the day. When we arrived at the Dock we were then driven to The Lake Manapouri Hydro Electric Scheme. This required a coach ride downhill in a tunnel for 2 kilometres into the mountain to the generating plant. The generating station was created by about 17 different nationalities, but mainly Italian workers. The Hydro Electric plant provides a vast amount of power of which 85 per cent goes to a Aluminium Smelting Plant and the balance to the National Grid.

On the Coach journey you climb quite high over the Wilmot Pass. This road was used for bringing in all the Hydro Electric Plant equipment and as the road has a gradient of 1 in 5 it could not have been easy which is why it is the most expensive road in New Zealand.

We boarded the catamaran for our three hour Doubtful Sound tour and the views were truly amazing and something that Jennifer and I will never forget.

We were able to see Bottlenose Dolphins and Fur Seals up quite close. There was a pod of about 20 Dolphins, young and old. They were leaping and somersaulting in the air. It seems that these particular dolphins seldom leave the Sound.

The Fur Seals were on Nee Islets in the mouth of Doubtful Sound were they can be seen all year round. There were lots of them, large bulls and small pups as well as females. Many were frolicking in the surf while the others were basking on the rocks.

Then a large cruise ship the Sapphire Princess came into sight as it was touring just a small part of the fiord. These large cruise ships are great but in this environment they could not get close to the marine life and for safety reasons can not tour the complete inlet which we were able to do.

The mountains, trees and waterfalls are amazing and when you consider that this area of New Zealand’s South Island has an annual average rainfall of between 6 and 9 metres, boy is that a lot of rain.

We then headed home in the drizzle, it rains 2 days out of 3 here, then back on to the coach and another 40 minutes drive followed by another 55 minute boat ride back to Manapouri where we arrived at about 5 pm.

So back to the Motel, both of us felt hungry/not hungry so we walked the street looking for something light to eat and we came across a Chinese Restaurant called the Ming Garden that was quite busy. After having lived in Hong Kong for many years we are always very careful about trying a Chinese restaurant as we have been very disappointed more often than not. However tonight was the exception, as the food was really excellent and so we may go back again tomorrow! That says something.

It’s raining as I write this, Hey! What a surprise.

Tomorrow we are planning to drive to Milford Sound and this is apparently a fantastic drive.

Will let you know tomorrow so watch this space.

Note-Phanfare Photos will be fully updated in next 2/3 days when fast internet connection available

Stewart Island to Te Anau

An early start to the day at 0630 so as to be up early, pack our things and catch the 0800 Ferry to Bluff. It was a gorgeous morning weather wise as we left Stewart Island and we have been so lucky with the weather in the last few days.. We stopped in Invercargill for a quick breakfast and some food shopping and left Town on the Scenic Route to Te Anau via Riverton, Tuatapere. Lake Manapouri . It was flat countreyside at first but then the mountains started appearing and then growing bigger and you could even see some snow caps. The weather had got a bit cloudy now and not so good for photographs. We had lunch overlooking Lake Manapouri and arrived in Te Anau around 3 pm.

This is a small town mainly for the benefit of tourists wishing to visit Doubtful Sound or Milford Sound. The Lake here is also very nice and there are also trips to a cave where there are some glow worms me, being a mistrusting type, I bet they are LED’s.

We had booked on the internet from Stewart Island a Doubtful Sound Day Trip and was expecting an email confirmation but it had not arrived by mid afternoon. Luckily our Motel is only 5 minutes walk from the Tour Company booking office and so we were able to confirm our travel plans for tomorrow. It’s another early start again as the boats and Coaches are quite full and so they have put on an extra boat and coach, not just for us, but this will enable us to go.

So we have now retired to the Motel, Jennifer to do some washing and Noel to cook the Dinner.

T.

Stewart Island and still No FISH

Our plan today was to go on the semi-submersable to see some fish however getting on board and going out in this special boat the visibility was not suitable and so we headed back to port and then think what we would do next. So, after some considerable thought we went to the small Fish & Chip cabin on the sea front and looked at the fish there, admittadley after they had been cooked in batter and served with chips. Not bad really.
Then using the borrowed car we did a quick tour, it has to be quick as there are few roads to drive on so after about 35 minutes we had seen all we could and then headed back to the Motel for an afternoon's reading. A really exhausting day!!
Tonite we shall stay in and watch TV as we have to be up early to catch the 0800 hrs boat back to Bluff and then drive the 190 Kilometres or so to Te Enau where we shall spend three nights exploring the moutains and lakes etc.

Photos to be added when better internet connection available

Day 2 Stewart Island- No Fish, Two Birds and a Pengiun

We had to move Motels this morning as when we were booking some months ago it was not possible to find three nights in one location and so hence the move.

The new Motel is Rakauira Retreat a little bit out of town but in a beautiful location overlooking the bay. The sun was shining when we left the Motel to head off back to the main wharf to pick up our trip on the semi submersible only to find it was cancelled for the day apparently due to water clarity reasons. So we kicked our heals for a couple of hours and then joined the Paterson Inlet tour which takes you round the large bay/Inlet and then finally to the Bird Sanctuary Island called ULVA. There was about 35 people on the trip and so we split in to two groups and headed off the to see some birds, we hoped. I think somebody must have tipped them off tha group was coming and they all but disappeared apart from two.

However it was a pleasant way to spend 3.5 hours and when we got back to port we headed for the South Sea Hotel for a quick pint which we enjoyed in the sun so much that we decided to have another.

We had heard about the restaurant called Church Hill and so we had booked a table, the food was excellent and the views over the bay also great. Both Jennifer and I had the mixed seafood salad followed by Salmon (Jen) and cod for me. The Chef is French and the restaurant is owned by a German couple and the wife would not look out of place holding six steins of beer in a German Bierkeller.

The motel is a bit remote and to avoid having to ferry guests to much there were a couple of old banger we could use and so following dinner we did a quick trip down one side of the Island for about 2 kilometres and then ran out of road.

Stewart Island is has a population of around 400 people with one supermarket and about 3 other shops selling bric a brac.

The Island is split to about 85% protected Conservation area, 13% is owned by the Maori’s and the remaining space is where the 400 people live and breath. It’s a very quiet place to visit and anybody coming to New Zealand should add this to there travel plans.