Jan 2007

We arrived at Haast, having stopped off for a few walks to admire several waterfalls on the way - and most of them were in full flow because of the rain!!!

Haast is rather a one horse town, but gave Bob a welcome break from the driving in driving rain!!! We did manage a walk on the beach between showers and then relaxed and did some reading and watched a video.

We were then up early the next day for our journey on to Wanaka. A beautiful town at the southern end of Lake Wanaka. The journey down started in the wet and fog, but thankfully we arrived to find sunshine. We wandered round the town and a small craft market before a visit to Puzzling World where there were several interesting puzzles and optical illusions, as well as a maze. We drove out to a few lookouts around the Lake to at last get a few pictures of the mountain tops!!!

We have now travelled on to Queenstown, an area renowned for the extreme sports and adventures that New Zealand is famous for. I got Bob to pull in as we passed the Kawarau River Bridge to watch the bungy jumping!!! Bob was actually tempted to have a go, but in the end decided the rope may not be up to the job!!!

Queenstown itself is very picturesque with two rivers, the Shotover and Kawarau meandering into Lake Wakatipu on which it is situated. It is surrounded by mountains, in particular "The Remarkables" which are what they say!! The sun has been shining for most of our time here, which has enabled us to get out and about a bit more.

We firstly went up to the top of Deer Park Heights to get some magnificent 360 degree views around Queenstown, and also to enjoy the delights of a whole host of animals roaming wild in the area. These included Highland Cattle, Bison, Llamas, Goats, Deer and Sheep, some of which we (or rather Bob) were able to hand feed. This was also the location for the filming of parts of Lord of the Rings and other films.

Today it has been wall to wall blue sky so we have taken time out to walk around the Queenstown Gardens along the lake side and sat and sunbathed near the marina, with Bob itching to have a go on the NZL14 a yacht which took part in the Americas Cup and which now offers trips around the lake for those with sea legs! Unfortunately this was not possible due to lack of numbers and he didn't fancy a solo trip, even across a smooth lake!!!

We then headed to the hills for a trip skywards on the Queenstown Gondola which again offered some amazing views of the surrounding countryside and for a bit of excitement had a go on the luge track which runs around the top edge of the mountain!!!

We arrived in Franz Josef late afternoon, and having called at the Information Centre and booked our accommodation, we headed to check out the possibility of booking a helicopter flight over the glaciers for the next day. We weren't very hopeful as the weather was once again cloudy and wet.

To our amazement the guy said "you are on in 5 minutes - the weather above the clouds is wonderful and sunny". So that was it, we grabbed a jacket and we were off with another couple from Holland.

To say it was amazing was yet another understatement. Neither of us had been in a helicopter before so we were not sure what to expect and it was with some trepidation that we leapt on board. The ride itself was really smooth, although the pilot did treat us to a couple of dive bombs just to churn our stomachs a bit. We managed to thread our way up the valley through gaps in the cloud and once we were above this we swooped up and over to the top of the Franz Josef glacier, with our stomachs left somewhere below!!!

Having flown round and given us an explanation of the glacier, we then flew up over several other peaks and down onto Fox glacier where we landed. We were able to get out and play in the snow - being careful not to fall down any large crevasses!!!

We then flew back down along the route of the glacier, banking backwards and forwards along the hillside where there was a small window in the cloud - another amazing experience!!

We were so lucky to be able to do this (surprise surprise I can hear you say) as the next day the clouds had thickened up so much and the torrential rain meant there were no flights.

With no views of the glaciers the next morning and persistent rain we headed off to our next destination of Haast, a journey of 145km. The end of this day signals our half way point on our journey - it's all downhill from here!!!

We have been struggling to decide which of our many photos to put on our blog as we were originally only allocated 25mb of space each month. However, because of the interest of all of you we have now been upgraded to 100mb per month, which means we should be able to post more photos for you to enjoy. (Less for you to have to sit through when we get home!!!!). So thank you all for your continued interest. Please keep the comments coming as we look forward to logging on to see what you are all saying!!!

We boarded the ferry in Wellington and were faced once again with a cloudly, overcast day, but at least the water was calm!! However, after this bad start, things got amazingly better. As we moved closer to the South Island the sun came out and the views as we entered and travelled up the Marlborough Sound to Picton were breathtaking. This is what we had been waiting for!!!!

Having picked up our new rental car we took the Queen Charlotte costal route to Nelson. Again, the journey was in sunshine and we were able to stop at various lookouts on the way for more fabulous views!!!

Having travelled through Havelock, the green lipped mussel capital of the world Bob could not resist ordering these for his dinner that evening in Nelson and he wasn't disappointed - they were delicious!!! (Sorry Idris!!!).

Unfortunately, we woke the next day to the same old story - overcast skies and the threat of rain!! Not to be deterred we headed on our planned day to the Abel Tasman Nature Reserve. There we "enjoyed" a white knuckle water taxi ride up the coastline (well Jan had white knuckles and a few bruises - to say it was bumpy was an understatement!!!). The view of the coves, beaches and reserve were not at their best in the overcast skies, but enjoyable nonetheless. We disembarked at Tonga Bay for a 6km walk back along the coastline to Bark Bay for the water taxi return journey. (Had it not been more than 3 hours walk back, Jan would have walked all the way!!!!). Bob was up for a bit of sea kayaking, but unfortunately time ran out (well that's his excuse anyway!!!).

The next day dawned cloudy and dull again as we set off south via Westport, visiting a seal colony at Tarangua Bay on the way and also stopping at Punakaiki to view the "pancake rocks" and blowholes - a magnificent and most unusual sight!

The weather had cheered up by then, so we were able to enjoy a few glimpses of the sun before heading on to our next overnight stop in Greymouth. It lived up to it's name, raining during the night and once again being dull and overcast in the morning.

The next morning a short journey down the road took us to Shantytown which is a restored gold mining town and this proved very interesting, with lots of old relics (no, not Bob!!!), panning for gold and a steam train journey up the valley.

On southwards we hit Hokitika, a beautiful "arty" town with lots of jade and jewellery shops, galleries and the like. We enjoyed a walk along the beach as the sun came out, stopping to admire the driftwood of all shapes and sizes.

Our overnight stop will be Franz Josef where we hope the weather will clear enough for us to enjoy the famous glacier.

Well the rain seemed to be following us as we headed south. First stop after Rotorua was Lake Taupo and any chance of a good photo of the lake in all its glory was lost by the mists!!! An interesting place nonetheless, built on a grid system, so even Jan managed to navigate without disaster!!!

The A1 Grand Prix will be here shortly, so preparations were in full swing with chequered flags everywhere. A shame we were moving on and will miss it.

Because of the rain we swiftly moved on to Napier and were fortunate in some ways to get there!!! Bob generally leaves it to the last minute to fill up with petrol (in fact until we are travelling on fresh air usually!!!), but for some reason he decided to turn back to a petrol station we had just passed, even though there was still a quarter of a tank of petrol. Well, it was a good job he did. We travelled on to Napier (some 140km) and did not see another petrol station. As we travelled on we kept saying how lucky we were (no surprise there for those of you who know Bob!!!) as we would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains, pine forests and not a lot else!!!

Napier was lovely, probably partly due to the fact that it didn't rain and we had some patchy sunshine for a while. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in the art deco style during the 1930's and was considered to be one of the most modern cities in the world at that time. It has definitely kept its charm and has not been overdeveloped for the tourist industry.

We spent a lovely evening round on the harbourside where old warehouses have been converted to bars and restaurants.

After Napier we moved further south to Palmerston North (200km), and spent a pleasant afternoon firstly at the Rugby Museum which covered world rugby history with lots of interesting memorabilia and then on to the Victoria Esplanade. This is a lovely area along the banks of the Manamatu River which housed a wonderful rose garden, bird sanctuary, beautiful formal gardens and a steam train. It was a very restful afternoon for us having travelled so far in quite a short space of time and again the weather was kind to us.

We have now completed our travels south down the North Island and have arrived in Wellington. We had a quick tour round to get our bearings as we will be returning to Wellington for a longer stay on our way back north. So tomorrow morning we will be on the ferry for the 3.5 hour trip to the South Island (Picton) and then on for a few days in Nelson.

Well, we haven't managed to stay ahead of the rain as we have headed south to Rotorua. Travelling south down the Pacific Coast Highway we did manage to take in some lovely scenery although slightly overcast. We made a stop at Mount Maunganui where the sun actually broke through and we had a lovely hour or so wandering along the beach where an abundance of green-lipped mussels can be found (Idris would enjoy it here!!!).

Onwards to Te Puke for an interesting tour of a Kiwi fruit farm and a sample of the goods!!!

We then decided to carry on down to Rotorua as the rain drew in. Infamous for it's sulphurous smell, it hasn't disappointed, which has been a particular problem for Bob, with his equipment!!!!

The evening was not without incident as close by there was an armed police stand-off, with police cars racing all over the place!!!

Today it has been raining torrentially and continually!!! Visibility has been very poor and our planned day had to be amended. However, we have visited the Buried Village of Te Wairoa which was overcome by a volcano (Mount Tarawera) in June 1886. It was fascinating to walk round and to hear from one of the survivors great grandchildren.

We then went on to Te Puia where there are hot thermal mud springs and active geysers provided a spectacular display, only beaten by Bob who was called up to perform the Haka during a Maori display. (He doesn't change does he!!!) Unfortunately he didn't get a gold medal for his participation, Laurie!!!

We have managed to keep ourselves entertained during a terrible day weatherwise, but have missed out on the gondola ride and luge and various other scenic attractions. With visibility so poor it has also been impossible to get any good pictures, but we live in hope for a better day tomorrow as we head down to Lake Taupo and on to Napier.