Sunday 30^th November

Today started with sunshine so we took advantage of the weather and headed out for a walk after breakfast. We parked at Dick road car park and walked to the Pyramids – a couple of volcanic outcrops – and then did a loop on lovely marked paths to Victory Beach. The rain only spotted a couple of times so we were lucky and the walk was a little sheltered from the winds by the surrounding hills. Iain did an extra bit and climbed up the small pyramid for some splendid views and managed to get back to the car park shortly after I did and before the heavens opened!

We then drove to the end of the peninsula to the albatross centre where we joined a tour (only 4 of us) to learn about the Royal Albatross and then walk up to view the cliff where they nest. They are the only mainland nesting colony and have been here for many years since the area was cleared –originally for gun emplacements. The wardens tag all the birds and help to keep the eggs and chicks free of predators such as rats, stoats and ferrets (which are a lot larger than ferrets I have seen at home). They arrive in September and the young fly off the following September and stay away at sea for five years before coming back to the peninsula. After a few years trying to find a mate, if successful, they nest and by the age of eight most will have an egg which may have a 50% chance of survival or of being fertile. They return every couple of years if successful and nest again and most pairs stay together for a while although they do change sometimes. If the nesting fails they return each year until successfully raising a chick.

After a cup of tea in the café we drove through the rain back to Kaimata to relax before dinner.

Saturday 29^th November

                  

After a leisurely start we drove the scenic route to Dunedin via Twizel and Oamaru. On the way, as well as admiring the pastoral scenery we stopped at a major Maori art site. Unfortunately most of the art has been removed to museums and what is left is very eroded and quite unspectacular.

We stopped for lunch at Oamaru and were intending to look at the blue penguin colony there but apparently there is nothing much to see until evening when the birds come back to their nests, so we didn’t bother.

We found our way past the famous Dunedin railway station which is indeed a notable building and meandered our way onto the Otago Peninsula. Unfortunately the sat nav took us on a narrow road over the hills in the centre which was very scenic but a bit scary!

We then had to drive quite a way on unmade roads to reach Kaimata on Cape Saunders Rd which is where we stay for three nights. The view from every large window is spectacular – the bay with sand banks at low tide and the hills beyond. It was very windy and the surface of the sea was very choppy. We have a corner room and have a large French windows on each side so we can lie in bed and admire the view in the morning – no need for curtains! There are only two other couples here and when we arrived we discovered that they cook evening meals on request. They have an excellent chef so we will definitely take advantage of this as we are in the back of beyond here and 30-40 minutes from Dunedin.

We had arranged to meet Nigel and Denise for a meal which meant driving back to Dunedin which we did by the much easier coastal road and we all had a lovely evening. Nigel and Denise are coming over to Kaimata for dinner tomorrow evening.

Friday 28^th November

Today looked sunny so we decided to drive up to the end of the road (about 100Km) to the lower slopes of Mount Cook. The drive was wonderful with mountains on three sides for some of the way and alongside Lake Pukaki. With numerous photo stops we arrived at the end of the road where there was a very good visitor’s centre and a café where we had some lunch (Iain had one of NZs famous pies and I had soup). We drove up to white Horse hill campground where we parked up and walked uphill (but fairly gently) to the Kea Point lookout. We had magnificent views of the murrain wall of the Mueller Glacier, and Mount Sefton with the Huddlestone Glacier clearly in view. It was so warm in the sunshine that I didn’t even need my fleece! Both the top peaks of Mount Cook were in full view on occasion as well. The whole walk only took an hour or so.

We decided we still had time to do another shortish walk so we drove up the newly tarmaced Tasman Valley road and parked at the Blue Lakes car park. The walk was quite step and rocky at the top but I made it in half an hour or so and it was well worth the effort. The Blue Lake is actually no longer fed by meltwater and is now green with algae but still beautiful. We could see the Tasman Glacier and several icebergs floating in the glacier lake although they were no longer glistening white!

We drove back to Tekapo and the skies darkened so we definitely had the best of the day. As we drove through we picked up a takeaway Thai for dinner.

Thursday 27^th November

We had a long drive today partly because we took the scenic summit road from Akaroa which was very windy but gave us some superb views of the inlets.

Having crossed over the longest bridge in New Zealand, over the River Rakaia, we stopped in Ashburton to have some lunch and try to get Iain a new watch (strap broken again on the old one) unsuccessfully.

We arrived in Lake Tekapo around 3.30pm and settled into our abode – a bedroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom with a shared laundry attached. It is situated right on the lake in lovely gardens and we wandered out around the lake and into town to get some breakfast provisions and see where we might eat. We have decided on a Thai takeaway tomorrow but tonight we had a good meal at a recommended restaurant – I went vegetarian with a spinach, feta and quinoa salad followed by a spicy chickpea and spinach bake – both very good. I then spoilt my resolve by having vanilla ice cream with kaluha..delicious!

 Wednesday 26^th November

We woke to a sunny day and after an early breakfast at 8am we were on the road for just after half past to drive down past Christchurch to Akaroa. The route took three and a half hours and we had a coffee stop at a very pleasant café garden in Waipara winery. We arrived in Akaroa, which is situated on a beautiful sheltered bay created when the large volcanic crater connected to the sea many thousands of years ago, with time to park, grab a sandwich and get to the jetty by 1.20pm to board a boat for a nature cruise around the harbour. As two liners were in the bay today it was quite crowded but Iain managed to find us seats on the upper viewing deck.

We motored around with a guide pointing out the various sea birds and rock formations including basalt columns and sea caves. We also saw some more fur seals. 

We then went outside the harbour and came across a large pod (about ten) of Hector’s Dolphins that we have heard a lot about but not yet seen. They are very small for dolphins but played alongside the bow wave for a considerable time so we were able to get a good look at them. The sun was hot and it was pleasant rather than cold to have the sea breeze blowing on us as we travelled!

Once back ashore we found our way to our overnight stay which was outside the main town set on the hillside with lovely views of Akaroa from our verandah. 

It has a small kitchen so we decided to self cater tonight. We drove back down to the town and sat by the waterfront having a beer (or a ginger beer in Iain’s case as he was driving and he won’t drink anything alcoholic at all when he is driving) before going to the local butcher for some steak and then across the road to the supermarket.

We sat on the verandah with a glass of white wine and some crackers with chilli humous or camembert – delicious. We are then going to have porterhouse steak with mushrooms, asparagus and fresh bread – yummy!

Tuesday 25^th November

Today was very cloudy and mist hid the mountains, although sometimes you could see a white peak peaking out. After an excellent breakfast we decided to walk down the main street and call in at the information centre. There we booked on a forty minute cave tour starting nearby at 10.30am. The cave is billed as the Maori Leap Cave because apparently a Maori warrior leaped down the 30-40m limestone cliffs to escape his enemies. Having donned helmets ourselves and a Danish couple were taken into the old sea cave which was only discovered in 1958 when a hole was blasted through into the roof of the cave while they were collecting limestone to grind down for fertiliser. It is quite a short cave system but has some nice examples of straws, stalactities, stalagmites, flows, and columns. A great old guy called Frank showed us around and obviously loves his cave – we loved it too!

We then decided to go for a drive to see if the weather would clear. It didn’t but the scenery was lovely as we wove our way to Waiau where we stopped for lunch. I was only going to have salad but ended up having lasagne and salad and the lasagne was even better than mine!

The mountains were shrouded in cloud but the lower hills and rivers were beautiful. The rivers in New Zealand are mainly very wide and mainly dry beds of gravel and stones with a tiny channel of water as they really only flow strongly when the snows melt in the mountains.

Once back in Kaikoura we drove around the peninsula to see a seal colony. We only saw a few seals but it was good walking across the limestone pavement exposed by low tide.

We had another excellent meal at the Green Dolphin – I had homemade fettucine with seafood followed by an amazing concoction called Fig salami with honeyed walnuts and blue cheese – they have a very clever chef!

Monday 24^th November

Today we drove down the east coast to Kaikoura. On the way we stopped at Ohau Point to look at the fur seals that nest really close to the road but protected by a rocky outcrop.

We had a picnic lunch before booking in for a whale watch tour at Kaukoura with 46 other hopefuls. We weren’t expecting much and were delighted when we came across a sperm whale quite soon. He was apparently well known locally and was busy sleeping but we were close enough to see his skin – he was only 20-30 metres away from the boat.

Many photos later we continued and on the way to another location where a whale had just been sighted, we came across another sperm whale that, after about five minutes, obligingly dived for us with a flick of his tail in the air. We then saw the third sperm whale who was a massive specimen and again quite close to the boat. Seeing his tail flukes lift up into the air as he dived was amazing. We also came across a large group of different birds (shearwaters, terns, albatross and petrels) but were unsure why they had gathered there as no fishing boat was near.

Once back ashore we drove up to a lookout and then found our B & B. A large, one-storey, rambling house with lots of rooms all set in a beautiful garden. The owner, Margaret, is a keen gardener but in her eighties, and is helped by her unmarried daughter, Nicky. The room is quite small and has no view but there is a guest lounge and a small kitchen/laundry. They have magnificent vegetable beds, all raised, a very large greenhouse full of tomatoes and twelve chickens. I have never seen such a good rhubarb crop as they have here!

We drove down the hill to a restaurant for dinner and liked it so much we are going back tomorrow! We got a lovely welcome and the atmosphere and the food were great.

Sunday 23^rd November

Iain pulled a muscle in his thigh yesterday so we decided to go for a drive along the coast and around. The coastal Queen Charlotte Drive skirts the coast with lots of great views and stopping points. We saw a couple of Weka en route as well. We drove to Havelock and then Nelson and went down route 6 past Richmond Range – all very scenic.

At Wakefield we stopped for lunch at a lovely little place: The Wakefield Villa Tearooms (the owner’s parents lived in Ashton and Oldham before coming out to NZ!) We had pasty and spinach and feta parcel respectively, with a salad that was one of the most interesting I’ve had with lettuce, cabbage, carrot, cress and seeds of various kinds sat out in the sunshine in their beautiful little garden – a real gem of a place.

We then turned down a minor road to Golden Downs. I think the name derives from all the yellow broom – I’ve never seen it growing so prolifically! We then drove back up the other side of the Range on route 63 past lots of vineyards to Blenheim and then back to Picton, where we dropped off the car, walked into town and had a beer in the sunshine.

We had an excellent dinner of garlic prawns, salt & pepper squid followed by Mahi (a type of white fish) served on mushroom risotto. It may sound strange but it really worked!

Saturday 22^nd November

Our first job was to go back to the ferry port (only 5minutes drive) because, very stupidly, we had left Iain’s camera and our fleeces on the back seat of the hire car. We realised almost as soon as we’d done it but were unable to retrieve our key so Hertz arranged for them to be sent over that night on the next ferry to collect in the morning.

Today the weather is rather wet but still quite warm so we went for a short circular walk around part of the promontory towards Bob’s Bay and happily the rain started to ease off. On our return I put some washing on and we went shopping for provisions – wine meatballs and pasta for tonight.

We went out for some lunch (seafood chowder – very good) before boarding a small boat at 1.30pm to go dolphin watching. It was quite windy and choppy as we motored up Queen Charlotte Sound but we did catch sight of a couple of Dusky Dolphins and some fur seals. We also saw some of the second rarest seabirds in the world – King Shags – that are only found in the outer part of Marlborough sound.

Apart from that we also saw Shearwaters, Australasian Gannets, Pied Shags and various others whose names I have forgotten! We also moored up at Motuara Island and walked up to Cook’s lookout where Captain Cook first saw Cook’s Strait. It was a steep climb up but the sun came out and the views were superb.

The weather was quite sunny early evening so we ate outside at some tables and chairs just below our verandah that were still in the sunshine.

Friday 21^st November

Today, having packed the car, we went for a short walk on the ridge above where we were staying to get some good sea views. The coast path wound several batteries and gun emplacements left over from WW2.

We then found our way to the Te Papa museum and spent a couple of hours looking at various interesting exhibitions on the history of New Zealand. One of the most interesting and shocking was a series of maps of New Zealand showing the original forested areas, then how it was depleted by the Maoris and early settlers and then by the influx of Europeans trading for the wood and clearing land for grazing. Another was an interesting film showing the origin of the Haka. Iain had a slight contretemps with a pillar in the museum car park when reversing out of our space, but luckily we have full insurance with no excess!

We found the ferry port and dropped off the car in plenty of time to catch the Interislander. The ferry crossing was uneventful and we like the look of Picton – a small harbour set in lovely countryside. Our motel room is spacious, well equipped and we have a great view of the harbour. We ate out tonight and had some lovely fish but intend to cook for ourselves tomorrow, for a change.

Thursday 20^th November

Today we had a lie in and ate our fruit followed by scrambled eggs about 9am. As in Darwin the landlady stocks the fridge with breakfast ingredients and you cook them when you want to which gives greater flexibility as to timings. Our landlady then very kindly drove us down to town where we took the cable car up to the Botanical Gardens where we wandered around the sculpture trail and had alight lunch in the cafe.

We then caught a free shuttle bus to Zealandia (a nature reserve where they keep out predators such as goats, rats, cats, dogs, deer, possums so that the native birds can breed and be preserved) and, having spent an hour in their exhibition centre, were joined by William and Daphne for a couple of hours walk through the valley. It was very pleasant although it got quite cold and Iain had no coat as this morning the sun was shining when we set out. We saw lots of birds – especially the KaKa and the Tui, as well as Robins, Fantails, Pigeon, Ducks of various sorts – and a Tuatara which is a large lizard type creature.

Having returned to town on the cable car we bought some chicken, salad and wine for dinner and made our way back on the bus.

Wednesday 19^th November

Today we had convent eggs for breakfast. These are like coddled eggs with bacon underneath – very tasty! We then drove through beautiful New Zealand countryside again on a fairly minor road which we felt was more interesting than the main route albeit slower with all the bends and varying gradients.

We stopped at a café in a small village called Pongaroa for some lunch and then continued onwards. The winds were quite exciting but luckily although there was a fair bit of debris around we didn’t encounter any trees blocking the road. The whole journey took about six hours but we arrived in Wellington and found our way, thanks to the sat nav! We are staying at another really lovely B&B – a self contained apartment really - a bedroom/living room/ kitchen, and a bathroom together with a laundry room.

In the evening we drove across town to where William and Daphne (Dashfield) live and helped eat some excellent curries that Daphne had prepared. We didn’t get to bed until gone 11pm – very late for us this trip!

Tuesday 18^th November

We decided to do the town walking tour at 10am today which was an interesting look at the art deco buildings about town. As most of Napier was destroyed in an earthquake in 1931 almost all the buildings were rebuilt in the art deco style of the day and since the 1980s have been appreciated and preserved with the help of the Art Deco Trust.

After an early lunch of various salads we were picked up at 1pm to go on a wine tasting tour. There were nine of us and we visited four vineyards: Church road; Trinity Hill (where the vines are grown on the old river bed - called Gimblett Gravels); Ngatawara (which had a very nice homey feel to it); and Crossroads (which did a very good tawny port wine). We thoroughly enjoyed most of the wines, bought a couple of bottles and ate our way through a platter of assorted local cheeses. We then drove up to the lookout on Bluff Point before being dropped back at our B&B.

After nibbles and another glass of wine with our hosts on the verandah watching the birds, we walked down the hill to have dinner – I had plain panfried turbot and a green salad rather than anything fancy and it was absolutely delicious. I much prefer my fish plain and unadorned rather than with ragout, sauce or anything else!

Monday 17^th November

We woke to torrential rain but by the time we had had breakfast, got ourselves organised and walked around the visitor centre at Whakapapa the rain had eased and the sun was trying to come out. We decided to visit the Tawhi Falls on our way back down as it was only a short ten minute walk. They were lovely waterfalls but as we returned the rain started coming down again. We had decided to drive the shortest (154Km on a minor road) and probably the slowest route over to Napier as we thought it would be very scenic – and we were not disappointed! Amazing views of mountains, gorges, green hills, forests and then lowland fields with sheep and cattle.

We took about three hours as we kept stopping for photos! The weather cleared as we came the other side of the mountains and we had a picnic lunch, finishing up our smoked fish and lettuce. As we drove into Napier the sun was shining and the temperature had risen from 7 degrees (when we got up) to 19 degrees. We are staying at a pleasant B&B on the bluff overlooking Napier harbour and about ten minutes walk from the front (and twenty minutes back up the hill!)

Most restaurants seem to be closed on Monday and the only one open had a twenty minute wait for a table and was very brash and noisy so we went to a Thai takeaway that also had some tables and chairs inside. It was maybe not the best venue but the food was good – and cheap.

Sunday 16^th November

Today we set off around 10am in thick cloud and rain showers to drive for about thirty kilometres to Rotobounamu. This is a small lake set in beautiful wooded hills near Mt Tongariro with a pleasant two hour walk on a woodland path around its shores. Fortunately this was sheltered from the wind and the sun came out on occasions. Some of the trees were really impressive, reaching 35 metres or more.

Having demolished an apple and cereal bar each we decided to drive on the road up to Lake Taupo take some photos from the Eastern side of the lake and then divert around the back of the mountain range (Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu). The sky cleared and we had some good views of the snow covered slopes of Ruapehu, which is over 2,700m and still classed as an active volcano as we drove over the Rangipo desert (which wasn’t very desert like). At Ohakune we took a small road up the mountain and 15Km later found ourselves at the end of the road with snow lying at the sides. It was good being able to get up so far by car and get some good views in the sunshine. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall just off the road called the Mangwhero Falls

We then returned to our motel for an early dinner of cauliflower cheese and mashed potato (made in advance yesterday evening) as we are going for a guided evening walk tonight at 7pm.

We were duly picked up at 7pm (just ourselves with our guide Johnathan) and kitted out with woolly hats and gloves before having a great two and a half hours walk through teatree and imported Scottish heather to Taranaki Falls.

These were quite spectacular and we then walked back through the forest in the dark (with torches). It was too cloudy to see the sunset but it didn’t rain very much and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite an easy walk with less uphill than the one we did in the morning.

Saturday 15^th November

We sat down to breakfast this morning and discovered the couple next to us were people we had had breakfast with two days ago at Hahei – it’s a small world!

As it was cold and rainy we decided to do a two hour drive across the country to the glow worm caves at Waitomo. The scenery was lovely despite the drifting mist and rain and the cave was well worth a visit.

The actual cave was discreetly lit and had some great examples of stalagmites and stalactites and a magnificent cavern as well as several passageways. We then boarded a small boat and drifted in silence beneath a cave ceiling studded with thousand of glittering glow worms – a truly amazing sight. Unfortunately one is not allowed to take a camera into the cave so I will just have to try and remember it!

We then had another two plus hours driving across to and down one side of Lake Taupo and we actually had a few moments of sunshine. We arrived at our B & B which has self catering facilities so we visited the local store and bought some food for the next two nights. I also did a load of washing which was very useful.

Friday 14^th November

Today we had a good breakfast at 8am and hit the road to visit the thermal area known as Wai-o-Tapu. We arrived with time to spare as the ‘Lady Knox’ geyser spews forth at 10.15am each morning. We wondered how they could be so precise as to time but the answer was that they pour in some surfactant (natural chemicals, of course!) which causes an eruption some minutes later. It was quite spectacular, all the same!

We then walked around the thermal park on boardwalks and set paths around fumaroles, collapsed craters, bubbling mud pools and a cave with sulphurous deposits, which took about ninety minutes. It was quite good but rather crowded and the smell wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.

We then had a small pie and cups of tea in the café before driving some way through beautiful countryside to a lake where we took a short ferry ride over to the ‘Hidden Valley’ or ‘Orakei Korako’ which is another wonderful thermally active area and reputedly one of the best and most picturesque geothermal area in New Zealand. The silica terraces and flows were spectacular as was the geothermal cave, boiling pools and mud pools.

We then drove back to our accommodation via the town centre so that we know where to go and eat tonight – an Indian for a change. 

Thursday 13^th November

We drove partway down the coast to Waihi and then cut across inland through forested hills and lush, rolling meadows. We stopped to take a look at the gold mine in Waihi which was quite amazing and has been reclaiming gold from the quartz rock since the 1800s.

The sat nav took us down Te Aroha Old Rd rather than the highway which had much less traffic and was very pretty so we decided to follow it! We arrived at Kouri Lodge where we stay for two nights – in a beautiful location right on the banks of Lake Rotorua. It was quite cold and rainy all day so a good day for driving rather than walking!

In the evening we went on the obligatory tourist cultural experience – which was actually not bad. Poor Iain was forced into being the ‘Chief’ for our coach which he didn’t enjoy much as he had (with the other three Chiefs) to perform Hongi (touching noses in greeting) and dance the ‘Haka’ (a display war dance) at the end of the evening.

The ‘Hangi’ or food cooked in a fire pit was good, however, as was the cultural singing and dance performance. We were also taken around in small groups and introduced to some of the activities that the Maoris used to perform, such as martial arts, face tattooing, stick games and weaving.