Month: January 2018

Wednesday, 31st January 2018

Today, the last day of the first month of the year and we are  travelling to Alice Springs as we are joining a safari to Uluru. We left The Franklin Hotel by 7.30 and it was only a 20 minute drive to the airport – no traffic! We parked our rental car on the long parking area and while leaving our heavy luggage in the booth, we made our way to the departure terminal with two rucksacks – we’ve learnt to travel light!!

Our flight to Alice Springs left on time – it’s so easy boarding when flying domestic and here in Australia, you are allowed to carry water bottles on board domestic flights! Well we are getting handier with checking in our own luggage, printing tags and sending our luggage off – it really saves time and you don’t have to queue up!

When we got to Alice Springs, we spent the rest of the day around town and our taxi took us straight to the  Diplomat Motel where we are to be picked up early tomorrow morning – 6am – to join  our Uluru tour. I’ve been reading up about this majestic and holy rock on the plane – and I guess no matter what you read about it, it will be a personal experience feeling the immensity, grandeur and colour changes of Uluru.

Well we made it to Alice Springs and the last part of the flight was very interesting – we flew over red earth – incredible – the open red spaces that seem to stretch on forever tell the story of the exploration and development of Australia’s pioneering spirit and unique identity – this is the Australian Outback!

When we descended the steps, we were met with really warm weather – and the sun was shining – it was so good to feel the warmth and the rays on our bodies! Our luggage was delivered real quick so we took a taxi into town – a 15 minute ride and the driver told us that where the mountains had a gap, that’s were we would be driving through to Alice Springs. This is really the outback – the Red Centre!!

After we had checked in, we changed back to shorts and T-shirt as it was too warm to wear long trousers. We took a map of the town with us and started wandering around and actually we had worked up quite an appetite so decided to stop at one of the cafe’s for a salad.

What’s remarkable is that we are in Aboriginal country and this is actually their home – for more than 60,000 years!  Since 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was the first attempt by an Australian government to legally recognise the Aboriginal   system of land ownership and put into law the concept of inalienable freehold title. Till then, the Aboriginals were dictated to by missionaries and miners and pushed into controlled settlements. My first impression of the Aboriginals here in Alice Springs is that they have somehow been left behind with regard to the social standards that are enjoyed by the Aussies. However, I just learnt this evening that that Aboriginals that are living here are being paid royalties to perform cultural activities around Ayer’s Rock to attract more tourists. Here below a photo I took whilst waiting for lunch and I captured some of the young Aboriginal girls who actually looked quite smart!

After lunch, we went for a walk around town to capture the heritage trail, however we had to give this up as we had a heavy downpour. One minute the sun is out and the next the clouds came rolling in – a monsoon ! Back at the motel we had time to catch up on our social media, however at one point Gerry fell asleep so i decided to continue the heritage walk on my own as the rains had stopped and the sun was shining again!

This is all for tonight, we had a quick Pizza and salad with a good glass of wine and now back in our room where we got our gear sorted out. Tomorrow at 6 am we will be picked up to go on our Safari to Uluru. This means we will be without any WIFI for 3 days……..

 

 

Goodnight all!!!

 

 

 

Saturday 27th January 2018

Was it an early morning or a late night? In any case, at 3.30 am we had all our gear packed into the rental car and were on our way to the airport. Anisia’s directions were very clear and drove straight to the airport, however we had some difficulty trying to locate the return parking for our rental car – and who do you ask at 4 am? There is no one in sight. Anyway Gerry unpacked the car at the terminal and took the car to the returns parking area 2.5km further away. No problem getting there with google maps but walking back took quite some time and there I was, without any phone as Gerry had taken my iPhone with the directions to the car park  Anyway, after that, it was smooth travelling – till we got to Melbourne, our first point of contact in Australia. Passport control and customs, those are so cumbersome but got through on time to catch our domestic flight to Adelaide.

The flight to Adelaide went off without a hitch and once we collected our luggage, we were picked up by the rental car shuttle to go and pick up our car. We also bought a TomTom navigator and we were at our hotel without any problems.

After having explored the Central Market area with its China Town, we decided that we really needed to go to the beach. Gerry’s maritime background and my roots in Malta, make us both crave for the blue sea. So off we went in our rental car and using our new TomTom navigator. We started driving and thought of making our way to Port Adelaide but we got stranded at Semaphore……

Beachside Semaphore has a nostalgic vibe, a boulevard lined with Victorian houses, quirky organic cafes and historic pubs serving craft beers. Although we were there late afternoon, Semaphore Beach attracted families to its shallow waters, especially settling down under the pier for shade. After a walk on the beach, we made our way into the town centre which is full with quirky shops, café’s and hotels – by this time we were quite hungry and we were attracted to Greek music playing and found ourselves ordering a souvlaki at a Greek fast food kiosk with tables on the sidewalk – really enjoyed watching the crowd and trying to make out their origins…..

 The following day was Sunday! We woke up to a bright sunny day and we were promised quite high temperatures – 35 degrees – and we haven’t had that yet since Singapore!!

We planned a road trip along the coast going down to Victor Harbour and then Cape Jervis via the MacLaren Valley. This is where we saw some vineyards but unfortunately didn’t have time to stop as we planned to do the Barossa Hills the following day! Instead at Victor Harbour we spent some time on the boulder strewn Granite Island which was connected to the mainland by a causeway built back in 1875. Normally there is a horse drawn tram which goes across but today there wasn’t any service – either because it was Sunday or because it was too hot……

 

 Leaving Granite Island, we continued our trip to Cape Jervis and on the way we came along a lookout point at Yankalilla, to mark the scuttling of navy ship, HMAS Hobart which had done a number of years duty in the Vietnam war. The ship was laid to rest in 2002 and the anchor points to the spot where the vessel was laid to rest.

 And now it was time to have a swim and we ended up in Normansville, a pretty holiday town with a really wide sandy beach. By the time we decided to get into the water, the wind had turned up and for us the water was quite cold even though there was a warm wind blowing. But it was very refreshing…….. and then dried ourselves up with the warm wind and the sun that was still visible even though the clouds were thickening. By the time we were dressed and ready to have a bite to eat the clouds looked very menacing……

 Back at our hotel, we did not stay up too long – we were dead tired and we planned to visit the Barossa Hills the following day so I had some research work to do. Gerry has become very fond of Serena, our TomTom girl – she brings us everywhere without making any mistakes – the only times we went wrong wa because we did not listen carefully.

So after a Nespresso coffee for Gerry and a green tea for me, we wet off on our expedition. The weather was really grey and although we kept our fingers crossed and hoped there would be no rain, our prayers were not answered! Anyway, we started off by heading off to Hahndorf – A germanic town with loads of German features and the oldest German surviving settlement founded by 50 Lutheran families back in 1839. Here we had breakfast before heading on with our trip.

By the time we left Hahndorf, the raindrops were gathering momentum….. So even here in Adelaide and the Barossa hills, we just could not keep it dry!!! The rain is really following us……. 

Our next stop was at Gumeracha, which actually is only a village of about 400 people but why did we stop here? This village boasts of having the biggest wooden pony (like a rocking horse) built by the local wooden toys factory. However what we found more interesting here was the animal park, which for 1 Australian dollar you could go in a walk around in the park – and for me the most interesting animals were the kangaroos!! We’ve seen many road signs on the way warning us of kangaroos but these were the first real kangaroos we were seeing on our trip to Australia – I am sure we will encounter some more!

After taking a few pictures we were on our way again and this time we stopped at Birdwood – not for any special winery here although we did see some vineyards on the way, but for its interesting National Motor Museum. Of course this was a museum, which we could not skip – there were some 400 vehicles showcasing Australia’s motoring and social history. Well even I found this an interesting exhibition.

By this time it was pouring with rain and right at the moment when the beautiful vine covered hills came into sight. Acres and acres of emerald green hills – it was amazing! We made our way to Eden Valley and actually right here on top we had a fantastic view – this must be a place we will have to return to when the weather is much better.

It was nearly 4 pm when we made our way back to Adelaide and by that time, the traffic jams had started – we thought it would be better weather in Adelaide as we heard over the radio that it was 23 degrees while up in the hills we barely had 17 degrees. So we decided to make our way to Glenelg and go for a beach walk. What a lovely seaside resort with its town hall from 1870 converted to a discovery centre. Nowadays the sea front is lined with both Victorian villas and beautiful modern summerhouses. A great pity that we saw this beautiful beach on a rainy and blustery afternoon. By now we were quite famished and cold so a hot plate of pasta was what we really needed to warm us up before we walked back to the car. That evening we recorded that we had walked 7km.

And then it’s Tuesday morning – we were going to have a leisure day today and meeting up with an old school friend of mine who has been living in Adelaide for the past 24 years. Margarette and I were Sacred Heart girls and it was just great to catch up over coffee and then afterwards went to the Central Market – it’s a shame we did not have enough time to enjoy each other’s company somewhat longer – but then Gerry was stuck with two Maltese women who couldn’t shut up for one moment….. At the market while Margarette bought some fish for her dinner, Gerry got some oysters that we slurped away when we got back to our hotel sitting at our balcony. They were super delicious!!! Later we went out again as we wanted to visit the Aboriginal Cultural Centre – which we had mistaken for the museum – by then we were dead tired from walking around so we made our way back to the Central Market but first stopped at the Town Hall which was built in 1866. We had to stop here as there was an invitation to come and take a look at where the Beatles had greeted the crowds of fans back in June 1964. There is still a perplex photo of the Beatles on the Town Hall balcony but we were really surprised at the beauty of this town hall with its auditoriums and hallways and stairs! Later on Queen Victoria square took some more pictures of the surrounding areas and then made our way to China Town for dinner – but it was no Chinese food but rather we went to Gauchos for steak and lamb!

 WILL PUT ON MORE PICTURES ONCE WIFI IS WORKING BETTER BUT NOW IT’S TIME FOR ME TO GO TO BED…….. and now waiting for our flight to Alice Springs, Airport WIFI is really good so I’ve added more pictures!

Tomorrow we leave our hotel bright and early as we have a flight to catch to Alice Springs! Our next adventure is coming up – we will be going on a safari to Ayers Rock – am very excited about this trip! You will hear from me after we get back……..

Monday, 22^nd January 2018

 

What began as a lazy leisure day due to the rain in Rotorua, it ended with an adrenaline filled activity that sent the blood pumping through our veins at really high speed. I can forgive the weather gods that they brought us rain as even then, we could enjoy this outdoor activity!

 The above pictures show our leisure time in the Government Gardens with beautifully laid lawns. The grounds were gifted by the Maori chiefs to the British back in late 1800’s and as this was a swampy area, it cost quite a bit to have the grounds drained and then built a spa and sanatorium so that the rich and wealthy could come here “for the cure”. The sanatorium is now the Museum which is currently under refurbishment and the oldest hotel in Rotorua was built round the same time. By the way, that’s me doing the Haka, seeing that we missed this activity!!

And now back to to my story:

We had read up about a tree top walk in a redwood forest and were thinking of doing that – seemed cool! But then when we arrived at the i-Site centre, we saw an even better activity – a zipline canopy tour in New Zealand’s only native forest!

Yes! Both Gerry and I got excited about this – I had already wanted to go ziplining and had seen such an activity, which we could do, when in Australia, however now that this adventure was so close, we just could not miss the opportunity!! 

We bought our tickets at the i-Site centre and this included pick up and drop off from our motel. Our tour was at 16.30 and pick up was at 15.45 – we arrived in good time to be fitted with all the gear. As the weather was not dry, we were given good rain jackets and then harnesses, ropes and metal clasps and then whizzed off to the native forest of the Mamaku Plateau which was only a few minutes drive away from Rotorua.

 

We had a three-hour tour escorted by two highly trained Kiwi guides. The group was made up of 10 people which included a young Belgian couple, a Chinese son and mother from Hong Kong, a mother and 2 teenage daughters from Wellington, a young German woman (her husband did the tour in the morning and because they have a baby girl they had to do the tour separately) and us two – 65 plussers! The brochure said that you are never too old to do this tour as their oldest visitor was 93 years old and they have had more than 100 people over the age of 75!!

Most important of all, this was an eco tour – we were told that back in 2012 the forest was a silent forest. Why? It had been overrun by possums, rats and stoats that had killed almost every bird in the area and decimated the surrounding eco system. The Rotorua Canopy Tours is out on a mission to restore the environment in this forest, which has trees, which are more than 500 years old! Traps have been set out over a 35km-trapping network and through modern technology; thousands  of pests have been removed. And this was evident during our tour, as we could see and hear the birds, which have come back to the forest.

 

Back to the fun part, we had 6 ziplines with over 650 meters and in total a network of 1.2km of ziplines; 2 treetop swingbridges, and an education on the prehistoric forest where we all were for our activity. Some trees are so high – similiar to a 14 storey building and some of the platforms were rigged halfway up these trees. Some of these platforms were up to 22 meters above the ground. We had a couple of participants who were afraid of heights but as there were giant treetops, the actual height was never prominent and hence they had no fear of height!!. 

The highlight of this expedition was the 220 meter “Tui Song” zipline – we were on a canopy built round a 500 year ol indigenous rimu tree and we were told that we could fly over the valley onto a platform which was hidden in the distance. Well my flight was with only one wing…… and I managed that well enough and my Tui song started first on a fearful but excited note but in less than halfway, I was one happy excited Tui bird!!! Gerry too enjoyed the excitement but he was constantly scrutinizing the technical parts of the structures!!

 Gerry taking his zipline trips

What amazed me most is the fact that we placed our trust in our two guides – Levin and Scott – they told us jump and we did that!!! But they had given us such good instructions and were very knowledgeable that we could not do otherwise!

 

That’s me setting off on the zip line, crossing a swing bridge and then handsfree on another swing bridge and being greeting by Gerry at the other end!

It was a most exhilarating experience and we are both looking forward to enjoying more of these exciting adventures when we get to Australia – but rest assured, we wont be doing any bungy jumping, which incidentally was invented here in New Zealand!!

Tomorrow we are heading off to Auckland, our last leg of our trip to New Zealand. There we will be meeting up with my cousins, Mark and Philip whom I’ve never met and staying with my old school friend, Anisia! We will also be meeting up with Rocky and Sarah ( Rocky had stayed over at Gerry’s place in NL when travelling as a young man in Europe). Looking forward to this!

 

Sunday, 21^st January 2018

 

What a lovely morning! We were up bight and early and had already reorganized our baggage the night before. Breakfast was outside on our picnic table and it was ever so peaceful. We packed the car and made sure we did not leave anything behind and were ready to hit the road again at 10 am.

The Huka Falls Resort was a good place to stay but their WIFI was terrible!! And nowadays you do need to be in contact with the world especially when being far away from home!

 

The drive to Rotorua was not far – only 60 km but we had a couple of sights we wanted to visit on the way. Gerry got to the driving seat quicker than I did so again I was in the passenger seat and this meant I had time to read up about the route we were taking. Am so glad I did get the Lonely Planet’s “ New Zealand’s best trips” with 26 amazing road trips. We used the information on for our trip from LP’s Classic Trip nr 7: Thermal Discoverer – but then in reverse.

We wanted to stop at Wai-Otapu Thermal Wonderland – but when we got there there were multitudes of people and coaches that we took fright and carried on driving! This is the first time ever that we saw so many tourists flocking to one area and we were not interested to be walking in queues along the thermal grounds. Of course this site had really interesting features such as the Champagne Pool (bubbling mud pool) and Lady Knox Geyser which spouts regularly at 10.15 in the morning ( anyway we would have missed that part!)

On the way and not far from the Wai- Otapu Thermal Wonderland, we saw a signpost  saying Mud Pool to the left. We followed that and came to a smaller version of the Champagne Pool! There was mud bubbling away and the heat and stench coming from this mud pool was quite strong!

 

The pictures below were taken en-route to the Volcanic Valley – here you can see the rolling hills which were the typical views in this area till Mount Tarawera erupted in 1886 and a line of craters was formed from the northern end of the mountain down to the Waimangu valley.

 

 

So we drove further and arrived at the Waimangu VolcanicValley. This valley was created during the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886 and has spectacular craters, lakes and other volcanic features. All the lakes are bubbling boiling water and ultimately the overflow from these lakes finds its way to the lake mixing with a cold water rivulet and into Lake Rotomahana. It was time for our coffee break when we got here so we had time to study the hike downwards to the lake – luckily there was a shuttle bus to take us up again. Coffee break over we started on our hike.

After arriving at our motel – Golden Glow  on Fenton Street and not far from the lake front, we had time to get into the jacuzzi – our own private one behind our bedroom! Then we were ready to hit the town – which we thought was very quiet till we found the Eatery Street!!  Here we enjoyed a good meal although it was quite noisy to our liking – anyway another short walk before we got back to our motel and of course when we tried to use our WIFI, it was very slow and, knowing me, got quite annoyed!! Luckily I could finish my blog this morning!

Saturday, 20^th January 2018

Lo and behold! This morning we woke up to just cloudy skies and the forecast was that there was no rain today!! Of course fingers crossed that this would be true! Again a healthy breakfast: Greek yoghurt with muesli, berries and banana followed by a slice of toasted German cumin bread with cheese and accompanied by a mug of tea (mine English style with milk!)

 By the time we had showered and were ready to leave there were more blue patches in the sky – perhaps we thought we would be lucky today and have a rain free day. Our itinerary for today was as follows:

• The Aratiatia Rapids
• The Thermal Valley Walkway
• Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Health Spa
• Wairakei Geothermal Power Station

If you click on each bullet point you will be linked into the site that would give you more in depth information . All these activities were close to our resort so we reached our first activity within 15 minutes of setting off.

The Aratiatia Rapids was a spectacular part of the Waikato River until the Kiwi Government built a hydro-electric dam across the waterway and shut off the flow. However the spectacle hasn’t disappeared completely as the flood gates which are built into the dam are opened periodically during the day to let the water flow down to the river. We were lucky enough to arrive on the spot about 15 minutes to 12 o’clock and we could watch the whole spectacle. Actually I stood on the bridge to watch the flood gates activities and Gerry walked up a pathway to a vantage point to watch the river bed fill up with the rushing waters. It was just magnificent! Just before noon, the siren sounded to warn that the flood gates would be opened – the first siren blast was 5 minutes, then another blast at 2 minutes and then when the flood gates and the Aratiatia Rapids gushed through the narrow gorge filling up with turbulent water surging past at up to 90,000 litres per second.

The Geothermal Valley is situated in a  traditional Kiwi campsite complete with its own thermal garden, hot pools and petting zoo. We first had coffee at the camp cafe and booked the walkway which was approximately a 45 minutes walk, which included the main attractions, including natural steam vents, bubbling mud pools and geysers, on a site next door to a geothermal power plant. The walk was pleasant and although yesterday we had visited the Crater of the Moon, we saw other aspects here such a little river running parallel to the steaming vents. Of course had loads of opportunities to take pictures here and sometimes Gerry did get off the pathway to make sure that the notices were right!

Because the Geothermal Valley is close to the Power Station which is fed from hydroelectric dam, we decided to follow the huge pipe network to the top of the hill to get a good view of the whole network.

Wairakei Power Station uses steam extracted from the geothermal fluid produced in this steam field to generate electricity.  Already in the 1950’s exploratory wells were dug and currently there are 60 wells in production. Wells go as deep as 2000 meters to tap into hot fluid which when brought to the surface is separated into dry steam and hot water.  This power plant has been in production since 1958 and generates renewable steam and sustainable energy. When we drove up to the hill following the pipelines, we were not the only ones there – most interesting to see young people as well as families showing interest in NZ’s sustainability policies.

 

Our last stop for the day was at the Wairakei terraces and Thermal Health Spa. Mineral  laden waters from the Wairakei geothermal steam field cascade over silica terraces into pools. So we decided after these last few busy days spent sightseeing, we were ready to soak in all those minerals in a therapeutic bath. However before we got into the baths, we went for a walk around the Terraces Walkway.  This walkway features a recreated Maori village, carvings showing the Maori history, and artificially made geysers and silica terraces, echoing on a smaller scale, the Pink and White Terraces that were destroyed by the Tarawera eruption in 1886.

Ending the day in hot, mineral laden baths was pure luxury and to complete this the sun was out to warm us up with its afternoon rays. After a couple of hours, we got changed and made our way back to our resort and I thought to get along and start writing up my blog – but our WIFI failed me once more – so Gerry went off to complain and finally it was fixed so that I could finish off today’s blog. 

Tomorrow, we will be heading for a 2 day stay at Rotorua and here I am looking forward to seeing more about the Maori culture.

 

 

 

Friday, 19th January 2018

Another day woken up with rain! It turned out to be a leisure easy morning, getting our breakfast fixed, getting onto social media – finally our WIFI is working! Had a strange dream that Gerry’s house had its roof blown off with the hefty storm that was raging through Europe – it turned out that his daughter Lisette, had called him at night when we were asleep to let him know that some roof tiles had flown away! Must have heard that conversation in my subconscious and embroidered my dream on that theme. Anyway all is well as between Gerry and Lisette, they will be getting a professional to fix it. Mind you there has been quite some storm damage in Holland that it will busy getting people to fix the damage……..And my home and my children are all ok!!

Anyway, breakfast consisted of greek yoghurt with muesli and fresh fruit and then a slice of – German – bread with cheese and coffee and tea! Good job we had done our grocery shopping yesterday evening! We were in no hurry to go outdoors as it was still pouring with rain.  Anyway by the time we showered and got ready, the rain had eased somewhat. The plan was to drive down to the Huka Falls and afterwards visit the Geothermal area, Crater of the Moon. 

Huka Falls

Stunning views of  the Waikato River crashing through a narrow chasm and continuing its journey at a more leisure pace. We went on a walk further up river on the right bank and the sights were magnificent . Back in the car we headed further down the road and came to another Lookout post of the river so we had another short walk but this time it was winding down the cliff side and we could here the thunderous roar of the river and the falls as the water rushed through. Finally we were at the lookout and we now saw the falls and river from the left bank and although at first the view would seem the same, it was certainly from a better vantage point. The climb up the cliff side with its hairpin bends was less strenuous for me than coming down and did not take much longer!

We continued our drive and stopped at a roadside cafe where other activities could be undertaken – mainly heli rides and mountain biking. We were tempted to take a helicopter ride but the skies were so grey that I am sure we would not have had our money’s worth (very Dutch!) Anyway double espresso for Gerry and a ginger slice while I had a healthier smoothie – happy berry – practically a meal in itself!! Anyway, now we had time to find out our bearings as we had read about the volcanic grounds around here!

Only a couple of kilometres down the road we make to the geothermal areas – Craters of the Moon – a geothermal walkway wandering through a weird, other-worldy, landscape featuring bubbling craters and steaming vents. This low-key geothermal attraction is run by a charitable trust and we paid a  small admissions fee which goes towards the upkeep of this incredible landscape.

Apparently this geothermal area sprang to life as a result of the hydroelectric tinkering that created the power station – when underground water levels fell and pressure shifted, new steam vents and bubbling mud pools sprang up. It really is weird walking around this area – the smell of sulphur oozing out of the various holes as well as the heat you feel under your feet. This site is monitored by Volcanic Activity Centre and should there be any serious movements going on, the park would be closed off to the public!

We completed our walk around in time as at 6pm the park gates are closed for the night – at 5.30 pm a siren goes off to warn the visitors that they have only half an hour to get out of the park. It had started raining again so we drove back to the Taupo Lake centre and then onto our “villa”. It was a strange day as we started off quite late in the day so we were not really hungry and anyway we had enough groceries to fix ourselves a good and healthy Greek salad in the evening. And she had enough time to get up to date with what’s happening in the world – our TV doesn’t have CNN but Al Jezeera but in between we got the exciting news that the NZ  female Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, announced that she is pregnant and she will be the first time ever prime minister giving birth while in office  since Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990   ……… 

As I was happily writing away in my blog last night – round 9.30 pm, our WIFI decided to disconnect – well of course I was quite annoyed with this – so I will be putting in a complaint this morning as even this morning, the WIFI did not come back to life till 8 am……… So as Gerry is getting breakfast ready, I’m finishing off my blog!

 

 

 

Thursday 18th January 2018

Well the sunshine we had yesterday didn’t promise to come back today and hence we woke up to a grey and wet morning. During breakfast, we had our fingers crossed as we had planned to go on a Royal Tour through Napier on a ………..Tribike – a Supertrike! And after that trip, we were ready to hit the road again but not for too long as we were driving some 140 km to Taupo.

Anyway after checking out of the motel, we packed our car and left it on the parking place as we went for our last walk around – and by this time it had stopped raining and the sun was making a weak appearance! Again, I really enjoyed the Art Deco architecture and the way the town has been kept in great condition and showing a great appreciation for the architecture. I also saw a poster saying that there will be a great roaring twenties week in Napier in mid February – that would have been really great to attend as apparently most of the residents turn up in their flapper dresses and old timers are all on the road……….

We arrived at the i-Site place where we were picked up for our Royal Tour. Along with us, there was a NZ couple from Invercargill and we were the lucky ones to take the front seats behind our chauffeur. As this was the Royal tour, us ladies had to wear tiara’s and the men had to wear police officers’ hats as they  were supposed to be our guards. It was quite fun as we were riding through town, everyone was waving at us ( apparently the locals are used to these sights!!)  We went on a scenic tour of Art Deco Napier and Ahuriri – the latter is a really beautiful suburb made up of wooden houses which were not demolished through the earthquake – and actually we stopped in front of one little wooden house which is believed to be the oldest house in Napier – check this link

Luckily, all through our trip on the Supertrike, we had great weather! And after about an hour we were back at our starting point! Some pictures taken and then  it was time to say goodbye to Napier! I really loved this town and would very much like to come and explore further as apparently we missed the harbour side where it’s full of bars and cafe’s and where it’s all happening – a one night stay over was not enough!!

 

We started driving around  13.30 and by then it started raining again! Gerry was the designated driver again. This time we went from the east coast to the middle of the North island – Taupo – and while we did stop a couple of times to take pictures we arrived at our point of destination within 2 hours.The route was scenic as we climbed up on e mountain range and down another and here the mountains are all rounded and there are no real peaks like those on the south island. By the time we arrived, everything looked dismal – grey skies, grey lake and grey roads – and we had thought that we would be having really great weather here.

Anyway we are staying at Huka Falls Resort – as we were told we have a villa!! A roomy cottage with living room, kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom and verandahs all round but unfortunately, we could not enjoy these on our first afternoon. As we’ve been quite some time on the road, we took all our baggage indoors and sorted everything so that we could do our laundry – we’ve got everything in this “villa” except a washing machine. And there are no laundry facilities on the resort!!!! So we went into town, following the directions we were given at the reception desk and finally found the self laundry – luckily for us there was a young couple who explained to us “seniors” how to use the machines and that we need an electronic key which needed to be loaded with cash and inserted in the washing machines and dryers – but we had to get this and purchase the key at another store…… so off we went and got that done. And now to start the machines.

The young couple were still there so they “supervised” us. Anyway as the washing was going on, we went to the supermarket to get some groceries ( we will be fixing our breakfast in the morning). By the time we came back our two loads of laundry was done and we chucked everything into one big dryer and went off for a coffee. By the time we got back, the 25 minutes were up and all I had to do was take out the clean laundry and fold it……..by the time we were ready with all our household chores, I was quite famished! We found this really good restaurant which was actually a South American cuisine, however we had a very good baked snapper with root vegetables and salad and by the time we got back to our “Villa” we were ready to call it a day. And yes we had to do that, as our WIFI wasn’t working properly and I only was aggravated by this fact, so better to go off to bed.

 

Wednesday, 17th January 2018

I haven’t updated my blog for a couple of days – in fact since Monday 15th January when we drove over to Picton to catch the ferry to Wellington. Our touring of the South island came to an end and due to the fact that we had some bad weather on our trip, we have missed seeing a few of the interesting sites such as the glacier on Franz Josef and sailing the Marlborough Sound. Perhaps a reason to come back again over a few years? Anyway I have been keeping notes on my iPad as these last couple of days I have been the co-driver and had time to look up places and jot down a few notes. We’ve been lucky that ever since we left Nelson, we’ve had only good weather!

Crossing over to Wellington Monday 15 January 2018

A bit of a panic attack this morning – we just left our Vine Cottage at Blenheim, when I thought I did not have my iPhone with me. Gerry called my number but he got my voice mail so no other choice than to return. To the BnB to search for my phone – anyway while everyone was searching I had a flashback – I had purchased my phone in my camera bag!so panicky for nothing and we were on our way again.
As we knew our way to the ferry terminal in Picton,it only took us half an hour to get there and we had ample time to have coffee. 

The ferry boat left on time, even though we were made to wait for quite some time on the quayside. The trip was 3hr 15 minutes and actually quite pleasant – for the kids there was a magician’s show and also a film in the cinema and enough food and drink should one want that. Gerry and I  spent quite some time on decking just watched the beautiful fjord like scenery go by. We also noticed that this ferry was built in Gerry’s home town – Krimpen aan den Ijssel – so obviously we felt safe on it…..

Once we berthed at Wellington harbour, it was an easy disembarkation – my thoughts went back to the many migrants who landed here so many years ago so that they could make their new home in NZ! We’re so happy we have the Eve’s GPS – within 20 minutes we were at our B&B in the Seatoun suburb – Beachfront – lovely hosts who welcomed us and a lovely home which they opened up to guests. That evening we went into town and explored some areas before having dinner and returning for a good night’s rest.

Tuesday, 16th January, 2018 – Discovering Wellington

The following morning we were up on time and while at first we thought of catching the bus into town, we took the car all the way into the city centre and parked it in garage close to the Wellington cable car. That was the first sightseeing of the day – to climb up on top of the hill at Wellington by cable car and admire the view from there – there is an observatory and the botanic gardens where we had a stroll and then coffee break before returning by cable car back down.

From here we walked to the Waterfront and as it was round about lunch time, we saw office workers enjoying their lunch break outdoors – skating, running enjoying their picnic lunch under the trees ….. and even swimming! What a great way to de-stress from the working environment – although just watching everyone, I don’t think the New Zealanders are stressed out!! 

 

Our walk along the Waterfront led us to New Zealand’s top National Museum and art gallery – in fact Te Papa Tongarewa is Maori for: the place of treasures of this land. And indeed, what we saw ( and most probably it was only one fifth of the whole exhibition) were truly treasures of New Zealand. And interesting enough, this public museum is free of charge and we saw many kiwi families walking around – the most interesting subjects were the Maori settlements in NZ ( about 1.000 years ago) and then later the European settlers. 

Once we were outdoors again, we walked towards Cuba street, where we had a drink one of the cafe’s – according to the Lonely Planet, one had to experience Cuba Street with all its bars, cafe’s and shops – anyway before we knew it we had again walked some 5 km and it was time to make our way back to the Beachfront.

Today it is 17th January – and a beautiful sunny and warm day to travel from our Beachfront B&B in Wellington to Napier – a 320 km drive up north. Craig prepared a hearty breakfast for us and at breakfast table we met a Danish couple who are also travelling up north – chatted for a while and found out that they were what we in Dutch call a “bankstel “ meaning a couple who got to know each other by working at a bank – this couple worked at Nordea Bank in Copenhagen.

Leaving Wellington, we followed the state expressway for an hour so that was good driving heading towards Palmerston North. However this must be quite a new expressway as our GPS could not recognize it and kept telling us to make a U turn! The highway became less busy after we went through Kapiti Island exit and even though it is a two lane road, it is smooth driving. The countryside is made up of rolling hills now with little villages and fruit stall along the way.
At Levin we turned right on highway 57 which would take us to Palmerston North and we had only been on the road for 1.5hours. We now had the mountain range to the right of us and we’re driving through flat country – very much like in Holland…..grazing cows and farmhouses and agricultural land

Stopped for coffee and cake for Gerry at Palmerston North – an agricultural and rural university town also well known for the All Blacks Rugby team – their museum is also located here. It was 28degrees and we just strolled along the square – besides the war memorial there is not much to photograph in this town as it is quite modern. But our coffee was a work of art!
On our way to Napier we were supposed to go through Woodville, however after driving some 10km, we were warned that the highway was closed and hence had to make a detour by getting back to Palmerston. Anyway the views were fantastic on this pass and luckily we had not wasted much time.

Went through Dannevirke – a farmer’s town sprawled along the state highway – what was interesting to see here -we saw an office of Rabobank! And also the welcome to the town sign had a great big Viking on it – it seems as though the settlers were Danish and Dutch – will need to check this out!
(In the meantime have checked this out – apparently the first settlers were Danish, Norwegian and Swedish and had arrived in the 1870’s under the Public Works Act and the purpose of the town was to provide the sleepers for the Napier – Wellington railway line. After the native bush was cleared , the land was turned into pasture land for grazing animals.)

It was about time to have some lunch -we still had some cheese and crackers and some cherries -when we saw a signpost going to Norsewood. As this sounded also Scandinavian, we decided to stop to explore and we were surprised as this is a village where time stood still.
Although its population is only 330, they have managed to turn this little hamlet which was founded by Scandinavian settlers in 1872, into a heritage trail. When we had finished our lunch we walked one of the trails – very interesting to see the old buildings still standing and re- enacted to those days when the settlers first came.

Passed through Hastings which was also destroyed in the 1931 earthquake -also an agricultural region with loads of fruit trees -very fertile ground. Also fruit stalls along the road side but as it was getting rather late – it was already 16.00, we decided not to stop and drive further to our final destination – Napier.

What a pretty place this is! – Napier was destroyed by the 1931 earthquake but by 1933, it was practically built up again – in Art Deco style. After we checked in at our motel – Quality Inn, which is right on the beach, we went for a walk on the beach and then into the city centre. This town is so well preserved! This evening we had an Indian tandoori fish dish for dinner and it was delicious!.