Liliana

Raging Waters and Geothermal Grounds

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.

Hu ka 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!

This is the chasm where the Waikato River rushes through to drop some 10 meters to a wider pool

The Waikato River slamming into a narrow chasm

The River Waikato drops 10 meters into a pool and continues its journey somewhat with calmer waters

The River Waikato rushing down through the narrow chasm

the view from the left bank was well worth the climb down the cliff side

cruise boats heading towards the Huka Falls

the power of the rushing waters pushes the cruise boat away from the falls

Gerry not yet worn out from climbing down the cliff side to admire the Huka falls

View from the left bank after climbing down the steep cliff side with loads of hairpin bends

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!

This helicopter will never fly again – inside it’s an info centre

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!

Gerry standing at the entrance to the Craters of the Moon – a geothermal area.

This area is monitored by the Volcano Activity Centre so it was safe to be here as long as we stuck to the pathways

The first views of the volcanic landscape

And yes, Gerry went off the pathway to feel the ground – and it was hot!

At one of the craters where steam was venting out at a rapid way – the smell was dirty!

Steam seeping out of the ground behind Gerry

Caught taking pictures at the Moon Crater

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!

Goodbye Napier, Hello Taupo!

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……….

On our stroll through Napier this morning, Gerry met a young lady taking her dog out for a walk…..

Just watching the world round Napier go by!

In front of the cathedral which was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1931 in art deco style

The cathedral – inside – very minimalistic

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!!

This is the Tribike which was to take us on our Royal Tour –

Posing on the Trike and apparently, as this is a Chevy V8 5 literally engine with automatic transmission which according to some, a child could drive without any problem……

This is the Royal Tour – hence the tiara’s and the men have police caps as they are our guards

Our chauffeur who gave us a running commentary on the way

The oldest wooden house in Napier suburb – Ahuriri

And the in scene down at the harbour – apparently this is where it is all happening – and we missed it…..

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.

We had to get an electronic key loaded with cash so that we could do our laundry

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.

The ferry boat to Wellington

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…..

It’s warm outside but not any better waiting inside the car at the ferry terminal

The view of Picton harbour once we boarded the ferry boat

The other ferry boat leaving also for Wellington

The way out of the harbour led onto a fjord like channel

Interesting picture that had to be taken – the ferry boat was built in Gerry’s home town!

Gerry walking around trying to take the best snapshots

our rental car was parked on the lower inner deck

Actually Gerry shouldn’t have taken this life buoy off its hinges as no one should tamper with life saving equipment – or so I was told by Gerry himself……

A cruise ship berthed at Wellington Harbour

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.

view from the top of the hill overlooking the Wellington waterfront

The big cannon stationed at the observatory

At the cable car museum – one of the old cable cars

Gerry hanging on as wee make our way back down the hill

Going through one of the lighted tunnels and down the hill

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!!

At the Waterfront, bronze Kupe Group statue designed in 1939

part of the old er buildings that are preserved on the waterfront

swimming and canoeing – lunch time break

Paddling in the harbour as a lunchtime break

diving – or jumping into the ocean – good enough to de-stress yourself in your lunch time break

pop up stalls in containers along the waterfronts

The Te Pape National Museum with all its treasures of New Zealand

The theatre Circa – still very much in use with a very good program

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!.

Sunny day for a drive to Blenheim

Sunday, 14^th January 2018

What a great surprise we had this morning! As soon as I opened the curtains and door onto our balcony, I was greeted with beautiful sunlight and blue skies with some wafts of white clouds…….. The yacht marina immediately looked completely different and there were people around getting ready to take their boats out! Today we were due to leave Nelson and continue our trip to Blenheim so that tomorrow we can catch the ferry from Picton to Wellington. What a great way to end our trip on the South island – sunshine and warm temperatures rising to 27 degrees. This morning we did not take any sunny side up eggs – we had the real thing outside and were eager to go out and enjoy it all!

Sunday morning sunny view from our balcony

Breakfast included marmite for me – brings back memories of my childhood

Leaving Nelson Bay – ever so peaceful with beautiful reflections

After breakfast we loaded our bags into the car and set off. It was 10 am and well within our schedule. I was the co driver today so I had enough time to plan our stops. The distance between Nelson and Blenheim is only 115 km and if we had driven straight through it would only take some 1.5hrs. However we had quite a few sightseeing stops and we only arrived in Blenheim round about 15.00

Leaving Nelson on the State Highway 6, our first stop was at the Founders Heritage Park, which we had missed yesterday due to the bad weather. But this morning, we had the perfect weather and there were loads of families with their kids all heading towards this park. It was only when we were inside that park that we knew why it was so busy – there was an old timers exhibition which also included a cargo plane from the 1950’s We were drawn initially by the windmill but all the old buildings were actually moved to this park from various areas around Nelson and whether the building was a house, shop or fire station, everything was well kept.

our first stop this morning – at the Founders Heritage Park in Nelson

This is a replica of the mill built by Dr Bush where he thought he would make his fortune as a miller but unfortunately it burnt down after his death

Old St.Peters is still used for weddings

Anchor Inn, one of the first inns in Nelson and strangely enough we actually had dinner the first night in Nelson at the newer Anchor Inn restaurant situated next to the Harbourside Lodge

The old Fire Engine House with fantastic old machinery inside

According to Gerry this is a Scottish boiler

Cargo plane among old timers being shown on the green

After spending about an hour here, we were again on our way and our next stop was at Pelorus Bridge. A pretty little green forest tucked away and running down to the River Pelorus. This forest had remained because a town planned here ( that’s why the bridge was built in 1865) never materialized and now it’s a great site for picnics, swimming in the river and now also known in the neighbourhood for being chosen by Peter Jackson as a site for his film the Hobbit.

The walk we did along the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve

Down by the river Pelorus, used by Peter Jackson for his film the Hobbit

The forest pathway leading down to the river

On the road again – but not for long as we soon hit our next point of interest – Havelock! This is a pretty little town where mussels – especially the green shelled mussels are farmed. This town has proclaimed itself as “the Green shell Mussel Capital of the World”, thus enough places to try out this type of mussel!! We ended up at the Mussel Pot on the high street and choose 2 delicious ways of steaming the mussels – Gerry had them with a white wine and cream sauce and I had mine with garlic, herbs and tomato sauce. Of course we exchanged some of each others mussels and both were exquisite!! We also took a walk down to the harbour and besides mussel trawlers, there were quite a number of yachts berthed here – apparently the mussel farmers must be doing extremely well!!

Green Shell Mussel Capital of the World – that’s what the people of Havelock think of their mussels and their town

The restaurant – The Mussel Pot – where we enjoyed our Mussel lunch

Making friends with the green shelled mussel – at the Mussel Pot

Our final destination was approaching but also the vineyards of the Marlborough region. Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest grape growing and wine making region with 65 wineries, 290 grape growers and 4,054 hectares in grape production. Nearly all of the wineries welcome visitors for tasting sessions and many have a cafe or restaurant on site. Sauvignon Blanc is the region’s specialty, but wines made with Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are also highly acclaimed. As we’re driving, we did not stop to do any wine tasting.

Forested mountains flanking the vineyards

Finally at our destination – we found our cottage – The Vine Cottage –a very quiet place outside the town of Blenheim. Our host, Iain preserves his own peaches, plums, nectarines and cherries – looking forward to tomorrow’s breakfast as he will have these fruits served.

Finally at our Vine Cottage in Blenheim, time for Gerry to get rid of his T-shirt after his driving

Quite rightly called the Vine Cottage, the grapes hanging from the vines trellised along the cottage

When we were settled in, we decided to go on a drive to Picton – just to check out where we have to take the ferry tomorrow. A very pleasant drive and within half an hour we were at Picton Harbour, a very pretty place and also having a museum (which was closed) specifically dedicated to The Edwin Fox, the oldest merchant ship and the oldest surviving ship that brought immigrants to New Zealand.

Gerry portrayed in a frame at Picton Harbour

The Interlander ferry arriving – this is what we will be taking to make the crossing to Wellington tomorrow

We had a short stroll along the beach and later on after driving round to the next cove we came back to one of the café’s for ice cream! By that time it was close to 7.30 pm and we finally made our way back to our cottage.

This was such a lovely day and we were so thankful that we were finally blessed with great weather!. Looking forward to tomorrow and our start of our trip to the North island!

A rainy day in Nelson – while the sun shines in Invercargill

Saturday, 13th January 2018

We woke up to another day of rain. All through the night I heard the rain falling and in my subconscious I was thinking – good let the rain fall now and it will be dry by the morning – but no such luck – it is now 11.30 am and we have had constant rainfall. At Breakfast, David, the hotel owner informed us that that this weather will continue for the next 10 days! Anyway he made our breakfast of eggs and bacon and when he asked us how we would like our eggs, we both said “sunny side up” and both of us thought : well if we cannot have the sun outdoors then we’ll have it on our breakfast plates – stay positive!!!!

To add to our grievance, we found out that Invercargill will be enjoying sunny warm weather this weekend with temperatures reaching 30 degrees – and we only left Invercargill a few days back – when it was raining as well!

This is the expected temperatures over the weekend with the south part of the South Island getting all the sun and heat

Hot temperatures heading to Invercargill this Sunday and Monday, with 30degrees in the forecast. Invercargill has only hit 30’s 5 times since 1993. Foehn heating in a northerly flow plays a big part –

Anyway, we had all the time to catch up with our emails, social media and other stuff before attempting to go to the Saturday market. By the time it was dry enough to go for our walk into town, it was well gone 13.00 and of course the farmers’ market would have finished by then. We took our map with us but what should have been a 10 minute walk to the town centre, it turned out to be more than half an hour as we had walked along a totally different direction – along the industrial harbour – until we were made aware that we should turn around to reach the city centre……..

An old building along the harbourside, The Anchor Shipping and Foundry Co.Ltd now being used as a hostel

Another old building on the waterfront used for backpackers

A mural painted on the old Electricity Board building depicting the free clouds

A bronze statue to commemorate the first settlers arriving from Europe in 1842

The Seafarers’ Memorial along the sea front

Nelson city has a large population of some 47,000 residents and what with the tourists around, we got the impression of a busy but holiday type of town. Also there is a beach close to the city centre – Tahuna Beach – however we only saw this yesterday when we were driving through town to get to our hotel and then it was low tide. Anyway when we got to the city centre there was lots of bustling around – lots of high street shops but also lots of cafe’s situated in the old 1 storey houses that are still standing. The first settlers here came from Europe in 1842 and as we could note when we saw all the names on the 1914 Great War memorial, most of the people who lived here in the beginning of the 20th century were all of Anglo Saxon origin.

Gerry studying the map and getting his coordinates right

Another view of the well kept buildings on the high street

Old fashioned lamp posts – reminded me of Paris

Some of the older building on Trafalgar Street

Nelson’s Women’s Club, now a restaurant on the high street

At the top of the High Street – Trafalgar Street, we came to wide stairs leading to the art-deco Christ Church Cathedral.. We did not visit this cathedral as it was closed and anyway we were told that the best time to visit is when a service is on as the organist and choir produce beautiful music and song…….

By the time we had wandered around town, we saw that the clouds were gathering again and we were told that there would be a thunderstorm coming up later in the afternoon. So we did not dare risk getting caught in the rain and started making our way back to the hotel. We had wanted to visit the Founders’ Heritage Park, but we will do this tomorrow when we are on our way to Blenheim.

on our way back to the hotel, our walk along the River Maitai

Due to the heavy rains, the river had flooded its banks

Our hotel – The Harbourside Lodge – as seen when walking back from the city centre

Before getting back to the hotel, we stopped at the Anchor Inn for a beer and a wine – I was dead beat and when I checked my steps App, we had walked some 15.000 steps and 10.5km!! An achievement!! Back at the hotel we had an hour to relax and freshen up before we went off for dinner. Tonight we went to the restaurant in the old harbour – Styx – and this was a very good choice even though we had to wait a bit as the kitchen was very busy. I ordered linguine with seafood which was delicious while Gerry had the Johny Dory fish with vegetables and potatoes gratin – I tasted the fish and this was really delicious!! And most important of all, the sun came out this evening and we could watch the sun set into the low clouds – I’m keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will turn out to be a good sunny day and that the weather forecast is totally wrong!!

Tonight’s restaurant – Styx – in the old harbour area

Our tonight’s dinner – linguine with seafood for me and JohnyDorby grilled fish for Gerry

Finally, we get to see the sun as it sets down in the low clouds

Still watching the sunset from the restaurant

An unexpected sunset view while having dinner tonight

Back at the hotel, had time for a drink before getting ready for bed. We are getting accustomed to the Kiwi ways – by 10 pm the streets are really quiet and everyone is back at their own homes or hotels…….. Not much going on at night……

Well tomorrow we will be using the car again as we will be driving to Blenheim and the day after we will be crossing over to the North Island – time is now going real fast……Good night all xx

Nelson – will it rain or shine?

Friday, 12^th January 2018

Another day started off with the alarm going off at 7.30 – we’re supposed to be retired but it’s really hard (and enjoyable) work travelling around in New Zealand!

First thing I did was to open the curtains – an lo and behold! No rain!! Has our luck turned finally? Gerry had taken a picture to send off to his family to let them know we finally had good weather – but alas – this did not last so long.

The first rays of sun and a patch of blue skies when we opened our curtains this morning in Westport – Promising!!

After having had breakfast with our host Michelle, we were ready to continue our journey – this time leaving Westport and travelling up north to Nelson – some 225 km, which normally would take some 3.5hours to drive. Today’s designated driver was Gerry – I was glad he chose to drive as immediately after leaving Westport, the rains came again. Westport is known as a coal-mining town, but it’s also a base for outdoor adventures. Because of the rain we have had, we didn’t really want to spend more time around here and wanted to reach sunny Nelson.

The road to Nelson was scenic and interesting, beginning with the dark, forbidding Buller Gorge in which the Buller River flows through the deep canyon between Westport and Murchinson.

Our first stop was at the Kilkenny Lookout. Here we had a very good view of the Buller River which rushed through the Buller Gorge . The current was really strong due to all the rainfalls we’ve had these last few days but the scenery was magnificent and worth getting a bit wet to take some pictures.

A stop at this lookout point over the Buller River

We stopped again and this time at the Upper Buller Gorge as we wanted to cross the river with the longest (110 meter) swingbridge – this was a really great experience and we managed to take quite some pictures. It spans the pink granite lined gorge where the river runs and once on the other side we explored the walk where in 1929 the epicenter of a great earthquake was centred. This was very well marked and interesting to see that at one specific point the rocks jutted some 4.5 meters upwards after the earthquake. On our walk around this area, we came face to face with a family of kiwis – yes the real ones – birds! Quite strange actually as these are nocturnal creatures but perhaps due to the darkness created by the rains and the dark woods, they must have been misguided…

It was raining quite a bit so that put us off crossing the river again per zip line as we had to wait a while – so once again we crossed the swingbridge and got back to the car completely soaked!

The walk we took after crossing the river in the swing bridge

The river flanked by the pink granite rock walls

After the 1929 earthquake the earthquake here was upthrusted 4.5 meters

This is where the fault line of the different plates cross over

Little kiwi bird walking a bit disoriented

Height of river floods with 2010 being the highest

climbing up the steps to get back on the other side from where we started

We had our lunch in the car as we drove on towards Nelson – what at first seemed as though the weather was clearing up, we came into another rainstorm!! It just didn’t want to stop!!

We finally arrived at Nelson and our GPS directed us towards the harbour – the first things we saw were loads of containers and Gerry remarked whether I had booked to stay in a container for the next two days – just in time, and before I could get nasty, we saw the Harbour Lodge on the right side. A cute little place and lovely people at the reception desk. I had booked a harbour view room and indeed we had the perfect room with a balcony overlooking the yacht marina. However when I asked about the coming days’ weather forecast, I was told that the storm should arrive over Nelson this evening and that it would last for the coming two days!! We were told that the farmers really needed the rain badly as it hadn’t rained in the last 6 weeks………..

on our hotel room balcony overlooking the yacht marina

Gerry admiring the view – even though it started to rain

After settling in and checking our social media, we went for dinner just across from the Harbour Lodge – The Anchor Inn – and had a really great meal! Tonight it’s early back to our hotel as it’s impossible to go for a walk around in this rain – hopefully the rain falls all tonight and tomorrow we will be able to wander around as it is market day on Saturday!

Catch of the day beautifully presented on a bed of mushroom and prawn risotto together with roast vegetables

My friend Eve,got me hooked onto apple cider – this is not wine that I am drinking …..

Gerry’s final attack on the vanilla ice cream …..

Driving to Franz Josef Glacier

Wednesday, 11^th January 2018

Woke up to yet another day of rain – my idea of going for a morning walk on the beach was blown away – so we took our time having our showers and getting coffee and fruit ready for our meager breakfast – we were off by 9.30 am as today we had another long drive through the west coast highway to Franz Josef Glacier some 230km! We were hoping that the weather would be somewhat drier but we had no such luck and to add to it all, we had fog and mist that we could hardly see the mountains.

Before getting out of Haast, we filled up the car once more with petrol and we thought we could get some coffee here – but no such luck! However we did walk down to the beach and saw the great waves – one of the guys on the beach told us that he had seen some dolphins swimming – but we couldn’t spot them! So we continued our drive and indeed it was scenic enough but the mountains were covered with low hanging clouds and then the rains came – even heavier than yesterday – and of course I was the designated driver today as well!! I’m thankful that the rental car is brand new clocking only 1500 km when we picked it up at Queenstown airport.

Finally I do get to walk on the beach before leaving Hannah’s Homestead in Haast

And that’s Gerry already walking back to the car

Our first stop was at a Lookout post over the dunes on one side and the mountains on the other – Ship’s Creek – stunning views from the lookout tower and several walks either into the dunes or to the swamps – but as soon as we started walking, we got bitten with sandflies so back to the car to get our Deets insect repellent.

Very similar to the Titanic- this ship was built to sail within 60 days from Liverpool to Melbourne but due to the tyrannic captain, the ship ran aground on a sand plate…..

The watch tower at Ship’sCreek which i climbed for a better view

The dune walk which we never did as we were attacked by the sand flies

After this stop we drove some 20 km and finally we found our breakfast – or brunch – place – A salmon farm with a café. We had the most superb Egg Benedict with smoked salmon and a great cappuccino!

The luscious rain forest on or way up to the salmon farm and cafe

There were really large salmon swimming in this pond

Gerry starting on his breakfast – Egg Benedict

After our breakfast and some walking around we continued on our trip and had another stop at Lake Paringa – such a beautiful lake with beautiful reflections. This was a free camping site as well and there were a few tents and campers around. An interesting warning was that if there was a lot of rain , the lake waters could rise high into the grounds and campers should take note of that – well in this case, campers alongside the lake did not expect this to happen!!

Parking our car to walk down to the lake

Apparently with heavy rains and melting snow, the water can rise up to here so campers are warned

However these campers have no problem with rising waters

If only we had some blue skies to go with the tranquility

Final picture before heading back to the car and the rains

Back in the car, we finally made it to Franz Josef Glacier! And amidst the clouds we could finally get a glimpse of the glacier, high above! But it was still raining so we made our way to the Top 10 Holiday Park where we were booked in for 1 night. Our plan was to be able to go up to the glacier the same afternoon but it was raining constantly so no such luck. We did some grocery shopping to have some stuff for breakfast and after walking around the township decided to stop for a beer for Gerry and a ginger beer for me. In the meantime we were getting puckish so we thought we would do just like the Kiwi’s and have an early “tea” – seafood chowder, which really warmed us up!

By the time we had our meal, it stopped raining and we thought that now we had a chance to go up to the Franz Josef Glacier. We drove to the base and there we saw that because of the swelling waters, we could only get a far as 750 meters from the tip of the glacier. Unfortunately the rain started all over again and by the time we got back to the car, we were completely drenched. The weather gods have not been really kind to us!!

The first glimpse of Franz Josef glacier when we arrived at the park g place

Notices to explain to hikers obligatory outfit and weather conditions

Franz Josef Glacier – as far as we could get due to the bad weather

This is as far as we could get to the glacier

This is as far as we could walk to the glacier

When we got back to the holiday park, we arrived at the same time as our neighbours who turned out to be also Dutch and the men started talking and found out that that both had been sea faring! So while I was writing up my blog, they enjoyed a beer together ……..

It was early to bed as tomorrow we’re off to Westport and that is some 275 kilometers drive up the west coast – will prayers help to get good weather tomorrow?????

Driving from Te Anau to Haast on the West Coast

Tuesday 9^th January 2018

13 JANUARY 2018 – TODAY UPDATED MY BLOG WITH PICTURES – ENJOY!

TODAY’S BLOG IS WITHOUT PHOTOS DUE TO THE POOR INTERNET PROVIDED AT OUR MOTEL! WILL ADD THEM ON ONCE I HAVE BETTER CONNECTIONS!! HOPE YOU CAN ENJOY MY STORY WITHOUT THE PICTURES – ONLY TEMPORARY!

Had our breakfast again outside our Gypsy Vanner – warm and sunny and said goodbye to the house pets, Oscar the terrier and Victor the cat! We were ready to take on the long drive from Te Anau up to Haast on the west coast. When planning this trip I had looked up the distances and I registered 287km in 3hr.50mins.

Well at the end of the day we had done some 356 km and taken some 6 hours to get here including all the stops we made to take pictures, have coffee, visit the toilets (which I must say are really modern and clean all over NZ) and have lunch.

We started driving at 9.45 am and left sleepy quiet Te Anau quite easily – no traffic jams here – perhaps only when there are a number of campers touring around – otherwise quite alone on the road. Again I was the designated driver for the day with Gerry making an excellent co-pilot!

Our first stop for coffee was at Garston having switched onto another highway (highways here are main 2 lane roads). Although a tiny little village with only 108 residents and a hotel and excellent public toilets, we found an information board (outside the toilet area – just in case you needed to wait!) describing the village as a gold mining village which started off with 2 sheep farmers setting up their farms here. Also notably is the fact that Garston, as a village stands right in the middle of New Zealand! Another fact the coffee was excellent!!

Our trip today starting from Te Anau and finishing in Haast

Garston was our coffee stop and we got to know that this village is right in the middle of NZ

Gerry under the signpost stating the distances to Dunedin and other towns

We continued driving along the Highway 6 and for the third time drove along Lake Wakatipu on our way to Queenstown. In Kingston we stop to fill up the car and then continued along the scenic route – we did stop one time and this was at The Devil’s Staircase – appropriately named due to the lookout punctuating the winding road and sheer rock formation leading down to the lake. Today the view was magnificent as we had clear skies! Incidentally this is the third time we are driving along the lake – first time with Ralph and Eve on our way to Queenstown, second time when we came down to Te Anau and now on our way up to Haast.

Continuing our drive, we sidetracked Queenstown and made our way to Wanaka where we would stop for lunch. Our hosts at Te Anau, explained to us that there were two ways of getting to Wanak – over the mountain range or round the mountain range – well for us we thought both would be good and did not make much difference in the time we needed to get to Wanaka. Anyway our GPS took us over the mountain range with Mount Cardrona reaching 1.936 meters. This road had so many hairpin bends and we kept on climbing till we reached one point where we stopped to take pictures and admire the views. Way down below lay Queenstown on the Lake Wakatipu – this was really a spot on top of the world with mountain ranges and golden rolling hills beneath us. Actually this pass, the Crown Range Summit,at 1.076 meters above sea level, is the highest sealed road in New Zealand. In 1860 W.Reese and and P.von Tunselman were the first Europeans to cross this pass in search of good pasture grounds for their sheep. Early in 1863, gold diggers used this route to get to towns such as Arrotown and Skippers diggings.

Fantastic views from up on the pass first used by to Europeans to herd sheep

Waiting for Gerry to take pictures of the valley

We continued from here on a descent and came to the quaint little village of Cardrona This was a popular place during the gold rush when its population rose to over a thousand – now it’s a sleepy village with hotel and only wakes up when the ski season begins.

Our next stop was at Wanaka – what a pretty lakeside town this is! Similar to Queenstown but more laid back – although there are quite a number of holiday resorts built on the outskirts of the town. And to our great relief, it was bright and sunny and temperatures reached well over 26 degrees. We sat outdoors to enjoy a salad lunch and of course Gerry had to have his vanilla ice cream as a desert. This was a late lunch and after a little walk along the lakeside, we just relaxed under a tree before setting off on our final leg of our journey for today!

Lake Wanaka – surrounded by playful activities for both old and young

In the distance, holiday homes reaching the lakeside

I think this is certainly an important event

A great idea in Wanaka – along the walkside , there are tiles and they depict an event that took place in that year – of course a number of tiles are still empty….

Gerry having his first ice cream in days!!

And time to leave Wanaka to continue our trip

We were now wel on the way towards the Haast Pass with enough bends, high and low roads with waterfalls and gushing springs all the way. I imagined we were in Jurassic park, all the luscious ferns and various tints of green foliage surrounding the roadways – which dinosaur would we soon come across?

At one point we saw, what we thought snow up on the mountains but getting closer, we saw that these were melting waters – we had to get out of the car and the noise of the rushing waters was thunderous! A couple of photos snapped quickly and we were again on our way towards the ocean. After 2 hours we arrived in Haast but we still had a long way to get to our motel which I though was on the beach – well in actual fact it was but because it was so grey and rainy, we couldn’t tell the difference between sea and sky – We certainly could hear the waves crashing on the shore!!

Not snow but gushing waters thundering down the mountainside

Gerry enjoying the view and happy to be out of the car

Final view before we continued onto Haast

Got ourselves settled in our motel and after freshening up, we thought of taking another drive to Jackson Bay – some 20 km further down – ands here we actually saw the Pacific Ocean! Mission accomplished!

Drove to Jackson Bay – some 20km further down the road in the rain forest and then all of a sudden she saw the ocean – or really the Tasman Sea!

A view of the pier jutting out – only a few fishermen around

This stone commemorates the landing of some 400 settlers who stayed in this area for 3 years before moving on

fishing is the only work there is for the few families living here

Back at the motel, it was an early night – tomorrow we’re off to Franz Josef Glacier and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the weather gods will show us some clemency!!

Sailing the Milford Sound

Monday, 8th January 2018

It was an early start today and the weather seemed quite promising for our trip to Milford Sound on the west coast of New Zealand. Actually Captain James Cook chartered the map of New Zealand on his first visit in 1769-70 but completed ignored the fjords of Milford Sound ( for the rest he was quite accurate!!)

I was nominated as the designated driver for the day, but driving here in NZ is actually stressless! And as you cannot drive harder than 100km, we don’t miss any of the wonderful sceneries we were presented with every bend in the road.

The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is some 125km through NZ’s largest national parks. Well of course we were not alone on the road as Te Anau is a towns were most tourists stay over to Milford Sound so immediately we were following a caravan of coaches, campers and cars!! Our first stop to see the awesome sights was at the Mirror Lakes which was only 56 km away from Te Anau but took us an hour to get there.These are small tarns (mountain lakes) on the roadside providing outstanding reflective views of the Earl Mountains. There were of course quite a number of tourists stopping here……..

Our first stop to relax from our 125km drive at Mirror Lakes – only 56 km away from Te Anau

As the board says, this is a World Heritage Area

Interesting to see such a sign in the lake – you know you are at Mirror Lake

Another view of of the Earl Mountains in the lakes

Water gurgling over the rocks and pebbles

Further on the road, we came to Cascade Creek after crossing a single lane bridge. This was a perfect place to stop and stretch our legs and admire the views of the rushing waters.

On the other side of the bridge the Falls cascading down to meet the creek

Falls Creek – such thundering noise as it comes down the mountain side

Not yet too cold to pose in T-shirt and shorts

From this point, we continued our drive until we arrived to Homer Tunnel – dug at an altitude of 945 meters above sea level, the tunnel pierces sheer rock to allow road access to Milford Sound. The tunnel of 1.2km was finished in 1953 and was considered a great achievement at that time. Luckily our waiting time was not too long as this tunnel is a single lane and controlled by traffic lights. But we used the time to take pictures of the mountains. The weather here started changing so we were wondering what it would be like at the other end…….

Part of the mountain range shrouded in clouds

more mountains and clouds and a little bit of blue skies

Finally we arrived at Milford Sound and got our tickets for our 2pm fjord cruise taking us about 2.5 hours with also a visit to the underwater observatory and a lunch bag for on the way. This a most interesting cruise – even though the weather turned against us. The waterfalls, highest mountain peaks rising from the ocean, the cruise ship sailing along, getting close to one of the waterfalls to get a “glacial facial” and of course the seals lazing around on the rocks and the huge dolphins swimming around us. This was a fantastic day with many beautiful scenes imprinted in our memories. So thankful that we had this day!! And even more thankful that by the time we made it back to Te Anau, we had bright sunshine and the temperatures were up to 26 degrees!!!

A Shot of Adrenaline on the Jet Boat

Sunday, 7^th January, 2018

This morning the alarm clock went off at 7.30 am but I was ever so tired still, I just could not get out of bed – I’m blaming the cider I was drinking last night – but it could be of course that we have been getting on with so many activities and also so many impressions to take in! I keep on saying, New Zealand is such a beautiful country with so many different and unspoiled sceneries.

Just before 9 am, Eve and ralph came to say their goodbyes – they were getting a head start back to Dunedin as they expected quite some heavy traffic due to most people returning home after their Christmas (summer) holidays. As we keep saying, it’s not actually goodbye that we say to each other but rather “tot ziens” or see you later……..

The TSS Earnslaw arriving to take on new passengers for a tour of the lake

Nice to know facts about the lady of the lake – the TSS Earnslaw – originally built in Dunedin and shipped to Queenstown in a dismantled way

Coal being unloaded into the ship’s hold

Men at work – ensuring all the coal for shovelled into the hold

We continued packing our stuff and just before 10 am we were ready to vacate our suite. We packed our rental car but left it in the hotel parking garage as we were off to the harbour for a nice stroll and coffee at one of the lakeside café’s – PIER – Yesterday we had made a good deal with the Jet boat company and we were to leave on a trip at 13.00 as the price for that time slot was discounted

Well we arrived on time to get fitted with a raincoat and a life vest. The same girl who had sold us the tickets yesterday quickly spotted us and we were taken on board as first passengers and hence got a very good seating in the front row. Our jet boat driver, Ethan, explained what we were about to experience and actually from that moment it was one big fun experience. Initially I thought I would be sea sick – but no such chance…….. pictures were taken and even a video film – anyway an hour was soon over but at least we saw beautiful scenery both at the lake as well as the two rivers: Kawarau and Shotover. The Shotover River was panned for gold back in the 1860’s. Actually the gold rush started off when two farmhands discovered gold in the river. By 1863, around 12.000 miners worked at the banks of Shotover River.

Gerry getting ready for his adrenaline shot

Also being harassed into a life jacket and a raincoat

Back at lakeside, we had a quick lunch as we both were ravenous – this time at the Pub, Pog Mahones, and of course we both chose fish and chips! Once we had eaten we walked up the hill to fetch our car ffrom the garage and around 15.30 we were well on our way to our next destination: Te Anau.

I was the designated driver because I had more experience with driving on the left hand side, however my experience with an automatic car is less so! No problem – Gerry was my co-pilot and with Eve’s GPS we made it to our next address in Te Anau so that we could go to Milford Sound the following day!

After a two hour drive, she arrived at Te Anau and we have the cutest little Gypsy Vanner for the next two nights – The cat Victor comes often to visit but the dog, Oscar remains mainly with the hosts – John and Karilyn. After settling down we took a drive in the neighbourhood but we also had to have something to eat before it was too late and everything started closing… And then finally it was time for bed!!