Welcome to my Travel story

Today the activity of the day was a Wine Cave Tour of New Zealand’s largest and most innovative wine cave. So this meant that again we had to set our alarm clocks for an early start as by 9 am we were out of our hotel and were walking down the hill to Queenstown town centre where we were going to be picked up – but first coffee and toast at Starbucks! We were picked up punctually at 10.am and were off for a half hour drive to the Gibbston Valley Road situated between two ranges of mountains. On the way a commentary by our knowledgeable chauffeur.

We were being driven to the site: Gibbston and Bendigo sub regions which have a semi continental climate with temperatures rising to 30 degrees centigrade during daytime and 5 degrees at night. Apparently these are perfect conditions for the vines. Alan Brady – an ex TV presentation in New Zealand started his vineyards back in 1983 when New Zealand had no wine history and grew his winery to being one of the finest and largest in NZ.

On arrival we were met by our guide, Jolande, a very pleasant and knowledgeable Asian young lady, who took us first to the oldest vineyard – Home Block. She explained that  fruit from this historic Home Block Vineyard produced the Central Otago’s first commercial vintage in 1987 and was recently certified organic by BioGro New Zealand. Gibbston Valley’s 2014 vintage is their first to be certified organic. Home Block’s high-quality fruit is used in several of  single vineyard varietals including Le Dulcinée Gewürztraminer, Le Fou Riesling and Le Maître Pinot Noir. Interesting to know that one vine in that block produces initially some 18 bunches of grapes but these are trimmed down to 8 in January so that the vine can concentrate on putting all its energy to those bunches of grapes – and to produce one bottle of Pinot Noir! The vineyard in this block has some 16.000 vines which means an annual production of 16.000 bottles of Pinot Noir! No wonder the New Zealand wine is so expensive!!!!

Our next stop was wine tasting in the wine cave! Apparently the wine cave is manmade as dynamite was used to explode in the mountain and create a cave which is some 30 meters deep and 4 meters wide. As soon as we went in there, we could breath in the wine fumes which we quickly got used to! There the wine tasting began – we had four different wines starting with a Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Riesling ( which I did not really like as it was somewhat sweet) and then a Rose’ which was very pleasant and finally the Pinot Noir.  It’s a good thing we had breakfast as I would have been quite drunk – mind you Gerry helped me with the drinking as I was continually emptying my glass into his.

It was a good thing that after the wine tasting we were having lunch, as we had worked up quite a good appetite. Our lunch was also paired with a glass of wine that would go with the choice of our meals. While I went for a starter and a main, Gerry, Eve and Ralph went for a starter and a desert.It was very pleasant sitting outdoors for our lunch and the food was exquisite of taste and fine in presentation – actually a work of art!! Our choice was as follows:

• Roast vegetables, hummus, Ras el Hanout, labne  – my starter
• BBQ lamb rump, smoked eggplant, heirloom tomato, feta, coriander – Gerry’s main dish
• Market fish Cioppino, mussels, clams, rouille, sourdough – my main dish
• Free range chicken, charred witlof, caraway, capers, mustard, nasturtium – main dish for Eve and Ralph
• Dark chocolate tart, salted caramel ice cream, espresso mousse, hazelnut praline – dessert for Eve, Ralph and Gerry ( and I had a wee taste of the salted caramel ice cream!)

Just before lunch, I had enough time to visit the Cheesery and after tasting different sorts of cheese which compliment various wines – and beers – I bought a few samples to take back to the hotel as Gerry and I were planning to have Eve and Ralph come over to our suite and enjoy a few beers and cider for the ladies and enjoy all this on our balcony!

Back in Queenstown, we asked our chauffeur to drop us close to the gardens – after that food and wine we needed a good walk – not only to get rid of the calories but also to sober up a bit……

These gardens are sited on a small peninsula on the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu. It is considered one of the finest locations imaginable for a public garden. … The Gardens have strong associations with the history of Queenstown, having been established in 1887 by members of the town’s first Borough Council The first two trees planted at the garden were English oaks in 1866 by the first Mayor of Queenstown to commemorate the incorporation of the borough, but it wasn’t until 1867 that the gardens were officially opened and the major planting began.

Back at the hotel, we took time to freshen up before Ralph and Eve came over to visit – it was the last evening together and it was good that we could just relax on our balcony with the sun fading away. Friendships have made and renewed on this trip and we are truly grateful to both Eve and Ralph for showing us around and certainly for Gerry to go down memory lane together with Ralph – and Eve! Thank you and Au Revoir where ever on this globe!

Friday 5th January 2018

After a great night’s sleep in the super luxurious Villa Motel in Invercargill, we made our way to the first cafe on the way to have our breakfast. We had some 187km to drive along winding roads and the plan was that we should take some 2.5 hours to get to Queenstown, in time for our excursion by the mountain gondola (cable car) ride  for lunch and to admire the view over The Remarkables  (mountain range) and Coronet Peak.

Our breakfast was at Lumsden, a sleepy little village of a few streets; also called Oreti (Māori)  Lying in a gap in the surrounding hills, it is the location of a major junction halfway along the north- south road from Queenstown to Invercargill, where it is crossed by the east-west road from Gore to Te Anau. We stopped at Cafe Route 6 which was very much like an American cafe from the 1950’s with juke box and a half Buik acting as a bar indoors! I am getting accustomed to variety of scones made in New Zealand – and this time I had a spicy sun dried tomato scone with a cappuccino. According to Eve we were on track re timing so once we were on the way, we had another break  to take pictures when we reached Lake Wakatipu.

It took us well over an hour to reach Queenstown and then spent some time trying to find a parking place close to the entrance to Gondola cable car. We were lucky and within 10 minutes of arrival we were walking up to the entrance to exchange the voucher for tickets – there was already a long queque but it moved easily. The trip in the cable car went off smoothly and it was ever so quiet as we were going up the mountain side. Once on top we had time to admire the stunning views – even though it was cloudy and grey, the views were still magnificent. There were some other Dutch people who volunteered to take a picture of the four of us and turned out quite good. Then was time for lunch and while the food was good, the restaurant was so packed that it was ever so difficult trying to get to the buffet tables…….

Once we were back at the car parking, we all made our way to the airport as we had to pick up our rental car – actually a mistake on my part as I had not changed the pick up date to Sunday as Ralph and Eve had planned activities for us till Sunday. But in hindsight it’s no problem as that means when we check out on Sunday, we just get the car out of the garage and start driving to our next destination – Te Anau. 

I must say it was quite exciting driving driving in a totally new Automatic  Toyota Corolla and of course on the left hand side of the road – mind you I was already used to this driving as I’ve driven often in Malta. Anyway back in Queenstown, we all checked in to our hotel – The Scenic Hotel Suites & Resorts. Perfect hotel, even though we had to walk up and down hill to get to the town centre!! Our (Dutch) legs are not used to walking hills……

After checking in, we went on a drive – according to Eve, this was an extra tour as we were being such good travelling companions – and we went to visit the gold mining town, Arrowtown. This is a charming town and only some 20 minutes away from Queenstown.This mining town sprang up in the 1860’s when there was a rush for gold in the Arrow river. The main street building are all restored as well as the little miners’ cottages off the main street.  Once the gold ran out, the town became a fading rural backwater and as there was no pressure to replace the old building with newer houses, Arrotown kept its heritage. This meant that in the turn of the 1900’s Arrowtown was more or less a ghost town! Then in the 1950’s Arrowtown experienced a comeback and the historic buildings have all been restored making it a pleasant place to wander around!

After our visit to Arrowtown, we got back to our hotel to freshen up and later in the evening strolled down to Queenstown centre and had a lovely walk around – the town is very touristic but it was good to feel being part of it all. There is such an easy going feeling – families, young backpackers and also citizens falling into our age bracket – everyone mingled together in a relaxing way.  And now looking forward to tomorrow’s activity – visiting the Gibbston Valley Wine Cave Tour! Goodnight all!!

Tuesday, 2^nd January 2018

Another busy and interesting day getting to know how the first settlers came to Dunedin and how they began building Dunedin to be the wonderful city it is today. We also took a train journey in the afternoon to the Taieri Gorge – a railway built in 1870’s to link the central Otagu agricultural areas with Dunedin. 

We started off the day with again a good breakfast prepared by Eve and Ralph (he’s the fried eggs champion!) and then drove down to Dunedin Train Station area. We’ve been blessed with another wonderfully warm and sunny day so our walk around was quite pleasant. Today it’s also a public holiday in NZ – Most probably the kiwis need an extra day to recuperate from their January 1^st celebrations??? Anyway this meant free parking close to the station and the museum we were visiting! Also all museums have free entrance which make them accessible to everyone, however we did leave a donation!

The Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is a museum of social history dedicated to telling the story of the people of Dunedin and the surrounding area, whose character, culture, technology, art, fashion and transport shaped New Zealand’s first great city.

It is set out chronologically, from the first Kai Tahu explorers right up to modern times. The museum traces the development of the City of Dunedin and the province of Otago.

The museum has fourteen themed galleries with interactive displays and powerful narratives tracing the human history of the area, from the earliest settlers to the most recent arrivals.

It is most fascinating to see how the early Scottish settlers sailed to Dunedin and how they started building the city – most of the settlers were Presbyterians from Edinburgh and in fact the town would have been called New Edinburgh as many of the buildings look as though they have been plucked out of the old town. One of the exhibition rooms was built as a ship transporting the early settlers across the ocean waves and their shipboard experience: how they lived on board through storms, sickness, fights and love till they arrived to Dunedin.

We were able to experience the rough passage of migration, the boom period of gold, the glamour of Victorian Dunedin and the changing world of transport and technology! Our visit was only a couple of hours but we could have spent much more time – there is so much to see and experience. 

Before we went to our next event of the day, we had coffee and a snack at the outdoor museum café. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting outdoors enjoying the sun, although it took quite a while to get our coffee……

We strolled to the train station which was only a few meters away from the Museum and after exchanging my voucher for the tickets, we spent some time looking around the station – unfortunately I could not take any pictures of the building outside as there were a number of tourist busses parked outside and they spoilt the view. However indoors it was magnificent – it was as though time stood still! The foyer and booking hall’s elaborate ornamentation is bathed in a soft golden light that reinforces the wealth of the city of Dunedin at the time.

Dunedin Station is an example of the city’s wealthy inheritance and in its prosperous years handled some 100 trains daily. Construction was started in 1903 and officially opened in 1906 . The combination of over the top decoration and the intricate use of contrasting dark basalt and white Oamaru limestone earned its architect the nickname “Gingerbread George”.

Nowadays, a farmers market runs in Anzac Square just outside the station every Saturday morning; unfortunately we are leaving Dunedin before we get to see the farmers’ market. But we did get the sightseeing train which runs from the station through the Taieri Gorge this afternoon. 

The trip to Pukerangi is 58 km and we slowly climbed some 250 meters on the way along the gorge. One of the largest wrought iron structures in the southern hemisphere is the Wingatui Viaduct, which is some 190meters long and 47 meters high above the Mullocky stream. The other structure of such magnitude and containing so much wrought iron is the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Today is 1^st January 2018! I have celebrated New Year’s Day in many different countries but I never thought I would be doing this in New Zealand and together with, now our very dear friends, Eve and Ralph. And today was a very special day as today’s tour in Dunedin was to include Gerry’s Memory Lane – places where he had lived and been to when he lived in Dunedin and friends with the “other” Dutch boy, Ralph. And to add the fun of going down memory lane, we had fantastic warm and sunny weather!!

The first memory that Ralph drove us to was King Edward Technical College where both Ralph and Gerry attended school and became friends. Well as the story goes, when Gerry arrived in New Zeland, he did not speak any English, so he was allocated to Ralph, the other Dutch boy, so that he could help him to adjust to his new surroundings. And that’s when their friendship started!! Photos taken and anecdotes told!

Then Ralph drove us to the first place where Gerry had lived together with his parents and brother, Rob back in 1959. Gerry knew exactly which street it was and the house was still standing there on a corner – This was located on Cosy Dell nr 4 and of course when we were out of the car and walking around, Gerry was full of stories of what had all happened during those days – they had a neighbor at the back of the garden who came from (then) Czechoslovakia who guarded his fruit trees at night as the possums searched for ripe fruit.

Well after taking some pictures here we went onto memory nr.3

We drove along the North East valley on the North Road to get to the second house where Gerry had lived with his family. But before getting to North Road 462, we stopped in front of the steepest street in the world – also mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records – Baldwin Street! Of course there were quite a number of (Asian) tourists visiting and taking pictures

Driving further on the North Road, Gerry asked to stop at a certain point as this was where a pathway led up the hill to their second home. So we all got out of the car and climbed this really steep hill which left me out of breath! I can imagine as a kid you wouldn’t have a problem climbing this pathway but as a 65 plusser, it was quite strenuous!!

The pathway was quite overgrown with bushes and Ralph thought that Gerry had got the wrong place but no – Gerry was very certain and we arrive to North Road 462. The house was tucked away among all the shrubs and trees so we could not get a good look at it and being New year’s day we were not going to disturb the residents!!

Ralph then took us to the next stop – Signal Hill – however this is not a place they came to as kids so this was a new memory for all of us. The hill is some 330 meters high and is capped by a monument to the New Zealand Centennial of 1940, a large structure including two large bronze figures representing “History” and “The Thread of Life”. Although commissioned for the centenary of the signing of the  Treaty of Waitangi (signed between Maori chiefs and the British crown) the monument was not constructed until the 1950s, owing to the enforced strictures of World War 2. A large stone from Edinburgh in Scotland, is also incorporated in the monument.

Our next stop was at South Street in Cavensham as this was the third house where Gerry’s family moved to, however due to the new highway built behind the housing area, Gerry was not able to locate the house, but we will be going back to search for this house on  another day before we leave Dunedin.

We drove further to St. Claire – the beach where the boys used to go swimming. This looked completely different to Gerry as there were houses built along the beach front but the scenery was fantastic. The sea was rough especially as the tide was in but we were not going to get wet again so we walked away from the sea front and drove to the next  hilltop: Mount Cargill. This again was a very high point having Dunedin sprawled below.

We had fantastic views even though the wind was very blustery but we managed to take some great pictures and take in the great views.

Our final stop was back in the city of Dunedin and this time at the University Campus – not that Gerry attended this university! He had already left New Zealand prior to finishing High School here. The University of Dunedin has magnificent buildings and started accepting students in 1871 making it the oldest university in New Zealand and the third oldest in Oceania. The campus was very quiet as all the students are away for their summer holidays and apparently this is also noticeable in the city too as normally it is buzzing with students.

After our Down Memory Lane tour we went over to Kim and Murray’s house for drinks before getting back for our dinner at Eve and Ralph’s place. This was an exciting day for all of us but certainly most of all for Gerry as he could re-live those adventurous years he had spent in New Zealand. Thanks Eve and Ralph for making this day happen!

Sunday, 31st December 2017

Today it’s the last day of the year and we spent it with Kim (Ralph and Eve’s daughter) and Murray, her husband. They were taking us for a drive to Oamaru and then onto Moeraki to view the boulders laying around on the beach.

Kim and Murray picked us up round 9.30 am  and driving through Dunedin, Gerry was reminded of his years that he lived in Dunedin. The first sight he had was of King Edward Technical College and he immediately wanted to get out of the car to take a picture but he was stopped by Kim as she made him aware that this would be on tomorrow’s tour with her parents – that was the Down Memory Lane Tour!

We had a pleasant drive through the hills, and although the weather was wet, the luscious emerald green meadows and clusters of fir trees along the road were a great sight to watch. After about an hour on a scenic route, we arrived in Oamaru –  a seaside town which has caught on the uniqueness of being so Victorian. Down  by the harbour, the Victoria Precinct is a treasure trove of once neglected buildings now filled with offbeat galleries, fascinating shops and other hip venues and museums.

In order to escape the rain, we visited a the Steampunk HQ – a museum which imaginatively  up cycled ancient machines and industrial clatter of the last century.Oamaru is an ideal setting for Steampunk art and activities, given the wonderfully preserved and thriving Victorian buildings. Examples are machines like those in the writing of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, and in tv shows such as Dr. Who.
The building was originally called Meeks Grain Elevator and was built in 1883. Oamaru was at that time a flourishing sea port, and bigger than Los Angeles.

After walking along the market and the coastline, we made our way back to the car to continue our drive. The next stop was at Moeraki – a Maori name meaning “a place to sleep by day” – which gave us a clue as to the pace of this little fishing village. This was one of the first European settlements in New Zealand. The reason we were here was to see the huge boulders lying off the beach. These  are a large collection of spherical boulders scattered along the beach. Normally these boulders are best viewed when the tide is low, however when we got there, it was high tide and in no time, we were quite wet! But none the less we enjoyed exploring these boulders.

According to Maori legend, the Moeraki boulders were once food baskets and gourds used by ancient people aboard a famous canoe. When the canoe crashed, however, its survivors were transformed into the area’s surrounding hills, while the baskets and gourds became these gray, round boulders.

Scientists, on the other hand, offer a different idea as to how these curiously round rocks came to be. Millions of years ago, the rocks were hidden inside the area’s cliffs, but as erosion occurred, they were gradually revealed. Essentially, the sandstone-type rock was held together with calcium carbonate, while an extremely slow chemical reaction gave them their unique roundness. Finally, after about 60 million years, the stones became the fantastic landmarks they are today.

Finally back on dry land but completely soaked, it was time to have a bite to eat so we headed to Hampden for the “world’s best fish and chips”.

This little fishing village is famous for its blue cod fishing and in fact the taste of our fried blue cod was heavenly! It had stopped raining by now, so we could sit outside and enjoy our meal and Gerry could enjoy his “puff” – smoking his rolled cigarette! Here in NZ, it is ever so difficult to find places where smoking is allowed and it sometimes seems that Gerry is being isolated from the rest of the public…

Once we were feeling much better after our delicious meal, we made our way back to Moeraki and headed north to visit the Kaiks Wildlife trail which led to a lovely little white wooden lighthouse at the edge of the cliff. Katiki Point Lighthouse (built in 1878) stands on Katiki Point Historic Reserve.

The lighthouse keeper’s house is used as a private rehabilitation centre for sick and injured penguins and other birds. The centre is run by Katiki Point Penguin Trust. The trust and its volunteers protect penguins from predation by trapping feral cats, ferrets and stoats.  

From here, we walked towards the cliff edge and looking down to the beach, we spotted a number of seals lazing on the beach while the huge waves beat against the rocks. I was really thrilled to see these seals and started taking pictures of them, but Kim spotted a whole load more seals just lazing around on another beach and on the cliffs. This was so incredible – we were walking among all these seals and they just lifted their heads out of curiosity and then just went back to lazing around. We also spotted a number of seals swimming gracefully in the waves and then just as we were walking back, we also spotted a family of yellow eyed penguins. This was such an amazing experience………

Saturday, 30^th December, 2017

Our good night’s sleep was disturbed with a number of calls Gerry got on his phone from Europe!! We have to learn to put our phones on “Do not disturb” mode before we go to bed, as it is most annoying to be woken up………

Anyway, it was an early start – Eve suggested that we hit the road by 8 am so we were ready and packed by 7.50 and I think Eve was rather impressed. Mind you, our alarm clock went off at 6 am!!

Ralph had a route planned for us today:

• Lake Tekapo
• Mount John Observatory

We drove some 400km but first we had to get to Lake Tekapo, which was some 90km further away.

Lake Tekapo is surrounded by mountains and is situated in the MacKenzie Country (named after James –Jock MacKenzie who was a sheep rustler and brought his flocks through this country in 1840’s). This lake is a result of the hydropower scheme back in the 1950’s and now the township is a holiday resort facing the lake and the backdrop of snow-capped mountains. One of the sights at Lake Tekapo is the little church of the Good Shephard. which has a window behind the altar offering a divine view on the lake and mountains.Apparently, this is such a romantic spot that even Chinese couples come here to get married!

When we left Lake Tekapo, Ralph drove towards Mount John. This is a mountain of 1.029 meters height with an observatory with day and night tours provided by the Mt John University Observatory. The private road wound up the mountain and once we were up at the summit, the views were just magnificent.

Lake Tekapo has one of the most spectacular night skies in the world. The clarity and sheer numbers of stars visible to the naked eye amaze visitors from all over New Zealand and the world during Lake Tekapo’s night.
Lake Tekapo’s night sky has interested more than just the visitors. Canterbury University operates a astronomical observatory on top of Mt John, overlooking Lake Tekapo. The clear skies and low levels of local light pollution have helped astronomers put Mt John observatory on the international map with observations and discoveries of the southern sky. Unfortunately we were not able to stay overnight and anyway that night was a cloudy one!

Once we had visited both Lake Tekapo and Mount John Observatory, we continued our drive towards Dunedin. This was really amazing! Beautiful green hills, winding roads and hairpin bends. It was all too much to take in and this resulted that I had a few naps in the car!!

And then round about 6pm, we had arrived in Dunedin! This is the town where two young Dutch boys became friends many decades ago. Ralph and Gerry are still friends and now have the time to fill in the gaps…….. When we settled down and freshened up, we drove over to Kim and Murray (Ralph and Eve’s daughter and son in law) to meet up with the family and have dinner there. It was a very pleasant evening – meeting old friends and making new ones!

Friday, 29^th December, 2017

Our last day in Christchurch (as Ralph and Eve’s program was that we should be leaving our hotel by 1.30 pm to drive to Geraldine where we would have an overnight stop.) This gave us time to do some sightseeing – and the best way was to catch the vintage tram, which had its starting point right beside our hotel. The tram we took was actually an Australian built tram from the 1930’s and our driver and commentator was nearly as old!! Although we had walked quite a bit the other day, the tram brought us to other areas, which we had not yet discovered such as the private college for boys, which survived the 2010/11 earthquakes, and a residential area where houses survived the earthquakes as they were built of wood. After we had done one ride and seen all the sights, we hopped off to have breakfast at the Arborista – a new shopping mall with a great coffee corner in the atrium. This time breakfast was coffee and cheese scones. When we were ready, we hopped back on the tram and stopped at Quake City – an exhibition telling the stories of heroism, hope and loss as well as the science behind earthquakes. It was very intriguing with photos, video footage and various artifacts, including bits that had fallen off the Cathedral.

When we came outside again, we were on time to catch another tram, which took us back to our hotel, and still have time to do some sightseeing and manage to vacate our rooms on time and start our drive to Geraldine.

Ralph had suggested that we do not take the east coast road back to Dunedin, but rather go through the hills, which was more picturesque. And this was very true! After leaving Christchurch, we headed west and in no time we could see the mountains rising in front of us and our drive went through some hilly countryside. There is so much space here and most of the meadows are dotted with sheep or cows. Both the north and south islands of New Zealand stretch so far but the population is only 4.5 million. This results that you can have some pleasant driving without seeing any other cars for quite a distance while driving at a speed of 100km on the secondary roads.

At one point, we drove through a scenic area with a river that had carved a gorge through the hills. This was the Rakaia Gorge, where the river Rakaia was a fantastic glacial green blue colour and fed by the melting snows of the Southern Alps where it starts and ends in the Pacific ocean. At this time of year, the river waters are not so deep and the gravel bed was evident in various areas. We stopped to take pictures where two bridges cross the gorge – here one of the bridges is really narrow and still made of wood and iron but it gave an excellent vantage point to take pictures.

Our next stop was at Geraldine, where we spent the night. This is a pretty little village which definitely has old English vibes – old in the sense that life stood still in the 50’s of the last century. We checked in to our motel – Geraldine’s Motel, which was comfortable enough and then, made our way to the village centre. A pleasant stroll which ended up at the Village Green Inn. After a few local beers for the men and local cider for us ladies, we decided to have our evening meal here. It was ever so pleasant, sitting outdoors and the sun shining and everyone in a pleasant mood. It was still light at 9.30 pm but after dinner we made our way back to the motel as we had an early start the following morning. We were going to continue our drive and ending up in Dunedin – home town to Ralph and Eve.