Archive for June, 2009

Not as good as New Year

Saturday saw the All Blacks visit Wellington. Taking them on were the French team who went into the match 1-0 up in the series. As it happens I have become good friends with a French guy I work with called Yann and his girlfriend Elodie. The plan was to start the weekend off with a trip to a local bar called Southern Cross which was putting on a ‘Fête de la Musique’ (en francais, don’t you know) to celebrate World Music Day (popular in France). Fantastique! We met up with Yann, Elodie and their french pal Seb. We had a great night drinking, singing and dancing to music from all over the world. Belly dancers were performing when we turned up, then a bit of salsa, onto some jazz (and the best live drummer I have seen) and then a bit of African music. We both had a great time and had started off the weekend in style.

Onto Saturday and the day of the match. A few of our friends (including the french contingent) also had tickets, so to make a day of it we had arranged to meet up with them in an Irish bar and get something to eat before the game. And why not!

A few beers and a bit of nourishment and we were ready for the game. Shame about the weather, but hey ho this is Wellington after all. The game was pretty boring, although the French did score a cracking try in the second half.  The highlights were seeing the Haka performed live in New Zealand (big tick in a box there) and seeing a cockerel released onto the pitch with its feathers painted in the colours of the tricolore. I just admire the effort of the person who smuggled it in, just to get it past security. Obviously, much hilarity followed when one of the stewards tried to catch said cockerel only for the bird to escape the stewards clutches at every lunge.

Who came first? The chicken or the flag!

I cannot fault the Westpac stadium. Shona and I have been there a few times now and have never been disappointed with the view we have had from wherever we are seated in the stadium. Yet again we had a cracking view….All the trys were scored at our end and I would say 75% of the possession was also in the half of the stadium we were sat. However this game will forever be remembered by Shona and I as the game at which we sat in front of Alexis from Texas. Now, who is Alexis from Texas you may be asking? Well as it happens, she is someone who pays $80 to go and see a live All Blacks game and spends the whole time not watching the match but acting out an episode of the OC behind us. At full volume she decided that our half of the crowd was going to be let into her life story.

Alexis from Texas, spent the whole first half chatting up a french guy, saying ‘where I come from, stadiums are 3 times as big as this and always full……I love my boyfriend!!!!!!!’. The second half started and she ditches the French guy and moves onto an Aussie guy. This is where it turns into an episode of the OC….  ‘You have just gotta break down those walls and let someone in to your life’……….’I just don’t know if I can commit my heart to anyone after what happened with my last boyfriend’……….’I will be a virgin, until the day I get married’……..At which point the Aussie guy she was chatting up, made his excuses and left.

After the match we went round a mate’s house and watched ‘Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus’……………It was rubbish.
Yann leaves Wellington on Sunday and I will miss working with him, we share the same easy going nature to life. I hope we can catch up when we are back in Europe.

As recommended by my English Welsh poker chum. The trailer for the best film ever.

View from Grandma's Cottage - Nelson

Our plan was to spend the Queen’s Birthday weekend in the South Island so on Friday we left our house at 8am for the airport in order to catch the 9.15am flight to Picton. This was far too early! Catching a flight in New Zealand does not involve the same hassle as flights in the UK. I didn’t pass through a single x-ray machine or security check. In fact I turned up at the check in desk and was greeted by the check-in girl whose first words were, “We might not be flying to Picton today………..We are probably going to Blenheim”. “Fair enough”, I thought, “whatever you feel like”. As it turns out Picton was experiencing some fog, so the safer bet was to land 20 minutes down the road in Blenheim and get a lift back to Picton.

Half an hour later the inbound flight from Picton arrived and I get the first glimpse of the days flying vessel (to call it a plane would be an insult to the 747, 767, A380 etc… see previous entry). The pilot (who also doubles as the baggage handler by the way) comes into the waiting area and says the following, “So Picton has got a bit of fog so we will wait for a bit and see if it burns off, I will speak to you again in 20 minutes or so”. Nothing perturbing about this you may think, except I was thinking about ringing the police to say that there was a truant in Wellington airport masquerading as a pilot. Puberty wasn’t a distant memory for the captain of the flying hairdryer taking me to the South Island today. 20 minutes later he reappears “right, sorry for the delay, we are going to give it a crack at landing in Picton, see how we get on”.

‘Give it a crack are we!!!!!’….. ‘With my life are we!!!!!’…..‘hey ho, what the hell let’s give it crack!!!’

Well anyway, I am ashamed to admit this but I actually quite enjoyed the experience of flying of the Cook Strait in this Cessna Caravan 675. This country is certainly a beautiful place and from 5000 feet you get to see it from a very different perspective. Shona swears she saw dolphins from the plane but I know they were just waves. As it turned out the fog hadn’t cleared so our landing in Picton involved 30 minutes of circling round the Marlborough Sounds. This area, which I am sure anyone else who has been will tell you, is some of the most peaceful, calming and serene landscape you will come across and which made the landing all that more enjoyable.

Day 1. – Picton to Nelson – Staying at Grandma’s Cottage, Harris Hill

We picked up a hire car from Picton and began our journey to Nelson on the North Coast of the South Island. You are probably getting bored of me saying this, but I loved the drive and the landscape. The journey starts in wine country, moves on to some mildly twisting roads and then moves onto steep inclines and in deep forest before flattening out again as you greet the Abel Tasman as you arrive in Nelson.

Our accommodation for the evening was at Grandma’s cottage on Harris Hill. I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is, as  the name suggests it would be, a cottage on a hill. However, take a look at the website http://www.harrishillcottages.co.nz/grandmas.html – the views are spectacular and the hosts gave us a lovely warm welcome. All this for less than £55.00 per night for the 2 of us. How much would you expect to be charged in the UK for something like this on a bank holiday weekend?

Nelson is a quiet town. I can’t pass an opinion on it as I really didn’t spend much time going round it because I fell asleep almost as soon as we arrived at the cottage.

Day 2 Nelson to Kaikoura - Staying at the Fairways

As navigator Shona had found an imaginative way of driving from Neslon to Kaikoura. The long way! We drove through the mountains so it was well worth it. On our journey the previous day we had both said to each other “isn’t it funny that the Mountains always appear to be in the distance”, but not today. We drove South West from Nelson, getting close to Westport on the West Coast before crossing the Lewis Pass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Pass) towards Hanmer Springs and then on to Kaikoura. All in all, a six hour trip, but some great scenery along the way, despite the fact I was getting cramp from the automatic car that Shona had cleverly ordered. Even stranger was that the hand brake was in fact a pedal (and therefore no need for the hand….), and the automatic gear stick was attached to the steering wheel.

The one thing I noticed on our long journey was the discovery that no one lives on the South Island…. I drove for three hours flat between settlements, passing about 6 cars on the way. I did develop my own special wave which I’ll share with you if you ever come to visit. Shona said it was very special.

Eventually we arrived in Kaikoura. Kaikoura is on the East coast of the South Island. It is the place to go for whale/dolphin/seal watching/swimming/kayaking. We had booked ourselves on to a seal kayaking adventure trip for day 3.

Lewis Pass

In the evening we went out for a meal in town. We were staying a couple of miles out of town and as we both fancied an alcoholic beverage we decided to book a taxi to travel into town. As it turned out this was the only taxi operating in the whole of Kaikoura. After our meal, when it came to ordering our taxi back, we had to battle with competing couples all wanting the same taxi. Good fun!

That night we had the mother of all storms which meant that our planned seal trip for the next morning was cancelled. Disappointing as this was the only activity we had planned for the weekend.

I found Kaikoura odd. I can’t put my finger on it, it was just odd. It was like no one who was out in the town (village?) actually lived there. Everyone was moving on.

Day 3 – Kaikoura to Blenheim

So on to Blenheim. The road north from Kaikoura takes you alongside the ocean and there are plenty of opportunities to see the seals from the side of the road. The previous night’s storm had not fully cleared and driving conditions were not great. So when the next big part of the storm brewed we found our way, accidentally, to a gem of a place called ‘The Store’ (http://www.kiwiwise.co.nz/restaurant/the-store). A table by the fire to watch the storm and a cracking breakfast (best yet) was our reward. If you happen to be in the area, I fully recommend it.

The White Witch

The storm cleared so we eventually made our way to Blenheim (passing more stunning countryside, yawn!). Arriving fairly early we (I) decided to climb Mount Vernon which looks over the town and the Marlborough wine growing region. Despite the constant nagging, moaning and requests to turn round before we reached the top from Shona, we made it to the peak after a couple of hours. Well worth it too. We now felt that we had earned our supper (and breakfast!). On the way down we braved a blizzard that arrived in an instant, and then quickly moved off to sea. It does show how quickly the weather can change here.

I don’t have much to say about Blenheim – hopefully I’ll see it in the summer when it’s open. In the winter there is one word that can sum this place up…..empty.

Day 4 Return to Wellington

Day four saw us return to Wellington in our flying baked bean can. We left Picton on a beautiful, sunny (although cold) and still day. However, 22 kilometres later and arriving in Wellington we were greeted with the usual gale force winds which made for an exciting landing. Wellington just wouldn’t be Wellington without the wind. There is a reason for its reputation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend and I really want to move to the South Island now!

Got back home to find all the petrol had been siphoned from my car! Happy days!

Looks stressful doesn't it?

That's not a plane, it's a hair dryer

Back from an excellent trip in the South Island. Report to follow!