Archive for December, 2009

We have arrived in Milford Sound for New Years Eve celebrations!

This trip has been amazing. Around every bend is another piece of scenery to take your breath away. Lake Takepo and the drive to the Milford Sounds are the highlights so far.

Have a great  New Year! Tomorrow we are going on a scenic cruise followed by a 4 hour kayak around the sounds. Let’s hope the sand flies piss off before then, but I doubt it.

Happy Christmas everyone……

Xmas in Wellington involved a bit of garden cricket followed by a phenomenal bbq fillet of beef. Have a great Xmas and New Year. Slideshow below, click on any picture to start.

The Mayes on Mount Vic

Been a while hasn’t it? Since I last blogged we have been for another trip to the South Island and been visited by Gary Mayes and his family. It was great to see Gary and his kids. I hope they enjoyed their  brief spell in the Capital. Wellington certainly but on a show for them, we had two of the best days sunshine this summer for showing them around Wellington.

So onto our trip of the South Island….I hope this won’t disappoint too many people but the promised musical montage has fallen foul of a technical glitch. After giving myself a big pat on the back for remembering to charge the camcorder and pack the camcorder, when it came to start filming from the viewing platform of the Trans Alpine Express I realised that the discs were in fact in the baggage carriage, which we no longer had access to.
The flight to South Island was pretty uneventful. Shona had the foresight to check us in online and get us a window seat so that we could enjoy the spectacular views of the South Island on the trip down. However she didn’t take into account that we were flying south and that the South Island would be on the west side of the plane. On the wast side of the plane all you could see was ocean, lots and lots of ocean. Bless her….Last night she managed to scare herself with her own reflection.

Pancake Rocks

I thought there must have been an intruder the shriek she let off.
The first night of our trip was spent in Christchurch. Christchurch is the second biggest city in New Zealand by population and area. A lot of people tell you that it is a lot like Cambridge in the UK….. You can go punting for a start. My initial opinion of Christchurch is that it is just a little bland. For me what makes towns/cities stand out is their individual character traits. Roturua has its Geothermal stuff. Taupo has the massive lake. Queenstown is for the adventure junkies. Auckland is just massive and Wellington is cool and has it’s harbour. Christchurch is just missing something. Maybe Christchurch is just a bit too much like home for my liking.
Christchurch however is the boarding point of the Trans Alpine Express and the first four hours of our second day on the South Island was to be spent traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast of  New Zealand. The journey is 223.8 km long and you pass through 19 tunnels and over 4 viaducts. I know all this because I copied from their website http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/services/tranzalpine.aspx . The journey was great and despite an overcast day the views were very spectacular. I would like to go back in the winter when there is more snow on the mountains.
South Island people are a strange breed, and west coast people are an even stranger sub breed. I suppose putting up with all that rain will turn the best of people. Our first encounter with a west coaster was the lady in the car hire shop. She managed to confuse both myself and Shona and eventually herself, with what should have been a 5 minute transaction ended up taking about 35 mins.

Kea - They eat Sheep

Next stop on our journey was a quick trip to the Pancake rocks in Punakaiki. The Pancakes rocks are a collection of rocks that look have the appearance of being formed of thin layers of limestone, and look like layers of pancakes. The best bit of going there was reading the sign that was titled ‘How were these rocks formed’ to which the answer was, ‘Scientists don’t really know’. Thanks…

We then took a trip back across Arthurs Pass on car and met the Kea…… well we had no idea what it was but we pulled out at a scenic look out and three of the birds appeared. We were a bit shocked as we didn’t expect to see a parrot in the middle of the rain forest (world’s only alpine parrot). And then the B**stard birds stole bits from our rental car….  Shortly after, a campervan turned up. The man in the van told us we had experienced  a once in a lifetime event. We  were very impressed. Until we thought on. He meant a Kakapo.  They are impressive parrots… just not the ones we saw. He had a great trip though.  He saw a rare species…..

Our first lodgings were to be a motel attached to a golf course. Residents play for free. http://www.lake-brunner.co.nz/.  The course wasn’t great but had good fun going round it. The lodgings were really good, but as with everything in the South Island ‘a bit strange’. It is basically you staying in an extension to the family home, in the middle of nowhere. We arrived on the Friday and were told that the local restaurant and pub does food but you will have to get in early because they both shut at 7.30pm. 7.30pm! On a Friday! Well I said to Shona, the dirty……….

Anyway day 3 saw the mammoth task of driving from the west coast back to the East coast and our lodgings for the next couple of days in Akaroa on The Banks Peninsula. Akaroa is famous as it is one of the few places in New Zealand that hasn’t been solely influenced by the presence of Maori and English settlements. Akaroa has a distinctly French influence and many of the people that live in Akaroa can trace the ancestory back to a French settlement which arrived in NZ in the late 1830’s early 1840’s.

Apparently, once the British heard that the French were on their way to claim this part of NZ as their own, they set out on a mission to beat the French to Akaroa. The race which followed from the top of the North Island to Akaroa was a tight one until a big storm hit and the French decided to head for land (to eat cheese and drink wine, whilst shrugging their shoulders) while the British ploughed on and braved the storm to claim the land as theirs. Makes you proud doesn’t it?  Turns out we let the French settle there anyway, makes you think the british should have stopped for wine and cheese themselves and save the effort.
The highlight of our stay in Akaroa was a boat journey out in the harbour. The harbour was formed in the crater of a super volcano and is now home to a rare type of dolphin called the Hector’s Dolphin. Part of the crew on the boat we were on is a small terrier type dog, whose job it is to pick up on the sonar of the dolphin and bark furiously to let us know that dolphins are within close range of the boat. A very smart plan, but not a peaceful one. We both enjoyed the boat trip and got to see lots of dolphins and seals. I recommend anyone visiting the south Island to spend a few days in Akaroa, very relaxing and very beautiful bit of the country.

Arthurs Pass

We go back to the south Island for an extended holiday over the Christmas and New Year period, so hopefully will have a lot to write about when I get back. I might even try and get a few on while we are travelling . I can’t believe it is nearly a year since we left the UK, the last year has just flown by. I have gone from loving NZ, to resenting it, to loving and so on and so on. It’s all just peaks and troughs. Missing everyone, have a great Christmas and New Year. On New Year’s eve we will be Kayaking in the Milford Sounds, what a life!