Goodbye Australia!

We are packed up and ready for the journey home.
We had a great coastal walk out to Windang Island this morning, beating the tide to get back ;)!
Lunch at Diggies on the promenade in Wollongong, looking out to the beach watching surfers, kayakers and swimmers. The sun was shining and the sea glistened...... It will be a long time before we see sea this colour again!
So......our adventure is just about over, we've had a great time and this will be my last blog.
Until the next big trip......... ;)

Hello Australia! Fitzroy Falls, and Kangaroo & Wombat hunting!! ;)

We arrived in Sydney on Friday evening, being met by our dear old friends John and Laura Hampton, and drove to their home in Wollongong, about 1 hr south of Sydney airport.
Yesterday they took us up the escarpment, through Albion Park and Robertson ( where we bought pies in the famous pie shop) to Fitzroy falls. These falls are spectacular, falling about 90 metre off the edge of the escarpment. We walked out to several lookouts to get the views, then returned to the visitor centre area for our picnic.
We then drove on down to Kangaroo Valley, which was beautiful, but the only 'roos we found were as shown in the photo below ;).......despite taking off into the bush on an unsealed road! However we did see wombat holes and we watched the kayakers on the Shoalhaven river. The countryside was lovely and very green, such a change from the parched countryside in New Zealand. Then it was back to Wollongong and more food!!
Although Wollongong is very industrial it has lovely beaches and quick access to a great range of scenic countryside.

Almost Goodbye New Zealand :(

Here we are in the Copthorne Commodore having our last lunch before we get the flight to Sydney to visit the Hamptons in Wollongong.
We had a good, if long, bus journey yesterday, super views of the mountains and McKenzie Country, the only problem was that I was sitting on the sunny side do got a bit hot and sticky...... But it was the right side to photo the best views ;)
This hotel is a five minute drive from the airport , we had a problem with the first room as water started to pump up out of the drain in the bathroom floor!! There is building work going on to extend the hotel, something went wrong!!!!! However we were soon moved to another room and were very comfortable. The service and food here has been excellent.
This morning we took the bus into what remains of the city centre using complimentary bus tickets. There us a lot of open space where blocks of buildings have been demolished, but they are making a go of things using portable buildings and adapting shipping containers. The temporary mall had a buzz about it, but I was sad to see the devastation. It must be a nightmare to drive in, with lots of roads closed and temporary traffic flow systems.

Wanaka .....again ! ;)

Another lazy day! M did a very long high mountain walk yesterday, called the Skyline Trail, it took him 7 hrs, the guidebook time is 9 -10hrs, about 5,000' ascent and descent! Wyn took Dorothy and me out to lunch ;).
Today we went to the Rippon Winery.......to look at the view ;), in fact we were so early the cellar door wasn't open!! Then we looked at the town monument to the two world wars, came home for coffee, then took the boat up the lake for 'cook out' lunch again. I am really really going to miss this place when we get home!!!!!
The two men went to Wanaka Rotary meeting this evening. My latest piece of lace is coming along.......
Lovely sunset this evening. 26C again today, the nights are beginning to draw in.

Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu via the Crown Range road

Yesterday M & I took ourselves off in Wyn's Toyota jeep type vehicle. I drove over the Cardrona Valley road to Queenstown, something we have not been able to do before as the campervan hire insurance banned us from that road. It used to be gravel but is now Tarmac all the way and fine for campers, although I wouldn't really like to take a big one back the way from Queenstown, there are some serious hairpin bends, some of the tightest I have ever driven......and that's saying something, after driving on La Palma! We set off from Wanaka in beautiful sun, but as we approached the top we were in cloud and had to use lights for a few miles, it was a lot colder over there and I only had a t shirt on! We then drove up the lake and got wonderful views of the high mountains. Spectacular! We went on through Glenorchy and round the head of the lake to one of our favourite places in NZ, Kinloch. There is just a small lodge and motel there and a DOC campsite where we have spent many happy hours. The food at the lodge is excellent, so worth the trip if you are in that area. We had a walk round and saw a great change in the course of the Dart river where it emerges into the lake, our camping spot has gone! Then it was time to do the return trip, fortunately by this time the cloud had been burnt off and we had great views from the pass. A round trip of about 280km.

Wanaka A&P Show

Our whole trip was planned to coincide with this show ;). Wyn & Dorothy were sure we would enjoy it......and we did! It is the NZ version of our agricultural show and this one is the largest on South Island after Christchurch. We made an early start and the paced ourselves! There was a large equestrian section from first ridden, leading rein class, through ponies, hunters and show jumping. The leading rein class was an education with the ' leaders' ( mothers I expect) being dressed up to the nines in smart suits and hats! The children's outfits coordinating!!!!!!! Think it must have been judged on turn out.
There were cattle, sheep, pets etc. The highlight for everyone is the Jack Russell race, a huntsman teasers the terriers with a rabbit on a rope then he sets off and they go after! The winner caught the rabbit about halfway up the course, apparently unheard of before! Great fun! As at home, all of New Zealand was represented in the crowds! All the usual machinery, cars, tractors, double glazing stalls plus tents, campervans, helicopter for sale.......and plenty of clothing stalls too. Merino is the thing to us here, but the best I've found is in a shop in town where they use the Ice Breaker fabric, make up in N Z and it is half the price!
They have the home produce show too, with fun classes for the children and the usual baking, preserves, crafts and flowers. There was some lovely embroidery and patchwork.
We had a great day, enjoying a glass of Pimms at lunchtime with a whitebait sandwich.

Out on the lake!

Good forecast and low wind, so today was the day to,go out on the lake in the boat! We packed up and went out to Mou Waho island where we walked up to the Arethusa Pools and the lookout on the top. Great views over the tarn up and down this arm of the lake. We then went round to Stephenson's Island where we had the traditional Chirnside beach picnic of sausages wrapped in bread, they call the 'snarlers in blankets'! We had wonderful views from the water mountains, and reflections galore! We got back about 4.0pm then went for drinks to friends who live on a farm way above the town, more fantastic mountain views!
A great 'outdoors' day!

Wanaka, gold mining, wineries !

Two very different but great days! Yesterday M took himself off for a decent walk, Wyn 'had things to do ';) so Dorothy and I went into town to do a bit of shopping. I got two merino tops for half the price we pay at home..... Hence I got two ;). Back home for a bite of lunch, then we sat and chatted until it was time for me to get my haircut . It was Wyn's birthday, so we went out for dinner, all having fish and chips!..... but the fish was blue cod, delicious!
Today the plan had been to take the boat out on the lake but the wind got up so there was a change of plan. We set off to look at the old gold mining works near Cromwell, but ended up driving over the Dunstan mountain range on a track! We found one battery and saw some amazing scenery. This all took a lot of time as we took a few wrong turns on the way !!! ... but eventually we came out onto Tarmac and found a cafe for lunch at 3.0pm! We then drove to Alexandra, Cromwell and Bannockburn where we went to the Carrick Winery for a tasting! My normal favourite tipple is a Sauvignon Blanc , but surprisingly their dry Riesling was very good!!! ..... So was the Pinot Gris. This Central Otago region sits on the 45 degrees south parallel and this is the most southerly wine growing area in the world , the wines are good!!! Then we drove back to Wanaka through the orchards and the vineyards. A very full day!

To Wanaka

We caught the Nakedbus (!) from Christchurch airport at 9.30 then i sat back to relax and enjoy someone else doing the driving, and watch the wonderful scenery go by.
The first part of the journey is down the Canterbury Plain , then it turns west to Geraldine , through Fairlie to Tekapo. This is know as McKenzie country and the drive is great, going towards high mountains. Tekapo is situated on Lake Tekapo looking towards the southern alps. The views here are spectacular and not to be missed. The water is an amazing turquoise blue due to the glacial minerals. We had a 30 min lunch stop here. As we drove on we had fantastic views of My Cook, probably the best we have ever had, unfortunately we did not stop so any photos had to be taken through the coach window. We arrived into Wanaka about 15 mins early with Wyn & Dorothy waiting for us. It is still beautiful here!
I will continue this blog over the next few days but obviously it may not be quite as varied as before because we are here for 9 days. The stay had been planned to coincide with the A&P show this coming weekend, which should be great.

Goodbye Campervan :-(

Up at 6.30am, breakfast, final packing and a clean up. Got to the Wilderness Depot at 8.0 where Steve sorted us out! It was busy with several couples picking up vans to start their Wilderness adventures!
We were sorry to leave the van, we have had an excellent time on it.
One thing I forgot to mention in my campervan blog is the inverter. The Basejumper 2 has an inverter which runs some sockets in the van. This was a great piece of kit and kept all our electrical gadgetry well charged.
Here is one last campervan pic, then onto the next phase of our trip

Little River, Christchurch & packing!

We woke to very dark skies and some dampness in the air. The wind had turned and was coming from the south, so it was chilly, however by the time we'd had our breakfast it had warmed up a bit. We drove off the peninsula stopping at Little River. This is a delightful spot for coffee or a meal with two shops selling lovely artwork, crafts and souvenirs. The cafe makes delicious looking quiches, pies etc plus nice cakes. Unfortunately ( or perhaps fortunately ) we did not need to do any food shopping, but if you are travelling this way its worth planning a stop to buy something tasty to take with you.
We then drove to the north side of Christchurch to the Meadow Park Top Ten holiday park, having located the Wilderness depot, filled with diesel and filled the gas bottle on our way. Bite of lunch, then the packing began!!!!! I hate doing this, but after nearly 2 hours we were organised.....we hope! We have arranged to hand the van in at 8.0am to be sure of being at the airport in good time to catch our bus....... Yes, that's right a bus not a plane!!!
We are taking the bus from here to Wanaka, the journey will be about 7 hours, down the Canterbury plain, into McKenzie country, to Tekapo then on through the mountains to Tarras. We change to a local bus there to go to Wanaka as our coach goes on to Queenstown. More of that journey in the next blog .
I am going to finish this blog with a photo of one of my favourite places, Akaroa Harbour

Okains Bay, Akaroa & Pigeon Bay

We spent the day in or around Okains Bay on Friday. The weather was sunny and warm so we walked round the headland to Little Okains Bay where we sat and read our books and I tried taking some 'arty' photos of the wet sand and reflections. The tide was going out so we didn't swim. Later we walked back to have a smoked salmon sandwich with a glass of wine at the van. Very civilised! I spent much the afternoon making lace while M took himself off for another walk. I swam in the river again as the tide came in but it was colder than yesterday because as the tide turned a breeze got up.
Yesterday we woke up to grey skies ! We drove up to the summit road and along and down to Akaroa. This is a charming little town with some very pretty colonial cottages. The French made their one and only attempt to colonise N Z here on Banks Peninsula, and the town retains a French feel to it. We did a bit of shopping and walked right through the town to the main wharf. No cruise ships in the bay today, thank goodness, or we might not have been able to move!! We got back to the van just before lunchtime and decided to drive a little way round the harbour to find a picnic spot...... And we did.....in Robinson's Bay ( have to mention this for Sally & Jonny) and blue sky started to appear ;).
We drove along the harbour to Duvauchelle , where we were sorry to see that the old hotel has had to be demolished due to the earthquake. Then over the hill we went again to Pigeon Bay where there is a small and incredibly cheap campsite ( with v basic facilities) at the waters edge. We walked out along the bay with more great views of coastal landscape,. Pigeon Bay is where the French first came ashore but it was really settled by two Scottish families, the Sinclairs and the Hays. I wonder if the Hays are related to Andrew & Amanda's friend, Sylvia ...apparently descendants of the two families still farm here today. There is a sheltered bay here suitable for swimming when the tide is in. This is our last campsite ' in the wild ' back to so called civilisation tomorrow!
Finished another piece of lace this piece was easier :)

Kaikoura to Okains Bay, Banks Peninsula

We woke up to watch dolphins from our bed and over breakfast, seemingly endless numbers of them leaping from the ocean, doing somersaults swimming on and repeating the whole process. It was wonderful, so: if anyone wants to have this experience and are travelling on the SH1 near Kaikoura, phone the Goose Bay campsite and ask for a beach side pitch! They sent us to Boat Harbour, but they have other beach side locations too..... then hope for the best!
We reluctantly left there and drove south through Cheviot and Amberley( where we had a coffee), round Christchurch , with a stop in Hornby for shopping and money, and out onto the Banks Peninsula . We stopped at Little River for ice cream( excellent ) and tourist info, passing Lake Ellesmere on the way. The approach road to the peninsula is deceptively flat for mile after mile out to then it goes up....and up....and up, eventually sort of levelling out at the top. Then there are great views of Akaroa harbour where, we understand , the cruise ships are coming as Lyttleton was badly damaged in the earthquake. We drove along the Summit Road for about 10km before turning north down to Okains Bay. We camped here three years ago. The site is located between the bay and the river and we are camped near the river. Needless to say the river is tidal! .. so we are a sensible distance from the water!!! Earlier I had a great time swimming as the tide was coming in, then wading back and floating / swimming back again, no need for a jacuzzi here.....natural massage from the current!!!'
No phone reception, so not sure when you will read this ;)

Kaikoura 2

Just to say that this is the whale watching capital of NZ. Don't drive through without taking this trip! We did it on 1997 and it was amazing!
We are sitting here looking out for dolphins...., we saw some from the ferry coming over and this is said to be a good place too!

Marlborough and Kaikoura

We changed our minds about staying in the Sounds for another few days, one can have too much if a good thing ;)! So today we drove out from Picnic Bay near Portage to the SH6 at Havelock. Driving towards Blenheim we detoured to Whites Bay thinking we might staythere, but it was a bit busy and there were no pitches with a sea view.... so we had a rethink!! The upshot being that I drove 299km today through the Marlborough wine country and then down the amazing Kaikoura coast road. The views from this road are spectacular, the alpine size Kaikoura range of mountains meet the sea here, but a road and a single track rail line have been constructed between them and the sea, giving great views of turquoise sea and high mountains, a few still with some snow still clinging on. This is a rocky coastline famous for the seals and we saw many as we were driving along. We could smell the sea, we were so close! Prior to this we came through a plain growing mainly vines and then up through a pass of hills which looked like a desert because of the dead scorched grass on them. There has hardly been any rain here for almost three months, and the vegetation is tinder dry!
We are now camped at the waters edge at Boat Harbour near Goose Bay, looking out to sea over the rocks and squabbling red beaked gulls. There is a seal asleep on a rock nearby.
Tomorrow we are going south of Christchurch and out onto the Banks Peninsula where we will probably see some of the effects if the earthquakes, we have been warned to expect a few mild ones still.....

Kenepru Sound

Only drove a few miles from our fantastic lunch spot when we came upon this site. Why drive any further? Settled on and had the first swim :)

Marlborough Sounds - Elaine Bay

The ferry docked right on time at 1.25 pm. The sailing is three hours and the last hour is up the sounds, with lovely views into coves and hills and mountains in the distance. We filled with fuel and set off. We have decided to stay in Marlborough Sounds for most of the week, moving to a different part when we feel like it! The only fixed point on the calendar is next Monday when we leave the van and catch a bus to Wanaka.
We drove out from Picton on the Queen Charlotte Drive, this is a steep twisty road but there are some great viewpoints, so it is worth all the gear changing! We joined the SH 6 through Havelock until the French Pass road, it was 39 km from the junction to Elaine Bay on the Pelorus Sound. Once again the road is hilly and twisty! There is a small DOC site here right on the waters edge with a beautiful view. Unfortunately quite a few other people like it here too and we got the last pitch on the beach edge. As I write this the following morning, I notice that a couple of vans have left, so we may make a small move later on.. We came here three years ago and it is just as beautiful as I remembered !
This morning, after a lazy start, we have walked to Piwakawaka Bay, a gentle 40min walk to a little bay. I was going to swim but the sea feels colder today, or maybe, I haven't got hot enough yet!! So, we are sitting enjoying the sun.....

We walked back to have a beer and some lunch then M went for a walk and I finished off my piece of lace and took it off the pillow .. Lacemakers among you will understand why I am a bit disappointed with it. On to the next project now!

Today,Tuesday we have left Elaine Bay and are making to the Kenepru Sound, currently we are sitting in the sun having a coffee etc in Havelock.

Farewell North Island!

We are in the ferry Q, I am sorry to be leaving, but looking forward to returning to old haunts in the next few days. The plan is to make for a bay in the Marlborough Sounds, not sure how much, if any, phone service we will have.....

Wellington Day 2

We have had an excellent day here. We walked to the Cable Car, which is actually a funicular, and paid $4 each for the short trip up the hillside, but that was all we spent all day....except for a little shopping ;) There was a volunteer guide at the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, she saw my camera and proceeded to give appropriate advice!. After taking in the views and the museum we proceeded to walk down hill, taking in the wonderful landscaping, trees, plants and flowers on the way down. This culminated in the rose garden, which was full of colour and a large conservatory where begonias are grown. A real riot of colour in there. I am hoping to have some good photos which some if you may see on cards in the years to come ;). The walk brings you neatly out at the parliament building area. There are three generations of building here, the most modern is known as the Beehive, and was designed by Sir Basil Spence! The actual Parliament building is Victorian. The oldest one houses the Parliamentary library. We visited the modern cathedral which was impressive with some beautiful stain glass and a really beautiful silk patchwork hanging behind the altar. We went to look at the old St Paul's cathedral too, but unfortunately it was closed to the public for a wedding. The bride looked nice!!
After lunch and some food shopping we returned to the Beehive to join a tour. We had an excellent guide, the tour took an hour and was free !! It's well worth doing if you are in Wellington. The interiors of the building were, obviously, very different , the select committee room for Maori affairs being the most decorative. We learned about the basement separation which was undertaken to 'earthquake proof' the building and about the parliamentary system which over the years has been adapted from the original Westminster model.
We then separated for a short while, M to hunt for bookshops while I indulged in another possum jacket ;) back to the van for feet up time and a cuppa, then to spruce up to go out for a meal tonight at Shed 5.

One thing to note if you are planning to use this motorhome park: there is a very good New World Metro supermarket in the railway station, about 200m away. We are stocked up now, so will be able to get back into the wilderness once we get off the ferry in South Island tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you Wellington City Council for providing the Te Papa, the gardens and all we have seen today!

Wellington!

Wow! Here at last! This is our 4th trip to NZ and the first time I have been able to negotiate a stay here. To be fair, we had planned for half a day three years ago but the ferry was 4 hrs late leaving Picton so that scuppered our plans. We are staying in the motorhome park on the waterfront. Essentially this is a car park with toilet and shower facilities and power and water to vans. However it is a very central location so that is the reason we booked it. We drove the 255km from Waverley Beach this morning, stopping in Foxton for essentials, like the dump station, coffee and supermarket ; however Levin a few miles further on may have had a better offer.
This afternoon we walked to the Te Papa museum and spent most of the afternoon there. After 4 visits we find we know quite a lot about NZ history, flora, fauna etc, but this museum was still well worth a visit. Lots for children to see and do too .... and plenty of places for 'oldies' to sit ;)
Just enjoying a G&T whilst writing this them we plan to go and look for some 'fush and chups' ;)
Having only seen three Wilderness vans in the whole of North Island, there are now three of us in this park.... including one of the super duper Escapes! Had a look inside it, it's very swish !
More exploring of Wellington to do tomorrow, the cable car and the botanic gardens are on the list, plus a bit of shopping maybe ;)

The Forgotten West Coast!

We have had another two spectacular days. Yesterday we drove south from Raglan on real back country roads. Up hill and down dale through wonderful bush scenery dropping down to bays and harbours or river valleys with cows grazing. Eventually we reached Tongaporuti where we had hoped to freedom camp, but the signs were uninviting! We came across an amazing 'motor home ' there complete with window box and french windows!! We drove on south to Urenui where we booked into a camp site located on the river mouth and beach. The beach here is the blackest sand I have ever seen. The sky clouded over during the late afternoon my photos were poor, however this morning we woke to beautiful blue sky, see photo later! I had a "long lie in" to quote M......until 8.30!!, yesterday was pretty tough driving.
We set off from Urenui about 9.45 and were fortunate to have clear views of Mt Taranaki/Egmont , NZ's Mount Fuji . The top was soon ringed with cloud and then completely clouded over with an hour or so. Today we have pootled along down the Surf Highway detouring from time to time, first to see a large stand of Californian redwoods at Lucy's Gully and later to see the surf and Cape Egmont lighthouse .
We stopped to make lunch in a delightful place called Karakoponui Scenic Reserve. There was an excellent campsite here too, small, but perfectly formed !!!
We then drove south for about an hour to Waverley where we turned off to look at the beach. Some great cliff/ cave scenery here on one side and a very long surf beach with ancient tree stumps on the other.
We have settled here for the night, unless we get moved on, which we think is unlikely, with a great view of sandstone cliffs and black sand bay; and the waves rolling in.
We are using the Frenzy Guide by Scott Cook which was sent to us electronically by Wilderness when we booked. Although it is probably written for a much younger clientele, we are finding his information most useful. We keep stopping to 'see what Scott says'........he has sent us to some lovely places, many well off the beaten track.
We gave been very surprised by how few tourists we have seen, especially today when we have travelling on a main highway, hence the title of this blog.
Tomorrow we are making our way to Wellington for two nights before taking the ferry to South Island......