Day 11 NZ Thurs April 14

Funny faced telescope.   

Going up in the world this morning. First to the top of the cable car run at Wellington’s Botanical Gardens. 

Wellington's cable car.

After a brief photo op we moved onto even higher ground, namely Mt. Victoria. A walk of 150 steps took us to the top. (These are actual steps taken not the number of stairs.) You have a 360 degree view and with a clear day it is spectacular. (See the video!)

On top of Mt Victoria.

Back on lower ground we passed a café called ‘The Recovery Room…’ across the street from a hospital. I’m fascinated by the Belisha Beacons, not only in Wellington but in many of the cites and towns we’ve visited. They are not like the original golden globes on poles to indicate pedestrian crossings, most of them are flat orange discs placed on or near the top of the black and white pole. Wellington had examples of both the flat and the global (albeit more modern looking) kind. Photo in a later blog.



Next stop is Te Papa, Wellington’s wonderful museum. Our driver told us Te Papa means ‘our place’ but the literal translation is ‘the land.’ We had only just over an hour which is nowhere near enough. I only got to see the Awesome Forces exhibition, all about earthquakes and volcanos. Models illustrate the forces at work, and you get to feel a facsimile of an earthquake, very interesting. I’d like to go back and spend more time. It is airy and well set out.

Te Papa.  

Moving on…making our way North with a stop at Levin (with the emphasis on the last syllable) for lunch. Kit and I found another Tip Top ice cream outlet, I tried orange and chocolate chip, she had a ‘gold rush,’ vanilla ice cream with bits of crunchy bar in it. All delicious.

Not far out of Levin we saw NZ’s biggest wind farm whirring away on the hills. The Danes settled in one hamlet (Dannevirke) near here and the Norwegians another (Norsewood) a few kms north.

New Zealanders have a few expressions I haven’t heard before:

pit fruit – (plum, peaches etc., what we call stone fruit.

‘orcharding’ for orchard farming

‘trim milk’ for skim milk

Otherwise, apart from the accent we can understand each other pretty well. I’ve enjoyed ‘fush and chups’ (mind you I’d never heard of gurnard before but it’s delicious); got up at half past ‘sex’; asked for the ‘bull’ after a meal…and many more expressions we Aussies poke fun at.

Our bed for the night was at the Quality Inn Napier. I knew as soon as I saw it, it was trouble. First, the coach driver had to back into a very narrow space. Next no porterage, some of our travellers are pretty old and a bit infirm. Luckily most, if not all have luggage on wheels. Still it didn’t look good, watching the poor old bodies lugging their luggage, trying to read the room numbers and figure out the floors.

Rooms were so so but the showers were spacious. Food was largely proportioned, too much for most of us. Internet connection was the cheapest, $7.50 for 2 hours.

The earth's crust.

Day 10 NZ Wed April 13


No wake up call…again. I suppose it’s fitting. There’s a kind of symmetry to it, both our first and last mornings in the South Island started with no wake up call. Luckily this time, Kit woke early to do her hair, so no drama.

After admiring the hanging baskets of Nelson and learning that Trafalgar park was the first place in NZ where rugby was played we headed north towards Picton and the ferry terminal.

Chris the driver says he has put almost 3000kms on the clock. He wouldn’t be more exact than that because we have to guess the total mileage at the end of the trip. We had a short stop at Havelock aka ‘The Green Lip Mussel Capital of New Zealand.’ We missed the annual Mussel festival by one month (March 19). Didn’t see any samples of mussels around and haven’t come across any on the menu except once. I had some with a fish dish, over cooked and flavourless. I sprayed myself and the hotel carpet with the accompanying fish trying to wrench the mussel meat out of the shell.

Havelock's green lip mussels on the roof.  

Musical toilet. 

We arrived at Picton in full sunshine only to find the ferry hadn’t. We had an extra hour to kill until it showed up. We patronised the musical toilet on the wharf, mooched around an overpriced junkshop, which had the nerve to call itself an antique shop. I called Melvin telling him of the delay. I’m dining with him and his wife and children tonight instead of eating at our hotel.





We’ve started calling Ray, the tour leader’s partner, Pakanui ever since we learnt it meant big stomach. (‘Nui ‘ is big in the Maori language.) You can guess why. He takes it in good part.

A typical Wellingtonian house clinging to the hil.   l

Arrival in Wellington: after a quick shower and change I was ready to go out. Melvin and Karen picked me up and took me to their home. It is 15 years since I saw them and I’d never met their children. Spent a delightful evening getting to know them and meeting the guinea pigs. (You'll have to see the video. I forgot to take still photos.)

The North Island tour begins in earnest tomorrow.

Hot springs and quizzes

Day 9 NZ Tues April 12

Open plan restaurant at Methven Resort. 

NZ vines. 

We drove through acres and acres of vineyards on our way to Hanmer Springs. As its name suggests it is a spa with lovely water loaded with minerals and sulphur (hold your nose). The last time I was here (and the first) snow lay all around and the paths were icy. Today it is sunny enough for me to be wearing sandals, cut offs and a T shirt. Can’t believe our luck with the weather especially since we have been travelling in the wettest parts of NZ lately.



A few of us went in the baths, the 41 degree full-on sulphur job, then what our tour leader calls the ‘pasteurised’ version with muted sulphur plus other minerals like calcium, potassium etc. There is a spa pool with jets pounding your back, shoulders and legs. It’s a great relief for limbs stiffened in a bus seat all morning. The place has grown so much, with added regular swimming pool, and a huge water slide. The sulphur did not do much for my amber ring, and my silver chain did not escape the ravages. Both have become discoloured.

Needed a couple of dollops of ‘tester’ lanolin cream after that soaking. Me and Barbara can’t get enough hand cream on, the atmosphere feels so much drier than Sydney. As soon as we enter a gift store we head straight for the lotions.

 Then we hit a coffee bar that only deals in double shots. There were no ‘nana naps’ for this gal in the afternoon. Instead I worked with Louisa, another trip mate, to fashion some fun trivia questions about the South Island since it will be our last night here. I missed most of the commentary about Lewis Pass, the Maruia Forest, Murchison and the place where Lord Rutherford (who first split the atom) was born, a place called Brightwater.

Later that night after dinner at the Quality Hotel, Nelson we had the quiz. It was obvious no one had been paying attention to our driver’s commentary! Still it was a lot of fun, the prizes were lollies hastily bought for the occasion at one of our earlier stops.

South Island sheep. 

Tomorrow we go to Wellington to start our tour of the North Island. I’m sorry to be leaving the mountains behind.

Working dogs and runny noses

Day 8 Monday April 11


Rats! I have a cold. Had to pop the Panadol this morning. Instead of coffee I’ve been imbibing hot lemon, honey and ginger.

Autumn colours. 


We’re on the road to Mt. Cook, hoping the clouds will part long enough for us to see the peaks and photograph them. Mt Cook aka Mt Aoraki is 3754 metres high, the highest in NZ. Being so tall, her peak is often obscured by cloud, as it is when we first see her.

We passed the longest pivot irrigator, consisting of 29 sections, making it over one kilometre in length. Each section costs between $11000 – 15000 each, making it a very expensive piece of equipment. Judging by the lush green growth everywhere it must be worth it. I'd love to be able to draw it for you but can't and obviously failed to take a photo, only lord knows we were driving by it long enough!

Perhaps this year, it hasn’t been used much; two major lakes in the area namely Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo are the fullest they’ve been in years, fed by the largest glacier in NZ, the Tasman.

Sir Edmund Hillary. 

At the Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre in Mt Cook village, the clouds parted just as we were about to leave. Of course we had to photograph them which made us late for our next rendezvous. I was reluctant to leave the mountains that reminded me so much of the Cascades, kept looking back for a glimpse of Mt. Aoraki as we drove away.

The elusive Mt Aoraki. 

Lake Tekapo viewed from the Church of the Good Shepherd. 

Traversing through an area known as the McKenzie district, we passed a mound where the St. John Observatory is, eventually reaching the Church of the good Shepherd by Lake Tekapo. It is a working church with a stunning view. Nearby someone has put some of the many stones to good use, fashioning stone cairns. A short walk away sits the memorial to sheepdogs, a border collie.

Monument to sheep dogs.  

Lunch stop at Geraldine where the Giant Jersey (cow) lives. I didn’t see it and only know about it when devising trivia questions with another tour group member the following night!

This night we stayed at the Methven Resort. Love their open plan style and the rare beef carved for us by the proprietor, but the outstanding feature was the drying room. Most of us headed for the laundry, almost came to blows over the two washing machines (only kidding!) but a room usually used for ski clothes came in very handy for us once we washed our clothes..

Six degrees of separation...

Day 7 Sunday April 10

Olveston House.   

Not being a lover of walking round stately homes, I wasn’t looking forward to our first stop of the day, namely Olveston House. But this one was different in that it was designed by a far sighted architect. The house was one of the earliest to have electricity, powered with its own generator; a central heating system, and many labour saving devices for the servants, well before its time. The owner was a Jewish importer and he imported from everywhere. The house is full of paintings, prints, vases, and figurines from Japan, Europe, Korea and the like. The tour took an hour, long enough to see what one wanted to see and short enough to not get fed up with it.

Dunedin is a city I’d like to return to, it has a nice ‘feel’ to it. The station is very pretty and boasts the longest catwalk in the world. It was being used as such over the weekend but the models left the day we arrived, a coincidence I hasten to add. We managed a little retail in the Cadbury shop. (disappointed there were no orange cream biscuits, no biscuits at all in fact.) One consolation: Crème eggs were cheap at $1.00 each and NZ dollars at that.

On the way to the first port whence frozen meat was exported (Oamaru) Chris our driver asked, ‘What do you get when you eat onions and baked beans?’ Answer: ‘tear gas.’

Oamaru.  

Oamaru turned out to be most unexpected in more ways than one. It is built of local limestone and the buildings gleam white in the sun. That is not remarkable, although it looks pretty. The market was something else: I thought I’d been transplanted into ‘weirdoland.’ Local stallholders were dressed mainly in black, some with top hats, bedecked with chains and sundry trimmings. Music came from a small electronic piano that echoed, all adding to the strange atmosphere.

Market Day.  

The next unexpected thing happened in a bead shop of all places. As usual when I go in a bead shop I always think of David. I was looking at bead books to see if I could find his name. The woman behind the counter asked if she could help me. I explained I had an American friend who was a bead artist.

‘What is his name?’ she asked.

‘David Chatt,’ said I.

‘He was my teacher,’ she exclaimed, ‘in Parapara-(something) near Wellington a few years ago.’ Her name is June, and she remembered the class as one of the best times of her life. She also remembered Ron very fondly. How about that for coincidence…or 6 degrees of separation or…

June showing off one of her pieces.

Nothing could top that but the Tip Top Hokey Pokey ice cream almost did. It’s vanilla with bits of toffee in, delicious. Don’t know how we’re going to stop eating on this trip, the dairy products and the meat are especially good.

Benmore Dam. 

After passing by Benmore Dam and Lake we ended up at Omarama for the night. A famous American Balloonist Steve Fossett stayed here many times and was due back to try and break the world gliding altitude record, before he disappeared forever. The area is a great place for gliding because it has the best thermals in NZ.

At Easter time Omarama holds an Easter Bunny shoot. Hide your children’s eyes! They go out and shoot rabbits and place them on the pub lawn for all to see. They’re regarded as pests in these part. That’s not all they shoot. We saw 2 fine racks of deer antlers in the back of a ute. Hunting season is open. Duck hunting starts next month. Given all the deer farms we’ve seen I’m surprised we have seen venison only once on the menu.

Day 6 Saturday April 9

First photo stop after leaving Te Anau is Lake Manapouri. For some reason I love this name. Some time ago the area was threatened with a dam which would have flooded the township etc. But locals protested and petitioned and it didn’t happen thus the area was saved.

It speaks for itself.  

Lake Manapouri.   

En route to Invercargill I learned that the real Kiwi fruit from NZ has the word ‘zespri’ printed on that annoying little sticker most fruit has these days. Kiwi fruits take 4 years from first planting to show up, and a total of 7 years to bear a marketable crop. The major market is Japan. So watch out for the genuine article. You can tenderise meat with them and ripen apples. Kit and I have stocked up on fruit, bananas of course and kiwis.

After an informal tea break in a park in Winton we moved on to Invercargill. Saw real live Tuataras at the museum there. Ever heard of them? Me neither. They are descendants of the dinosaurs, obviously escaping whatever disaster got rid of the others. Henry, age 115 years is still going strong. Didn’t start breeding until he was well into his eighties after he had a tumour removed. Before then he was stroppy and no one could go near him.

Tuatara.   

 After a beautiful bowl of noodles we moved on to Gore, the country music capital of NZ, complete with cut out guitar and handprints of famous country music singers. I knew two of them, Glen Campbell and Slim Dusty. It is also the trout fishing capital of NZ, hence the big trout.

Guitar cut-out at Gore.  

Big Brown Trout at  Gore.  

We passed Carisbrook, (‘the house of pain’ in Australian rugby circles ‘cos the Wallabies never win there) on our way into Dunedin our home for the night. It is sometimes known as the 'Edinburgh of the South.'

This is a city I’d love to come back to. We had no time to explore it thoroughly.

We did have time to sample the HAGGIS, Dunedin style, according to one of our group much more palatable than the real thing. It’s made of best NZ lamb and oats, comes out like a rough textured pate. It is served in what they said was a facsimile of a sheep’s stomach but to me it looked like a green heart, complete with arteries coming out the top. (You’ll have to see the video!)

Before then we were given the history of the haggis. Sounds boring doesn’t it? It wasn’t. From somewhere they plucked the liveliest Scotsman you will ever see, who had us in stitches, teasing us with what may or may not be under his kilt. The room was ablaze with flash cameras trying to catch a glimpse. (He wore underpants) Three of our party were co-opted to assist the main actor. They looked so fetching in their ginger wigs and tam ‘o' shanters. A piper piped us into dinner. According to our driver this ritual is repeated in all the hotels in summer every night! They must have an army of pipers and actors on hand. Turns out ‘our’ Scotsman is the genuine article from Edinburgh, been in NZ 17 years and is a landscape gardener.

Piping us into dinner. 

Dinner did not quite live up to the pre prandial excitement; looked pretty but vol au vent cases were hard, chicken stroganoff was not stroganoff. At least I got 30 minutes free internet in the bar.

Glenn Campbell's handprints.  

Cruising the fjords

NZ Day 5  April 8 2011


First stop after leaving Queenstown is Mossburn, the deer capital of New Zealand. Saw our first wind farm on the far hills. Had bus driver’s tea and bikkies in the park.

Magnificent stag statue.   

Lunch at Te Anau (pronounced tee arnow). Had indifferent pies, but the toilets were great, the best $1.00 worth of relief. The ceilings were high and there was a hand dryer by each sink... at last someone figured that one out. The ‘concierge’ was a smiling charming bloke who told me they had opened on Dec 20 2010. For $5.00 you can shower. Many campers use it.


On our way to Milford Sound, we drove through Eglington Valley which is ablaze with Russell Lupins in Dec/Jan. None left now. Mirror Lake did not produce marvellous reflections; too many ripples (have seen better up Mt Baker in Washington State). Had to pass through the Homer Tunnel. It’s one lane only. The deal is that the lights change every 15 minutes. We copped the red both ways but waited only five minutes going in.

We’re now well into the mountains, and a spectacular sight they are. It’s almost too much beauty and grandeur, and the photos don’t do the scenery justice.

Yet another maginificent pit stop!   

I’ve learned a new expression, ‘tree avalanche’ whereby trees become heavy with ice and water, expand and shear off, sending rocks down the mountain, leaving a huge gash on the mountainside.

Milford Sound is a misnomer, it is more accurately a fjord, i.e. developed by glacial erosion rather than river drowning. There is more of the rock under the water than above it. We board the Milford Monarch for a spectacular 2 hour cruise. Notice I’m using the word ‘spectacular’ a lot. The eyes hurt with all the fabulous scenery.



Waterfall into the Sound.   



Interesting shadow, Samurai on horse!


I thought I would be sleeping on the 2 hour bus journey back to Te Anau but I started reading my kindle (a true crime book by Ann Rule) which kept me awake.

Dinner at the hotel was splendid, ginger crab salad, lamb medium/rare which melted in my mouth and espresso crème brulee... a five star meal. Hotel is Te Anau Hotel.