The Drive to Wanaka

The day started out a bit cloudy, but just got better and better as we drove along the coast to Haast, then over the Haast Pass to Makarora then on to Wanaka. Have a look at these photos, they are spectacular!

The Haast River

Lake Wanaka from the north

This spot overlooking Lake Hawea was so outstanding that we all had our photos taken with the view.

See Andy has found a new woman!

Lake Wanaka in the evening, stunning!

In Wanaka for a couple of nights now. Motel a bit average, but clean. Andy and Dave bored with lakes and mountains, "you can only take so much achingly beautiful stuff...!"

Franz Josef and Fox glaciers

Woke up to a glorious day! This is the view from our motel room.

Headed off to the Franz Josef glacier and were treated to more glorious views.

This is the Fox glacier. It was a long climb up to the viewpoint, across several streams. Barbara managed to slip off the stepping stones trying to get a good shot, only sorry we missed it on camera!

Andy's quote of the day, " once you've seen one glacier, you've seen them all!".

Had lunch at Lake Matheson, and even got a glimpse of Mount Tasman, and possibly Mount Cook which is next to it, made our day. Photo to come.

The Tranz Alpine Train to Greymouth

Had to get to Christchurch station at 7.45 am, so it was another early start. We boarded a lovely, comfortable train with large widows and open viewing carriages. We set off in glorious sunshine, and were treated to some spectacular views on the trip to Arthur's Pass.

After Arthur's Pass the weather deteriorated and we arrived in a cold, grey Greymouth at around 1pm, just in time for lunch.

Set off then for Franz Josef with the plan to see the glacier tomorrow. I hope the weather improves as it is still cold and cloudy. Apparently it has been a lovely day in Wanganui today! 

Christchurch

I have never been anywhere like Christchurch before. The overwhelming feeling was sadness at the destruction still evident after 3 years, however there was also great optimism as the rebuilding of the city was in full swing. The centre of the city around Cathedral square was eerily quiet, with no cars only the odd tram gliding quietly along the street. But not much further around the corner was Container City, with very smart shops relocated in shipping containers. There were even branches of all the main banks, with ATMs in containers - amazing that someone had the vision to get the city up and running so quickly after such devastation.

28th January - Goodbye Wanganui! Hello South Island!

Today we left Wanganui to start our long trip home. We had mixed feelings really, excited about the trip, but a little sad to be leaving Wanganui, and North Island, after such a long stay.

After re packing the suitcases for the third time, trying to fit everything in and stay within weight limits, we finally set off for Wellington and our flight to Christchurch.

Dave drove us to Wellington where, true to form it was windy and very cold! However, after the short flight to Christchurch we emerged into the very warm sunshine, great!

The Bridge to Nowhere

The Bridge to Nowhere

We set off very early to drive to Pipiriki and pick up a jet boat to the bridge to nowhere. Unfortunately, it's a long and winding road to Pipiriki and we arrived about 15 minutes late. No doubt we will end up with another speeding ticket as we raced to get there on time! However, in true Kiwi style, we arrived to 'no worries' from the trip organisers! 

So, we joined a group of about 10, plus our driver 'Kin', that's 'Ken' to non-Kiwi readers. We travelled about 30km along the beautiful Whanganui river to a path to the bridge. The bridge was built in the 1930s to service newly developed farms high above the river. Unfortunately they were not sustainable due to soil erosion and economics. So the service roads to the bridge ceased to be maintained and it became a bridge to nowhere. The few hardy people who still live in this region have to rely on boats to reach the nearest town.

Enjoyed the jet boat ride back to Pipiriki as Ken performed several wheelies to keep us entertained! We then travelled back to Wanganui via the river road, stopping to look at Jerusalem, a convent and church used  by locals as a retreat. It was a lovely day again today. Hope it lasts for South Island next week!

The Whanganui River

The Bridge to Nowhere

Jerusalem

Auckland and The Coromandel

We had time for one last trip away from Wanganui, and so flew up to Auckland and hired a car to explore the Coromandel peninsula. Andy had heard that as well as being beautiful, the Coromandel was a bit of a hippy place, and that you can find cannabis plants growing by the side of the road! Unsurprisingly, he was eager to see if this was true.

We had two beautiful, sunny days to explore the area. We travelled up into the hills through native bush land, on a little train which was originally built to bring down fuel for the artist's kiln. The train now has so many passengers that it helps to fund a protection scheme for the endangered kauri trees. We intended to have lunch at the mussel kitchen as advised by our B&B host, but it seems that everyone had the same idea, so we decided to press on. Coromandel town was delightful. Only about 1100 people live there and it has a reputation for being a centre for artists. On then to the eastern side of the peninsula to see Cathedral cove - didn't quite get there as it was SUCH a long walk, but got the idea, and then on to the hot water beach, where, at low tide, you can dig your own bathing hole which fills with warm or even hot water. Again, looked like the world and his wife had the same idea, so we just had a lie on the beach and watched the digging crowd.

For our last night we headed back to Auckland, which we had really liked when we briefly visited in October. What a difference this time though. The weather was awful, wind, rain and it was really cold. Not the summer weather we had been promised for January! Still, we enjoyed our stay, taking the ferry over to Devonport and visiting the Auckland art gallery. Learned later on Monday that there had been another 6.2 earthquake in the south of North Island, with Wanganui experiencing scary shaking similar to the one we had in August. Once again although there was structural damage (horror of horrors, the huge Lord of the Rings eagle fell from the roof at Wellington airport!), nobody was hurt. We didn't feel anything in Auckland!

Back in Wanganui now tring to pack. How on earth will everything fit in? On Sunday, Barbara and Dave will join us for a couple of nights in Wanganui before we all set off on a trip to South Island. Oh, by the way, we didn't see any cannabis growing in the Coromandel!

Some Coromandel views

As near as we got to Cathedral cove

January 2014

I can't believe it, Christmas is over already and today I waved goodbye to Kate and her family. It seems only days ago that I was excited about Paul and Joe arriving, and now they have all gone home and it is only 3 weeks until Andy and I set off on our return trip too.

Still, we have had a lovely time with everyone being here. We managed a barbecue on Christmas Day even though the weather wasn't the best. Steak, salad and lots of wine, with Christmas crackers and party poppers in the garden! 

We have been to the beach and the park; been taken down the water slides at the swimming pool and watched 'Frozen' and 'Walking with Dinosaurs' at the cinema; we have been walking in the mountains and to see Leonard Cohen in concert; we have fed ducks at the lake and walked in the bush. It's been lovely and I miss them all. Will see you all in March team xx