Reset search
New Zealand SabbaticalNew Zealand Sabbatical
SatelliteEdit route

New Zealand Sabbatical

July - August 2015
A 49-day adventure by Mark Read more
  • 51footprints
  • 5countries
  • 49days
  • 0photos
  • 0videos
  • 43.4kkilometers
  • 40.5kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 20

    More Catlins and Glow Worms

    July 29, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    We woke up to a lovely continental breakfast at the Retreat - toast, yogurt, fruit, cereal. Overall the stay here was excellent and we enjoyed the company of our host Robbie. We left about 9.20 and went to the Owaka museum which wasn't quite open, so decided to fill up with petrol at the garage opposite. This proved harder than expected, I had to pre pay for an amount at the correct pump on a separate machine and then go back to the pump which delivered exactly the $50 I had paid for.

    In the museum we watched a film about the shipwreck of the Surat, which was where Surat Bay got its name from. No-one on board was killed and the Captain was found guilty of negligence. The rest of the museum had features on the early settlers, industry in the area, the war, religion and the ocean. It was small but all well laid out and interesting. Conscious of our tight schedule we drove on to Pakanhui Falls. A ten minute walk through the Forest took us to the Falls, which feature on many calendars and postcards and were very pretty and well worth the walk!

    We then headed for the McClean Falls, following the road until w hit the Whistling Frog cafe, where we turned right up the falls road, but not before stopping for a great brunch at the cafe.

    The walk to McClean Falls was longer at 29 minutes each way but still easy and pretty flat until the end part. Ed complained until we reached the end when the last part was a bit scrambly. Tash and Sam didn't attempt this (it was just a bit of a rockier path, no real scrambling). We got to the base of the falls, which were over a few levels. We climbed around on the rocks next tot he falls and took some good pictures that looked like we were standing in the stream itself.

    We headed back to the car and decided we didn't have time for Curio Bay and wold press o to Invercargill to see the Tuatara that the folks in the cable car in Hong Kong had told us about. It was an hour and a half or so there and we found the museum. This is a breeding centre f ot the dinosaur lizards and had an impressive number that were out and about in their areas. The oldest was about 118, called Henry. There were lots of smaller younger ones and some rarer sub species. They have been around for 225 million years and only survived because they were isolated in New Zealand. We looked at some of teh rest of the museum quickly - posing with the motorbike used by the man who inspired the film "The World's Fastest Indian". We had a few photos sitting in it, not very elegantly ins my case! There was also an interesting section on the antarctic islands of New Zealand, where people had tried and generally failed to live in the harsh conditions.

    Our short time here was up and we set off on the 2 hour drive to Te Anau. We arrived at the Cat's Whiskers at about 5.20. Sam and I had stayed here 13 years ago, though it had been sold on by the elderly lady who was running it then. Our family room was brand newly fitted out and we were the first people to stay in it. We had some quick food in Subway and headed to the Real Journeys office to board our boat. It left at 7 and took about 30 minutes to cross Lake Te Anau. We entered the caves, through a very low passage, about 1m tall. I struggled, but there was a handrail at a decent hight to slide along while I stooped down. The caves followed the path of an underground river which was very fast flowing and you could see how the power of it could carve out the cave system. We followed the passage up through an area called the Cathedral that was the highest cave - we were now about 35m underground. Next was an underground waterfall and whirlpool before we got to the point where we needed to be silent so as not to scare the worms.

    We entered a boat and sat down, then all the lights were turned off and our guide, Meliissa, started moving the boat along. There were thousands of clow worms on the ceiling of the cave and we passed very close underneath big groups of them. The boat bumped along the sides and then was turned around and headed back. It was so dark that you could see nothing other than the glow of the worms - very eerie.

    We retraced our steps back to the visitor centre, on the way having some glow worms hanging on the cave roof highlighted by torchlight - seeing the thin fishing rod strands they dangle down to entrap their prey. There was tea, coffee and hot chocolate. We also bought the photo pack that had been take n of us on the way into the caves (and also included some pictures inside the caves of the worms etc where we had not been allowed to take any shots). There was then a good short talk about glow worms, with a video showing an older worm eating a younger one that got too close to his patch (he had warned him by pushing him off the wall first). The eaten worm continued to glow inside the other one whilst it was digested. The worms take about 8 months to turn into pupa and then hatch into a fly that looks like a mosquito. They have no mouths and so survive on the energy from their larval worm phase, the males for a couple of days the females a little longer to lay their eggs. The first egg to hatch will typically eat all the others as its first meal.

    We then got on the boat back to Te Anau and headed to the Cat's Whiskers.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 21

    Doubtful Sound

    July 30, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    So not far off 13 years to the day since Sam and I did this trip before, we left Te Anau just after 9.15 to head down to the harbour at Manapouri to board our boat across Lake Manapouri at about 9.45. The drive was about 15 minutes and we collected our boarding passes and our packed lunches we had pre-ordered - 2 vegetarians, a deluxe and an Asian to give us a good spread of food that everyone might eat.

    The boat left with 41 people on the trip - in summer it can be full with 150 people so we would have plenty of space. The weather was a little dull and cloud, but as it did 13 years ago, it cleared as we crossed the lake and by the time we got across it was sunny. The journey across took about 0 minutes and was to a backdrop of snow capped mountains and an entertaining commentary from the captain, including the fact the lake was officially 441m deep, but a boat's sonar had recently recorded it as 465m, which would put it back to the top of the list of NZ deepest lakes.

    We reached West Arm where we disembarked and waited in the visitor centre (last toilet stop for about an hour) then boarded our bus to take us across the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound. The road was built in the 1960's to allow machinery to be transported from the Sound to the Manapouri hydro electric power station (which Sam and I had visited before but this was not currently on the agenda due to maintenance work). The bus journey had a good commentary from our driver/guide Justin and we stopped several times to take pictures at scenic spots.

    We got to Deep Cove on Doubtful Sound and boarded our boat, an impressive three level catamaran, with lots of room for us all to spread out. We headed out towards the Tasman Sea and, like Milford Sound the scenery was spectacular. Different to Milford in that the slopes weren't quite as steep or tall and seemed to have more vegetation on. But the sense of remoteness was more as we were the only boat on the Sound.

    We sailed past Sanctuary Rocks at the mouth of the Sound and the swell got bigger to the delight of the kids - like a real life pirate ship ride as we stood on the bow of the boat. It had got noticeably colder as we went up the Sound and the sun had gone in here so the wind was quite biting. It was worth it though as the next rocks at the mouth (about 2m further out) were a breeding ground for fur seals and there were probably a hundred or more on the rocks - cute as before, though bigger than the ones we had seen on the Peninsula at Dunedin. After a few minutes watching the seals we headed back into the Sound and sailed around the Sanctuary Rocks and saw tow Fiordland Crested penguins, very rare and very cute. After a few minutes they seemed to get a bit worried about us watching them and hopped up the rocks and hid behind one, so we moved on. We had also seen an albatross (not a royal one) swooping above the waves.

    We sailed back up the sound towards Crooked Arm, a spur off the side of the main sound. Conditions were cold nut perfect with hardly any wind and the reflections of the fjord sides in the water were very sharp. We saw classic U shaped hanging glacial valleys and towards the end of the Arm everyone was asked to stay still and silent and all the boat engines were turned off. All we could hear was the lapping of waves and occasional bird song, otherwise silence.

    This was broken by the engines going back on and we sailed out and made our way back to the Deep Cove dock. We reversed the journey by coach and boat over Lake Manapouri. We went to Ristorante di Toni for a pizza, lasagne and ice cream tea - very nice it was too.

    Last time we preferred Doubtful to Milford. Both were good this time but I think with flying into Milford that was the more memorable and the sun on the snow capped peaks made it spectacular. Seeing the rare penguins in Doubtful was a great bonus. Both enjoyable days.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 22

    Queenstown

    July 31, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Had a good breakfast of pancakes this morning in the Cat's Whiskers and chatted with the owners for quite a while, joking that we might be back again in another 13 years time (though actually they had bought the place about 15 months after we last stayed).

    We got away about 10.30 with a two hour drive to Queenstown. Had forgotten to fill up with petrol the night before, but felt sure we could do it in Mossburn about 55km away and with about a sixth of a tank should be fine. Unfortunately when we got there it only had diesel and 91 rated petrol, we needed 95, so pressed on. None of the next towns had petrol stations, but thought that the town of Kingston about 45 minutes from Queenstown should have as it was a bit of a bigger town. ABout 15 km beofee Kingston the fuel warning light came on, so we really needed Kingston to deliver. It ws smaller than I had thought but did have a self service garage with 95 and so we filled up.

    We had a drink in the cafe there then pressed on. We stopped a couple of times along the lake to take some pictures and hut Queenstown about 1.30, going straight to our motel to park up and check in - a little early but the friendly owner showed us in and gave us some tips on things to do.

    Tash wanted to go skiing again so we pursued that in town as a priority. The i-site could only book Cardona (nearer Wanaka) and suggested we visit the NZSki office to book Coronet or the Remarkables. Whilst in the iSite we booked the Shotover Jet and went across to their office to be picked up in about 10 minutes and bussed to the site.

    The bus driver was a chap called Panda (nickname I assume) and he drove us the less than 10 minute trip to the boat loading site on the Shotover River, showing a safety video on the way.

    We got spray jackets and life jackets on and put on the neck/face scarves we had been given to guard against the wind. Into the boat (with gloves and hats on, though the handrails were well heated) and off we went, a couple of spins near the jetty to allow photos to be taken, then we were off. Upriver first scarily close to rocks and trees and at up to 85 km per hour, the wind was buffeting and the scarves to cover faces were needed.

    Some spins then back downstream through the narrow canyon, very close to the walls. Further spins and back up and then down streams again and after 25 minutes or so the ride was over.

    We bought the photo pack including DVD of the on board camera then caught the bus back to town and headed to NZ Ski to sort Tash out.

    Tash was keen on a private kesson so we went for a 3 hour one at Coronet Peak (closer to get to) with hire of equipment. Ed and Sam decided they would go to watch the minion film whilst we were up the mountain. Lunch/dinner at Lone Star with a crazu waiter named Cecil, who called us London and talked about Chis Robshaw and Jonny Wilkinson.

    Then to the hire shop to collect Tash's gear ready for the morning.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 23

    A Very Busy Day

    August 1, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Up early and out of the apartment at 8.10 to head up the montain to Coronet Peak ski area. The road up was properly sealed (unlike Treble Cone). About half way up we got into the cloud and what had seemed a bright day in the making down in Queenstown looked gloomy up here. We parked up (it only took about 20 minutes from our apartment) got Tash's gear on and she had time for a quick drink of lemonade beofre we met her instructor Tom, an American guy from Colorado (who suggested later we should go there for Tash's future skiing development).

    Tash went off and I went in to get a coffee and had a breakfast burger (huge with crispy bacon, egg, has browns and salad). The Ashes cricket highlights were on the TV so I watched that untilEngland had won then ventured outside to see if I could see Tash. The weather switched between foggy and bright and clear throughout the morning and I took some pictures while it was bright and was entertained watching a family of beginners trying to put their skis on.

    Didn't see Tash (turned out she had progressed to slopes beyond the learner area that I was watching) so IwWent back in and had a hot chocolate and waited for the end of the lesson. I met them at about 12.25 and Tash had had a great time and Tom said she was a natural, it was very rare to see someone progress as quickly as her and that we had to take her skiing! Tash did a couple of runs down the shallow beginners slope using the carpet belt and certainly looked smoother than I ever did after my couple of weeks of skiing at school.. That wasn't very exciting though apparently so we headed back to the apartment, dropped off the hire gear and met the others (who had watched the Minion movie and fed the ducks at the lake).

    We went to the i site to book the Gondola and Luge and the Ziptrek Encounter for 5pm and also the K Jet which Ed really wanted to do for tomorrow. We headed up the Gondola (one of the steepest cable cars in the world) and joined the queu for the Luge ride, donning our helmets. A cable car took you up to the luge upper area and we queued fo the beginners section (everyone has to do this the first time). We were shwon briefly how to make it go (push the handle forwards, but not too far as that engaged the parking brake) and pull back to slow down, steer left and right like a bike handlebars). Then we got our stamp to say we had been briefed and off we went. Tash and Ed were a bit slow and cautious so I overtook and went down. It was great fun, easy to control and on the longer straights you could build up a decent speed. I got tot eh bottom and had to wait a bit for the kids (though Tash was held up helping a small boy who had crashed) and we joined the queue again. This time at the top we could join the shorter queue for people with a stamp and go down either the scenic slope or the advanced one. We went down the scenic one again, I followed Eddie who got up some decent speed and Tash was much quicker.

    The third time we went up the stamp queue was much longer. I went down the experienced route, which had some steeper sloped in it where you almost felt like you were airborne. The kids stuck with the scenic route again and were much faster. We then went for some food with just enough time before we got to the Ziptrek to check in, Sam was skipping this.

    We put on our harnesses and got the safety briefing from Danny and Dan our instructors and off we went. The lines were fast and long - on the first we just went down normally, then Danny came down upside down. On the second one Danny went first and showed us how to go upside down by holding low on the rope and leaning back and putting our feet up in the air. Ed and Tash didn't try, but I did. I certainly felt like I was upside down and had my feet touching the wire, though the kids said my back was bent. Before the third one we were told the tale of how the lake became tidal (it is one of the few tidal lakes in the world). In Maori times a giant lived on the mountain opposite Queenstown and was looking for but couldn't find a wife, so one night crossed the lake and took a Maori girl. The Giant didn't realise he had taken the chief's daughter and so the tribe launched attacks to try and get her back. Eventually they managed to get the girl back and burn the giant and he died about from one part of him, his heart that lasy at the bottom of the lake slowly beating and creating the tides. The scientific explanation is the lake is very long (and sleeping giant shaped as we saw on a diagram) and can have different atmospheric pressure at the Kingston and Queenstown ends causing tides.

    On the third zipline we were challenged to fall backwards into it, eyes closed hands an legs etc straight like a penguin. Ed didn't like the idea, Tash had a go, but grabbed at the last minute and i did it! The lst zip line was as long as the other three put together. We all took a running jump at it and sailed past an incredible view of the lake and the Remarkables mountain range (which runs exactly North-South, rare in nature). We also learnt about the ecology of the area and the philosophy of only doing things that were good for the environemnt and for people, with a tale of a girl who has to take 6 zip wires to school without any safety equipment and with her little brother in a cloth sack hanging underneath as he's too young to do it himself. The company support a micro loans initiative to help small businesses in developing countries.

    The trek was over and great fun it was - photos to be viewed in the morning at their offices!

    Busy day over we headed back to the apartment for some snacks and TV.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 24

    Another Very Busy Day

    August 2, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    So the day started with us wandering down to the harbour front as we were booked onto a 10 o clock cruise on the old steamship TSS (Twin Shaft Steamship) Earnslaw. We managed to d=find a kiwi magnet to replace the one Edwaqrd had bought and lost yesterday, then checked in.

    The ship was a grand thing in the style of an old train carriage. It is still steam powered with coal burning boilers which you could see via a walkway on the level above 0 we watched on the way back as the engineer shovelled in more coal to the boiler.

    The day was bright and sunny again and we sailed across the lake with the usual spectacular views of snow capped mountains (the Remarkables dominating). Ou destination was Walter's Peak High Country farm which we reached in about 35 minutes.

    The farmer met us and we went into a barn we he demonstarted how to shear a sheep, though he admitted he was a dairy farmer and his technique was slower than the proper shearers who did about 400 a day (the world record being about 38 seconds). We then went outside where his sheepdogs demonstrated their talents - Sue was a ;psycho; who ran back and foirth untilt he sheep did what she wanted, King more refined stalking and staring down th sheep (though he did draw blood on one giving it a nip on the side). The farmer said that in his prime (he was now 11) he would have been worth about $4k and the most expensive dog he had known went for about $12k. One thing I didn't know was that the dogs were not trained by the shepherd but trained by someone who specialised in this and then sold on to the farmers.

    After the dogs the kids got to feed some sheep by hand before we went off for our BBQ lunch. This was tasty with pork, chicken, beef, lamb, sausages, vegetables, salad, bread, but the best was desert with vanilla ice cream, choclate mousse, and sweets (jelly snakes, Cadbury jaffas).

    After lunch we had a half hour or so to look around the farm and the shop. The farm had sheep (both merino for wool and a meat breed for lambs) beef cattle (including a bull with ring through his nose), alpacas and red deer with some impressive antlers.

    The boat trip back was less windy than going and the views still as spectacular. We got abck at 1.30 and went to look at our Zipline photos from yesterday (we bought them all!) before returning to the harbour for our 3.00pm KJet ride. This was an hour jet boat ride and went up the Shotover river up to the point where the shotover jet comes down it. The ride was much more similar to the Clutha river one we did a week or so ago and we travelled fast and skimmed the edges. On the way back with the current we touched 90km/h and came the closest on any of our rides to thinking we were going to crash - seemed like we were only a few inches from the concrete pillar of a bridge. The ride was windy but not too cold and we did plenty of Hamilton spins - the last one just before we docked at the end making me quite wet. Ed complained because he hadn't got wet enough! The ride was over in what didn't seem like an hour and we went downstairs on the pier to a room below the kiosk where we bought the obligatory photos and also looked through the below water observation window at the large fish swimming around and also at the black ducks we had seen on the service who were diving down by the window looking for food - very funny seeing ducks swimming down alongside the fish.

    Tash was then keen to do a 12d cinema ride, so we went to the Vortex cinema. Beforehand they took some green screen shots of us on a rollercoaster, with dinosaurs and as zombies. We all acted very well and the resulting photos were very good! The cinema itself was a lot like the one we had done in the UK Cadbury World, with moving seats (including parts of he seat actually vibrating and pushing against you, wind, bubbles, water as we zipped down a rollercoaster and a space journey. These kind of rides often make me feel a bit sick so I was glad te kids were happy not to do any more at a discount price.

    The last suggestion for the day was the indoor crazy golf. We walked there (having a quick drink in a cafe about to close) then went into the golf. This was a great course, all indoors, with holes on multiple levels, runways and themed holes with areas that responded to the ball moving through and playing music. Ski lifts and the Gondola took the ball upwards on some holes. All in all probably the best course I've ever seen and well maintained too. On the last hole the ball was retained but a lollipop popped out of a dispenser for you. Ed won with Sam second, me third and Tash fourth.

    We then went to Fat Badger's, a pizza place recommended by the Zipwire guys. We ordered two 20'' takeaways - they were big but tasty and they happily did half of one without cheese for Sam.

    Queenstown has been a busy plae (Ed says its his favourite place in NZ so far which shows what kids enjoy!), but it doesn't seem like the rest of NZ which is slower placed and less active. As Tash said, it seems like a mini London with loads to do and some kind of atmosphere that makes you want to do as much as possible.

    Tomorrow we go more back to 'real' NZ at Mount Cook, with the plan to visit Arrowtown on the way.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 25

    Bungee (nearly!)

    August 3, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We left Queenstown in the rain and drove around past Coronet Peak to Arrowtown. A tasty breakfast in the bakery cafe )good bacon and egg sandwiches, with Ed having a spicy chicken pie!).

    The rain was easing and we walked up the main street of this old gold mining town, which still looked like a street from a wild west movie. Bought a few souvenirs then had a look at the historic Chinese settlement, laid out where the Chinese gold miners used to live. They had been invited by the town elders as the European miners moved on to the West Coast and they were worried the town would die, but they were treated with scepticism and suspicion by most of the locals, similar to immigrants today. They strived to earn $100-$200 to return to Chine and buy a farm, vastly improving their life there.

    From Arrowtown we aimed for Twizel, but a few km along the rode we saw signs to the AJ Hackett Karawau Gorge bungy jump and as we were stuck behind a slow moving camper van we pulled in to atch some jumpers. We watched a single and a double jump an also watched some people going down the relatively new Zipline. Ed declared he wanted to do it, so we checked the minimum age - 8, but 8 or 9 year olds needed to ride with an adult. So Tash, Ed and I did it. The maximum weight was 150kg and we ended up having to take off shoes, jumpers and coats to get down to the limit - made for quite a cold ride!

    We got harnessed up - we did it in a sitting position rather than the full superman dive that we had seen others do. Ed was given a go-pro camera to record the trip (as was Tash) and on the count of 3 the release button was pressed and we were off. It was exhilarating, think we reached about 60km/h before hitting the end. The mechanism then cleverly spun us around and we were pulled back up to the start, uncoupled and viewed our photos and video, which we bought of course.

    We then had a couple of hours still to Twizel so sped on through the Lindis Pass that we had gon through 10 days ago from Wanaka to Oamaru and hit Twizel about 2.30. Had a pie each and some shared chips in the bakery, then bought breakfast stuff from the supermarket then headed off to Mount Cook Village about 45 minutes away. Twizel didn't have much to it (it was built in the 60's to house people working in the hydroelectric dams on nearby rivers).

    The weather was fine and we got to Mount Cook Village about 4pm. The motel was new since our last visit when we had stayed in the Hermitage Hotel. A quick walk into the Village and we booked a 4wd trip for tomorrow morning, though the weather forecast is for more rain so the trip may have to take a different route to normal as the torrential rain today had seen some tracks closed as a precaution against landslips.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 26

    A Quiet Day

    August 4, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We got a call from reception at about 8.20 to say our 4wd tour at 9am had been cancelled. Unsurprising given the amount of rain that we had heard falling during the night and was still tipping down at that point. This gave us a more leisurely start to the day and we watched the rain continue to fall and some periodic flashes of lightning with rumbles of thunder. The mountains around us were virtually invisible through the clouds and rain.

    We headed up (in the car!) to the visitor centre at 10 and had a look around the museum there. The downstairs was the most interesting, with an old mountain hut, a big map of the area with buttons that lit up various locations and information on mountain rescues, including oen where two guides from the Hermitage had been trapped at the top of Mount Cook by a storm which had lasted for about 2 weeks. They sheltered in a crevasse and had a food drop after a few days and were finally rescued only after one rescue helicopter had rolled over in the stormy weather on the mountain. The guys ended up losing their legs below the knee to frostbite, but went back to climb the mountain again with prosthetic legs and one guy climbed Everest that way (we saw a picture of his black frostbitten feet in the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre).

    Pitstop for bacon sandwiches and drinks in the Old Mountaineers; Hut Cafe, then we went into the Hermitage Hotel and into the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. This was built in 2007 after Sam and I last visited. It had various info and memorabilia about Sir Edmund Hillary and other climbers (as mentioned earlier)as well as the Hotel and the Mount Cook village region in general.

    The main attraction was the cinema/planetarium which showed short films (typically 20 minutes or so) throughout the day. We first saw the midday film which was the Magic of Mount Cook in 3D. It started with a cartoon showing how New Zealand and the mountains were formed according to Maori legend (4 brothers in a canoe hit a rock and the canoe became the land and the brothers sheltering on top became the mountains). The rest of the film was 3D shots swooping over the mountains.

    The second film we watched was on the planetarium screen (a large dome screen that was moved over the top of the seats It was called Tyco to the Moon and was about a cartoon dog who's kennel turned into a rocket and took him to the moon. The kids loved it and the planetarium dome screen effect worked very well.

    We then watched a third half hour long film about Black Holes which was interesting and explained quite a lot of the science behind black hole theory in relative simple terms, though Ed declared he did not understand a word of it!

    Lunch in the cafe (Butter Chicken pies for ed and I) then we drove back to the apartment to chill out and see if the weather would get better (it was still pouring and was sleety now).

    Weather didn't improve, but Ed and I went back to watch the 5pm film on Primeval New Zealand about the history of some of the animals. NZ originally had only 1 mammal, a bat, and was populated mainly by birds (and lizards, molluscs, insects). Evidence suggested that many of the birds including the Kiwi came originally from Australia when they had wings to fly but then rapidly evolved to suit the NZ environment. We sensed from the commentary that this was not a pleasant thought to the New Zealand folks given their rivalry with Oz! The film was 45 minutes, but very interesting and Ed was pleased he had come to see it. It had finally fined up and we could see a bit more of the mountains (though not Mount Cook), but no time to do anything as it was getting dark.

    So we headed back to the motel to cook the limited ready meals we had bought earlier. Ed and I had a risotto which was tasty but we managed to burn a layer to the bottom of the pan, tough to get off. Tash's macaroni cheese was a disaster and she ended up eating cereal.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 27

    Blue Skies

    August 5, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    After the last tow days of cloud and torrential rain we woke up to clear blue sky and a frost - a perfect winter's day. We decided to do the 40 minute or so Kea Point walk (no Keas were seen!). We drove the couple of km to the White Horse Campsite where the trails started from. When we had planned to have a camper van for this part oft he trip I had been looking at staying here. Think it would have been ok, had a clean toilet block but no showers.

    We started the walk in the shadow of some mountains so it was a little cold, but we soon hit the sunshine and it warmed up. Sam was feeling a little under the weather so turned around about 3/4 of the way to Kea Point, the rest of us carried on. The path was icy in places with frozen puddles and fresh snow from yesterday (only half a cm or so) on the grass and path in the shade.

    Whilst Eddie had complained about walking (as ever!) he admitted it was worth it when we got to Kea point. Had great views of Mount Cook, Mount Sefton and other mountains together with the huge lateral moraine of the Muller Glacier, the glacier itself and its terminal lake. after photos we headed back to the car and set off for Tekapo.

    Sat nav was set for the Astro Cafe on the top of Mount St John at the Canterbury University observatory. We stopped at Peters Point to look back across Lake Pukaki at teh mountains around Mount Cook, said to be one of the best view points in NZ.The day was superb and the all round views from here excellent, another place where it was hard to control the number of photos taken. The blue ness of Lake Tekapo looked artificial. The food was good too, including a great curried cashew and carrot soup which we must try out at home (carrot, onion, garlic, chicken stock and cashew nuts and curry powder).

    We headed down and the short trip into Tekapo and to the Lake Tekapo Hot Pools snd Tube Park. We paid for all 4 of us to do tubing for an hour and go into the hot pools and Sam booked an hours massage.

    Straight to the tubing, where you slid down a snow slope on an inner tube (similar to the sort of thing you have at a waterpark). A school party were there so there weren't many tubes spare so Sam and I had to go down in a double - for the best as she was very nervous.

    a carpet lift carried you and your tube up to the top. The kids shot up, Sam and I less convincing with her almost falling off and bringing me down to. Anyway we made it and down we went. It was fun, got up some good speed and went high round a banked corner before hitting some plastic mats put down to slow you down and bring you to a stop. These made the end of the ride quite bumpy and I only later learned it was best to lay across the tube rather than sit in it to be easier on bottom and back.

    Sam went down 4 or 5 times before bailing out for her massage. The kida and I then went donw many times in various configurations 0 like trains holding each others feet, forward, backwards, spinning, straight, then in a ring with feet facing in. I sat out for a bit as the kids carried on. The school party had left after about 20 minutes and we had the place to ourselves. We had 2.30 written on our wristbands as our finish time when we arrived but given the lack of people we were allowed to just carry on and finally left about 3.30 after 2 and a quarter hours.

    Ed braved a flying on his stomach slide towards the end and it went well until h banged his knee on one of the slowing mats, very painful. We decided this was a good tie to finish, but not wanting to end on a bad note we all did one more train down then went off to the hot pools.

    Sam was already in them having finished her massage and wondering where we were. There were three pools, 36, 37 amd 39 degrees, the latter being adults only. We went in the coolest first then the next one. I also tried the hottest which was very relaxing. After about an hour we left and went to our motel then straight out to eat, hungry from our exertions. Went to a bar called Mackenzies. I had venison stew which was OK, but a bit tough in parts. Sam had three cuts of meat, 80g each - pork, beef and lamb. When it came the meat was cooking on a red hot stone and needed turning to be seared then pieces cutting off and left to cook on the stone before eating. Never seen that before and it didn't work that well. This was probably the worst meal we had had so far in NZ, very average.

    Back to the motel, where the room was nice but had the tv oddly in the children's bedroom with no other one anywhere. We needed to watch the final of My Kitchen Rules so had to huddle on the beds to do so.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 28

    Horse Riding

    August 6, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    We checked out of the Tekapo motel just after 9. Wjilst adequate we felt this was the worst place we had stayed in to date (odd layout, not enough towels in the room etc).

    We went to look at the Church of the Good Shepherd on the shore of Lake Tekapo. It didn't open until 10 so we couldn't go in, but we took some pictures and Ed did a bit of clambering on the rocks on the lake shore. We also had a look at the dog statute, a monument to all sheep dogs and their contribution to NZ.

    Then it was off to Geraldine where we had a 12 o clock appointment with the Peel Forest Trekking Centre to do an hour's walk on horses. Tash had been led on a horse for an hour once when we were in Devon and Ed had been on a pony, Sam and I never been on one (nearest for me was donkeys on Skegness beach)

    We stopped for a coffee about half hour from Geraldine at the Brewery Cafe, which was indeed attached to a brewery. We bought a bottle of their Ginja Beer (non alcoholic), as yet untasted.

    Peel Forest was about 15km outside Geraldine and we arrived just before 12 and saw 5 horses saddled up across the paddock waiting for us. We met Toby our guide for the walk (son of he owners) and got out helmets. Toby gave us a quick demo on how to hold the rains, where to have feet in stirrups and how to control the horse by pulling on the reigns, then we got on. Me first on Ziggy and I was told to walk around the paddock in a big loop to get the hang of controlling the horse. Making him go involved digging in your feet and legs it transpired, otherwise steering was via shortening the reign on the side you wanted to go and giving a pull. Pulling both was stop (but not too much or it was backwards!). Ed got on next (Bobby), but got very scared trying to control the horse (don't forget he can't even ride a bike yet!), so Toby said he would lead him on a rope which made him feel much better. Sam got on (Tommy) and did the same as me looped around, then Tash (Spirit), who started to wail a bit and claim she didn't like it. A bit more instructions from Toby (on Moggy) and his dad Bob then we were off. The first part oft he walk was down a hill. Bit of a baptism of fire, you had to lean back and push forward on the stirrups to keep your balance. Tash continued to wail but we pressed on and once on the flat she calmed down and then started to enjoy it. The horses largely knew where they were going and followed the one in front, but they needed some control so they didn't run you into tree branches or when they stopped to eat grass or drink water! The route was a good one, across some streams and gorse land as well as forest and lasted longer than the hour, probably about 80 minutes on the horses.

    On the way round the horses met one of their brothers (Mac) who tagged along with us for a bit - they all seemed pleased to see each other. Just before going back up the hill Toby had to close the gate. Ed was left on his own and Bobby decided to start off up the hill, which scared Ed but he managed to stop Bobby and all was well again. Up the hill caused Tash and Sam's horses to break into a trot, but they hung on!. Ziggy kept stopping and looking round at me - think I was hard work to carry up! Ed declared horse riding the best thing he had done in NZ so far!

    We then posed fro some pictures on our horses and helped give them a bit of food an hang up the saddles and reigns and said our goodbyes and were off again. Back into Geraldine for lunch at the bakery, bought some famous jam from Barkers of Geraldine and some clothes for the kids for a NZ made clothes shop then headed to Christchurch, about 1.5 hours away.

    We arrived back a St James B and B almost exactly 2 weeks after we had last arrived around 5pm. Margaret the owner was out but had left us the key and we showed ourselves in, had a drink and then headed to the Harewood Tavern for tea. It was surprisingly busy and the food took a while to come but was decent when it did.

    Margaret was back when we got back and we chatted a bit about our travels, set breakfast for 8.30 and went for our last night in a solid bed for a couple of weeks - campervan tomorrow.    Read more

  • Mark SmithNew Zealand Sabbatical
    Day 29

    Campervan and Whales

    August 7, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We had a lovely breakfast again at the b and b and Spoodle the dog was very pleased that Edward didn't eat most of his bacon. Margaret sold the kids on visiting Hanmer Springs, but we didn't really have time in the schedule.

    We cleared the car and took a sad farewell photo with it, then headed to Wilderness campervans, getting there about 9.30. We were met by Bonnie and offered coffee, a good start. Unfortunately things went quite slowly from there - we started the check in process then Bonnie had to deal with a problem on the phones that took quite a while. Eventually she suggested we went into our camper and started to unpack. We got a free bbq and camping chairs and table with the hire, but they took up a lot of room in the external storage so we decided to leave them behind and use the space to store our many bags. The kids chose the 5 free dvd rentals we got with the hire. A fellow hirer was an Aussie called Brian and his wife Helen who had rented before and as Sam said (Knew everything but actually knew nothing". He was certainly a character!!

    Eventually we were shown how the camper worked, a whistle stop tour, - we hoped to remember the salient point. Our van needed a fill up with water and so whilst this was being sorted I went to take the car back to Apex, a simple process, then someone from Wilderness picked me up and took me back.

    We were ready for off and had a photo with the van to begin the adventure then we were off. The van was slower than a car but cruised along reasonably well, though yet to master exactly how the cruise control works, bit hit and miss! Maximum speed is 90km/h not the 100 of cars so journeys a little slower and the crockery rattles a bit!

    We arrived at Kaikoura just after 3pm - the last half hour of the journey had been quite windy and made everyone feel a little bit queasy, but the road hugged the coastline right down at sea level, with waves breaking on the rocks. We went straight to the helicopter whale watching office on Whaleway Station road and checked in. As the helicopter only held three people we needed two and the guys suggested we did one trip after another with two people going twice.

    After a safety briefing we donned lifejackets (folded up around our waist) and were told a bit about the whales. Sperm whales were the residents, the third largest whale and the largest with teeth that hunts other fish, squids, grouper, stingray. Some of the fish are faster than the whales but the sonar they use to hunt by can be turned up and used to stun the prey.. Orcas are seen every few weeks and dolphins too. The whales here are males, the females live closer to the equator and the younger males move to other areas to find food until they are ready to breed. The whales here are about 25-45 years old and live to about 70 years old.

    Sam, Tash and Ed went off first whilst I moved the campervan nearer. They saw several whales, including a very unusual sight of two whales fighting - they were swimming directly at each other and then veering off and te last moment - normally they just keep themselves to themselves. Tash got a good shot of the classic tail as the whale dived (they stay on the surface for about 10 minutes between dives, surfacing every half hour or so).

    They returned and I hopped in for Sam. Tash didn't want to go again as she was feeling a bit queasy so just Ed and I went. The views were great and we saw a pod of Hector's dolphins just off Kaikoura point. Then spotted our first whale, who dived quite quickly after we had seen him. Then we headed towards where the pair were seen before and they were still there swimming alongside each other. Our pilot was talking to a Whalewatch plane too who said he had seen a big pod of dolphins, which we also then flew over - there were 100's of them. We watched the two whales swimming side by side for several minutes then headed off to another single whale that we watched for a few minutes before it did the classic dive.

    So four whales altogether, lots of dolphins and then we floew over the rocks on the point on the way back and saw hundreds of seals basking.

    After landing we headed to our campsite, Top 10 Kaikoura and plugged the electric in. The van soon warmed up and we had to turn the heating right down as we were too hot! No tv signal so we watched a dvd then went to bed and all had a decent night's sleep, Tash above the cab, Ed on the drop down table bed and Sam and I on the permanent bed at the back.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English