Reset search
ctkeefectkeefe
SatelliteEdit route
traveled in 5 countries Read more
  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 50

    Clear skies for the glacier

    May 17, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The sun came out finally the next day. Annie even said we may see some snow on the peaks. It was 4C there and you know it was colder up top. When we had arrived the rental agent had said there was no snow and we would probably not see any.

    We were not disappointed. All along the west coast is a range of mountains that jump up dramatically from the ocean. We drove down to our next town 2 hours away admiring the snow covered peaks.

    We drove right to Franz Josef Glacier and was lucky enough for clear skies. We had our picnic lunch and then did the 45 minute walk to the glacier. On our way, who do we meet but the couple that we had kayaked with in Abel Tasman. Small world!

    They stop you quite far from the start of the glacier for safety reasons. We then jumped a fence (like everyone else) and climbed up to chill and get a better view. We broke out our mini wines and took in the view with a great Marlborough Pinot!

    We head back to our Airbnb and after a little confusion found our cottage. Really nice, on a farm right next to a paddock with miniature horses and a view of the mountains. Unfortunately at this point the clouds had moved in and we couldn't see much.

    After setting in we went into town for a drink, home for dinner and another successful day in NZ.    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 49

    Sometimes you just need to relax

    May 16, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    The crazy night made way for a similar morning so we slept in for the first time in literally months. We had lost electricity so what was the point. I still think we got up around 10.

    The storm was strange in how it came and went in spits and starts. We had no electricity or internet so we read. We enjoyed the fresh bread. Later in the day the storm seemed to let up so I went into town to get hiking pants. Tom voted for the bed and more reading.

    That night we cooked another great meal with the fresh eggs they had left for us. The rain pittered and pattered a bit but we still decided to venture an outdoor bath and a little fire in the fire pit. The bath was more successful (think hot tub on a cool night).    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 48

    No rest for the weary, almost literally

    May 15, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Up early the next morning with a fairly long drive down to the West Coast. We had heard our luck with beautiful sunny weather was about to come to an end down there. We crossed over and almost as soon as we hit the coast the clouds came in.

    The ocean was certainly wild. The way we saw it, I can't imagine it is ever swimmable but apparent the west coast can get tropical flows of water at times.

    We checked out Pancake Rocks after our usual picnic lunch. Fascinating formations of rocks that look like crepes stacked up together. We were advised to go at high tide to see the blow holes. Unfortunately that was at six and we still had a couple hours to drive. Fortunately though because of the weather the sea was wilder than usual and we caught a few.

    On to Greymouth for supplies and our next place where we would be for 2 nights.

    This place was 12km off the main road. Our hosts were so sweet and hugging us within a few minutes. They have a cottage behind their house. You walk in between 2 greenhouses to a little clearing with chairs, tables and a fire pit. To the right is the 'mancave', a little hut with a wood stove and chairs to hangout. The fire had been going for a while and it was cozy. Behind the fire pit is an outdoor bathtub.

    To the left was the cabin. Tiny little thing but so cute and well organized. A bed with electric blankets and lots of regular ones. A heater on the wall and an extra portable one. A kitchen table. And a small kitchen arranged in a way that worked well, with everything you could possibly need. The fridge was stocked with milk and bacon, butter, fresh bread, eggs and homemade cookies left on the counter.

    Cooked dinner and hit the sack. It was raining when we went to bed but boy did it get worse. In the middle of the night I woke up to what I thought was a gun shot right next to my head, thunder. It continued on and off throughout the night. Quite honestly the craziest thunder and lightening storm I can remember.

    Welcome to New Zealand #3    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 47

    Sunset in our luxury apartment

    May 14, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    From kayaking we rushed back to our next place in Nelson. This Airbnb had a balcony overlooking the water and we wanted to catch sunset. We just did. And boy we were not disappointed. The apartment was gorgeous, large balcony, spacious open planning living/dining area and bedroom, all with large windows overlooking the water. Finally cooked the dinner we had planned for 2 nights ago and then cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie.Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 47

    Kayaking with seals

    May 14, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Woke up super early to make it to the Abel Tasman National Park, a couple hours away. Head to the gateway town of Montueka and booked a cruise/kayak tour. We only had the one day to see Abel Tasman. Big mistake as we only had time for this. If we had had more time we could have gone further into the park and done some hikes along with more kayaking and cruising. Next time I would overnight camp it too.

    Anywho, we drove a little north through a cute beach town of Kaiteriteri to Marahau. Had lunch on the water and checked into our tour.

    They loaded us up on a water taxi with our kayaks and dropped us off with our guide on a beach further north. There we were to wait for a couple who walked to this point from the south and another that had started their kayak from the north. Tom and I walk inland up to a hill with gorgeous views while we waited.

    The kayak was lovely. We went out to Adele island where there were a ton of Native New Zealand female sea lions. Unlike the males were saw in Kaikoura these looked more like seals, much smaller and much cuter than the men!

    Then we wondered our way back to where we had started, taking in the views.    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 46

    Celeste, cars and dirt roads...

    May 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Still enjoying the jetlag i caught the sunrise over our beautiful view. The wind storm was nowhere to be seen and it was nice and calm.

    We head out to Pelorus River, one of the great scenes of the Hobbit. We went for a lovely walk through the rainforest.

    On our way back i saw a small sign for a bay. We followed it down a dirt road for a long way and ended up at a new development in this gorgeous bay tucked on this amazing coast. May have broken something under the carriage on the rental car but who cares, it was worth the journey.

    Back home for a quick lunch enjoying the view before we were to be picked up for our wine tour.    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 46

    I'm officially not a sav blanc drinker

    May 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We had booked a wine tour of the Marlborough wine region just south of us. Trish of Marlborough Wine Tours picked us up and we were lucky enough to be to only ones on the tour. Trish was great.

    She asked us (me) what we like to drink and then crafted the tour accordingly. We first stopped at Lawson's which was great because there was a good range of what can grow in the region and each was explained well. I ended up buying 3 bottles there.

    Then it was off to Fromm. Marlborough is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, other whites but not really reds besides Pinot Noir. Fromm is an organic farm that specializes in reds. Yumm! We ended up splurging on 2 reds, one for a gift, another for ourselves.

    Next up was Framingham which had a nice cellar courtyard splashed with cool quotes. Apparently the winemaker leans toward the punk side. There we got yet another 2 bottles, one special for us to keep and savor in a few years.

    Last up was Spy Valley, home of one of 5 US military spy stations that track communications all over the world. Beautiful winery and at this point of the day, the waning sun was gorgeous.

    Head home and went to the Slipp Inn for dinner, a recommendation from Trish and guess who we bumped into? Trish and her husband!

    What a lovely day. My biggest take away. I don't like Sav Blanc but Rieslings do not have to be sickeningly sweet, so much that I bought and since have enjoyed both. Oh and that while Tom's palette may have expanded a bit, he still doesn't like whites.    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 45

    Dorothy's version of NZ

    May 12, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After lunch on the beach we continued up north to Picton. It took us forever because we kept on having to stop for pictures. At each turn the views took our breath away.

    Picton was lovely. It is where the ferry takes you to the North island but also gateway to a serious of bays, inlets and islands. We had a quick drink but had to be on our way to make sunset at our next spot. Although I do wish I had more time there to walk the Queen Charlotte trail.

    From there we took the scenic route to Havelock. This road winds along the coast with seriously spectacular views. Most corners required me to go 25km/hr (~15m/hr) and we basically missed sunset because we still couldn't help stopping for pictures.

    We finally got to Havelock and our little, very little cottage. We were here for 2 nights and had groceries for dinner and were excited to do some internet research on the coming days. No pots, no kitchen sink, simply a microwave and fridge. No internet. Ok.

    Our little patio was lovely though and overlooked the water so we sat down with our drinks to enjoy dusk. Well that was short lived. The wind picked up to the point that it was a little crazy. So we finished them inside and walked into town the grab a bite to eat.

    We walked through wind and rain and got back to the house to watch some tv and go to bed. The wind was insane. At many points I thought the cottage was going to pick up and be swept away. Later we found out that this was not normal for this time of year and had been quite a major wind storm.

    Welcome to New Zealand #2.    Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 45

    Can we pull over again?

    May 12, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After getting supplies we drove up the east coast. Outside of Christchurch we hit the coast it was a holy moly moment or 10.

    We stopped in Kaikoura, a little village on the beach in the backdrop of a majestic mountain. It is known for seeing marine wildlife and true as Bob we saw a bunch of big, fat and lazy sea lion. Apparently it's a great place for whale watching and penguins too.Read more

  • ctkeefeTrip of a lifetime
    Day 44

    Goodbye Oz, hello NZ and earthquakes?

    May 11, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We flew to Christchurch, picked up our rental car and checked into a hotel. Christchurch had 2 major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 that devastated the city. In fact 82% of the buildings in the CBD have or are scheduled to be demolished. We decided to take a drive around and check the city out. Super depressing. While obviously cleaned up 5 years later, you still see many empty lots and large buildings barricaded or marked for demolition. There is an energy there though, artists have graffitied many walls or placed cool, colorful sculptures in abandoned lots. A makeshift mall has been put together from shipping containers.

    Went back home and walked to an Irish pub for an excellent meat pie. Back in the room we're playing cards and all of a sudden the entire building starts to shake. I look at Tom in disbelief as if I was imagining this. Turns out we experienced a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. It was so weird, the floors and walls were like rubber. Welcome to New Zealand.    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

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