NZ Holiday - Methven to Christchurch

Christchurch - the Restart

Container City - the Restart Mall

Coffee at The Curators House in the Botanic Gardens

Sad sight - the Cathedral

Green shoots at the  Container City

The Show must go on - but not quite yet - Theatre repairs underway

I suppose if they had not had the catastrophic earthquakes we would have spent more time in this lovely city. The centre is absolutely devastated yet there is a positivity about the place. In the suburb where we are staying there is no evidence of damage, the trees are in bloom and the gardens are lovely. The City Centre is definitely work in progress. There is a container city right in the centre where they have set up shops and we sat and had a coffee and browsed. The new bus station alongside was thronged with school kids and commuters at the end of the day. The damage seemed a lot worse than we had expected but there is a lot of repair work underway. It is going to take a while! The Cathedral is a sad sight. Would be good if they could repair it but the cost would be huge. The River Avon still looks the same and the botanical gardens were lovely. Was a bit concerned that we might feel we were intruding on private grief but it was not like that at all.

NZ Holiday - Geraldine to Methven

Geraldine, old fashioned shopping

Mountains on the left as you  travel North

A walk in the Bush at Awa Awa

Rakaia Gorge in the evening

Geraldine is a lovely little town. It is an ideal base to look around the area and has some unusual shops. I think it does pretty well from tourists as a lot of the tour buses stop off here. Good choice I'd say. Its worth taking an inland route from Timaru to Christchurch as you get to see the mountains on your left and you go through lovely farming country with high hedges. We opted to stay in Methven which serves the Mt. Hutt ski resort in Winter. We thought it would be empty but there was a Rhododendron conference on in town - amazing! So thats what goes on behind the hedges. Anyway we found a place to stay and went up in the mountains for a bit of bush-walking at the Awa Awa Rata Reserve. Really quiet tracks, apart from the birdies of course.

NZ Holiday - Day Trip to Lake Tekapo

A quick look at the Southern Alps

Taking in the scenery at Mount John

Tourists at Lake Tekapo

Observatory view From Geraldine we took a day trip into the mountains and Lake Tekapo. The Lake has a particularly bright Turquoise colour caused by the inflow melt-water with suspended ground up rock. Next to the Lake is an astronomical site - Mount Johns Observatory. It is a very pleasant walk up from the Lakeside. The Cafe on top serves good coffee and you get a 360 degree viewpoint of the Lakes and Mountains. Well worth the effort.

This very friendly Paradise Duck  wanted to come into our Studio in Geraldine

NZ Holiday - Moeraki to Geraldine

October 27th 2012 - heading up the East Coast

The view in the morning from our Cabin at Moeraki

Moeraki Harbour

Moeraki was an absolute picture this morning. We would have stayed another night if the cabin had been available. We had time for a walk around the harbour and the headland. A couple of fishing boats were returning laden with Blue Cod. Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration. Each fisherman has a quota of 30 fish, still a fair weight of Cod. They fillet the fish on the way home to leave all the messy stuff out in the Ocean so its all ready for the freezer. There is a renowned fish restaurant by the Harbour called Fleurs run by a Lady with great wild grey hair. Unfortunately, it was closed on the night we were there and we had debated pushing the boat out so to speak. She was catering for a wedding in Oamaru. We had Pasta at home. Living the Good Life We needed to crack on because we were making a social call today. One of TW's old workmates is living the 'Good Life' on a farm south of Oamaru. If you can imagine a wooden house set in acres of green with a gentle slope down to the Pacific Ocean then you have a mental picture of their little farm. As we arrived her two boys were out in the fields along with a selection of cattle, goats, sheep, lambs. One lamb had a floppy ear and was a bit of a weakling so needed special treatment from Peter, her husband. We had special treatment too, chocolate brownies, mmm.... yummy. She spoke fondly of her morning commute on the M25. We had lunch with the family at a Cafe up the road. Had to be Fish and Chips. Blue Cod under a blue sky. Altogether a really lovely visit and another special memory of New Zealand. Northward bound, we headed for Oamaru a smart South Canterbury town and then on to Timaru. On my last trip here I ran summer Youth Hostel accommodated in the dormitory section of a posh Girls School. TW wanted to see the place so we had a bit of a Tour de Timaru and found Craighead School. The Dairy where we used to buy our Hokey Pokey Ice Creams has gone, replaced by a Supermarket, but apart from that it all looked very smart and very familiar. Did not recognise Caroline Bay, Timaru's seaside beach area, there have been a some changes over the last few decades. Today's ultimate destination was not far to the North, the little Town of Geraldine. Talbot Street Geraldine Deep Meadows We stayed just out of town on a small farm, Deep Meadows at 86 Greenvale Road. Our little place, on the side of the main building, was very comfortable.

Deep Meadows

NZ Holiday - Kaka Point to Moeraki Boulders via Dunedin

Up the Otago Coast - 26th October 2012

Downtown Dunedin

The wind blew and blew but did not blow our house down. The bottom end of NZ is obviously quite exposed to the elements but we made the best of our two nights at Kaka Point. Bush Walks, Beach Strolls and a Bike Ride on the Coastal Road were all on our busy agenda. On both evenings we went out at dusk to watch the Penguins come in for the night. Have to say that bird-watching on an exposed beach in a gale whilst trying to hide in wet grass is a tad uncomfortable. Hot soup back at the flat has rarely been so welcome. Kaka Point must certainly be a fabulous place in decent weather. Time to head northwards. The road North took us to Balclutha and onwards to the big City of Dunedin. We were back in 'civilisation', traffic lights, parking charges and crowds. Undeterred, we walked miles around town. It's a big University Town and our route to the Botanical Gardens took us through a large College.  It is exam time over here and some students were loading up with beer to celebrate finishing, others looked to be loading cars to go home. Dunedin Railway Station - a long wait for a train Dunedin - at University of Otago We parked by Dunedin Railway Station, one of the City's iconic buildings. Sadly there are no more passenger services leaving from this lovely old station. They do have a scenic trip that goes into the mountains every few days to the Taeiri Gorge. Bit pricey for us and takes about seven hours. Flying - to boulderly go.. Moeraki Village Rolling a boulder TW imitates a chicken - note the pained expression We jumped in our little Yaris and headed for the small Fishing Village of Moeraki. You could be fooled into thinking you were in Cornwall. We found a nice Cabin overlooking the Harbour and headed out to explore. Boulders are the local attraction. They sit on the beach waiting for tourists to come along and attempt to push them along or jump over them. We did not do any of that of course. As the cliff erodes it reveals more of these rocks. There is a perfectly good explanation on how these boulders came to pass but Giant's marbles seems far more logical.

NZ Holiday - Off to the Catlins - Alexandra to Kaka Point

Penguins in the wind - 24th & 25th October

The Lighthouse at Nugget Point

These must be the Nuggets at the Point?

View to the Lighthouse at Nugget Point

Kaka Point - The cabbage tree outside our place

Nugget Point - spot the fur seal?

A penguin puts on show near Kaka Point

It is really amazing how much the scenery varies in New Zealand over very short distances. One minute you are driving across what is virtually a rocky desert and just down the road you hit an area growing fruit trees. Go a little further and you might see sheep grazing. Our route from Alexandra to Kaka Point certainly rang the changes. One thing you do notice is the development of off-road cycle paths. The Otago BikeTrail is very popular and is being expanded. Cycling is definitely seen as an important way of increasing tourism and filling Motel Beds. When we set off from Alexandra it was very chilly, when we arrived at Kaka Point it was very much warmer but the wind was phenomenal. Not a cold wind as it was blowing off the land but we were buffeted by massive gusts. TW was a bit unsure about walking to the Lighthouse at Nugget Point as she thought the wind might carry her over the cliff to join the fur seals down below. No chance of that, her handbag is like a land anchor! The highlight in Kaka Point was seeing Yellow Eyed Penguins come ashore. These gentle creatures put on quite a show for us. Penguins at Kaka Point Penguins climbing to their nests Turn left, or end up in the sea We did manage to borrow a couple of bikes and take a ride along the coast road for a bit. TW finds a downhill in the Catlins A flakey paper tree on our Bush Walk

NZ Holiday - Alexandra to Roxburgh - The Jimmy's Pies Route - Otago to go!

Otago to go - Super  take-away - 24th October 2012

It's in the bag!

Jimmy's Pies on the Pie-way to Dunedin

Ok, so NZ has lovely mountains, superb beaches and friendly people. Sadly, that is not always enough. Some people have the need to be bounced on elastic till their backs stretch and their retinas fly off. The same people probably the desire to fly along the Shotover River in a stomach churning ride across the rapids in a Hamilton Jetboat.  The previous night they will probably have been out on an organised bar crawl in Queenstown getting blasted by Jagerbombs. Our agenda is a just a little more sedate and more selective. That is where Jimmy's Pies come in. There is a wee bakery in Roxburgh, between Alexandra and Dunedin, that makes the best meat pies ever! Bit surprised they do not call it a Pie-ery, but oh what a delight.  The Assistant behind the counter was bright eyed, bushy tailed and wanted to chat. She has worked as a volunteer at Kaka Point, our destination, restoring Native Bush. She offered us a good selection of pies from the original Steak and Cheese to more exotic varieties. I had a Venison Pie with Berries, TW had a Veggie. We both followed up with Apple Pies.  Adrenalin rush and binge drinking? No, we'll take Jimmy's Pies any day!😎

NZ Holiday - Over the Crown Range to Queenstown and Alexandra

Wanaka to Alexandra via Queenstown 23rd October

Cardrona - on the way over the  Crown Range

SS Earnslaw on her way

SS Earnslaw - all aboard apart from TW

The SS Earnslaw heading across Lake Wakatipu

Getting close to Queenstown

Looking down from the Crown Range on Frankton and the Airport

Queenstown from the Skyline - Bob's Peak

Boating on Lake Wakatipu The Gardens in Queenstown From Wanaka it was over the Crown Range to Queenstown for us. The route, via Cardrona, is NZ's highest Alpine Road. Queenstown has become the party capital of NZ. Despite that, it is still a beautiful place to visit. We did not wait around for nightfall!  The Gardens, on a Penninsula that juts out into Lake Wakatipu, are lovely with Rhododendrons and Azaleas in bloom. Tourists on the Skyline  We took the Skyline Gondola for an aerial view of Lake Wakatipu (the Lake that Breathes - the level of the Lake fluctuates like a giant breathing). We took photos of the SS Earnslaw, a 100 year old steam ship that plies the Lake. Last time I was here it was only 63 years old - a sobering thought. We also visited the Hotel I worked in, then a Ramada and now a Copthorne. Oh, and we also looked for the Hospital I spent some time in at Frankton. Good too see it all again. Not spoiled but developed. Can't blame anyone for making the Queenstown accessible to more people although some of the night-time entertainment seems a bit primitive. Sort of thing England's Rugby team might enjoy - even though they are playing badly.  Reflections in Queenstown We were tempted to stay overnight in Queenstown, most people do, but the activities are outside of our budget. Anyway, we had a great day and travelled on. From Queenstown we headed off through Cromwell to Alexandra. An incredible amount of Grapes now being cultivated in the valleys on our route. We saw Winery's, Dairys and Cheesery's along the way. We found a good Motel near the Pioneer Park (AI Park View Motel) in Alexandra and then headed off to Monteiths for a Steak Dinner with exceedingly good Beer. Another tough day in the South! By the way, we saw this guy parked and fast asleep at the Crown Range Summit (1076m). Hope he has the handbrake on! Living on the edge at the Crown Range Summit A view to wake up to at the Crown Range Summit