Annual garden work

Now neither of us is wonderful at gardening and often what happens is that we do nothing all year and then one day a year we do lots and totally exhaust ourselves - today was the day. We spent some time weeding the front bed and putting in mulch. Then a friend came with his chain saw and trimmed back the pohutukawas.

This is what our garden looked like when he was finished.

And this is how I found Colin when I walked round the corner!

The criminal got two years

The police phoned me whilst I was in Invercargill for a victim report. Here's the newspaper report: http://www.stuff.co.nz/3946842a6427.html

Leaving Kaikoura

We left Kaikoura on Thursday but first went via the seal colony. These are mostly male seals whilst the mothers and pups are round at Ohau Point. We had one youngish looking seal who was a real poser and didn't seem to be very afraid of people either. Most of them there have got quite used to people over the years.















On we went to Ohau Point where there were lots of seals including these two who had their own private rock pool in which to frolic! What was really distressing was the number of people who climbed over the wall to go right down to photograph them up close. I took photos and shall be contacting DoC and the DominionPost about them.













Onto Picton for Thursday night and the obligatory round of mini golf and home! Ross was almost in tears driving down the motorway as he said he was so pleased to be home




Best of the holiday:
Adrian: Milford Sound
Ross: swimming with the dolphins
Colin: swimming with the dolphind and little blue penguins
Me: seeing our wildlife and feeling "ownership" of it ...and telling off the "tourists" when they climbed down to the seal pups! Driving the entire length of SH1 on the South Island

Kaikoura

We left Dunedin later than I wanted and then stopped in Palmerston at a small Bird and Butterfly Encounter place. What a lovely spot! There was a sulphur crested cockatoo inside who really likes men so quickly got onto Adrian’s shoulder. There were lots more birds of all types including budgies, lorikeets, chickens, ducks etc, rabbits, and fish. There was also a sulphur crested cockatoo outside who didn’t like people very much but “called” me over to scratch his head. We spent a long time there looking at the “fish and wings” and talking to the owners.

On to Moeraki to see the Boulders – someone had told us that it was very expensive to get in and so were pleasantly surprised to find it was only $2 per adult. What interesting stones!

After a lunch stop at Temuka we arrived at Kaikoura to much more luxurious accommodation than we had in Dunedin. After a quick walk around, we got some more of our favourite blue cod for a late dinner.

Wednesday morning dawned overcast but we decided to book on a swim with the dolphins encounter. Adrian and the boys had to share a single swim; in other words, only one of them at a time could go into the water. It was awesome according to them. The dolphins were fascinated with the boys - probably because they are smaller than the adults who go swimming. Ross and Colin both had the dolphins swim up so close to them that the dolphins actually touched them. Adrian had them swimming in pairs about half a metre from him. On board the boat it was just as awesome as there were about 300 dusky dolphins in the pod and they were almost showing off for us – jumping, surfing and turning somersaults. Between the boat and the dolphins moving it was quite difficult to take photos but I did the best I could and we also bought a disposable underwater camera so we’ll see how those photos turn out. It was just so exciting seeing those beautiful creatures close up! There were a fair number of mothers with calves and these babies were also jumping out the water.

Dunedin

We arrived and struggled to find a motel as it was cycling championships and accommodation was sparse.

We headed out to the Peninsula and the Royal Albatross breeding colony which is the only mainland breeding colony in the world. We saw about five albatross circling (of course it may have been the same one!) and then headed down to the beach where the little blue penguins come in.

One came in about two hours ahead of the others which was great as there was still sufficient light for photos; except they move so fast it was difficult to get a non-blurred photo! We waited in the drizzle until just on 10pm when about 55 came in. It was all rather exciting as they come in really close to people. Ross saw a mother feeding two chicks.

Sunday it poured with rain. Our first stop was Baldwin Street which is the steepest street in the world. Adrian and the boys walked up and I drove up - that was scary, but it was even scarier driving down. The slope is 38° which is really quite steep. From there we went to the Dunedin railway station and then onto Lanarch Castle which unfortunately we reached too late. Home for an early night which didn't really happen as I think that this bed here is the most uncomfortable in the world - it's harder than sleeping on the floor.

Monday morning and we got up early to keep our appointment at the Cadbury's factory. What fun that was! We had a lovely tour culminating in a one tonne waterfall of chocolate which we were invited to scoop up on the sides of the stairwell - yum! At the beginning of the tour we were given a plastic bag and on our way through we were given chocolate samples to put into it. We did a bit of shopping in the shop not least of which was a box of Breakaway as we just can't get it in Wellington.

We changed our Speight's tour from Tuesday afternoon as we decided to leave Dunedin and the uncomfortable bed early. Our Speight's tour was very interesting and culminated in a taste in the Speight's brewery bar at the end. I'm not a beer drinker, but Adrian enjoyed it. Even Colin tasted a bit but the malt ice cream was the best part for me!

More photos when I can get to a Telecom hotspot which may not be on Tuesday as we have an eight hour drive ahead of us …we're on our way to Kaikoura and will spend two nights there.

Three Days in Invercargill

On Wednesday after a sleep in, we headed out to Bluff in glorious sunshine. We took the obligatory photos at the signpost at the start/end of SH1 and then had lunch at the Drunken Sailor overlooking the signpost. (I did look for the café that Lara ate at but didn’t know the name, so wasn’t very successful in finding it.) We are thoroughly enjoying blue cod while we’re down here. We went up to the Bluff lookout and it was glorious, even though there was some haze out to sea. Back down into the main road and I stopped at a shop that sold everything and bought myself a “Scrapbooker on Board” sticker for my car! Oh we also stopped at the Paua House but the two old people who used to run it have passed away and the grandson didn’t seem particularly interested any more. On the way home we stopped at Pak ‘n Save to buy some groceries and ending up putting back the beef in favour of more blue cod for dinner!

Thursday we headed out to Curio Bay stopping off at Waipapa Point where we saw rare New Zealand (or Hookers) sea lion sleeping on the beach.

On to Slope Point and now we can truly say we’ve been from the northern most point to the southern most point of the South Island!

On to Curio and Porpoise Bays where Adrian saw four Hectors Dolphins in the sea and we all saw a crested penguin at the petrified forests. On the way back to Invercargill, we had to stop because a farmer was crossing a flock of sheep across the road! You see it on the TV but never in real life!

Friday dawned wet and overcast so after a very slow morning, we headed for the Museum. Sorry, Southlanders, but they can learn a lot from Te Papa about museums. The most interesting part was reading about the men who spent time on the Auckland Islands during the war as lookouts. The boys wanted to watch “the World’s Fastest Indian”, but “Mrs Scratchy” at the entrance, after hearing us discuss at length that they could watch it whilst we looked around, half-an-hour later said they couldn’t go in without a parent – we just left. Then we went to the Seriously Good Chocolate Company for a snack before heading to the movies – Happy Feet. After the movie was over, we went to Oreti beach – where Burt Munro raced his bike. What a piece of unspoilt beauty! The clams on the beach were multiple and so interesting – if touched they would usually squirt out water! Of course the seagulls were plentiful too.

And so we’re off to Dunedin on the next part of our trip around the South Island.

Stewart Island

Oh where do I start? What a dreadful day! We got to Bluff in plenty of time to catch the ferry across Foveaux Straight. Even thought there was a wind blowing and a bit of rain, no one at check-in mentioned that the crossing may be a bit rough though. The crossing was dreadful – three to four metre swells and plenty of people sick including all of us except Colin. The kindness of the staff and in particular one of the passengers was unbelievable. This man watched carefully for anyone being sick and was there in an instant to help out. At one point as I was being sick into a bag, this man was holding a damp cloth to my forehead. We could not believe that someone we didn’t know, who wasn’t even being paid, could be so unbelievably kind to a bunch of sick strangers.

We arrived on the Island to a steady drizzle of rain and walked the few tens of metres to the Visitor Centre to check in for our bus tour. This was very pleasant and we got to see a large amount of the inhabited part of the Island as well as hear a number of anecdotes from our driver/guide including that there are only 28 kms of road on the Island and there is one sole charge policeman whose main responsibility is to co-ordinate search and rescue. This photo was taken at Maui's anchor chain

After this tour, we were all feeling hungry so headed for the fish ‘n chip caravan – one side take out, the other side dine in – all two tables! The blue cod was delicious and we really enjoyed it. Then it was back out into the drizzle! We headed for the little aquarium which was really interesting and made more so by the man who owns it..

Back out into the rain (by this time my towel which I was using as a raincoat was soaking) and down the wharf for our semi-submersible trip. It was rather an interesting boat but not an enjoyable trip made worse by seven little “darlings” who were out of control. We made a wrong choice on this one and should have gone on the Patterson Cove trip where we would have seen more and had more enjoyable company.

We debated staying over, but warmth and a cooked meal waiting back in Invercargill won and we waited to check in for our return ferry trip which was slightly better than the outgoing one.

I was really sick and so sorry that it had been a dreadful day as I was so looking forward to it. We have been astounded at the friendliness and kindness shown by people we have met on the South Island

Milford Sound

Awesome, spectacular, magnificent – what other words can be used to describe such a wonderful place? The drive to Milford was lovely but just wonderful after Te Anau – towering cliffs with crevasses filled with snow. Then on through the Homer tunnel – it was started in 1935 and took 18 years to build, and 10,000 gallons of water had to be pumped away each day.

We boarded the Milford Mariner at 4.30pm and after a welcome and safety briefing by the Captain we put our things away and went up on deck.

Milford Sound is really a fjord and was carved out many thousands of years ago by four very large glaciers. To say it was breath taking is an under statement – the power and the glory was just so obvious there. We saw some New Zealand fur seals basking in the sun and further on some more playing in the water. We anchored at Anita Bay, just outside the entrance to the Sound. Ross and Colin went kayaking and Adrian and I went in a tender craft around the Bay. When we got back all three boys went for a swim. It was cold but exhilarating and they all jumped in a number of times. After all the water activities, the boat headed back in to the Sound to anchor at Harrison Cove for the night. While the boat was sailing back, the boys all had a warm shower, and then it was time for drinks and crudités in the forward saloon. At the Cove, the sun had come out making the snow and the glacier on Mt Pembroke beautiful shades of pink.

At dinner, we shared a table with some people from England whose daughter is working at Christchurch hospital. Ann, David and Rachel were very interesting to talk to, and they enjoyed our boys who were totally on show with their best behaviour out. Dinner was soup, followed by a buffet roast and dessert which was all delicious. After dinner we watched a slide show of the area. Then bed …only to be woken at 3.45am by Adrian who was excited beyond measure!

The sun only came up around 6.00am and we saw it had been raining all night and was still raining. Normally rain on holiday would not be pleasant but the contrary is true in Milford Sound as the waterfalls were streaming over the cliffs making it a truly spectacular sight. We were all so hungry that breakfast at 7.00am was very welcome and then we started up the Sound into the Tasman again.

On the way the captain piloted the boat really close to the cliffs where the water was thundering over and making a magnificent shower …many people including Adrian, Ross and Colin went out into it.

On the way back we were dropped off at the Underwater Observatory where many species of coral including the rare black coral (which is actually white) grow at a relatively shallow depth. This is a result of there being a tannin stained layer of fresh water on top of the sea water making it much darker at shallower depths.
After getting back to the wharf we said our farewells to Milford Sound and headed south stopping outside the Homer tunnel where there are very naughty Kea.

Then through Te Anau, Manapouri and Invercargill via the Southern Scenic route. It seemed like a long drive because we were all very tired, but it wasn’t really.

Jets and Deer

Yesterday we went on the Kawarau Jet – a jet boat ride up the Frankton arm of Wakaitpu, into the Kawarau River and then into the Shotover River. This is run by the same people as the famous Shotover Jet, but is longer and doesn’t go through the Gorge. Well, the boys (all three) loved it!!! I, however, thought it was dreadful and really felt sick by about a quarter of the way into the ride. Ross and Colin were shouting with glee along with everyone else. I thought that Colin in particular would be a bit scared but he was sitting on the outside loving every minute. Adrian was taking photos almost all the time and every time the driver did a 360˚ turn he had to quickly put his camera away! I couldn’t wait to stagger off the boat like an old lady and sit down to have a seasick tablet.

We came back to the cottage for lunch and then took a drive and ended up at the deer park – what a wonderful surprise! For a $20 entry and $1 to buy a large tine of food, we wound our way up “Deer park heights” (just in front of The Remarkables) for the most wonderful view of Queenstown. There were also goats, a number of different deer species, alpaca, pony, yak, bison, sheep, ducks and chickens. The boys got out to feed the various animals and at one point Ross also became an alpaca herder as one would not get out of the way of other cars.









One the way up, there were also a number of Lord of the Ring filming sites which we investigated. The views from the Eastern Summit were spectacular – up and down two sides of Lake Wakitipu.










Then a surprise awaited us on the Wetsern Summit – a Korean prison set from a Walt Disney movie The Rescue filmed in 1986.










Also see what we had to buy in Nelson …not the car! But more luggage space – that’s what happens when you’re away for four weeks I suppose

Queenstown

Wednesday today and yesterday we had a day in Queenstown. We walked around a bit, went down to the underwater viewing site where we could feed the fish. Not only did we see brown trout but also eels and scaup (NZ's only diving duck).

Then we went up on the gondolas where the boys road the luge five times each.

Just time for a quick walk down to the wharf for a trip on the TSS Earnslaw a steam ship that travels out onto the waters of Lake Wakitipu