Saying goodbye to the Southern Hemisphere

After six months in the most amazing parts of the world we must sadly say goodbye to the southern hemisphere. These sandals, and the feet in them, have rocked up many miles, and we've enjoyed every one of them, no matter how steep, rocky, slippery, muddy or scary!

We explored Auckland on Saturday, it's an interesting place, sitting behind a working port on the harbour so it certainly doesn't look pretty. We found ourselves in a redeveloped area near the fish Market which was very industrial, not 'beautified' but retaining some of the areas history. Then we walked along Karangahape Road, a more edgy area where we had a leisurely lunch.


On Saturday night we decided that, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and got stuck in with the crowds in the bars. We stumbled on a brilliant band in a bar, had a great meal and found the perfect merlot!! Needless to say, at 2 am the noise outside didn't bother us!!!

I woke up, late, to breakfast in bed! Wow!

I had a perfect birthday, a lie-in, followed by a 3 hour lunch in a beautiful harbour side upmarket restaurant, where the food was sublime:

Green-lipped mussels in a chorizo, tomato and garlic sauce

Pan-fried John Dory on spinach with a pumpkin sauce

Seafood risotto with pomegranate seeds

Avocado, cucumber and green leaf salad.

Yumm! We shared a chilled bottle of Sauvignon blanc.








Thank you for all the e-mails with the lovely, and not so, 50th birthday wishes and to those of you who posted on Facebook, you know I'm rubbish with that. I think perhaps a little party is in order when we get home....





We found some quirky little back streets with lots of street art as we stumbled around in the afternoon sunshine. Even after six months in flat sandals Annie can still find some heels that fit!





On Monday we caught the ferry to Davenport, a very genteel suburb with pretty special houses, a great cafe culture and several extinct volcanoes.





We are about to become time travellers. Our flight to Los Angeles leaves Auckland at 1510 on 28th Feb and arrives at 0635 on the 28th Feb some 8 hours or so before we set off!! Then, after spending so many months in front of UK time we will be behind it. Just thinking about it makes Jim's brain hurt.

Thanks for sticking with us so far, hope to see you again in California.


- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Queen Street, Auckland, New Zealand

We've come full circle

Here we are back in Auckland where we are going to enjoy our last weekend in New Zealand. I can't believe it, five weeks have just flown past. I can't believe I've got this big birthday on Sunday either, thank you all you lovely friends who have e-mailed me already to remind me, as if I could forget!

So, what have we been doing since Jim's last post? Well, there was a music festival called Homegrown on in Wellington so no room at the inn, or hotels, motels, b&bs, etc when we got off the ferry. (FYI the journey was vomitless -again!) We eventually found a room in a one horse town called Levin, I think even the horse had bolted! The next day we drove through a place called Bulls. Its claim to fame? All the signs have 'bull' in their name or slogan.



Oh, how we laughed!















Anyway, you get the message.

The north island is much gentler in it's scenery than the south island, and although I do love the towering Southern Alps, which dominate the landscape and the endless lakes, gorges and waterfalls, I prefer the rolling hills and meadows in the north.

We spent a day in an interesting and very beautiful town called Wanganui
A 190m tunnel took us to an elevator in a hill, it seemed really odd walking out of an elevator, as if you were in a shopping mall, to be greeted by a gorgeous 360 degree view of the town, fields and hills.

On to New Plymouth, right on the coast. Another bike ride, this time along the coastal path - and back, stopping for a coffee at the Big Wave Cafe and sitting in an armchair overlooking the sea.










I had a traumatic incident that night, I stood on my kindle and broke the screen, I can only see a third of the screen. Jim was distraught too, the thought of me not having any books to read was unbearable, or was it I would be unbearable without any books to read. Anyway, its back to the old fashioned way, found a bookshop and bought 3 books! The relief in Jim's face was palpable.

After our cycling trips and sightseeing of past few days something a little more challenging was called for, and I had said I would tackle something out of my comfort zone. I don't have too much of a problem with heights but caving, in a river, in the dark wouldn't be my first choice of activity so it was onto Waitomo Caves and we booked to go blackwater rafting through Ruakari Cave. After we had booked the trip it rained and it rained, the rivers were hurtling down the waterfalls and we began to wonder if it would go ahead.
The area is wonderful, all limestone gorges and ancient forest. An afternoon walk in the rain took us along walkways clinging to the side of a gorge and into a cavern. We also looked at a point where the river emerged from underground, not realising we would be in it also emerging from the underground the very next day!













The day dawned - grey and torrential rain. After a pleasant interlude chatting to a Canadian guy and his daughter we arrived at The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company and met the others in our group, two couples from Holland, a couple from Germany, two girls from New South Wales, an English guy and a Swedish girl. After forcing our lithe frames into wetsuits and dinky little cavers boots we were given cavers helmets and loaded onto a minibus by our three guides: AK, Janna and Meg. We then had to select the correct size truck inner tube for our bums. Much hilarity. I'd just like to point out that mine was too big....






We then had to practise jumping backwards into the river clutching our rafts behind us, this apparently was the technique we would need to jump down waterfalls once underground!!! A mouthful of river water reminded me to keep my lips pressed together when jumping. Back into the bus and on to the caves.

A gentle descent into the underworld soon became a scramble, sliding down small waterfalls into the pitch black. We negotiated our way through narrow chambers where we could touch both sides and pushed ourselves through tunnels using the ceiling just cm above our heads as the water was so deep. It was exhilarating but scary. Of course we couldn't take a camera so AK kept taking photos along the way. Then, we came to our first waterfall...... OMG. The water was so loud, deep and fast. In turn we backed up to a narrow ledge, leaning forward, clutching our tube and on the count of 3,2,1 launched ourselves down into the water below, disappearing into the depths then bobbing back up to be swept along on the rivers current. We then waded through very deep waters where every step over the slippery rocks took you up and down, one minute up out of the water, next right down into it. We stopped to regroup and look up at the glow worms on the ceiling, beautiful. Janna told us a story about their lifecycle which basically goes like this:

Carnivorous, cannibalistic
Maggot with shiny shit
That fishes for 9 months
Sleeps for 2 weeks
Then shags itself to death!

A second waterfall to tackle, it was steeper, deeper and much, much louder, the water tried to push you off balance. Still, one by one we balanced on the edge, waited for the count then launched ourselves into the darkness. What an adrenalin rush!!

We formed an eel in the river, lined up, in our tubes, pushing our feet under the person in front's armpits. Heads back we floated through the most magical scenery, thousands of green glowworms twinkling high above our heads, stalactites and stalagmites looming out of the darkness. Jenna began to sing and, twee as it sounds, she had an amazing voice which sounded clear and beautiful and just seemed .... right.

Finally we turned our small helmet lights off and floated in pitch darkness on our own for about 5 minutes until we began to see light. We emerged into a glorious forest landscape with bright sunshine. Wow, amazing, I was dead proud of myself, and my hubby of course. What an experience, we had been underground for 90 minutes. Would I do it again? Probably....... not!

Hot showers, tomato soup and toasted bagels and a great chat with our little 'team' and we were off, every nail broken and huge bruises emerging.

We have a disc with all the photos on so if we can work out how to get them onto the I-pad (don't hold your breath) I'll share some with you.

Enough excitement, back to Auckland. It is now Saturday morning after a night of little sleep. We are in a pretty little apartment but it's right on Queen Street, the main shopping street leading down to the harbour. Also where lots of bars and clubs are. Last night was the first rugby match of the new season and Auckland universities first new students bar crawl!!! Double whammy! The sirens, screams, chants, singing, etc quietened down around 3 am but I've a feeling it may be repeated tonight!

We're off exploring now, enjoy your weekend.

It's Annies big birthday tomorrow, Sunday 26th.

Happy 50th Wedgie

All my Love

Jim
XXXX

- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Queen Street, Auckland, New Zealand

On our bikes in Nelson

When we found no room at the Inn in Westport we drove for an hour through the Buller Pass to Murchison where we found a gorgeous motel decorated straight out of Homes and Gardens. The drive took us through yet more stunning scenery, something that is in abundance on the South Island.

When we were walking back to the motel, having had a great meal at a small bar, we saw a camper van on a supermarket car park with the occupants cooking their evening meal on a little gas burner. Hardly the most scenic of places, nor by the look of it, the most appetising of meals. We decided that we had made the right choice in giving the travel by camper van a miss. The overnight rain didn't change our minds either.

So it was on to Nelson and en route we had another camper van experience. We stopped at a view point in the midst of a mountain range. High above the valleys and gorges was a picnic spot with a bandstand-like structure. A couple sat inside their camper van, he reading, her knitting whilst their washing - bed sheets, undies and all were hung
out to dry on a line rigged up in the bandstand! They were oblivious to the comments and laughs that they, and their washing, were creating.


Our guidebook talks about Nelson getting under your skin, and it really does. However, before we could explore we had domestic chores to attend to. So as soon as we booked into a motel Annie was in her element in the laundry, which was good as the dirty clothes bag was beginning to create a certain aroma. She was in a state of bliss when she could peg it out in the sunshine.

A night out was called for and we went to the cinema to see George Clooney in The Descendents. That's living the high life!

We followed a hiking trail round Nelson which took in the supposed centre of New Zealand. It is a trig point on the top of a rather large hill accessed by a very steep path (why does every walk have to include a hike uphill?)








On our meanderings we came across the Founders Heritage Park which is full of old buildings brought from elsewhere in the country, and a few replicas, a bit like Beamish. However they let some of the buildings out to local businesses, they range from bakers, brewers, dressmakers, furniture makers, though no candlestick makers, through to a Montessori school.



After a couple of hours wandering round we finished off, at Annes insistence, at the brewery. We sat in the garden under the dappled shade of a tree sampling some of the local brew, much deserved after all the walking we had done. It did make the walk back to the motel seem a little longer than it should though.

Our last day in Nelson was spent cycling the byways of the local vineyards and farms. We booked a trip with the aptly named Gentle Cycling Company and the owner, Rosie, dropped us off in a small hamlet with the bikes and route maps arranging to meet us later.


So off we rode with the sun on our backs, through apple and plum orchards, vineyards, hop fields and kiwi farms, picnicking on a river bank - bliss.


Several off- road sections and some pretty challenging hills left us red faced and thirsty, luckily our meeting point was a pub, always is, and yes we got there early enough to sample their wares. When we walked in a local said we couldn't have a drink unless we had cycled more than 30k. Well we had, so we decided which of the 15 or so beers on sale would hit the spot.
During the journey back we, well Annie, had a good chin wag with Rosie, who is an ex teacher. They get everywhere.

Nelson is a lovely place but we had to move on and get the ferry back to the North Island. As we checked out the motel owner told us to make sure we took the very beautiful Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton, and the ferry terminal.
We went via Queen Charlotte Drive and she was right, a perfect end to our time on the South Island.





Just the ferry to contend with again....


- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Picton, South Island, New Zealand

Fred's poorly

Fred's got a chip - on the windscreen, he needs serious attention. A lorry chucked up a stone, a quick phone call to Apex and an appointment was made with Autoglass in Queenstown. That, then, was our next stop.

The journey from Te Anau took us up into the mountains where the temperature dropped to 11 degrees, thank goodness as we descended into Queenstown the temperature rose. Queenstown was like an 18 - 30's trip, very pretty but full of coach tours and about 100,000 19 year olds.

Chip repaired with some magic glue we decided to forgo Queenstown's delights and journey on to Wanaka up through the Cardrona pass, where scenes from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed.





Wanaka was gorgeous, situated at the entrance to the Aspiring National Park, brilliant! Fab weather, we set off for a 1 hour stroll which turned into a 6 hour slog! Scenery was amazing but we were knackered! We had to stop a nice policeman and ask him where the nearest shop was so we could get a drink.








This means its pretty hot!

Up early the next day and a complete change of scenery, we found ourselves in glacier country. This is so weird - those mountains have now been joined by massive glaciers tucked into the valleys, and the ice is blue, just like on Happy Feet! Now for the geography. Apparently the ice which you can see is snow which fell 5 years ago, and the Fox glacier, which was our favourite and the one we visited first, is moving forward daily. It was gorgeous. Obviously, it took another long hike to get to it but it was well worth the effort.



You could hear the ice breaking and watch huge lumps break off.






The next day we again walked for an hour to see the Franz Josef glacier which has been moving forward one metre every day since 1985. Although not as pretty you could see the river emerge from under the ice.





An unexpected little gem emerged on our way to Hokitika, we were driving through obscure gold mining towns when we stumbled on a place called Ross. It was like being in the wild west, we saw a sign advertising coffee, etc so walked down the path it pointed to and found ourselves in an overgrown garden. A bloke in shorts, a psychedelic T- shirt, bare feet and long grey hair tied in a pony tail emerged from a little house. He was an old hippie with brilliant tales of self-sufficiency, he shared an onion with me out of a big old earthenware pot sat outside where he had been pickling the onions in vinegar for 4 weeks. Very yummy it was too!

His house was covered in cobwebs but he made divine coffee. He had loads of empty home brew beer bottles around the place and a sweet, familiar smell which I recognised from the dark distant depths of my past!





We had a good old chat, a very pleasant way to while away the hours!

Another hours walk took us up the hillside round old gold mine workings. Every walk we do seems to go uphill - steeply.


I wasn't impressed with James' next choice of accommodation!!

Hokitika is a frontier town and a bit of an artists settlement, carved greenstone (New Zealand jade), glass blowers, artists, metal work, etc have made the town home. All along the beach there are driftwood sculptures. We were going to have a romantic walk along the beach watching the sunset then admiring the glow worms in their gloomy lair but it chucked it down so .... we didn't.

We didn't get much sleep either, the motel had a tin roof (like the majority of buildings here). Jim likened it to being in a caravan in Bridlington!


We had a fabulous trip down the road which hugs the coast, there are brilliant views of wild beaches. We made a detour to see 'pancake rocks' and blow holes at Punakaiki.








Leaving the road we discovered a quirky little restaurant in an isolated spot right next to a wild bay. We had the most sublime huge green lipped mussels for lunch. Heaven.

An evening of drama followed, we were going to stay in Westport, but arriving in the town at 6ish, we discovered there was no room at the inn. Next stop Nelson 226 km away!





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Location:Rutherford St,Nelson,New Zealand

Winter in Fiordland

Despite Annes tendency towards seasickness we booked another boat trip. I
can't believe she is so keen, first a ferry, followed by a catamaran to see the whales, now a boat on Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is 118 kilometres from Te Anau, a town perched on the edge of a lake and the 'gateway to fiordland.' So here we are in a motel overlooking the lake.

Though Milford Sound is only a two hour drive from Te Anau it has it's own climate and, as we were to experience, is the wettest place in New Zealand. The drive there takes you up and over a mountain, stunning scenery, but the reasonable weather we set off in turned to heavy rain as we climbed and the temperature plummeted. The Homer tunnel takes the road through the summit and at the entrance there was a bank of snow some four feet thick! Because there is only one road to Milford Sound you can end up with a 15 minute wait at the red traffic light at the tunnel.










The rain persisted for a few hours and our planned picnic sitting beside a river in the warm sunshine watching the water tumble over rocks turned into a crumb fest sitting in the car on the car park watching the rivulets of water tumble down the windscreen.

Before we got on the boat we both thought there wasn't much point, it was grey, throwing it down and all the mountain tops were covered in cloud.


Despite the weather conditions and returning thoroughly soaked we both loved it. The boat takes you 22 km down the Fiord and to the open Tasman sea with it's huge waves - exhilarating or what! The place is amazing, it's sheer mountain sides dropping straight into the water, more waterfalls than you can take in, including the 4 sisters.


As it crossed the mouth of the fiord the wind picked up and drove rain horizontally at the pitching boat. Annie loved it!







The boat goes under a massive waterfall where, as the Captain told us, legend has it that it makes women look 10 years younger and cures baldness in men. I told Annie to make sure she went under it a couple of times!



-


We saw loads of fantastic waterfalls, some of which had not been seen for weeks. The upside of so much rain was the waterfalls. If it is dry and bright sunshine you get blue skies but not many waterfalls. The pros and cons - which is best, hmmm, tricky!



Before we got on the boat we had to do that tourist thing of having our photo taken in front of a green screen so they could be superimposed on a fiord scene. Unfortunately the green on my waterproof meant that my head was detached from my body - and they still tried to sell it to us!

When we drove back over the mountain to Te Anau the rain stopped and it appeared that it had been dry all day - that's life!


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Location:Te Anau, New Zealand.