Coming home....

09-04-07

Weather report... today and the last 3 days have been warm and sunny.
Well, this will be the last blog entry from NZ ;o( What a wonderfull time we've had, haven't regretted any one moment of the whole trip, even the one morning it did rain!
We've spent the last few days travelling to and around Auckland doing the tourist stuff and coming to terms we are coming home. We spent a few couple of hours at the aquarium, took at a look at the art gallery and went up the sky tower for the sunset. Deb wasn't even phased with being up the tallest building in the southern hemisphere with nothing but a sheet of glass between her and a big drop!
We finished the holiday with a nice meal down by the harbour last night, which coincidentally was the 10th anniversary of our first date!
Just leaves me to finish packing and update the blog for the last time.
Love to you all and I hope you enjoyed following us on our travels.....
J&Dx

Christchurch for the Bank Holiday

06-04-07

Weather report... Woke to blue skies and sun again, another hot sunny day down under.
A lie in this morning, the first one for days! Followed by a quick bit of laundry at the facilities here then out the door to explore Christchurch. Unfortunately for Deb, all, and I mean all the shops close for Good Friday. So that left us to do the cultural and touristy stuff, so a whizz on the Tram, quick spin round the art gallery and then a leisurely stroll round the botanical gardens. We're doing well on different transportation methods on this trip, plane, helicopter, train, jet boat, car, ski lift, cable car and tram so far! Christchurch seems like a nice little city, very reminiscent of Cambridge and Oxford in the UK.
We're off to Auckland tomorrow, Deb's got her fingers crossed the shops will be open on Sunday!
Toodle, pip..... J&D

Tranz Alpine train journey

05-04-07 - Continued

Weather report... still blue skies and warm sunshine, looking good for the journey across to Christchurch.
Found our carriage and settled ourselves in. Nice comfortable seats and tinted panoramic windows, with plenty of leg room, plus we were seated facing the direction of travel which Deb appreciated. For the train buffs out there, the train itself was a diesel locomotive, sorry, I didn't get its number! There was also an open viewing carriage, which I frequented for most of the journey.
Deb was happy to relax in the enclosed carriage, although she did have her ipod on for most of the trip to drown out the constant prattling of a bunch of Saga holiday types sat just in front! To make the trip a little more entertaining, as if the scenery wasn't enough, the staff gave appropriate witty comentary at notable points along the way.
After just over 4 hours of rattling and puffing our way through the mountains and across the plains of central southern island we pulled into the station. We disembarked and found a taxi to take us into town for the hotel. We're using the Hoilday Inn here in Christchurch, conveniently located for the city center. It's beginning to sink in that we're on the final leg now....

Got the shot

05-04-07

Weather report... well at 05:30 this morning the sky was clear, the mist was siting on the water and the snow was illuminated on Mt Cook & Mt Tasmin. It was going to be another hot sunny day ;o)
What was I doing up at 05:30 you may ask, well what with the conditions looking almost perfect for this time of year, I couldn't leave without one more try at the Lake Mathieson "mirror" shot. Deb made me a little packed breakfast the night before just in case I went. Up at 05:30 then, dressed in 5 minutes and out the door sometimes it is an advantage being a bloke, no need for hours of preparation before stepping out the door ;o))) Rather oddly Deb didn't want to come with me!
The cottage owners must have thought we were doing a bunk, but I don't think they heard me drive off. A nice steady drive along deserted roads down to Lake Mathieson arriving about 06:10, followed by a fast walk through the moonlit dense sub-tropical rain forest to the "reflection" picture taking point. It was just like being a squaddie again, creeping around trying not to disturb all the wildlife, although it is quite surprising the tricks your mind can make in places like this when your on your own! ;o0 On site and all set up for about 06:30.
Picture the scene, aided by the piccie on the blog entry. A perfect still moonlit night, the mist lifting of a black mirrored lake surface with not a ripple in sight, surrounded by dense dark primeval forest with all sorts of spine tingling noises eminating from the forest and two of the highest snow clad peaks in NZ illuminated by the moon. The whole scene then mirrored in the lake with the sun rising behind the mountains... One of those life defining moments that will stay in you mind forever. Yesterday was Deb's day with the heli flight, this morning made the whole trip for me. All I had to do now was capture it on camera! It's at this point I wish I'd lugged a tripod round with me as I new this shot was going to need perfect stillness to capture. I gave it my best shot anyway...
Too be honest I was surprised to be the only one there, this is one of the most famous views in the world and with the weather conditions looking good the night before I half expected to be queuing up to take this shot. But I wasn't complaining, I had the place to myself for 15 minutes until I heard someone else tramping up the path through the woods, to be joined by a friendly young Aussie couple. They came better prepared with a tripod though, so could afford to take a bit more time over each shot.
Well I fired off quite a few shots, varying camera setting and position to try and give me some choice of picture to work with later on. The shot on the blog is one picked at random and how it came out of the camera, so with a little more tweaking I should be able to improve it a little more. Being critical of myself a tripod would have made a difference as I think I could have got a little more detail in the mountains, although it was a little misty up there.
I would have quite happily stayed there until the lake started rippling, but I had to pack up by 8 to get back to Deb as we had the Tranz Alpine train to catch from Greymouth in the afternoon. On the walk back out to the car park I spotted at least 4/5 sets of other people coming in with cameras and tripods.
Packed up and said our goodbyes at the cottage and set off. We really enjoyed our time here and could have quite happily stayed another night or two. I would highly recommend them, Glacier Cottages just off State Highway 6.
A quick blast down to Greymouth, great scenery again and empty roads as normal! Hokitika looked like a nice little beach resort but we didn't have time to check it out. Checked in at the train station and dropped off the hire car. I'll do a seperate entry for the train journey, worthy of its own...

It's a perfect day......

04-04-07 - Continued

Weather report... Oh yes, what a difference a day makes weather wise round here, beautiful sunshine all day, after yesterdays drizzle and rain very much welcome. Apparently 4 seasons in a day is about right round here!Probably the best day so far! Started with a helicopter ride up Franz Josef glacier, landed on the glacier top, walked (slid) around for 10 minutes and fired of hundreds of photos. Took off again and headed back down Fox Glacier, across the plains and back to to Franz Josef village. Deb hasn't come down from her high from the jet boat ride so this has pumped her up more!!!Next stop the beach to catch a bit of sun and fresh air and check out all the drift wood. There's so much driftwood left lying around here it's criminal that we pay £'s for it. Deb was crawling around on the beach taking arty shots again, I stuck to making baby versions of stonehenge with the pebbles.....Next up a spot of lunch at the Fox Glacier village then back down to lake Mathieson to see how reflective the surface was to try and catch a few more pictures of Mount Cook. Unfortunately the wind was up so there were ripples on the surface and some low cloud hanging round the peaks. Whatever we still managed to get a few nice pictures and then spent the rest of the time wandering through the woods hunting brightly coloured fungi. Deb has become a dab hand at spotting magic mushrooms, I reckon it must be a throw back to her teenage years ;o)))A steady drive back to the cottage then out for a bite to eat before uploading the latest batch of photos. Apologies if I'm a bit behind on mine, but it's taking all my time sorting Debs photos out ;o0Just checked the weather outside and it's looking like a clear night so we may start the day with clear blue skies for the 2 hour drive along the coast to Greymouth. From Greymouth we drop off the hire car for the final time and then jump on the Tranz Alpine train that takes up through the Northern Alps and then down across the plains to Christchurch. It's a bit of a sad day, the last night in the countryside before heading back to the cities for a few nights. then home. Where has the time gone, it seems like we've only just arrived and now it's the final leg ;o(Speak to you alll again soon, love J&D

Looking good

04-04-07

Weather report... prayers answered ;o) Sun and some low cloud, but it'll lift as it is doing now whilst I write this. I'll let you know about the helicopter trip later....

Misty Franz Josef

03-04-07

Weather report... not good, cloudy, misty wet. Certainly not helicopter weather.
After a quick trip into Franz Josef to re-schedule the helicopter flight for the next day, and a turn round the tourist shops we set off to walk up to the face of the Franz Josef glacier. Down came the rain as soon as we arrived at the starting point car park! Back to the cottage then ;o(, a spot to eat and wait for the weather to pass.
Just after lunch the weather cleared and we set off again, this time we were able to walk up to both glacier edges, getting closer to the Fox Glacier than the Franz Josef due to the terrain. Some people are made, they must be English or Australian, wandering along in their flip-flops and shorts up to the glacier. We were wrapped up good and proper!
I then dragged Deb down to Lake Mathieson, the mirror lake, for a trot round to see what the view would be like across the lakes up to the glaciers. This is a really nice walk, a good path set right round the lake meandering through dense untouched forest. We spotted some blue and red toadstools on the way and even caught sight of our first live possum - the other have been roadkil ;o(
Unfortunately the level of the cloud meant we didn't get to see the most photographed view in NZ, Mount Cook mirrored on the surface of Lake Mathieson. All being well the weather will lift tomorrow and I'll get my shot then.
Finished the day with a nice meal at a local restaurant and then back off to the cottage for the night.

One of the worlds top drives.....

02-04-07

Weather report - Bright sunshine ;o)
We popped across to our usual breakfast watering hole, to find we were too early, so had to find an alternative. On the way Deb bought her birthday chocolates which she missed out on the night before!
Alll packed and ready to go for 10, checked out of the hotel and set off for the climb over the Crown Range again to begin our long trip to Franz Josef. And what a trip it was, this must be one of the best drives in the world! You drive through massive valleys and past huge clear lakes carved out millions of years ago in the glacial age, and then into dense sub-tropical primeval rain forest. I imagine some of this landscape has never seen a human before, who knows whats living in there! To top it all we had glorious sunshine most of the way, it was only until we reached the glacier area on the West Coast did we hit some rain. This was a front blowing in from the sea and considering they get 240 days of rain a year, to be expected.
We found our next stop ok, the Glacier View Cottages just outside Franz Josef. This is going to be a good stop, you got that nice feeling as soon as you drove up the track and saw the setting the cottages sit in, even though it was drizzly. I'm writing this now, a day or so later with the sun coming down loooking up at the Franz Josef Glacier and snow capped mountains ;o)
We finished the day by buying a few groceries from the village store and cooked our own dinner, for the first time since we left the UK! FIngers crossed for a sunny morning, as we booked a helicopter flight for the next morning.

Jet boating the Shotover river

31-03-07

Weather report... Rain during the night, woke to a crisp bright sunny morning, then intermittent sun and showers through the day.
We elected to get breakfast at one of the cafes in town, and I went for a long overdue fry up! Very nice it was too, in fact all the meals we've had so far have been excellent. I've found it hard to find fault in anything since we've been here ;o)
After breakfast we drove along the lake shore road to a remote village, Glenorchy, at the lake head, this was the setting for a number of the LOTR scenes and the start place for a number of the famous hiking trails. The lake here is massive, it must be at least 30 miles long end to end. We had a spot to eat in Glenorchy and then drove back, through Queenstown on up to Arrowtown which is an old mining community.
On the way through to Arrowtown we loitered at the bridge over the Shotover river where they do jet boating along the river and watched a few boats doing 360's on the river before storming off down the gully.
We had a quick wander around Arrowtown during which time Deb decided to wander off without telling me where she was going. I then spent the next 10 minutes wandering round looking for her, I had visions off her having fallen a cliff. Although, if she had been kidnapped, I had only to wait a few minutes before they would bring her back ;o)))) I eventually found her crouched down doing arty photo shots, she has become addicted to photography, I now have to wait in the car whilst she pops out to take a photo off every leaf.
To punish Deb for wandering off, on the way back from Arrowtow, I persuaded her to have a ride on the Jet boat as a pre-birthday treat. I'll let her describe that episode to you on her return but I had a great time and we both came off the boat wet! Although I was impressed that Debs hair was still in place even after flying along at 70 km/hour on the river with water flying everywhere. This was a monumental moment for Deb, yes she does do water!!! I think she's got the bug for dangerous sports now, next stop the bungy....
Back into town, a quick tidy up to dry and reset Debs hair then out for a curry.

Queenstown cometh...

30-03-07

Weather report... Started drizzly, the sun broke through before we set off and it gradually got cloudier as we got into the mountains.

Set off about 10:00 from Dunedin, with a quick stop at the bank to change up some travellers cheques as at the next stop after Queenstown there will be no bank! Again the roads are wide open and empty as we head out of Dunedin and head for the hills (gold mining territory). We stopped for a bite to eat in a small one horse town on the way, as well as making a few photo stops.

As we approached Queenstown we came across one of the most famous bungy jumps in the world and loitered for a while watching them jump. I offered to pay for Deb to bungy on her birthday but oddly enough she refused! It was enough for her to stand near the edge and look over, let alone contemplate jumping ;o) This place must rake in a fortune as they charge £60 for an adult to jump and £180 for a family of four. For the 1/2 hour we were there at least 6 folks jumped, one with the splash at the bottom, and a family (mum, dad, teenage son & daughter, the 10 year old daughter couldn't go through with it!).

We then motored on into the town and found the hotel, this time we're in a hotel rather than motel and we're already missing the space and "homeliness" of a motel. Plus as we're right in town I reckon it's going to be fairly noisy, I'll let you know tomorrow.

Fingers crossed the weather will hold out and we can go exploring the mountains, valleys and lakes tomorrow.....

Whizz to Wanaka

01-0-07 - Debs birthday

Weather report... Bright, crisp sunny morning, slightly cooler.
Deb opened her cards and says thanks to everone ;o) Back into town for a fry up again, ready to set us up for another days touring. This time we headed off to Lake Wanaka, a sister resort area to Queenstown. Having spent some time in Wanaka I think I prefer it more than Queenstown, slightly less commecialised and definitely not as built up.
On arrival at Wanaka, again after an hours drive through some amazing scenery along the Crown Range/Terrace, I decided to take Deb out for a birthday stroll. After 30 minutes or so off hot sweaty hill climbing we reached the top off Mount Iron, a local peak that gives views all round. Another milestone for Deb, hill climbing and more sweat than she ever manages in the gym!
A bite to eat at one of the lake front cafes then a drive up the lake coast into more deserted countryside. Then back along the Crown Range into Queentown to tidy ourselves up ready for Debs birthday meal. This will be followed by a sticky chocolate desert at a chocolate/coffee shop we found.
Then an early start for the long drive through the Alps to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Catch up with you later....J&D