It was so long ago I forgot a whole two days in lovely Dunedin.
We found on airbnb a family who had a converted bus, which they used when they went on holidays, but was parked up on the small holding behind their house the rest of the time, so for a very reasonable rate, they let us use it, and fed us eggs from their chickens, home made bread and jam and generally were wonderful (they even let me cuddle their baby!)
On the full day we had in Dunedin we drove to the peninsular and did a few walks, and at the far end of a beach so secret my grandma would be proud (it was a 45 minute walk to get to it) I decided to go all the way to the rocks in the shade, only to discover they were seals, including some really tiny baby ones. We ate at a hotel with the most amazing food (I followed up the most amazing tomato soup, with an incredible piece of Gurnard) and it was all totally brilliant.
If it is any consolation my personal diary is even further behind this one.
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Queenstown and the rest of NZ
Sorry this has taken so long. Let me tell you about all the other adventures in New Zealand.
Friends had recommended puzzle world in Wanaka which served as a great place for lunch (a pie and a tangram) and then some imromptu exercise in the mid day heat, as we attempted to solve the maze, a devilish and huge thing, with bridges and the objective to get to the four corner towers (we took selfies to prove it) and out again. I wish I had switched my garmin on, as I'm sure we moved several miles, used up all our water, but we make it through to tell the tale.
After that, the air conditioned luxury of the mystery rooms kept us entertained, with everything from a room at an angle to make you feel drunk/fall over, holograms and optical issusions, and one of those rooms that makes you seem big at one end and small at the other. Make sure to see the video on Facebook or when we get home.
After this it was onwards to Queenstown, and we checked in to our beautiful studio with a stunning lake view (another win for AirBnB) and had dinner at Fat Badgers Pizza (amazing pizza) before walking back via the town "beach" which was full of beautiful people, either slacklining or sunbathing.
The next day we drove up an endless gravel track, to the start point of the half marathon we had entered. And lined up with a hundred hardy fools (although not as hardy as those doing the full) to basically run up and down a mountain a few times. And through some rivers. Proper knee deep rivers, about 20 of them, and proper hands on the thighs to get up the hills. Stunning views, great fun, and beer at the end, we took it fairly easy, took lots of photos, finished together and got beer at the end. It was pretty awesome. I thought I had finished in 5th place for all those in my new category of 40-49, but the official results found some more and apparently I was officially 8th. In the evening we found a Mexican restaurant and ate our body weight in cheese.
We finished off queenstown the next morning, with an epic breakfast, a little Pokémon hunting and watching some of the crazy people doing crazy things with jet packs and shark boats in the town centre, and bungee jumps as we drove out (from one place we could see the view from lord of the rings with (or without as we didn't have the benefit of CGI) the huge statues on either side of the gorge, and a massive bungee jump off a bridge where they had people dunking their heads in the water as part of the jump. We didn't partake.
The rest of the day was another pleasant drive to Millers flat, a town chosen based on its distance between queenstown and Christchurch, where we also found a lovely community swimming pool, so did a few gentle lengths before dinner.
Another day of driving and stopping to admire the view and driving and having lunch in pretty little towns and driving followed, ending up at a horse farm, where we patted horses, were fought over by cats and a friendly dog, drank wine on the veranda as the sun set, and repacked our bags ready for the flight the next day to Melbourne
Friends had recommended puzzle world in Wanaka which served as a great place for lunch (a pie and a tangram) and then some imromptu exercise in the mid day heat, as we attempted to solve the maze, a devilish and huge thing, with bridges and the objective to get to the four corner towers (we took selfies to prove it) and out again. I wish I had switched my garmin on, as I'm sure we moved several miles, used up all our water, but we make it through to tell the tale.
After that, the air conditioned luxury of the mystery rooms kept us entertained, with everything from a room at an angle to make you feel drunk/fall over, holograms and optical issusions, and one of those rooms that makes you seem big at one end and small at the other. Make sure to see the video on Facebook or when we get home.
After this it was onwards to Queenstown, and we checked in to our beautiful studio with a stunning lake view (another win for AirBnB) and had dinner at Fat Badgers Pizza (amazing pizza) before walking back via the town "beach" which was full of beautiful people, either slacklining or sunbathing.
The next day we drove up an endless gravel track, to the start point of the half marathon we had entered. And lined up with a hundred hardy fools (although not as hardy as those doing the full) to basically run up and down a mountain a few times. And through some rivers. Proper knee deep rivers, about 20 of them, and proper hands on the thighs to get up the hills. Stunning views, great fun, and beer at the end, we took it fairly easy, took lots of photos, finished together and got beer at the end. It was pretty awesome. I thought I had finished in 5th place for all those in my new category of 40-49, but the official results found some more and apparently I was officially 8th. In the evening we found a Mexican restaurant and ate our body weight in cheese.
We finished off queenstown the next morning, with an epic breakfast, a little Pokémon hunting and watching some of the crazy people doing crazy things with jet packs and shark boats in the town centre, and bungee jumps as we drove out (from one place we could see the view from lord of the rings with (or without as we didn't have the benefit of CGI) the huge statues on either side of the gorge, and a massive bungee jump off a bridge where they had people dunking their heads in the water as part of the jump. We didn't partake.
The rest of the day was another pleasant drive to Millers flat, a town chosen based on its distance between queenstown and Christchurch, where we also found a lovely community swimming pool, so did a few gentle lengths before dinner.
Another day of driving and stopping to admire the view and driving and having lunch in pretty little towns and driving followed, ending up at a horse farm, where we patted horses, were fought over by cats and a friendly dog, drank wine on the veranda as the sun set, and repacked our bags ready for the flight the next day to Melbourne
Friday, 24 February 2017
The west coast
Not much has happened between Nelson and queenstown, but that is just what we wanted. Driving, taking in amazing scenery, stopping at every viewpoint, scenic falls, or town with a pokegym has been pretty wonderful.
After Nelson we spent a night at the edge of the Abel Tasman trail, and then had a nice run along it, saying good morning to all the people who were rucksacked up to the point they were clearly planning to be out there for days. Pretty coves, secluded campsites, and little streams meant our run turned into a jog and then turned into a walk to take some photos. We covered about 7 miles.
Our next stop was a long way south, between punekaiki and greymouth, one being a beautiful coastal area, with walks to the pancake rocks, and the other being a more industrial town, the highlight of which was a petrol station.
It rained pretty much constantly on the full day we were there, so we stayed in, and only ventured out to go on a local walk to a spectacular waterfall. It was pouring as we left, but dried out quite quickly.
On our way south the next day, we visited Franz Josef glacier, and hiked towards it (it has receded so far that a helicopter is the only way to get up close properly) and that evening we stayed at fox glacier. It was Valentine's Day, so we had a romantic enchilada at the local pub.
Next on the list was fox glacier itself, again, so far up the mountain now that people with helicopters are the ones making some serious money out of the place. We did another longish walk to get to the main view point, a walk which included some steep climbing for about half a mile, which also included the "no stopping" sign due to the risk of rockfalls.
The accommodation was either crazily expensive, or fully booked (or beds in dorms) so we found ourselves in Haast for the next two nights, a lovely remote town, with a pub and not much else. We ate there on the first night, and had a massive lunch at Jackson Bay, the most remote place in New Zealand (apparently) the next day.
After Nelson we spent a night at the edge of the Abel Tasman trail, and then had a nice run along it, saying good morning to all the people who were rucksacked up to the point they were clearly planning to be out there for days. Pretty coves, secluded campsites, and little streams meant our run turned into a jog and then turned into a walk to take some photos. We covered about 7 miles.
Our next stop was a long way south, between punekaiki and greymouth, one being a beautiful coastal area, with walks to the pancake rocks, and the other being a more industrial town, the highlight of which was a petrol station.
It rained pretty much constantly on the full day we were there, so we stayed in, and only ventured out to go on a local walk to a spectacular waterfall. It was pouring as we left, but dried out quite quickly.
On our way south the next day, we visited Franz Josef glacier, and hiked towards it (it has receded so far that a helicopter is the only way to get up close properly) and that evening we stayed at fox glacier. It was Valentine's Day, so we had a romantic enchilada at the local pub.
Next on the list was fox glacier itself, again, so far up the mountain now that people with helicopters are the ones making some serious money out of the place. We did another longish walk to get to the main view point, a walk which included some steep climbing for about half a mile, which also included the "no stopping" sign due to the risk of rockfalls.
The accommodation was either crazily expensive, or fully booked (or beds in dorms) so we found ourselves in Haast for the next two nights, a lovely remote town, with a pub and not much else. We ate there on the first night, and had a massive lunch at Jackson Bay, the most remote place in New Zealand (apparently) the next day.
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