South Island begins

Our adventure in the South Island begins. We are all finding our places in the campervan. John and I do most of the driving with Jackie as reserve which works well. Syd likes to sit up front with John for a while and help with the navigation while Kath and Jackie are good at planning our overnight stops. We take it in turns to cook, Kath is an amazing cook so keeping Jackie and I on our toes to think of something interesting when it is our turn - we have the gourmet campervan of the South Island. John is IC emptying the used water and toilet things so he is excused all cooking as we think that is a fair exchange.

Our first stop in the south is in Blenheim, it's just an overnight stop to allow us to plan our future journey. The campsite is fine and we all have a suprisingly good night's sleep, even so we are all not too good in the morning and it takes us quite a while to get ourselves underway. First impressions of the South Island are good but the landscape it much browner than the north which is a surprise, it seems that they have not had a lot of rain in recent weeks which is unusual. Water, however, is clearly not in short supply as we frequently see them watering the pasture land. Cows are in abundance, great fields of them which accounts for all that 'Anchor' butter!

As we are travelling along, Kath remembered that a friend had said we should stop at a place called The Store as the view from the deck at the back is just wonderful. We spotted the place almost immediately, stopped, and the view was indeed wonderful, as was the food. We decided to treat ourselves to lunch there. The weather was just perfect, the view was to die for and the lunch a real treat. As I was sat there I was thinking that this is what going away with friends is all about, it was a lovely afternoon.

Driving through the South Island of NZ is to see some of the most beautiful scenery ever. There are tree ferns in abundance, tall trees which have the tropical look of being shrouded in air plants and trailing plants attached to their trunks, there are pine forests climbing up hillsides and arbours of tall trees turning the roads into gloomy tunnels. The gorges and passes are metres deep and miles high, with dramatic roads clinging to the hillsides, these are not for the faint hearted as they twist and turn across the landscape.

Just a few lines about the roads in NZ. After Australia they initially felt quite busy, by that I mean it was rare that you were on the road on your own in North Island. South Island is quieter, the roads are empty most of the time and the driving is easy if a little hairy at times. Most of the roads are single carriageway with passing places however there are narrow stretches, mostly over bridges, where one direction has priority over another as there is only room for a single vehicle. We happened across a wonderful variation on this theme the other day. For the first time we had to give way if a train was coming as the narrow bridge was not only single traffic for cars it also carried a railway line. Thank goodness there wasn't a train coming in the other direction!

Our next stop on this wonderful journey was Kaikoura. This part of NZ is well known for whales as the sea floor is one large undersea canyon. This particular feature allows the cold water to rise to the surface bringing with it all the krill and plankton which baleen whales apparently love. Fish are equally abundant and is the food which the giant squid love to eat and the toothed whales love to eat the giant squid, it is a swimming feast.

Kaikoura is the centre for whale-watching tours so we decided we just had to go. Our first attempt was thwarted as the sea was too rough and the wind too high but the following morning the conditions were much better so off we went. Excuse the pun but we had the whale of a time! We had five sightings of sperm whales, I think the sightings were of the same two whales on five occasions but his did not detract from the excitement of seeing these huge mammals lying on the surface lazily blowing air out of their blowholes and then diving deep into the ocean to feed. The chap on the boat who was doing the commentry was brilliant. He was able to tell when the whale was about to dive and told us when to take our pictures to stand the best chance of catching the enormous tail outlined against the sea. We managed to get some memorable photos, I am not sure what it is about seeing a whale dive but it is just such an iconic image.

Our next stop is at Hamner Springs where volcanic activity results in hot water rising to the surface. We really looked forward to this as the thought of luxuriating in hot springs was just what we all fancied. It was just lovely. There was a swimming pool with a lazy river and intricate slides for the children. Then there were the hot mineral pools, at least six of them with varying temperatures from 36 degrees to 44 degrees. We all had a variety of dips in the pools and had to drag ourselves out after over an hour to go on our way again to our next stop in Greymouth.

The road to Greymouth takes us across the centre of the island and over the Lewis Pass. The journey was very exciting as the road twisted and turned through the hills. However, we stopped at a scenic point by a river for a sandwich and found that whilst we were lunching we were also lunch for a million sandflies that descended upon us. Not the best picnic in the world and we didn't wait for seconds.

Greymouth is an uninspring place, best known for the recent coal-mining tragedy. The area is a mining centre and not only for coal, gold is also found here and that makes the town altogether more interesting.

We had all heard of the pancake rocks and blow holes at Punakaiki. Although this meant that we would have to retrace our steps by going north we decided that this was worth doing. They were remarkable. The strata of the rock was in small layers at the most about six inches to each layer but these layers were hundreds of metres high. It is unclear how the rock was formed but what was obvious was that something must have separated the layers a long time ago. On the headland the sea had eroded the rocks into weird shapes, leaving stacks and columns standing. Some of these did look like piles of pancakes. The area around the rocks had been cleverly landscaped to allow the best vantage points to see the rocks but keeping a safe distance form the cliff edge. Looking down into the water was rather spooky as the seaweed which was caught inside the pools in the jagged cliffs was awash with long flowing weed. This weed had the appearance of long hair (mermaid's tresses perhaps!) being swept from side to side by the tide; most disconcerting.

Our next stop is at the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers I am really excited as I have never seen a glacier, will let you know if they live up to expectations

North Island

Another uneventful flight, this time to Auckland arriving in the afternoon to pick up our campervan for the next four weeks. After completing all the paperwork and watching a video about how to fill it with water and empty the waste (we insisted that John watched this bit very carefully!) we set off on our way. Jackie and I had compiled a shopping list of 'camper van' essentials so we stopped at the local supermarket to stock up. It was quite nice setting up home for the coming weeks as we had been on the road for such a long time it was nice to have our own bits around us. Driving the campervan is a bit of a change from a car but rather fun once you are accustomed to the additional width and length.



The journey north was fabulous, the scenery a cross between the drama of Australia and the rolling hills of the Devon or Cornwall. On the way we stopped off at the Waiomio Caves. We had seen these signposted from the road. The ticket office was run by a chap called George who was Maori, his wife's family owning the caves. He was a real character and kept us amused while we waited for our guide to come and take us round. We were lucky in that a coach party was leaving as we arrived, so we had our own tour of the caves. It was the first time I had been in a cave with running water and where there was no illumination. The reason for this soon became clear, when the guide switched off her lamp the place was aglow with the light from glow worms which were all over the ceiling and upper walls of the cave. At one point there were so many of them that the light they cast enabled us to see one another in the gloom. It was an awesome experience and like gazing at the stars at night.



Our first stop was in Orewa and gave us the opportunity to stow away our shopping and to find out how the whole campervan thing works. Kath and Sid had hired a car and caught up with us there. They had followed a different route and had been paddling in the sea and lunching on sea food - so a good day, if not a long day was enjoyed by us all.



Kath and Syd had rented one of the cabins on the site and we all had our first night's meal together. At bedtime, it was just the three of us in the van and as there are three double beds we decided to have one each; I have the top bed over the drivers cab, John has the middle bed behind the driver and Jackie the one at the rear of the vehicle. Going to bed is like being in boarding shool, lots of chat in the evenings when we know we should be asleep. All in all a wonderful start to our NZ experience.



The following day, Kath and Syd went their separate way as they were meeting up with an old school friend of Syd's. We arranged to meet back at the ferry on the following Tuesday, for our onward journey South. Jackie, John and I headed north and drove up to the Bay of Islands. Whilst there we decided to take a boat trip round the Bay of Islands as we had heard just how beautiful they were - we were not disappointed. There were some similarities to Halong Bay as some of the Islands were just small limestone outcrops covered in vegetation but others were inhabited and had beautiful houses overlooking the water. The boat picked up some more passengers from Russell, which is a very pretty place and I believe was once going to be the capital of New Zealand, it would have been very picturesque had that happened. We also dropped off some hikers on another Island and later, on the return, we stopped and had some lunch there. This Island had wonderful rolling hills down to the sea and one in particular just needed Julie Andrews to come skipping over singing the theme tune to the Sound of Music as it was just so alike the iconic imagery of that film.



The trip took us around many of the larger Islands and one of the advertised highlights of the trip were to see dolphins which we certainly did. They were performing on cue, jumping out of the water, swimming alonside the boat and generally putting on a show which made everyone Oooh and Ahhh. The other highlight was to drive the boat through 'The Hole in the Rock'. It was one of those times when I was thinking to myself that I could possibly do without this particular highlight. The sea was quite rough and the boat took quite a while lining itself up for the whizz through. I was somewhat reassured that all was going to be OK when I heard an American say that they wouldn't risk a million dollar boat if they weren't confident that they would get through. The fact that I am writing this blog tells you that it was a success.



At lunch time we set of again down the coast heading towards Napier. We wanted to get as far as possible as we were very conscious of the limited time we had in the North. We were so focused on the journey that we did not take into account that fuel stations are few and far between, we were running short of fuel and it was getting late. At Miranda we came to a T junction and a dilemma: left or right. We turned left - wrong - the campsite is right. However, we spotted some camper vans parked by the sea and we had stumbled across a free camping area so decided that this was for us. We had a super evening camped on the beach, which was covered in empty cockle shells, and eating beans on toast. It was funny the next morning we were all packed up and ready to go when I happened to look in the wing mirror and we were about to drive off leaving our table and chairs on the beach.



Our next destination was Rotorua, the land of hot springs and geysers. The journey there is just through more stunning scenery. One thing New Zealand has in spades is beautiful views. For those who have children or grandchildren and have seen the teletubbies, there is a lot of scenery which looks like teletubbie land. Round mounds of grassland which roll and roll away into the distance. In the far distance there are mountains and in the foreground there are gorges cut by tumbling streams. It seems that there are stunning vistas everywhere we go.



As we approached Rotorua you could smell the sulphur in the air. Rotorua and the surrounding area is volcanic, a thin layer of rock riven with a mass of geological faults that allow steam and boiling water to escape into the air. Puffs of steam can be seen in much of the surrounding area. The camp site we stayed at had mineral pools heated by thermal activity. In the evening John, Jackie and I all had a soak on one of the pools which was so hot you had to limit the time in there but I did sleep well that night as it was so relaxing.



The following morning we went across the road to the visitors centre for access to the Geysers. There was a guided tour just about to start so we joined in on this. The Maori guide who took our tour was just lovely and delivered the explanation on Maori culture and history in such a way that we were all engrossed and hanging on his every word. One of the explanations which was particularly enlightening for me was about Maori carvings. It started with the fact that the culture is primarily an oral culture and to remember the stories they have the carvings. He said if you saw a carving of a girl, a cloak and a wolf you would immediately know that this was the story of Little Red Riding Hood. In the same way their carvings remind them of their own stories. Don't you think that is wonderful? The whole of the tour was like that, we all felt it was one of our best experiences this holiday.



From Rotorua we set off for Napier, a bit later than we had intended. The weather was just perfect and when we arrived the sun was still shining even though it was the evening. We decided to have a walk around the town centre and to see the buildings which are all built in the style of the 1920s. The town seems to have retained its integrity as it was rebuilt following a severe earthquake in 1931 which devasted the town and much of the surrounding area. The Napier seafront is also in the Deco style and to add to the atmosphere there was a jazz concert taking place with people sat on deck chairs enjoying the evening. We sat in a cafe having a drink and taking in the atmosphere, it was a perfect time.



On our travels we had been recommended a vineyard in Napier called The Mission so we decided this was worth a visit as it was on our way out of town. The setting was just perfect, this beautiful House set on a hill surrounded by vineyards. The grounds had a couple of nights previously hosted a concert by Sting and I understand that concerts by visiting celebrities were a reasonably common feature. We had a brief tour of the house which had been used by an order of monks called the Maris. The house was a wooden structure and had at one time been further down the hill on a flood plain from the river. The house had been flooded so many times that they decided to cut it with saws and move it up the hill out of harms way. There were photos on the wall documenting this mammoth undertaking. Looking at the house today it was certainly worthwhile.



Our next stop was our last in the North Island as we had arranged to get the ferry over to the South Island the following day with Kath and Sid,who were driving down from friends on the Coromandel Peninsula. We decided to spend the night in Hutt which is just outside Wellington so we were ready for the Ferry the following day. The drive again from Napier was fabulous and made us realise that to make the most of the north you need to spend a lot more time than we did. New Zealand so far is just wonderful we can't wait for the South.

Sydney

Leaving Adelaide and the cousins was not easy as we'd had such a good time. It was great spending time with family who you have not seen for years and getting to know better those who were more familiar.

Our flight to Sydney was on time and uneventful, just how you want it to be. We were met at the airport by Jackie and Kath, friends of at least 40 years standing and so the start of the next chapter of this journey begins.
The plan was to spend time with Jackie, Kath and Syd, Kath's partner, in Sydney for a couple of days and then we all fly to New Zealand together for three of the four weeks John and I had planned. We were all excited to see each other and had a lot to say to catch up on all our travels.

Our first stop in Sydney was to our Bed and Breakfast with their friend Bob. Bob had recently lost his dear partner of 50 years, Ron, and had decided to try running a B&B for both company and a bit of extra income; we were the guinea pigs! Bob was just lovely, going out of his way to make us comfortable and feel at home, it was more like staying in a friend's house than as a paying guest. He has a way with animals and birds; he has two dogs Jessie and Cina who are much loved and very spoiled and the local birds know just when to visit to be hand fed meat or whole grain bread - it was quite and experience. We called him Dr Doolittle and it seems Ron called him that too!

The views from the front windows of Bob's house were mesmerising - they overlook the mouth of Sydney harbour and all the traffic going in and out was displayed in front of you. I could have spent the two days we had there just looking out of the window ... that was not to be.

After leaving our luggage, we met Ian, a friend of Kath and Syd, who has been Jackie's brilliant tour guide whilst she has been in Sydney and had offered to do the same for us. We toured around some of the sights of Manly where we were staying and saw amazing views of the surrounding beaches from the high spots around the city. I was really surprised by how hilly everywhere was. I am not sure why I should be so mistaken but I had imagined that Sydney and the surrounds to be flat and this is far from the case. After the 'Cooks tour' of Manly we went back to Chrissy and John's house, where Kath, Syd and Jackie were staying, for a delicious Fish Pie. I say delicious as that is just what it was but it was also a particular dish I had been hankering for since we left home, so I am afraid I ate more than my fill.

The next two days were spent exploring Sydney and the surrounding area. We took the ferry from Manly round to Sydney Circular Quay. It quite takes your breath away when you see the iconic images of both Sydney Opera house and the Harbour Bridge come into view. Once again a case of John and I saying to each other 'who would believe that we would be here'. We felt very special and privileged to be there.

I think the thing which surprised me more than anything was seeing the exterior of the Opera House. From a distance it looks a flat off-white colour but up close you can see it is made of blocks of textured tiles, some of which are glazed and the edge ones are shaded a darker cream than the others. Looking at the building from just a short distance this cannot be seen but I am sure this enhances the overall effect.

We watched people walking over the Harbour Bridge and did not for one minute feel envious. It was high, blowy and and looked like a long walk - not for me I think. But it was interesting watching them going over as it gave a degree of perspective to the whole structure. Later we took the ferry over to Cockatoo Island which took us under the bridge. The island has had a chequered past of housing convicts as workers and as a reformatory for both girls and boys; the latter didn't last long as keeping the two on the same island caused some foreseeable difficulties. During the last war the Island came into its own for ship building and we went into the turbine halls which were vast.

Back with our friends in the evening, we went to the RSL (Returned Soldiers League) Club for a meal. We were very impressed by it, the food was good and cheap (subsidised) and the drink was also reasonably priced. There were wonderful facilities too with comfortable lounges and a super terrace. We are unsure how this was all funded but every place should have one.
The next day we went to Palm Beach (again taken by Ian who was wonderful) the trip there and back was super as the scenery is again breathtaking. We had lunch in a seaside restaurant, it was in fact the old seaplane shed and the fish and chips were to die for. Palm Beach is where they film the 'Home and Away ' soap and where the rich and famous have their seafront getaways. Going back to Manly we took the scenic route with Ian pointing out these bijou palaces. There is so much to see and clearly we've barely scratched the surface so it was often said that we have to return to see more of what Sydney has to offer.
Our final evening in Sydney was spent at our friendly B&B and being spoiled by Bob. The following day it was up and about very early, off to New Zealand and the start of the penultimate part of the adventure

Adelaide and the Boat

What a wonderful place Adelaide is. We are having the most amazing time. The Barossa Valley for wine and views, and the Adelaide Hills for even more views. The city centre for a buzz and with a bit of culture thrown in and all along the coast the most lovely beaches.

Off went all the family to Queensland where they had the most fantastic time and crammed in all sorts of fun and a few extreme sports. Emma and Barry both did a bungee jump and Ann, Yvonne and Emma went white-water rafting where they got more than they bargained for and ended up being hauled out of the water under what sounded like really dangerous circumstances as the river was so swollen following the floods.Tom and Kevin have returned from New Zealand where they had a super time and have given us a few pointers for our trip. They had mixed weather and a lot of rain on their last day, I hope it clears up for when we go.

We enjoyed the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley so much that we have made a couple of other trips to follow some of the tourist routes signposted around the valley which take you to some of the highlights of the area.

On the Sunday it was a hot day and rather than go to the beach with the others we decided to go back to the Hills as we had discovered that it was the weekend when many of the vineyards invite the public in for a day of wine tasting, food and music. Some seemed to charge an entrance fee and you had to book but to others you could just turn up.

We went to one called the Nepenthe vineyard which had an R & B group playing. It was bring your own glass or buy one for £5 - wine was sold by the bottle or the glass and there was lovely food to buy too. There was a free cookery demonstration and all this was set in lovely grounds set with tables and umbrellas. The umbrellas were very much a necessity as the temperature had taken off and it was blisteringly hot. All in all - an excellent afternoon.

We had great fun driving round the Adelaide Hills too as the scenery is just so dramatic and quite lovely. There is a viewing place called Mount Lofty from where you get a panoramic view across to the sea with the city of Adelaide in the foreground and rolling countryside all round , quite spectacular. While we were at the visitor centre we bought these neckerchiefs filled with gel crystals. Soaked in water, they retain the moisture and, when draped around your neck, keep you wonderfully cool. They have been a real boon as the temperature has just stayed so high.

We are now on the Murray River floating along in our amazing luxury houseboat. There are five bedrooms (each with its own en-suite shower room/toilet), a spacious lounge, fitted kitchen and dining area, and upper deck with shade, fridge, sink, table and chairs, sunloungers and, to top it all, a jacuzzie for 10 people. To say this is a gin palace is not to do it justice - it is floating luxury. We have cocktails every night and delicious food. There are no shops en-route so we have had to bring everything with us, I am pleased to say that Barry's van enabled us to bring so many goodies that we could be stranded for days and not starve!

Last night we went on a bush safari which was called "Big Bend by Night". I did mean 'Bend' not 'Ben'. I believe it is so called as it is situated on a part of the river called 'Big Bend' and indeed it is a big bend and quite breathtaking, particularly at sunset when the cliffs at the side of the river turn from an ochre yellow to glowing gold, quite a sight.

We were collected from the boat and taken to a shed (I'm not joking) for our starter of spinach pate and the fish course of prawns, we then walked across some scrub land to the farmer's boat for a quick trip round a lagoon and ending up at his homestead where our main course and pudding were waiting for us.

Along with the food we also had access to his menagerie of animals which were primarily friendly kangaroos, although we did see an emu. In fact one kangaroo was more like a dog and while we were eating spent its time sat at the side of us just like a dog waiting for scraps.


For me one of the highlights was seeing a baby kangaroo which was being hand reared as its mother had been killed by a car. The little joey was living in a fleece lined shoe bag inside a shopping bag and seemed as happy as could be, it was amazingly cute. After eating we all piled into a cart and were towed around the bush by a quad bike to see if we could find any wildlife. We saw lots of rabbits which excited one of the dogs so much that he would leap from the back of the bike and go haring off into the dark in what turned out to be fruitless but very exciting pursuit. Being very lucky, we saw two Wombats which were about the size of badgers, and looked quite like them but I understand they are related to Koala Bears. We were excited to see them but they were clearly unimpressed by the sight of us and retreated underground as soon as they could. It was a really great night and we didn't return to our boat until about 11pm.

The rest of our time on the boat was spent in the heady pursuit of laziness, the hot tub, good food and copious quantities of alcohol while we played a variety of extremely silly games. The picture on the left is of my cousin who is just about the only person I know who would wear a mankini. This picture is with his permission which says something about his outgoing nature!

If you want a wonderful way to spend a short break I would recommend one of these houseboats on the river, we are feeling we have recharged our batteries and ready for the next part of the adventure which starts with our flight to Sydney on Sunday to meet up with Jackie, Kath and Sid and then fly to New Zealand next Wednesday.