Author: Catherine & Terry

27th – 30th March. CENTRAL OTAGO.

This is a new land for us.  The Central Rail Trail, schist walls, schist cottages, quaint towns, Clutha River & dams.

It amazed us seeing how many people still live in the little cottages constructed in the 1800s. The Rail Trails have brought massive business to the whole region & we saw many trailers loaded up with hire bikes ferrying riders from place to place.

We were not tempted into going on the trails ourselves as what we were seeing from our home as we drove along was hard to beat. Our home also comes with coffee.

Cromwell.

                          5th picture on right. As the sun goes down at our free campsite in Cromwell.

Highland Raceway at Cromwell.

Clyde

Btm   Clyde Dam in distance.

St Bathans off the beaten track.

Top left is at Ophir. Btm right warming up in the local, meeting lots of new people at St Bathans.

 

25th, 26th & 27th March. Wanaka Airfield.

As members of the NZMCA we were able to park on a farmer’s paddock which overlooked the whole airfield & surrounds. This was great as we were also able to climb down the hill & enter the airfield as well for the close up views.

Our Viewpoint

Smoke Trails

Action & on the ground.

 

3 Days & Nights of rain. 19th – 21st March.

Beauty in the rain & low hanging clouds.

Upper reaches of Lake Wanaka & Lake Hawea.

 Lake Wanaka & Lake Dunstan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A ride to the top of the Southern Alps.

At Hokitika – a clear day out of the blue – rain forecast for next 4 days – a phone call to Helicopter Line – yes they can get Terry on a 1.50pm flight – a quick 136 km drive.

On the way Lake Ilanthe.

 

Franz Joseph Glacier

 

Mount Cook with the straight top & Mount Tasman (2nd highest in NZ) to the right)

 

Fox Glacier.

Tasman Glacier feeding into Lake Pukaki.

 

 

Wild West Coast Seas, Wild Food Festival.  14 – 17th March 2016

Reefton town of light.

When Heather & Lou left us at Westport we headed up the Buller Gorge to Reefton in misty rain. The rain made the gorge take on a historical & beautiful appearance.

Reefton is called the Town of Light because it was the first town in NZ to have electric lighting.

 

Catherines surprise 70th  04 – 08.03.2016

Terry excelled himself by not letting on that Catherine was to receive some surprise visitors for her 70th birthday. He had known for at least a week & so many times he nearly tripped up.

Chris, Kim & Jess arrived at our campsite at Lake Brunner around lunch time on the 4th. Jeremy, & Heather & Lou from Kawhia, arrived as a second surprise around 9 pm that evening. Catherine was completely bowled over by all of this & she couldn’t believe that they had done this for her & Terry heaved a sigh of relief..

 

 

Punakaiki Rocks

The next day we all went for a drive to Punakaiki to view the pancake rocks.

Sampling the brew at Monteiths Brewery Greymouth.

We had a scrummie dinner to celebrate the occasion that night as Chris, Kim, Jeremy & Jess had to be back in Auckland for work on Monday. They left early the next morning for the trip across Arthurs Pass to Christchurch. After a few bubbles we had a neighbouring table in fits of laughter with our tales of bicycles. Enough said.

 

Karamea, Denniston & Westport Dinner.  06 – 07.03.2016

On Sunday we drove up to the top of the West Coast road up & over the Karamea Bluff, which goes up heeps & then down to Karamea in misty rain & clouds. Heather & Lou followed us in their rental. We stayed the night & then drove back down to Denniston.

This was Chris Verrall’s grandparents house in Hector, on the way to Denniston, where he spent a lot of time in his early years. A great spot right next to the beach.

The Denniston Mine Experience.

At Denniston we experienced what life was like in early coal mining days. This will be an experience that none of us will forget in a hurry. We went part way into an old mine by train & then walked through a series of tunnels that had been hewn out by miners working in diabolical conditions. At times the only illumination we had was from our helmet lamps which were brighter than the candles used by the earliest miners in 1878.

 

Catherine’s 4 day birthday bash came to a finale, on her actual birthday, with Heather & Lou taking us for a yummy dinner at the Denniston Dog.

And serious cake.

The next day Heather & Lou drove back over the Lewis Pass & down to Christchurch to catch the plane back to Hamilton. They then drove back to Kawhia.

A 70th birthday that Catherine will remember forever. Thank you all for everything. xxxxxx.

 

 

Porters Pass / Arthurs Pass / Otira / Greymouth 02.03.2016  3294 kms so far.

Pie Stop

We couldn’t resist the sign & stopped at Shefield for a break.

Long straight roads for a change until the Southern Alps.

Heading into the mountain passes.

Castle Rock

An amazing sight, huge rocks scattered across the hill.

WARNING none of these pictures fully depict the magnificent scenery.

Otira

We enjoyed a home-made lamb roast in the pub & stayed the night in the grounds.

Just up from the pub is the Otira Rail Tunnel which was put through to open up the West Coast to Christchurch. The tunnel incline is quite steep & in order to get the coal trains through there can be up to 6 locomotives hooked up in tandem to provide enough power. They are piloted from the front engine.  They come down again to wait for the next coal train. The rail cottages are very old but still used to house the drivers.

 

Lunch stop at Kumara where the great race to Christchurch, across the Alps, starts every year.

Shanty Town

The best part was the steam train ride up to an old saw mill.

Chinese party panning for gold – a real hoot – very excitable people.

Our overnight site for two nights in Greymouth. Great going to sleep listening to the surf.

 

 

 

 

Banks Peninsula / Akaroa  23 – 29.02.2016.

During this time we travelled to Christchurch – Akaroa – Christchurch, with most of the time at Akaroa, which would be the most beautiful place we have been to so far. We stayed at a POP (Park Over Property).

It is owned by Graeme Duder who has lived there for 22 yrs. Oscar had a mate to play with named Lily.

I will not write a lot about Akaroa, which used to be a French settlement & still has a French flavour, with the French street names being retained. I will let the pictures tell the story.

 

Shops

Bottom right – Yummy Crepes!!

Cottages.

Giants House Mosaic Garden by artist Josie Martin.

 

Okains Bay & Little Akaloa.

A visit to the most Eastern bays of Banks Peninsula.

 

Little River

On the road to Christchurch.  This is where the train track from Christchurch used to end. It is now a mecca for motorcyclists, cyclists & car clubs for a Sunday run. The cyclists ride out on a rail trail created by removing the train tracks & they can stay overnight in little silo apartments. When we came through on Sunday the place was humming & the coffee shops were doing a roaring trade.

 

 

 

Christchurch

Five years on from the earthquakes we found Christchurch to be a real mix.Areas where no damage had happened, areas well under way with the rebuild, areas with obvious damage & areas that had been tidied up, but they were very empty spaces.

In the city.

Top left- building behind yet to be removed. Wide empty spaces around the Cathedral where movie theatres & shops existed before.

In the suburbs.

Rows of driveways which used to lead to houses, lightly damaged houses in the background. The brick house seemingly undamaged but with no neighbours or services.

These unlucky people had insurance for their houses but the land couldn’t be insured. Some streets had perfectly restorable houses on one side of the road but completely written off houses on the other side. Who was worse off?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaikoura  & Coastal road south.   22, 23.02.2012

We stayed next to the Pier restaurant & met a really nice couple from Perth who were celebrating their 40th anniversary. They had a few of Terry’s Butterscotch Schnapps before heading off to a celebration dinner. Our meal at the Pier was earlier, they were booked there but when Terry told them about the awful dry small crayfish he had been served, & the couldn’t care less attitude, they decided to go elsewhere & had a great meal.

Morning view & time for a haircut.

Coastal Road

The road & the railway run parallel to each other right on the coast towards Christchurch. Our campsite for the night was at Paia Point. The German girls next to us got up at dawn to try & spot dolphins or whales but they were disappointed.

Centre  Two road tunnels & one train tunnel.  Bottom right    Our neighbour at Paia Pt.