New Zealand and Hong Kong
Well, I couldn’t have left England with any worst weather! It had been snowing so much, that schools were shut, many roads were impassable and everyone was being advised to stay in-doors. But surprisingly I arrived at Heathrow airport in plenty of time, and as promised, the tour guide Judy was there to meet me. This was a bit step for me, my first long haul trip on my own, and you couldn’t get any further than New Zealand. Surprisingly, the flight left on time and after 12 hours of movies and music we landed in Hong Kong. The first sight we were greeted with was how many people were wearing facemasks! There were guards waiting to pull anyone in who looked “suspect” and to take their temperature – the threat of Swine flu was such a threat. Luckily it didn’t take too long to get to our hotel, The Island Pacific, where my room on the 16th floor, had ceiling to floor windows and an amazing view over the harbour and out to sea; but all I wanted was a relaxing bath, my bed and to reflect on my first long, exhausting day.
The next morning was Sunday, and the sun was shining, making a haze over the harbour. Our morning trip started at the Peak tramway station where we all boarded the Funicular tram up to the top of Mount Victoria.
The views up there were amazing, it really was a concrete jungle down below though – even the trees along the pathway seemed to come out of holes made in the concrete. There were many children with their parents, Santa Claus and his helpers, and hoards of tourists at the top. The next stop was Aberdeen harbour, where we all boarded a “junk” for a hell-raising 15-minute journey around the harbour. It was a nightmare, I don’t know if our driver was deliberately trying to get us killed, but at least 3 times we nearly crashed into other boats.
He didn’t appear to be very jovial, so he wasn’t doing it just to add to our excitement – he genuinely was a maniac. We saw a woman cooking her food on a shovel over the side of her junk. There are only about 100 people living on junks in Aberdeen harbour now, whereas 20 years ago there was 30,000 – that is the picture most people still have of Hong Kong harbour even now. Then we went to a Jewellery factory, which seems to be obligatory on any tour wherever you go in the world! Our final stop of the morning was at Stanley Market to have an hour shopping; this is where I bought my first bag full of pressies to take home, as well as my “secret Santa present”. We arrived back at the hotel at 2pm and I read for a while, did a bit of writing - but I daren’t go to sleep incase I didn’t wake back up. I had booked to go on the “City by night” excursion, which left at 6pm. We had dinner on the top of a huge building, in a rotating restaurant with floor to ceiling windows all the way around. The views of the city were amazing; I have never seen anywhere lit up and so colourful. We were on the 62nd floor and it really was an ideal spot for seeing all of the city of Hong Kong. The football pitches that you could see below looked like subuteo games – everything was “in miniature”. There was an extensive buffet, with everything to choose from and I managed to fill myself quite easily, especially with the delightful puddings! The next stop was Kowloon’s bustling night market, but we were warned about pickpockets so much that we were too wary to enjoy another “shop”.
The last part of the evening was a boat trip around the harbour to see the City lights close up. This for me was the best part of the evening; the views were even more impressive that seeing them from above. The Christmas decorations that many of the hotels had put on the sides of their hotels were just incredible. The photographs that I took could never do them justice though – the colours were brighter, more vibrant and much closer than a camera could ever capture. After a couple of drinks everyone was ever so relaxed and we were all laughing, it was brilliant. The whole group seemed to get along so well, it was like we had known each other for years not just a day. It certainly had got to be the best idea ever – to come away and make lots of new friends and not dwell of times past!
When I got up next morning, Monday, the view was very different! The streets and the harbour were buzzing! Full of people going to work and hurrying about their business – this was what Hong Kong was supposed to be like. Yesterday broke us in gently! After breakfast our tour guide Judy said that she was going on a little trip and we were welcome to join her - but only if we were prepared to get lost along the way and make our own way back! It would have been very easy to back out, but we had plenty of time, so I went along for an adventure! The first stage was a tram ride to “Central Station”, and then we had to walk to the Star Ferry Terminal – not easy through huge crowds. It only took 10 minutes by boat to get over to Kowloon, which looked very interesting and I would have loved to explore that area a bit by myself, but I daren’t lose sight of Judy. As good as I am back home; there is no way in this world I could have got back to the hotel by myself. After an hour walking around the sights, we stopped for a coffee before heading onto the underground back to Hong Kong Island. That was nerve wrecking! There were so many people. And the thought of getting lost down there was terrifying. Another short walk and we were back to the tramline! By now I was feeling more relaxed, I knew what to look for and where to get off – hey I did it! Then I poddled off to the supermarket for provisions for the airport! We headed off to the airport at teatime for our overnight flight to Auckland, our first stop in New Zealand. I was given a window seat this time, lost myself in a good book and the next thing I knew we had landed at Auckland - the sun was shining, it was just over 20 degrees and it felt like the adventure was really going to begin now.
We drove to our hotel in the centre of Auckland, passing by the loveliest countryside – what a difference from the last trip to the airport! After we checked in, I headed off exploring, down to the harbour, past the shops and to have an ice cream in the sunshine. I even managed a swim in the hotel pool before getting ready for our evening meal together. The hotel was quite spectacular; there was a huge Christmas tree in the atrium of the lobby and it did look festive.
Next morning, Wednesday, our tour of the city of Auckland, started with the harbour bridge (it didn’t compare with Sydney’s), and then we went to Mission Beach for a walk along the sand. After being shown some of the more affluent suburbs of Auckland we went up Mount Eden (a dormant volcano) where the views of the city were great. The final stop was Auckland museum where we could easily have spent a whole day; it was full of history of the Islanders (from Fiji, New Zealand and all the pacific islands).
I saw carved replica Maori huts and it really made me think just how little I actually knew of this whole culture, land, language and people. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit though. The bus was taking everyone back to the hotel, then but I opted to be left at the museum and make my own way back – walking through the Botanical gardens. You can imagine how much I enjoyed that! Seeing all of those plants that I want for back home now – and all of the ones that I have got there already!
Apparently the New Zealand Christmas tree is very similar to the Australian bottlebrush tree, and that was in flower wherever you turned. The Christmas feel was not apparent everywhere though – because apart from a gigantic Santa Claus on an office block on the main street of Auckland – we didn’t see any other decorations! We ended the afternoon with a homemade chocolate ice cream and an amble into a few souvenir shops – seeing as we were leaving Auckland first thing next morning.
Thursday was Christmas Eve, I hadn’t slept very well and we had an early start; and when I put my case out the door slammed behind me – I was locked out! Of all the things to do when you are rushing! So I had to go down to reception and confess – and be let back in my room! After a delightful fruity breakfast we left Auckland, heading south. The many hills around Auckland were all extinct volcanoes – it was a very volatile area where earthquakes happen often, and I had noticed signs up in the hotel saying what to do if one happened. The landscape quickly turned into rolling green hills as far as you could see and there were many rivers, lakes and ponds that all glistened in the sunshine – it was so picturesque. The roads were lined with New Zealand Flax plants that were all in flower – miles and miles of them. We stopped for a drink at a little town called Huntly, and the shop sold the most amazing, but expensive Marino wool clothing as well as alpaca goods. We passed the old burial site where the Maori kings and queens were buried, it was on a hillside and the story says that their spirits would slide down the hill and float away in a canoe; and then we passed Ngaruawahia, the mansion where the present Maori king and queen live. These small towns were immaculately kept, the houses were small, wooden buildings but so clean and there gardens were full of beautiful flowers with the lawns cut to perfection. I never saw any property untidy. It looked like people had planted shrubs and plants along the roads. There were hedges of pines trees, miles of agapanthus and hydrangeas, as well as bougainvilleas, roses and pampas grasses. Next stop was The Waitomo glowworm caves where we had a guided tour of the limestone caves with their stalagmites and stalactites. After about 15 minutes when our eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, we got in a boat, and in the depths of darkness and silence we gently moved along an underground river. Suddenly, there was an amazing light above us – millions of glowworms on the ceiling of the cavern. It looked like you were looking up into space, into the galaxy – but it felt so close that you thought you could touch it. It was an amazing sight – even more so because of the quietness and stillness. The glowworms are about 2 inches long and they spin sticky lines, in which they catch insects and mosquitoes. They shine brightest when they are hungry and in light they fade away, so no photographs were allowed. It was an interesting hour! Our lunchtime stop was only a few miles away at Otorohanga – the sun had come out and I could not believe how hot it felt! So I just had to have another ice cream – orange and chocolate chip. This really felt like being on holiday. The final part of today’s journey took about 2 hours, and I couldn’t stop awake for any of it; when I woke up we were going through dense rain forest with tree ferns everywhere! Apparently the locals use tree fern wood to build with – because it lasts for so long – over 300 years! Then if it dies, it regenerates itself and starts growing again. As we approached Rotorua we could see the local volcano, Mount Tarawera, which last erupted in 1886 - the area was alive with thermal activity.
The land was lumpy and sometimes it erupted with hot sulphur spurting out – it was quite a dangerous place. A short while ago a man was in his garden, when suddenly his foot went into the ground and both legs were sucked in, giving him 3rd degree burns! We were told never to venture off any path – it was far too dangerous. The local church of St Faiths looked rather quaint, but the graves are not underground – they would be steamed away! There was thermal activity wherever you looked, steam blowing up in people’s gardens, in pools and mostly along the shore of the lake – Lake Rotorua.
It was very beautiful to see, the surrounding area of the lake was white, like salt marshes, but far more dangerous! I walked around a bit of the shoreline, but did feel intimidated by the activity and the repulsive smell of sulphur. An old colonial building was now a museum, full of character overlooking the most immaculate lawns and gardens that I have ever seen. You couldn’t tell if the bowling greens were carpet or lawn – they were so closely cut; and the border displays and ponds – they were fabulous.
Our hotel, the Sudima, it was pleasant enough, a bit dated but when all you want is a bath and a bed it doesn’t really matter. The staff put on a traditional Maori concert for us and we had a lovely buffet with food-cooked underground in a hangi – their traditional way. I was so very tired (the jet lag must have caught up with me), that I kept falling to sleep at the dinner table – as did nearly everyone else – we just couldn’t keep eyes open. Can you believe it, it was Christmas Eve and all most of us wanted to do was to go to bed!
Well I had my sleep, and slept so well that my alarm had to wake me up. Merry Christmas! Breakfast had and we were on the road by 8am. We were off to Te Puia – a natural thermal valley were there were boiling mud pools and Geysers. It was far better than I expected – the sight of the boiling steam gushing out of the ground was quite amazing. The main geyser was the Prince of Wales Feathers Geyser, and we got the best view of it from a wooden walkway – it certainly did some spouting whilst we were watching. The ground had bright yellow patches of sulphur that glistened in the sun, and there were more NZ flax and tree ferns that I have ever seen. We were also taken to a darkened enclosure where there were 2 very rare and hard to spot Kiwi birds!
We were also shown how the Maori people did carvings and made clothes etc from flax plants – I know what to save my flax leaves for now! It was a hot, sunny day and instead of going to watch the sheep shearing, I opted to go for a walk along the lake before my spa treatment at the Polynesian Spa. I headed towards the “town” – a hamlet by our standards, along the lake where there were many birds including the majestic black swans. I arrived at St Faith’s church with its graves above ground – so that the bodies didn’t boil away! It was all very tasteful and nothing looked out of place.
The harbour was quite busy with local people out on Christmas day, although it didn’t feel like Christmas day to me – except for the messages that I had, had from everyone back home. Someone asked me if I had walked the long way around? I didn’t realise there was another way, so off I went a different way – and it was a long way! Instead of about 15 minutes one way it was well over an hour back! But what views! It was a hundred times better than the other way; every corner that you turned was another picture that you had to capture!
The water changed from the dark navy colour of a normal lake to the milky pale blue of the Sulphur Bay. It was absolutely beautiful; you could have been in the Indian Ocean or the Caribbean Sea. I was so glad that I had gone that way; it was the best view yet! I had kept to the path as I was told to, it was so tempting to go off the path though – but the fear of being boiled alive put me off that!
Then I went to the Polynesian Spa, where I had a couple of hours in the thermal pools and a de-stressing treatment – to take away my aches and pains. When I arrived I was given a mince pie! You started in the coolest mineral pool that was 36 degrees and progressed up the 42 degrees one, having about 15 minutes in each. I was advised to keep drinking lots of water because the sulphur in the water dehydrates you.
I went in all the pools but when I got to the last one I only managed 5 minutes, although apparently that was the norm. I felt like I was being boiled alive! Then I had my deluxe spa massage treatment, and distress or what! I certainly did feel different after an hour of pain being pulled, twisted and prodded. It was worth every penny, what a way to spend Christmas afternoon! So different to how I would have spent it back home – on the settee watching TV!
I met up with the rest of the group at 6pm for our Christmas buffet and to give out our secret Santa presents. I was given a “Take me back to New Zealand” luggage label! We had the most fabulous buffet dinner, there was everything that you could think of, I opted for the fresh salmon with vegetables etc and instead of the traditional Christmas pudding I had my favourite Sherry trifle. The meal could not have been more perfect. The people on my table were a real good bunch; we never stopped laughing all night. Before bed we had a little walk to the water’s edge, and then it was off to bed as it was going to be an early start next morning.
Saturday, and it was Boxing Day; we left the hotel at 8am heading south from Rotorua towards Wellington. As soon as we got on the highway (only a normal road by our standards) you could see that the entire area was miles upon miles of grassy, green rolling hills. The hundreds of hillocks looked like miniature volcanoes, and they were in a way. They just didn’t have craters. We stopped at a bubbling mud pool, just off the road – they are also known as frog pools because the spurting mud looks like frogs jumping. The pine forest became less and less dense, as the area was being cleared for the more popular dairy farming – and the much loved New Zealand export Anchor Butter. After an hour or so we stopped to see the famous Huka Falls - a gushing rush of water, and then for a coffee by the edge of Lake Taupo, which looked more like the sea than a lake - it was such a dark colour, and very choppy.
The best view was of the snow-capped volcanoes in the distance, and as we made our way towards these, they became even more impressive. The mountain to the side of them was “The Mountain of Doom” in the Lord of the Rings film. After miles of Pine forests we came a vast area of desert; in 1996, when the volcano erupted last, it shot out grey volcanic ash everywhere and this had caused this deserted wasteland. The wind was still blowing a gale, and we went through quite a dense sand storm as well as the bus being rocked by it. After several hours the landscape reverted back to the uniformed hillocks, just like you would have drawn at school. As we approached Wellington it seemed that everyone else was leaving – a mass evacuation! Apparently today was the day everyone went on their holidays, mainly to the north of the island. Wellington is known as the Windy City and regularly experiences winds of 100 miles per hour – as well as dealing with 15,000 earthquakes every year - making it known as the Shaky Island. We went up to the top of Mount Victoria for a view of the city before we checked into our hotel. It was 6pm and there were a few hours of daylight left.
Five of us went up the cable car to the botanic gardens and it was lovely to walk around for a few hours after being on the bus all day. There were some lovely plants, a pond, and a tree house – but for me the best bit was the rose garden. I am not a rose lover but the roses here were the most beautiful and aromatic that I had ever come across. We managed to grab a bite to eat on the way back to the hotel, just before it got dark. There was no time to unpack – we were leaving early the next morning.
I woke before my alarm clock on Sunday morning – just like at home! What had happened to the weather - it was raining! We left the hotel, all looking like we were going on an Antarctic expedition. It wasn’t actually that cold though! We boarded the ferry for our sailing across the Cook Strait, heading for Picton and the South Island. It was a 3-hour crossing and the final section was the best bit! The rain had stopped, the sun had come out and the sea was dead calm. As we approached Picton we had the most spectacular scenery. You could have easily forgotten what country you were in, it could have been Canada, Alaska or the Norwegian Fjords.
It was lovely to see the different coloured trees along the shoreline, very few beach areas though. The few houses dotted along the shore could only have been reached by boat – the hillsides that they were built on were so very steep. After we disembarked, we had an hour or so to explore the small town of Picton – that was as much time as you needed – it wasn’t very big. The highlight was a group of Maori singers in the park on the waterfront – it was lovely to hear them singing. We wandered around a few shops, and I bought a new book to read – as I had just finished mine and desperately wanted the sequel! Sad I know – but I was on holiday – when did I ever get a chance to read otherwise! Our stop for the night was only a few miles inland, at a small town called Blenheim at the Chateau Marlborough Hotel – it sounded very impressive but it wasn’t a chateau! It was a very nice hotel though, with more amenities than we had, had the previous few nights – but not the view! This area was renowned for being one of New Zealand’s biggest wine producing areas and that evening we were taken to the Montana vineyard for our evening meal with complimentary wine. It was a very nice meal – a bit too posh for me and I was up all night with indigestion!
Monday morning was cloudy but not particularly cold and we headed off towards the coast over the Kaikoura range. The mustard coloured hills were covered in short grass and there were very few trees to be seen, as the hills were mostly rocky formations - it reminded me of the Scottish Highlands. We passed thousands of acres of vine fields that were immaculately kept – miniature sheep did their job well here – eating the grass in between the vines.
We soon reached the Pacific Ocean and drove along the coast, stopping at Kekerengu for our first break. The coastline was pure black volcanic sand that looked darker when the ocean waves broke onto its shore. We saw several seal colonies, so I thought – but in fact these were fur seals that were from the sea lion family. We continued south to Kiakoura for our lunch stop, and it was nice to have a wander about for an hour.
We walked along the shingle beach and reached the departure area for the Whale watching trip. On the notice board it said “Sea sickness warning today”! I was so glad that I was not going out on a boat today. It was really windy along the shore – but invigorating at the same time. The temperature did warm up as we approached Christchurch – known as the most English city in New Zealand, and also known as the Garden City. We stayed at the Elms Hotel a few miles out of the city – so there was no exploring tonight, only time to get some dinner – an early night was needed. It is tiring sitting down for most of the day!
Tuesday morning bright and early, we all boarded the Tranz Alpine Express – a diesel engine that was to be pulling us up through the snowy mountains to Arthur’s pass. The train followed to Waimakiriri River for most of the journey, going through about 16 tunnels and numerous bridges across stony rivers.
The first part of the trip was across the flat Canterbury Plains, which was a patchwork of arable farms where we saw deer, cows, sheep and rabbits. Once we had stopped at Springfield, and taken a photo of the mountain range ahead of us, we were allowed to move around the train. We tried to get to the outside viewing car – which was hard work; but it was even harder to see anything when we got there – it was packed with so many people! So I had to find another vantage point – a solitary window right behind the engine where I took lots of brilliant photos.
There were millions of lupins, all colours, as far as you could see – coupled with the white Rocky River – it was a truly beautiful sight. Our journey lasted 2 and half hours and when we disembarked at Arthur’s Pass the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse.
We hurried to our coach and were now heading towards the coast – through very winding roads. The clouds were so low, it felt like you could touch them, but the rain did make the glacial rivers look even more spectacular. We arrived at Hokitika, on the edge on the Tasman Sea, in time for lunch and it had just stopped raining at last! I spotted a little fish and chip shop and thought “fish and chips walking along the beach” sounded like a good idea, but the fish was the size of a whale and would have fed at least 6 people! After lunch we continued heading south, through constant rain forest (millions of tree ferns again); and passing many small towns. The wooden houses all had corrugated roofs because they are easily repairable after an earthquake! There were several “black” lakes, fed by the mountain trees rather that the blue glacial rivers.
Before we checked in our hotel for the night, we were taken up to see the Franz Josef glacier – it was quite a spectacular view – it was just a pity that we couldn’t do the helicopter ride to land on it – because the weather was not good enough! Maybe tomorrow! So we walked around the small town of Franz Josef and had a shandy in the sun, where I spoke to someone who worked in Hucknall where I live - What a small world it is! It was lovely to sit in the sun for half an hour and chill out; it felt like being on holiday! We all met up for dinner at the bar next to our hotel and the portions were so big that people were sharing! The burgers were at least 10 inches high! How anyone managed to bite into them I don’t know! I couldn’t cope with a huge meal so opted for a bowl of homemade cream of broccoli soup – then a half share of Lime and passion fruit cheesecake. Delicious!
Wednesday morning started even earlier than usual – at 4am it had started raining. You can imagine what it sounded like on the corrugated roof! We had been told if the weather looked bad, to roll over and go back to sleep, but I was wide-awake. I had a light breakfast and joined the others who were hoping to go on the Helicopter at 7 o’clock. They still didn’t know if we would be going, and we were told to go to the Heli Office and wait for the pilot’s decision! Finally there was a break in the clouds – it was all systems go! What excitement! We were all weighed and taken over the road to get strapped into our flying machines. I was told to sit in the front – how lucky was that!
When we took off up the Franz Josef glacier it was dazzlingly bright and sunny, we could see high over the top of the mountain ranges. When we reached the top, we saw Mount Cook (with its flat top) and the Tasman Glacier, but then the wind got up and the helicopter started shaking – it was getting rather scary! Then the pilot took us to the top of the Franz Josef to land; there was fresh snow on the top, a few inches and it was freezing outside.
As we touched down, snow flew around everywhere, even inside the helicopter. We had 10 minutes outside in the bright, crisp, virgin snow taking photographs. The snow was so soft!
Then we climbed back into the helicopter; the weather was closing in and all that you could see was a black sky; we did have quite a rocky ride back down over the green rain forest. Anyway, we got back safely even though the pilot had cancelled to following flights due to the change in the weather conditions – we had been so very lucky! Our bus picked us up and we were off heading south with the Tasman Sea to our right and the Mountain range very close to our left. As we drove by the sea I saw more debris (mainly trees) on the beach, than I have ever seen anywhere before – it looked like there had been a disaster out to sea. Apparently the trees are swept down the glacial rivers and out to sea – then come back in on the tide. The coast was really rugged, the cliffs were high and there were huge rocks in the shallow waters where the waves crashed onto the shore. We crossed the Haast River Bridge, which is the longest single-track bridge in NZ, and headed inland – following the river.
We stopped at Thunder Creek Waterfalls, which were really high – but the highlight of that stop was the walk through the rain forest to the viewpoint. The sun was glistening through the high trees shining down on the tree ferns below – they looked spectacular. You could not imagine how many tree different ferns there could be in one country!
The weather changed every few minutes, from sun to rain, cloud to wind – and back again! For our lunch break at Makarora we sat in the lovely sunshine and laughed at the toilets – they were for Rams, Ewes and for “those that didn’t know”! We drove past Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka – both turquoise glacial lakes that shone in the sun. We did stop to take some photographs of these stunning stretches of water – you could have been forgiven for thinking you were in Canada. I was finding it difficult remembering what day I was on, let alone what country I was in – it was getting so confusing!
When we arrived at Queenstown it was full of activity – and we were told that it was going to get busier tomorrow – everyone on the south island comes to Queenstown for New Years Eve! We were all so happy. We were going to be in the same hotel for 3 nights – that felt like heaven. We could unpack and maybe have a little rest! Or maybe not! We were told to have had breakfast and be ready to leave for 7 o’clock next morning.
The hotel was in an amazing setting on the edge of the lake – and my room had a balcony with a view to die for! The only other residents at the hotel were the police from the surrounding area – they had been bought in to control any trouble that there might be on New Years Eve!
Thursday was New Years Eve and promised to be a very long day. We left the hotel bright and early, heading for Te Anau – the gateway to the Fjordland National Park and Milford Sound. We followed the edge of Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkable Mountain Range overlooking it – the famous backdrop for Queenstown. There was fresh snow on the tops of many of the mountains and there was quite a chill in the air. Each valley had its own distinctive views and climate – one minute it was sunny and the next it was raining and misty. The Southland district was so like Scotland, it was unbelievable! The mountains were the same, the weather was the same, and there were miles upon miles of sheep farms. Apparently many Scots came over about 200 years ago and settled this land – and called many towns after their hometowns. We heard about the almost extinct Takahe bird (that likes to eat grass) that were nearly killed off through lack of food when the deer population got out of control. There are over 200 of these birds now and the deer are controlled, and are now farmed like cattle – you never see them in the wild. We continued past the plains into dense pine and beech forests with miles of yellow gorse, which was another import from Scotland. We could see the snowy Southern Mountain range ahead of us and stopped to walk along a wooden boardwalk and see “The Mirror Lakes” – we were lucky today.
Because it wasn’t misty or raining (at that minute) the snow capped mountains reflected wonderfully on the water. That is where I got one of my favourite photographs on the trip – so far! We crossed the 45th Parallel – the halfway point between the Equator and the South Pole, the “Divide” and we were now in the West Mountain Range – looking at this thick mass of rainforest you could have easily been in the South American jungle. This country seemed to be so many countries wrapped up into one. The last hour driving towards Milford Sound was stunning, it was all waterfalls, rushing glacial rivers with huge boulders and sheer rock faces that rose so high you could barely see the tops. We had to drive through the Homer Tunnel to reach the far side of the mountain range, 1.2km long and only single track; it was only built in the 1950s – before that, to get to Milford Sound – you had a 5-day trek over the mountains. We stopped at the Chasm – this was an example of what the thundering river had done to some gigantic rocks – the shapes that the water had transformed them into! You could hardly hear yourself think at this place, but it was one of my favourite places to see the inside of the rain forest and yet more ferns!
We arrived at Milford Sound in time to catch our boat – the Milford Wanderer – for our 3 hours cruise down the Fjord. Apparently, it should never have been called a Sound (that is a river-made valley), as this one was made by a glacier; so that makes it a Fjord. We saw a large group of NZ fur seals bathing on the rocks and several dramatic waterfalls as we headed out to the Tasman Sea, which was really choppy, but we still managed to see some dusky dolphins quite close to the boat. After half the people on the boat had got soaked through (with the massive swell of the ocean crashing overboard), we headed back into the Fjord.
The captain took us right underneath one of the waterfalls – that was brilliant, but not for the people outside who were taken by surprise and got soaked again! I think I felt a bit disappointed about the boat trip – it didn’t live up to my expectations and the magic just wasn’t there. I suppose I sound a bit ungrateful, but the best bit of the day for me was the journey getting to Milford Sound – not the Sound itself! We had a very long journey back to the hotel, another 4 hours! Then we had 30 minutes to make ourselves respectable before our special New Years Eve meal together. It was a lovely meal with champagne, and I even managed to stay up until 11pm – there were only a few who stayed up later. Seeing the New Year in didn’t mean anything to me – it started on 18th December when this trip started – and I had no intention of singing about “Auld acquaintances” as the clock struck twelve. I was in bed before that happened – trying to get a few hours sleep before my early morning balloon flight tomorrow!
Friday started extra early – I couldn’t sleep! I had set 3 alarms so that I didn’t overlay! But I think I looked at the clock every ten minutes. I received quite a few Happy New year messages on my phone and eventually got up at 4.15am. It wasn’t a surprise really, the balloon flight was cancelled – the winds were too strong! More than half of all the activities down here are cancelled due to bad weather. I had tried not to get too excited about it – if it was meant to be – then it would happen. There is always another time! At least I could have a chilled day to myself now; I had nothing planned until 4pm – the cruise to Walter Peak. So after breakfast I went into town and went up on the Gondola to get the best views of the area. What magnificent views they were! Then after a little shopping (I had hardly had any retail therapy for weeks), I had a picnic in the park in the centre of Queenstown.
At teatime we went on the refurbished steamship, the TSS Earnslaw over the lake to Walter Peak Country Farm. The wind had got up and the waves on the lake looked more like those you would find on a choppy sea. The journey over the water was no where near as bad as I had imagined and when we got off the ship we were greeted by a very pleasant lady who was to be our guide.
We were all given a glass of wine before we were shown around the gardens and given a history lesson about the homestead. We then all sat in the sun to relax with 3 different types of wine to sample, together with cheese, crackers and grapes. Back on the boat there was someone playing old time music hall songs on a piano and some of us were happy to sing along with him; but it was the looks on the Chinese Tourists faces when we started doing the actions to the “Hokey Kokey” that was the funniest part of the day! What must we have looked like!
Saturday morning we were allowed a little extra time in bed, we didn’t hit the road until 9am. It was the most glorious day, the sun was out and it was so warm – what a pity we couldn’t just sunbathe! We were only driving to see Mount Cook today – that really didn’t sound that exciting. Our first stop was at a town (extremely small village by our standards) called Arrowtown. What a quaint little place – apparently one of the most photographed places in New Zealand. There was a river running through the edge of town, a Chinese mining settlement and all the old fashioned shops on the single “high” street.
There was a telegraph office, somewhere buying gold nuggets and everywhere looked like it belonged in a cowboy film. I preferred this place to Queenstown, it had far more character to it – and with the sun shining I just had to have an ice cream – even though it was only 10 o’clock! Our next stop was the Kawarau suspension bridge, where bungee jumping was invented in 1988 – and there were many people queuing up to have a go. I watched a few people dive off the bridge, arms together, head first as they plunged into the water below.
A yellow dingy was in the fast running river below ready to pull them on board as the came back down to earth after spinning around and round for a couple of minutes. As we got nearer to McKenzie County, with the cleanest air in NZ – it did all look very pristine and clear. The place we would be stopping in tonight was called Omarama, which meant Town of Light – the most special place to see the night sky and stars. As we got nearer the sky was so clear, there were no clouds. Apparently we were experiencing an incredibly clear day, one that didn’t happen very often. We passed some fabulous blue glacial lakes and the local people had made canals to join the lakes. These canals had the same turquoise water, made from glacial rock flower – it was so, so beautiful. Some of our group had opted for a scenic plane flight over Mount Cook, and as luck would have it, it was all systems go! We waved them off and headed up to the viewing point for Mount Cook. Nothing that I had read about could have prepared me for what I was about to see – this was the most amazing view that I had seen in my trip of NZ. Mount Cook on this fabulously clear day, on the edge of Lake Tekapo was just incredible. I could never find the words to describe this view..........................................................
This was what I had come to New Zealand to see – this was absolutely amazing! Nothing compared with this sight - this was just the best!
Finally we checked into our hotel in Omarama, and there was very little to see or do – but I went for a walk along a river and saw some rabbits, birds and a stork, before returning to the hotel for dinner. It was still light until about 10pm – the sky was still blue – and I was a bit red from the sun – at last a bit of a tan!
We left early Sunday morning, what an awful day it was; raining and blowing a gale. There was no sign of Mount Cook today at all – we were so glad to have seen it yesterday. It was our last day of travelling on the bus – what a wonderful feeling! We passed by more man-made canals full of beautiful blue water; it was so hard to believe that salmon lived in there – the water looked so fabulous. We continued to drive through the scorched looking fields of the McKenzie country onto the Canterbury plains again – New Zealand’s largest flat area. It was a patchwork of yellow and green fields for miles and miles. By the time we stopped for lunch at Geraldine, it had stopped raining. We visited a wool shop that was renowned for having the world’s biggest pullover – it measured 6 feet across by 7 feet tall! Also the owner of this shop had made a replica of the Bayeaux Tapestry – it had taken him 25 years to make it and he loved telling his visitors all about his achievement. There was a lot of information about William the Conqueror and his family tree starting with Rollo! What a co-incidence, this Viking called Rollo is mentioned in my new book – so it felt quite special. We headed on to our final destination – Christchurch again. Our long coach trip was almost over. For once we were going to be checking into our hotel room early!
That was a good feeling – we could go out exploring! The city of Christchurch was easy to navigate and we were very confident about getting around. We headed off to the botanical gardens and were highly delighted.
They were the best ones that we had seen in the whole of New Zealand – they were comparable with Kew Gardens. The huge trees were fabulous, the herbaceous borders were outstanding – it was brilliant. The only downside was that it was 4pm and the “palm and fern houses” were closing.
We would have to try to come back before we left on Tuesday. We had a snack in a café by the museum – outside in the sun. It was so hot we could hardly believe it. It felt like being on holiday, especially as back at the hotel, we all sat outside until it was dark having a drink and a laugh! It was a thoroughly lovely day.
Monday, although still an official holiday in New Zealand, this was our last full day. After breakfast I headed off to the Antarctic Centre just outside town. Quite a few of the others had decided to come along too. We were a right bunch! We caught the penguin bus and headed off to the International Antarctic Centre, which as well as being a tourist attraction, was the headquarters for expeditions heading off to the Antarctic. There was a section where you could put extra warm clothes on and be blasted with temperatures of minus 8. Why on earth would we want to go in there! One more day and that is what we would be having when we got home!
The blue penguins were my favourites – actually, we were all like a bunch of little kids, oohing and aahing at them! They were incredibly cute though and I got some brilliant photos. They were all rescued ones, they could have been attacked by cats or dogs or run over by cars. Elvis was blind, and another one was having physiotherapy because he had a broken shoulder and knee, and one had blue shoes on because he had sore feet! They were adorable.
We put some warm clothing on and took photographs with penguins behind us, it was really silly but we didn’t care; and we saw some exhibitions and film shows all about the Antarctic, which were really informative. The final part of the trip was a ride in an “All terrain vehicle”. We went up and down various man made hills, over a crevasse, and through a lake (where the vehicle floated). It was the bumpiest ride I have ever been on, it took all of my strength to hold on – it was brilliant.
Then we all headed back into Christchurch and I went to the Botanical Gardens again, seeing as it was such a lovely day again. We saw the most unusual plant, it didn’t look real at all - it was a Puya Berteroniana from Central Chile. We went into all of the plant houses again, and I especially liked the alpine house with the sedums etc.
The trees in the garden had got to be its most outstanding feature - I have never seen eucalyptus trees so enormous – they were so wide. I would never have recognised them as something I have in my garden, if the sign on them didn’t make me look closer.
The summer flowerbeds were outstanding, the fountain was beautiful, and it was all absolutely brilliant. The buildings that we passed on the way back to the hotel were built in an old fashioned colonial style, which was very pretty (even though they weren’t more than 150 years old). Everything was so very “English”, all the street names, the river name – everything. I think it is called the most English city outside England and you can certainly see why. We decided that we were desperate for a drink, so stopped by the Cathedral; but within minutes the wind got up and it felt like we were going to have a tornado. Sure enough (as a local had told us yesterday) the wind comes before the rain – and it did! So we had to shop for a little while. Then back to the hotel to get changed and ready for our farewell meal. We had a lovely meal and a few free drinks – more than I had, had all holiday! It was a really nice evening; we all had a right laugh – again.
Tuesday was our last day, up early, cases out again! We decided to go out for the morning and caught a local bus to go to the port of Lyttelon. It was a port where the cruise ships came in. If I had arrived at that place as my first sight of New Zealand I would have been so disappointed – nothing there but containers and warehouses. We walked up a very steep hill to a lovely building that looked like a castle (but they didn’t have castles in NZ) called The Time Ball – it had a ball on the top of it like the one at Greenwich. There were some good views from up there – the sea was like a mirror and you could see many bays.
We had a coffee and then headed back to town, where we spent the next few hours sitting in the sun in the Cathedral Square – with the last icecream of the holiday. The square was a hive of activity, but the trams and buses had stopped running – there was a bomb scare in the Court building only a couple of hundred yards from where we sat. We left the hotel at 4pm – looking forward to the 39-hour journey home. Not! What a trip it, it had been though! I felt like I was a new person, a different person, the person I wanted to be. All of those wonderful friends that I had made. It was the most incredible trip full of the most fantastic memories.
I hope that you enjoyed this adventure - please check out my others. I will be adding more (past and present in the not too distant future). Let me know if you have any requests!!!
Lynne
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