There and back again.

Tuesday 20th April 2010
We revelled in our capacity to sleep in, and were very lucky to have a completely fine day to explore Christchurch. Not more than 3 metres from one of the entrances of our building was a tram stop. We purchased a 'City Loop' family pass, and listened to the conductor (a baby boomer with a close-cropped silver beard and a theatrical air) describe many interesting facts about the place.

Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens, which were as you would expect - vast and crammed full of Autumn-goodness. While it was a very lovely park, complete with the capacity to go for a punt along the Avon river - I still think Queens Park in Invercargill (cue cheering Southlanders) beats it hands down.






From here, we mosied on up to the Art Gallery, and hurriedly passed by one exhibit that was declaring 'Provocative! Human Forms Exposed!' (although Lily was kind enough to inform us that there were "A lot of naked photos in there"). We quite enjoyed the 'Blue' exhibit which was very children friendly, including what appeared to be a fluffy toy dog dunked in vivid blue paint. I took a little long looking at some of the more classical paintings and sculptures, but thoroughly enjoyed myself.

We rejoined the tram, and were met by a silver-bearded clone of our original conductor (maybe a job requirement?). After a very enjoyable trip, the loop completed a few steps from our door and we decided on a leisurely afternoon (aka Joshie meltdown and everyone else collapsing about the place).

Wednesday 21st April 2010
The last day for us in New Zealand was fine and sunny, allowing me to don shorts and shirts - much to the bemusement of locals. We checked out of our great apartment, and parked the car around the corner. On our tram tour the day before, we were told that we could in fact climb the bell tower of Christchurch Cathedral. So that is what we did. Imagine if you will a tightly-spiralled (one person wide) stone staircase ascending something of the equivalent of 7 stories. The last several meters were achieved by ascending a metal staircase so steep, you could only climb down them backwards (ladder-style).

After taking a few happy snaps (Lily, managing to sneak into the background of any she was not the primary subject of), we climbed the 134 steps back down, stopped by a souvenir shop and then made our way to the airport.

I thought I was in the clear on the flight back, being located on the other side of an aisle from Jen and the kiddies. I was, in fact, sitting next to another couple, and their large-lunged newborn. While Josh was not as settled as he was on the way over, we did get Hokey Pokey icecream, so these things balance out I guess.

I noticed the humidity as soon as we landed, that and the sad lack of alcohol at every retail outlet imaginable. We found our Happy Cabby, who thought we may appreciate an addition 2-3 hours on top of our 2 hour drive back to Newcastle. Part of this involved waiting at the domestic terminal for our final passenger. Heads lolling from fatigue, we could hear the screaching and chittering of fruit bats in the trees above.

To our relief, our house had not been abducted in our absence, and a very large Huntsman Spider greeted us from our lounge room ceiling. Oh Australia, the land of the hand-sized spiders and fruit bats. Unsurprisingly, the kids did not put up arguments regarding 'bedtime', and we soon followed them.

Thursday 22nd April 2010
Here I sit, leisurely consuming some vegemite on toast and coffee after dropping the kiddies off at school.

Looking back, I thought I'd pick out some of my highlights (briefly, don't worry):

* Jet-boating around the base of Huka Falls with a particularly dry-witted kiwi driver.

* Dinner overlooking Queenstown after taking a near-vertical Gondola ride up.

* Monteith's.

* Gliding along an underground river in inky darkness, save for the glow worms above at Waitomo Caves.

* Playing in the snow, after being dropped off by helicopter, with Mt Cook in the background.

* Queens Park in Invercargill (and not just because of the lady walking her sheep).

* Cruising up the Kauri Coast.

* Ice Cream at Mission Bay in Auckland, while locals jogged by unceasingly.

* Pulling in to Picton, after a great Interisland ferry ride.

* The insane water pressure - their showers could remove paint.

* Fox Glacier - and getting to go beyond the 'Do not go past here' signs.

* The beautiful cities of Christchurch and Dunedin, along with Dunedin's Larnach Castle.

* The people. Apart from a near diagnosable 'little brother syndrome' regarding Australia, they are friendly, funny and generous. Plus they say 'chups' - how can you not like them?

Cook to Christchurch

The howling winds continued throughout the night, an eerie whine accompanied by crashes and bangs. The forecast of rain in the morning kept playing on my mind, and despite being the eternal optimist *cough*, I predicted grim conditions for our helicopter flight.

The day dawned reasonably clearly, with the winds dropping to more of a frosty breeze. My part in packing consisted of carrying heavy things to the car (organisation is not my forte). In virtually no time we had reached the Helicopter Tour centre and spoke to the admissions lady. She gave us a pained expression and started shaking her head. My heart sank. After a few stressful moments, it dawned on us she was referring to a particular flight path in a particular helicopter within the next 10 minutes. We assured her we were happy to go to whatever mountain she chose on what ever aircraft she could rustle up. It was all gravy from there.

The kids got the window seats and we all got great views of Mt Cook itself, as well as the long yet disgustingly dirty glacier (Tasman Glacier I think it was) at the foot of it. The lake at the front of its 'terminal face' (glacier lingo you know) formed as the glacier has retreated over the last forty years. I'm a font of useful information.









The pilot spiralled down onto a patch of snow high up in the mountains with a great view of Mt Cook. This allowed us some snow time. The kids had a blast. While I was careful to grab powdery snow to use as snowballs, they were quite willing to prise up any chunk of ice they could lay their hands on. Guess who their target was. Lily decided to flop down onto a small patch of powder and try out a 'snow angel'. What a dag.












I was grinning like a madman, until the frigid air started making my teeth ache (I am glad there are no images of me pulling my lips down over my teeth). We eventually got back on board the helicopter and made our way back to base, with a touch of turbulence certainly grabbing my attention. To distract myself, I studied the landscape - there was more 'stone flour' in evidence in the blue lake near the Tour Centre.

On the way to Christchurch, we stopped by Lake Tekapo, where a small stone church is plagued by tourists on a daily basis. While there, we saw a busload of Chinese tourists disembark a bus, take a large number of photos, get back on board, only to be replaced by their British counterparts about 5 minutes later. Both busloads looked like seasoned professionals - seeking out the perfect picture within minutes.



The final stage of the journey to Christchurch was completed to the dulcet tones of Joshie screaming his lungs out (he felt we had done enough travel for the day). A little weary, and frazzled after the frequent stops, we were very pleased to have been upgraded to a top floor suite once again at the same apartments we visited previously. Spending the day here tomorrow, we look forward to not having to pack everything into the car in the morning.

Steep streets, big rocks and even bigger hills.

We couldn't leave Dunedin without taking a peek at the World's Steepest Street - Baldwin Street. We parked the car in a relatively flat section, and set out on foot. As we approached the start of the steep section, we noted a group of girls first running up, and then sitting down in the middle of the road. As scooters and cars made their way down Baldwin Street, these intellectual heavyweights thought it prudent to lie outstretched and roll down the bitumen descent. We made our way (Jen with Joshua in tow) up the footpath - consisting of an unending series of stairs - finally reaching the top. I am guessing the local gardeners don't have to worry about drainage for their flowers.



Enjoying following the east coast, we stopped in briefly at Moeraki to investigate a large scattering of spherical boulders. The kids thoroughly enjoyed clambering all over the geological oddities, as well as straying into the path of carefully set-up photographs by other tourists.

We had lunch at Oamaru (not to be confused with Timaru. I'd like to think there is some bitter rivalry between these neighbouring towns), and started heading into hill country again. Strangely, the temperature stayed at around 20 degrees for most of the trip - quite the heat-wave really.

As we approached the Mt Cook region, we got excited by seeing a couple of mountains with a few specks of snow on them. We soon crested a hill and saw Mt Cook proper - the thing was a white and ice-blue giant. The immensity continued to dawn on us as we approached the base of the mountains and located our accommodation. After night fell, the proximity to snowy peaks and glacial streams has become more apparent, with winds now howling outside.

Chocolate, castles and crazy Guides.

Not wanting to be late for our 9am tour, we set off for the Cadbury Factory at 8:45am. We got there at around 8:47am (I told you it was close). Throughout the tour, we kept getting saddled with additional bags of chocolate for almost no reason at all - noone seemed to mind though. The aroma of the nearby creation of Jaffa's while we consumed our melted chocolate (with a spoon) was a fairly pleasant experience.

The kids were jam-packed full of sugary exuberance as we visited the nearby Meridian shopping centre. I make note of this, as it was a real shopping centre - the first we have seen in NZ. Most towns have street-side shops and corner stores - and that's it. This place had escalators and an eatery for goodness sake! I was also able to get the third book in a trilogy I have been reading (sad I know), most impressive.

The weather was mild (patchy cloud and around 15 degrees) as we drove out along the Otago Peninsula. It was fun driving, as the road clung to the edge of the water - no safety rails or even reflector posts to be seen. Our first stop was Larnach Castle - built by some bloke from Singleton (country town west of Newcastle) of all places. The grounds were great, and the interior was very ornate.




There was a stone spiral staircase in a turret of the narrow variety which allowed access to the top tower. Hamish apparently doesn't share my healthy respect of heights, as I turned to see a couple of legs poking out between the crenellations as he sought a better view.






The road back down from the Castle afforded a fairly nice view of Otago Harbour. We continued out along the peninsula for our next stop - the Penguin Place.




Our Guide immediately concluded that we had under-dressed both ourselves and our 'wee kiddies' for the conditions at hand. We satisfied her by draping both Hamish and Lily in the largest 'Extra Small' windcheaters I have seen. We then clambered on a mini-bus and took a 5 minute ride through a bunch of sheep paddocks (exotic huh?). Off the bus, we nearly bumped into some largish fur seals on our way through the sheep paddock to the Penguin observation trenches (the kids perspiring heavily at this point).

We had resigned ourselves to not seeing any penguins, as it was (according to our cheery Guide): the wrong time of year, the wrong time of day, and the wrong tide level. Naturally, we saw a bunch of them. We were all stunned by how close we could get to them. Our Guide became a little choked up as she described the 'beautiful' relationship between a Penguin pair (which she spoke about at length). Someone needs to get out of the Observation Trenches a little more often I think.

It was a great day, and the weather a definite improvement on the South Coast. Joshie also tried his first mouthful of apple-puree. The degree to which he scrunched his face up may be an indicator that he is not a fan.

Sheep, Falls and Nuggets (aka The Catlin Coast).

It was something like 6 degrees (not counting wind-chill) and raining sideways as we left cheery old Invercargill. We took the more scenic route to Dunedin which followed the Catlin Coast. The rolling hills looked ever so green - perhaps a result of us having been restricted to various shades of grey for the last couple of days.

Jen offered to drive for a bit, and decided at the last minute (the marks are still on the road) to turn off the main thoroughfare and visit Maclean Falls. We made our way through tree ferns, mosses and general rain-foresty goodness (the temperature still around 8 degrees) until we got to the falls. While they were impressive, they did not compare to the sheer volume of mud Hamish was able to accumulate on his pants on the way there and back.

After a lunch spent sitting huddled around a plastic table (buffeted by icy winds) out the front of a Petrol-station/general store at Papatowai, we pressed on to Nugget Point. The winds roared up near vertical cliffs, with seals lazing about in rockpools far below.







At the very end of the walk, an elderly couple alternated between insisting on the children borrowing their binoculars (to see the seals) and noting that children could not be trusted with things like binoculars. I refrained from giving the pair an "even closer look" at the seals below...



We have settled in to our apartment in Dunedin, a good 30 metres or so from the Cadbury's Factory. I was intrigued by the obvious Scottish influence on the Kiwi accent in this area - to the point I was left wondering whether the entire population are over from Edinburgh on a Foreign Exchange program.

A change of plans...

We were pushing things to get to the Stewart Island Ferry on time this morning, with bleak conditions and fierce cross-winds making the drive to Bluff all the more enjoyable. Passing rusting shipwrecks and dilapidated factories on the way in, the overcast day was doing nothing for the townships appeal. The beleaguered lady at the Ferry terminal gave us a look of genuine concern as we showed our vouchers, asking whether we were SURE we wanted to chance a trip to Stewart Island today.

A little while later, the peversely-jovial Ferry Captain confirmed the cancellation of the Ulva Island cruise (our main reason for going), and guaranteed about 2 hours of hell for anyone even remotely likely to become seasick. Looking at the mountainous white-capped seas (and horizontal, icy rain), we thought it may be best to pull the pin on our Island expedition. Possibly one of the more disappointing events of our trip, but preferable to testing the already doubtful stomachs of Team Martin.

While in the steadily-rusting settlement of Bluff we took the opportunity to visit the Stirling Point signpost (sometimes called the Signpost at the End of the World), with Lily braving the conditions for a photo-opportunity. Not content with the blasting of icy rain I received there, we drove up to the hill-top lookout, where the unimpeded Antarctic winds initially prevented me from even opening the car door. Good call on the Ferry I think.

Having some unanticipated spare time in Invercargill, we sought out a cafe to both get out of the icy winds and to grab some morning tea. True to form, I managed to locate the only place in town to serve 'medium-rare' scones, the uncooked dough providing an interesting counter to the dessicated dates. We farewelled the incompetent (yet very friendly) cooks and came across a giant umbrella sculpture. It turns out (according to the frequent mutterings of locals) that we had caught Invercargill in the thrall of some fairly extreme weather.

Still unsticking dough from the roof of my mouth, we paid a visit to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. This was actually pretty good, well worth the free admission. While there, we paid a visit to Henry, the 112 year old Tuatara. He first became a father some time after his 100th birthday. He was a bit of a cradle-snatcher, as the mother was only 80 or so.

Rainbows, moonwalks and Queens Park.

We said farewell to Te Anau (well not really, that would be just strange), and set off for Invercargill. On the way, we saw countless rainbows as the sun finally managed to penetrate the clouds. The resulting question of, "Is that the same rainbow as before?" got just a smidgen irritating as the day wore on.

The scenery very much conveyed the remoteness of this part of New Zealand. At one point, we saw one of the white aluminium road-side posts contorting like one of those 'dancing Coke cans' from the 80s, purely from the fierce cross-wind.




On a whim, we detoured and visited an old suspension bridge at the township of Cliffden (ie 3 houses located near each other) that used to be part of the main road. It was primarily an excuse to have our morning tea and to allow the kids to stretch their legs. I was staring off into middle-distance, munching on a sultana scone (a great look I would imagine) when I realised we had parked next to a tree that was covered in wasps. Spluttering crumbs everywhere, we took our leave at that point.

I'm not sure what I was expecting visually as we approached the south coast, but I was a little surprised to see brilliant green pastureland (complete with grazing Friesians) right to the waters edge. The local conifers took on a radically wind-swept look from the constant wind coming off the ocean.

Hamish performed a spontaneous homage to Michael Jackson on a low-lying table at the McCrackens Rest lookout. The British couple in their motor home (making cucumber sandwiches presumably) did not appear impressed.



Many of the travel guides, and even some New Zealanders themselves have fairly consistently poked fun at Invercargill - so we were bracing ourselves for the worst. While waiting for the obligatory 2pm check-in, we visited Queens Park. The place was huge. With the sun once again gracing us with its presence, we were able to have a good look around.


There were avenues of trees, with leaves of all red, gold and brown. There were manicured rose gardens, thick with scent. There were extensive duck ponds, complete with little stone bridges. Oh yes, and there was a person walking their sheep... You crazy New Zealanders.






One section of the Park was devoted to an impressive childrens playground. We spent quite a bit of time there, with the Martin children making friends left, right and centre (whether the local kids wanted this was anyones guess).



Our rooms were very nice indeed, and we managed to get a local restaurant to deliver our meals for free. Lily insisted on this photo making the cut today, so here it is..


Tomorrow sees us cross the waters to Stuart Island, where we may get to see some native birdlife.