South Island - Christchurch Arthurs Pass and Kaikoura 16th to 19th February 2009

Based in Christchurch, a very beautiful city with more than a hint of Oxford, for these 3 days we took a train excursion to Arthurs Pass and a drive to Kaikoura. The inland drive back from Kakoura was particularly splendid. Weather still brilliant as it has been almost all the time. On the 19th left NZ for Brisbane early in the morning. Very sad to leave New Zealand which has been brilliant from start to finish.

South Island - Dunedin to Christchurch - 14th to 16th February 2009

On this part of the trip it wasn't only the coast which impressed, but the inland drive to Mt Cook and the amazing tiffany blue glacial lakes Pukaki and Tekapo.

The town of Oamaru was a surprise with its very elegant Victorian stone buildings - relics of former glory as a meat shipping centre. AND it had penguins which you could actually see coming in from the sea to roost for the night. Albatross and Penguins within a few days!

And then inland to Mt Cook and from there pleasant drive through pastoral country to Christchurch.

South Island - Te Anau to Dunedin - 11th and 12th February 2009

Albatross Otago Peninsula

Cathedral Beach

Deep Down South in the Catlins

Worlds Fastest Indian, Invercargill.

It takes a steady draught to do this.

Clifden Suspension Bridge

The road took us south from Te Anau into agricultural country, through the sausage capital of New Zealand, another Clifden Suspension Bridge, which was very important for opening up the country, to Invercargill and the Catlins where the coast was as wild as wild, witness the angles of the trees. Saw Cathedral Caves - the best part the beach which could have been the setting for The Piano. The descent through rain forest from the car park very reminiscent of that. the Dunedin, lively town, where Dick and Hilly came to meet us for a couple of days.

South Island - te Anau and Milford Sound - 09 and 10 February 2009

We had been advised not to drive to Milford Sound but to take a tour as the road is narrow and windy and you tend to get pushed along by the tour buses. This was very good advice. We took the tour and on the way the driver said that as the weather was very good it was a good day to fly back to Te Anau. So we did and it was the most amazing experience - flying close to the mountain tops with that strange feeling that this must be a blind alley but that also the pilot looked as if he was very experienced and knew it all backwards. So - Milford Sound - one of the great experiences of the world:

South Island - Wanaka and Queenstown 6, 7, 8 February 2009

Kingston Flyer on turntable.

Julie's pub.

Bungy jumping leap off near cable car Queenstown

Strange sky over Lake Wakatipu - bushfire smoke from Australia.

Pass between Wanaka and Queenstown

Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park. Top of Rob Roy Valley track. Tricky sandwich.

On the track.

Swing Bridge at start of the Rob Roy Valley track.

Rent a Dent en route to Mt Aspiring National Park.

Ship Creek, Haast. A great forest walk, so called because the carcass of a ship which was wrecked off Melbourne ended up beached near here.

South Island - Hokitika and Franz and Fox 4th and 5th February 2009

From top - trying to see Mt Cook refelected in Lake Matheson - no sign of the mountain let alone reflection, but a beautiful place - and a good (new) restauarant.

Fox Glacier

Franz Josef Glacier

The open road - wonderful!

The ony sock machine museum in the world - one of Hokitika's claims to fame, but the sunsets and fish and chips were very good too, especially taken together in the car with a bottle of Martinborough white sipped through a straw.

South Island - Picton and Abel Tasman National Park

Walking through Abel Tasman National Park from Barks Bay to Torrent Bay having taken a boat from Kaiteriteri which picked us up later.

Picton Ferry Port

Leaving Wellington

Wellington

It seemed strange and familiar at the same time to bump into Dick at the Wellington station where he was waiting for us. It felt almost like a coincidence.

I hadn't seen much of downtown Auckland so Wellington was the first New Zealand city seen up close. The first and most striking feature is the setting around what looks like an almost perfectly circular harbour - you know it's the sea but you can't see the entrance channel from most places around the city. It all becomes clear when you walk around the shore.

As the government centre it has a white collar sophisticated air, but all this sounds like a quote from Lonely Planet. The best part was to spend time with Dick, Hilly and Matthew. Going off to the winery area at Martinborough was great too. But let the pictures speak for themselves. It was sad to leave.