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February 7th 2011
Packed up the car and headed to Picton today. Stopped in Kaikora for lunch, and again in Blenheim for a coffee en route, and despite some pretty lousy rainy weather, we made good time and were in Picton in time for our ferry back….which was then late by over an hour. The crossing itself was quite choppy, and Helen suffered a bit, especially on the open seas where the waves were pretty big and the boat juddered and shook each time it hit one of big waves! We arrived back into Wellington tired but glad to be back and staying with friends! Headed to the Hutt and back to Andy and Marias where we both crashed out exhausted!... read more
February 6th 2011
Last full day on the South Island. Starting to feel a bit fed up that we are leaving, and people keep coming up with lists of places we’ve not visited and saying about how we can’t possibly not go there, and so it’s a clear indication that we’ve missed so much off our trip. I also feel that we’ve sort of rushed the last bit of the trip a bit, but we’re heading back to Wellington tomorrow night and that’ll be good, I’ve spent a total of 2 nights actually in Wellington, so to have a few days staying close by in the Hutt will be really good, looking forward to the sights and sounds there too, as well as catching up with all our new friends from Wanaka who are based in Wellington. Anyway, today ... read more
February 5th 2011
The forecast for the weekend was for bright sunshine and high temperatures, but it was distinctly overcast when we woke in the morning, and so after a bit of breakfast, we decided today wasn’t the best day to head to the beach, so we drove into the town centre and parked up and then went off to do the touristy stuff. We were stood right by a tram stop when one arrived, so we jumped on and off we went. The tram itself does a small loop around the key sights in downtown Christchurch, it has 11 stops and your ticket is valid for 2 consecutive days, you can jump on and off at any of the stops, and there are trams every 8-12 minutes, so it’s a pretty good way of getting to see whats ... read more
February 4th 2011
First full day in Christchurch, so decided to get organized. As we are now really low on money, and there are still 2 months before the flight back to the UK, we decided we need to finish our South Island experience pretty soon, so, after a bit of discussion, we went to reception at the holiday park and booked our ferry home, for Monday evening at 18:05. As a result, we also then booked 2 extra nights in ChristChurch, so the plan is to stay here for the rest of the trip, and drive the 5-6 hours to Picton in one go on Monday. It does mean we’re going to be missing Hanmer Springs, and just passing through Kaikoura, but that just means we’re going to have to come back again to visit these places. .While ... read more
February 3rd 2011
Finally had to say goodbye to Dunedin today, been a superb few days enjoying the city, and the surrounding countryside, I suspect memories of here will linger on for many years, its been the most vibrant and fun place to spend time, the people were amazing, the food was great, the hills were, well, very steep, and it’s a wonder we’ve escaped with the car still going! So, yes, today we left Dunedin. We’re sort of heading home now, back to the North Island, and there wasn’t really a great deal that we wanted to see on the East coast. One notable exception were the Moeraki Boulders. There are basically large round rocks which, due to a geological quirk, were created millions of years ago and are being basically washed out of the coastline as the ... read more
February 2nd 2011
This morning, after some breakfast, we decided we needed to see the settlers museum and the Art gallery, so we drove into town, parked up right outside the Settlers Museum and wandered in only to find that almost the entire thing was closed off! Basically, only the main reception and one of the rooms was open as the whole of the rest of the gallery was being refurbished. As a result, this left us with an hour and a half on our parking meter, so we wandered up to the Art gallery and that, like the settlers museum, had most of the rooms closed because they were either taking down or putting up new exhibitions. Was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest, as we’d been really looking forward to both places. After that, as ... read more
February 1st 2011
Today I needed to try and get back into at least some semblence of training. As my feet are still a bit of a mess post run, I decided a cycle would be the best way forward, but, unfortunately, I’d not counted on just quite how hilly Dunedin is, so there was no real way of getting a flat ride out. Even to get into town from the camp site was a steep climb up followed by a terrifying ride downhill on bumpy roads the other side. However, the name of the game was the steepest residential street in the world!! The goal was to try and cycle up it. It starts off fairly shallow, but then gets steeper and steeper, culiminating in one part which is a 1 in 2.6(!!!) (almost 45 degree angle, for ... read more
January 31st 2011
The luxury today was a bit of a lay in! Our rep at the iSite had been very clever sorting out our trips, and booked us in the afternoon slots as, due to their being two massive cruise ships docked in town, they are all flooding out to the local attractions, so by choosing the 4pm tour the cruise ship passengers would all be finishing for the day and heading back. So, 4pm at the Albatross Colony, and then 5.30pm at Natures Wonders was the plan. We headed out mid morning as, on the peninsula, there was New Zealand’s only castle to visit too! So, an amazing drive out along the coast to start with, before turning inland and climbing some pretty steep hills to get to the castle! I was a bit worried as the ... read more
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