Mountains in the mist, earthquake damage, icebergs, glaciers and snow capped peaks.

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Stayed a couple of nights in a place called Hanmer Springs, it is inland and in the winter is a ski resort. I think most people visit the area in the summer as they have a huge thermal pool and spa together with a water park. We had a wander around the pools and they looked very nice but we didn't actually venture in. On the day we arrived the weather was fabulous and after wandering around the town and checking everything out we landed in a bar where they had some live music. Baz did a sampling exercise and had a beer that was " nine malts blended together to produce layers of toffee, caramel, liquorice, chocolate and toasty flavours" he wondered whether it was coming in a glass or in a bowl with a spoon! Anyway we managed to while our way through the afternoon quite happily and rounded the day off by going to a very upmarket Indian restaurant. Very different as there were only about 8 choices on the main meal menu but I have to say it is probably the nicest meal we have had in NZ to date. It was well scrummy! Next day we woke up to drizzle and very low cloud so what do you do on a rainy day when you are surrounded by mountains, you go hiking of course. We had a rough idea of where we were going and luckily saw a young couple in the car park who had just been up and seen the waterfalls and as they were still alive and didn't look that wet we decided to risk it. We had been going for half an hour when it really started to rain hard. The walk was mainly under the tree canopy but when we came to an opening it actually looked quite eerie with the low mist hanging in the trees, quite spooky. Anyway made it to the falls, took the pictures and headed back down the path. We were soaked and cold, it took three cups of tea to warm up. It was like rambling in the wet, cold windy Lake District!!

Moved onto Christchurch where we have booked into a B&B for just one night. The weather is unsettled, think cyclone Pam must be affecting it. Christchurch is a devastated city. The earthquake must have been terrifying and basically there is nothing left in the centre of the city. Any buildings that are still standing are boarded up and closed. The cathedral which is in the very centre of the city has totally collapsed at one end and remains surrounded by scaffolding. There are buildings going up everywhere and from the plans of the city it looks as though one day it will be a very beautiful but for visitors there is nothing but piles of rubble, empty plots and construction works. Obviously all the city centre shops have had to close and they have set up a "restart city mall" where they have made a mall out of lots of containers, great idea and it looks really good with lots of little coffee outlets and seating areas. The Botanical gardens are lovely and cover a vast area but unfortunately like a lot of the city it's buildings are closed. I don't think I was prepared for just how bad the earthquake must have been. A total of 185 people lost their lives and seeing a city devastated as Christchurch is brings it home just how vulnerable we are to natural disasters.

Onto Akaroa, a small town that the French originally laid claim to. They paid a Maori chief money to own the land, sailed home and on their return found that the British had landed, raised the flag and got all the Maori chiefs to sign the Whitangi agreement meaning that the French lost out, perhaps this is one of the reasons they don't like us very much. Anyway some French settlers stayed and the street names are all in French and there is a cemetary dedicated to those first French dwellers. Unfortunately the weather was not over kind to us here until the day we left and then the sun shone and it looked like a completely different place. Some nice restaurants and cafés but the industry here is definitely tourism and dolphin watching and swimming with them in particular. Just two nights here but it was a nice stop off.

Onto Lake Tekapo which is inland, we thought we may stop off on route but we managed to get all the way there. The drive there was stunning and either I am hormonal all the time or the scenery is that beautiful it keeps making me blub! We managed to get the last hotel room in the town, worst room we have ever had but the room with the best view we have ever had. The sun was shining and the lake was just the most lushest of blues. Apparently it gets to be this colour due to the rock flour, which is the result of the glaciers grinding the rock into a fine dust which then falls into the water and combined with the the sun produces the unique turquoise colour. We had our lunch just by the church of the good shepherd and the statue of the sheepdog which is a tribute to the dog as without their help there is no way that the farmers could ever get the sheep down from these mountains. Went for a walk along the lake shore and took some arty farty pics then just sat and took in the views which are immense. We had a nice meal in a restaurant overlooking the mountains and then off we trundled back to our room where we wrapped ourselves in blankets and sat outside star gazing. Lake Tekapo has one of the worlds clearest, darkest most spectacular night skies. All I can say is WOW, amazing. It was like a firework show with no colours but the most incredible sight, there were billions of stars and you could see the glow around each one. It was as though you were looking through a telescope. Totally fantastic experience and well worth a night in a crappy hotel for the experiences we have had in this area. Super, terrific, Georgous.

Today the sun is shining again which I am so thankful for because I am desperate to see Mt Cook. I am running out of superlatives for this country. Mt Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand and stands at 3,724 metres. What can I say on seeing Mt Cook, it still has snow on the top and made me want to be Edmund Hillary for a day so that I could hike to the top. It was without doubt another mind blowing vision. As you would expect it is an outstanding skyline with everything from sunny slopes to snow capped mountains, we walked up to view the Tasman Glacier and there were still some small icebergs in the lake. Mega mega mega stuff!! The whole area is just one of outstanding beauty and wonderment. Love it. Well carrying on down the road towards Dunedin and we stopped for a coffee at a little town called Twisel, we then had a brief stop at the Mokei Boulders on the beach, a bit of a strange phenomon, large round boulders on the beach. There is a Maori story about them but I think the modern version is they were part of the cliffs. Still they look odd on the beach but a chance to stretch our legs out. Long day today in the car, we set off at 9am and didn't find any accommodation until 4.30pm when we reached Dunedin, Baz has done all the driving and is a star.

Well we are in Dunedin which is quite a large city with all the usual shops and restaurants, we tried an Italian last night and were very pleased with our meal. There are a lot of beautiful Victorian buildings and the train station has got to be one of the nicest stations I have ever seen, it's very ornate and added to this there was an old train sat on the platform which just added to the ambiance. Dunedin according the the Guinness book of records has the steepest residential street in the world, lots of technical jargon but basically for every 2.86 meters travelled horizontally the elevation rises by 1 metre. Every year they have a charity event and roll individually numbered Jaffa cakes down the hill to raise money. Great idea but who eats all the jaffas!! We have been here two nights mainly due to the fact that the first night we hardly got any sleep due to noisy revellers in the street, they kept at it until 4 am. Feelin a bit blurry eyed Baz went downstairs and had a word with the hotel manager. He obviously worked his magic as we got complimentary breakfasts and coffee and a night in the presidential suite. So I am now writing this blog sat at our conference table in our lounge area! Let's hope that tonight we sleep like babies and are fully refreshed for our next part of the journey. Onwards and downwards towards Waikawa.

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