Blogs from Picton, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 21

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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton December 18th 2006

Well here it is another blog. I've been off exploring this beautiful country again and this time headed out of the North Island. On Friday after work Rachel, who I met through the volunteer program, and I caught the ferry from Wellington to Picton. The evening was beautiful if a little cold and the sailing was calm. Glad of this as my stomach is not the best on the seas and I've heard crossings between the islands can be very hairy. We arrived in Picton by sailing through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. The scenery is stunning and the little coves are so picturesque. There are homes in the coves that you can only get to be boat and you cannot imagine how peaceful it all is. Although of course they do get the huge ferry heading ... read more
Steve's finger on the map of the area.
Rachel we need to be in the water first!
View over the bow of the Kayak

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton December 13th 2006

New Zealand - tick box! Our time in New Zealand has sadly come to an end after spending 6 amazing weeks tucked away under the world. So it's been a while since we last blogged but there was so much to do in the South Island with not enough time to do it in (unfortunately we've had this problem through out our entire trip!). Having picked up yet another camper van from the very English feeling Christchurch we headed south to the stunning turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo where we decided to spend the night parked up overlooking the lake, with views to die for! We continued heading south making a stop at New Zealands highest mountain, Mount Cook. I don't know what it is with mountains and us but it always seems to rain when ... read more
First stop for Sals was a bar for a shot of Jaeger Miester and Redbull!
Taking the cable car, Queenstown, NZ
Luging, Queenstown

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton December 5th 2006

It rained fairly heavily during the night and was still raining in the morning so the tent was soaked through. Cleared it out and packed the car up - just hope we can get the tent dried out before too long otherwise everything is going to smell like a wet dog! After a quick breakfast we headed down the coast to Matueka before following the coast road round to Nelson. We found a suitable swimming pool but it was closed for a 'Mums with Bumps' session. Paul reckons after 4 months away he now has the physique to pass detection but Beck is still too skinny so we ended up using the internet for an hour or so before heading back to the pool to do some lengths. Both ended up being a bit famished so ... read more
Lunch stop
Moody Montana
Outside the chocolate factory

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton November 30th 2006

When we left Te Anau the morning after we finished our hike, it was raining, and it had been raining pretty continuously for about 24 hours I’d say. As we drove, though, it turned first to sleet and then quickly to snow. Keep in mind that this was in their early summer and we were at about 1000 feet above sea level. This is not how we expected New Zealand to be, but we loved the surprise. That day we made our marathon drive up the west coast of the south island to Greymouth. This is about a 13 hour drive on a good day. But of course we had weather, and we also had to stop a lot to look at stuff. We stopped at the beautiful rugged beaches along the west coast, we stopped ... read more
One of Many Amazing Lakes on the Way
Masa the Penguin
Warning:

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton November 24th 2006

Nelson & Abel Tasman Nelson is supposed to be the sunniest place in NZ, so we had high hopes for an improvement in the weather. It’s a nice place and maybe the most lively of the towns we’d seen so far. We had a relaxing day and even managed to get to the cinema on a $20 Film-Drink-and-Pizza Tuesday night deal. Bargain. Unfortunately, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ made me even more impatient for a long-overdue shopping trip! After a night in Nelson we drove the hour or so out to Marahau, the small town at the southern end of the Abel Tasman National Park and the Abel Tasman Coastal Track Great Walk. Marahau’s beaches looked just like the stunning guidebook photos that we’d seen of Abel Tasman. The coastal colours were vivid in the bright sunshine ... read more
Abel Tasman - start of the Great Walk
Abel Tasman walk
Low tide crossing

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton November 17th 2006

After of being battered by heavy rains and gales we caught the ferry to Picton in the north of the south island in New Zealand. It rained pretty much all day. Picton is a nice place but really only existing now to support the ferries. As it was raining, and after having little sleep from the previous night, we spent the whole day around picton taking some time out. In the evening we drove north for about an hour before finding somewhere to sleep for the evening. It was still raining! The views around here are great - but spoilt by the rain and cloud :o(... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton September 8th 2006

Greetings from New Zealand Well, we nearly didn't make it this far. No, we didn't get drunk in Sydney and miss our Air NZ flight - we just had the bumpiest, windiest, yuckiest flight ever to get here. The pilot warned we'd have slight turbulence on the 3 hr flight down from Sydney, what he failed to mention was that I would have to shut my eyes and sit very still as we were coming in to land in Christchurch! Apparantley, the air can get a bit bumpy as you fly over NZ's southern alps into Christchurch. A bit bumpy? I felt like a ping pong ball in a tumble dryer. Ok, so I'm being a bit dramatic - we didn't spill drinks and no-one screamed (they did gasp a bit though) but when you look ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton August 18th 2006

Friday 18th August 2006 We caught the 9.30am ferry over to the South Island (Picton); I slept most of it. We headed off from Picton to Abel Tasmin, stopping for wine tasting in the Marlborough Region. I tried everything and bought nothing, in typical backpacker fashion! We stopped off for lunch at the Perilous Bridge Reserve and campsite. It was a really nice stop if you were camping, next to nice lush bush and a river. We got to Old McDonald's Farm at Abel Tasman and had a group BBQ and sat drinking and talking around the fire into the night.... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton July 31st 2006

After my time in Abel Tasman Ian and I ventured north for a while, went to a wonderful remote beach that is only accessible by a long dirt track and then you have to walk a fair way over some hills. I am still in love with the black beaches that Danny took me to in West Auckland though... Nelson was my home for a couple of nights whilst travelling back over to the east coast. The hostel had a piano that was in tune (yippee) which was great, trying to remember all the Ben Folds/Five songs that I used to know off by heart...yes I need alot more practice after being out of touch with those black and white keys for so long...can't wait to have my baby back when I get home... We took ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton July 26th 2006

Before crossing the Cook Strait to get to the south island I spent a few days in Wellington and staying in a little seaside town called Ruamati Beach. Wellington is actually the capital of New Zealand even though it feels alot smaller than Auckland. I think I prefer Wellington as a city compared to Auckland, although the surrounding areas of Auckland are much more beautiful. The city of Wellington is far more compact and has a better atmosphere to it where things are closer together. Went to the Te Papa museum which was fantastic. They had a Lord of the Rings exhibition on too which I loved, it's amazing to see all the techniques they used for filming and the software they created for the thousands in the battle scenes. I really want to watch them ... read more




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