Blogs from Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 18

We woke to a clear blue sky this morning - good prospects for our ferry across the Cook Strait. Following up to our delicious dinner the previous night, Arne and Franz took us to yet another great spot for breakfast - the Parade café at Oriental Bay. It looked right out onto the waterfront and served lots of delicious, healthy food and drinks. We had a nice chat with the two of them - it was hard to compress 18 months of catching up into 60 minutes but Franz tried. As usual, our conversation flowed freely and we wished we had more time with Arne and Franz in Wellington. They don’t plan to live there forever so we need to come back and see them! Although we did remind them that we’ve visited them twice now ... read more

Whenever anyone wishes to travel with a vehicle from the North Island to the South Island or the other way around it requires to get involved with one of the ferry companies who dock in Wellington in the North Island and Picton on the South. Wellington is the capital city of the country and as a result is one of its largest cities. The main downtown area wraps around the harbour and provides easy access to the ferr terminal. We prefer the Bluebridge for its friendly service and cheaper rates. Picton on the South Island end is a very small community but one we really enjoy. Top quality Lecafe on the waterfront is our hang out usually. Great food, coffee and weekend entertainment. Plenty of shops to visit when strolling around. The crossing is about 3 ... read more

Its been only 5 mins since we last sent you an entry but we thought we'd take the opportunity to wrap up the South Island ... We finished up in Nelson (nice little art gallery) before heading down the coast to some of the remote parts of Marlboro Sound - Okiwi Bay, Duncan Bay, Penzance etc. All really beautiful and slow moving pace of life. Water was so clear but still a littleto chilly to have a dip - Matt desperately wants to .... From there we ventured to Havelock, the world capital for green lipped mussels!!! Oh yes i hear you say, a very prestiguos place indeed. We sampled some at Mussel Boys were the waiters are all skantlky clad young men ... only kidding! We stuffed ourselves to the gills and Philpa almost burst! ... read more

Today I did alot of driving. Last night I drove for a little while up to Timaru and tried to sleep in the back of the van....it was freezing cold, rediculously cold. In the morning it was -4 C, so it must have been in the low 20's F at night, no heater....ouch. I woke up early this morning to make sure that I caught my 6:30pm ferry. The drive was very pretty and went through mountains, forests, and over many beaches. I stopped a few times to get gas, to stretch, or to explore some of the rivers and beaches. Kaikora was very nice. I stopped there for about half an hour. The water was very blue and the beach was full of large rocks. I wish my camera had some battery life left ... read more

August 11th 2005-August 13 2005. http://www.travelblog.org/gmaps/map_iS.html *To better view these photos- click on "Full Image" I knew I couldn't let Charles leave the country without taking him to the South island. We were both south island newbies, and decided to explore together. We set out on thursday morning, after a quick breakfast, and a rather hurried and frantic rush to catch the Interislander Ferry (I somehow 'forgot' where the ferry terminal was- We barely made it...sheesh). We settled in to the Ferry and enjoyed a scenic, and sometimes bumpy 3 hour cruise to Marlborough Sounds. Our destination: The Bay of Many Coves Resort in the Queen Charlotte Sound. The ride was beautiful- we waved goodbye to Wellington City Skyline and looked ahead excitedly towards the Snow capped peaks of the kaikoura Mountains and the deepblue green ... read more