New Zealand - The Wedding

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So, the thing you need to know about New Zealand is that it’s fantastic. The people, the scenery, the purity of the air & light of the place. Within two days of being here C has picked up all the property sales mags & is busy trying to persuade M (not without a modicum of success!) that we could live here!!! Not bad for a place that we had once thought of bypassing on our big adventure.

But we’re rushing (C‘s influence - she‘s definitely a NZ fan).

We arrive at Christchurch airport after a good 3 hour Qantas flight - having been served a terrific Lamb & spinach curry with rice, peas & dhal - flavoursome or what - washed down with NZ red for M & white for C (2 each).This is all at 10 am Oz time but 12 noon NZ time!! And to top it all they bring around fresh ice cream lollies covered in lime & pineapple crust.
C half watches the in flight film with Richard Gere, One Night in Rhodanthe; pretty crap!

Customs & Immigration is quick & we are met at the airport by Penni, one of the Kiwi girl’s from the Africa trip. She has travelled down from Kaikoura on the East Coast. It’s fabulous to see her & it’s incredibly generous of her to meet us & take us to Te Anau for Evonne’s wedding (in who’s house we had stayed in Brisbane). We learn that instead of staying in Christchurch we are making our way to Lake Tekapo. Drive on Penni - in a very nice 318i BMW. It’s a good 3 hours to L Tekapo. The initial hour or so is all flat country with cattle ranches & farms (no sheep - this is lamb & hogget country!). However from Geraldine onwards the landscape gets interesting & hilly. The road side is littered, if that’s the right word, with the most beautiful multicoloured lupins. We also see many small bee farms for honey.

Lake Tekapo

Then Wow & double Wow, it’s Lake Tekapo. It’s amazing, beautiful etc etc etc; words are inadequate. The lake is large - formed by glaciers from Mount Cook with water that is awesome - light emerald green, very clear & clean yet also milky from the rock flour (dust from ground rock). There is a little Chapel (The Church of the Good Shepherd) at the top end & a Collie dog statue in bronze in honour of sheep dogs of the area. The history of the dog is somewhat dubious as it belonged to a Scottish sheep stealer & was actually killed by the authorities - so the reason for the honour is somewhat lost on us. Maybe it was a good marketing idea - as it works - everyone seems to stop to take a picture!!

We then go to our “stop over” booked by Penni - Peppers Resort. The place is the most sumptuous pad we have stayed in since the Maldives. Maybe she forgot we are unemployed backpackers now?? The accommodation is made up of 2 double en suites, both downstairs (our room in front overlooking the lake) - with a living room/dinning room/kitchen for 4 upstairs all kitted out with flat TV, fridge freezer, cookers etc . Luxury or what. To top this - she has brought a case of Moet, a bottle of which she wants to open straight away but is persuaded to wait a bit till it cools. She also has Marlborough Pinot Noir (Kakura by the Bay) - (served in St Andrews in Scotland apparently - she is a golf course manager so she should know) to add to the welcome to NZ for us. And to top it all she insists on paying for the accommodation. We are knocked out - this is some NZ hospitality. After a tour of the town, and almost getting tempted by the fab Pizza place Pepes, we decide to try the eatery at the Resort - P & C have porterhouse steak & M NZ lamb. All fantastic. We decide that NZ beef is definitely tastier than Argentinean. C finishes with a glorious Cheesecake to die for & P with a Chocolate mouse which she loved. M just watched & shared the divine cheesecake - we must get the recipe!!!! However, the waiter says no chance.

Mount Cook & Lake Pukaki

Next day it’s off to Mount Cook which is on the way to Queenstown. Unfortunately the weather isn’t great so we don’t get to see the highest mountain in NZ but the drive there is scenic and glorious along Lake Pukaki - similarly blue and pure as L Tekapo.

This is definitely a very beautiful country & C wants to emigrate here immediately. Emigrating here apparently is easier than getting into Oz - which surprised us & C is now planning the packing to get here! The country has so much to commend it, it’s surprising how some Kiwi’s are living in the UK & elsewhere?

After a good look around the informative Mount Cook information Centre, we have coffees & Hot Chocolates with floating marshmallows (for guess who) at the Mountaineers Café, which also serves up the most stacked breakfasts - scrambled eggs with bacon on ciabatta - which we regrettably pass on as it was only 11 am. We make our way to Twizel for lunch. It’s an interesting little town but very typical of NZ towns - spread out, low density with a bank, bars & eateries, news agents, clothes & souvenirs shops and loads of parking. It’s properly pronounced “Twy-zel” but C is convinced it should be renamed Twizzel as in Fizzle!

Central Otago

After some lunch, we travel to the central Otago region which is famous for it’s wines - we make a quick pitstop at a winery (The Waitiri Creek Winery) - the tasting house is an old church in a lovely setting. C has a go at $5 for 4 tastes - the Pinot Noir (the regional speciality) is the best but at $40 per bottle we decline any purchase. Then Penni stops at the site of an old Gold mine which is now a base for watersport on the Kawarau River. However, visitors can go and see the huts where the Chinese labourers lived in primitive stone & tin built houses on the hill side by the mine in the 1850s. The mine, the old office & the narrow gauge trolleys are still around. One can try a hand at panning for Gold for a fee - it’s apparently done all over the old NZ gold mine towns. What the Chinese were doing here digging for gold is anyone’s guess - & we think travelling today is a challenge!! We also stop at Arrowtown, another ex mining town but one that is still thriving today based on the tourist industry. We get some great chocolate here - definitely a must stop place for Penni & C. Not far away is the original AJ Hackett Bungy bridge where business is still brisk at $165 a jump + $85 for DVD & photo. That’s amazingly expensive for 5 seconds thrills!!

We eventually roll into Queenstown - Penni seems determined to show as much of this lovely country as she can before we get to Te Anau. It’s a beautiful place - very touristy with lots of life on the lake (for a change as most lakes we‘ve seen don‘t appear to have much activity on them surprisingly). We stop for a drink - Steinlager Pure is the beer to have or Speights which is an ale apparently. We then go to Aggy’s Fish & Chip Shack, where we get 2 Turbot (2 pieces each) & chips for $28. The batter here is slightly heavier than Oz but again still lighter than the UK. Really fantastic - eaten as a picnic by the lake. We then take off for our destination at about 7.30pm.

Te Anau

We get to Te Anau, a small town by the side of a large lake, at about 9 pm & it’s still daylight but overcast & cool. We meet up with Evonne & Greg again - it’s her family backpackers/guesthouse with 7 bedrooms that we are staying at - we also meet Linda again (another of the Africa Kiwi’s - she’s a medic in the Royal Free Hospital in London & is one of the bridesmaids). They all seem as lively and humorous as during the Arica trip; guess we’re in for a fun time. We also meet Robert, Greg’s father from Switzerland - who is a watchmaker for some fancy brand name company there, & his wife Beatrice a French woman. As might be expected the first night is fairly rowdy with lots of champagne flowing and a very excitable games of poker. M wins on a winner takes all deal!

The next evening Evonne & Anna (her friend from Brisbane) decide it would be a good thing to go for a lake dip at about 10 pm at night! Other than the fact that the water is freezing we decide they’re mad cos most lakes in the world are so polluted they could catch all sorts of things. A walk by the lake next day however, shows how wrong we are. The lake, like the country, is very, very clean. NZ definitely wears it’s green credentials on it’s heart/sleeve. It’s almost a religion & we can see why. The water in the rivers & lakes, and the air are pure & clear.

Te Anau is where one has to come to see both Milford Sound & Doubtful Sound. The town is totally dependent on tourism. As a result there are plenty of local eateries. We are surprised at how much free information there is available at the Tourist Information centre including full AA guides to NZ and regional guides. NZ are definitely the best at this anywhere in the globe.

We eat out one night - a good burger at The Ranch and then at the house another night - huge slabs of steak for very little NZ$! Both times with Robert & Beatrice which makes for interesting conversation. Chris & Michelle had tipped us off about a really good pie shop - Miles Better Pies and we try it (several times!) while we‘re there - venison, peppered steak, steak & kidney, vegetarian & seafood - all made fresh & sold out by 3 pm each day.

Milford

As we have a free day before the wedding we decide to go to Milford & cruise on the Sound - this is the place one sees a lot of in Lord of the Rings. We set off a bit lateish in Penni’s car as there’s some mix up with us going or not with Robert & his wife. The weather is cloudy/sunny and the drive spectacular. It takes about and hour & a half. We stop at Mirror Lake, The Chasm, Hollyford Valley & The Tunnel to see Keas - the only Alpine parrot in the world -apparently with a taste for car rubber trimmings!!!

We get to the Sound at lunchtime and jump on the next Red Boat for the trip. Whilst it’s overcast, its not raining - however, despite this Milford Sound is still a very impressive experience. There are loads of waterfalls along the sides & as the wind is so strong, some of them look as if they are falling off the edge upside down - not something we’ve seen before. The Sounds are majestic and the trip informative. C sees a dolphin & we all see lots of seals basking in the light on rocks. The trip lasts an hour & a ½ & it’s back to Te Anau with some more stops & loads more pictures.

Te Tipua - The Wedding

We are given a lift by Robert & Beatrice in their car to the wedding site - Evonne’s family home (the Miller Residence) - a farm in Te Tipua near Gore. It’s largely farming country with “Dairy” as they say, the main business, with sheep, cattle & a few Llama & Deer farms. We are set up in a “Spare House” 100 metres down the road in a place Alan - her father, has acquired. It has bedrooms & sleeping gear, toilet & drinking water but that’s it. But hey this is the fun of the trip into rural NZ. Alan seems to be quite an entrepreneur - he had earlier in 2008 been to China to establish a deal with a supplier of off road quad bikes & small buggy type cars which we all try out on the day after the wedding when we are allegedly recovering from the excesses of the day before. He also bought the huge marquee from there for the big day.

We iron our stuff quickly as it’s nearly time for the big event & walk down to the house where the ceremony takes place. The garden which is Ann’s (Evonne’s Mum’s) pride & joy is very impressive and mature, with lovely cosy secluded areas with gazebos etc. As it’s summer the garden is in full bloom adding to the occasion. The have put up a large marquee adjoining the garden. The wedding takes place after a slight hitch (Evonne’s dress splits at the back - emergency treatment is applied - which includes sowing together with fishing wire & pins) in the garden at 4.30 pm administered by a woman celebrant who seemed a bit severe at times. The weather is kind & the sun shines having been absent for most of the day. It’s then drinks & cocktails, followed by a sit down dinner - lamb & various trimmings & assortments, then dancing, followed by supper at about 10pm. We gave up at about 1 am but the hardy ones kept going till 4 am.

We get ourselves ready & go back with bags etc to the house to find that Penni, who we are to get a lift back to Christchurch with, is tired & under the weather - too many late nights lately, lots of booze & then dancing all night. So it’s plan B - we will stay the day, and will travel back the next day. After helping a bit with the clearing up we spend most of the day relaxing, drinking , & eating a lot of the left over food. It’s hot & Alan decides to let some of the guests who remained have a go on his new toys. It’s good fun. Various friends of the family drop by. It’s obviously a close knit community. We take the chance to email & catch up on the blog. We are put up for the night in the main house which is beautiful & still a work in progress as Alan has extended it but the extension has been a long time being finished - being a completer finisher is not apparently his forte.

After a quick breakfast the next day we set of on the drive to Christchurch. Penni is feeling much better. Linda has to catch a plane at 5.30 pm from Christchurch so it‘s all systems go. We leave at 9.30 am & drive via Dunedin (named after Edinburgh in Scotland) which seems like a beautiful town with some stunning Victorian buildings. It’s a shame our trip doesn’t allow us at least a day here. However, as we are driving through we do get to see some of the charm of the place. We hit the coastal road & at about lunch time Penni who’s driving & we believe a frustrated tourist guide, takes us to a non descript shack at the end of a lovely bay called Moeraki (near the Boulders of the same name). Inside it’s a charming eatery called Fleurs Place - Rick Stein has been here & has signed the door. We have between us Blue Cod, John Dory, Moki & Mixed seafood Fettucine which is all fantastic & fresh & for only $30 each. Fleur the owner is there & she is quite a character. We are surprised at how many people have to get turned away as they are full - it’s only Monday lunch time!

We are then into the last leg & have to get Linda to the airport on time. We get there with about ½ hour to spare but Linda makes it & we are dropped off for Matt (Lynley’s partner) to pick us up. It’s Christchurch next as the adventure continues ……………….

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