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Published: March 8th 2006
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We have become more than a little remiss in our blog entries of late. If there is anybody out there still reading who has missed our ramblings in any way, we do apologise. To try and make ammends, we have squashed lots into this address, you may need to seek nourishment half way through to sustain you to the very end.
Where to begin? We have been struck from our early days in New Zealand about how very much there is to do, and how there is no way we will have time for it all. We have tried to remedy this a little by adding an extra week to our time here, which sadly means only a fortnight in Sydney, but our life over the last 5 months has been nothing but tough decision after tough decision (Shall we go to the beach? Should we go to the mountains? Where should we eat out tonight? What uncomfortable animal should we try and ride next . . . )
Shaking Steven. Napier, North Island. After Rotorua, our next major stop has been the town of Napier. In 1931 this small coastal town was hit by an earthquake (7.8 on
the Richter scale) that destroyed almost all buildings and many lives (with a little help from the fires that rampaged in its wake). In the next couple of years the whole town was rebuilt in the architectural vogue of the time - Art Deco (thank goodness it wasn't the 1970s! Clare can you imagine, a whole town looking like the Aylesbury Estate!). Visiting the place now is a real step back in time. We took an Art Deco Architecture tour (how very middleaged I hear you cry) one sunny day and were transported back to those days. Our tourguide's father-in-law was a doctor living and working in Napier on the day of the earthquake. He was fetched by a local whose elderly mother was trapped in the rubble of the local church. Several men couldn't lift the beams that pinned her. The doctor administered a lethal dose of morphine that sent her to sleep before the fire reached the building. This fateful day has really put Napier on the map, every year for one weekend townsfolk revert to the 1930's era for picnics, dancing and live music. I was quite sad to hear we had only missed this event by
Wine Tour, Renwick
Take those bikes away and we would fall over. a day or two, while Steve breathed a heavy sigh of relief (Damn. Was looking forward to dusting off some rusting lindyhop moves and getting S into spats).
Marlborough Man (and Woman). Renwick, South Island. A sign on our way to Renwick, Marlborough announced 'Accommodation, Restaurant and Winery'. Talk about meeting all needs in one fell swoop. We stayed at a friendly hostel and everyone was there for the same reason - to try and drink as much free booze as possible while still staying in control of your bicycle. Marlborough is well known for its vineyards. Sunny, heat hazed days and cool nights create the perfect conditions for the Sauvingnon Blanc, Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs the area is famed for. On our map there were at least 20 vineyards within a couple of miles radius, and most of them offer free tastings at the cellar door. We started with one of the most famous - Cloudy Bay - and continued an increasingly wobbly route around another five or so. At each place the amount you could tried was pretty limitless (usually there were up to 8 or 9 wines open for tasting) though you were only poured
Sperm Whale
going down... an inch or so of each. I was all up for winging it and agreeing with the sommelier on the liqourice tones of the red and the caramel sweetness of the white. Steve was a little more reserved and declared almost every one to be 'quite nice', 'nice' or 'very nice'. Move him on to more preferred tipples (close friends will know this to be Nesquick, Ribena and Brandy Alexanders) and I am sure he would have been a little more effusive. He did brighten up whenever we got to the bubbly section of the menu. The fizzy ones were universally 'very nice', and were usually priced at around 10 quid a bottle. Makes you realise the great champagne swindle that has us happily shelling out at least double this for very similar plonk at every celebration. After a couple of hours of supping on empty stomach our cellar crawl turned into a smoothie/enormous cakes/cuppa tea crawl. We ended on a most happy note - cycling by chance past a chocolate factory with FREE TASTINGS!!!!! As you may imagine I was in there like a shot and bought my own body weight of Macadamia Butter Toffee Brittle (think the most
Siren...
Birthday Boy, Kaikora buttery delicious dime bar ever).
Ageing in good company. Kaikoura, South Island. Steve's 31st birthday was celebrated in the usual time honoured fashion - spermwhale watching (with a few dusky dolphins thrown in for good measure). Beats a night out at the local pub quiz. The sperm whales were a little more forthcoming than the rhinos - we managed to see two, though without the help of an elephant this time. The afternoon was spent zooming around on a catermeran trying to get to the beasts before they headed back down deep. After a few minutes on the surface the first whale sunk without trace, and sadly with no moneyshot (in whale terms this is the sight of the tail as they start their descent). Luckily, the second one was more of a crowd pleaser and gave us all ample opportunity to admire his flukes as he went down. The dusky dophins were far more flirtatous with their public (and apparently with each other, they are one of the most promiscuous mammals) entertaining us, and the people swimming with them with airborne backflips and endless somersaults. The day was ended with a bottle of cool Miru Miru (Maori for
bubbles, not that far removed from Lanson) purchased from our earlier wine tour and a packet of Toffee Pops. Let noone say I don't know how to treat my man.
Marlborough Man (and Woman) Mark 2. This time with steeds. Hawarden, South Island. A big thankyou to Emma (Wreyford) for her fabulous honeymoon gift. We had so many generous donations from friends and family but she was the only person to actually arrange an experience for us. So Alpine Safari on horseback we did go. We had a great day (very sunny and very windy but horses of the unspookable variety so we were okay) riding out into the wild open plains. Our ride took place over the land of a working cattle, sheep and deer ranch, so completely unhindered by roads or traffic. Awesome vistas. Willing horses. One of our party took a tumble but he was a large man in his 50's, unfortunately first time on a horse. I take some comfort in the knowledge that he will be aching more than me, but 2 days later and I still have a few twinges in the old back, Steve got his in the calves. But despite the
Mt Cook
(was somewhere nearby) extreme pain it was a great experience and all thanks to you. Cheers me dears, and here's some photos to prove it.
Other stops have included Wellington (very windy) Christchurch (very wet), Arthur's Pass (very cold) and Mount Cook (windy, wet and very cold). All these places deserve far more of a mention but there simply isn't time to tell it all. We have another ten days before we fly onto Sydney, so more to follow.
Thankyou to anyone who has added comments to our blog. We love to hear from you, so if you haven't pipped up yet, don't be shy, there is still time. Goodluck to Sujana, hope the 'kicking little monkey' makes a safe arrival anytime soon. And of course Clare, we can't wait to meet the new arrival to the Burns/Adam household when we get home. Love to all of you still bored-enough-at-work to still be reading. We are looking forward to catching up with you all soon (ish). M x
The rest of the pics . . .
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David
non-member comment
Happy Birthday Steve
It's not that I forgot it's just there's been nowhere to post it!