27/02/09
we get up relatively early for most of us ( tony not included) and head off to the airport
we stock up with additional antibiotics for stella if the current ones arent working
off we fly to Christchurch
first minor problem is encountered when Lindsey leaves the duty free wine at customs and we dont discover this until after we have left customs
had to retrieve them from a special window
apparently set up for such events
this is most a unHyde like activity
We pick up the car and head down to Akaroa about 90 mins on the coast, a lovely french english village - the english arrived 2 days before the french and set up their flag - but they only knew about it because the french had told them thats where they were going and they got caught in a storm which the brits managed to avoid!
we had booked into a B and B - garthowen http://www.garthowen.co.nz
it was a good indication of the level of accommodation that we had managed to book the previous weekend.
we headed off to tea at Ma Maison - akaroa salmon , pork hocks and steak with a good amount of nice NZ booze
28/02/09
we had a full cooked breakfast the next day before heading off to the small shopping centre where stella discovers the only camels we found on the trip - they were duly purchased
we headed off on a boat trip for the arvo - to look at hector dolphins and seals.
the weather managed to behave during the trip but deteriorated later after we had had dinner - the worse storm in two years - ian and i slept through it!
As usual we had booked the accommodation at the last minute - mainly through our reliable wotif but hadnt realized that there 3 weddings the weekend we had chosen to visit this small hamlet of akaroa - garthowen only had one room available on the second night so they put up ian and me in their spare room - not usually rented out and it was well and truely sound proofed with no window and at the bottom and the back of the house - hence the reason for us not hearing the storm
01/03/09
The weather improved the next morning and we set off looking for the summit road - the views were wonderful - see picassa album but we almost lost tony in the wind
back to chrishchurch airport
this occasioned the next minor hiccup - ian had taken the garthowen bedroom key - so he put it in a post bag and posted it back
boarding the plane was interesting - invercargill is obviously considered a low risk destination , and for the second time in my life i boarded with no security check once on board they told us they would in due course do the safefy check and then proceeded to inform us that they may need to cancel the flight due to safety concerns regarding the wind - however the propellers started to turn - yes it was a smaller plane but not a baby plane and we proceded to go to the runway - but no safety procedures were went through - so we were flying off to invercargill into a high risk flight with no safety check !!!
the flight seemed to go over the sea rather than the usual inland route as per the airline book and it was very smooth
stella was met by a wheel chair and we went off to locate the car - a toyota diesel prado this time - fitted us in well with all our luggage although stella and tony managed to travel with only one case between them - ian and i could never do that!
invercargill decided to show us that it could rain in NZ
tea was at the local seafood restaurant - probably the only average meal we had for the entire trip
02/03/09
the next morning we set off for bluff - oyster season started yesterday and bluff is where they land from the boats - well we couldnt miss that could we
the seas were too rough for the boats to go out that day , so we feasted for morning tea on day old oysters - wonderful
today we lost trust in our GPs - a depressed melancholic woman we were heading back to invercargill from bluff when she detoured us onto a dirt road - only to put us back onto our main road after about 10 mins - with me abusing her and telling her that she was stupid - probably didnt help her depression but reminiscent of jim telling katie off in the uk
once back at invercargill we started off for te anau where we were staying that night
we chose the southern scenic route http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/default.asp
the rain managed to settle as we drove along and we pulled in at tuatapere - the sausage capital of the world for lunch at the pub - i chose the sausage pie
we stopped off at the borland nature walk for a wander leaving stella in the car looking after her ankle
te anau continued to supply us with sunshine and we pottered around the small souvenir shops
tea was at the hotel restaurant - venison for me on this occasion
03/03/09
We had booked an overnight cruise on the milford sound this evening but it was cancelled on short notice so we changed to the 3 hour cruise instead with a bbq lunch- was the right move milford has sunshine for 9 days per year and we got one of them
http://www.redboats.co.nz/milford-sound-cruises/869/Discover+Milford+Sound.aspx
the views were once again spectacular we were bathed in sunshine and managed to get stella onto the top deck so that she could enjoy all the views
we returned to te anau stopping along the way to look at views etc
dinner that night was from the local chinese food shop - not bad especially the sweat and sour fish
04/03/09
the next morning we set off for queenstown both ian and i like queenstown it has yet again wonderful views and a Mediterranean food market which ians drools over
we were temporarily diverted by the kingston flyer steam train before heading to queenstown it self
Tonys friend barry had recommended the road to glenorchy so we set off - found the pub for lunch - peas pie pud for tony and me
we will go back for walking another time too much to do and not enough time - met one couple who had spent 8 weeks in NZ and still hadnt had enough time to do all that they wanted to do
lovely steak for tea cooked by ian and use was also made of the washing machine and dryer
05/03/09
off to the lake for a steam boat trip for the morning - TSS Earnslaw http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/TSSEarnslaw_WP/
once again the good weather god was smiling down upon us - managed to get stella outside again to enjoy the views
tony and i managed to enjoy a beer as well
lunch at one of the wharf restaurants sitting out in the sun
arrowtown was on the agenda for the afternoon an icecream for stella and me coffees for tony and ian
akaroa salmon cooked by ian for tea
06/03/09
today was our longest trip - heading off to the glaciers via haast and today it showed us that it could rain in new zealand we saw water falls galore coming down from the mountains coming down next to the road and spraying over the road wonderful
we stopped at haast pub for lunch we had previously stayed there for the night - when we went with the kids and had a reasonable meal
we were advised that there may be a wait - we were prepared for that but not for the bus of 40 people who arrived about 15 mins later and then were served prior to us about an hour later we complained the next couple complained but little was done
finally stellas ploughmans arrived sans cheese- whats this i asked - a ploughmans i was told wheres the cheese i asked - "shit" was the response and the plate was removed to later come back with quite nice cheeses tony and i had another pie pud - not quite as nice as the glenorchy ones but not bad and ian had a wonderful seafood chowder
the torrential rain continued almost til we reached the fox glacier
we were able to drive up the road this time - last year it had been washed out with over 400mm of rain in one day!
glenfern view villas for the night and tea in a local cafe - served by an argentinian
traveller
07/03/09
thought we were in for rain again to day as we headed off to hokitika but it held off most of the day
the scenery changed to more farming rather than spectacular mountains
we went on a baby paddle boat at hokitika and found white herons for tony
Rimu lodge was tonights accommodation
http://www.rimulodge.co.nz/
came with the family dog - deesha liked to sit on peoples knees in the evening - to make them feel at home stella was especially favoured
tea at a restaurant overlooking the sea - seafood platters for ian and i - wonderful
ian decided to try and drive off with the key again - but was stopped by the owner who realised what he was trying to do - key was duely handed over
08/03/09
our last full day - we headed back to christchurch for the night through arthurs pass
stopped to watch the tranzscenic train - it hooted us as it went passed to say hello
stopped to look at waterfalls - were welcomed by 2 kea birds - one sitting on the car roof quite reluctant to get off even when we tried to drive off
the sunshine welcomed us on the other side of arthurs pass and we drove down to christchurch able to let stella and tony enjoy the views
we checked into huntley house wonderful accommodation to complete our trip - found on wotif again so about 60% of its usual price
ian did himself really well with the accommodation
we lunched in a cafe next to the avon river in the centre of christchurch and then went to explore the catherdral and shops
dinner was back at huntley house - steak with cheese to follow again washed down by NZ wines
09/03/09
up at 4am to get to the airport by 5am - stella had a wheel chair provided and full attention from the pacific blue airline staff couldnt fault them
a smooth flight back to melbourne where christian met us
think we all had a wonderful time
next time frannie and jim can come i think- ian and i want to go back again to explore some more
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