the_trip1

The Trip!

Click on each graphic to enlarge.

Well, I am home again after a month away, enjoying life to the max in New Zealand……..well, the max for
me at any rate!

I left on the 16th April, flying out on a very hot day….29 degs! The flight was perfect and NZ nicely cool
when we arrived. It was only a short drive to Masterton, which was our ‘base camp’ (everybody has to
have one of those!). We took the next day easy, with a stroll through the local park, which, clad in Autumn,
was simply beautiful. On the Sunday we went to Lake Ferry, stopping at several small towns on the way,
including the Pava (pronounced Pawa, as it took me ages to learn!) shell factory and guess who had a
lovely time buying pressies for everybody! We had fush and chups for tea at the lake and then on to
Featherstone and another lake and then home by 4pm. A bit drizzly but the waiting pumpkin soup for tea
was delicious. We then went to hear a simply wonderful organ recital at the local church and that folks, was my 61st birthday! Extremely pleasant, if a little cold!

Next day, Monday, was the beginning of a weeks trek around the North Island and we started by going to
Ekatahuna, which is the sort of blink and you miss it kind of place, but the locals have been very clever.
Apparently the Queen once stopped there for a ‘comfort stop’, so somebody has painted a Grenadier
Guard minding a couple of corgis on the front door. On the other side of the road there is painted the
Royal Coach with the Duke waiting impatiently for HM. You simply can’t miss it! Dannevirk was the next
stop, and its obviously Danish origins attracted my attention. Bought a beautiful bloodstone ring in a local
antique store. Set in rose gold it is really lovely. On to Hastings where I met (for the first time) my second
cousin Louise and her daughter Rhiannon. A really big thing for me, to meet relatives I have never seen
before, and yes, the family likeness is there! Then on to Ti Mato (tomato is easier!) Peak. Really incredible!
The peak is supposed to be the face of some Chief or other who didn’t finish all the labours he was set to
win the hand of another chief’s daughter, so he was left to die in a mountain ridge. View from the peak is
absolutely stunning! On to Clive and then to Napier. Both Hastings and Napier are beautiful art deco
cities. It is everywhere and quite lovely. Some of the architecture is amazing and the decorative pieces
everywhere are superb. We stayed at the ‘Masonic’ a really lovely art deco hotel on the waterfront. Sadly a
bit run down but that didn’t matter as imagination held full sway and made it simply beautiful. Lovely
verandahs, loads of pots with geraniums and all it needed was the music I am playing now and the ladies
in silk and gents in ties and maybe tails to bring the 20’s all back again

The next morning was simply lovely, and we had breakfast sitting in the sun. Very pleasant! Had my first
and only spiralina drink. Pureed Kiwi fruit, pineapple and banana. Absolutely gorgeous! And green! We
walked along the shorefront and skipped stones on the water. The beach is all rock and stones like some
English beaches. The gardens were lovely, statues very art deco, and I had a pleasant time taking photos!
On to Lake Taupo, where we spent the evening watching a pool competition! Quite fun really, except for
the C&W music(?)

Next morning we were off to see the Waikato river. My use of adjectives is going to become very
repetitive, I am afraid! The river is stunning! Bungy jumping off the cliffs and that is something I simply
couldn’t watch! It gives me the horrors! The river is very clear and clean and wonderfully green and blue.
We had morning tea at Cherry Island. No cherries in sight but still really lovely. Quiet, ducks, pet rabbits
and heavenly willows over the water, growing out of little blobs of earth looking like miniature islands!
Then on to a place called the Craters of the Moon. Imagine a valley where whispy smoke is blowing all
over. Quite a walk, (for me at any rate!) to get to the craters themselves. Oh yes, you can smell the sulphur
but everything is just so interesting that you simply don’t notice it after a while. And it isn’t strong at all.
The Craters are brilliant. They do look like something from another planet and are very colourful. Yellows,
greens, pinks everywhere. Beautiful! After that good long walk we drove to Rotarua where I really did
walk! The little bus thing wasn’t working so it was walking all the way. Didn’t quite see everything but
almost! And at long last I saw boiling mud! It bubbles away quite slowly, quite restful really. The Geysers
were wonderful and the landscape incredible! The most divinely blue little pools of water! There is also a
Maori village recreation, a Maori School of Carving , a wonderful display of Arts and Crafts and the
inevitable tourista shoppe where I behaved naturally and normally! My feet actually made the distance
(not without a few grumbles of course). We went to see the Bathhouse next and were going to have a picnic
tea but the midges beat us! So on to Te Puke (and I think it is pronounced tee pookee, but I am not sure)
Found a lovely little Irish(?)pub (NZ seems to have quite a few!) and had bangers and mash for tea with a
refreshing brandy. I quite forgot the feet! There was a trivia game afterwards which was great fun and we
were actually winning at one stage but the locals had the scoring rigged so that only locals could win! But
it was a good laugh!

On the Thursday we drove to Mt Maunganui. Lovely on the beach at that hour of the morning. On to
Tauronga, and lots of kiwi fruit farms and wonderful hedges, tres englais! Our next stop was the
glowworm cave at Waitomo. The cave and our Maori guide were interesting, full of Maori myth and
legend but the glowworms were fabulous. After going down into the cave , we were taken on a short barge
ride, in complete silence, to see the actual worms. They are like zillions of tiny blue lights carpeted over
the ceiling of the cave and you have to be silent so as not to disturb them. Consequently the silence and
darkness is profound and one is not even aware of somebody sitting beside you. Will stay in my mind
forever! A hot walk back up the hill and on the road again to Taumaranui, a warm motel and chili con
carne for dinner!

Friday morning we were off on a chilly and drizzly morning to Mt Raupahue and its lovely Chateau! The
mountain itself was covered in mist and incredibly beautiful, even if there was no snow to be seen. The
Chateau is very grand and elegant and just my cup of tea! Warm too! And the view from the windows! I
chickened out on the chair lift. The thought of feet dangling umpty feet above nothing in the mist was a tad
daunting! The ground is littered with crazy volcanic black rocks and outcroppings, usually covered in
snow but beautiful in their own right. Next, on to Stormy Point and the lookout and drove along the
Rangiteiki River and beautiful limestone cliffs and then a fast and long drive back to Masterton. A very
hectic 5 days!

Saturday was laundry day! And afternoon shopping for cold weather gear for the South Island! I managed
to wear the long johns once. That was more than enough! They tend to make one feel incredibly UGH!
Went to an Anzac Day Service (It commemorates Australians and New Zealanders who have died in past
wars) and the first comment I heard from the pulpit was that this was the one day of the year when New
Zealanders felt kindly toward Australians! I enjopyed the joke! Some very good music was performed and
on such a solemn day, it was not a morbid event at all and certainly not without feeling.

Home and hit the Pumpkin soup and toast for tea again them watched the telly and to bed. Sunday was
freezing cold and no sun at all but we ventured forth and drove to Castle Point. Quite beautiful, the tide
was low and everything was still and calm. A lovely drive home, tea and bed!

Monday and we are off again, this time to the South Island. We voted for a more leisurely trip this time,
even if we don’t see everything. A friend drove us to Wellington, where we embarked on the 'Santa Regina'
ferry. I had a Fabulous time taking photos. The scenery was truly breathtaking and I can’t come up with
another adjective to describe it! The water was literally like a mill pond and I was rushing from side to
side of the ship for good photos! All that training on the Manly Ferry, is what! The crossing takes three
hours and we found a terrific little lounge with only another couple in it, and when we arrived at Picton it
was cold and dark and we were both hungry so we opted to stay the night, found a motel, had a meal and
watched telly and then slept like logs!

We did not get very far the next day! We had a walk around town and bought the inevitable souvenirs and
pressies and got underway about 10.30. The roads were very winding and narrow but the scenery was
fabulous! It did rain all day but it just gave a tremendous atmosphere to the mountains and the water.
After a lot of stops for antique shops etc., etc., we finally made it to Nelson. Found a motel, walked ages to
find a good pub, the Victorian Rose, and ate well. A good day, because we had done heaps of giggling and
far too much spending of money!

The next morning, Wednesday, we were away early, around nine, lost our way getting out of Nelson. It
was very good to get out of the built up area between Nelson and Richmond and into the countryside
again. Simply beautiful in every direction. Drove down to St Arnoud, on the way through the mountains
we came across a fabulous old house called Tophouse, an old carriage stop. The view was simply
glorious! And the scones not half bad either. A sublime place to live, a fabulous old pub, huge open
hearth and I bought a wondrous pair of tie dyed socks! On to St Arnoud, and Lakes Rotoiti and Rotaroa.
Blue water is incredible, mountains and pines everywhere. And no decent loo for Miles! Then we drove
down to Murchison and down a fabulous road to Springs Junction, crossed over the Lewis Pass and
arrived in Hanmer Springs after dark. Misty, dark and Judy was a little nervous on the mountain roads,
but we got there and the Chalet we stayed in was just lovely. All Nordic pine, white and clean and very
warm and comfortable. Hamburgers in a café, and to bed!

What we couldn’t see the night before was all the Autumn colours. The trees are simply brilliant and there
are plenty of things to do here and we would have liked to stay another day, but needs must! We rated our
chalet 4 and a half stars! Hanmer Springs would be a marvellous place for the family and the athletically
minded. There is mini golf, jet boating, rafting, bungy jumping, hot springs, thermal swimming pools with
slides for kids and a theme park sort of place based on Indiana Jones. On to the Canterbury Plain and a
vast change from the mountains. The land here is very flat but ringed with the mountains. Some terrific
rocky outcrops the Maoris call Dragon Bones. They actually look like it too. Drove through Christchurch
and were thankful to get away from it too (heretics, we are!) After all the beauty and peace it was a decided
shock to be back in a city again so we buzzed through quite quickly. We found our way through another
winding and narrow mountain drive, with beautiful sunsets and down into the crater town of Akaroa. The
views are incredible and stunning and breathtaking. We stopped at a place called Deveauchelle, at the
‘Hotel des Pecheurs’. There was absolutely nothing either French or fishy about the place but attached to
the very old hotel were modern motel units, on the waterfront. We had a smashing dinner and when we
woke in the morning we had time to look around the lovely gardens and then drove into Akaroa itself for
the shopping and looking and the being of touristas! It really is a lovely spot and a very friendly town and
along with the shopping I managed to get a few more photos. I bought a Maori greenstone (or jade) ring to
add to my collection of green rings! It was lovely and sunny in Akaroa and it would have been lovely to
stay another day, but we could see the mist coming down the mountains, and that sent us scampering
before we had to drive in it! We got back over the mountains Ok but we did have to drive in heavy mist a
deal of the time, but Judy is a terrific driver! And of course the mist provided more opportunity for photo
stops! We set off and stopped at Cheviot for a bite and break but the café was not very friendly (I think we
stopped at the wrong one!) but it is a very pretty town in Autumn! Went through just around dusk. A place
called Kaikoura, which seems to be very popular for the backpacker set. Driving around and looking at the
sights instead of really looking where we were going, led us back to where we had started and a fit of the
giggles for both of us. The road to Blenhiem is along the waterfront, and the scenery again was spectacular.
The road itself seems very old with many tunnels for cars and trains seemingly straight through the cliffs.
Spectacular! It was dark when we arrived in Blenhiem and we stayed at the Bella Vista motel, went out and
had a great Indian dinner but never did find out what the bella vista was as the next morning it was
pouring with rain. In the morning we found a terrific Antique shop and spent too much money and then
went on to Picton where we caught the same ferry back to the North island again. Even though it was
raining and very cold and misty, we were very lucky in that the sea was again very smooth. I was very
lucky that I had taken my photos on the way down instead of leaving it til the home trip. Our
friend picked us up in Wellington and we came home again to Masterton where we enjoyed a Mexican
meal in a local café that had just opened. For once, the meat was properly shredded and not minced. Very
good! And they gave me the recipe for Mango da Crema, a dessert I used to make quite a lot for Mexican
dinners but had lost the recipe.

Sunday was a lovely lazy day. Local car boot sale, visit to an antique shop and pawa shop and then dinner
at Bev’s place. A lovely warm and sunny day.

Monday was a rather special . Not a nice day, very cold and windy. Went to a local Museum which turned
out to be very interesting, with a display of paintings and photographs of the old Maori from the area. I
phoned my cousin Odette who I had never met before and as she was just is the next town, 40 mins away,
she came over after dinner and we chatted and looked at old family photos and then we went to see her
daughter, my second cousin, who actually lives in Masterton. She dropped me back home, where I was
just a bit weepy! It was simply lovely to really see family I had only ever seen on photos before!

The next morning, the day before we fly out and Judy still hasn’t caught up with her friend Jackie in
Feilding (the spelling is right!), so we pack up and go there to visit, stay the night in a motel and then on to
Palmerston North in the morning. Lunch with Jackie at the airport, a terrific flight home again. A really
incredible three weeks and yet we didn't even see the Glaciers, snow, mountains and the lovely
Fiords down south of the South Island, Annd we didn't make it up to the very top of the North Island
where I believe there are wonderful rocky ocean views and a national Park. All for the next trip, methinks!

I am now home and at least the cats were very pleased to see me. They haven’t stopped purring yet!