__________________________________________________________________

Wed, Dec 2 continued----

Checked into a motel, went to dinner at a nice little pizza restaurant that could well have been the background for Mystic Pizza.  We shared a small seafood pizza, a salad and took home half for breakfast.  EK did the laundry, but we only had one 2 dollar coin for the dryer, which wasn’t quite enough to dry all the load.  We had stuff spread out all over the room to dry the rest of the way.

Thurs., Dec. 3

Morning, stuff still not totally dry, but close.  We put the jeans over the little electric room heater, as well as a few selected items while we eat our left over pizza for breakfast.  Jeans dry, we finish dressing and check out.  We decide to head for Arthur’s Pass rather than continue south to Hokitika, where we could have paid to carve on the green stone (jade) mined in the area.  we head south to the Arthur’s Pass hwy, but first stop at a little bakeshop across the street.  I ask for a mincemeat pie and 2 cappuccinos. The pie turned out to be real minced meat… like ground beef.  Oh well, it was ok, but a surprise.  Got stopped by a cop for speeding as we took off from the coffee shop.  He was about to write us up when EK told him we were retired….he immediately put away the book.  Nice.  I had been scrupulously obeying the speed limits, btw, he caught me just at the wrong instant. 

Anyway, we headed south for the turn off to the Arthur’s Pass.  Weather clear and balmy, couldn’t be nicer, but sort of windy.  The road up to the pass is very beautiful with rainforest vegetation on this side of the mountains.  We marvel at the road engineers.  We stop at convenient look outs to enjoy the views to the valleys, streams and mountains.  The rivers here are glacier feed and a brilliant cerulean blue because of the mica carried down in the water.  We stopped at Arthur’s Pass Village which is a sort of center for starting out on mountain treks.  We check with info and discovered one short trek nearby that only takes and hour or so to view the Devil’s Pool Falls.  It’s a beautiful hike up the side of the mountain,  first crossing a foot bridge viewing the stream and falls, then up a steep stepped path, then up steps, then up steep path, more stairs,and landings, and stairs and breaks to catch our breath and steep path and steps and stairs and viewing platforms (can’t see the falls, but can hear it) climb some more and then start climbing down steps, and path, and steps until we think, ‘you know, we’ve gotta climb back up this stuff just to climb down again.  We decided we were running late and better head back.  I had my cane/umbrella for added support and the knee didn’t bother much.  EK was having some breathing issues anyway and this didn’t help.  We made it back down – harder than the climb up and congratulated ourselves.  Stopped by the little store and it had the Kea mountain parrots hanging around, up close and personal.  They are neat critters, but terrible pests and very destructive.  They are known to tear up the rubber gaskets around car windows so the windows fall out.  We didn’t offer them any food. Then headed on, looking for a likely spot for lunch and end up at the Flock Hill Lodge, a nice resort in Craigieburn Valley near Cass.  We shared the tomato/veggie soup and a toasted ham/cheese sandwich with fries and salad.  I had my dark beer of course.  We stopped at a Castle Hill B&B, that was run by a fishing guide, but he was booked up so moved on, stopped next in Sheffield to check a
B&B but the lady wasn’t there.  We got a tour of the place by the neighbor and then talked to proprietor on phone and made a reservation, but as we had an hour or so to wait around, we kept on going, took the road towards Mt. Hutt and then on to Methven, which is a skiing head quarters and ended up at the Methven Resort ($90).  Decent rooms, looks to be a decent resort hotel.  Went downtown to the Blue Bar for dinner, fish n chips for EK and a chicken Caesar wrap for me, along with a draught.

 

Fri., dec. 4

We left the Methven Resort after a quick breakfast of juice and instant coffee, heading south towards Ashburton to make a loop and end up in Christchurch for 2 nights.  Stopped at a little roadside café (pronounced caff) not far out and had a real cappuccino and a couple sweet rolls to get our caffine/sugar/carb fix.  Then continues on, another beautiful day with cool shirt sleeve weather.  We drive thru mostly very flat farmland, lots of beef, sheep, and deer farms, mostly surrounded by tall hedges that somehow get pruned to shape, mountains in the distance.  We stop in Ashburton and discover there is a Lathe Museum with the world’s largest collection of decorative lathes and planes and wood samples.  Wow.  We call and make an appointment to visit.  The place is in a bizarre park, sort of like an old west stage set, but with manicured lawns, a railroad museum, and barns loaded with old steam farm tractors and implements. We met the man with the lathe exhibit.  It is exceptional,  with over a dozen antique, treadle operated decorative lathes.  A decorative lathe, not only turns regular shapes, but and incise decorative designs around a plate or bowl.  They are really works of art.  We then continue on back into Christchurch and head directly to the Orana Park Zoo, which turns out to be quite well done, with lots of African animals, set in a very natural environment.   All the critters seemed well cared for.  We saw lions, tiger, monkeys, missed the cheetah, enjoyed the meercats, and lion cubs the best.  Then headed into town tocheck into our hotel, the Chateau on the Park, done in a sort of Swiss chalet motive,  quite nicely.  We have the early bird special in the hotel, which turns out to be very good, then early bed.  EK has been developing a sinus condition, had tripped while we were wondering the zoo and now has a sore ankle and both wrists.  My knee isn’t too happy either, so we’ll be ready to rest on the long plane ride home.

Sat.  Dec.5, 2009

Our last full day.  After a kiwifruit and coffee in the room, we head out to the discount mall to see if we can find any Christmas gifts, but  stopped by a little fast food place and had a cappuccino and a sweet roll and a egg/bacon biscuit to share while we waited for the mall to open.  It was just like any mall anywhere, didn’t find a thing.  So headed back towards town, stopping by the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum on the way.  It is an impressive facility with beautifully restored and displayed planes from early flying through WWII and later.  Very nice exhibit and it was free too.  Then back into town and walked the pedestrian downtown shopping area, had lunch in a nice outdoor pub right across from the Avon River, which winds through downtown in a park like setting.  We decided to drive for a look at the beach, so headed east to Brighton, Sumner, and drove up the steep mountain road to get the incredible view of the harbor, beach, Pacific Ocean, and boats.  Wow.  Again, it has been a beautiful, clear day.  I guess we are really lucky with the weather, as many people we talk to rave about finally seeing the sun again. Then back to the hotel mid afternoon to rest up for dinner and a comedy show this evening.

 

Well, the farewell dinner was nice,  wine flowed freely, food good, and the company was excellent.  (Have I changed my opinion of traveling with a chorus of oysters?)

 

Sun, Nov 29, 2009

 

We breakfast buffet at the hotel, then walk to the botanical gardens, just across the street.  Beautiful rose gardens, all sorts of trees, nicely labeled, and an impressive conservatory with various climate controlled rooms for plants ranging from sub tropical rainforest to desert, with a special orchid exhibit.  We then  walked a couple blocks to the Budget rental place and picked up our little red Toyota  Yaris, very nice, stick shift compact. This is that super deal EK found, returning vehicles north to Picton, 3 days for $3) Drove back to hotel and had our last lunch, compliments of Bill Preach Tours, said good bye again to the few still there and headed out to Akaroa.  Weather overcast, but pleasant.  The drive starts over rolling farmland then becomes more mountainous as we get closer to the end of the Banks Peninsula.  We approach Akaroa which is a quaint town of French origins and retains the flavour, with many French accented shops.    There was a regatta going on in the chilly overcast weather, probably a dozen or so 30+ footers flying their chutes.  The little B&B, La Belle Villa, was a nice, Victorian styled home with a great rose garden.  Dinner at a small restaurant, Bully Hayes, right on the harbor, good seafood chowder.  We left before desert and coffee as a crowd of about 25 showed up and the noise level was untenable.  Wandered to the other end of the village and ended up at the local hotel for cappuccino and cake.  Back to our upstairs room for the night.

Mon, Nov 30,

Breakfast at the Akaroa B&B then head out up the coast by way of Lyttelton, a nice little shipping town, very steep streets, take the tunnel under the mountain back toward Christchurch and head up the coast to Kaikoura.  it's a beautiful drive though terrain that reminds me of North Dakota and Montana. ranch land, then back down to the coast,  the water is sort of an aqua marine shade, even with the overcast and occasional light rain all day.  We stop at a little rocky beach with rounded volcanic (light weight) stones, good sea running, lots of sea gulls and kelp in the water.  We keep our eyes open for seals, EK sees a few, but I miss them, trying to stay on my side of the road.  Mid afternoon snack of a cappuccino and cake at a neat little restaurant right on the beach called The Store.  We find a decent motel in Blenheim, complete with kitchenette and livingroom, with grocery store across the street, so shop for breakfast, get some beer (MacsBlack) and wine, apples, juice, etc., then drive back downtown and get a Turkish falafel to take back for dinner.

 

Sun. Dec. 1 2009

After a breakfast of cereal, juice and coffee in our room, we check out and hit the trail to Picton, just a short drive up the road.  Rainy again.  We do the shops in Picton, looking for a carry on back on rollers, so we can take the extra stuff that seems to be accumulating, including Murray, the Gannett.  Main street is very pedestrian oriented, most shops have their doors open and the birds and ducks seem to think it’s just fine to wander in out of the rain whenever they feel like it. The shop keepers don’t mind the birds, but the ducks are messy and many of the clerks stand guard at the door.  We then head over to the ferry terminal to turn in the car, only to find the Budget place is closed.  The other rental establishments seem to be closed or don’t have anything available.   We find a phone and call the Budget office, which answers right away, we explain the problem, saying we’re at the ferry terminal.  The lady wonders where we are as she is in the office.  ( I guess she’d been in the loo or something).  Anyway, we turned in the car, for a total of $1.88, but it took $50.60 worth of petrol to fill it up.  Our new car is a Daihatsu? something or other.  We then take the scenic drive to back to Nelson along a very twisty (nothing new here) road, weather improving a little. It’s still rainy off and on, but it’s a nice drive anyway.  We stop in the little village of Havelock for lunch at a nice marina with good views to the boats.  This place is the green shell mussel capital of the world, so we have mussel pizza and mussel pie By the time we reach Nelson, weather sunny and shirtsleeve temps.  We do a little shopping, find a new roller/carry-on bag on sale and have a Starbuck’s cappuccino, then continue on east to Richmond where we find a nice little farmstay, the Stonehurst Farm, just a klick or two of the highway, run by Suzanne and Laurence Max.  We schedule a ride in the morning. The weather is still balmy and nice and we go back into town for a Thai dinner.

Wed. Dec. 2

Overcast and threatening rain. We have cereal in the room (very nice rooms, by the way, a modern two bedroom suite with kitchenette) then walk over to the coral and saddle up for our ride, led by Soe.  I’m on Volvo and EK on Cindy. It’s fun to see the country side from a horse again.  The farm has many horses, some rescued from a gov. program exterminating a small breed on the North Island.  Really beautiful, smaller animals.  The room had a little bowel with apples and snacks, so we took apple bribes for the horses.  We ride for an hour, my knee didn’t bother, fortunately, but EKs neck wasn’t happy with the motion.  Very nice way to start the day.  The rain mostly held off, but we had heavy rain coats on just in case.  We got back, checked out and loaded up, continuing our treck to the west coast as the rains come again.  It’s still a pretty drive thru the hills and twisty roads.  We stop in Murchison for lunch, a sort of cross roads town, then on towards WestPort.  As we approach, the coast, the weather steadily improves.  We by-pass Westport and head directly to Cape Foulwind (named by Capt Cook after the weather when he found the place) to view the seal colony.  That was interesting.  The seals camouflage with the rocks so well, they are really hard to see.  After looking for a while, we found more and more,  must have been at least fifty down there sunning themselves.  Then we headed south along the windy coast drive to Pancake Rocks, and interesting natural erosion of the rocks and on to Greymouth for the night.  Debating on tomorrows route.

After saying good by to our NZ fiends we picked up a rental car (that super deal 3 days for $3) and headed for Akaroa.   Very pleasant little french town on the sea.  There was a regatta going on in the chilly overcast weather, probably a dozen or so 30+ footers flying their chutes.  The little B&B, La Belle Villa was nice, victorian styled home with great rose garden.  Dinner at a small restaurant, right on the harbor, good seafood chowder.  We left before desert and coffee as a crowd of about 25 showed up and the noise level was untenable. 

Mon, Nov 30, breakfast at the B&B then head out up the coast by way of Lyttlton, a nice little shipping town, very steep streets, take the tunnel under the mountain back toward Christchurch and head up the coast to Kaikoura.  it's a beautiful drive though terrain that reminds me of North Dakota and Montana. ranch land, then back down to the coast,  the water is sort of an aqua marine shade, even with the overcast and occasional light rain all day.  We stop at a little rocky beach with rounded volcanic (light weight) stones, good sea running, lots of sea gulls and kelp in the water.  We keep our eyes open for seals, EK sees a few, but I miss them, trying to stay on my side of the road.  Mid afternoon snake of a cappucino and cake at a neat little restaurant right on the beach called The Store.  We find a decent motel in Blenheim, complete with kitchenette and livingroom, with grocery store across the street, so shop for breakfast, get some beer (MacsBlack) and wine, apples, juice, etc.  then drive back downtown and get a turkish fellafel to take back for dinner.

 

 

Tues, Nov 24  day seven

 

Late start,  take the bus to WOW the Wearable Arts Museum, near Nelson airport.  It is wow.  Actually two private museums sharing space, one the wearable arts, has an incredible exhibit of clothing made from both cloth, other fibers and even formed wood and copper coils.  The other is a car museum with an eclectic and nostalgic collection ranging from very old to a bunch in the fifties and later.  Fun stuff.  Then on to the airport for the flight south to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park.  The weather cleared up and we had an incredible flight over the countryside and by the mountains and glaciers.  We flew, with me sitting in the cockpit jump seat, right beside mount Cook, the highest point in NZ.  We were probably within 600’ of the peak and flew around it   There was a glider soaring up there pretty close to us too.  Then on south, over Qeenstown and landing in Te Anau.  The little town is very tourist oriented as well as supporting the local farm industry.  Hotel Distinction Te Anau was OK, but nothing to rave about.  Dinner was definitely below the 4-5 star standards we have been experiencing.

 

Wed. Nov 25 – day Eight

 

We get and early start with a full breakfast at 6:30 and take the bus to boat landing at Pearl Harbor.  Boat across Lake Manapouri to the power station, which is quite an engineering feat, drilled and tunneled into the rock to take advantage of a natural elevation drop to Doubtful Sound.  Then boarded another bus to traverse a graveled road over Wilmot Pass and down to Doubtful Sound where we picked up our tour boat.  Weather today was very wet and windy, with low clouds and lots of mists.  We were lucky to have such wonderful weather for the flight down the day before.  We cruised down the sound which is really a steep fiord, wild and wonderful, with many waterfalls streaming down the adjacent mountains.  The water is very dark as the top layer is mostly fresh water and contains lots of tannens from the run-off.  The boat is very up to date and comfortable,  a few hardy souls venture outside for photos and better views, we mostly stay in.  EK’s rain jacket is pretty old and proves to be totally useless.  A replacement is way overdue.  Really a lovely trip in spite or maybe because of the weather.  Without the rain, the wonderful waterfalls wouldn’t have been nearly so numerous or spectacular.  After rounding the island at the sound entrance, we head back to the head of the sound and retrace our voyage via bus and boat to Mamapouri and the airport at Te Anau.  After some mis-communication, we board the plane and head in pretty solid IFR conditions to Queenstown at Lake Wakupitu.  Weather improves as we approach which was good as the approach could really be hairy with the surrounding mountains and valleys to negotiate.  We check in to our hotel,  the Sofitel Queenstown which is an impressive modern design.  Very slick with modern conveniences, and a TV controller that is almost beyond our ability to work.   EK tries out the whirlpool tub. A medium dinner in the hotel, but joined with some of our new friends, Tony and Sheila, Dick and Margery, Paul and Donna.  All Aussies.

 

Thurs, Nov 26  day nine

 

We have breakfast in the room (basically all meals are included in the travel package and we have a choice of in room, continental or full breakfasts)  We’d ordered it for an early start, but it was slow getting here.  Eggs Benedict, smoothie of the day, coffee, fruit, sweet rolls.  It was a nice treat.  Then onto another bus for drive up beautiful Dart River valley to village of Glenorchy.  Beautiful day.  The area has been used for many ads and movies, including many scenes from the the Lord of the Rings Series.  Area, reminds me a little of Jackson Hole, WY with wonderful rolling pastures, the glacial river, sheep and cattle, snow capped mountains in the not far distance.  In Glenorchy, we don slickers, and board a small bus to drive further up stream to our jet boat boarding point.  After a short walk in the primevil woods, that I’m sure was part of a Rings scene, we get on the jet boat for an exhilarating ride up the river, through rapids and flats, around rocks at incredible speeds, up to 40-50 mph.  We go up about 20-30 kilometers, then turn around and go all the way back down to Glenorchy which is actually on the upper end of the lakeWakatipu. Total jet boat trip:  about 55 kilometers.  Then we retrace our trip back down the valley to Queenstown, do a little shopping, looking for a rain jacket for EK and stuff for Christmas presents.  Back to the hotel for a short rest, then walk down to the lake and boat the TSS Earnslaw, a wonderful restored 1912 coal fired steamer, maybe a 120 feet in length.  Fantastic vessel with views and an accessible cat walk in the engine room.  TSS stands for Twin Screw Steam, if you were wondering.  We take the vessel up the lake for a few miles and disembark on the far side at Walter’s Peak station, a sheep ranch/restaurant.  After a fine buffet dinner, we go to the shearing shed and get a demonstration first of a working  sheep dog who worked with a combination of whistle and voice commands and eye contact with the sheep…no barking.  Very impressive.  Then we watched the shepherd shear one of the sheep.  These particular sheep throw fairly course wool and are raised for both the wool and meat,  mostly for the meat, as wool prices barely justify the effort.  Then back onto the TSS Earnslaw for a great ride home, singing the old campfire songs of that eara.  Another incredible day.

 

 

Friday, November 27, 2009,  day ten

 

After breakfast in the swank hotel dining room, we board the bus for a short ride over to the funicular and ride up 446 meters to an overlook called Bob’s Peak with fantastic views down to the city and the lake.  There were also options up there for bungee jumping and luge, but, unfortunately, they were closed, so we came back down and headed for the airport to fly to Dunedin.  This flight was pretty choppy, but not too bad.  We then got on another bus and drove into Dunedin for a quick tour of the town.  It has some nice old Victorian architecture. Then a nice lunch at a substitute restaurant.  I’ve been enjoying the dark local brew called Black Mac.    Visited a fine old home of a local Jewish merchant, David Theomin, called Olveston House… very dark, with heavy oak trims and dark hand block wall coverings.  It was well preserved from the very early 1900s.  We then bus back to the airport and find the plane decorated with balloons and crepe paper (on the inside) as this is our last flight.  Jody hands out champagne and we all toast the crew and a great trip.  We fly across a barren, high plateau which also had scenes from Rings filmed on it.  Landing at Christchurch (named after the school at Cambridge), we find the wind is howling at least 35 knots, I guess.  Sort of a bumpy approach, reminding me of some of the landing I’ve made in 77W.  We check into The George, which is a truly fine hotel.  Very modern interiors.  The rooms include such niceties as towel warmers, heated bathroom floors, programmable lighting, etc.  We dine in the upper crust dining room using the “middle” menu.  Dinner is extraordinary, creative, beautifully presented and delicious.  Only $240 for the two of us.  (I skipped the wine, but did have a couple beers).  There is a nice very large public park just across the street and the Avon River.  A major free Christmas performance was being rehearsed for tomorrow night, so we strolled and listened to the music for our after dinner exercise.

 

Sat. Nov 28,  day eleven, our last full day with the tour.

 

Started with a leisurely breakfast buffet in the hotel. Then took a cab to a local mall to check on EKs camera, which quit working yesterday.  It’s a nice Cannon too, that’s only a couple years old.  Anyway,  turns out the sensor inside the lens was fried, so bought a new one,  nice, but didn’t need the expense.  Then stopped by a nearby pharmacy for EK to pick up something, walked a few blocks and caught a cab to the car rental place. When we arrived, we discovered we’d left the camera stuff in the drug store.  So, after making car arrangements, took the cab back to the mall, got the stuff, then cabbd back to downtown again.  We visited the art museum which is housed in a beautiful, new glass and stone building, with a good collection.  Then hopped the tram for a circle of the downtown historic area,  very nice, stopped near the cathedral and EK found a good rain jacket to replace her leaky one.  Hopefully, we won’t be needing it anymore.  We have now sort of solidified our plans for the remainder of the trip.  Got the plane reservations changed so we’ll fly from Christchurch to Auckland to catch our flight home on  the 6^th.  We keep the rental car deal EK had arranged ($3.00 for 3 days with a drop of in Picton) so will use that to go from here to Akoroa tomorrow, spend the night in a little B&B, then mosey up the coast towards Picton.  We’ll then get another rental and head over to the west coast (mountainous) and south  along the coast then back over Arthur’s Pass and end up back here in Christchurch.

Tonight we’ll have our farewell bash/dinner here at the George hotel.  I have to admit that it has been fun and entertaining traveling with this bunch of Aussies. 

Wed, Nov 18 cont.

 

Met in lobby of Hilton at 7 for our first look at fellow travelers.  We’re among the youngest in the group, I think.  Most are from Australia, one couple from Tasmania, one, from Wash, DC.  Total 31 in the group.  We then walk over to the Harbor side Restaurant in the Ferry Building, about 3 blocks, in chilly conditions.  We hadn’t planned on being outside and EK was shivering, even with my jacket.  The dinner was very nice and the wine kept coming.  Walk back to hotel was even colder.  The hotel is stark modern, white on white mostly, with great views of the harbor, ferries, and shipping activities.

 

Thurs. Nov. 19

Breakfast in Whites, with good buffet.  The coffee is nice and strong.  Then walk to Maritime Museum at head of the Quay, which was quite fascinating and had a series of incredible ship models, from old square riggers to steam ships and freighters.  Also models and exhibits of Maori canoes.  Then walk to the ferry for the ride across harbor to Waiheke Island (Y-hickey) hop the bus for a tour.  Beautiful, hilly with steep narrow roads.  Lots of holiday housing as well as commuters now the ferry service is so quick and easy.  The little original bungalows are referred to as batches, for bachelor pad.  More recent construction is larger up to contemporary mansions.  We noticed a few really stunning, modern glass homes on tops of the mountains with views that must be truly awesome.  Then up to a charming vineyard for lunch of cold plate smoked salmon, oysters, etc.  A glass of the local wine was $18.  My jaded taste buds said it was ok.  Then back to the pier and onto a pair of 50’ racer/cruiser sailboats.  The wind was blowing about 20-22, right on the nose.  I was able to drive a good portion of the way with very able crew trimming the sails.  We managed to out point and tack the other boat all the way home.  

 We got back, relaxed and dined at Whites in the Hotel with the rest of our group.

We are traveling with a chorus of oysters.  We are among the youngest in the group.  The other American couple, J and L Muhlhauser, are younger.  I’d guess most people are in mid 70s & 80s, but mostly pretty spry and sharp.

 

Fri  Nov. 20

 

We get an early start and bus to the plane,  bus breaks down on way to airport, but second bus shows up in less than 15 min.  Lucky location, I guess.  The Dash 8 is in good condition. We fly with door to cockpit open so we can visit with the crew and look out the front from time to time too.  Cloud cover is heavy on way up to KeriKeri and the Bay of Islands, so don’t see much on way.  Land we do see reminds me of Ireland, with green rolling hills,  little white dots of sheep.  Transfer by bus to Russell,  lunch in the quaint little town, then onto a head boat for trip up to Cape Brett and a visit to Hole in the Rock.  Beautiful weather, light breeze, temp around 19.  Saw a couple large pods of bottle nose dolphin on way, just messing around.  It’s really a beautiful area,  I gather the fishing is outstanding too.  We see the hole in rock and drive through it, then head back with a stop at former home of Zane Gray, the author, and hike up the hill for a glimpse of the view.  Back towards Russell, and get dropped at our hotel, the Copthorne Bay of Islands Hotel.  Reminded me a little of the old Kiawah Inn.  About that era and feel,  very nice grounds, but sort of out dated facilities.  B B Q on patio for dinner is good, but temperature drops and it really got pretty chilly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat. Nov. 21

 

Bus back to airport at KeriKeri and fly down to Rotorua which is in heart of some active volcanic action, with lots of steam vents, bubbling mud pools, geysers, etc. and a pervasive sulfur smell. Visit to the old Spa, a Tudor styled half timber structure from the turn of the century,  now a museum of the area and the buildings’ former use as a health spa with curative baths.  Then drive up to Wai-O-Tapu thermal park and wonder the sulfurous area,  interesting.  Check into our hotel, the Duxton Okawa Bay Hotel, Rotorua, which is very nice, white sort of Victorian styled place on the lake with black swans, geese, ducks.  Evening entertainment includes greeting by Maori troop and a musical presentation prior to dinner. (Maori Hangi at Mitai.)

 

Sun.  Nov 22

 

After good breakfast buffet, we bus back to plane and fly over to Napier in Hawks Bay.  Weather is really over cast with low ceilings so don’t see a thing on the way.  Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt with many Art Deco styled buildings, which are now being preserved.  It’s nice, but not as good as South Beach in Miami.  We then head south by little 4 wheel drive buses to Cape Kidnappers.  Stunning countryside with mix of steep rolling hills, grazing areas and trees.  Lots of sheep and cattle.  It is also home to a very high end golf resort and completely surrounded by an electrified fine mesh fence to keep out predators.  Numerous traps were noticed around the area.  It is now a wild life preserve and KIWI birds are being introduced so they can reestablish, as well as many other bird types that have trouble with introduced predators, not native to NZ.  We end up out on point at the Gannet colony which is fascinating to watch.  EK got some video of them..Hundreds of the birds nest here, mate and hatch their eggs.  A freeze ruined the first round, but they are in process of trying again.  I few eggs were noticed in the nests, but no chicks yet.   A nice lunch of cheeses, fruits, wine at the little house that runs the tour buses. At the little gift shop, EK found a great carved wooden gannet for only $25nz which we bought and named Morris after the maligned driver of the other bus.  Then back to plane for flight to Wellington.  Weather improved so we fly at 3000’ and have great views of the countryside,  some of which was used in Lord of the Rings.  We flew over Peter Jackson’s home/estate, complete with mote (producer of Lord of the Rings)  Again, the country side reminds me of Ireland. Check into the Wellington Intercontinental, then walk the immediate downtown area of the harbor.  Really neat boat club facility with racks and racks of shells.  Then a quick walk thru of the Te Papa museum.  Very impressive, with lots of great art, Maori exhibits and NZ history.  Worth more than the 1 hour we had.  Dinner with our DC friends, the Muhlhausers at Pier 5, excellent seafood meal.  We just did the appetizers and still had more than we could eat.  The preparations and presentations were really great.  Stuff is not cheap here, even with a fairly favorable exchange rate.  That dinner, for two, ran about $180 NZ.

 

 

Mon. 23^rd

 

After tour of Wellington, drive up to top of mountain for view of city, ride cable car up to botanical gardens, but no time to really look at them,  brief visit to very nice rose garden donated to city by a patron we bus to airport and fly to Nelson, across the Tasman Bay on the South Island.  I get to ride the last of the trip in the jump seat w/ the pilots.  Happy Happy.  We then bus around Nelson to get a fell for the lay of the land. The sound and islands in the bay are really nice and would be great cruising grounds.  Even with the 3+ meter tides here.  We visit the Hoglund glass works –ho hum, but good and expensive stuff.  Lunch at a nice local winery  Waimea, which makes and amazing variety of wines.  We sampled several with a lunch of cheese, bread, cold cuts.  Then more touring around and check into our hotel, the Rutherford.  We wander the local downtown, but not much of interest.  Dinner at the hotel.  We each have the Entrée (appetizer) of seafood chowder, which is large and exceptionally nice.  I’m feeling like we’re rushed a little too much and sort of herded along.  It’s a good way to get an overview of the country, but I don’t think we’ll try this type of travel again.

New  Zealand trip

EK bid and got a Bill PeachJourneys 12 day airtour of New Zealand.

 

The tour sent us luggage, as they have a small (Dash 8) aircraft, weight is critical and we’re limited to 22# in large bag and 6.6 # in day pack.  (10 kg & 3 kg).  We spent several days hoping on and off the scale, trying to get our weight within the allowances.  Finally made it, but then picked up more travel brochures, so may have to leave some along the way.

 

Sunday  Nov. 15, 2009

 

Left the lake and headed for Atlanta and Laura’s about 10, arrived in time to take L to lunch at a neat little converted gas station in Decatur.  Then back to the house for a bit,  looked at some of her books… stairs are now impassable because of books stacked.  Dining room is full, with small pathway around perimeter.  On to airport.  Laura graciously will keep our car for us, saving on parking fees.  Board the DL125 4:15 flight to LA.  Arrive there about 6:15, and walk across airport to terminal 2 for the NewZealand Air flight at 9:15.  It’s a full 747.  NZ Air is nice, decent food, tons of movies, music, etc to watch in flight which takes a little over 12 hours.  We cross the date line close to NZ and land at 6:00 a.m. on Tues the 17^th.

 

Tues, Nov 17

Check into Aukland Hilton in Prince pier in CBD after being met by Tour arrange cab.  Room won’t be ready until 1 or so, so we wander the area,  check out the Americas Cup marina and sailboats,  grab a capacino, seafood stew for lunch, walk a few blocks down to Queen street shopping area, but try to take it easy on my sore, torn meniscus.  We get in the room and sack out for a short nap and sleep on through until Wed. morning.

 

Wed., Nov 18

Wonder the Queen Street shopping district,  grab a fine breakfast of McDonald’s Egg McM, the go across to wharf and catch the ferry across the harbor to Devonport, a quaint touresty little suburb.  Weather is cool (15C) windy and scattered showers.  The ferry landing is lined with little shops and an inexpensive internet café so we send a couple emails.  The library has a free Wi-Fi hot spot so we use the notebook to check incoming e-mails.  Can’t seem to make it work right to send though.  The library is in a pretty little park, right on the water, with a huge strangler fig tree – maybe 30’ diameter…bigger than the ones we saw in the Amazon.  Then walked up the hill to a nice little restaurant, the Angkor (nothing I could discern relating to the temples, except on faded photo stuck to the wall).  Then down the hill, stopped by a hardware store and bought an umbrella/cane.  Viewed a few art shops and wandered back to the ferry landing and caught a ride back to the city.  We then took a bus a few miles down the harbor to the Kelly Tarleton Undersea World Exhibit which is housed in an old sewage treatment plant.  One of the best adaptive uses I’ve ever run across.  The exhibit sports a lot of history and memorabilia of the Antartic explorations,  a large penguin area with real snow (about 70 birds), and large fish tanks, with a clear plex tunnel running through for the spectators.  They also had a sting ray feeding exhibit and many sharks as well as all the indigenous fish one can imagine.  We then caught the free bus (complete with shark mouth motif) back to downtown.

We've been packing... and repacking..and weighing.  After pairing down, deciding to wear clothes with lots of pockets, we're now just under the 22 lbs each for checked bags and 6.61 lbs for our carry ons, including cameras and purses.  Still have to add a couple tour guide books and a couple maps to the load, but it will fit and we even found space for the notebook computer.  I'm leaving my camera, and just using the one on my phone. It has good resolution.  Got an 8 MG SD card for EK's camera, so we'll not be able to take enough shots.

 

My knee is still hurting, but no so constantly or badly.  Doc said he thinks it's a torn meniscus, so had an MRI yesterday.  Interesting, noisy machine, tailored to just do knees, I think.  But I had to hold perfectly still for 40 minutes or so.  Will see the Doc again Fri. morning for definitive diagnosis and probable cortisone shot in the knee, which should relieve the pain for the duration.  Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

 

We've been plotting out the remainder of the trip, following the Air-Tour, which ends in Christchurch, on the south island.  We'll spend the first night at a B&B in the little coastal town of Akaroa, which was founded by French settlers and apparently has more charm than one can imagine.  Then we drive up to Picton to catch the ferry.  This is a 6 to 10 hour drive, depending on our routing,  will  probably go over Arthur's Pass, the Trans-Alpine Express route and spend the night somewhere on the east coast, then on to Picton the next day, take a ferry across to Wellington on the north island, mess around there for a day and get another rental to drive north to Auckland viaLake Taupo.  We'll just see how it goes and wing it.  Looks like the weather there should be pretty nice,  spring time with highs in the mid 60's.

Here's a cool fly-by of Aukland area.

mms://ac1.streaming.net.nz/metservice/auckland_hi.wmv

Subject: countdown to NZ

OK, nine days to wheels up!  I'm still nursing a bum knee, torn medial collateral ligament.  Went to a Doc in a Box yesterday, he confirmed my diagnosis, but wanted a second opinion of an orthopedist.  He did a referral and gave me an immobilizing strap-on appliance.  The referral got lost in the paper shuffle and I didn't get an appointment until I called back to find out what's going on... I now have an appointment Monday with a specialist.  We'll see.  Hope I'm more mobile in 9 days.  I can just imagine the long hikes in airports.  Maybe I could hook rides on those HC carts with the beepers.  Anyway,  I learned that international driving licenses are preferred for rental cars over seas, so drove to the AAA in Greenville yesterday, after stopping by a drugstore to get a couple 2x2 passport photos.  That office is really nice. very friendly and accommodating.  Got my license with no hassle ($15) and picked up a nice guide book on NZ as well.  You go AAA, I had no idea they offered so many services, thought it was just trip-ticks and emergency towing services.

 

The special Luggage from our tour provider, Bill Peach Journeys showed up the other day.  A carry-on and a back-pack/satchel for each of us.  It's very light weight and folds flat.  We are limited to 22 lbs in the carry-on and 6 in the pack pack.  This may prove to be a challenge, but I think it'll work fine.  The good thing is we won't have to check any baggage,  but how do I get to carry my trusty Swiss Army Knife?  Guess it'll have to stay home.  Traveling light has always been one of my goals anyway.  The things that may push the weight limits are the tech stuff and books.  We'll see how we do.  EK packed her own small bag for a trip to Chas the other day and it came in at 24 lbs, mostly tennis stuff there, but still 4 days worth.  We'll do some trial packing in the next few days to see how close we really are.  I've wanted a decent set of light weight compact binoculars for a while and found a nice Olympus pair on eBay.  They should fit in just fine.  But, when we add the notebook computer, gps, etc. who knows where we'll be.

 

Later.

TK

Just 12 days 'til wheel up and we head to our tour of New Zealand.  This should be great.  EK bid on a 12 day air cruise package, via private aircraft, to hit the high spots of the country.  Then we unwind by driving ourselves from the South Island on up to the North Island and Auckland.  Got our flue shots the other day.  Now all I need to do is get my knee healed quickly (pulled the medial collateral ligament in my left knee).