Paul and Jean's Blog

New Zealand South Island (Final)

2007-05-30T13:38:00.000+10:00

THE WASHUP

A fantastic trip that is recommended for golfers and non golfers alike. Golfers can experience fantastic courses all providing stunning views and a variety of challenges. Just remember to give Balmacewen in Dunedin the beer & sars - there are plenty of other good courses to play over there.

The scenery really is special and rates up there with Western Canada and The Rockies. One gobsmacking view after another.

We thought that dining out at night generally gave good choices though the cost on occasions was higher than expected. Stay away from Korean and Mexican restaurants and eat up on the fantastic lamb every opportunity you get. Lots of variety in the local beers and all the ones we tasted were to an acceptable standard. Australian wines were plentiful and reasonably priced. NZ pinot noir is plentiful but not cheap.

Don't get a big hire car if there is only the two of you - the little ones fit better on the narrow winding roads. Watch out for the crazy local drivers and travel the scenic routes wherever possible rather than sticking to the highways.

Make sure either the hire car company or your tour operator give you a reasonably detailed map and accurate directions to your particular destinations. Otherwise be prepared to be hornswaggled.

We found the local people everywhere we went to be very friendly and helpful (increasing the further south you go).

Don't miss it! It really is a great trip.

Paul & Jean
2007

New Zealand South Island (Day 16)

2007-05-30T07:49:00.000+10:00

DAY 16 CHRISTCHURCH TO MACKAY SUNDAY 18.2.07

The final day and a pretty lazy one planned. Packed, checked out and headed into the city for a look at the city sights. For a Sunday morning the place was packed. Parking was nearly impossible and people were everywhere. After a lengthy search eventually found a park just over the road from a trendy little place serving late breakfast. Best breakkie of the trip.

Went for a walk down to the inner city for a mervyn . Crossed over the Avon with the tourists punting along under the bridge and on to Victoria Square.

(Punting on the Avon River)

(Avon River)

(Queen Victoria Statue - Victoria Square)

A trip to the souvenir shop for some last minute gifts & it was time to try and find where we had parked the car and head on out to the airport. With the car safely returned and the baggage checked in we headed to the duty free to puchase the compulsory alcohol limits and then went to grab some refreshments to carry us through the trip home. What a hopeless arrangement this is for an international airport. Only one place to get food & drink, queues of 50 people either side, insufficient tables and chairs and food that would choke an emu. Lucky G&T comes in tins.

Then back on the big silver bird for a relatively comfortable and uneventful trip back home.

New Zealand South Island (Day 15)

2007-05-29T21:29:00.000+10:00

DAY 15 CHRISTCHURCH SATURDAY 17.2.07

(

(Entry Drive Clearwater Resort)

Clearwater Resort - the home of the NZ PGA. Aptly named - the spring fed lakes are crystal clear. We had never seen water as clear and, unfortunately for me, pretty bloody plentiful around the course. Designed by Bob Charles and Bob Derby, this 6526m (tiger blocks) is a true championship course featuring rough you could hide a car in (which was no doubt grown that much longer for the PGA to be played a fortnight later).

There aren't many easy holes here. It requires accurate hitting due to the tight rough (velcro) around the greens, the tiger country rough bordering the fairways and a splash of water on about 15 of the holes. Having safely negotiated these obstacles, the greens are diabolical with breaks and speeds beyond comprehension on occasions. A four put double bogey for me was a clear indication of the problems I suffered with the greens. A truly magnificient golfing experience that saw me reach a century before lunch. Jean pars the last to beat me by one & square up the trip 3 all. Course rating: a really tough but enjoyable course. A must play in the South Island. We rated it a 9 out of 10.

Visit: www.clearwaternz.com

(Clearwater Accommodation & Housing)

(18th Hole Clearwater)

Back then to our motel to be picked up by our local guides - the Blackwells. Drove on to their old stamping ground of New Brighton and took a stroll along the pier.

(New Brighton From The Pier)

A day at the beach for the locals with lots braving the chilly conditions for an ocean dip. Then on down the spit that is South New Brighton Beach & out to the tip which brought us out opposite Redcliff and Sumner where we had breakfast on day 2 so long ago.

(Looking Back Over The Estuary Towards New Brighton)

Backtracked along the spit before a slight detour to have a look where Deirdre lived as a teeny bopper and on through Te Hungi Manu Wildlife Reserve to Bromley and up into the hills to look at some new estates. Boy are these estates brilliant with million dollar views up the coastline over New Brighton beaches, Avon and Heathcote Estuary.

A return then to familiar territory with a drive along Summit Road (as per day 2) through to the Sign of the Kiwi and on to another of the mountain roads we hadn't seen, before stopping at various points along the way to experience more sensational views.

(Blowin' The Froth Off a Couple)

A roller coaster ride back down from the hills brought us to some out of the way pub with a comfortable outdoor beer garden where we blew the froth off a couple of cold beers - yet another type we had not tried before.

Then headed back through Governor's Bay to Lyttleton to meet up with Deirdre and Darell's relatives for dinner at a nice little harbourside restaurant. A very enjoyable repast provided by the retired gent's expense account.

After dinner we returned back to the city via Lyttleton Road Tunnel and enjoyed a late night tour of the city lights. Our kind hosts then delivered us back safe and sound to our motel for our last night before returning to Australia tomorrow.

New Zealand South Island (Day 14)

2007-05-29T07:25:00.000+10:00

DAY 14 DUNEDIN TO CHRISTCHURCH FRIDAY 16.2.07

Woke to a drizzle of rain - the sort you would have to stand still in for 10 minutes to get wet through. Headed off down the street to get some sustenance, a final stroll around the city, then checked out and on the road north to Christchurch.

Verdict: Dunedin is a lovely place with some beautifully preserved historic buildings. Another day here would have been welcomed as there was much more to see and we barely scratched the surface. All they need to do to make this a great place is build a decent golf course.

The drive to Christchurch was fairly average. Saw a tourist drive sign advising that the Moeraki Boulders were next turn right so we pulled in to have a squizza at them. Parked and walked a couple of km along the beach all the while being sandblasted by airbound sand driven in front of a 30 knot wind originating from the southernmost parts of the world. We didn't know what we had expected to see but frankly they were disappointing. Maybe if we were geologists we would have found these orb shaped hunks of tessellated rock vaguely interesting but it wasn't worth being sandblasted and frozen to the bone to see. Even worse when we found there was another carpark to a tourist hut and restaurant right at the site and we could have parked there and taken a short walk down to the beach.

(Moeraki Boulders)

Followed the east coast up to Oamaru - a large township featuring many magnificient well preserved historic buildings and beautiful street gardens.

(Oamaru War Memorial)

View : www.oamaruonline.com

Next was Timaru, an unimposing place with an absence of parking. Eventually found a parking spot (in a loading zone) on the outskirts of town and had the dining experience of a lifetime at a suburban Mexican restaurant. What possessed me to choose this place? It provided the worst eating experience of the trip - even topping the Korean in Queenstown. Jean ordered a spicy beef burger the size of a large pumpkin that contained a kilo of beef rissole that repeated on her for the rest of the afternoon. I ordered a seafood bisque which turned out to be an eating experience I will never forget. It consisted of washing up water made on a sour cream base with a couple of miniscule mussels and shreaded seafood sticks. Virtually inedible. I took it as a personal attack on Aussies as we had recently beaten them in the tri nations & he was taking the opportunity to get square. Anyway, we left most of it there so he would have plenty to catch some other unsuspecting victim, and went to look for another dog.

www.beds-n-leisure.com/Timaru.htm (* this site may have to be typed in)

Rolled into Christchurch mid afternoon and checked back into the same motel and went in search of Clearwater Resort, the scene of tomorrow's game. We found it about 15mins away and took the opportunity to have a look around the resort. This is a very well maintained resort featuring a links style course which was in top condition as it was being set up for the NZ PGA in a fortnight's time.

Returned to the Kingsgate for a couple of cleansers (taken for medicinal purposes in an attempt to get the lingering lunch taste from our mouths) then off for another early evening stroll in search of a fine dining establishment. Lots of choices in this part of the city and we settled for an Italian one chosen simply because it was full and looked the goods. Had to wait for a table and were shown to the bar where the owner bought us a couple of drinks and filled in time with a pleasant chat. By this time the attempted poisoning from earlier in the day was forgotten and we again sat down to an enjoyable dining experience before calling it a night.

New Zealand South Island (Day 13)

2007-05-27T14:52:00.000+10:00

DAY 13 DUNEDIN THURSDAY 15.2.07

Challenges - what an understatement. Drove straight to the course without being run off the road & booked in to play. Noticed the names of four other Mackay golfers a few groups in front of us. Proof you can't sneak away anywhere to play up without getting caught.

We were looking forward to Balmacewen as the blurb described it as the oldest golf course in the Southern Hemisphere with such notables as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Gene Sarazen & others having graced its fairways. They must have taken a wrong turn or been booked in by their manager after ingesting something halucinatory. What a dogtrack. This would be a great place to do a residential development and put the land to better use. Without a doubt the most dangerous course I have ever played. Now I know where Ned Kelly got the idea for armour.

The first hole is a testing par 5 and all seems to be in order. Then you have to cross a public road - no marked crossings or signs warning traffic of disillusioned golfers crossing by foot or in carts. For those that make it successfully, they are treated to 4 unimaginative holes running parallel to each other with balls raining down on each fairway from the adjoining fairways. The survivors of this test are then directed back across the public road to the 6th tee. It is unfortunate that the directing signage doesn't actually point you in the correct direction and sends you off at a point where there is no egress from the public road to the golf course. Yet another attempt to reduce the visiting golfer numbers after having already extricated the green fees from them.

Having overcome this obstacle I then proceeded to achieve a Bradmanesque prformance on the 6th. I think the life threatening experiences encountered on the previous few holes had taken toll on me. But de fun don't done yet! From here the course turns in to mountain goat country with a lot of holes played over crests of hills. This is very dangerous & on a lot of occasions we were at risk of being taken out by flying cannonballs fired at us by the following group. Probably not their fault as they had no way of knowing where we were once we had crossed the crest.

Cop this though - the 8th hole tees off from an area which is aligned to the 7th green. As I was about to hit off, the woman playing that hole stepped off the back of the green to read her put - straight into the path of where I was meant to drive. Had I hit the ball low I would have flattened her (at least saving her the misery of having to play the rest of the course). We finished the first 9 holes but at this course the 9th hole doesn't come back to the club house so you can't get a stiff drink to calm your nerves. No, they have more challenges planned for you.
Like the tee off next to the practice green where the locals walk in front of you as you are preparing to hit off. By my calculations NZ has zero population growth when you take into account the migration to Bondi, the road toll from their maniac drivers and those killed on the course at Balmacewen.

Best advice I can give about this course - forget it. Life's too short to waste it here. As you can guess Jean won this match comfortably and she trailed 2/3 with one game to go. Course rating 1 out of ten.

But from here the day got much better. Dunedin is situated at the top of Otago Harbour & the Otago Peninsula was the target for this afternoon's travels. A very easy city to find your way around in once you have a map that correlates with the road signs. We drove out of the city and headed out towards Portobello. It was a drive along a rather narrow tightly curving road cut into the hillside on the edge of the bay - this meant you had the sheer face of the hill on one side and the bay on the other. In most places 2 large vehicles would not be able to pass comfortably on a bend. Once again the road was built up to within a couple of feet from the edge but at least the drop off here was only 1 to 2 meters. A tight squeeze on one occasion when we met a bus coming the other way around a blind bend. By the time we moved over, Jean reckoned she couldn't see anything between us and the drop off.

We turned off at Broad Bay and joined the tourist crowd heading toward Larnach Castle. The castle is situated on a very large parcel of land positioned at the top of a hill offering 360 degree views over Dunedin, Otago Harbour, the eastern coastline and pastoral lands. It was built by William Larnach for his first wife with construction begining in 1871 with 200 workmen labouring for three years before the the family moved in. The building phase was finally completed in1887 with the addition of the ballroom - a gift to his daughter for her 21st birthday. The current owners bought the castle in 1967 when it had lapsed into a sad state of disrepair and had been stripped of all original furnishings. Thus began a labour of love to restore it to its former grandeur even to the extent of acquiring the original pieces of furniture.

The castle is built over 4 floors with a spiral stairway leading to the butresses on the roof with sensational views in all directions. For us though the pinnacle was the amazing gardens. The centre piece is the raised lawn incorporating a fountain within a circular drive at the main entrance to the castle. Directly opposite is a pool and pergola positioned in such a way that from the front steps of the castle you look through the pergola, over the pool and across Otago Harbour. Other sections of this magnificient garden included the Flower Garden, South Seas Garden, Patterned Garden, Rainforest Garden, Wishing Well and Cupola etc etc. The Cupola is beautiful with the glass coming from the sailing ship "Zealander" in 1927. As well as tours of the castle you can also stay here in either the lodge or the stables. Well worth the look.

On the way back down the hill you are treated to a continual series of gobsmacking views. We drove on then out to Taiaroa Head at the tip of the peninsula. This is an albatross hatchery with the air filled with gazillions of different species of sea birds.

On the way back from there we stopped into a privately owned sheep grazing property from which the owner had donated a large area of coastal dunes as a sanctuary for the yellow penguin - the second rarest penguin in the world. The operators have done this very well with protected walks leading to constructed hides for viewing of the star attractions. We were fortunate that day as sometimes the adults don't get back from fishing till late at night and all you get to see is the chicks around the waterholes situated throughout the dunes. This day, as the guide said, "Uts ell epinum" (It's all happening). We saw them come in from the surf, lumber up the beach, over the dunes and down to the chicks. After identifying the whereabouts of their chicks, they chase off any that aren't their own, and disgorge their catch of fish into the chicks mouth. It was so interesting that time had again slipped away from us and by the time we drove the bay road back at grand prix pace (ie. the local speed) it was passed 8pm. This was one of Jean's trip highlights as she had always wanted to see penguins.

Decided that we would just try the restaurant over the road from our lodgings & we were shown to a table out on the balcony. Some poor girl had chosen that night to start work so we welcomed her with every obscure question we could muster about the menu as well as seeking translation of her South island accent. Hillarious and taken in the right spirit. People at other tables joined in with us for a chat and we enjoyed the convivial atmosphere with great food. A chat and a glass of port with the owner and we tumbled back over the road to our cot.

11th Hole Balmacewen / Larnach Castle

Larnach Castle Pergola / Coast View From Castle Butresses

Cupola / Castle Gardens

Castle Gardens

Ballroom

Albatross Rookery

Yellowed Eyed Penguins

Hides

Visit: www.hotel526.co.nz

www.otagogolfclub.co.nz

www.dunedintourism.co.nz

www.larnachcastle.co.nz

www.penguinplace.co.nz

Photos

New Zealand South Island (Day 12)

2007-05-27T11:54:00.000+10:00

DAY 12 INVERCARGILL TO DUNEDIN WEDNESDAY 14.2.07

Another fine day with a comfortable temperature. The guide map shows the distance between Invercargill and Dunedin as 217 km however this is by way of the No 1 highway and we were going there by continuing along the Southern Scenic Route. Additionally we stopped off at various spots accessable only by way of gravel roads. All in all it took a few more hours than driving the direct route but it was really worth it.

After leaving Invercargill we travelled to the tiny town of Fortrose where we turned off on gravel and drove through miles and miles of beautiful sheep grazing country down to Slope Point which is the southernmost point of the South Island. A lot of the roads in this area are closed during spring which is the lambing season. The track on from here had the benefit of superb views over the coast including Curio Bay, Haldane Bay & Porpoise Bay.

Somehow stumbled back on to the bitumen & drove through yet more sheep grazing country to another hamlet called Papatowai where we again turned off onto the gravel and headed cross country to have a look at the Purakaunui Falls. These falls feature 4 or 5 drops each of a couple of meters of crystal clear water. The whole area was well maintained with the walk through the beech and podocarp forest to the falls. Fa fa fa fairly cool in here. A good chance to stretch the legs and give the car shockies a break.

I had noticed that the wheel trims of the hire car were affixed with cable ties on each wheel and driving some of these corrugated dirt roads soon brought home the reason for this precaution. Some places had a collection of wheel trims on their fences and we often saw people pulled over searching for their lost trims.

Back onto the main track we drove through Niagara (absolutely nothing there) and up to the thriving 3 house town that is Owaka. I should mention that all this area between Invercargill and Balclutha is known as The Catlins. After Owaka we again turned off towards the coast to see Nugget Point. What a gem - one of the best scenic views of the whole trip and my favourite. Unfortunately I feel that our photos don't do it justice. From the carpark there is a gravel walking track leading up to a lighthouse perched atop a cliff overlooking a number a rock formations jutting out of the ocean like giant teeth. Absolutely spectacular!

The ocean below the lighthouse lookout is home to NZ fur seals, southern elephant seals, sea lions, yellow eyed penguins and squillions of sea birds. Saw (and heard, as they are very noisy) lots of seals (though I don't know what type) but no penguins. The area also has a couple of different types of kelp growing along the rocky foreshores. The largest of these, bull kelp, appeared impenetrable. The bay on the prevailing side of the walking track was rough as guts and looked like the giant's washing machine whilst the protected side featured a bay flat as a dunny carter's hat.

The whole of this area can be further looked at on the sites:

www.southernscenicroute.co.nz and www.visit.southlandnz.com/
www.catlins-nz.com/setup.html and http://www.newzealandlighthouses.com/nugget_point * and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nugget-Point
(* This link may need to be typed in)

All of these enjoyable distractions had chewed up the hours so we thought thought we better get a move along. Back to the main highway at the attractive township of Balclutha. The balance of this trip through to Dunedin down the highway was pleasant but unspectacular.

Arrived in Dunedin (without a street map) and went looking for our hotel that went by the imaginative name of 526 George Street. Walked up to the tourist info shop in the city centre and grabbed a map only to find George Street was one of the main streets leading off the city centre (known as The Octagon) and I was practically standing on it. Our boutique hotel looked like a converted large house and our suite was large and extremely comfortable. Coupled with its central location, this accommodation is well recommended however don't expect to eat there other than a piece of toast and a cuppa in the morning.

Tomorrow we were to play the historic course of Balmacewen and we thought we should try to find it in daylight and avoid panic stations in the morning if it was hard to find. Just as well we did because it took a bit of finding as the map with directions referred to streets named differently to the signposts. Eventually worked it out despite some crazed Beema driver overtaking us at twice the speed limit on the inside on a turn. Nearly had to go back to the hotel to change. Confirmations of my earlier suspicions that these people learned to drive in an arcade game.

Back to the hacienda to freshen up, a couple of traffic calmers and a stroll up to the Octagon to find an eatinghouse. A fair few restaurants, pubs & fast food joints. We eventually chose a seafood restaurant and had yet another type of beer before a table became vacant. It wasn't too bad but if you opened a good seafood eatery there you'd make a killing. Anyway, a leisurely stroll back to 526 walked off dinner and gave the oldfolks the chance for a good nights kip before facing tomorrow's challenges.

Sheepses

Southernmost Point Sth Is.

Haldane Bay

Porpoise Bay etc

South Eastern Coastline

Purakaunui Falls

Purakaunui Falls

Nugget Point Lighthouse

Giant's Teeth - Nugget Point

Nugget Point

Rock Formations Nugget Point

Suds - Giant's Washing Machine

View From Lighthouse

Bull Kelp

New Zealand South Island (Day 11)

2007-05-27T10:45:00.000+10:00

DAY11 INVERCARGILL TUESDAY 13.2.07

Weather overcast and chilly for our fourth golf outing. Checked with a cabbie (who was a fellow golf tragic) for foolproof directions and found Otatara Links (aka Invercargill Golf Club) easily. Nobody at the pro shop but the keys to the golf cart were in an envelope with our name on it and stuck to the door.

A real surprise this course. A great layout with magnificient tree lined fairways. A fantastic course - we both loved it. Only thing was we got a bit lost around the course as there was no signage on the holes. Ended up stopping to ask someone who advised us that all the signage had been taken away the day before to get redone for a tournament coming up in a couple of weeks. Made it even more of a challenge. We both played well with another win to PP in the best score of the trip. On a country course basis you would rate it 9 out of 10 but on our comparison yardstick we considered it as 7.5. This course is so pleasant I would strongly recommend anyone coming to the Sth Island for golf should go out of their way to come here & play it - maybe even twice. The highlight of Invercargill is undoubtedly this course and regretably the area didn't have much else going for it. A disparaging remark from a previous traveller renamed this fair city "Inverarsehole".

After lunch we headed south to Bluff for lunch.This could be the place that time forgot. It is the oldest continually settled community in pre treaty terms in NZ. The other thing it is known for is the start (southern end) of the national highway from Stirling Point (Lands End).This is one of the most photographed sites with a sign post depicting distances to various cities world wide. Found a pleasant diner overlooking the sign and took the picture window seat with views out over the Southern Ocean (Foveaux Straight). Antartica is over the horizon from here.

A couple of ice cold sherbets and a bite to eat & we were ready to roll again. Walked off lunch with a stroll down to Lookout Point. Only walked a few hundred meters or so as we only wanted to see what was happening on a fishing boat anchored in the bay. What a commotion with hundreds of sea birds circling and diving for fish scraps as they cleaned the catch. I don't know what the catch was but the fish frames being tossed overboard were 18 to 20 inches long and there was plenty of them.

There are a lot of walks in this area but most of them were too strenuous for us oldies. Back to the chariot and off up to Bluff Hill Lookout. Excellent 360 degree views from here especially out over Foveaux Straight to Stewart Island. Quite windy up here with the southerly off the ice cap being sufficient to freeze the balls off a golf course. Couldn't stay too long up here for this reason. Looking back over Bluff is rather depressing as the township gives the feeling it is closed for business and the huge former food processing plants have been closed down and are in advanced stages of disrepair. In short, the only reason this place keeps going is through misguided tourists such as ourselves coming to visit Lands End.

Back to the Kelvin Hotel to thaw out in a hot shower and following recharging we strode off up the main street to find an interesting restaurant for that night. Out of luck. There wasn't any. Thai (choice of plenty, though none appealing), kebabs, Chinese (fake) and buggar all else. Decided the best and safest option was to dine in house again at the restaurant that served us so well the previous evening. This time we got to try the famous Whitebait fritters (described by Jean as tasting fishy). Another thoroughly enjoyable meal followed by a nightcap before retiring to the cot.

Visit: www.bluff.co.nz

Otatara Links

Otatara Links

Highway 0 Km Sign

Lands End

Cleaning The Catch

Bluff Estuary

Lighthouse Off Bluff

New Zealand South Island (Day 10)

2007-05-26T11:09:00.000+10:00

DAY 10 TE ANAU TO MILFORD SOUND & INVERCARGILL MONDAY 12.2.07

Up at sixish for an early drive out to Milford. This place comes with rave reviews so we were really looking forward to it. Grabbed some tucker on the run from the bakery and were away on the road before 7am. All the tour guides advise you to get going early as the tour buses leave Te Anau from 9am onwards. About 4oo thousand people visit Milford each year with the majority obviously going there in summer as the road is often closed in winter.

The journey from Te Anau to Milford and return (along the same route) is 240 km. Because of the winding road conditions the recommended travel time for the 120 km trip out was 2hrs 20mins. The first part of the trip was pretty ordinary by the NZ standards we were used to seeing. As soon as we neared the area known as Fiordland though the scenery was breathtaking with snow on the Alps, despite it being the middle of summer, waterfalls from melting snow and magnificient tree lined winding roads offering stunning views. We took time out for a few stops for pics including Mirror Lake, Monkey Creek, The Divide and a couple of others. People we had spoken with about this trip had suggested that you are better off doing the sightseeing spots and walks on the way back to avoid getting caught in all the traffic on the way there. We were well ahead of any traffic and made good time so we were able to stop at these places and virtually enjoy them by ourselves. On reflection this was a better idea as we found out on the way back just how busy this road gets.

After steady climbing we reached the Homer Tunnel. It was the opening of this tunnel in 1953 that allowed completion of the road to Milford in 1954. The tunnel, which had taken 18 years to build, is 945 mtrs above sea level and is 1.2km long. The tunnel has no lighting so you rely on your car lights. One of the major problems encountered during tunnel construction was from melting snow coming through the fractures in the rock at a rate of up to 10,000 gallons an hour. It is still very wet in a number of places and the walls & ceiling are lined in some places with what looked like a rubber matting to drain the water off the main roadway (you could actually hear the water running off the matting there was so much of it). Even so, we still had to use the wipers now and then. As a result of the road being continually wet the condition of the road surface was very poor with broken bitumen and a number of very large potholes. The car in front must have done some damage as he was stopped with his emergency lights on and the driver was walking back in the darkness towards us. (Either that or he had a fight with his co pilot and had abandoned her). The tunnel is controlled by traffic lights at the busiest part of the day (when buses use the tunnel) but for the rest of the time (eg when we went through it) you just take pot luck with on coming traffic. The tunnel was very narrow throughout and barely enough room to pass. After exiting the tunnel you descend quickly down for the run into Milford Sound. Got there with about 1and 1/2 hours to spare. Parking is about 500mtrs from the terminal. Some cruises were already underway and there were 2 large cruising cats, a smaller mono hull power boat & 2 large sailing boats (the overnight charters) all rearing to go.

We were booked to go on the "Milford Sovereign" operated by Real Cruises however as we prepared to board they changed us to the "Milford Explorer". The boat was brand new and well presented. Milford has a mean annual rainfall of 6,813mm over 182 days/yr. We were fortunate though with a cloudless sky and a comfortable temperature. This enabled us to take up a prime position at the front of the top deck for a great viewing position.

The sound is about 15km in length and reminded us a little of Nara inlet but 4 or 5 times bigger with a couple of large waterfalls, much steeper and higher cliff faces and sea lions laying about on the rocks. The water in the sound is not clear as the sediment is constantly in a state of suspension wth the fresh water runoff being 2 to 3 meters deep and acting as a light filter because of its disclororation. In effect the light at 1omtrs in the fiord is equivalent to 70mtrs on the coast. This means that marine life has had to adapt to live at much shallower depths. Marine life doesn't exist there after 40mtrs.

The waterfalls are quite spectacular and the skipper manouvered up to within 5mtrs of the Stirling Falls so that anyone on the lower decks got a good hosing down. At one point he manouvered up so close to an overhanging 2000ft sheer cliff that when you looked upwards it was overhanging the boat. The other falls that are situated just near the wharf are the Bowen Falls. The trip takes about 1hr 40mins out to the sea and back and costs between $65 & $75 each. Good value and a great experience which would have been even better if we hadn't experienced anything like it before.

Back to the car again and retraced the only road out of Milford. At least this time the traffic lights were working at the tunnel and traffic was only going one way and you didn't have to look out for oncoming traffic. Had a couple of stops on the way back with one being The Chasm. This is a short walk into a watercourse that has cut through the rock and falls away below. Interesting but did not compare with some of the similar sights in Canada. Part of the viewing bridge was closed which may have detracted from it as may have the 8 or nine bus loads of tourists who were trying to look at it at the same time. In fact it was much that way the whole way back so we didn't bother to stop most times. Our recommendation is to get going at first light & do your viewing on the way out. Stops such as Mirror Lake is much better viewed in the soft light of early morning than later in the day (we did both). The buses start to arrive in the first of the sight seeing spots by shortly after 9.30am and unless you want to be part of the stampede you don't want to be there with them. Also, drive yourself so you can pick & choose where you want to stop and not where the bus driver decides to open the doors & unleash the hordes. As a link you can check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Sound and www.fiordland.org.nz/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/homer_tunnel and
www.meysner.co.uk/index.html (good Pics)

Back to the motel, picked up the luggage and set off to Invercargill. Rather than take the main road (highways 6 & 94) we headed off on the Southern Scenic Route (Route 99). The Southland has the longest daylight hours in the South Island and with daylight saving it remained light till about 10pm. You should have seen just how faded all the curtains were down here.

This route passed through Manapouri on the banks of the lake which bears the same name. Jean took over driving as I was in need of a spell after the earlier driving of that day. The terrain changed significantly from the tight winding roads of Milford Sound and opened up into long straight roads through grazing land. An interesting feature about driving over here is the one way bridges which are prevalent in this part of the island. There is no consistency as to which direction has to give way and it just seems that there is no reasoning as to how they have come up with it.

A couple of stops (including Clifden Suspension Bridge) before we reached the southern coast section of the road. It's always a pleasant drive when you travel along a coastal road and this was no exception. Beautiful sea views and the countryside was magnificient bright green grazing paddocks right down to the sea. Stopped in at Colac Bay (an area with a long history of Maori occupation and a reknown surfing beach - though the waves were having the day off when we were there) and McCracken's Rest (a dolphin viewing spot - apparently on other days).

Riverton is a picturesque fishing village and holiday town and would normally deserve a look around and stop over but it was already late afternoon and we had been going for a while so we chose to press on. This part of the country obviously receives strong southerly winds and the macrocarpa trees are so windblown they looked like a witch's hair while she was riding her broom. Between Riverton and Wallacetown we came across something you don't see everyday (thank God!). Got caught behind a mobile slaughterhouse. Not a pleasant experience as the trailer it was towing was filled with lopped off sheep heads and intestines bouncing around in front of us for a few miles. I've never seen Jean drive so fast when the gap in traffic finally came.

Arrived at Invercargill early evening and went through our usual ritual of trying to find our hotel. Eventually worked out where it was (right around the corner from where we stopped to try to figgure out where it was). Pretty cold that night so we had a couple of dust clearers and dined in the hotel restaurant. Fantastic feed - lambs fry and bacon entree and the best rack of lamb so far. Obviously our earlier experience following the slaughterhouse hadn't put us off. A couple of drinks and a few minutes at the in house "casino" ended a long day.

Visit: www.invercargill.org.nz/

Mirror Lakes

Milford Road

Snow Caps

Homer Tunnel

Milford Sound

Mitre Peak

Sea Entry to Sound

Looking Into Sound From Sea

Seals Snoozin'

Stirling Falls

Lady Bowen Falls

The Chasm

Milford Road

River At Clifden

Clifden Bridge

McCracken's Rest

Beach At McCrackens Rest

Wind Blown Macrocarpas

Curio Bay Welcome Sign

Photos.

New Zealand South Island (Day 9)

2007-05-25T18:17:00.000+10:00

DAY 9 QUEENSTOWN TO TE ANAU SUNDAY 11.2.07

I am writing up my travel notes today whilst sitting in our Te Anau motel room (Bradford's Lakeview Motel) looking out over Te Anau Lake. Very picture postcard indeed. Accommodation and hospitality excellent.

We had booked out of Queenstown at 10am and headed straight to a camera shop to get the first couple of thousand photos downloaded onto a disc in case of a mishap. Also a chance to restock with another battery as a backup for ole quickfinger. Then off along the southern side of Lake Wakatipu heading for Te Anau. God always reckoned that Sunday was the day of rest & following the hectic pace to date we finally relented and fell in with the "original plan".

The first part of the drive was pretty while we followed the lake down to Kingston. After that it was pretty much through cattle and sheep grazing country. Are there more stars in the sky or sheep in NZ? It must be a pretty close call. In to Te Anau in time for lunch (breakkie). Strange behaviour from the tourists - ended up having a gourmet pizza and another different type of beer. There must be hundreds of different beers over here and I am starting to get concerned that I am not going to get around to tasting them all. Anyway, the pizza was great value - ate the bloody thing over and over all afternoon. Still, nothing a few G&T's while writing the travel diary wouldn't fix.

In the afternoon we took a drive over the otherside of the lake - great views back over the lake towards the township. A walk here and there and then a visit to the bird park. The buggars must have been well camouflaged as we didn't see too many. Did see the giant NZ parrots (Kea)
which are a nuisance over here as they will wreck a car in a few hours. Many sightseers have returned to find the windscreen wipers torn off, all the rubbers pulled out from around the doors and windscreen and the side mirrors broken off. A bit like leaving your car down at Slade Point overnight actually.

Back to the motel for a few moments relaxation, take some refreshments, watch some of the one day cricket final and enter a few more notes in the diary. Then it was time to get ready to go out to eat AGAIN! We had already worked out what we were going to do too - Sunday night roast at the pub.

Weather pretty cool tonight especially if you were unfortunate enough to be in the breeze. The pub was as full as a doctor's wallet and we had to wait for a while before we could get a table. Never mind - we found something to do. No wonder it was packed. It was a feast at a very reasonable price. If you are going to TA then you should do it on a Sunday to take advantage of the best value meal winner on our trip. Back out into the night air for a very chilly walk back to our motel. A quiet night for us tonight as we had to be on the road early next morning.

Te Anau Lake

Te Anau Across The Lake

New Zealand South Island (Day 8)

2007-05-24T10:30:00.001+10:00

DAY 8 QUEENSTOWN (MILLBROOK) SATURDAY 10.2.07

Weather fine / track good for us today and we were off to play one of NZ's premier courses - Millbrook. Grabbed breakfast at a cafe in town and bought a couple of the biggest Anzac biscuits ever seen for sustenance around the course.

Millbrook is another links style course but not in the strict style of the Scottish variety. When gold was discovered at Arrowtown a couple of Frenchmen bought the land and established a wheat farm to provide bread for the miners. Parts of the old cottages and farm buildings have been retained and used throughout the resort and the magnificient 150 year old trees that lined the original driveway remain today.

Playing courses like this gives you an appreciation of just how strong and skillful the pros are when they can hit out of the rough with control. Whilst I was able to get out of the rough, sometimes it was only a few meters and always without any control over distance. If you missed a green and finished in the rough and had to chip out you knew in advance you were about to rack up a big score (if you could find the ball that is). The fairways are cut to a consistent 11mm and you are guaranteed a perfect lie though the undulating terrain often meant that your feet were above or below the ball. Off the fairway came the intermediate rough at 22mm, the semi rough at 75mm and the impossible genuine rough at 125+mm. The course is set on lands that give you shots from elevated tees as well as approaches to elevated greens and includes a number of blind shots. Judging distances was a real challenge for us with the changes in elevation as this is a feature we don't normally have to combat on our home course.

Anyway, I hit the ball pretty well generally with only 2 shockers both involving losing confrontations with the rough. Eight pars wasn't a bad effort first time on the course and a number of three puts cost me a few more. Jean not so good and she struggled a bit around this tough layout and treacherous rough. Less said the better but another win to me makes it 2 to 1 for the big fella.

The worst feature was that play was very slow. We followed six groups of four - all Yanks on tour out of Seattle. While we were waiting on a tee with one of the groups I started munching on my Anzac biscuit. A couple of tees later we caught up with them again & I heard one of them telling the others that "this guy was eating a biscuit as big as a manhole cover". I wasn't exaggerating when I said earlier that they were the biggest biscuits I had seen.

Course rating : quite a picturesque course set inside an extinct volcano. Beautifully presented with extremely quick and tricky greens. We both rated the course 8 to 8.5. Highly recommended but perhaps on weekdays it may not be as busy as playing on the weekend.

After golf we blew the froth off a couple and knocked over a ploughman's lunch. Once again fantastic value and bloody beautiful tucker. I am convinced that on holidays this is the best way to have lunch as it is satisfying but doesn't wreck your appetite for dinner at night.

Took some backroads through to Queenstown to have a look at something different rather than just driving back the same way we had driven out. Bit of an achievement - did it without getting bamboozled for a change. Took the road that bordered Lake Wakatipu (past Outrigger). Had seen this road the day before from up the top of the gondola station.Turns out the road went to the north western end of the lake to the township of Glenorchy. The township wasn't anything memorable but the drive was a cracker with superb lake and mountain views.

Funny how sightseeing can make you thirsty. Back home to our room for a couple of glasses of vino before hitting the bright lights. No way we were going to have anything out of the ordinary tonight. After having a good look around, we chose the obvious one - the one that gave us a couple of free beers. Just joking - it was the lamb rack on the menu that won me. Jean went for a monster feed of mussels (obviously trying to build herself up for the next match). This restaurant was situated upstairs in the oldest remaining building in Queenstown. Originally it was a bank and it was made out of schist rock (the same as the wine tunnel). A closed in outside balcony with large windows gave great views over the mall & it was an ideal people watching spot.

We didn't eat dinner till 9.45pm & it was just getting dark. Takes a bit of getting used to this eating dinner in daylight. Anyway, the service was friendly and the food was bloody beautiful!
That's more like it.

Decided to have a nightcap and a look at the Wharf Casino on the way home. A couple of sambucas and the quickest $20 through the machines and we were off home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Yet another great day done justice to.

Visit: www.millbrook.co.nz

Millbrook Trees

Millbrook Course

Millbrook Country

Millbrook Challenges

Lake Wakitipu Road to Glenorchy

Views From Road to Glenorchy

Wakatipu Sign

Glenorchy Road Views

Clear Water Lake

Photos,

New Zealand South Island (Day 7)

2007-05-22T18:46:00.000+10:00

DAY 7 QUEENSTOWN FRIDAY 9.2.07

Slow to rise on an overcast morning. Fair bit of rain overnight but not like the heavy rain we see here in the tropics. Views out over the Remarkables from bed showed cloud levels down as low as our 5th floor apartment. Very beatutiful & relaxing.

Complimentory breakfast at the resort but then we had to check out of our luxury apartment as this room was available for one night only. Not far to go though as we were to be relocated to another unit in the complex though not in the rooms right on the lake. Still, very comfortable accommodation.

Jean wanted to go and attack the local wineries and after some initial resistence (10 seconds) I eventually let her have her way. Headed out towards Arrowtown - at least we knew where we were going for a change. While we were going that way we decided to check out where Millbrook Golf Club was situated so we wouldn't waste time the next morning looking for it. Only took us a couple of goes to find it - proof we were getting marginally better.

Then pulled in to a nearby winery at Amisfield (at the Arrowtown turnoff). A well presented winery with the premium wine of this region being Pinot Noir. I had elected to drive an Jean was the appointed taster for the day. I just chatted to the wineman and ended up upsetting him when I commented that I find Pinot Noir insipid. Here's a clue - if ever you want to stir up the local vignerons tell them their pride & joy is like cat's piss. He launched into an assault on Australian Pinot Noir saying that they are all crap and I agreed with him. Fired him up a bit more I think. He went & got his top of the range Pinot out to proove the point (probably much better than what he was feeding to the other paying tasters). I had to concede that it was pretty good ( which saved him from heading for a rope and a long drop) but give me a good full bodied red any day.

Next "dropped" in to the A J Hackett bungie centre and watched the fearless and brainless do their thing. Tried to negotiate three dives for the price of two but when they wouldn't agree I didn't bother. The highlight was a brave little 10 /11 year old girl who marched up to the edge and went straight off - too young to fear!

Gibbston Valley wines was our next stop. They had a wine information tour which was conducted by a very knowledgable & personable hostess who spoke of the trials & tribulations faced by wine growers in the region. Problems included snow in summer, frosts that had to be dispersed by hired helicopters, birds eating the grapes, rabbits ringbarking the vines etc etc.

Their wine was stored in a tunnel dug 70+ meters into the side of a mountain through schist rock. Keeps the wine at a steady 14 degrees in winter and summer. Tested a couple of their
wines (quite good) and at the conclusion of their tour decided to tackle a bit of lunch at the winery restaurant. Had one of the best anti pasto platters we have ever had the pleasure of demolishing. Washed it down with an aged Chardonnay for me and an oaked Sav Blanc for Jean.
Marvellous stuff.

Dropped back to the outrigger and rebooked into our new room - not as sumptious as our previous room but still very modern & comfortable just the same. Left the car there and hoofed it up to the gondola to walk off our lunch. A pleasant stroll and 20 minutes later we were headed sky bound in the gondola to the top of the mountain. Magnificient views out across Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. This lake is really something - over 80km long and up to 1300 feet deep.

Good facilities up there with a bar , restaurant, games room, luge, bungy jumping into the forest , gift shops etc. Had a cold one sitting at the window overlooking beautiful Queenstown. A very pleasant way to spend a few minutes. Back down "the hill" then off to the Minus 5 Bar. In for the first session at 6pm and we were the only ones for the 6 o'clock time slot. Costs $25 per head for half an hour in the ice bar and that includes entry fee, your Antartic weather gear and your first vodka cocktail in an ice glass. Fitted out with mittens & heavy coat & away we went.
Eighteen tonnes of ice has gone into making this bar which is situated in a cold room. Except for the floor everything is made of ice - the walls, the bar, the sculptures and the seats - which even with deer skins spread over them were too cold to sit on. All cocktails are served in your own ice glass and at the conclusion of the tour you throw it in to the bin to break it (must be a NZ/ Greek thing).

Our hostess hadn't heard of Mackay or Brisbane or The Great Barrier Reef but had heard of Sydney , Canberra and thought she might have heard of Cairns. Yet another reminder when you are in an overseas country how little the rest of the world know about us - but I was surprised that our seventh state representative was this poorly informed. Regardless, she was an excellent hostess and the half hour passed in a blink. That is as long as you could take in there as it really is as cold as a mole on a polar bear's hole.

Back to the unit to change into some warmer clothes and off to town for dinner. Ever since I ate Korean in Tokyo I have been telling Jean how good it was. Well, here was my chance to proove the point as Queenstown has 2 Korean restaurants. Murphy's law - must have got the wrong one. The only "round eyes" in the place were ours and the food, other than the meat, was diabolical. "Tasty" asides included seaweed, spicy pickled cabbage, pickled raddish, noodles, soup that resembled dishwater in colour and taste and some slimy thing that ought to have been in a sewer rather than on our plate. This pile of tripe was "complemented" with a crap bottle of wine (from an expansive cellar of 3 bottles) at a ridiculously expensive price. I thought I'd have to catch a dog and lick it's bum to get the taste out of my mouth but fortunately we found the chocolate shop on the way home and grabbed a feed of chockies that achieved the right result.

The night finished on an even lower note watching Australia lose to the Poms in the first one day cricket final.

Visit: www.amisfield.co.nz

www.gvwines.co.nz

Early Morning View From Bed

AJ Hackett Bungy

Bridge Cables

Winery Sign

Wine Cave

Must Have Heard We Were Coming

PP The Sampler

Gibbston Valley Lunch

Kelvin Heights Golf Club

View From Gondola Base

Views From Gondolas

Gondolas

Ice Sculpture Minus 5

Bird Sculpture Minus 5

Willing Servers Minus 5

Ice Chair Minus 5

New Zealand South Island (Day 6)

2007-05-22T07:37:00.000+10:00

DAY 6 QUEENSTOWN THURSDAY, 8.2.07

A beautiful fine day that turned to rain in the evening.

As I write this I am relaxing with a gin & tonic on our apartment balcony on the top floor of The Outrigger Resort overlooking Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkable Mountains in the immediate background of the lake. A truely comfortable and enchanting experience and not one we thought possible mid way through the afternoon.

Today was another golf day. Left our overnight digs very early in case we couldn't find the golf course for our second game. As usual missed the turn and did a few k's of extra sight seeing as usual before righting ourselves and arriving at the golf course early. Whilst we have been making a habit of getting confused as to where we are going (or meant to go) this has been significantly contributed to by a range of crappy inaccurate maps and the absence of directions from our tour man. Anyway, more of that in the trip summation.

Today was Kelvin Heights Golf Club also called Queenstown Golf Club out on Frankton Arm jutting into Lake Wakatipu. For any who have played Lake Karinyup in WA you would appreciate a number of similarities. There are numerous holes where you hit blind not knowing where the green is or what is hidden over the hill plus a fair few hills that soon have you appreciating the benefits of using a golf cart. For first timers on the course it is a bit of hit and hope on occasions. This is only a local course but it is presented immaculately with the greens in particular being tricky with varying slopes and levels. The overall highlight however was the distracting scenery from just about every part of the course. Local players and course staff very friendly.

Once again very difficult to line up the courses but we both felt this was a better course than Terrace Downs. Jean rated it a 7 and I felt it was just below a 7 which included a bonus point for the views. A very pleasurable experience but one where I recommend the use of a cart as your bum would be dragging at the end of the day if you walked it. This time a win for Paul (4 under the handicap) so its one all for the Tour Championship.

After a bite of lunch and a cold one at the club house we headed back in to Christchurch to try and find accommodation. No Vacancy - NV - NV everywhere as there was a convention of some sort in town. Nobody wanted to know us but we finally jagged a double bedroom suite at The Outrigger for what we originally thought expensive but what turned out to be a bargain. As indicated earlier, the views were majestic and the fitout & facilities of the suite bloody luxurious - flat screen TV's in the lounge and bedroom, Bose sound system, fully decked out kitchen with the latest whitegoods, washing and drying machines (a real bonus as otherwise we would have been headed for a laundrette), undercover secure parking and walking distance to the town centre. Way to go.

That night as we wandered into town for dinner a light mist was falling as was the temperature. Strolled up and down the city centre checking out all the restaurants - great choice. In the end we went with the Bombay Indian choosing the Bollywood banquet for two. Great variety of food washed down with Indian beer (Kingfisher) and NZ (Villa Maria) Sav Blanc. A thoroughly enjoyable repast.

By now the wind was up and it was pretty cold. A brisk walk back in light rain was just the ticket to burn off our excesses in gourmandisation.

Visit: www.queenstowngolf.co.nz

Kelvin Heights Golf Club

KHGC 5th Hole

5th Hole Looking Back

Taking In The Scenery KHGC

Lake & Queenstown

KHGC

Lake Views KHGC

Outrigger

Unit Lounge Room

Lounge Room View

Balcony View

Lake Cruising

Photos.

New Zealand South Island (Day 5)

2007-05-21T13:11:00.000+10:00

DAY 5 TWIZEL TO QUEENSTOWN WEDNESDAY, 7.2.07

Woke refreshed - as you would after you've had ten and a half hours sleep. Hit the road by 9.00am and pulled in at a roadside touriste sheep shearing gift shop cafe for a light b'fast. As with all these types of place on the tourist trail it wasn't long before the busloads of Japanese tourists descended on the place.

Got going again before the hordes and continued south. More of what we had come to enjoy - spectacular scenery all around with some reminiscent of Canada and some no doubt unique to NZ. Beautiful wildflowers along the side of the road (though we later heard that the purists would like to see them destroyed as the weren't native - seems that the Australian Democrats & Greens don't have the monopoly on wankers). For a few miles hundreds and hundreds of stone cairns some small and simple and others quite large. Probably a local landowner came up with this simple but effective way of getting all the rocks on his block cleared - just do a couple and people will line up to clear your land for you. The area was known as Lindis Pass.

Stopped in at a big fruit barn at Cromwell which is situated on the end of Lake Dunstan. Sure is no shortage of water over here with lakes around every corner. Looking back along Lake Dunstan you could see the surface of the lake glassed out for miles - a barefoot water skier's dream. After loading up with fresh fruit (this is the fruit bowl of the South Island) we followed a gorge to an old gold mining site at Kawara ( now a well attended tourist site) before continuing on to Allentown.

Allentown is part of the historic gold mining trail and the tidy & attractive township features some historic old buildings as well facades of shops being done in an old pioneering theme. Had blue cod and salad and a pint at the New Orleans Hotel - pretty good too. Wandered around the streets for a while and stumbled into the "Remarkable Sweet Shop". A good play on words as the main mountain range in the area is the Remarkables and the selection of sweets was also remarkable. To keep the driver alert we loaded up with nougat, peanut brittle, buttered rum drops etc. A very pretty little town and well worth the short detour and a couple of hours.

Back on the road and past yet another lake (Lake Hayes) through Frankton and into Queenstown. Like a big Airlie Beach - but on a lake instead of being on the ocean and about 10 times bigger. All the major hotels & holiday chains are here (Soffitel, Rydges, Outrigger etc) and squillions of apartments, motels & B&B. Even saw a couple of residences here and there. Looked for ours everywhere and eventually had to ask for assistance - not a good sign.

No wonder we couldn't find it. It was not in Queenstown but in an area about 10 t0 15 minutes away at a spot called Arthur's Point which could be renamed as the arse end of nowhere. We were booked in here for 4 nights but there was nothing to do out here away from the action in Queenstown & it was totally unsuitable. Quickly summed up the position and told the hotel staff that this wasn't what we wanted and to scratch us. The hotel had a cancellation policy of one night so we decided to have a quite night and move out next morning.

Sat around and wrote up the diary while Jean went for a walk. Then had a quiet dinner before retiring for the night. Just before retiring the obligatory busload of Japanese arrived and moved in. I think about 3am they started to get ready to move out with much yabba yabba and opening and closing of doors. Finally peaceful again about 5am and a chance to grab a bit more shuteye.

Can I just say that this is the strangest place I have ever seen. Accommodation was in either the East wing or the West wing - a pool - sauna - bar - restaurant - games room and a TEN PIN BOWLING ALLEY! All this and miles from anywhere. The bar didn't open till 5pm, the restaurant would seat about 150 patrons but the eight there that night for dinner (including Jean & I) sat outside until the sandflies - about half the size of a house fly started landing in Jean's wine and attempted to gnaw off my left leg. All in all probably not a bad place to stay for a Womens Weekly bus tour.

Anyway, so ended day 5.

Visit: www.queenstown.co.nz/

White Cliffs

Stone Cairns

Among The Wildflowers

Sheep Crossing

Paddock Art

Lake Dunstan

Kawara Gorge Goldmine

Kawara Gorge

Arrowtown Post Office

Back Streets Arrowtown

Two Old blokes And a Beer

Gallery Arrowtown

Arthur Point Walk

Alpine Coronet Arthur's Point

New Zealand South Island (Day 4)

2007-05-20T18:01:00.000+10:00

DAY 4 TERRACE DOWNS / TWIZEL TUESDAY 6.2.07

Bright sunshine for our first golf day and a public holiday for the locals as well. Our itinerary said we should be on the road by 8am to reach the course for our booked tee off time. No chance for breakfast so we thought we would just get something on the way. Didn't realise that they took holdays this seriously as nothing was open. Eventually found a bakery open & grabbed a couple of sangas.

Off down the highway to Rakaia. Unfortunately our tour company did not see fit to provide us with directions on how to get there or give us a map. All we got from the itinerary was that we were to travel across Cantebury Plains, that the course overlooked the Rakaia River & gave us the tee off time (which was wrong anyway). Some directions would have been of help. Arrived at Rakaia and turned off at the sign to the golf course. Thought we would check with some joker walking his dog to see we were going to the right place. No way - told we were in the wrong place & that we would have to go back across the river and take some backroads on a further three quarter hour drive. The backroads soon turned to gravel and then to corrugations. Poor little car - yesterday pulled its guts out going up vertical roads and today on to the Dakar Rally gravel tracks.

Finally found bitumen again and we headed toward Rakaia Gorge but still no sign of the course. Pulled in at a farm house and got some new directions. Back the way we had come, over the bridge to take the first turn to the left. Should have heeded the warning signpost - "Zig Zag Road". Aptly named & corrugated gravel twisting vertical travel at its finest. At least we were going up though as going down that road would have been horrendous. Eventually found our way back to bitumen again and at last saw a sign to the golf course.

Arrived about 10am & were still able to get on the course OK. Everyone else was probably still out there trying to find the place. At last off to what we had come all this way to do. The course was different to anything we had played before. Grass was kikuyu like Mt Tambourine, the greens were tricky and the rough unplayable. We are not big fans of links style courses but Terrace Downs is at least 80% + links with undulating fairways and grass gripping rough that refused to let you hit a full shot. To wander off the fairway was a genuine penalty of 2 to 3 shots (as my score card showed on many occasions).

The second nine is the more challenging & spectacular with the 10th hole a striking 177m par three from an elevated tee over scrub, treacherous bunkers with water behind the green. A comfortable 8 for me and a genuine par for Jean. A couple more holes and we were on the rim of the Gorge a couple of hundred feet below - absolutely stunning. Definitely the highlight of the course.

My original idea was to try and rate the courses on a ten point system where Laguna Whitsundays was an 8 out of 10. Having said that, it was very hard to compare this course to Laguna. If it wasn't for the spectacular Gorge view holes I would have rated it lower but these holes certainly increased its rating & we agreed on it as a 6 (though as I said we are not big fans of links courses). Jean didn't wander too far from the fairways which gave her a distinct advantage. Jean leads one nil.

We found our way out on the 3rd go headed for the grand metropolis of Twizel. Stopped at the Gorge bridge and watched a couple of dare devil boys jumping from the bridge into the racing waters about 100 feet below. Fearless - obviously future motor bike riders for the road between Sumner and Lyttleton.

The road through to Twizel was a breeze. Passed through Geraldine and then down through the lake district which included Tekapo & Pukaki Lakes. Traffic was heavy ( because fo the public holiday) with scores of cars towing boats and jet skis. Stunning scenery with the mountains and Alps as a back drop to the lakes. A boater's paradise. Features included the Church of the Good Shepherd (a little church on the bank of Lake Tekapo and a regular on the postcard stands) and Mount Cook (NZ's highest mountain).

Just as before, every corner a new vista and another stop for a photo or two. Quite a bit of travelling after a game of golf and we were a bit weary by the time we reached Twizel. Drove around the town (not recommended) till we found our motel - the MacKenzie Country Inn. Decided to eat in that night and they presented quite a decent buffet. A couple of drinkies before dinner. a beer or two and a glass of wine with dinner and I was in a coma while it was still daylight.

Visit: www.terracedowns.co.nz

www.tekapo.net.nz/

Terrace Downs Golf Club

TDGC

Rakaia Gorge TDGC

Raikai River

Jumpers Raikai Gorge Bridge

Lake Tekapo

Church Of The Good Shepherd

Lake Tekapo Mount Cook

MacKenzie Country Inn Twizel

Photos.

New Zealand South Island (Day 3)

2007-05-16T18:01:00.000+10:00

DAY 3 CHRISTCHURCH / AKAROA Mon 5th February 2007

While we were on summit Road the previous day I had a chat to a masochist (read cyclist) who suggested we go to Akaroa while we were in the area. Checked the local mud map how to get there and headed off about 9am. An easy drive through to Little River where we stopped for brunch. A "Butty" could not be described as a healthy feed but it was just the ticket at that stage of the day. (Fried bread, seeded mustard, bacon, egg & cheese cooked, assembled and then refried - very tasty, very rich & very filling).

Off again & started to climb a range at the top of which was situated the Hilltop Cafe with beautiful views over Akaroa and the bay. An hot rod / vintage car rally was being held that day in Akaroa and a number of the old cars had stopped there. Then on down the range to the township. Drove through the town thinking we would have a look at the area before giving the town the once over. The main park was full of dozens of vintage cars . On the other side of town there was a sign indicating Lighthouse Road, so we decided to check it out as it appeared it would offer fairly good views of the region. Unbelievable! It was so steep we had to drop into low gear and after a few hundred feet of vertical climbing we were in nose bleed country. I expected the oxygen masks to drop out at any moment. Didn't make it to the top (shits were trumps). On the way back down we had to lock the car in low and apply the brakes all the way down. I can say with certainty that this is the steepest road I heave ever driven. Unforgetable views though.

Drove around for a bit more and had a look at the locals setting up for Waitatarangi Day. Also went for a stoll down to the spot where the Police first landed "to bring rule to the South Island".

Back into Akaroa township and wandered along the waterfront where all the restaurants, cafes, clip joints etc are situated. Must have been free beer on as everywhere was chockers. This is supposed to be a French influenced town but I suggest that is using a fair bit of licence. A few old buildings exist including the Post Office and the original Customs House.

After a liesurely wander along the pier and the back streets it was back to the limo & off back to Christchurch. We saw a road indicating an alternative scenic route and rather than just drive back the way we had come we thought we would give it a try. Absolutely hair raising!

It was a narrow steep winding road cut into the side of a cliff face. Unbelievable views but a frightening experience coming around a bend to find a car coming the other way half on your side of the road. You would rather have been doing my washing than my ironing that's for sure.
Jean left a lasting impression in the door rest and it would have been worse if she realised I had my eyes closed on a few occasions when I thought we were cutting it a bit close. Neither words nor photographs can properly do justice to this experience. Every corner brought another view more breathtaking than the last. Well worth the effort but not for the faint hearted.

From the range we drove down to Le Bons Bay which was a lovely little swimming spot and surf beach in a bay enclosed by large headlands. Back up the range for another session of white knuckle driving and spectacular views over Akaroa and the outside bays.

Eventually back down off the range and retraced our path to the motel for a few calming gin & tonics & scotches. With blood pressure returning to normal and no plans for dinner, we just walked & had a look at what was on offer in the neighbourhood. Ended up at the casino. Went for the buffet which was about half the cost of the previous night's restaurant. The food (with the exception of the prawns - here's a tip, don't eat prawns in NZ - (they're frozen, imported, undersized and bloody terrible) was excellent.

After dinner we wandered into the gaming room and put $10 through the pokies which coincidentaly lasted the same time as a few beers. On the way out had one bet on the wheel, picked up $50 and walked out for an inexpensive and enjoyable evening. A casual stroll found us back at the motel. Weather perfect & still no need for a coat.

Wonderful Day!

Visit: www.akaroa.com

Little River Gallery

Hot Rod Rally

Lolife

Rally Car

Beautiful View

Road Into Akaroa

View From Lighthouse Road

Lighthouse Road

South Island Sapling

Akaroa Library

Akaroa Post Office

Gallery

Original Customs House

Local Garden

Akaroa Court House

Scenic Route Road

Le Bons Bay

Inlet View

Inlet View

View From Scenic Road

Looking Out To Sea

Kingsgate Motel

Christchurch City Clock

New Zealand South Island (Day 2)

2007-05-13T15:20:00.000+10:00

DAY 2 CHRISTCHURCH Sunday 4.2.07

Very slow start by the travelers today. Didn't get going till 12pm when we were off to pick up the limo from Thrifty. Asked for confirmation that the booking was for a Lexus SUV but ended up with a Nissan mini of some sort with possibly the smallest boot in history. The girl at Thrifty (in pure Sth Island dialect) gave us a few ideas as to places of interest to visit (Sumner & surrounding area). Asked her for directions to Whykickamoocow. She said "Are you serious?"
The stunned look on her face was priceless.

Sumner was easy to find and a very pretty spot. Features in the area were magnificient homes on brilliant hillside lots offering ocean views. The hills were steeper than anything you are permitted to build on here but no trouble for them to put in roads and build up there. About time we realised that these are to areas we should be using for urban development and keep the flat stuff for agricultural uses. Had a drive around one of these hillside residential estates - Fantastic how they have done it.

Realised we hadn't eaten since lunch at the Breakkie Creek the day before and it was now after 1pm NZ time. Found an attractive restaurant in a converted old stone building and ordered the first thing I saw - roast pork, apple sauce & veg - bloody beautiful!

After lunch we drove on over to Lyttleton (a port town) which was where the first four English ships landed creating the settlement of Christchurch. Winding roads cut into the edge of cliffs made the drive down into Lyttleton Harbour white knuckle interesting (mainly because of the way the locals drive over here) and featured great views.

Kiwi drivers have a death wish with the way the drive these type of roads that have no guard rails between the edge of the road and the drop. Motor bike riders are even crazier - overtaking on blind corners at about three times the recommended speed. I'm told they have half the population of Qld but twice the death toll. I would have thought after this experience it would have been a worse statistic so I guess this just means they are better drivers.

Drove around this part for a while with nice little settlements and bay views at Corsair, Cass and Governor's Bays. Retraced our path back up the mountain to the crossroads so we could take on the famous Summit Rd scenic drive. A very winding road with great views. Every corner a new breathtaking vista though it was a bit hazy that day.

I have a new respect for Kiwis now and understand a lot better where their competitive spirit comes from. The mountains are covered in walking tracks and bike trails. Seeing someone ride over the edge of a mountain and go down a 45 degree slope on a winding one foot wide dirt and rock path on a bike was a sight I won't forget in a hurry. Obviously there isn't a bitumen road in NZ too steep for bikes as you pass them everywhere. Some of them would be travelling at 50 to 60 mph downhill at times and on winding roads at that.

The Summit Road has great views out over Christchurch on one side as well as back over Lyttleton Harbour from the other. A gondola ride also takes views up from Heathcote to the gondola station high above Summit Road for those who don't want to tackle the drive. At the end of Summit Road is a cafe known as "Sign of the Kiwi" at which we turned off and drove back into the city and on to our motel.

Our motel was well positioned with lots of restaurants within easy walking distance. Dinner that night was at some overpriced swanky little clipjoint. Great meal but the main course was in the high $40. Highlight though was a waitress whose laugh was like a stallion who had just been hit on the balls with a jigger.

Doesn't get dark here at this time of the year until 9.15pm with still some light at 9.30pm. A leisurely stroll back to the motel via the corner pub for a nightcap ended a very pleasant day.

View: www.christchurch.org.nz

Sumner Lunch Spot

Hillside Housing

View Over Sumner

Hillside Living

Downhill Biking

Sumner Lyttleton Road

Lyttleton Road

Hillside Cemetery

Cass Bay

Harbour Views

Bayside Living

Valley Living

Lost Tourist

New Brighton From Summit Road

Style Steppin'

Summit Rd View

Christchurch From Summit Rd

Top Of The Trail

Mountain Bike Track

Aussie At The Kiwi

New Zealand South Island (Day 1)

2007-05-13T14:45:00.000+10:00

Day 1 TRAVEL DAY Saturday 3.2.07

The rain in Mackay lifted & we were off to Brisbane to connect with our NZ flight. Jagged a bonus by being able to book the luggage straight through to Christchurch. This was a real benefit as we were to meet for lunch with the Penridge clan to celebrate Ralph's 60th birthday at the Breakkie Creek Hotel. Did it in fine fashion with a big steak, a couple of bottles of red and a cleansing traditional xxxx off the wood.

Back to the airport for some quick duty free shopping including the obligatory booze purchases and also a new 1GB card for the camera. Thought we might have gone a bit over the top with the new card but little did I know that Jean would try to fill it on the first day. Tanqueray 1Lt for $27 or 2 for $47 ($60+ here) and a bottle of Grants so big it should have come with a cradle pourer.

On to the plane to the welcoming words " In the event the cabin loses pressure oxygen masks will drop from the console above you. Stop screaming & put the mask on. Don't panic - the hostess is trained to do that for you". Regardless of these words of advice they weren't applicable and we enjoyed an incident free and comfortable flight into Christchurch. By the time we cleared immigration & customs and caught a transit bus to the Kingsgate Auto Lodge (which gave us an early morning full tour of the city) it was well after 1am and close to 2am by the time we got to bed.

Three Amigos

Ralph & Janelle

The Tourists