Customer Blog : Our New Zealand Adventure
SYDNEY: Our stopover. Our hotel was an atmospheric pub with accommodation located within easy walking distance to the harbour bridge, opera house and transport to everything that goes on in the city!
NZ: Upon arriving in Auckland, we drove north to the East coast. After 3-hours we arrived the Bay of Islands. Our accommodation was BEAUTIFUL. It was our favourite accommodation by far. Our hosts there were amazing. Next day was a boat trip to the Hole in the Rock. A delightful tourist boat that attracts the neighbouring dolphins who come to say hello! The afternoon was taken with a visit to the Waitangi Treaty.
Heading back South next, passing Auckland and then across to the west coast to stay and capture a stunning sunset is a must, before heading to Rotorua. Lucy had arranged for us a Maori experience which included singing, dancing, in a setting of hot-water springs.
Next stop on our travels was Napier. Reconstructed following a large earthquake in the area during 1931. As it was the early years of the Art Deco period it was decided to rebuild in that style. Vintage cars and people in costume made it a very interesting stopover. Lucy also included a wine-tasting tour in the local area. Really good fun and informative. The drive to the Ferry terminal was easy, for the 3 hour crossing to Picton, on south-island. Once onboard it was beautiful scenery as the ship meandered through Queen Charlotte Sound.
Back onto the state highway to visit Blenheim. You know you're in the middle of the winelands, when all you can see is miles upon miles of vineyards! This was Marlborough ! No time to stop at Blenheim's Wine Festival unfortunately, next time maybe?!
Onwards toward our next stopover Kaikoura and our eagerly anticipated whale-watching experience. A stunning, beautiful journey with a road running parallel to the sea. Almost there, we found a roadside cafe called Karaka Lobster. You can't miss its huge realistic looking lobster on the roof! Their signature dish of fresh lobster did not disappoint. The main event of the pre-booked Whale Watching Trip was next morning, so it was fingers-crossed for some good weather for the sailing. If anyone reading this is travelling to Kaikoura this is an absolutely must-do. It is so well organised and informative that it would be hard to believe that it is possible not to see a single whale! We felt very grateful for our 7 sightings!
Christchurch: A slow walk from our hotel revealed a still beautiful city being rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake. Over the next two nights it provided a bit of relaxation time wandering the botanical gardens, galleries, Quake City museum, shops, bars and markets, as well as a marvellous wine-tasting experience.
Next day, a wonderful 4-5 hour train journey from Christchurch to the west coast and an introduction to some of the most fantastic rugged scenery New Zealand has to offer. Afterwards, and an extensive view of flat plains to the left with the 'backbone' of mountains in the distance. Driving through each of the towns en-route were pretty much the same with the nothing-much-going-on sort of feel to them. The larger towns had a little more activity about them, but not much. The scenery got more interesting as the road drifted inland towards the mountains.
Franz Josef was a delight. It's not every day you will find a hotel, with a glacier at the end of the street. Amazing! The local restaurants and bars are good, family owned usually . We loved Alice May's. Since the weather was looking so good the next day it was a bit of a spontaneous decision to make a helicopter trip to the glacier. It was a stunning 30 min flight, and well worth the expense.
Wanaka is a vibrant town. We spent a pleasant hour or so in Speight's Ale House. Here, we got talking to other travellers making their way around the country and all exchanging what they'd encountered so far, as well as what and where was next. Not for the first time, did we bump into several of these friendly folk somewhere else on each of our journeys. Queenstown beckoned us for a 3 night stopover.
Before getting to the town it was a brief stop at the Hackett Bungy Centre, to watch some of the 'braver than we are' folk taking a jump from the Kawarau Suspension Bridge that straddles the gorge. An award winning piece of engineering dating back to 1882 that stands the equivalent height of a 10-storey building apparently.
Lucy organised for us, a visit to Milford Sound. A very entertaining 'Podge'. Actually, an Irishman by the name of Padraig who had huge knowledge of the route to Fjordland where Milford Sound is located, describing historical events that had taken place, funny mishaps, like the brand new tractor at the bottom of one of the lakes. Still available for anyone wishing to retrieve it apparently, any many, more tales. There are multiple stops on the journey, The Mirror Lakes being of particular note. However, Milford is breathtakingly beautiful, and the 4+hours it took to get there didn't seem to trouble anyone, even though we were only there for the 2-hour boat trip. Being well organised and very informative it didn't seem too daunting to be getting back on the coach for the return journey. Everyone seemed to have taken a lovely collection of wonderful photos from the visit. The last leg of the journey in New Zealand was the 3+hours drive to the south side of Christchurch. More valleys, more flat plains, more views of distant mountains, before coming into the city from the south this time.
The weather during January and February had been exceptional overall. Even the locals were talking about how warm it had been! The driving was easy, the scenery never tiresome, and the people were so friendly . All flights, transfers, accommodation and excursions plus hire cars were brilliantly orchestrated by Lucy, so we had no hiccups along the way!
A TRULY WONDERFUL HOLIDAY HOLIDAY...
