South Island - New Zealand
We took the ferry over from Wellington to Picton, a short journey of just under 3 hours, in nice, relatively flat calm seas (thankfully, not being the worlds best sailor). As time was short we had decided to drive straight to Nelson having got off the ferry. Darkness was falling as we set off in what seemed to be a convoy of every car having been on the ship. Soon though, normal service was resumed, and we seemed to be the only car on the road. After a couple of hours we hit the outskirts of Nelson, and began the search for the hotel, once found , as it was late, we just headed to the hotel restaurant for food. The hotel itself, was in Monaco, just outside Nelson, and had the resemblance of a cobble street style Ye Olde English Village. We were allocated a studio room , with massive lounge/diner and separate bedroom, Very comfortable. After a good nights kip we decided to go to the Museum of Wearable Art & Classic Cars, which I have to say satisfied both our needs of clothes and cars under one roof. Have a look and you'll see what I mean : http://www.wowcars.co.nz/
We also visited the gallery of the jeweller who made the original ring for the LOTR film franchise. Nelson was small to walk around, safe, full of cafes bards shops and restaurants of every type and price. We stayed out all day choosing to put a full day in just being a tourist.
After getting up early we started our long drive down the western coast of the South Island, we encountered some amazing, dramatic scenery, and the word "Wow" was banned unless in exceptional circumstances. We stopped for a walk at Punakaiki, or pancake rocks, which actually do what they say on the tin, i.e. look like pancakes. We had accommodation booked that evening in Franz Josef, with a view to try and get to walk/hike/fly to the glacier. At this point we were beginning to notice how much colder things were becoming. Daft really when you take into account a) it is winter, and b) we are in the mountains. So wrapped up to the nines we walked the one road through Franz Josef, realised it was too cold, found a restaurant with an open fire and settled in for the evening. Next day the planned heli-hike we had arranged was cancelled, as the winds at altitude were too strong. So we decided to leave early, and walk to the glacier, which we did and very pleasant it was too. We had been advised that the weather and wind were likely to change, and as we were driving through Fox Glacier, there may be a chance we could pick up a flight from there. Thankfully when we arrived early afternoon, the weather had changed, and we only had to wait around an hour for a flight to the top of the glacier, which was amazing, the colours, the clear air, the snow, and we were the only two paying passengers in the helicopter, so unlimited views all-round.
On landing we jumped back in the car and made our way down to our next stop at Wanaka , through beautiful landscapes and open plains, where the word Wow wasn't mentioned once, it had been replaced by 'fantastic' , 'have you seen that' and my personal favourite 'doesn't that look like.......' Again after a long afternoons drive, we arrived at the hotel just back from the Lake front at Wanaka. Quickly checked in, reapplied, sweaters, fleeces hats and gloves and disappeared into the night air. We had a meal in a brewery bar on the front, where the nice chap serving us, couldn't really decide which of his beers were like English bitters, so brought me 3 sample glasses to try. I gave the nod to one very tasty brew, which I have a feeling now may be getting marketed as some kind of English ale.
We would normally spend time walking and hiking on holiday, but my wife had recently had an operation, so this trip we had to take it easy . However we had discovered a walk around the lake, long and flat, and that's what it was. A long stretch of the legs , the sun was shining, there was little wind..perfect walking conditions.
On our arrival back in Wanaka, we had decided to go to the Cinema having seen it was one of THE things to do, and the reports weren't wrong. The Cinema Paradiso was a filmtastic experience. Visitors are encouraged to take food and drink into the theatre, and the seats are a mixture of dentist chairs, settees and old First Class airline seats. Well worth a visit, the food served in the café was very tasty too. The following day we visited Puzzle World, which was an interesting educational way to spend a few hours, mainly because we couldn't make our way out of the maze - doh !
We were now on our way to the final stop on our journey, we had been advised to stop at the Cardrona Hotel for food, the place was packed - even though miles from anywhere. The rear garden was open, the sun was shining it was freezing cold, but the soup was piping hot (small footnote the Music playing on the in house system was also to our tastes)
Refreshed, onwards to 3 nights in Queenstown. It says "Staggering beauty and heart-pumping thrills await in the resort town of Queenstown", and that's certainly true. Our hotel the Novotel was right on the lake front, and a short walk either around the lakefront, or through the pleasant lanes to the town centre. For the next 3 days we tried to enjoy everything Queenstown could offer. We took the Queenstown Gondola, to the top of Bob's Peak and a great view of Lake Wakatipu. The small town of Arrowtown is worth a visit too.
My wife realised a lifetimes ambition to jump out of a plane, she managed to keep her cool and complete a 15000 free fall tandem parachute jump, and promptly wanted to do it again.
On our final day we woke up to temperatures of Minus 6 degrees, packed our bags and took the short drive to the airport for our flight to Auckland where we planned to spend the following 2 nights.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand, and thought we managed to make the best use of the 3 weeks we spent there, of course...we can always return.