1. Coromandel, Tuesday 24th Janaury 2006
Dear All,
Greetings from New Zealand! - on the wettest day I think I have ever seen!
We had an excellent journey to Singapore and thoroughly enjoyed the Shangri-la. The night safari was well worth the visit as was the botanic garden and meals at the harbour and in China town, all dressed for New Year, completed a splendid stay.
Another long journey found us at midnight having our walking boots washed by the customs in Auckland. We had a good hotel there and took a lovely trip round the bay in the bright sunshine as well as ascending the sky tower.
Now we are in Coramandel staying at a nice bed and breakfast. At the moment there is an immense storm going on with wind and rain but we are looking forward to an interesting walk tomorrow.
2. Turangi, Tuesday 31st Janaury 2006
We have been here for a fortnight now and the time seems to going ever faster.
I left you last week in torrential rain - this did not stop and we were cut off in Coromandel, so that our hosts at the B&B had to produce a scratch meal for eight of us that evening.
It cleared up the next day and we had a nice beach walk and did some bird watching. Then on to Rotorua to a wonderful B&B with spectacular views of the region from high on a hill overlooking the town.
There we visited a vast colourful thermal area, a Kiwi protection centre and enjoyed a Maori Hangi. The highlight however was probably a ten mile walk through the forest by a lake where we swam.
Then we came here to Turangi stopping off on the way to visit a couple of impressive geothermal power production fields.
We hoped to do the Tongoriro crossing but this did not seem prudent with Mum's knee (you go down farther than you climb) and we were vindicated by the clouds staying down so we would have seen very little. However we did a lower, shorter walk (about nine miles) to the Tama lakes which was fun.
We are enjoying our B&Bs - you have a chance to chat to other people which is always interesting (though the majority of guests seem to be elderly English!).
We think of you all often and wish you were here.
3. Raetihi Lodge, Marlborough Sounds, Wednesday 8th February 2006
This week finds us nearly half way through our holiday, now in the South Island. We are at Raetihi lodge in the Marlborough Sounds a wonderful area rather like the west coast of Scotland but with fine weather (although it is raining at the moment!) We managed another walk yesterday almost up to Pete's Peak (eight miles and 1500 feet). We did not make the top since we had no real map and the time estimates given to us were way out. Nevertheless we had a lovely day and reached the ridge with spectacular views over the sounds.
The inevitable problem of working with a poor map in this area emerged - we sorted out the direction from the direction of the shadows and nothing made sense - then we turned the amp round since the shadows point south in this part of the world!
Last week we left Turangi on a hundred mile drive across country to Napier. It was a wonderful area of hills and sheep farms, rather like Derbyshire writ large, with nice weather. We saw perhaps two other cars the whole way.
Napier is a small city, the centre of which was completely demolished in an earthquake in 1931. We arrived in town for our visit 75 years to the minute (!) after the earthquake - a gun fired as we approached and we got there for the end of the commemoration ceremony. Then we had our hands shaken by the Prime Minister (Helen Clarke) who wished us a good visit, which was most exciting, and beats the welcome we have ever received in any other country!
Ms Clarke is a labour Mrs Thatcher, who like Mrs T. has changed the face of this country giving it a strong currency and an unsubsidised agriculture which competes well in the global market.
Napier was rebuilt after the earthquake and is famous for the art-deco style of its buildings which are remarkable. What struck us, both in the buildings and from the reading matter, is the similaries with so many things in our childood and youth - our own impressions of towns were formed from new buildings and artifacts built and made at the same time as Napier.
The on to Wellington - again by a hundred and twenty mile minor road through winding hills and valleys with essentially no other traffic. The rugby sevens were on in Wellington when we booked so there was no accomodation and we found ourselves at a B&B across the bay in Eastbourne. This turned out to be a stroke of luck - our hosts were so nice and kind, the house had spectacular views and we visited Wellington each day by ferry across the splendid harbour. We managed the two spectacular museums and the botanic gardens all of which were worth the visit.
In Eastbourne we ate a lovely restaurant - indeed our whole trip has been supplied with marvellous food, of much better quality and presentation, in our opinion, than at home.
The we took the ferry to Picton in the South Island and the boat taxis which brought us to the lodge.
Today we go back to Picton by boat and then on by bus to Nelson to see Kathy and Dennis Dixon for the weekend.
As always, we think of you often and wish that at least some of you were here to enjoy it all with us.
4. Golden Bay, Wednesday 14th February 2006
We are now at the top of Golden Bay, the northen most tip of the South Island of New Zealand. It is a wonderful landscape of shallow beaches, steep cliffs, vast caves, seals and large numbers of waders. We are enjoying the short walks, watching the birds and generally loafing about.
We came here from Kathie & Denis Dixon in Nelson, where they spend four months every year (they normally live in London Road, Newcastle!). They have a spacious house in the Glen at one end of the vast boulder bank (something like Chesil Beach) which dominates the sea access to Nelson. There are wonderful views of the bay and the distant mountains of the Abel Tasman national park. It was lovely to be with friends again and they took us to the renowned Nelson Market, to WOW (World of Wearable Art) - which is genuinely fantastic - and to a nice wine tasting given by their daughter, Liz, who helps the winery at weekend. Altogether it was a lovely stay.
Tomorrow we are go South to the West Coast to find and join the Tranzalpine train for a trip through the mountains.
Thanks to those who have kindly written brief notes - we are constantly reminded of you since everyone here wants to know one's background - you are of course always in our thoughts.
5. Franz Josef, Tuesday 21st February 2006
Last week we signed off at Golden Bay - in the far north of the South Island. One thing I forgot to mention was that our B&B backed directly on to the immense beach and we had a couple of wonderful walks, looking at waders and seeing the gannets and terns fishing.
Now we are half way down the west coast at Franz Josef Glacier. We are in a pretentious B&B lodge and enjoying too much food in a excellent restaurant in the town. The walk that we hoped to attempt is closed due to a rockfall but we walked up to the glacier, and also up to the adjacent (30 km) Fox Glacier today, both of which were grand - in a grubby glacier sort of way. We did not succumb to the numerous helicopter flights etc - as Mum observed, you do rather better in cable car skiing in Tignes or elsewhere!
>From Golden Bay we travelled to Greymouth via a seal colony and some remarkable spouting rocks. There we took an overnight "day trip" to Christchurch on the East Coast, on the TranzAlpine which passes over the Alps via numerous gorges, valleys and tunnels. We stayed at a splendid hotel and then came back the next morning. It made a change from driving and was impressive (though not dissimilar to the GAP- Innsbruck line!).
Yesterday at Hokitika we stayed at a lovely B&B and the chap there dropped us at the beginning of a four mile walk through bush and swamp land in glorious sunshine. We picked up our car at the other end, eat our picnic by a lake and continued on our journey.
So now we begin our last week or so, travelling south tomorrow for a cruise and an island visit.
We are already looking forward to seeing Mike and Nicky at the end of next week, although we shall be sorry to finish our holiday here.
6. Jakarta, Saturday 4th March, 2006
We have now arrived at Mike and Nicky's in Jakarta - pleased to be here with them but also sorry to be on our way home after such a splendid holiday.
We left the glaciers in the pouring rain, which washed the dusty car, and lunched in Jackson Bay, the south end of of the road along the west coast of the South Island - a small village with an end of the world feel about it. Then on the Wanaka where we had an intriguing visit to puzzle world where we managed after an effort to escape from the maze, and thence to Queenstown the capital of NZ adventure.
On again to Manapouri where we took a launch and bus to join the overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. This was wonderful - such a magnificent setting, so much presence in the place and we, lucky enough to enjoy sunshine there. The highpoint of the extremely well-organised cruise was the ten minute silence when the engines were switched off and everything and everybody was totally still - the only sounds being those that the fiord enjoyed for tens of thousands of years before man's arrival.
We returned via bus and launch and then on to Bluff where another experience awaited us - a trip to NZ third main island - Stewart. It blew a full gale for 24 hours before we set off in the catamaran for the hours trip which was remarkably rough. We survived and found ouselves in a place not unlike a remote village in the south west of Ireland - limited but remarkably friendly and enjoyable.
Back to the mainland then, and on to Gore and Christchurch where the tram, the botanic garden and the huge new art gallery were all worthwhile visits. Then yesterday to Singapore and the Shangri-La hotel, which was as lovely as before and which rectified a non-mistake by giving us a bottle of champagne which we shall open here for a small celebration with Mike and Nicky.
We set off on Monday afternoon back to Singapore and then to Manchester to see what the weather, the news and and the post have brought us.
We had a wonderful time in New Zealand - it is all so friendly and accommodating and worth visiting on that account alone - quite apart from the wonderful sights to see.
This closes our NZ epistles - we are still thinking of you all and wondering when we shall see you again.