Day 33 March 5th Bay of Islands



The Bay of Islands

We were determined that today would be a more 

Queen Mary 2

relaxing day after all the travelling and check ins and outs of yesterday.  We rose at a more leisurely pace and opened our curtains to find another very pleasant day with sun shining, plenty of blue sky and temperature in the low 20s.  We have breakfast included here and so it was off to the restaurant and enjoyed a good refuelling.  We returned to our room and I wrote and posted yesterday's blog while Christine was organising our wardrobes/cases etc and keeping up with her emails.  We then took the hotel courtesy shuttle bus into Paihia (the main town) and noticed a cruise boat ferrying people ashore - on zooming it was the Queen 

us relaxing

Mary 2 - and so the small town was quite crowded.  Near where we are staying is the historic Waitangi Treaty House where the first treaty was signed between the Maori and the British.  A lot of the cruise passengers were going to the exhibition there as it has been contentious up until recent times.  We had a look round the town, finalised our arrangements for our day tomorrow and then relaxed with a hokey pokey ice cream - a must do activity in New Zealand.



proper truck

me with the truck

We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and found there 
was a new truck in the car park which had a good number plate.
We had a walk round the hotel grounds and a quick look at the Treaty Grounds building but did not enter.  This area of New Zealand is a bit like Scilly but 

beach by the hotel

does not have so many good beaches as Scilly or other parts of NZ.  We have since freshened up and had our evening meal in the hotel.





 

Day32 March 4th Queenstown to Bay of Islands

last view of Queenstown on land

taking off

Lake Wakatipu

 

Today we are making our biggest move within New Zealand and so we were up earlier than usual, breakfasted, packed and checked out of the studio flat in Queenstown by 0915.  We then made our way to the airport, I dropped Christine and the luggage at the terminal and went to hand over our hire car.  

Lake Wakatipu

The Remarkables

travel to Bay of Islands

travel to Bay of Islands

That all went well, we met up and decided to check in for our 1110 flight to Aukland.  A bit of luggage weight rearrangement was required but we eventually satisfied the officials and had to wait about 40 mins before we boarded for the nearly 2 hour flight.   All went well although it was a bit disconcerting to take off with the mountains towering round us and we arrived in Aukland just about on time.  We then had to collect another hire car which took a little time and eventually left there at 1415.   We set the satnav which said it was over 3 hours to reach the Bay of Islands.  The traffic around Aukland was very bad (we had to cross the city) and after having a couple of necessary breaks for food etc we reached our destination just before 2000.  We checked in and because we were so exhausted we soon went to bed.  At least it all happened in fair weather.

 



Day 31 March 3rd Our last full day on South Island



SS Earnsla

the very grand homestead

First of all a record of how we got on last evening on our Lake cruise.  We had booked to board the SS Earnslaw at 6pm for a crossing to a homestead on the other side of the lake where we would have dinner and return by 10pm.  It was still warm at 6, there were quite a few on board creating a good atmosphere and the food was very good.  We went on a trip on the same boat when we were in Queenstown 3 years ago and there some photos on that page - we liked it so much we redid the trip only in the 

one shorn sheep!

Earnslaw at 10pm

evening.  There were various animals to see and a sheepdog exhibition and a sheep shearing demonstration.   So much for yesterday!     


Arrowtown shop

on our walk

the river

on the drive home

Today, as our last full day in the South Island, we decided to go to the small former goldmining town of Arrowtown.  It has a good atmosphere with old style shops some of which are very good.    We did some souvenir shopping and then decided to for a walk along the river where gold was found and mined from the 1860s to the 1900s.   We enjoyed the walk, did not find any gold and so then drove a different route back to Queenstown.  We have had a fish & chip supper and are now preparing for tomorrow when we leave here, hand this car back, fly to Aukland, pick up another car and drive to the Bay of Islands.  We will let you know how we get on!
 
 
 
 




 

 



 



 

 

 

Day 30 March 2 Glenorchy and SS Earnslaw

balcony at breakfast

mist around

The sun was shining onto our balcony as we arose and we tested the temperature and it was much warmer than yesterday and so we decided to breakfast al fresco.

Glenorchy police vehicle

There is a small place at the head of Lake Tikatapu  called Glenorchy (this Mackenzie  country so a lot of Scottish influence).  We hadn't visited here before and it seemed a nice, short drive along the side of the lake.  We had some good lake views and so we stopped to photograph and it took about an hour.

view down the lake

 We had a hot chocolate and then looked round the small, pleasant town.  There were several activities going on including white water rafting which we declined the opportunity to partake.
 
 We went for a further drive round the lake and took more pictures.  We never tire of the the lake views and majestic mountains.
 
 
 We returned to Glenorchy for a snack, looked at the small shops and then returned by the lakeside route to Queenstown. 


We went to our little flat and walked into town.  We went to the SS Earnslaw office and booked a cruise for the evening with dinner at a sheep ranch on the opposite side of the lake.  We won't be home until after 2200 and so more of that tomorrow.  We then did a quick, unproductive tour of some of the shops before returning to the flat to prepare for the evening excursion.
 
 
 
 
 

Day 29 March 1st Lake Tekapo to Queenstown

Mounts Cook & Tasman 

approaching Lindis Pass

leaving Lindis Pass

view from road

It was the coolest we had been in New Zealand when we woke this morning.  We had to turn some heating on as we had breakfast and then packed for today's move.  When we eventually checked out the receptionist said it had got down to 6 Celsius overnight.  It was bright and clear however and we hoped the day would soon warm up.  The car thermometer said the outside temperature was in single figures as we left - quite a contrast to what we have been experiencing.  We were soon progressing well and caught our last glimpses of Mounts Cook and Tasman from the road.  Mist was obviously in the valleys.  We planned our first stop at Omerama  after 1 hour and enjoyed a nice warm hot chocolate.  We carried on as the temperature rose and we crossed over the Lindis Pass (900m) where we again stopped at a viewing point. 




Bendigo

lake at Bendigo

Bendigo stopping point

 We carried on and decided to stop for our picnic at a lakeside picnic area at Bendigo.  It was much warmer now and we had the car doors open.  After a break and stretch we were on our way again passing some pretty impressive countryside which was dry because of the summer weather. 

We had to stop at Cromwell for fuel and continued on the twisty road that took us to Queenstown at about 1430.

We sorted ourselves out and appreciated the marvellous view from our window and watched as the Earnslaw docked at its home.  We then went for a look round and a meal in the town.  It has a buzz and feel that no other town in New Zealand has.



Earnslaw from our window



Day 28 February 29th Lake Tekapo

the walk setting

Lake Tekapo on our right

Darker blue of Lake McGregor (l)

Motuariki

The forecast was not so good for today with showers predicted in the morning but clearing later.  We had planned to go on a boat trip on the lake but unfortunately the boatman has serious illness and is currently understandably not operating.  When we emerged there was only blue sky and the sun shining but quite a keen, warm wind.  We have been provided with local info and decided on a lake shore walk for 2 hours.  We got our picnic together and drove to the start point a few minutes along the lake.  We were happy in shorts and T shirts and made good progress seeing the lake from different viewpoints. At one stage we saw a smaller lake, McGregor, whose water was deeper blue (non-glacial) which contrasted with Tekapo.  There was also an island in Tekapo called Motuariki and so we had great views of all this and the surrounding mountains.  The walk was undulating with a couple of steepish climbs which probably did us good.  We had one or two drink stops and met several others enjoying it all.  The wind had increased by the time we made it to the car and we were glad to be out of it.

low cloud in this valley



sun reflecting

 We then drove and stopped by the lake for our picnic.  In the afternoon we did some shopping for dinner and some souvenirs.  We then returned to our flat for a time of relaxation before getting ourselves prepared for our move to Queenstown tomorrow.  Lake Tekapo is a destination not to be missed on any itinery of New Zealand.