Wellington to Marton

We had a great crossing from Picton to Wellington on the ferry on Friday - sunny and calm and on schedule. We didn't linger in Wellington and just started heading north stopping to admire the views along the coast, looking out to Kapiti Island.

First Mate's arrival into Wellington

The Interislander (not ours)

In Paraparaumu it was really nice to make a surprise visit to Noelene and John who moved there only a week ago from Tauranga and are already very organised with Noelene even having lovely baking on hand. I was also pleased to be able to see Annette, very briefly, at work.
18 holes of golf at the 9 hole Kapiti Course was next - very friendly, welcoming members and they were happy for us to stay the night which we did as darkness was approaching by the time we finished playing their nice course which unfortunately for me had drains crossing several fairways! We had a great shower in the morning - voted by us as the best golf club shower in NZ so far - nice and strong.
Saturday morning we popped in to see my niece Penny, Matt, son Elliot and 7 week old baby daughter, Violet, right on Te Horo Beach where they have just moved to from Wellington. Such a fantastic spot and we can see that they love it there - great for a growing family. Yummy chicken & salad sandwiches there too - thanks P& M!
We had intended to drive on to Marton from there but got waylaid by the Foxton Golf Club which is on the main road and where we hadn't played before. So it was out with the clubs and another round on our 1st 18 hole course for a while, joining a few of the young local lads for a drink at the 19th before settling into the special grassed spot they have for overnight motorhomes.
It has been plethora of golf since arriving back in the North Island and as they all have showers we are especially clean! Yesterday we played at the Rangitikei Club out of Bulls, a course that Len especially likes to play on, and today we played at Marton, a course that I especially love, and where my mother used to play. My brother Rodger, and Margaret, joined us halfway round which made a nice change for us to have company.
We had stayed the night in the farm paddock at Margarets and she cooked us a lovely lamb roast with delicious veges which were several steps up from the Picton RSA veges!

It was a fun night with her, Rodger and Margaret's daughter, Briar, and grandson Leo. Or it was until I broke the crystal candelabra on the table when I stretched across for the water jug! Oh dear, it wasn't meant to be that much of a smashing time but luckily Margaret is very forgiveable!

It has also been excellent to catch up with my other brothers - Bob and Judy, and Peter while we have been in Marton - the time has all gone too quickly but we have to get a move on to reach Tauranga by Wednesday as planned.

The Sounds & Picton

A typical view from the roadside!

Although NZ needs a lot more rain we loved seeing the sun come over the hill into the bus as we were having our Ohingaroa Bay-side breakfast on Wednesday morning and the views of the Sounds as we drove along the windy, hilly Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton were spectacular. Lots of stops on the way for little walks and photos. If we come back this way it would be nice to stay at the DOC Momorangi Bay Motorcamp ($28 for a seaside site for 2 with electricity, a little less for over the road) - a beautiful little spot.

Morning in the Sounds

We decided to re-visit the Picton Golf Club where we played our first South Island game in the freezing cold wind. Sunshine and a nice temperature today and again we both played better than last time. Len was especially chuffed with his second 9, scoring 37 - watch out Rory!!!
After golf we drove around the corner to Freeths Rd and the farmer's large POP site where we stayed previously. We have views across the paddock to the golf course and the old arthritic goat is as friendly as ever. A very peaceful spot and when we woke we could only hear the birds - the sheep were especially quiet for us and the 4 other vans.

Nanny & Len acting the goat!

Thursday morning we did a bit of local sightseeing driving around the coast road to Waikawa Bay, Karaka Point and the bay beyond, as far as the decent road could take us, and with lots of stoppages for little walks or good views of the Sounds.

Once back in Picton we visited the BlueBridge Office as we had booked our tickets online but Len couldn't bring up the excellent discount that we get as NZMCA members. It kept telling him that they were sold out so he had to pay the full price of about $360. We thought that we can't have booked early enough but decided it was worth popping in to check and it certainly was! They are giving us a refund of $171 as that discount is ALWAYS available to members as long as the ship isn't full. There was just a glitch on the internet site.
We stayed at the Picton RSA for the night and ate there for dinner, described as - "the best roast in Picton". We look forward to a roast seeing I'm not cooking them in the bus. Well the lamb was plentiful, tender and delicious but the roast veges were tiny and sad alongside the dull looking peas and corn. I guess if I had had three times as much pumpkin and half as much meat I would have been happy though!

It was an early start this morning as we had to be at the boat at 7.00am for an 8.00am sailing so we had our breakfast while waiting in the queue on the wharf. It is another beautiful day and should be a smooth crossing.

The Sounds

There were lots of puddles about and it was still raining when we left the farmers POP on Monday morning. Too wet to play on the Wairau Valley Golf Course! It didn't seem to take us long to drive through Renwick and then on up to Havelock via the same road we had travelled early on in our trip when we were en-route to Nelson from Blenheim. Just different conditions - rain and very brown paddocks but lots of green vineyards , instead of the sun we had last time.
Not much to see in the way of views because of the mist so we decided to have a lazy day and went almost straight to the Havelock camping ground where we just holed up for the day with our books and puzzles. We were rather surprised to see more Kiwis in the campground rather than the usual tourists but maybe it is coming towards the end of the overseas visitor season and it is now time for all the local retirees to go on holiday.
It is still raining today which is great for the farmers although they need a lot more with the ground still being very dry a cm from the surface.

A wet Torea Bay Jetty

A wet Portage waterfront

We have driven up the windy and hilly Kerepuni Road alongside Kenepuri Sound today as far as Portage which can be a stopover for those walking the Queen Charlotte Track. While there we walked along the road and over the hill from Portage in Cowshed Bay to Torea Bay which is in the Queen Charlotte Sound. It was quite windy on that side of the Sounds with the Southerly blowing in. Because of the weather we opted not to do any more walking or stay at the DOC camp up there and have returned to a waterside free parking area for up to 4 vans at Ohingaroa Bay - a nice little sheltered spot where we have gleaned some local information from a man who lives just along the road and does boat trips for tourists.

Nelson Lakes

A green meat sandwich!

We woke to the little tinkle of light rain which had been promised on a bigger scale as a start towards helping to end the long lasting drought from which the whole country is suffering at the moment. All the paddocks are parched dry with the sheep and cows eating dry stalks, apart from in the rare irrigated paddock.
With low cloud, misted mountains and continuing fairly gentle rain we headed off SH6 down the 11km road to Lake Rotoroa, the long lake, which has just a few houses/baches and a DOC camp a short walk from the edge of the lake. We did a 30 minute Nature Walk in our wet weather gear and enjoyed the singsong of the bellbirds before heading back down the road and onto Lake Rotoiti, the smaller of the 2 lakes but with more expansive views from the carpark on the lake edge.

Misty tranquility at Rotoroa

Rotoiti from Kerr Bay

After a tuna salad lunch we did the nice 90 minute Peninsula walk in the bush with the bellbirds along the edge of the lake from Kerr Bay to West Bay and then back via the little roads. Rotoiti is a bigger settlement than Rotoroa with a store, garage, school and quite a few houses, being a popular place for boaties and fishermen. They have a large, informative Info Centre which we visited just briefly before driving through the Wairau Valley.

These ones looked well fed!

From viewing the map we expected to be travelling along the edge of the Wairau River but apart from seeing it early on there were just dry paddocks where we expected the river to be. Just before we arrived at the small Wairau Valley settlement we found we were in vineyard country - it is nice to see the green vines. We are staying the night at a farm POP down a long driveway at the back of the owners orchard and are the only ones here. It's now dark and I think the light rain has just stopped - for the farmers' sake I hope there is more to come.

Lake Brunner to Murchison

Saturday we set off early from Lake Brunner as we had arranged to meet our tourism good friends, Jan & Doug, for a late lunch in Murchison where they would be passing through with their 2 American tourists enroute from Golden Bay to Westport.
On the way we had a stroll through Reefton which is a lovely revived village with all the old shops newly painted and a mass of colourful hanging baskets on both sides of the main street. We bought some nice treats from the bakery while there!

The sandfly dance!

A new mountain bike / walking track called 'The Ghost Trail' has been opened at Lyell where a DOC camp is and we did a little walk along it, swatting sandflies whenever we stood still. There were some steep drops off the track so you would need to be careful on a bike.

We came upon the longest swingbridge in NZ which goes over the Buller River before we reached Murchison and there were lots of tourists stopped there. You can also do a zipwire ride alongside the bridge or have a jet boat experience. We just observed from the edge as they charge $5 each just to walk across the bridge! Having crossed about 30 of them in the last few months we didn't feel the need to pay to do another!

A tolled swingbridge!

We must have dawdled a bit as Jan and Doug had beaten us to Murchison by about 1/2 hour but it was so lovely to see them after a gap of 5 months and meet the 2 American ladies. Then it was onwards to Westport for them and about 1 km down the road for us to the Murchison Golf Club which is, like all the rest of the country, so dry with the drought we are undergoing. We played on it about 4 months ago towards the beginning of our South Island tour. I've decided that my golf must actually be improving despite my handicap going out as I managed to go around with 10 shots less than last time. Then it was back to the NZMCA park in Murchison that we stayed at previously. Quite a lot of vans there and they had just finished having "Happy Hour" when we arrived at 6.00pm but Barry and Mary who, like our neighbours at Lake Brunner, were from Mapua, Nelson invited us into their caravan for a drink and chat. It turned out that Mary is the godmother of a Physio I know who used to have a practice in Te Puke!
After a drink Len and I wandered down to the Commercial Hotel for a light dinner which we had rather a wait for as they had a huge table to serve but it was nice to have a night off cooking!

Hokitika to Lake Brunner

Still nice sunshine as we left the MZMCA park at Hokitika and drove into town for a wander through the shops (lots of pounamu/ jade factory outlets) and a long awaited haircut for me. Of course I had to have a whitebait sandwich for lunch which I enjoyed but I think it wasn't quite as tasty as it should have been with the whitebait being frozen. Len opted for Eggs Benedict rather than the whitebait.
We appreciated Hokitika much more than when we were here last - it seems a nice little town right on the beach and beside the river with cycle tracks which we could have ridden on.

Time to move out!

Lake Kaniere from Debussy

Onleaving Hokitika we at first headed out to Lake Kaniere (pronounced Canary by the locals) which supplies the water for Hokitika - a pretty lake with a nice little settlement at Hans Bay although they all seemed to be closed up holiday homes judging by all the drawn curtains. We drove down a long, windy gravel road to see the Dorothy Falls and then on further around the lake. We had intended to go up through the gorge as apparently the water is a stunning turquoise but when we saw that it was another 20 km up we decided that we would be better to keep moving on towards Lake Brunner.

We had to return to Hokitika to do this and then drove up the coast to Kumera Junction where we headed inland. The turn-off to the west side of Lake Brunner was signposted at Kumera Junction and our map told us that this was a minor sealed road so off we set. However it wasn't long before it turned into a narrow, windy gravel road which seemed to go forever through dust covered bush and ferns until we finally reached small views of Lake Brunner after passing several large signs declaring that places were PRIVATE PROPERTY, KEEP OUT, TRESPASSERS PROSECUTED etc. You have to wonder what they are hiding. After our glimpse of the lake we continued south to where the road at last became sealed and was the "normal" way to the lake. (Don't go our way!!)

Walking the plank at Lake Brunner!

Moana, the holiday settlement at the north end of the lake is lovely - lots of quite nice homes which all seem to be empty at the moment and a couple of motor camps. The lake is popular with fishermen - lots of brown trout, boaties and waterskiers but is very quiet at this time of the year. We were hoping that Len would be able to hire a fishing rod here but sadly not. Next time we will definitely bring one! Our neighbours in the camp, Dave and Chris from Mapua, Nelson are keen fishermen but haven't caught anything yet even though you can see lots of trout in the water and jumping right near the edge.
We have had "Happy Hour" with David and Chris (both retired) both nights we have been here and tonight we are surrounded by people from Nelson with 4 other vans coming in from there, in convoy. They are on a little holiday celebrating the 60th birthday of one of the guys.
Today we did a few little walks in the area - the Valenski Track, the Rakaitane walk over the swingbridge and through the podocarp forest with views of the Arnold River and a walk along the edge of the lake where we fossicked for greenstone and had a swim. The water is about 21° so today it "was warmer in than out" with it being cloudy and a high of about 19°.

Fox Glacier to Hokitika

Tuesday we drove 6 km west of Fox Glacier to do the "must do" 1.5 hour walk along the boardwalk and through the native bush around picturesque Lake Matheson. It can have wonderful reflections of Mount Cook and Mt Tasman in its waters and you often see photos of it on calendars. When we were there a lot of early morning cloud was still about so they weren't mirrored as well as we had seen previously.

Mounts Tasman & Cook behind the cloud!

Tarzan of Matheson!

Okarito, a little further north is quite a special place - it was originally inhabited by Maori who gathered the vast amount of seafood there but this changed once gold was discovered on the beaches and a population boom occurred. Now it is a tiny village on a small sandspit which divides NZ's largest wetland and the Tasman Sea. The lagoon would be great to kayak around and there are commercial tours to see where the white herons are nesting.
We were going to have a walk down to the beach but there was a very large loose German Shepherd watching us from the back of the ute parked next to us and his owner was nowhere to be seen so we opted not to get out of the bus! Better safe than sorry!

We stopped at the Whataroa Golf Club after the nice drive, having passed Lake Mapourika on the way, and played 18 holes on the fairly uninspiring 9 hole flat course with it's crackly brittle brown grass with the odd tapestry of green from some watering.
A couple of the more interesting holes had deep dry waterways just before the greens.

Leaving Whataroa @ 08.00!

There was no-one else on the course and by the time we finished playing just before 7.00pm we decided it was time for dinner and a little bit far to drive to an allowable camp spot so there being no-one to ask if we could stay we rather guiltily decided to just do it. We felt very obvious as the carpark was right by the main road but we were able to sleep without anyone disturbing us.

We were on the road early this morning, driving through little Hari Hari which has the widest main street in the South Island and past Lake Ianthe before stopping in Ross to do the hour Goldfields walk which takes you past mine entrances and mining relics following the water races used for the gold sluicing.

Beautiful & serene!

Lake Mahinapua, just 10 km south of Hokitika is a beautiful, peaceful spot with a DOC camp on its edge and bush surrounding it, and we had a little walk there before continuing on to Hokitika which just happened to have a golf course on the main road before we arrived there so of course we just had to play another round!
The course stretches a long way along the strip between the road and the beach and being quite narrow seems to have quite a lot of overlapping fairways and tees going across them as well. I wouldn't like to play on it if it was busy! As it happens it was Mens Day but we were following the field of only about 20 so it was no problem. Len thought we might be able to join them for a beer afterwards so was disappointed to find that they had all gone straight home after their games -most unusual we thought!
We are now parked at an NZMCA site ($2 each a night) on the edge of Hokitika with about 12 other vans so it seems quite busy.

Haast to Fox Glacier

Dune Lake

After a fitful night spent trying to smack the persistent mozzies (a change from sandflies) we had another busy day, setting off from Haast and driving to Ship Creek where we did a couple of walks - the Dune Lake Walk of around 30 minutes which was excellent with the native bush, podocarps, ferns, swampland and birds especially tomtits and fantails.
The other walk was the Kahikatea swamp forest walk of about 20 minutes, the boardwalk sitting right over the water in places giving good views of the swamp area as well as the numerous trees, especially Rimu and the Kahikatea (white pine) which is NZ's tallest tree and can live for 500-800 years.

Now where are we? - Up Ship Creek!

We stopped briefly for the panoramic views of the rugged coastline and rainforest at Knights Point before heading on to Monro's Beach for the 1.5 hour return walk along a good path to the beach through the luxuriant coastal forest - lots of bellbirds, waxeyes and tomtits as well as wood pigeons. Again the sandflies chased us from the beach not long after we arrived but it was yet another enjoyable walk.

A Paringa lakeside flower!

Peaceful Lake Paringa, where there is a nice DOC camp, was a good place was a good place to stop for a paddle and Len's brief afternoon nap before making a short visit to the Salmon Farm Cafe further up the road. The cafe serves lots of salmon dishes but unfortunately you can't buy fresh salmon there. We could see them swimming around and around in their little pools though, poor things!

Soon we had nice coastal views of Bruce Bay before turning inland again and arriving at Fox Glacier which we walked up to the viewpoint to see - a return walk of about an hour. Last time we were in this area we were short of time and only visited Franz Josef Glacier so this time have done Fox instead. Very busy with lots of people - good to see but such a shame that it is receding so rapidly. We had intended to do the Chalet Lookout Walk (1.5 hr return) as apparently you get better views but the road had a sign saying it wasn't suitable for campervans so we had to turn around.

The Fox Glacier

We have vodafone and internet connection again at last here in the Fox Glacier small township but apparently we will lose it again as soon as we leave the town so tonight we are staying at the Fox Glacier Campervan Park so we can catch up with things we need to do on our electronic devices before moving on. There is a morepork calling to us from the bus!

Jackson's Bay continued

It was a peaceful night in our parking spot by the main road into Jackson's Bay with little traffic after dinner. Sunday morning we set off on the Grade 3, 4 hour return trip over the hill and along the river to Smoothwater Bay which was as it's name suggests - smooth but deep and probably with strong currents. We enjoyed the walk which went through a variety of terrain starting with a jump over a ditch and then past a sign warning us that only experienced, prepared walkers should pass this point.

That's us!

The prize at the end of the track

The first half followed an old pioneers track to the Smoothwater River and there were a lot of boggy patches en-route with a good variety of trees and ferns and some nice birdsong. Once we reached the river we followed the track alongside to the beach pleased that there were orange markers to follow as the track faded a bit in some places and we had to climb up around a slip in one spot. The river looked inviting and we would have spent more time on the beach when we got there but the sandflies had started to ignore our detol/babyoil mix and we didn't feel like lingering.
We only met 2 other couples and that was when we had nearly finished the walk..

the cabin next door was two deer!

Our neighbours arrive!

We then drove back to Haast having a walk down to Haast Beach, which is a few kms South of the village, on the way. It had turned into another hot day with the sun appearing later in the morning. Being a bit tired after the walk and driving we decided to stay in the carpark at the Merino, Possum and Honey shop which is an interesting place and has just been turned into a POP, upsetting of course to the local campground owner as the POP is free. Most people staying would give patronage to the shop however and we did our bit by buying some manuka honey and soap. They have an active glass beehive in the shop so you can see the bees working away and producing the honey. Outside, close to where we were parked, were two deer being hung for tenderising in the netted safe. The helicopter which they probably shoot them from landed in the carpark close to our bus and stirred up lots of dust - so much for our big springclean in Wanaka! - but it provided some entertainment.

The toilet provided for the shop and the campers (only 2 motorhomes) had to be the best "Public" one we have ever used - very clean and lots of samples provided to try from products in the shop such as moisturisers and hand creams.

Haast Pass to Jacksons Bay

View from Pleasant Flat

A new cairn is started!

This morning we woke to low grey cloud and Lake Wanaka didn't look at all tempting to swim in as it had done yesterday so instead of a morning relaxing by the lake in the sunshine we headed off through the Haast Pass to the West Coast - a nice drive through the mountain valleys with the dry barren countryside changing quickly to beech and then rainforest.
We did a short walk to see the Blue Pools where the Young River meets the Makarora River and didn't think they were as blue as when we saw them last time in the month of November. There would have been more water coming down from the mountains but they were still good to see. Visitors have built lots of little cairns with the stones beside the river which we can't remember seeing last time.

Thunder Creek Falls

We also stopped to see the Thunder Creek Falls which cascade down 28 metres and were amazed at just how many tourists are travelling through enjoying these spots.

Haast was our lunch spot in the bus trying to keep away from the sandflies but there is not much to see there - a superette, cafe, motel, backpackers, a possum merino shop and a modern police station. No cellphone reception for vodafone since we left Wanaka and I suspect we won't get it until we are halfway up the West Coast.
From Haast we drove South, down the coast, to Jackson's Bay Okahu where neither of us have ever been before. It's a nice drive down along a pretty straight road passing through green, bushy, rainforest areas in contrast to the parched, dry land of Central Otago. Parts of the road even had some moss growing over them from the lack of sun. Talking about sun, it had come out when we were halfway through the Pass but not long before we reached Haast it had changed to very low overhead cloud and very light drizzle which persisted for the rest of our journey - fairly typical weather for the West which does get a lot of rain.

Trish ready for a fish dish!

Jackson's Bay seems a world away from anywhere - a tiny little fishing settlement which has become smaller and smaller over the years with a few houses and an iconic cray pot fish and chip "cafe" rather like a train carriage overlooking the sea and the pier.
Of course we had to pay a visit for dinner (blue nose, not caught locally unfortunately, and chips served in the chip deep frier baskets). It seemed a busy little place with various tourists eating there (seats about 18) but the owner said it hasn't been a particularly good year.

Before dinner we did the 40 minute return Wharekai- Te Kou walk from the bay over Jackson Head to the ocean beach. On the way we heard loud rustling in the undergrowth and at first couldn't make out what it was - it looked like a cross between a big bird and a badger before we realised that it was a big penguin lumbering it's way through the undergrowth! They do have signs on the road as you enter the settlement warning you to go slow because of the penguins but this penguin was a particularly long way from the sea. We hoped to see more down near the water but it wasn't to be.
There are no official camping spots in this area but we have joined another motorhome by the sea a short distance from the settlement and no-one has asked us to move!

Wanaka Part 2

Wednesday night decided that it would be good to have a "craic" with some locals so we ambled down the road to the Albert Town Tavern where the only locals, apart from the bar staff, were a large group of ladies belonging to an Alpha Club having a dinner meeting in another room. So we enjoyed an alfresco beer alone before ordering our beerbattered blue cod and salad to help our fish intake - nice but such a big plateful I couldn't finish it. If we had stayed longer we would have seen the men belonging to the Lion's Club come in for a meeting also.

Yesterday, Thursday, found us playing golf on the Wanaka Course with it's beautiful views over the lake and surrounding mountains. On the 2nd hole the Red Checkers planes started a half hour acrobatic display so that temporarily made it rather difficult to concentrate as we just had to try and watch but not hold other players up. My golf is going through yet another bad patch but I'm learning to at least enjoy the surroundings as we go from hole to hole. Len is managing to be reasonably consistent so that means he can give me a shot on each hole and still beat me! AND he has been especially good at Scrabble and Sequence lately too!
I think we'll have to play more 500 - I'm sure I still have the upper hand at that!

Not a normal occurence!

Len is busy cleaning the outside of dirty, dirty Debussy as I write this so it's now time for me to do the inside!

Cool!

....... Since doing the springcleaning we have had a swim in the Clutha river which runs right below our "camp site" at Johns. The water is so clear and very refreshing. People seem to think we are very brave as not many manage to get more than their toes wet!

We have also been to PuzzleWorld which is one of the leading tourist attractions in NZ and thought it was good -really interesting although rather disorientating at times! They also have a Maze but we didn't feel the need to find our way in and out of that.

Toilet stop before leaving PuzzleWorld!

After a quick wander through town and the purchase of another book for me from the Salvation Army we hit the road again driving past Lake Hawea, where we rode our bikes, and on up to the top of Lake Wanaka to a free camping spot on the lake edge with 3 other motorhomes. We enjoyed another refreshing swim in the lake when we arrived which helped us to cool down in the hot temperature - about 28° - and then a hydrating beer in our deckchairs WITHOUT any sandflies although there are some coming into the bus now we have the lights on.

Tomorrow we will edge our way towards the West Coast - looks like the weather is going to stay sunny and hot but the whole country desperately needs some rain.

Wanaka Part1

Tuesday after a quiet night in the Cromwell Golf car park and a nice shower we hopped on our bikes and rode out to Pisa Moorings about 8 km up the edge of Lake Dunstan - a good ride with the lake views as well as a lot of architecturally designed houses. Pisa Moorings itself seems to be growing quite quickly with new subdivisions opening up. We had coffee at the 18 month old Pisa Moorings Restaurant and Bar which is the only place to go apart from the homes and managed apartments.

Cromwell " Old Town"

Once back in Cromwell we met up with another couple of cyclists from Whakamarama, Tauranga (originally from England) who are travelling in a bus like ours, but just for 3 weeks.
We had a wander through the rebuilt historic part of town, a lot of the original buildings being lost when they raised the level of Lake Dunstan for the Clyde Hydro Dam. It seemed a shame that it was all so quiet with hardly anyone about in the new part of town either except of course for the supermarket.

John & Dee's great spot!

Next stop was Wanaka which, in contrast to Cromwell, bursts at the seams with visitors and holidaymakers. Such a beautiful spot and lots of people lying about on the lake edge in the hot sunshine (drought is continuing) but very few in the water.
My nephew, John, lives beside the river in Albert Town, just on the outskirts of Wanaka and being supplied with the address but no phone number we turned up on the doorstep for some local info about walks/cycling etc. No-one home but just as I was writing a note John turned up and welcomed our bus onto the perfect site next to the house overlooking the river "for as long as we like". It has worked out perfectly as he and Dee were off to Fiordland to rock climb the next morning for 3 days and we are able to feed Johnson, the 3-legged cat. The ducks from the riverside roam all over the lawn eating the fallen apples and this morning there were 7 quail doing the same but they didn't like us coming near for a photoshoot.

Crossing the Clutha in full spate!

On Wednesday we biked to Lake Hawea along the Clutha a little way and then along the Hawea River - some hilly bits but we managed to stay on the bikes and it was a great ride. Coffeed in the sunshine at the Hotel/Restaurant there before heading home with big threatening black clouds overhead which had all but disappeared by the time we got back to the bus which had both it's top vents fully opened!

Lake Hawea

We ended up biking for the whole day as after having some lunch we headed in the opposite direction on the mountain bike track into Wanaka and then back via a quiet road to make a circular route. The river path was a bit tricky in some parts for my townie bike with the stones, ruts and sand and we were pleased there weren't too many others coming towards us as we rounded the bends.
We had planned to climb up Roys Track for the great views of the area but with the sun being so hot and no shade on the open dry "farmland" walk we decided that will have to wait for another time.

Hills Golf & Cromwell

After the cup of tea in bed, served by Sue, and Jenny & Derek's cooked breakfast (talk about being spoilt!) we were ready to drive not far down the road to the NZPGA Tournament at the Michael Hills Course. Lots of cars and people already there but the course is very well designed for spectators with all its mounds and hills close to the fairways and greens making it easy to get a good view. It's certainly a fantastic setting and very interesting to walk around with not only the views but with all the strategically placed scuptures.

A wolf escapes at the 18th!

Two golfers half a century apart!

We mostly followed Lydia Ko around as she was an amateur guest player over the weekend and an amazingly relaxed player to watch. It would be very nice to even slightly emulate her style! Once she had finished on the 18th, about 5.00pm we left the course and drove towards Clyde through the Kawarau Gorge, stopping for the night at a little parking area in the trees opposite the Roaring Meg Power Station. There was a little stream close by which means there were prolific sandflies, just about the worst we have seen anywhere. They line up at the door ready to push their way in as soon as it is opened and we spent the evening killing a biting one every 30 secs whilst we played our beloved scrabble. At least we must have done a good job as there were no further bites through the night.

Roaring Meg hydro station (built in 1934)

On the way to Cromwell we stopped at the very big fruit shop, where we had also been with Jenny and Derek, to stock up on lots of lovely fresh apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums and apples. They also have little green things called kiwi berries there which apparently come from Te Puke but we have never seen them before. If they had looked more appetising and were less expensive we might have bought some to try - maybe next time just so we can report back! The shop is a favourite place for all the tourist buses as well so you have to be quick if one pulls in at the same time as you.
Tonight we are parked at the Cromwell Golf Club where we have just played 18 holes trying to emulate the Professionals we watched all yesterday but I guess it's just going to take just a little more practice which of course we don't ever do!

Lake Hayes

After our visit to the Supermarket in Frankton on Wednesday morning we popped in to see my great nephew Joseph, Amber and Hunter again and have a cup of tea before playing golf at the very nice Arrowtown Course - scenic with it's schist outcrops (instead of bunkers - if you hit them the ball goes a long way back over your head I discovered!) Beautiful mountainous backdrop and one pond with fountains on the last hole.

L,T, Derek & Jenny atop Queenstown Hill

Then it was back to Lake Hayes to visit our Tauranga friends, Jenny and Derek in his lovely lakeside house, the name "bach" hardly being a fitting description. They insisted we sleep in the house, and not on the roadside or on the vacant section 2 doors down, so we felt very spoilt with our big bedroom, big comfy bed and our own big shower etc and all the welcoming hospitality that went with it. Other good friends, Sue and Pete, flew down from Tauranga on Friday morning and spent the weekend with us as well so we had a fun time with activities and socialising at the same time. I think we still know how to have conversations with other people apart from each other!

L, Jenny, Sue & Pete gorge walking!

The Dog Whisperer!

Activities included walking up the the Queenstown Hill with its panoramic views and walking part of the 4WD route towards Macetown wading through fords and up rivers as we did so - A 4WD was hired but it was more of a townie one and after crossing the first couple of fords in it we decided it would be a little risky to take it through the deeper, rockier ones ahead with all insurance being negated. So the walk was great and Dereks 2 short-haired german pointers totally relished the outing being on the run the whole time.

A gold panner on the Arrow river

Sue, Pete, Len and I also cycled around Lake Hayes and into Arrowtown and back on the cycle path which skirts the edge of Millbrook Golf Resort with its beautiful course and houses. We had a nice coffee in the French Cafe at Arrowtown so Len could keep his French up to scratch before returning back to base. On Saturday afternoon Len almost realised his dream of taking me for a row in a boat (he wanted to do this when we first met in France!) but after launching Derek's 55 yr olde rowboat and doing about a dozen strokes we were shouted at from the lakeside - the harbourmaster was passing by and told us that there was a $300 fine for going on the lake without a lifejacket so it was a quick turnabout back to the shore! Its a good rule and Len is normally very safety conscious about boats and life jackets but this time the lake seemed so small and we knew the water was warm as we had swum in it previously with Jenny and Derek who has swum to the other side and back no problem. Even his 5 month old dog, Monet, swam right across in front of the boat with Derek while we were there.
Anyway, the life jacket rule is a good one and I'll just have to wait a little longer before I get my romantic row!

That night Derek and Jenny had their housewarming party with a few friends and neighbours and a good time was had by all - lovely food and a good many empty wine bottles by the end of the night.

Queenstown & Rata restaurant

Nearly a whole week now of not writing any blog as we have been having such an enetertaining time staying with Derek and Jenny in a real house with big rooms and big stairs and wonderful big views over Lake Hayes. Back in our bus now and funnily enough it seems very tiny!

Ready, Steady........!

Last Tuesday (26th) before going to Jenny and Dereks we drove into Queenstown again from 25 mile creek and spent a little time trying to find Josh Emmett's restaurant "Rata" with the thought of going for lunch or booking for dinner. Surprisingly, when we did find it about 1.00pm it was totally empty both inside and out although all the tables were set and the outside area looked very inviting with the dappled shade under the trees. They always say you should look for the busiest restaurant and this was the only quiet one we had come across but of course we decided to stay anyway and later on probably another 10-12 arrived for lunch while we were still there. I gather they are always very busy at night.
We decided on the set 4 course lunch menu which gives you a little sample of all their signature dishes as well as either a glass of Pimms or Pinot Noir for $50. Our little Argentinian waitress was great at explaining all the dishes to us and how they were prepared and it was a truly delicious meal. We were able to savour every mouthful from the delicacy of the tiny profiteroles filled with goats cheese and rata honey, to the melt-in-your-mouth ravioli and seafood, to the perfectly cooked venison and finally to the dessert which included icecream, white chocolate mousse, crumble and intricately flavoured cubes of jelly. I need the menu to do a decent description! I had been concerned that the quantity would be too much for me but the small portions were exactly right and the whole fine dining experience was wonderful.

Entree on Schist!

Josh would have been just a little perturbed to know that the chopped orange in Len's Pimms still had a bit of label stuck to it. I guess that's not as dangerous as a fishbone!

Pimms in a jar!

We stayed that night in a parking area for self contained campers by the Shotover River after doing a cycle ride firstly in the direction of Frankton only to find that the track isn't yet completed and we had to turn around. So we rode back along the track to near Lake Hayes estate, not quite getting there as it would have made one too many hills that I would have had to walk up!
In the morning we saw that the European couple with baby in a rental camper had been given a ticket as they weren't fully self contained. I guess they will stick to the camp grounds from now on.