Well Done Wanaka

Another beautiful day here by the lake. Easily 30 degrees. We sauntered down to the lake and dipped our tootsies in the water. It was cold, but very refreshing and really really lovely. There were loads of little boys swimming in the crystal water and diving off the pier (all shouting as they dived into the cold water). We fed the ducks and gulls again today, one bread roll each. The ducks nibbled by jeans and caught the bread in their bills like dogs, while the gulls flew right in front of me, hovering in the air, and took the bread from my hands. They nipped the Monster's fingers, but they only took the bread from me. It was a lovely experience. Wandered around the town and had drinks in a shore side cafe. Moving on to Auckland tomorrow. First leg of the journey is a seven hour drive to Kaikoura, then over night there and head on to Picton the next day, cross to the north island and spend the night in Wellington. Then another 7 plus hour drive to Auckland, where we spend our last two days. The Monster has pledged to do the jump from the sky tower in the city and you know, I might do it with her! So, probably won't be blogging til we reach Auckland. See you then!

Food in New Zealand

Wanaka is lovely, it is so nice in fact that it does tempt us to laziness unfortunately. We walked down to the lake today. It is about 28 degrees, a dry heat with a clear blue sky. Heaven. There were loads of people swimming in the lake and boating, I was tempted to jump in, it looked so lovely. If I had my cossie and my boardies with me, I might have given it ago. I had some bread and fed the ducks and gulls while the Monster took some photos. The gulls were amazing, they caught the bread in the air and the ducks would have taken it from my hand, if I had given it to them! They were fickle creates however, and left me for someone else with bread when my supply ran dry. There were loads of people with dogs as well, having fun splashing in and out of the water. It is a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

A lot of people have asked about food over here, so I thought I would write something about it. There is a lot of meat, as can be expected. Mostly lamb and venison and some beef (not great quality in my experience) as well as lots of fish and lobster (they call them crayfish over here) and not great vegetarian selection. There are a lot of Asian restaurants, a couple of Italian and then the rest of NZ cuisine, which is a bit like Irish/English food. The quality varies. In the smaller towns you get helpings fit for an army of sheep farmers, and even in the cities the helpings are large. We have found a few very nice places and the rest have been average. Another good thing about Wanaka is that we have our own kitchen and the monster is very good at cooking!

I don't like Milford Sound

Woke up this morning to the sound of someone running through the lodge banging on the doors - at 7.05am! Did not appreciate it. Had to vacate by 8.30am. Booked a place on the nature cruise for 10.30am and had breakfast. Muesli and yogurt, not as nice as the porridge yesterday. No sign of the keas. The ship was massive, with rooms for overnight stay and everything. Blair, our guide, gave very informative and amusing commentary. There were loads of waterfalls cascading off the rocks because of the rain and there not being any top soil. It was very very cold outside of the cabin. We saw some fur seals, some dolphins (a pod of 4, I think they were common or bottle nosed) and a couple of foirdland crested penguins. I liked it when we went out into the Tasmin sea, the rocking of the boat was very soothing. We played brain train. I felt totally miserable. We decided to go back to Wanaka and spend the remaining days of our holiday in luxury. When we got off the boat we saw that I had parked in a bus only parking space and we were blocked in. My only thoughts were of how much trouble I was in! Thank God we managed to get out ok and no one gave out to us. The Monster drove the first leg of the journey, the slippery slidy mountain roads from Milford Sound to Te Anu. The countryside was totally covered in mist. We saw 10 Harriers on the drive down yesterday. We saw 21 today, mostly in the Wanaka area. I drove from Te Anu to Queesntown. We stopped to pick up my meds, which I had left in the motel, then the Monster drove the last leg to Wanaka. It was about 6 hours driving altogether. It is really warm and sunny in Wanaka. Judith, the apartment manager welcomed us home and was really friendly. It is good to be back. I'm a bit disappointed (in myself) that we didn't press on to Stewart Island, but it is nice to be somewhere warm and comfy where we can chill out.

Puzzling World

The Monster was really brave this morning and jumped out a plane at 15000ft with a man strapped to her back. I think she found it a harrowing experience. I was half tempted to join her, but after watching the dvd or her experience, I am glad I didn't (although they push you out of the plane, which was something I was worried about). I think I would have pulled out at the last minute and found it even more nerve wracking than she did.

It was a beautiful day here in Wanaka with a very high fire warning, because it was so hot. I'd say the temperature was as high as 30 degrees. It was a bit too hot for me. In the afternoon we went to Puzzling World, a few hundred metres outside of the town. It is a place full of puzzles, optical illusions and a maze. They had some cool 3d pictures, faces that seemed to follow you and a some amazing puzzles. My favourite room was one that messed with your balance. it was tilted and it looked like water was flowing up hill, a ball on a snooker table was rolling up hill and you could sit in this chair and roll up hill, but of course it was all an illusion. There was another room that if you entered at one door you looked like a giant and if you entered at the other you looked like a hobbit. It was most fun if two people stood at each doorway and then crossed the room and you could see them growing or shrinking at they went.

I was really looking forward to the maze, because I have never been in one and I have always wanted to do one. The fates were against me though, because a) it was VERY hot b) they didn't provide a map c) they had scary stairs. After a while running up and down the scary stairs, the Monster and I decided to call it quits. We found two of the four towers. I think if it had been cooler we might have continued. I think I am a better armchair puzzler. I am more at home in virtual reality.

hello Hokikita

Another day of driving - another series of serious bends in the road. How I long for a long straight road and a 120 km speed limit! Drove to Hokikita today. Despite having an unpronounceable name, a beach and a large Catholic church, there is nothing to recommend Hokikita. there is a glow worm glen, but I don't think we'll hang around long enough to see it. forgot to mention, in Westport there are some underground limestone caves with glow worms in them. You can walk through them, or go rafting. However, Westport's idea of rafting is putting you in a tyre and pushing you into the water! They don't even provide paddles.

Stopped at the pancake rocks on the way to Hokikita. they were amazing and well worth the visit. They are limestone cliffs, surge pools and blowholes worn away by the sea. Saw white fronted terns nesting on the rocks, as well as black oyster catchers (they look. ed like that but were hunting the tern chicks) and black backed gulls. Also saw a very friendly Weika, which was amazing. Ate our lunch and played Brian Train on the blowhole lookout. got some strange looks, as we had to hide under jackets to see the screen. Had sea spray blowing on our faces. Feeling very proud that I crossed a scary bridge and climbed some steep steps to see the pancakes. It was well worth it.

Good bye and Good riddance Nelson!

Mass in Nelson was quite an experience - not one I would like to repeat. Imagine a school play - I will say no more. Drove on towards Greymouth and stopped in Westport. It isn't anything like the Irish town of that name. Westport is a mile long town, mostly closed down shops, petrol stations and spare part workshops for automobiles. The weather was lovely again today. Walked to the supermarket and bought some food then hung out in our motel. there is a beach, and lots of horses and even a couple of fields with cross country jumps. the Monster thought it was like being transported back in time to a town in the U.S in the 50's. I agree. They had a poster for celia ahern in the library, as well as Jeffery Deaver. Saw some harriers flying over the road as we travelled and a shag (non pied) on the very frightening Pier we drove down in Westport. The roads are still very like roller coasters. One minute we are climbing, the car (we have affectionately christened yari) losing power by the second, the next we are flying down sharp angle switchback bends and careening over single lane bridges. there are a LOT of bridges in NZ. Looking forward to moving on.

Bye bye Kaikoura - Hello Nelson?

left beautiful, wonderful, interesting, friendly Kaikoura today. Stopped at the seal colony and watched, through binoculars (because the tide was in and the seals were on rocks very far away) the behaviour of the seals. It was amazing, like a wildlife on one episode. Some seals were playing in the water (I'm sure they were fishing, but they looked like they were playing, lying on their backs with their flippers in the air) while others were climbing on the rocks. These guys can move fast on land, they aren't like our seals who wobble along in a cumbersome way. Think of the sea lions in Dublin Zoo and you are getting the idea of what these fur seals are like. most of the seals were basking on the rocks, and there was an enormous bull down by the shore. Anyway, a spat broke out between two seals and after a little fight, the victor chased the other seal towards the water, where the big bull stopped them. The poor little seal in the middle was stuck between a rock and a hard place and didn't know which way to turn. Thankfully the big bull and the other aggressor started to fight, so the one in the middle could slip away, and then all the seals on the rocks joined in and jumped into the water. it was amazing.

Drove north west today. Had lunch in Blenheim in the D'Urville hotel. It is in the heart of wine country, with vineyards all around and only local wine on the list in the hotel. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside in the balcony area. There wasn't much of a view - just the back of some buildings - but the sun was warm and there was a wall of water fountain which was pleasant. Blenheim was surprisingly big, but we drove on to Nelson, which is a city. I don't like Nelson. I don't know if it is because I am tired from the day driving, or I'm hungry or what it is, but I am picking up bad vibes. Had a wander about the city to find the church for Mass tomorrow. We could have been back in dundalk. There was a group of about 5 young girls in t-towels of skirts and very high heels, laughing and falling about the place. we walked on and passed a group of hoodies lurking about the Anglican cathedral, then further travels revealed young lads with cases of beer. I don't like Nelson, I can't wait to leave.

Kaikoura

The weather was absolutely glorious this morning, and I got terribly burnt on my arms, face and chest. the monster didn't get burnt, she says she is more used to the sun and that's why. Don't know where she gets to see it to be used to it. slept in today, had brunch in a little cafe on the main street. Wandered onto the beach - it is all pebbles but has a beautiful view of the ocean and the mountains. Bought some supplies in the supermarket and then drove out to the fur seal colony. We had to walk across this field of rocks. I think it was a lava flow as it was very smooth and flat like stepping stones. We saw one large seal, possibly a bull, rolling around out on a rock. I think he was showing off. Couldn't see any other seals. They are fur seals, so they are eared seals like sea lions, not true seals like the ones we have at home. We went into the visitors centre and booked a star gazing tour and whale watching for tomorrow. Got our washing done. Had dinner in a lovely restaurant. I had venison - first time - and it was delicious. The weather turned nasty in the evening and a storm front moved over the mountains. It was interesting to watch. The star gazing was cancelled as a result, but hopefully we will be able to do it tomorrow. we have to phone the whale watching in the morning to see if it is going ahead.

I've noticed some comments looking for photos. Unfortunately the monster has a problem up loading her photos onto pc's that don't have the correct software. it is annoying I know. Sorry folks.