Trains, Mountains & Rain

An early start today to catch the Tranz-Alpine scenic train. This involved leaving the hotel at 7.15, not a time we have recognised for sometime. The omens were not good as we drove to the station it was pouring, rather like boarding your East Coast Train at Seamer. Check-in was simple although we did not get the seats that I requested. The train had been refurbished so was comfortable and must have been 12 carriages long. The train was full mostly with Japanese tourists who at least in our carriage appeared to belong to the Dalan Fang sect. I thought there leader was talking them via implants, it turned out she had a mini speaker attached to her hip. We started at a smart lick across the Canterbury Plains, and the weather improved. Marion started conversing with the Cornish couple opposite, they were New Zealand virgins it being their first day here, therefore all sorts of useful tips were dispensed.
We stopped at Springfield duh….. I had to make that joke, where the mountains were clear in front of us. The climb up through river gorges was spectacular although the viewing carriage was too crowded to get good photographs. However as soon as we entered the mountains proper the weather closed in and it rained heavily. In retrospect this was not surprising as the summit station receives 20 metres of rain a year. The proceedings were kept lively by an informative commentary with typical NZ views. The guy obviously hated Thatcher and Regan and all that privatisation had done to the railways, he also thought that you would be bette roff with Doris Day movie than Sky TV.
After a brief stop at the summit Arthurs Pass the coach became pleasantly empty as the sect disembarked for some ritual coach travel. There followed the long descent to the West Coast past lakes and raging rivers. It was difficult to imagine the deprivations of those who had to travel the route by Stage Coach right upto 1923. It was also the site of many coal mines. Indeed the main purpose of the railway is to carry coal from the West Coast for export to Asia.
Greymouth Station was a scrum, presumably for 23 hours a day nothing happens then a train disgorges 400 passengers who want coaches, hire cars, feeding etc.. all at the same time!!! Still we got our new car, instead of the rugged vehicle we had requested we got a souped up Mondeo, that is going to be interesting in the South. The B & B is modern with coastal views and excellent facilities. We have a lovely fresh fruit bowl and biscuits. We have made a tentative exploration of Hokitika a small seaside town specialiseing in jade and gold, and yes we visited the sock museum, a darn good two minutes. It is now starting to brighten up as we read our books to the sound of the waves of the Tasman Sea.

Christchuch - More English than the English

Woke up to a rather gloomy morning. After breakfast we followed through with our plan of taking the old tram around its loop so that we could orientate ourselves. Marion sat on the same seat that the Queen did in 1995. She asked me if “I had come far”. We did the full loop and then got off at the arts centre. There were some nice little studio shops there and we had a coffee before crossing to the museum. We had a look around there, having had our interest in Christchurch’s history tickled by a bit in one of our guidebooks that said the founder’s aim when he came was to establish a kind of utopian Anglican (and we guess white middle class) society. There were some very interesting exhibits that basically showed this is exactly what happened as well giving the Maori history – there were no wars with the Maoris in the south and we speculated that this was probably one of the least hostile environments for those earlier settlers. (compared, say with the American West). Then we went to the Botanical gardens and took the Caterpillar (a very slow electric land train) around the gardens. There was an excellent commentary but we were seeing the fag end of the summer displays. It occurred to me that quite a lot of the plants that are popular in England at the moment are New Zealand natives. I think I mentioned before that agapanthus and ligulas seem to grow wild here. Also saw those nice black grasses that mum and dad have.
We went onto the tram loop again and found a café for lunch – I tried the speciality sandwich which, rather oddly, appeared to be a whitebait omelette sandwich!! We then went into the cathedral (nothing particularly special except that the architect was the same as St Pancras station). As it was starting to rain and I was feeling a bit tired I went back to the hotel room for a read while Nigel went to take a photo of Captain Cook’s statue and the bar where Ben worked during his time in New Zealand, disappointed that there in no plaque or Colchester United scarf. This man (Captain Cook not Ben) is becoming my historical hero – his mapping of New Zealand – and I guess everywhere else he went- is absolutely extraordinary
It has stopped raining and we are going out for something to eat – Mexican tonight. And an excellent Mexican it was, burritos etc…
Christchurch is a very manageable city and is very familiar in an English sort of way. Some things are even exaggerated English. For instance some of the school uniforms really exaggerate the style. Vertical striped blazers with horizontal striped ties and shorts for teenage boys. Also rather like the sons & daughters of the revolution there seems to be a lot of cachet to being a descendent of one of the families who emigrated on one of the original four ships

After a very comfortable night in our self-catering apartment we were ready to set off for Christchurch. After the gloomy, misty-moisty weather yesterday you can imagine our surprise when we opened the blinds this morning and found we were extremely close to some mountains we hadn’t been able to see before. After checking out the good views in Kiakoura now the mist had rolled back, we set off on the drive to Christchurch. (One problem Kaikoura is famous for whale watching and we could not see any boats). Nigel very kindly took me to a lovely quilting shop where I found the fabric and a pattern that I wanted to make a quilt that will remind us of this holiday – I know just the spot in our bedroom that I will hang it.
The drive was really interesting. We went through a very mountainous area, having decided to go inland rather than follow the coastal plain. What we began to appreciate is just how many sheep there are on the plateaux between the mountains and we have not seen the Canterbury Plain yet. Also we saw lots of cattle, a couple of deer farms and even alpaca. I addition there were vineyards. I said to Nigel that it felt like a geography lesson from Junior School and will seem even more so when we get to the plain on Thursday Nigel also found the Weka Pass preserved railway!!! Really interesting old locos and station. I vividly remember learning about the Canterbury Plain and all the Marino sheep. Christchurch is a lovely city, set in the bowl of the mountains next to the Pacific Ocean .Before we returned the car we drove round the hills above the city and were rewarded with some spectacular views of the city and Lyttleton. We are in a hotel right in the middle, next to the cathedral and can walk or take a tram around everywhere we might want to go. We plan to take the full loop of the tram tomorrow with a hop on and off ticket.
We chose to go to a pub to eat tonight. Nigel was more than pleased to find they were serving their own brews – apparently his credit will be high with Thomas! We had a good supper and a couple of pints. (Not sure they were pints, more half a litre)! A great start to our visit to Christchurch. Marion underestimates her prowess the pub was a micro-brewery and had hand pumped ales on tap. Who can resist a brew called Old Blighty. Checkout the Twisted Hop in Christchurch.

A Transitional Day, and brrrr....

A transitional day today together with some much needed housekeeping. We slept well but woke to a much greyer day than expected. After a good breakfast, we spent the morning reading and having coffee, because our water taxi did not depart until late morning. It was our last ride on Cougar Lines back to Picton, much rougher than before. I have displayed the boat that we had for last evening’s cruise at the head of the blog today. I have decided that I am giving up Project Management and going to apply to be a crew member on the water taxis next year. Fantastic job; getting a great sun tan, being nice to happy people in a great environment. Marion thinks that I fail one of the key job criteria, I will leave the readers to guess which.
We picked the car up in Picton and then drove to Blenheim the centre of Marlborough Sound wine production. There were huge vineyards here on an almost industrial scale mainly producing Sauvignon Blanc. The town itself was workaday New Zealand but provided a good lunch.
As we drove south the weather deteriorated considerably. The temperature plummeted to 13 degrees and the mist and rain rolled in. As a result we could not appreciate the rugged coastline. Kaikoura where we are staying was a small fishing town but now is mainly based on whale watching tourism. It is ideally located because there is a huge chasm just offshore which attracts marine mammals. Again we are not seeing it at its best due to poor visibility. We did however find a Scarborough Street, next to Whitby Place!!!!!!
Tonight we have a self catering apartment which is well equipped. We were able to wash and tumble dry, and I had a spa bath after my run. Also we decided to visit the local supermarket for a homemade dinner as an alternative to eating out. So we feasted on open pies (quiche) coleslaw, bean salad and garlic bread, washed down with diet coke. Going to finish off with a game of Scrabble.

Marlborough Sound - Water and Wildlife

I am writing this on the balcony of our room overlooking Kenepura Sound. It is just idyllic, the hills reach right down to the turquoise blue water. The waves are lapping on the beach, and it is about 25 degrees View from the window will be at the head of the blog.. Fantastic. I hope I am not laying it on too thick but it really does seem a long way from home, especially when my mother told me she was stuck in the snow!!!
Getting here was fun, from the busy port of Picton, where there are boats of all shapes and sizes and a seaplane, we took a water taxi. It held about 20 people inside and six including us outside. As soon as it was out of the harbour it accelerated and it was like riding a jetboat, fantastic. This boat dodged in and out of the Sound until we reached a small inlet. From there all the baggage was unloaded to a truck and the passengers boarded a small minibus for a journey of about a mile to the modern hotel, tastefully built overlooking an inlet.. The best hotel transfer that I have done. Unfortunately the run today looks as though it might be up hill.
Previously we had driven Queen Charlottes Drive, this time in the sun, stopping at the Green Mussel capital of the world, Havelock for a flat white by the marina. Again it is very difficult to describe the scenery adequately, just fabulous. Round every bend another stupendous view.
Well must go now as there is wine tasting at 5.30 followed by an evening cruise on the Sound with local sauvignon blanc and salmon canapés, then a Valentines day dinner. Really life is just so stressful.
The boat cruise was very interesting, basically we joined the boat taxi that was serving the outlying parts of the Sound. it deposited guests at beautiful lodge hotels, an elderly lady going to see friends, bread for a hotel, and picked up people who had been walking around the Sound. It was a work-a-day cruise. Also looked at a salmon farm, contained 600,000 fish of which 10 to 12,000 are caught everyday. There was incredible wildlife, birds you would expect but we saw a black ray swimming in the shallows. Finally back to the hotel for a Valentines Night dinner, what a lovely day.

Abel Tasman and his park

We woke up this morning to some rather low cloud and were a bit concerned about our boat trip in Abel Tasman National Park. According to plan we went to the market in Nelson after a very good breakfast at the B&B. The market was excellent – lovely local produce and very interesting things to buy to bring home – not tat! However, did it ever rain!! Still, it was so warm we were not too alarmed at being pretty wet! Undaunted we set off on the drive to the National Park. The rain was sheeting down and the sea seemed to thunder in (you know how much I worry about rocking about too much on boats). As we took the very scenic drive the weather stared to cheer up and by the time we reached the beach where the boat came in the weather was bright and warm, although not with sparkling sunshine. Nigel is very keen for me to write about something that made us laugh a lot. When we reached the beach I began to worry because I could see no jetty. When Nigel told me that we had to board the boat there I wondered how on earth I was going to get on because I imagined that we’d have to paddle out and climb a rope ladder. As you know, I am far from nimble!! I didn’t tell Nigel of my anxiety because I didn’t want him to worry for me. You can imagine my relief when they dropped a kind of metal bridgehead from the front of the boat onto the beach, I told Nigel much later on about how I’d been wondering how on earth I’d managed a rope ladder and we laughed and laughed. If I had told him at the time he could have relieved my anxiety because he realised what would happen!
Now Nigel - The boat was basically a sort of water taxi taking people to sandy little coves where they would either lie on the beach or go on walks. The coves were delightful, really golden sand and pretty well deserted, surrounded by green hills. The boat just drew up to the beach and extended a gangplank, there was no rope ladder. Every time there were strict instructions to use the toilet on the boat. Not so much as a wee in the wild. We were on deck so the views were very good and as the afternoon went on very clear. The park was superb a true wilderness. There were also basking seals offshore. The only fly in the ointment was a large group of Germans who boarded on the way back, now I have nothing against Germans but in the middle of world class scenery all they could do was talk and talk.
We returned to the little beach where we started and had an iced coffee. Then it was a drive back to Nelson a city we are coming to appreciate. We had an informal dinner outside at a pub on what was now a perfect evening. Before this I had a run along the seafront, however at 29 degrees it was a little hot.
Every where we go we talk to people, even me. There are two groups of travellers, young people working there way round and oldies like us, while actually we are at the young age of the oldies. Everybody compares itineraries. I now wax lyrical on Pinot Noir as opposed to Cabernet Sauvignon.

To the South

We are soon depart the North Island, after an early start (have forgotten what 6am is like), we are waiting for the ferry in Wellington. The drive here looked fantastic, unfortunately it was very cloudy and raining so we did not see a lot. It was a fortunate we left in good time as the traffic was heavy approaching Wellington. The ferry terminal is much like terminals the world over, crowded and full of anxious people. Looking forward to the ferry ride as the weather seems to be picking up. We have really enjoyed North Island, looking forward to the less populated south.
Nigel’s earlier hope that the weather was picking up was sadly wrong but at least the crossing was not choppy. I guess that if it had been clearer it would have been truly spectacular. However it did pick up considerably once we started the drive to Nelson. It was absolutely magnificent driving along and above the Queen Charlotte Sound. Once more, despite being quite well-travelled, we have never seen anything that we could compare the scenery to. Maybe if we had been to Norway, we might have had a point of comparison. Anyway it was pretty spectacular.
The B&B in Nelson is very old fashioned. The house is old and has large fireplaces and lots of Edwardian features. It is in a very central location and I think we will be very comfortable here.