NZ Feb/Mar 2023

The morning started off very fresh but again we were blessed with clear skies! This meant that Rob was going to go and play golf at the Hanmer Springs Golf club and Pat and I would head to the Hanmer Springs thermal pools and spa that Pat had booked for us. Rob headed off to golf and Pat and I walked to the spa, where I was to have a 90min. massage, while Pat had a foot massage. We both enjoyed our treatments and then followed them up with a stroll, first to a magnificent old building with lots of history (the Queen Mary Hospital Historic Reserve), a few more shops (we may have purchased some NZ merino and possum knits) and of course coffee. While finishing our coffee, Rob arrived from his golf and joined us. He wandered for a little bit and later Pat and I returned to the Spa so we could use the many hot mineral springs and rock pools along with water-slides and rides. Pat and I spent a couple of hours relaxing in various pools all heated to temperatures between 36 and 40. We decided ...

Today was a driving day from Nelson to Hanmer Springs. We left Nelson in light rain and it continued as we headed inland and south. We stopped at a delightful, town called Murchison for coffee, did some more shopping and also read about a place that we could easily detour to, called Buller Gorge. Here there were several activities we could do and we all decided to do the walk over the longest swing-bridge in New Zealand. Rob also decided that when it came to returning, he would return on the “Supaman” Ride. We enjoyed the walk over on the swing-bridge which spanned the Buller River, followed by a lovely walk around the area where we crossed the White Creek fault line; the epicentre of the 1929 earthquake and the site where the ground was pushed 4.5 metres. We also saw the relics and remains of from the gold-mining era. Once we arrived back at the swing-bridge, Pat and I crossed back to the other side on the bridge, while Rob enjoyed his “Supaman” exploits, returning by flying high abov...

We were up early today because we were going on a cruise and walk in the Abel Tasman National Park. We (Rob) had to drive for an hour before we parked our vehicle and set off on our cruise at 9.15am. We enjoyed the commentary from the cruise staff as we made our way up the coast from our starting point at Kaiteriteri. Our boat called in at various places as we headed north into the magnificent Abel Tasman National Park. Again we were blessed with the most beautiful weather with fairly calm seas and blue skies for the day. Our trip included a stopover at the Tonga Quarry and then a walk to Medlands Beach. Our skipper dropped us off around 11.50am and we then needed to complete the walk and be back on the beach at Medlands by 2.50pm. We took the walk at a leisurely stroll, stopping at various places for snacks and photos. The walk included many steep, up-hill climbs as well as swing bridges and muddy bogs to negotiate. Anyway we enjoyed the challenge and arrived at Medlands Beach with pl...

 We woke to a beautiful day and after breakfast headed off. Our destination today was the town of Nelson, located on the northern coast, of the south island. The drive along the east coast from Kaikoura was spectacular and we decided to call in to a lookout at Ohau Point. To start with we just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and then after a couple of minutes we saw the seals! A large colony of New Zealand fur seals were enjoying themselves, sunning on the rocks or swimming in the ocean just below us! There were hundreds of them, many pups. It was very entertaining and we spent quite a long time enjoying the antics of the seals. Back on the road again, we decided to make a small detour to the lovely town of Picton, located on Queen Charlotte Sound. Again beautiful and spectacular scenery. Picton is the town where the large ferries come in from Wellington on the North Island. We saw a large ferry come in to dock while we were there. After checking out a lookout and the bakery, of cour...

Today we were heading out on a whale watching cruise and the weather looked a little iffy but the seas were calm so we were grateful for that. We checked in around 10am and about 30 minutes later a coach took us out to the wharf area where our cruise was to depart from. A very large and comfortable boat quickly took us out to the area where we were likely to sight whales. There was a small swell but nothing to worry us and the sun was out by now and it was quite warm. Excellent commentary about whales and in particular the Sperm whale, was provided on the trip out. We were lucky to sight a sperm whale and watched it until it took a dive down. Our guide informed us that this whale would now spend 40-50 minutes under water before returning to the surface to breathe. Our boat continued on and a Blue whale was soon sighted. I was a little excited to see the biggest mammal on earth! Again after watching this huge creature for a few minutes it too took a dive down into the depths of the ocea...

We left Mt Cook this morning with cool temperatures, drizzling rain, low clouds and fog. It was to be a long day of driving for Rob. The further we drove the more the weather improved. We passed through and viewed the famous Lake Tekapo, all be in fog and drizzle. With a couple of stops along the way for coffee, lunch and to stretch the legs the time passed relatively quickly and soon we were on the east coast and viewing some more amazing coastal scenery. We arrived at our next stop, Kaikoura a beautiful, coastal town with great facilities and a centre for seafood and fishing. It was quite warm (25) compared to the 13 when we left Mt Cook. After settling into our accommodation, going for a walk along the esplanade and stopping at a pub on the foreshore, for a drink, we went to a recommended fish and chip shop to purchase dinner. It was delicious.