Day 15
Well, the last day on vacation. The hut has been amazing and it is really paradise there on the island of Moorea. We woke up to sunshine and Guy had even set his alarm so we wouldn’t accidentally sleep in and miss the sun. He thought he had set his alarm for 7 but it was actually only 6. So we were up early. We ordered room service for breakfast and when it came the man set up our table on our back deck with a table cloth and fresh flowers laying all round it. I took a picture. After breakfast we set on our personal dock for a bit and was then on the beach wearing suntan lotion by 9:15. We wanted to get all the sun we could. We didn’t stay on our own dock because we face the sunset, not the sun rise and it was shaded. A few dark clouds lurked around the mountain top, but nothing started stirring until about noon. We were already back at the hut when the monsoon came and it rained for a bit over an hour. When it finally settled down, we took one last walk around the huts and came back in to pack up. Guy actually packed us up. He took everything out and made sure all the trinkets were safe and refolded the clothes so they’d all fit. We bought NOTHING in Tahiti. We did no shopping. There was really nowhere to go that didn’t cost $20 in cab fare and we didn’t need anything else anyway.
As we got ready to go, a bellman came to get us on a golf cart and made a comment that we were leaving just as the sun was coming out. Grrrrrr But that is ok. We did see the sun in Tahiti, and if I scoot my wedding ring over I do have a small tan line. As we checked out, the lady put shell necklaces on us and it means something like “we’ll be back soon” or something like that. Our shuttle back to the ferry was full as a family of Japanese folks were also going that way. We had to make one pit stop at a gift shop because one of the Japanese ladies had bought a blouse and they forgot to remove the anti-shoplifting security tag. So they thanked us for our patience and we moved on. The ferry was a bit rocky as another storm blew in just as we were leaving. Not a bad 30 minute ride, tho. The Hilton had made us a reservation for a taxi to be waiting and we got drenched as we made our way to him in the line. The interesting thing was the driver had his wife in the front and his 2 year old son in the back in the middle of the seat. So he rode between Guy and me. I think he had just peed in the seat because it was wet on both sides of him. I sat as close to the door as possible. Guy said the seat was wet because it was raining. Well, raining just in the middle of the car? I think the kid was raining. So the driver asked us if he could take us to the airport later tonight. I shook my head no to Guy but then later felt sorry for them and he was about the nicest person we had met here. So he will be here (back at the Hilton in downtown Tahiti) at 8:45. Maybe the kid will be asleep by then and the back seat will be dry.
We are back at the Hilton downtown Tahiti and they are holding our bags for us until we are ready to go to the airport. We didn’t really know where else to hang out for 6 hours so we came back here. This is were we stayed two nights ago. The place with the ants in the room. Well, there are ants in the dining room as well. Guy went to go wash his hands and while he was gone the sever brought us some great looking rolls. The only problem was there were ants on them. Guy came back to the table and his eyes lit up at the sight of the bread, but then I broke the news to him about the critters. He said he didn’t see any so he picked one up. When he set it on his plate one ran off of it. He ate it anyway I think to make a point, but I told him “Bon Appetite” since they do speak French here, ya know. We ordered a cheese pizza just for some “safe” food before our long flight and it was cold, so we sent it back. Yes, frightening as that may be…but it did come out with the cheese melted this time. Did I mention this was a Hilton? So I left the dinner table early so I could call home and I knew by Dad’s voice I woke him. I didn’t realize daylight savings time was last week! Oops. But I always want to hear my mom’s voice before I fly.
We aren’t sure how long this flight will be. I thought it was like 7 hours from Auckland to Tahiti and then 7 to LA. But our flight from New Zealand to Tahiti was only 4 ½ hours long…so now we are thinking we may have about 10 hours. We leave here at 11:30, so I’ll have me a big ole Xanax and I’m sure I’ll wake up only in time for breakfast if that. The weather here isn’t too back right now. Just cloudy, but still…I’m about 20 hours from home, my wet hair is drying in an unorderly fashion and I’m sweating as I type this. The airport won’t be any better. There is no air conditioning there either. Not complaining, just blogging. Ha ha
Guy and I played the game earlier. The “what was your favorite” game. What was your favorite entrée, hotel, dessert, etc. We always do that. Then of course the next topic is where will our next vacation be. We always do that as well. We have some pretty good ideas and we hope the Euro gets better if that is any indication, but this would have to be one of THE BEST vacations we have been on. New Zealand will be in our future again, but probably not Tahiti. Our hut was paradise, but maybe we’ll search out another hut in another tropical spot next time. Either way, we are blessed to even get to travel and are thankful for those blessings!!
Hope you have enjoyed the blog. It was fun for me to do and I hope you got to see a little of New Zealand thru me. I’m going to enjoy going back and reading it as well to remind me of the highlights. What a great trip.
Cheers to New Zealand!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Day 14
Day 14
I woke up this morning and jumped up to look out the window to see the glorious Tahitian sun. It was like a typhoon! The palm trees were bent over from the rain and wind and the hotel workers were hunkered down in the building outside our window. The ferry was actually heading out, but I couldn’t believe it would go out in such a storm. As I turned to tell Guy about the impending evacuation, I saw ants crawling all over the cookies they had left for us in our room. We decided to go ahead and pack up since we wanted to catch the noon ferry over to Moorea Island where our paradise awaited us. We checked out and the lady said that a cab ride from the airport was 1500 Franks, but after 8pm it became 2800 Franks. (some kind of night time charge) So our lady last night didn’t rip us off, just the island in general seems to be a rip off. I asked the concierge what the forecast was for today and tomorrow and you would have thought I’d asked her to wash my underwear. She mumbled something under her breath and I had to say “I’m sorry?” to get her to repeat the words cloudy with rain. We called a taxi to take us to the ferry and he said to hurry up if we wanted to make it in time. I don’t see what the hurry is, I can see the ferry dock from my room! Well, we pulled out onto the road and I saw why. The traffic was horrible! We got into town and it was really dirty and people loitering all over. Locals it looked like. Just sitting along the road. I’m not sure if they were waiting for the bus or what, but I would be a bit afraid to shop in that area. So far Tahiti looks pretty bad and with the rain out, it doesn’t seem like such a good idea now. Anyway, our driver drove like a mad man but got us to the ferry in plenty of time. He said one of you get out and get tickets, the other one stay with me. So Guy got out to get tickets and he pulled the taxi up to the ramp where they had a place to put your luggage. He hoisted our bags into the bin and I paid him and thanked him. At least he was helpful in showing us what to do.
The ferry was huge and actually really nice inside. The upstairs had hard wood floors and leather seats that reclined. It had a TV show on that was obviously a soap opera, and I had no idea what they were saying, but I was depressed by the time I got to the other side. One lady cried the entire time. The main character was a bad looker like Fabio (that long haired dude from the butter commercials years ago). We laughed. - If the weather was good, I think the scenery would have been amazing, but the low clouds blocked the view of the mountains. Once we got off the boat, we got our luggage right away and an older gentleman took us in his cab to the hotel. He was nice and his English was pretty good. It was quite a ride to the hotel, which was on the other side of the island so I knew the price was going to be pretty steep. He said you couldn’t get lost here since there is only one road which was about 40 miles that goes around the perimeter of the island. He gave us his card and said he’d be happy to come and get us tomorrow. Just call him about 2pm and he’d be here at 3:30. His ride was 3000 Franks. So no wonder he’d like us to call him. After he dropped us off he could just quit for the day. Ha ha.
This is where our sunless paradise begins….we walk into the hotel and 3 people are greeting us and have big smiles on their faces. One lady introduced herself and shook Guys hand. She is the one who Guy had emailed back and forth with when booking the room. They gave us moist towels while standing at the desk along with a cold glass of iced tea. It was really good. After checking in, a young man took us in a golf cart to our hut. He pointed out the highlights of the hotel and carried our bags in. In our room, which is the coolest room of all time, had fresh flowers lying all around and we had slippers on our bed. I took some pictures real fast before we got it cluttered up with all our bags. What a room! Off the back there is a deck with lounge chairs and a table and chairs, then just to the left the stairs went down to our own private dock. From there you could look down into the crystal clear water and see coral and the most unusual colorful fish swimming all around. It was amazing.
Now we need food. We walked up to the restaurant and it wasn’t raining, just heavy clouds all around. We got a perfect table with a view to die for and service was fast and the food was good. I had a steak sandwich and Guy had a tuna steak sandwich. His was better than mine, so he split with me so I could enjoy his, too. *smile* After lunch we hustled back to our room as we could feel the 24 hour clock ticking down in paradise. We got back to our room and Guy jumped in for a swim. It was a bit too breezy for me and as much as I wanted to put my swimsuit on, I was just a bit chilly. I laid on the dock on a towel in some pathetic sunless attempt for a tan and watched the fish. They entertained me to no end. Guy crumbled up some Pringles we had in our back pack and you should have seen them coming! Big ones, plain ones, tiny gorgeous ones…what a blast. I got a few shots and took some moves. One of those little suckers had TEETH and you could hear him CRUNCHING the chip as he grabbed it. It was awesome.
Well, the drizzle began, so I downloaded my pictures and sifted thru them to put on the blog for today. There is internet here, but we have to go up to the bar area and pay of course, but that doesn’t really surprise us.
OK, so my first impressions of Tahiti were bad, but this is really paradise. Man, if the sun were out and I had a week just to lay here and watch the fish, swim and snorkel, I’d do it again in a flash. I think the island of Tahiti may not be too great and it looked like it wouldn’t be too safe at night, but our cabbie today said the island of Moorea only has 12,000 people on it and everyone works and everyone knows each other. He said it is very safe. The island is really beautiful with tall pointy mountains. Reminds me of the King Kong movie as we pulled up. The road only goes around the bottom of perimeter and really nothing is up in the mountains except lots of palm trees and bush. Quite lovely.
The humidity is about 214% here, so my hair is not really a sight to behold. Even fixing it will last about 10 minutes. We are contemplating just room service tonight, just to enjoy the solitude of our hut. Probably a once in a life time opportunity. We are staying here on Starwood points, but if we were paying for it, it would be $800 per night. So this is probably it. Maybe I’ll stay awake all night so I can not sleep away this opportunity.
I woke up this morning and jumped up to look out the window to see the glorious Tahitian sun. It was like a typhoon! The palm trees were bent over from the rain and wind and the hotel workers were hunkered down in the building outside our window. The ferry was actually heading out, but I couldn’t believe it would go out in such a storm. As I turned to tell Guy about the impending evacuation, I saw ants crawling all over the cookies they had left for us in our room. We decided to go ahead and pack up since we wanted to catch the noon ferry over to Moorea Island where our paradise awaited us. We checked out and the lady said that a cab ride from the airport was 1500 Franks, but after 8pm it became 2800 Franks. (some kind of night time charge) So our lady last night didn’t rip us off, just the island in general seems to be a rip off. I asked the concierge what the forecast was for today and tomorrow and you would have thought I’d asked her to wash my underwear. She mumbled something under her breath and I had to say “I’m sorry?” to get her to repeat the words cloudy with rain. We called a taxi to take us to the ferry and he said to hurry up if we wanted to make it in time. I don’t see what the hurry is, I can see the ferry dock from my room! Well, we pulled out onto the road and I saw why. The traffic was horrible! We got into town and it was really dirty and people loitering all over. Locals it looked like. Just sitting along the road. I’m not sure if they were waiting for the bus or what, but I would be a bit afraid to shop in that area. So far Tahiti looks pretty bad and with the rain out, it doesn’t seem like such a good idea now. Anyway, our driver drove like a mad man but got us to the ferry in plenty of time. He said one of you get out and get tickets, the other one stay with me. So Guy got out to get tickets and he pulled the taxi up to the ramp where they had a place to put your luggage. He hoisted our bags into the bin and I paid him and thanked him. At least he was helpful in showing us what to do.
The ferry was huge and actually really nice inside. The upstairs had hard wood floors and leather seats that reclined. It had a TV show on that was obviously a soap opera, and I had no idea what they were saying, but I was depressed by the time I got to the other side. One lady cried the entire time. The main character was a bad looker like Fabio (that long haired dude from the butter commercials years ago). We laughed. - If the weather was good, I think the scenery would have been amazing, but the low clouds blocked the view of the mountains. Once we got off the boat, we got our luggage right away and an older gentleman took us in his cab to the hotel. He was nice and his English was pretty good. It was quite a ride to the hotel, which was on the other side of the island so I knew the price was going to be pretty steep. He said you couldn’t get lost here since there is only one road which was about 40 miles that goes around the perimeter of the island. He gave us his card and said he’d be happy to come and get us tomorrow. Just call him about 2pm and he’d be here at 3:30. His ride was 3000 Franks. So no wonder he’d like us to call him. After he dropped us off he could just quit for the day. Ha ha.
This is where our sunless paradise begins….we walk into the hotel and 3 people are greeting us and have big smiles on their faces. One lady introduced herself and shook Guys hand. She is the one who Guy had emailed back and forth with when booking the room. They gave us moist towels while standing at the desk along with a cold glass of iced tea. It was really good. After checking in, a young man took us in a golf cart to our hut. He pointed out the highlights of the hotel and carried our bags in. In our room, which is the coolest room of all time, had fresh flowers lying all around and we had slippers on our bed. I took some pictures real fast before we got it cluttered up with all our bags. What a room! Off the back there is a deck with lounge chairs and a table and chairs, then just to the left the stairs went down to our own private dock. From there you could look down into the crystal clear water and see coral and the most unusual colorful fish swimming all around. It was amazing.
Now we need food. We walked up to the restaurant and it wasn’t raining, just heavy clouds all around. We got a perfect table with a view to die for and service was fast and the food was good. I had a steak sandwich and Guy had a tuna steak sandwich. His was better than mine, so he split with me so I could enjoy his, too. *smile* After lunch we hustled back to our room as we could feel the 24 hour clock ticking down in paradise. We got back to our room and Guy jumped in for a swim. It was a bit too breezy for me and as much as I wanted to put my swimsuit on, I was just a bit chilly. I laid on the dock on a towel in some pathetic sunless attempt for a tan and watched the fish. They entertained me to no end. Guy crumbled up some Pringles we had in our back pack and you should have seen them coming! Big ones, plain ones, tiny gorgeous ones…what a blast. I got a few shots and took some moves. One of those little suckers had TEETH and you could hear him CRUNCHING the chip as he grabbed it. It was awesome.
Well, the drizzle began, so I downloaded my pictures and sifted thru them to put on the blog for today. There is internet here, but we have to go up to the bar area and pay of course, but that doesn’t really surprise us.
OK, so my first impressions of Tahiti were bad, but this is really paradise. Man, if the sun were out and I had a week just to lay here and watch the fish, swim and snorkel, I’d do it again in a flash. I think the island of Tahiti may not be too great and it looked like it wouldn’t be too safe at night, but our cabbie today said the island of Moorea only has 12,000 people on it and everyone works and everyone knows each other. He said it is very safe. The island is really beautiful with tall pointy mountains. Reminds me of the King Kong movie as we pulled up. The road only goes around the bottom of perimeter and really nothing is up in the mountains except lots of palm trees and bush. Quite lovely.
The humidity is about 214% here, so my hair is not really a sight to behold. Even fixing it will last about 10 minutes. We are contemplating just room service tonight, just to enjoy the solitude of our hut. Probably a once in a life time opportunity. We are staying here on Starwood points, but if we were paying for it, it would be $800 per night. So this is probably it. Maybe I’ll stay awake all night so I can not sleep away this opportunity.
Day 13
Day 13
We were up and about early so as to be ready for Rhondda at 10:30. She was right on time and was a real delight. She took us around town and showed us the local sights. She was full of fun information and treated us just like she had known us for years. She took us to a beach that had a lovely café where we had brunch. I ordered pancakes, but what that really meant was crepes, which was even more of a treat as I love crepes. Guy and Rhondda both had scrambled eggs and toast. Everything was all piled on top of each other. ;) We had a great conversation as Rhondda is a trauma nurse at Auckland’s largest hospital and apparently has a very important job there. She travels all over for work and pleasure and was full of great stories about her and her mom. After brunch she drove us around a bit more and headed for the airport. She hated to drop us off early, but we assured her that was just fine. We told Rhondda that next time we were in Auckland we’d call her and treat her to dinner. She said next time we come to Auckland we can stay at her house. What a sweet lady. I wish we had more time to spend with her. That just added to our already sad faces to leave New Zealand. What a magical place. Two weeks isn’t even close to being enough time to see it all. At least we have our bearings now and when we go back we’ll know where to fly in and out of better and how long it takes to get from one location to another.
It was a good thing we got there a bit early, because the line to check in for Air Tahiti Nui was LONG. We stood in line for well over an hour and by the time we went thru security, I had NO TIME TO SHOP FOR DUTY FREE ITEMS because our flight was already boarding! Bummer! But we loaded onto our plane, which was huge and I just don’t see how those suckers take off. It was a nice flight with only minor bumps and was only 4 ½ hours long. I had dinner, which was actually pretty good and watched two movies, only snoozing for about 45 minutes. It was dark when we arrived so we saw nothing, but I get a feeling it is like Jamaica….some shady areas that you’d have to watch out for and then your nice resorts. We got some money exchanged at the airport in Auckland so we could pay for a cab to the hotel. I asked the girl at the Tahiti airport how far away our hotel was and she said only about 15 minutes away and to take a taxi. When we got to the hotel, which only seemed like a 10 minute ride, the Sheraton was now a Hilton and we thought she’d brought us to the wrong hotel. But apparently they have just recently switched. The cab driver told us it would be 2800 Franks so we paid her that, but figured we were getting ripped off. We did as we later found out there are around 87 franks to the dollar. So our 10 minute cab ride cost us over $30. The guy who carried our bags to the room was walking out and I handed him 2 French coins and told him I had no idea how much I was giving him. He said that’s okay and “Thanks”. I’m still not sure how much I gave him. With that said, the hotel menu shows a club sandwich at about $21 USD. I did hear someone say it was really overpriced here. So with our big plans of sunbathing only, I don’t think we’ll rack up too much in expense here.
When we checked in they were not very nice here. Maybe they don’t care for Americans since they are French. Either way, our room is very nice with a hard wood floor and we are only here for the night. Tomorrow when we get up we are heading out for the boat ride to the other island where our “hut” is going to be waiting for us. The forecast said 30% chance for thunderstorms but I have a feeling it is like Florida where the hot afternoons stir up a few short showers. It is like 80 degrees here tonight at 10pm. Our plans for tomorrow are to be in our swimsuits all day then eat supper, sleep, then be in our swimsuits for as long as we can possibly stay. Our flight doesn’t leave until 11:30pm, so we’ll have to figure out what to do all evening.
So the weirdest part of today is we left Auckland at 3:30pm on Monday and arrived in Tahiti at 9pm Sunday. So somehow we backed up a day and we are thinking we are now only 4 hours difference from home time. That we can’t figure out. I try not to think about it, but I think I saw an old twilight zone show about it. Ha ha
Ok. No internet unless you pay for it, so I’ll try to find a wi fi spot tomorrow or pay for it when we get to the other location. Hope to get some great shots tomorrow of our hotel. I hope it is all we think it will be. :)
Cheers!
We were up and about early so as to be ready for Rhondda at 10:30. She was right on time and was a real delight. She took us around town and showed us the local sights. She was full of fun information and treated us just like she had known us for years. She took us to a beach that had a lovely café where we had brunch. I ordered pancakes, but what that really meant was crepes, which was even more of a treat as I love crepes. Guy and Rhondda both had scrambled eggs and toast. Everything was all piled on top of each other. ;) We had a great conversation as Rhondda is a trauma nurse at Auckland’s largest hospital and apparently has a very important job there. She travels all over for work and pleasure and was full of great stories about her and her mom. After brunch she drove us around a bit more and headed for the airport. She hated to drop us off early, but we assured her that was just fine. We told Rhondda that next time we were in Auckland we’d call her and treat her to dinner. She said next time we come to Auckland we can stay at her house. What a sweet lady. I wish we had more time to spend with her. That just added to our already sad faces to leave New Zealand. What a magical place. Two weeks isn’t even close to being enough time to see it all. At least we have our bearings now and when we go back we’ll know where to fly in and out of better and how long it takes to get from one location to another.
It was a good thing we got there a bit early, because the line to check in for Air Tahiti Nui was LONG. We stood in line for well over an hour and by the time we went thru security, I had NO TIME TO SHOP FOR DUTY FREE ITEMS because our flight was already boarding! Bummer! But we loaded onto our plane, which was huge and I just don’t see how those suckers take off. It was a nice flight with only minor bumps and was only 4 ½ hours long. I had dinner, which was actually pretty good and watched two movies, only snoozing for about 45 minutes. It was dark when we arrived so we saw nothing, but I get a feeling it is like Jamaica….some shady areas that you’d have to watch out for and then your nice resorts. We got some money exchanged at the airport in Auckland so we could pay for a cab to the hotel. I asked the girl at the Tahiti airport how far away our hotel was and she said only about 15 minutes away and to take a taxi. When we got to the hotel, which only seemed like a 10 minute ride, the Sheraton was now a Hilton and we thought she’d brought us to the wrong hotel. But apparently they have just recently switched. The cab driver told us it would be 2800 Franks so we paid her that, but figured we were getting ripped off. We did as we later found out there are around 87 franks to the dollar. So our 10 minute cab ride cost us over $30. The guy who carried our bags to the room was walking out and I handed him 2 French coins and told him I had no idea how much I was giving him. He said that’s okay and “Thanks”. I’m still not sure how much I gave him. With that said, the hotel menu shows a club sandwich at about $21 USD. I did hear someone say it was really overpriced here. So with our big plans of sunbathing only, I don’t think we’ll rack up too much in expense here.
When we checked in they were not very nice here. Maybe they don’t care for Americans since they are French. Either way, our room is very nice with a hard wood floor and we are only here for the night. Tomorrow when we get up we are heading out for the boat ride to the other island where our “hut” is going to be waiting for us. The forecast said 30% chance for thunderstorms but I have a feeling it is like Florida where the hot afternoons stir up a few short showers. It is like 80 degrees here tonight at 10pm. Our plans for tomorrow are to be in our swimsuits all day then eat supper, sleep, then be in our swimsuits for as long as we can possibly stay. Our flight doesn’t leave until 11:30pm, so we’ll have to figure out what to do all evening.
So the weirdest part of today is we left Auckland at 3:30pm on Monday and arrived in Tahiti at 9pm Sunday. So somehow we backed up a day and we are thinking we are now only 4 hours difference from home time. That we can’t figure out. I try not to think about it, but I think I saw an old twilight zone show about it. Ha ha
Ok. No internet unless you pay for it, so I’ll try to find a wi fi spot tomorrow or pay for it when we get to the other location. Hope to get some great shots tomorrow of our hotel. I hope it is all we think it will be. :)
Cheers!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Day 12
Day 12
Ahhhh....The Westin. Big lovely room, marble bathroom, slippers, soft pillows... I slept about 10 hours last night. It was wonderful. We got going this morning about 10 and went downstairs to the cafe. The little restaurant is called Toast, so guess what we had to eat? Yep, you got it. But it really was a wonderful egg and cheese sandwich on toast. :) We walked to the ferry and got on board right before it pulled away. The sun was out, but there were a few pesky clouds that had some rain drops in them. They didn't last long so we enjoyed the 40 minute ride to Waiheke Island. It is known for its wineries. When we got there we walked to the city center (up hill about 20 minutes) and did a bit of shopping. Not much there, but we had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Vino Vino. We had the best table in the house that looked right out over the little bay area. There were some really nice boats out there and some people swimming and Kayaking. Guy had scallops and I had the beer battered Monk fish. REALLY good. Mine was better than Guy's. We can't get used to the scallops over here. They have the one part still attached to it. I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason I think it is its intestines. I told Guy that and of course neither one of us eats that part now. I really should google it. It is probably some delicacy and we are avoiding it.
After lunch we took a taxi to one of the wineries. I took a few pictures and it really was beautiful. It looked like an old italian winery. After we were there for a bit we walked to the next winery to have dessert. It was supposed to the be best one. It was nice, but very modern. The view from the restaurant was amazing and the green grass was nice to see. We ordered dessert and mine was so pretty I took a picture. One of the servers was from Philly but her mom was a New Zealander. So after highschool and a year abroad, she moved to NZ. She says she doesn't miss the states at all. I can see why. Over the course of the trip we have come across lots of 20 somethings that are just there for a short time to work and explore the country. I'm so impressed with people that age that can make such a bold life decision. Most of them there by themselves. I was never mature enough at 20 to go to another country to work. - Anyway, after our yummy dessert, we asked how far it was back to the ferry dock. The waitress said it is a 15 minute walk if you take the "path". Guy asked her if the path was a difficult walk and she said "you aren't on crutches are you?" So we headed for the "path". It was pretty interesting and we were in some serious forest area, but since I know for sure there are no snakes in NZ, it made it a much more enjoyable walk. It was a bit more than 15 minutes but we got to the boat with 10 minutes to spare. The boat ride back was a bit choppier than the way there, but it was fun just to look out at the sailboats around us. The boats that race in like the Americas Cup were everywhere and they just look like they are going to fall over right there. One boat had about 8 people all sitting on the one side while the other side is dragging the water. I'd be scared.
When we got back to the hotel I tried to call Rhondda (my friend from work's friend) and some man answered and said there was no Rhondda there. So I called her cell and she said on her message to call her home phone. Well the number she gave me in the email was a 9 instead of a 0. So therefore I had called the wrong number this morning. We were back in our room by 6 and I left a message that we'd love to take her to dinner. She called back and said she'd just got in and she had been working all day and was exhausted. She was going to rest tonight, but was off work tomorrow and said she'd come by in the morning, show us some sights, take us to lunch and then to the airport. I told her that was nice of her but certainly not necessary. She insisted because we were friends of Pam. So I accepted her offer and she will be here at the Westin at 10:30. She sounds lovely.
After a wonderful hot shower, we walked to a restaurant in the marina area for supper. Neither one of us were really that hungry, so we got a pizza and it was just right. I got chilly walking back, but once again the weather has just been perfect. I've been on the phone with the internet people because I had to buy internet here at the Westin and it is so slow my pictures won't load. The guy said he thinks he has fixed it, but if not better in a half hour to call back. Hopefully the pictures from today will be up before we leave tomorrow for Tahiti. I'm not sure our "hut" will have wireless. :)
Well, goodbye New Zealand. What an amazing place. Guy and I both said today that we were sad it was already over. It has been such a positive experience. Even tho we are not really the adventurous type, this place is a haven for hikers, boaters, hunters, campers, etc. But even us Westin Hotel lovers still enjoyed the solitude of the South Island and the unspoiled land was a joy to explore. I think we'll be back.
Ahhhh....The Westin. Big lovely room, marble bathroom, slippers, soft pillows... I slept about 10 hours last night. It was wonderful. We got going this morning about 10 and went downstairs to the cafe. The little restaurant is called Toast, so guess what we had to eat? Yep, you got it. But it really was a wonderful egg and cheese sandwich on toast. :) We walked to the ferry and got on board right before it pulled away. The sun was out, but there were a few pesky clouds that had some rain drops in them. They didn't last long so we enjoyed the 40 minute ride to Waiheke Island. It is known for its wineries. When we got there we walked to the city center (up hill about 20 minutes) and did a bit of shopping. Not much there, but we had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Vino Vino. We had the best table in the house that looked right out over the little bay area. There were some really nice boats out there and some people swimming and Kayaking. Guy had scallops and I had the beer battered Monk fish. REALLY good. Mine was better than Guy's. We can't get used to the scallops over here. They have the one part still attached to it. I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason I think it is its intestines. I told Guy that and of course neither one of us eats that part now. I really should google it. It is probably some delicacy and we are avoiding it.
After lunch we took a taxi to one of the wineries. I took a few pictures and it really was beautiful. It looked like an old italian winery. After we were there for a bit we walked to the next winery to have dessert. It was supposed to the be best one. It was nice, but very modern. The view from the restaurant was amazing and the green grass was nice to see. We ordered dessert and mine was so pretty I took a picture. One of the servers was from Philly but her mom was a New Zealander. So after highschool and a year abroad, she moved to NZ. She says she doesn't miss the states at all. I can see why. Over the course of the trip we have come across lots of 20 somethings that are just there for a short time to work and explore the country. I'm so impressed with people that age that can make such a bold life decision. Most of them there by themselves. I was never mature enough at 20 to go to another country to work. - Anyway, after our yummy dessert, we asked how far it was back to the ferry dock. The waitress said it is a 15 minute walk if you take the "path". Guy asked her if the path was a difficult walk and she said "you aren't on crutches are you?" So we headed for the "path". It was pretty interesting and we were in some serious forest area, but since I know for sure there are no snakes in NZ, it made it a much more enjoyable walk. It was a bit more than 15 minutes but we got to the boat with 10 minutes to spare. The boat ride back was a bit choppier than the way there, but it was fun just to look out at the sailboats around us. The boats that race in like the Americas Cup were everywhere and they just look like they are going to fall over right there. One boat had about 8 people all sitting on the one side while the other side is dragging the water. I'd be scared.
When we got back to the hotel I tried to call Rhondda (my friend from work's friend) and some man answered and said there was no Rhondda there. So I called her cell and she said on her message to call her home phone. Well the number she gave me in the email was a 9 instead of a 0. So therefore I had called the wrong number this morning. We were back in our room by 6 and I left a message that we'd love to take her to dinner. She called back and said she'd just got in and she had been working all day and was exhausted. She was going to rest tonight, but was off work tomorrow and said she'd come by in the morning, show us some sights, take us to lunch and then to the airport. I told her that was nice of her but certainly not necessary. She insisted because we were friends of Pam. So I accepted her offer and she will be here at the Westin at 10:30. She sounds lovely.
After a wonderful hot shower, we walked to a restaurant in the marina area for supper. Neither one of us were really that hungry, so we got a pizza and it was just right. I got chilly walking back, but once again the weather has just been perfect. I've been on the phone with the internet people because I had to buy internet here at the Westin and it is so slow my pictures won't load. The guy said he thinks he has fixed it, but if not better in a half hour to call back. Hopefully the pictures from today will be up before we leave tomorrow for Tahiti. I'm not sure our "hut" will have wireless. :)
Well, goodbye New Zealand. What an amazing place. Guy and I both said today that we were sad it was already over. It has been such a positive experience. Even tho we are not really the adventurous type, this place is a haven for hikers, boaters, hunters, campers, etc. But even us Westin Hotel lovers still enjoyed the solitude of the South Island and the unspoiled land was a joy to explore. I think we'll be back.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Day 11
Day 11
Hello all from sunny Auckland New Zealand. We had a flight at 11am but it was delayed for over an hour and a half. But once we boarded, the flight was only one hour and 15 mintues, so that was cool. We got into Auckland and took a shuttle to the hotel. We are at the Westin at the marina and it is gorgeous. The weather is perfect right now and we hope it holds out for tomorrow. There is currently the international boat show going on and there are giant (and I mean GIANT) yachts floating out there. They are cool. I'll get some pictures tomorrow. :)
Auckland is just a big city, so for our one day here we are planning on taking a ferry to an island just off the city and see some wineries, a tour of the Island and a nice lunch. We'll have plenty of restaurant choices tonight and we are walking around looking at menus and trying to decide. I'm sure seafood will be in our bellies in the next few hours.
A lady I work with has a friend that lives in Auckland and we were trying to contact her to take her to dinner and chat. But so far our paths are not crossing. Hopefully we'll get to meet her tomorrow or Monday.
Gotta go because I'm at a coffee bar using free wi-fi and my computer juice is in the red. :)
Vacation end countdown has begun, but we are looking forward to Tahiti just to lay on the beach for 2 days and recoup from this fascinating vacation. I have a feeling New Zealand will be in our travel plans again.
Hello all from sunny Auckland New Zealand. We had a flight at 11am but it was delayed for over an hour and a half. But once we boarded, the flight was only one hour and 15 mintues, so that was cool. We got into Auckland and took a shuttle to the hotel. We are at the Westin at the marina and it is gorgeous. The weather is perfect right now and we hope it holds out for tomorrow. There is currently the international boat show going on and there are giant (and I mean GIANT) yachts floating out there. They are cool. I'll get some pictures tomorrow. :)
Auckland is just a big city, so for our one day here we are planning on taking a ferry to an island just off the city and see some wineries, a tour of the Island and a nice lunch. We'll have plenty of restaurant choices tonight and we are walking around looking at menus and trying to decide. I'm sure seafood will be in our bellies in the next few hours.
A lady I work with has a friend that lives in Auckland and we were trying to contact her to take her to dinner and chat. But so far our paths are not crossing. Hopefully we'll get to meet her tomorrow or Monday.
Gotta go because I'm at a coffee bar using free wi-fi and my computer juice is in the red. :)
Vacation end countdown has begun, but we are looking forward to Tahiti just to lay on the beach for 2 days and recoup from this fascinating vacation. I have a feeling New Zealand will be in our travel plans again.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Day 10
Day 10
Well we had our alarm set for 7am to check the weather and we were going to take the boat ride out to the glacier lake so we could pet some giant ice cubes in the water (they say 200 meters fell in last week and there was some good stuff out there right now) but it was pouring down rain. So we turned the alarm off and got some of that great sleep. You know the kind where a cool breeze is blowing in the window and you hear the sound of pouring rain outside, all while you are snuggled under warm covers? Yeah, so we went back to sleep. We were up, packed and in the car by 10am and it looked as if it were clearing, but we decided to forgo the glacier trip for the next time we visit Mt. Cook. As we drove out, we got another breathtaking view of the lake and it's milky blue waters. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. We stopped for a few more pictures and turned to take one last look as we drove off. Wow....
Today I really don't have too much to talk about. We had about 4 1/2 hours of driving and the first part was beautiful, but as we got closer to Christchurch, the mountains disappeared and so did all the excitement. :) We stopped in two small towns for either shops or food and drove on in to Christchurch. We turned our car in (over 2000 kilometers of driving on the wrong side of the road) and were relieved the car had no damage ***flashback to the big long crease I put in the van from Taromina after only one block of driving..ha ha*** We got to Christchurch without a hotel, but we found one right away and it is nice. We got all of our stuff in the room and are trying to decided how the heck we are going to get it all home!!! Okay, okay...I like to shop...so there, I said it!!!
We decided to call home and we found some payphones and I went first. Talked to mom for the entire card so we had to go buy another for Guy to call home. Oops. Then as he was talking, I walked over to the bridge and saw a lady planting flowers in the floating pots in the stream. I heard a lady yell, Hey Joe, take a picture of us from up there! So of course, as usual, I walked over and asked him if he'd like to be in it as well and he did. So as I was focusing on the group, I realized one couple was from our bus ride back to Queenstown from the Dart River Jet Boat Safari! So I yelled "Hey Michigan!" They didn't recognize me at first, but then said, "Oh yea, the one with the Governor that's going to jail!" We had a good laugh and we told them the fun things to see in the town. Funny how we saw them again.
We ate dinner at the same Italian place we ate at the last time we were here then walked back toward the hotel. I needed some chocolate, so we looked around and came across a bagpipe and drummer competition. I videoed and tooks some snaps that I'll add to the blog. We listened until they were done and it must have been sponsored by the Irish Pub because of the bagpipes (I'm quick aren't I?) and the guys in Kilts. It was nice and the weather is great.
So that was our day, not as exciting as some of the others, but I suppose they can't all be so action packed. :) I think about how blessed we are to be able to see such wonderful places and it makes you realize how big this world really is. I think I felt a bit sad in the car, tho, because it is our last day here in the South Island. It has been an amazing journey and we couldn't have asked for anything to be any better. The vacation is winding down. 2 days in Auckland and 2 days in Tahiti. Suppose there is still lots to talk about until we hit Tahiti. I think that blog will be 3 words only. SUN - BIKINI - TAN! ha ha. Going to go to bed early since we have an early fight tomorrow back to Auckland. Looking forward to that as well. Hope we can get some sleep tonight, one floor below us they are having a big event of Salsa Dancing and we can hear the music. I suppose it is better than Salsa Dancing one floor ABOVE us.
Will report in tomorrow from Auckland.
All the photos up to this point have been posted. It seems like there is a day delay from when I upload them to the Picasa website and when I can attach them as a slide show within the blog. You should still be able to see them if you double clk on any of the slideshows then go the My Photos. Then you can see all 10 days. :) Cheers!
Well we had our alarm set for 7am to check the weather and we were going to take the boat ride out to the glacier lake so we could pet some giant ice cubes in the water (they say 200 meters fell in last week and there was some good stuff out there right now) but it was pouring down rain. So we turned the alarm off and got some of that great sleep. You know the kind where a cool breeze is blowing in the window and you hear the sound of pouring rain outside, all while you are snuggled under warm covers? Yeah, so we went back to sleep. We were up, packed and in the car by 10am and it looked as if it were clearing, but we decided to forgo the glacier trip for the next time we visit Mt. Cook. As we drove out, we got another breathtaking view of the lake and it's milky blue waters. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. We stopped for a few more pictures and turned to take one last look as we drove off. Wow....
Today I really don't have too much to talk about. We had about 4 1/2 hours of driving and the first part was beautiful, but as we got closer to Christchurch, the mountains disappeared and so did all the excitement. :) We stopped in two small towns for either shops or food and drove on in to Christchurch. We turned our car in (over 2000 kilometers of driving on the wrong side of the road) and were relieved the car had no damage ***flashback to the big long crease I put in the van from Taromina after only one block of driving..ha ha*** We got to Christchurch without a hotel, but we found one right away and it is nice. We got all of our stuff in the room and are trying to decided how the heck we are going to get it all home!!! Okay, okay...I like to shop...so there, I said it!!!
We decided to call home and we found some payphones and I went first. Talked to mom for the entire card so we had to go buy another for Guy to call home. Oops. Then as he was talking, I walked over to the bridge and saw a lady planting flowers in the floating pots in the stream. I heard a lady yell, Hey Joe, take a picture of us from up there! So of course, as usual, I walked over and asked him if he'd like to be in it as well and he did. So as I was focusing on the group, I realized one couple was from our bus ride back to Queenstown from the Dart River Jet Boat Safari! So I yelled "Hey Michigan!" They didn't recognize me at first, but then said, "Oh yea, the one with the Governor that's going to jail!" We had a good laugh and we told them the fun things to see in the town. Funny how we saw them again.
We ate dinner at the same Italian place we ate at the last time we were here then walked back toward the hotel. I needed some chocolate, so we looked around and came across a bagpipe and drummer competition. I videoed and tooks some snaps that I'll add to the blog. We listened until they were done and it must have been sponsored by the Irish Pub because of the bagpipes (I'm quick aren't I?) and the guys in Kilts. It was nice and the weather is great.
So that was our day, not as exciting as some of the others, but I suppose they can't all be so action packed. :) I think about how blessed we are to be able to see such wonderful places and it makes you realize how big this world really is. I think I felt a bit sad in the car, tho, because it is our last day here in the South Island. It has been an amazing journey and we couldn't have asked for anything to be any better. The vacation is winding down. 2 days in Auckland and 2 days in Tahiti. Suppose there is still lots to talk about until we hit Tahiti. I think that blog will be 3 words only. SUN - BIKINI - TAN! ha ha. Going to go to bed early since we have an early fight tomorrow back to Auckland. Looking forward to that as well. Hope we can get some sleep tonight, one floor below us they are having a big event of Salsa Dancing and we can hear the music. I suppose it is better than Salsa Dancing one floor ABOVE us.
Will report in tomorrow from Auckland.
All the photos up to this point have been posted. It seems like there is a day delay from when I upload them to the Picasa website and when I can attach them as a slide show within the blog. You should still be able to see them if you double clk on any of the slideshows then go the My Photos. Then you can see all 10 days. :) Cheers!
Day 9
Day 9
After another yummy breakfast at the Cathedral Peaks B&B, Janice recommended we go to the Kepler Track bridge before heading out of town. We did and it was worth it. Down a gravel road we came upon a long suspension foot bridge that was across a gorgeous river. At this location, the LOTR’s a fight scene took place here. Janice said they didn’t alter anything in the scene. It was in the first movie I think near the end where they were coming down the river. It was shot thru two trees leaning against each other. I’ll have to watch the movie again, but I think I saw where she was talking about. Anyway, Guy ran on the bridge then shook it back and forth to try and scare me. ☺ It didn’t. It was a really neat place.
We took off down the road and headed back toward Queenstown. We thought we’d make it there about in time for lunch and it worked out perfectly. In the town, the information places will look for hotels for you. We re-booked at the Hermitage again for tonight even tho we had cancelled tonight a few days ago because we thought we were doing the overnight Milford Sound cruise and we wouldn’t be able to make it here in one day. Anyway, we had lunch and ate outside at a café and the food was just so-so, but the view was killer and the weather was perfect, and I mean p-e-r-f-e-c-t. We were so blessed on this trip with weather. After shopping around a bit, we got an icecream and sat in the little park on the rocks and grass next to the crystal clear stream that runs thru the town. After that, we got back in the car and started for Mt. Cook. As we came out of town, we saw this gorgeous blue river with rock cliffs on each side. The water was so gorgeous. Above was a really cool old bridge and low and behold they were bungy jumping from it. So of course we pulled in to watch. They had a viewing area that you could watch all the action from. We saw 4 people jump and they are crazy. They lowered them all the way down and a boat went out to get them. Some people got dunked in the water and others didn’t. I think you had the option. It was really cool and I got some good video I think. This is the location where bungy jumping originated. That is what it said anyway. If so, that is really cool. The nerve of the first guy who dove off that bridge…he must have had a death wish. Anyway, we took off again and as we came around a corner, we could see the traffic backed up. A guy came to our car and said the pass was closed until 2. Well that was only 10 minutes. So like everyone else, we just rolled down the windows, turned off the car and relaxed. Apparently they had some loose rocks above the road and they were trying to clear them off (or so the guy told us). So sure enough, at 2 they had traffic going again. On Friday it is closed for over an hour, so we didn’t know if they were just setting charges or what. Anyway, no rocks fell on our rental, so all was good.
The drive from Queenstown to Mt. Cook was about 3 ½ hours. But you know it really went by so fast because the scenery was so great. The hills and mountains are all so unique and it is always something different. There was not a cloud in the sky and we were thrilled because they say that if clouds are covering the peak of Mt. Cook, you’ll wonder why you drove an hour off the road to see it. As we approached it, the clouds sure enough were covering the peak. No clouds at all on the entire trip until now! (when we flew into Christchurch from Auckland, it was cloudy but you could see just the tip of Mt. Cook peeking thru the clouds) As we drove in, there was this amazing lake that was a blue like I’ve never seen before. It is cloudy and they say it is because all the tiny rocks from the glacier that they call “rock flour” is in it. So we made it to the Hermitage and it is in a beautiful location. Just below Mt. Cook which is the highest mountain in New Zealand. The sky was clearing so I had my camera ready. I sat in our room, which has a view of it and waited for the right moment. Well it came, but I shouldn’t have hurried because it stayed all night! ☺ When we had dinner we had a perfect view of the peak. Dinner was really good. I had the 6 course special where you get to try a little sample of lots of things. So I had a first course of scallops (there were two) with some sort of crème brulee something that wasn’t a dessert, but was still sweetish. I have no idea what it was. Then I had a little bowl of Pumpkin and vanilla soup, then a seafood risotto with scallops, fish, shrimp and muscles. After that came the lemon/orange sorbet “to clear our palates of course) then the entrée which was duck breast in a wonderful sauce, potatoes and poached pears. By this time I was having trouble sitting up because my stomach was no cooperating today and I had felt it coming on about 2 hours earlier in the car, so I came back to the room so I could lay down while Guy finished up and he brought me my dessert to the room that came along with the meal. It was some kind of banana tart and banana icecream.
Tomorrow we have the alarm set for 7am. If the weather is good we are going to take a bus ride closer to Mt. Cook, then a 30 minute walk, then a boat ride out to see the glaciers. They are small boats and you pass chunks of floating glacier ice cubes. ☺ I talked to a woman today that had gone on it and said it was spectacular. Her husband said it was so interesting because the guide explains everything. Should be a great time. She said he does get kinda close to a waterfall and you get wet, but you are given a raincoat type thing to wear. We’ll see what the weather man says in the morning….
After another yummy breakfast at the Cathedral Peaks B&B, Janice recommended we go to the Kepler Track bridge before heading out of town. We did and it was worth it. Down a gravel road we came upon a long suspension foot bridge that was across a gorgeous river. At this location, the LOTR’s a fight scene took place here. Janice said they didn’t alter anything in the scene. It was in the first movie I think near the end where they were coming down the river. It was shot thru two trees leaning against each other. I’ll have to watch the movie again, but I think I saw where she was talking about. Anyway, Guy ran on the bridge then shook it back and forth to try and scare me. ☺ It didn’t. It was a really neat place.
We took off down the road and headed back toward Queenstown. We thought we’d make it there about in time for lunch and it worked out perfectly. In the town, the information places will look for hotels for you. We re-booked at the Hermitage again for tonight even tho we had cancelled tonight a few days ago because we thought we were doing the overnight Milford Sound cruise and we wouldn’t be able to make it here in one day. Anyway, we had lunch and ate outside at a café and the food was just so-so, but the view was killer and the weather was perfect, and I mean p-e-r-f-e-c-t. We were so blessed on this trip with weather. After shopping around a bit, we got an icecream and sat in the little park on the rocks and grass next to the crystal clear stream that runs thru the town. After that, we got back in the car and started for Mt. Cook. As we came out of town, we saw this gorgeous blue river with rock cliffs on each side. The water was so gorgeous. Above was a really cool old bridge and low and behold they were bungy jumping from it. So of course we pulled in to watch. They had a viewing area that you could watch all the action from. We saw 4 people jump and they are crazy. They lowered them all the way down and a boat went out to get them. Some people got dunked in the water and others didn’t. I think you had the option. It was really cool and I got some good video I think. This is the location where bungy jumping originated. That is what it said anyway. If so, that is really cool. The nerve of the first guy who dove off that bridge…he must have had a death wish. Anyway, we took off again and as we came around a corner, we could see the traffic backed up. A guy came to our car and said the pass was closed until 2. Well that was only 10 minutes. So like everyone else, we just rolled down the windows, turned off the car and relaxed. Apparently they had some loose rocks above the road and they were trying to clear them off (or so the guy told us). So sure enough, at 2 they had traffic going again. On Friday it is closed for over an hour, so we didn’t know if they were just setting charges or what. Anyway, no rocks fell on our rental, so all was good.
The drive from Queenstown to Mt. Cook was about 3 ½ hours. But you know it really went by so fast because the scenery was so great. The hills and mountains are all so unique and it is always something different. There was not a cloud in the sky and we were thrilled because they say that if clouds are covering the peak of Mt. Cook, you’ll wonder why you drove an hour off the road to see it. As we approached it, the clouds sure enough were covering the peak. No clouds at all on the entire trip until now! (when we flew into Christchurch from Auckland, it was cloudy but you could see just the tip of Mt. Cook peeking thru the clouds) As we drove in, there was this amazing lake that was a blue like I’ve never seen before. It is cloudy and they say it is because all the tiny rocks from the glacier that they call “rock flour” is in it. So we made it to the Hermitage and it is in a beautiful location. Just below Mt. Cook which is the highest mountain in New Zealand. The sky was clearing so I had my camera ready. I sat in our room, which has a view of it and waited for the right moment. Well it came, but I shouldn’t have hurried because it stayed all night! ☺ When we had dinner we had a perfect view of the peak. Dinner was really good. I had the 6 course special where you get to try a little sample of lots of things. So I had a first course of scallops (there were two) with some sort of crème brulee something that wasn’t a dessert, but was still sweetish. I have no idea what it was. Then I had a little bowl of Pumpkin and vanilla soup, then a seafood risotto with scallops, fish, shrimp and muscles. After that came the lemon/orange sorbet “to clear our palates of course) then the entrée which was duck breast in a wonderful sauce, potatoes and poached pears. By this time I was having trouble sitting up because my stomach was no cooperating today and I had felt it coming on about 2 hours earlier in the car, so I came back to the room so I could lay down while Guy finished up and he brought me my dessert to the room that came along with the meal. It was some kind of banana tart and banana icecream.
Tomorrow we have the alarm set for 7am. If the weather is good we are going to take a bus ride closer to Mt. Cook, then a 30 minute walk, then a boat ride out to see the glaciers. They are small boats and you pass chunks of floating glacier ice cubes. ☺ I talked to a woman today that had gone on it and said it was spectacular. Her husband said it was so interesting because the guide explains everything. Should be a great time. She said he does get kinda close to a waterfall and you get wet, but you are given a raincoat type thing to wear. We’ll see what the weather man says in the morning….
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Day 8
Day 8
Where to begin. 7:00 alarm was a bit too early because neither one of us slept too good. Bed was comfy, but pillows were too tall and that is a problem for us. So we drug ourselves out of bed because breakfast was at 8. Janice fixed us scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and she also had yogurt, lemon muffins and fresh fruit. We were done eating when the other guests arrived. They were from Scotland and they were retired dairy farmers. Very nice. They have been all over the world. After our interesting conversation, we took off for Milford Sound. Google it when you get a chance. It is probably the biggest tourist attraction on the South Island. When you see the pictures you'll know why.
There were several stops along the way that Janice mapped out for us. The first was mirror lakes. It was right off the road and it was tiny lakes that were like mirrors to the mountains behind them. One place was so clearly reflected it was honestly creepy. The problem with mirror lakes was it is currently the home to a few black dippy ducks and duck water ripples and the effect of the mirror kinda didn't work together. :) We got the idea tho. It was wonderful. The next place we saw was Knobs Flats. It was a breathtaking view of the mountains but had this great big plain of grass. Janice says it is so quite there it is a unique experience. It was quite windy, so the silence wasn't there for us. :) Still.... Next we came to the top of Lake Gunn. It was the rain forest. It had long mossy stuff hanging off all the branches of the beech trees and also had its long twisty roots covered in moss. Definite movie type setting. I took some pictures, but because it was sorta dark in there, I really needed a tripod. Didn't have one so did the best I could. Next was the Homer Tunnel. Gee, lets see...an old tunnel dug out in the 1930s that looked like a mine inside and only really handled one way traffic and was a mile long...that was a good time. ha ha Now on to the best one of the trip up. The Chasm! Wow is the only word I have. You walked back about 7 minutes into the woods (good concrete trail suitable for wheelchairs) and you could hear it roaring, but couldn't see it. When you could it was scary and amazing all at once. I had Guy hang on to me while I took pictures and video. Not that I could have fallen in, but it was from a bridge looking down into this Chasm! A gorgeous stream flowed to this area that I can only really explain as the top of a waterfall. Only it was pouring thru holes in rocks that have been carved out over thousands of years of water flowing over it. Holes so big that dead trees were caught in them. It was so amazing. I took tons of pictures just the get "the money shot". It was wonderful. When we got back to the parking lot we were scolded by a bus driver because we were parked in a bus slot not a car slot. When we got to the giant parking lot there was only 2 cars there (which we parked by). When we came out there were about 3 buses and 4 cars. Still at least 10 bus slots open. He went on and on and I got in the car and left him to Guy. After leaving us he moved on to the next car. I guess he didn't have anything else to do and his speech was rehearsed you could tell. :) We laughed and went on.
When we got to Milford Sound we were a bit early for our cruise. So we checked in at the desk, walked around, got some food and took a short nap in the car. Even tho the weather was GORGEOUS, there were a bazillion sand flies that bite! and so we stayed in the car with the air on. Refreshed, we got on our boat and I got my camera ready. Even tho it was about 3:30, it doesn't get dark til way after 9pm, so the sun was still strong in the sky. The shots were better on the way back as the sun was to my back. Perfect. The boat captain said there was a drought because it had been 2 1/2 days since it had rained. He said it rains 2 out of every 3 days. There were only 5 permanent waterfalls, which we saw, but he said when it is raining, you can't see the top of the fiords, but the 5 waterfalls turns into 5000 waterfalls and he said it is a sight to behold. Down every straight up fiord there is just water pouring off. We talked to a lady from Michigan the other day on the bus and she had been there in the rain and said it was something else. So we had the second best day, blue sky. The worst would be if you were there on a socked in cloudy day with drizzle or no rain. Then no mountain tops AND no waterfalls. Honestly, the road coming up was such a twisty turny that I wouldn't really want to do it in the rain. Luckily for us, when our cruise was over, the buses were already gone and except for a few campers, there was no one coming up. The captain also said they had 1000 earthquakes at Milford A MONTH! He said most of them you don't feel because they are way below in the deep deep water. :) He did say a few years ago they had a good one and it did some damage to the tunnel. He wished us luck going back thru it on the way down. Thanks for that buddy...
Anyway we cruised for just at two hours looking at the amazing fiords. Even tho a bit hazy, the photos I have again won't begin to tell the story. There were some postcards there that I bought, all done by the same photographer. They were amazing, but you can tell he must go there all the time, all times of the day and from all areas around up in the mountains just behind the marina. They were just excellent. - Back to the boat... our captain pulled up to several areas of interest, like sun bathing seals and the bottom of waterfalls. He got so close the boat was about 2 feet from the fiord wall and everyone was getting wet. :) It was fun and I got some pretty good shots.
What a blessed day. I'm pooped and will try to sift thru the 250+ shots I took today to show you some of the highlights I mentioned. It was just one of those perfect days. Tomorrow we are going to take off early and head back to Queenstown and go as far beyond that as we can. We are on our way to Mt. Cook which is really our final sight before heading back to Christchurch and flying back to Auckland for a few days. It will take us 2 days to do this. They are supposed to get some bad weather here tomorrow, so it is best we just head back inland.
Oh yes, the boat captain said that some of the snow/glaciers at the peaks were greyish looking because of the ash from the fires in Australia. He said they are better now because of some rain they've had up there that has washed it off. Cool...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Day 7
Well, we took off from Queenstown and went to the deer park. You paid by the car to enter and drove all up into the mountains. Funny we were higher there than we were the day before on the gondola. One part was so steep that I got a bit nervous about driving up any higher (steep and close to an edge with no guard rails of course, but then we realized we were at the top. We saw all kinds of deer. You couldn't pet them but they didn't run from you. The bucks were so huge I wouldn't have wanted to get too close in case they weren't friendlies. :) We also saw some goats, now they wanted petted and they came running when the car stopped. We didn't buy any food, so they quickly became unenchanted with us. At the very top there was an old movie set. It was a oriental looking prison from a movie back in the 90s. I'll try and think of the name of it. It was sort of overgrown and was falling in a bit. - The view from the top was just something. Not a cloud in the sky but a bit hazy. Still...remarkable. - On the way down (much easier by the way) we came across some donkies, bison, and other cute creatures that would stick their heads in the windows if they were rolled down. It was an hour of fun and very scenic.
We then went on toward our destination of Manapouri, but stopped in a little town at the end of the lake called Kingston. Not much there but an old looking train depo and a cafe. We got some lunch there togo because as luck would have it they were having some kind of parasailing competition going on. Music and a dude on the microphone telling the crowd who was coming down and the tricks they were doing. First of all, the crowd was about 30 people maybe. Hippies and such. :) We had our lunch while sitting on the edge of the beach and watched the parasailers come down. I call them that...they aren't hand gliders, they are the canopy type like the boats pull you off the coast of Florida. Only here no boats, just crazy guys jumping off a giant mountain. - We finished our food and watched one more guy come down then got back in the car to venture on. We still had about an hour and a half to go. When we got to Manapouri we drove thru the town in about 1 minute (Elkville size except for giant mountains and a breathtaking lake) so we turned around and went back to find our B&B. It is a newer place and the rooms are very large. Janice let us do our laundry but we had to hang them dry. They were close to dry when we left but are finishing up in the room over chairs. :) We drove to the next town for supper which was called Te Anau. Pronounced like tea a now. We went to the Real Journies office to see if we could cancel our overnight cruise. Yes, I know. It was cancelled but then we got in the next night. Janice sort of talked us out of it. She said she didn't really think it was worth it. Plus all the way here we were deciding if to try to change our flight out of Christchurch and fly out of Queenstown up to Auckland. So if we cancelled our overnight, that would free us up for other options. So when we went to the office, they let us cancel because they had originally booted us off and we re-booked for only a 2 hour cruise on a smaller boat. Even the girl there said we'd see as much on it as we would on the other. So we made if for 3:30 so we could take our time going up. Everyone says it's just something else. Also there are lots of photo ops along the way and waterfalls, lakes, short walks, etc. that we'll do on the way up. Breakfast is at 8. So that will give us lots of time. Either way, we'll stay here again tomorrow night.
Dinner in Te Anau was great. Guy had the Venison with a twice baked sweet potato and I had the Pork Belly. Wanted to try something different. Our server loved the pork belly because "they leave the skin on and it begins to crackle". Ok, so how do you pass up a description like that? So I got it an it was excellent. It had a wonderful crunchy outside just like she said. It came with roasted pumpkin and sweet potato salad that was great. I ordered the flourless chocolate cake and it was excellent. When we left the restaurant it was about 9:10pm and still had some daylight. That is nice.
Well I better get to bed. Long day tomorrow. Should be spectacular. I have no pictures today because right now I'm on the guest computer. Janice gave me the password to the internet, but it isn't working. So I'll try to figure that out tomorrow. Nothing too great except a Donkey trying to kiss Guy thru the car window. Oh, and a shot from our room looking out so you could see the view we have from this B&B. I'm running out of words! Great, fabulous, gorgeous, breath taking, wonderful. None of them really do it justice, nor do the pictures.
Oh, Amanda...tonight the restaurant we ate at had the LOTR's cast there when they here shooting. They signed autographs on a shirt, but Viggo wasn't there apparently. But Frodo and Pippin and Sean Austin. :) Wish you were here to see the scenery and wish Steve was here to shoot something big. :) XOXOXOX
We then went on toward our destination of Manapouri, but stopped in a little town at the end of the lake called Kingston. Not much there but an old looking train depo and a cafe. We got some lunch there togo because as luck would have it they were having some kind of parasailing competition going on. Music and a dude on the microphone telling the crowd who was coming down and the tricks they were doing. First of all, the crowd was about 30 people maybe. Hippies and such. :) We had our lunch while sitting on the edge of the beach and watched the parasailers come down. I call them that...they aren't hand gliders, they are the canopy type like the boats pull you off the coast of Florida. Only here no boats, just crazy guys jumping off a giant mountain. - We finished our food and watched one more guy come down then got back in the car to venture on. We still had about an hour and a half to go. When we got to Manapouri we drove thru the town in about 1 minute (Elkville size except for giant mountains and a breathtaking lake) so we turned around and went back to find our B&B. It is a newer place and the rooms are very large. Janice let us do our laundry but we had to hang them dry. They were close to dry when we left but are finishing up in the room over chairs. :) We drove to the next town for supper which was called Te Anau. Pronounced like tea a now. We went to the Real Journies office to see if we could cancel our overnight cruise. Yes, I know. It was cancelled but then we got in the next night. Janice sort of talked us out of it. She said she didn't really think it was worth it. Plus all the way here we were deciding if to try to change our flight out of Christchurch and fly out of Queenstown up to Auckland. So if we cancelled our overnight, that would free us up for other options. So when we went to the office, they let us cancel because they had originally booted us off and we re-booked for only a 2 hour cruise on a smaller boat. Even the girl there said we'd see as much on it as we would on the other. So we made if for 3:30 so we could take our time going up. Everyone says it's just something else. Also there are lots of photo ops along the way and waterfalls, lakes, short walks, etc. that we'll do on the way up. Breakfast is at 8. So that will give us lots of time. Either way, we'll stay here again tomorrow night.
Dinner in Te Anau was great. Guy had the Venison with a twice baked sweet potato and I had the Pork Belly. Wanted to try something different. Our server loved the pork belly because "they leave the skin on and it begins to crackle". Ok, so how do you pass up a description like that? So I got it an it was excellent. It had a wonderful crunchy outside just like she said. It came with roasted pumpkin and sweet potato salad that was great. I ordered the flourless chocolate cake and it was excellent. When we left the restaurant it was about 9:10pm and still had some daylight. That is nice.
Well I better get to bed. Long day tomorrow. Should be spectacular. I have no pictures today because right now I'm on the guest computer. Janice gave me the password to the internet, but it isn't working. So I'll try to figure that out tomorrow. Nothing too great except a Donkey trying to kiss Guy thru the car window. Oh, and a shot from our room looking out so you could see the view we have from this B&B. I'm running out of words! Great, fabulous, gorgeous, breath taking, wonderful. None of them really do it justice, nor do the pictures.
Oh, Amanda...tonight the restaurant we ate at had the LOTR's cast there when they here shooting. They signed autographs on a shirt, but Viggo wasn't there apparently. But Frodo and Pippin and Sean Austin. :) Wish you were here to see the scenery and wish Steve was here to shoot something big. :) XOXOXOX
Monday, March 2, 2009
Day 5 and 6
Wow, internet again. I'm actually sitting in a chocolate shop in Queenstown to get some free wifi. It is the morning of day 7 so here is an update of what has happened so far with day 5 and 6.
Sunday Day 5,
We slept til 9! Woo Hoo! We are in the town of Wanaka at a B&B, but Guy went down to get breakfast since I was still getting ready and breakfast was about to end. While I ate he put some clothes in the washer and we dried them when we walked around the lake to the town. There were some girls getting wind surfing lessons. Now, I know that water was c-o-l-d! Lucky for me, it was a once a month market day and there were some locals selling their hand made items. I looked at all the goodies and decided to buy a necklace. I was trying to choose when the man started telling me about the 4 layer process and how there was pieces of silver in them. He pointed to his favorite and said he designed it after a picture from the hubble telescope. The silver specks were stars. Ok...now how could I NOT get that one? :) Guy took our picture. We walked back to the lodge and got our laundry, some biscuits "cookies" for the road and headed for Arrowntown. It took about an hour but the scenery was to die for. We stopped several times to get out just to look. Again today it is drizzely and overcast so not the best for long distance shots. In Arrowtown we ate lunch and went to the bakery for dessert. The bakery cafe was closing early because there was a concert at 3pm in the town. The sign on the door said "Because the staff needs a break and are going to the concert we are now CLOSED!" ha ha. Arrowtown was an old gold mining town and looks like an old town you'd see in Colorado. We hit all the shops and that didn't take long. So we hopped back in the car and headed for Queenstown. We drove around the town, checked in and unloaded our stuff as we are here 2 nights.
We walked around town and made plans for day 6. A 6 hour Dart River Safari! It is jet boating on the Dart river, a walk thru a forrest and then a jeep ride on back roads. There were several Lord of the Rings locations on it as well. It is looking like some serious rain here so we got a pizza at "Winney's" (best pizza in town we were told) and went to the movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire. Good movie. After the movie it had cleared off so we stopped for some hot chocolate (same place I'm at now) and then turned in for the night. Tomorrow will be a big day.
Day 6
We got up to wonderful SUNSHINE!!! We were prepared to safari in the rain, but as luck would have it, it is clearing off beautifully. It is a bit breezy but a jacket was all that was necessary even tho we had gloves and scarves. Our trip didn't leave until 11:40 so we walked around a bit and got some bread and cheese at the local bakery to pack for our lunch. We caught the bus and started on our adventure. Let me say the bus ride was an adventure in itself. A ride thru the mountains of course on the curvy road and drop offs with no guard rails. Of course going there we were right on the edge and our driver was so busy talking, looking, pointing, drinking coffee and talking on his walkie talkie that I knew we might die that very day. I said a prayer and moved to the middle of the bus. Guy always gives me the widow seat but I had to move away from the terror. :) Almost as bad as the Positano bus ride. The guy was just going too fast for me. Anyway, since I am typing this after the fact, we made it alive. After getting to the little town mountain of 200 people (I forget the name) they said this town is very friendly but they are a bit snobby because all 200 of them were extras in the Lord of the Rings movies and they feel a bit like movie stars. - We loaded in our boat and took off for a great ride in the river. Of course they do 360s and try to get us wet, but that was part of the fun. I tried to video, but it didn't do it justice. The boat ride was an hour and a half. It was great fun and the scenery was something that words don't describe. At one point the river was flowing pretty good and there were BIG rocks all over that we were dodging. I wasn't too scared, but a wrong turn and we would have all been swimming or worse. The driver said when he was first learning the river and how to navigate the rocks he was really scared. Now he just has fun with it and lets all of us be scared.
After the boat ride was over we got off just on the side of the river and gave our lifejackets to the next group and we headed for the "forest". It was very giant city like and a lot of the mossy stuff in the brochure wasn't there, but that was ok. We then loaded the jeep and took off for a leisure ride over streams and woods. He explained the history of the area which was interesting and talked about the possums. Apparently the possums were brought over by the Aussies back in the 1800s for fur trade. They brought over 50 of them and now they estimate over 70 million live here. They did use them as fur trade for years, but a fur saving plight by Sophia Loren ended the fur trading business and now the critters are out of control. They still trap them and make garmets here mixed with the wool they make. It is expensive tho, surprisingly, and I was hoping to buy possum socks for everyone, but looks like that won't be possible. Too much $$$. :) Oh well. They did bring in another animal to help control the rabbit problem but when they got here these animals were smart and lazy and instead of picking on the rabbits, they just laid around until flightless bird walked by and ate them instead. So now they have another problem, these critters have caused the extinction of nearly 100 varieties of flightless birds. Sad really. The reason there were so many flightless birds is because New Zealand had no mammals and over the years, the birds evolved into flightless birds because they had no predators. Interesting. So all the possum, sheep, deer, etc were all introduced here.
As we made the trip back to Queenstown, we were on a much smaller bus and was not on the edge, so it was a nice trip back. We got back about 5:30pm and it was so beautiful weather wise we decided to take the gondola to the top. It also included a Luge ride down part of the mountain. Sounded like fun. The scenery from the top was spectacular and I took lots of pictures and video. We then ventured to the Luge. No helmet no ride. I told Guy I was not putting on one of those cootie infested helmets because people were just taking them off and putting the in big bins for the next person. So Guy gave me his sock hat and I then felt a little better about it. :) The ride was fun and didn't last nearly long enough. At the end they had a big sign that said "Smile for the camera" so I made a face like I was terrorized by the ride and it was funny. :) I'll try to load it when I have more time.
We got back to the hotel and started out for dinner. We were both starved because our only lunch was bread on the jeep. So we went to a restaurant called Botswana Butchery. It was recommended by the hotel. When we arrived they said it was either a 1 hour wait or we could eat at the bar. Starved, we ate at the bar. The service was outstanding and the food was even better. The decor was cool with very trendy painting and butcher knives were the decoration. Guy said the handle to the bathroom door was a big butcher handle that had been stabbed in the door. My dessert had a little cookie butcher knife stabbing my chocolate custard tart. :) Our dinner however was excellent. I had a greek salad and venison steak. Guy had a caesar salad and the Venison steak as well. Really good. We each chose a sauce to put over the steak and we ate every bite.
What a beautiful day. If it were any better I'd be in heaven, seriously.
Ok this is funny. We are at the chocolate bar and the guy behind the counter just approached Guy and asked him if he just took just took the money out of the tip jar!!! We are dying laughing. The girl behind the counter was point toward us but was actually pointing outside. He came back and apologized but we suddenly felt like we were in a Seinfeld episode. :)
Ok... off to the deer farm and the town of Manapouri! Sorry for any typos...in a bit of a hurry.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Day 4
Day 4. It has been a really long day and I couldn't even begin to write about everything. Let me just start by saying we saw some amazing things today. I was up before the alarm and we were packed and ready for breakfast at 7:30. Francis made a lovely version of Eggs Benedict and we sat at the table with a young couple from Arizona and an older couple from Germany. We couldn't stay long, so we said our goodbyes to everyone and hit the road. It was overcast and humid, but the temperature was cool-not cold. I had about 2 seconds of good hair, then put my hat on again.
As soon as we were on the road there were snowcapped mountains in view. They were pretty far off, but were a wonderful sight. We drove for about 2 hours until we reached Franz Joseph Glacier. We expected to have about 1 1/2 hours of walking to and from the glacier, but unless you had a guide, you couldn't go all the way to it. It was still a good distance off so we went as far as we could and just took pictures from there. On the way, however, there was a waterfall that made it worth the trip. The rock side looked like slate and the water was misting off it. As we started back for the car, we shopped around for the perfect rocks for mom. They are so unique and I'm trying to keep them all separate.
Back in the car we took of for Fox Glacier. The drive was about 30 minutes and we stopped for a quick bite before starting our hike. The hike was supposed to take us less than an hour in and out, but we decided to climb under the ropes (that kept you from going any further) and get a closer look. It was quite an adventure and we weren't the only ones. Lots of people were doing it. When you see all the rocks and streams we had to cross you'll get an idea of the fun we had. It was a blast and guess what? NO wet feet! We got pretty close to the glacier, but I was only going so far. They wouldn't let you go all the way (well you could if you were stupid enough) because the glacier is really unstable and some people were killed not long ago. There was an opening in the glacier that a big stream was pouring out of and I HAD to get a closer look. We got several pictures and propped the camera on a boulder and set the timer so we could both be in it. :) Fox glacier was by far the best for me. We got pretty close and the size of it ... pictures just won't tell the whole story. We were there for over 1 1/2 hours.
Let me go back for a minute and talk about the roads. They are just 2 lanes and narrow. Everywhere along the way there are bridges that are only one way. We figure we have gone over at least 25+. You pull up and if no one is coming, you go! One of the ends will have the right of way and is marked with signs. We haven't quite figured out the method of how they pick which end goes first. There is NO ONE on the roads and we have only had to wait about 3 times for someone on the other end. - The road to the glaciers was twisty turny switchbacks that would have had mom green in about the first 30 seconds of driving. We had patches yesterday as well that were just crazy mountain curves. The scenery was good, but not great because on the mountain roads you had mountain on one side and bushy stuff on the other. So no real view beyond the road. After the glaciers, we moved along much faster as the roads were not in the mountains as much and the view became better when you actually had something to see. These views were magnificent. The occasional snow capped mountains, but LOTS of sheep grazing and LOTSs of deer farms. Really fun to see them all.
After Fox glacier we then started our trek to our final destination, which was Wanaka Lake. We stopped along side the road and saw two waterfalls that were about a 2 minute walk off the road. I can't begin to describe how beautiful they were and the water was so crystal clear you wanted to just wade in. Too cold tho. We would have stayed longer but there were pesky knats that were biting us. So we took pictures and video then moved on. At the second waterfall, people have stacked flat rocks into little monuments. They were EVERYWHERE! You'll se them in the pictures for today. Really fun!! - Before we reached the lake, we also made a few stops to view the Tasman Sea (sand dune pictures) as the road followed along the coast for some time. Gorgeous because the mountains just stop right at the sea. The good thing about the direction we were going was we hugged the mountain 90% of the way. Not many guard rails here, so it was nice not to be so close to the edge. Once we hit Wanaka Lake it was stunning. In a way reminded me of the Lakes in Italy. Mountains that come right to the edge of the lake. This lake is huge and we followed it for miles. When we made our necessary turn, we then came upon Hawea Lake. Almost as big as Wanaka and also very beautiful. The mountain terrane was a bit different. The cool thing is that the scenery changes constantly and in a flash you are looking at something totally different. The bad thing is that all day it has been overcast and it has begun to sprinkle. Bad photos ops today. You'll see in the pictures. - 30 minutes after we got past Hawea Lake, we were at our final stop for the day in the town of Wanaka which rests at the south end of the Wanaka lake. Our hotel is like a lodge and is fantastic! The owner showed us around, but only briefly because they were getting ready to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. :) There is a great place for breakfast with a fireplace, a place to do laundry, a hot tub and our room is great. It is good sized with a view of the lawn which is so green and well manicured. Out for us anytime is tea, coffee and "biscuits" (chocolate chip cookies).
It is about 7pm at this point and we decided just go eat so we could come back and relax. Well, it was Saturday night and this is a pretty good sized little town for this area. I mean today we went probably 100 miles without seeing one house! So when we get back to town (a 2 minute drive) all restaurants are packed. The one we chose had about a 40 minute wait, but there was a chicken dish that sounded really good and we decided to stay. Our 40 minute wait turned into over an hour and our appetizer at the bar settled in and we weren't really hungry anymore and suddenly really tired. We both just picked around on our food and got back to the room well after 9pm. Too bad we didn't just get a pizza or something. Oh well...
It is pouring outside right now. I looked at the forcast and looks like rain all day tomorrow. We might change our itinerary tomorrow if we can. The hotels here don't seem to want to reimburse without notice. Since our Milford Sound cruise got bumped back a day, it will make for a long day from there to Mt. Cook. So we might try to head up to Mt. Cook tomorrow. The weather there looks better, but we'll see what they say about the hotel.
Well it is 11pm and I still need to sift thru the pictures. I took too many to put them all up, so I'll pick the best ones. :)
I can't seem to get the slideshow to cooperate. Until then click on any of the slideshows to open them in Picasa then go to "My Photos" . At least that is what mine says. It should show you all 4 days. See if that works and I'll try later to get the slideshow on. I think it needs time to update because this has happened before. I'll try in the morning again.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Day 3
My day began at 5:30am. I actually slept an extra half hour! Woo Hoo!! Well I laid there til about 7:30 and just got up to start packing. We ate a bite across the walkway from our hotel at this tiny little shop. It had WONDERFUL vege/Brie cheese tarts. That and some toast and we were off to get the car. After we got the keys I went back inside to complain because something was wrong with the car already...the steering wheel was on the wrong side! ha ha. Just kidding. The guy at Eurocar was really nice and made jokes about if I wrecked the car and had to pay for it, he'd mail it to me piece by piece back to the US. :) Guy being the excellent navigator that he is made sure I stayed on the WRONG side of the road. It wasn't too bad, especially when someone was in front of you.
We drove about 1 hour before we hit the mountains. They were really cool. The clouds were low and I know we were missing some serious scenery, but it was totally Lord of the Rings-ish. You'll see in the photos we stopped to take pictures of these amazing rocks. They were so out of place and Huge! It was a hiking area and many backpackers were heading up to take a closer look. They were amazing. We then came to a town called Arthur's Pass and ate some lunch. There were only two places to stop, but we picked the right place because we saw the local birds called Kea. They were like huge parrots. They would have sent Betty to her grave. They were huge and jumped right on your table and would steal your food faster than you could shoo them away. One lady had like a tub of butter on her table and one of them snatched it, opened it and had a butter filled beak before she could get it back from him. Then there was a baby in the back of a car and the mom had ran inside to buy something. We heard her screaming "go away, go away" and there was a giant Kea trying to get in her window that was rolled down. A lady eating at a table shooed the bird away and stayed with her til the mom came out. (who leaves their kid alone in a car now days?) No doubt this poor little girl is traumatized forever.
After lunch we traveled on and decided to take the scenic route to go by a lake. Little did we know it was over 10 miles of a one lane rock road with NO ONE in site and was straight up unnerving. We were both glad to see civilization again! -- The mountains on the West side of Arthur's Pass were not as exciting. They were huge, but covered in trees unlike the East side that was grassy and spotted with sheep. After hitting the West Coast and getting a glimpse of the Tasman Sea, we worked our way down to our B&B. It is dreamy. The owners are so nice. I asked where I could do some laundry and she said she'd do it for me because if I went to the laundry mat then I'd have to sit there and waste precious site seeing time. After thanking her 1000 times, I gave her a small load of necessities and we took off to visit the town. Guy picked out a penguin made of blown glass for me and then we headed for the beach. I rolled my pants up and looked like a dork, but hey, no one knew me. (forgive me Lynn). The black sand beaches were covered with gorgeous rocks and piles of driftwood that was recently brought in by a big storm. One of the ladies in the glass shop said the beaches are not always black sand. Weird. But there were 2 men shoveling the sand into a contraption and sifting it for gold. They had retrieved about a half an ounce the day before. (I didn't see any gold....) Anyway, my mom's two favorite things in the world (ok maybe not the world) are beautiful rocks and driftwood. Guy and I had our pockets full of rocks and I carefully chose a cool piece of driftwood for mom that would easily pack. I called her immediately to tell her of our find. :) I wish she was here with me. We'd still be down there.
Back to our B&B. We have the cottage that is out in the garden area of the B&B. It is so awesome...Guy thinks Dad should build one just like it down by his lake, but I'm not sure there would be many vacationers going thru Elkville on a regular basis. :) We got ready for dinner and went to a place called Stumpers and had our best meal of the trip. I had the venison steak and guy had the local blue cod. When mine came out it was slices of perfectly cooked (pink in the middle) slices stacked over hot beets and baby potatoes. It had a wine reduction sauce that was so good you slathered every bite in it. I wish I had my camera at dinner. The presentation was spectacular. It tasted even better. I was about to explode but of course ordered dessert to go and we came back to our little cottage and ate it on the porch. What a great day.
Guy is concerned we have a bit too much planned for tomorrow, so he went inside to talk with Brian about the timing. Brian says we can do it even tho we are looking at about a 10 hour day. From here we are going to Fox Glacier and it will take 1 1/2 hours to walk to it and back. Then there are some waterfalls he said we need to stop and see. We are going to get up early (not a problem for me) and be on the road by 8. It stays light until almost 9, so we should be in good shape and at our next location (a lodge on Lake Wanaka) by 6-7pm.
I know I'm missing some details of the day, but it is so hard to think of everything as I type. Just like taking pictures today...if I stopped at every cool spot to take a picture we would still be on the road. So you pull over when you can and if not just look and take mental pictures. Many of the photos today need some work, but I had to just stick them up for now as is. :) Nite!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Day 2
Day two. Guy and I were both awake at about 5am. Curious as we usually sleep a good 10-12 hours the very first real night when we go to Europe. Not sure if the other direction is causing this. Maybe tonight will be better. We napped off and on but were up and out the door by 9. We bought tickets first thing for the trolly and Punting. Punting you say? Well, basically they have this beautiful shallow river that goes thru the town and you can take a gondola ride. It is about 30 minutes. We chose the garden view vs. the city view.
Now, LET'S EAT! Guy had found a place in the Frommers Guide that said was a must eat for breakfast, but he forgot the name of it and we stopped in a jip joint to ask for a good place to eat. The super nice gentleman gave us a few options. He said there was a place called Dexler's but it didn't really have much ambiance, but a bottomless cup of coffee and basket of toast and jam. "Quite delightful" spoken in his British accent. We came across it and decided to go in. They were full but we could sit at the bar area that faced the kitchen, which we did, and it was amazing the amount of food these two lovely ladies made while we were there. I was torn between the vegetarian crepes or the french toast. I opted for the french toast as it was a house speciality. Special indeed! It was battered with a hint of orange zest, then topped with powdered sugar and sauteed peaches. Good choice. I took a picture of my hot chocolate because it was so pretty and it was some of the best I've ever had. Then I noticed two other places had fancy designs on the tops of their drinks around town. Pretty cool.
Off to Punting! We got there about an hour early and as luck would have it, they were available to take us. The best part was there was no one else there. The little gondolas hold 8-10 people and we got one all to ourselves!!!! That was a big deal since we didn't have other heads blocking our view. Phillip, from Liverpool just there for the summer on a work permit, was our guide. I told him I couldn't swim. He said not to worry, if I fell out, just stand up. He was right, it only looked about a foot deep. He said there were brown trout in the water, but he doesn't see them often. There are also some nocturnal eels and as luck would have it we saw the tail of one as it went under our boat. He said it was about 3 feet long. Creepy. Phillip was funny and made jokes about our government, not that it is hard to do. I took videos and pictures and then just set back and enjoyed the ride. They had us covered in a blanket since it was cool, but I thought it was just perfect. What a good time. There is a picture I took of some kind of ducks. The women ducks were prettier and had all white heads, where as the males were all dark. Phillip said they mate for life. If the male loses the female, he mourns for 4 years then just goes off and dies. If the female loses her male, she mourns for 4 days then is off to find another man. I was dying laughing but he said he was not joking. That was the highlight of punting!
After that we walked in the botanical gardens again so I could video the rose garden that was in full bloom. I know you had plenty from yesterday's pictures, but get ready for a few more. We then rode the trolly all around town and listened to the commentary. It was interesting. Our trolly made a pitstop at the German Bratwurst stand so Ken, our conductor, could get a snack for his upcoming break. He set it up by the driver on the ledge and I took some pictures of it because the whole thing was just funny. Our driver said he has never done that in the 10 years she's been driving. I kept telling him I had eaten it, but he didn't believe me.
We ate lunch at a little sandwich shop by our hotel and I had a yummy vegetable quiche with a coconut cherry "slice" with chocolate icing. wow...it was good. Guy had a toasted Brie cheese sandwich. He wants steak tonight so we walked around until we found a good spot. We made reservations for 8pm since we are going to take in a movie at 5:40. We are a bit tired and thought a movie would be a nice break. Guy is snoozing as I type right now. :)
For those of you concerned about my shoe dilemma, don't worry. I went back today and bought them. Whew, I know you were worried. :) I got back just in time to get some video of the Wizard today. Wizard in New Zealand must stand for a dude that hasn't worked since 1968. Seriously...
Well, time to upload pictures. I'll report on dinner later....
Ok, went to the movie and guess what? People in New Zealand talk during the movie just like at home! I thought Guy would come unglued. So as to spare myself having a husband in a New Zealand prison, I suggested we move to a different spot. We did and it got better, but the theater was small and you could still hear them. After that we went to eat. We had reservations for 8pm and got there about 7:45. They informed us upon our arrival that a group of 20 was just seated and it would be about an hour and a half before we would get any food. Again before being a New Zealand prison widow, I suggested we move on. We ended up at a great Italian restaurant and our food was excellent. The bad thing is when it is 9pm here it is 2am Illinois time and we start to become exhausted about 8. Luckily tonight was better than last night, but it is an exhausted feel beyond what our bodies are used to.
On the way back we got some nice night shots of the church and are getting ready to snuggle in for the night. Good news is tomorrow we get our car and head for the mountains. I'm pumped about driving on the wrong side of the road. Our waiter at breakfast today said driving is no problem. He said just keep the drivers side in the middle of the road and follow the person ahead of us. He said being from Australia and then New Zealand, for him the US was driving on the wrong side of the road. He said he flew into Los Angeles, rented a car and took off driving. He did fine in LA!! This traffic is more like Carbondale, so I'm sure we'll be just fine.
Tomorrow we'll be reporting in from the Wild West!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Day 1
Day one is really like day 3! We left on February 23rd and arrived on the 25th. 18.5 hours of combined flights let alone 8 hours of layovers. A lovely break in Sunny California was nice. Aunt Jane and Uncle Moe entertained us during our 6 hour LAX layover. Great food and a walk on Venice Beach! It was the best layover we've ever had! Anyway, we are here!! (answered prayers, thanks everyone)
When we arrived in Christchurch about 10:30 am we were checked into our hotel by 11:30. It is boutique hotel and no two rooms are alike. The photography on the walls is quite interesting. Tastefully done, however, and as a photographer the printing techniques have me stumped. I'll have to take a closer look to see how it was done, but I did catch one of the price tags....$890!!
As we started our exploration, it was a bit misty outside, but within 30 minutes the sun was popping in and out and we were starting to shed clothes after awhile. We sat by the river on a park bench and soaked in some much needed sun. We guessed the temp to be around 70+. In the sun it was hot, but the shade was cool. The perfect day to be a tourist.
We stopped for a bite of lunch (Guy had fish and chips and I had some kind of beef pot pie type of dish) then went around some of the shops and to the market by the big church. There we came across the "Wizard" which must be local celebrity. He was even listed in the FROMMER's guide saying if you were lucky, in the summer you'd catch the Wizard about 1pm. He stood on a ladder and talked about women shopping. Then went on a male rant. He was funny. The market (I adore markets by the way) was ok, but nothing that I HAD TO HAVE on the first day anyway. We then took a walk to the botanical gardens. I think it was even more beautiful because at home everything is BROWN and DEAD! ha ha... There I had the best icecream on that planet. Amazing doesn't describe it. Oh, yeah, the roses were pretty spectacular as well. Took lots of photos.
Now comes the tough part...my weakness...Shoes.... I came across this pair setting out on a sale table. They are a MUST HAVE but are probably a half size too small. They are so unusual my gut is telling me to go for it!! I put them back to think about it. If they are still there tomorrow I'll have to try them on one more time. It is vacation, right? They'll pack small, right? I'll never see anything like them again, right? (are you catching my reasoning here) :)
Now comes the sad part...I got an email today that our overnight cruise at Milford Sound has been CANCELLED! That was really disappointing. Some sort of maintenance problem. So I emailed our hotel in Manapouri and we can stay there on the 3rd. I guess that will free up some free time in that area now. We'll still do some kind of short cruise since we have a huge credit coming back to us now. They only go out for an hour to 2 hours,tho. Disappointing. That is okay....maybe next time.
It is 8pm here (1 am at home) I'm letting Guy take a short nap while I'll figure out all this blog stuff and am uploading photos. I can't let him sleep too long because we need to go to bed in a few hours. :) Tomorrow we are sleeping in so we can catch up and try to get on this new schedule. I sure hope I can post a few things every day, but it has taken 30 minute to upload today's pictures. We'll see!!
We drug ourselves out for supper. Neither one of us were really hungry so we thought we'd at least split a pizza. The service was so slow and the pizza (and I love all pizzas) was mediocre at best. We didn't say a word. We ate as fast as we could because we were so tired we could hardly stay awake at the table.
Last thought of the day...Pictures...there is a little slideshow on the right of the blog. If you double click on the picture it will take you to the Picasa website where you can look at them bigger.
XOXOX
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