Algies Bay

We spent a very interesting morning at Rotorua Museum, which was built as a bath house in the early 1900s.   We left for Auckland at noon and headed off to the airport where we sadly parted company with John.

Rotorua from roof of museum

Old bathing treatment room in museum

We continued north through Auckland, through some horrific traffic, to Algies Bay where we had a very enjoyable night with Anne and Bruce Turley, Peter's sister and brother in law.

Taupo to Rotorua

Another drizzly start today, with a sunny afternoon.  We visited Huka Falls on the outskirts of Taupo and were impressed at the volume of water thundering through the narrow channel.

It was a quick drive to Rotorua and on our way into the city we visited the Whakarewarewa Living Maori Village (they shorten it to Whaka) and spent a couple of hours on a guided tour learning about life there, watching a cultural performance and seeing all the thermal activity.

Cooking Hangi in a steam box

We checked into the motel late morning and then walked via a nearby park to the city centre for lunch - checking out the thermal activity on the way.

We went back to Whakarewarewa this afternoon and spent quite a bit of time waiting for the geysers, particularly Pohutu which is the largest of NZ's geysers, to do their thing.  We gave up and followed one of the walking tracks from the village and when we got to one of the lookouts we got a great view of Pohutu and the Prince of Wales Feathers geysers doing their thing.  And they were spectacular.

Waiting or geysers

We headed back into the city for a drive beside Lake Rotorua and found the Rotorua Museum, which is an impressive building.

Waitekui Sculpture, Rotarua Museum

Wellington to Taupo

It was quite drizzly with very low cloud this morning when we walked down to Cuba Street for breakfast and we didn't really see sun until late morning.  It was a pleasant drive north and the countryside was lovely and green.  The hills were more gentle and rolling, though they became more rugged as we got closer to the volcanic area around Taupo.

Mt Ruapehu

Lake Taupo

We stopped at Tokaanu and did a short walk around a thermal area.

We checked in to our accommodation and got some washing done and enjoyed relaxing in a mineral pool.

Christchurch to Wellington

We flew from Christchurch to Wellington this morning, picked up our car and drove to the hotel, arriving around lunchtime.

We walked down Cuba Street, which is really funky with lots of eating places and shops, and found somewhere for lunch.

We walked down to the Civic Square area.

We then caught the Cable Car and had a bit of a stroll around the Botanic Gardens before heading back down the Cable Car.

A walk along the waterfront took us to the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) where we spent an hour or so.

Loved this sign at the museum!!

Another stroll back up to our hotel before heading back to Cuba Street where we met up with John and Jenny Boshier for a fabulous dinner and a  lovely night.

High Country Explorer tour

We were picked up by 2 men and a dog (Maggie) this morning for adventures which involved 4 different vehicles and had a great day out.  And it was our good fortune that there were only the 4 of us on the tour - a group from a cruise ship didn't make it as the ship had been delayed by bad weather so didn't stop in Christchurch.

Vehicle 1

Our adventures started out with a drive across the Canterbury Plains to the Waimakariri River Gorge, where we boarded a jet boat for a 15 km journey into the Gorge.

Vehicle 2

We then boarded a four-wheel drive vehicle to travel through Flock Hill sheep station, in the high country and one of NZ's largest farms.  Just before we arrived at our lunch destination we discovered the 4wd had a flat tyre - so very late lunch after the tyre change.

Vehicle 3

Lastly, we boarded the TranzAlpine train at Arthur's Pass to return to Christchurch - a scenic trip back through the mountains.  It was interesting to look down on where we had jet boated this morning.

Vehicle 4

Some interesting things we heard from Rod and James today.

-  A lot of businesses have, of necessity, now located themselves around the edge of Christchurch city, which has created what they call the donut effect and there's some concern about who will occupy buildings in the city when they are rebuilt, given that the building costs will be high, with corresponding high rents.  There was an article in the paper today citing the cost of demolishing a hotel at $12m.

-  A lot of sheep and crop farms are now being changed to dairy farms with much of the milk produced being turned to powdered milk for export.  The number of sheep in New Zealand had decreased dramatically.

Kaikoura to Christchurch

Finished packing ourselves and disposing of unwanted items before heading out this morning.  John, Alan and I did the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway which took us a couple of hours and gave us some lovely views south.  I was a bit worried it was going to be too wet as we had rain last night but it was misty but lovely for walking.  The visibility was not great though.

Then we drove south to Christchurch.  The first section was right on the shoreline with mountains towering beside us, and then through some wooded valleys before heading to some more open plains.  Like everywhere else we've been  its been quite impressive.

We arrived in Christchurch about 3 and checked into our hotel, which is right behind the old cathedral. Alan and I went for a wander and found the new "Cardboard  Cathedral" which is very impressive.  The walls are shipping containers and the roof is clear polycarbonate sheeting and it is lined with huge cardboard rolls with timber beams through them.  It is a lovely peaceful building.

It is very sad to see the devastation still so obvious in Christchurch with many deserted buildings or spaces where buildings have been removed - though that does give lots of places for parking.

Shops near our hotel  

Late this afternoon we returned our motor homes successfully a the end of a scenic South Island road trip.

Motueka to Kaikoura

Another day's drive through lovely countryside.  There were more orchards growing mostly apples as we headed south from Motueka.  We headed via Nelson, through a very beautiful valley and a very windy mountain pass, where our trusty motor home wheezed its way to the top, to our relief, and on through the vineyards to Blenheim.  Our plan was to lunch then visit a winery but that didn't happen because by the time we found somewhere to stop for lunch the wineries were behind us.  We hit the Pacific coast just south of Blenheim and drove between shore and mountains to Kaikoura.

Kaikoura beach

Public seating Kaikoura

I have been surprised by the number of touring cyclists we've seen - not my ideal bike riding destination!!!

Tonight is our last night in our motor homes.  We've had good travelling in them, even though they are a bit older.  So tonight and tomorrow morning we're going to have to pack ourselves up for the next part of our adventure.