Firstly, thank you to those that have read the first five parts of this epic trip to New Zealand and particularly for all your lovely comments. As I’ve said a few times in the past few years, I’m not looking to get as many hits as possible, it’s written more as something for me to look back on in the coming years – and jog what is likely to be an increasingly dodgy memory!
At the time of writing we’ve been here two weeks and reading the blog posts and looking at the photo’s we’ve already done so much. In fact I’ve took – and kept – 720 photos so far, mostly on my ageing DSLR. I have enjoyed using it again and the minor inconvenience of carrying it around is certainly worth it. I like too that you take the picture then that’s it until they’re transferred to the laptop at the end of the day. No compulsion to immediately share as with ‘phone photos. More time is spent enjoying the moment, living in the now and taking it all in. And there’s a lot to take in!
I can’t help but think back (again) to when Trev & I visited twenty-five years ago. Back then I had an Olympus AF10 (I think) 35mm compact camera – bought for me by Trev when I was still in my teens. Ahem. It was a fab little camera and, until I went digital in around 2005 it took thousands of pictures, which took a long while to eventually digitise in the early 2000’s. Anyway, pharmacies used to offer discounts for developing multiple rolls of film so we used to save them up but there was always some excitement when we went to pick them up. How times change – in this case for the better – for me anyway.
We’ve done the vast majority of our spending using a Currensea Direct Debit Travel Card. A friend recommended it and has had a lot of use so far! No pre-loading, as the name suggests it links to your bank account and any purchases are drawn from said account a few days after. There are several plans available and we went for the free one – no monthly fee and a loading of 0.5% on the current exchange rate for in person, on line purchases and cash withdrawals – although the latter is up to a fixed amount per month. Compare that with my Nationwide account that applies a 2.99% loading and we’ve already saved a considerable amount. You get instant email and app notifications every time it’s used and I’d certainly recommend at least checking it out if you’re heading abroad. It’s worth noting though that a few eateries we’ve visited do levy a surcharge – normally 2% - for paying by plastic – as the card is seen as a credit card by ‘the system’. It can be added to Google Pay so in most cases the physical card has not been needed, however I’ve taken to carrying a wallet again as it’s a requirement to have your driving licence with you when on the road.
Wednesday 27th December
Sandra takes up the reins again:
We were ready and sorted for a departure from Paraparaumu by 06.30 as we had a 45 minute or so drive to the ferry port and check in for our pre booked ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton. It has been a while since I used a ferry but the excited anticipation is still there. The hours I have wasted sat in Dover harbour or Calais do not bear remembering most of the time!! By contrast we were actually quite prompt and check in was a pain free and not lengthy time event at all. We then were moved to a holding area and soon marshalled onto the boat. It is not a RO-RO in the sense of the ones we are all usually used to, so a certain amount of touring the vehicle decks was required.
We soon were out of the car and a few paces bought us to the lift and up to the deck containing the café – in fact, I would argue ¾ of the passengers did exactly that too! We found good seats and a table at the front of the boat and sat taking it all in as we waited for the café to open. We had eschewed breakfast before leaving the motel and were by now ready for something to eat. It was a full Kiwi breakfast – I stopped myself from asking for a full English, oops. Although the portions were generous and included the usual suspects plus two slices of toast; I have to admit that the temperature left something to be desired. A microwave or two available to passengers would have solved that very quickly. We then moved to some easy chairs right at the front of the boat and had a good view of where we were going. I managed to nod off for a while and woke with a start when the boat started to move more purposefully when out of the harbour. We decided to move and have a look round the boat – Richard’s photos will give you a flavour of the beautiful views we saw during the whole trip – breathtaking is one word for it. Another barista coffee from the Café saw us through the trip – a quick visit to the onboard shop was great for kids but not so much for adults.
Yes, a silly o’clock start, it seems a while since I’ve done that – the 7th December to be precise – but worth it to be on the first ferry of the day. I was excited too, a new episode in our epic trip, and I love boat trips.
The crossing was around three and a half hours but it’s not long after leaving Wellington that the South Island comes into view, and I’d forgotten how jaw droppingly gorgeous the route into Picton is, traversing Queen Charlotte Sound. I’ve said before that New Zealand just keeps on giving and was itching to get exploring the South Island again. There’s so much to take in it almost makes you breathless.
Sandra:
Before we left Wellington, we had the pleasure of seeing two cruise ships dock, the Noordam from the Holland America and Queen Elizabeth from Cunard – the fact that they look virtually identical, apart from the colour and shape of their funnels, and the fact that the same company now owns them was not missed. To see the tugs work their magic on such comparatively massive ships is a sight to behold – those skippers earn their money without a doubt. That did delay our departure a bit as they were turning around right in front of the ferry and we had nowhere to go. We did not complain as watching the manoeuvres was superb.
We were soon docking in Picton and made our way back to the car. After a short wait we disembarked and we had arrived on South Island. Picton is a little village, they would call it a town – typical of a harbour/ferry port. Some motels and a little centre. We had booked ourselves into a motel in Blenheim – about a 25 minute drive from the port. It was a superb motel, including a swimming pool, we were not there long enough to make use of it. It has gone on the list for a potential last night stop before we catch the ferry back to North Island towards the end of January though. There was the usual supermarkets, including our favourite PaknSave – this time a whole $10c off a litre – we would have some of that. So, apart from the first fuelling up, we have saved at least $6c a litre – every little helps as the saying goes. I cooked two packs of sausages – local made in the store and half were had for our dinner and the other half were cooled and refrigerated for lunch the following two days. That the sausages were reduced was very attractive too!
Some TV and a good night’s sleep and we would be ready for the next day’s journey further south for a two night stop in Cheviot.
The motel was the most expensive of the trip so far, but options were limited and it was very well appointed, once again being able to park right outside the unit made for easy transfer of luggage.
It was quiet enjoyable cooking again in the room. Prior to Christmas we’d eaten out every night and that comes at a price of course and I’m all for saving a few dollars that can easily be spent later in the trip. And the bangers were delicious!
The journey:
Thursday, 28 December 2023
Sandra:
We did not have too far to drive today and so a nice leisurely start and we were on our way once more. I took the first half before lunch, rolling hills and mountains were all around and some hilly passes to negotiate. We stopped where we could in order to take photographs and its true to say around every corner was another WOW view.
I was to score a massive win when I saw a café on the ocean side at Kekerengu – a split second decision to turn and have a look saw us finding a gem of a café, toilets and views to die for validated the decision and then some. Two very nice coffees and a fresh chocolate brownie were purchased and a lovely half hour was spent. It had a caravan and camping site next door too.
We were inland up until the café, acres and acres of vineyards in the region called Marlborough – one of New Zealand’s most famous wine producing areas. We passed the vineyard of Yealand’s – whose wine I had been drinking only the night before – a delicious Merlot.
Kaikoura was our stopping point for lunch – a popular resort not least for whale watching and the town centre was very busy. We turned on to the promenade as I was looking for a particular building – the Mayfair Theatre. Trev and I stayed in Kaikoura in 1999 and we went to see a film at the Mayfair. It was a proper old fashioned cinema experience with an interval where you could hop across to the beach with an ice cream or for a cigarette.
I was made up to see that it was still there – and a lot of memories came gushing back. This area suffered horrendously with earthquakes a few years back and there were a lot of shiny new builds but the fact that this was still there - fantastic.
I could recall roughly where the motel was that we stayed at but couldn’t find it – it may well have succumbed. Lunch was taken a bit further around towards the peninsular with the seal colony.
The motel in Cheviot was easily located – pretty much everything is on the main road through - and to give you an idea of the size of the place, the population runs at around 360 and the town exists primarily to support the local sheep farming industry but it’s a handy stop off for tourists too.
After a rest we took the loop down to Gore Bay, more fun in the Elantra with some steep hairpin bends, pausing by the beach and again at Cathedral Gully.
Todays main journey:
