Kaikoura and Blenheim Jan 29 to Feb 1

Monday turned out to be a stunningly sunny day but very windy and we had a false start because our whalewatching trip was cancelled due to the stormy seas. So we had a good day checking out the local seal colony and the local pool, while Nan and Rick battled the pacific winds yet again on the Kaikoura country golf course, fair play to them. We dined at a picnic bench on Armers beach, watching the sun go down as we tucked into fresh crayfish, prawns, scallops, whitebait and crayfish fritters and a couple of nice glasses of wine to wash it down. Definitely one of the most memorable meals of the trips so far. Up bright and early tuesday to try again for the whalewatching – and the water looked glass-calm which augured well. HA! 3 hours of incredibly deep swell, and being bumped across these high waves in pursuit of the Sperm Whale (yes thats what its called, and not surprisingly with testicles that weigh 500kg each!!). Sinead, Norrie and the kids were all a bit green... But it was all worthwhile because after a few false starts (rushing across the sea to catch a glimpse of the whale and getting there just after he had dived under – where he can stay for an hour!), we eventually got what we came for: an up close view of this magestic creature. He stayed at the surface for quite a few minutes, blowin 5m spouts of air and flaring his giant nostrils (big enough to sit a child in – who tried it I wonder?). Then slowly his back and long tail appeared and the tail fins appeared above the water before he took his dive under again. Magnificent. Back to shore and when all finally recovered from the seasickness we hit the road again – this time for Blenheim, centre of Marlborough wine region. Sinead's lovely friends Chris and Barb Barton hosted us in their gorgeous garden for afternoon tea and then looked after Hugh and Emily while we adults hit the vineyards. As far as the eye can see there are vines growing here – with the odd orchard or olive grove interspersed. Sauvignon blanc is the big product of this region and we even go to visit the vineyard where the wine was made that we had served at my 70^th back in November. Finished off the day, and this excellent South Island leg of our NZ adventure, with a lovely family meal (chauffeur bus service to and from – cant beat that!!). Back to wellington now - we are on the ferry across the cook straits, via the Queen Charlotte sound - more incredible scenery here. Nan and Rick are having the usual English cup of tea and he is writing his daily postcard to his grandsons Joe and Sam - he hasnt missed a day yet.

 New Zealand Fur seal

Ems with seals

Seals on Kaikoura peninsula

dad and Hugh with the seal

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Martin Rick and Nan on Kaikoura peninsula walk

 whalewatching

 Cook Strait Ferry trip

last days in Queenstown, Jan 27 to 29

We were completely shagged after our 13 hour bus/ boat/bus/boat adventure to doubtful sound but that meant nothing to Sinead – she had more craziness lined up for us on friday when we were taken out to the stunning Dart river for a jet boating wilderness safari. Of course none of us knew what we were letting ourselves in for and when we were given life jackets and full length waterproof ponchos we started to wonder... Stunning blue skies with high clouds over the mountains – there was snow on the tops to complete the magic backdrop. We climbed aboard the jet boat and spent the next “best two hours of my life” (quote nan) being jet boated bout 30 miles up the Dart river, into ever more beautiful and dramatic scenery. Jet boating is another crazy kiwi activity. The boats have extremely shallow hulls and powerful jet engines (70,000l of water pumped out every minute I think he said) which propels them at insane speeds across shallow water – at its deepest the river is at most 3ft. Its a braided river which means that when you look across this wide valley (a mile at the widest) you mostly see dry river beds except for the one or two parts where the river is currently running. All of us enjoyed the ride including the kids who were enthralled. We were then dropped at the riverbank upstream to take a walk through a beech forest with a fantastic nature guide. He showed us a plant with spicy leaves which when you chew them, the more you chew the spicier they get. The Maoris boil them six at a time and drink the juice, especially for their motions. (Gave two glasses to Norrie as she wouldnt let me have an extra Jamieson last night!!). The guide then took us back to base over country roads in a safari bus. This valley is where the Orc battle and many other scenes in the Lord of the Rings was filmed. Huge beef and sheep farms here and tourism is a major part of the economy also. Back to QT for another great night out and our last day – saturday. We rode the skyline gondola (its like a skiing cablecar) up a steep incline to an incredble viewing platform, and then spent a couple of hours Luge-ing. In case you havent tried it – its like down hill go-carting. Very thrilling and a good laugh especially with the kids. Nan and Rick then played a windy round of golf at QT golf course – on a peninsula jutting out into the lake which we could see from the gondola, absolutely stunning. They even took a water taxi back home afterwards. Sunday we said a sad goodbye to wonderful QT and set off at 9am for our arduous journey north – the distances in NZ are far greater than you can envisage from a map and we had 660lm to cover before our next bed in Kaikoura on the north east coast of the South Island. Well the trip took over 10 hours – including a much needed two hour stop to soak in the hot pools by Lake Tekapo. More stunning scenery – this time with lakes the colour of turquoise; bizarre. The road north after that was pretty boring scenery compared to what we had seen before and we were glad to get past quake-ridden Christchurch and see the end of the journey nearing – towards the end there were a lot of funny games and singing to keep everyone awake and happy. A good old fashioned road trip. Kaikoura is our next stop – specifically for the purpose of watching some whales.

 Dart River Jetboat Safaris

 Ready for our Dart River Safari

Norrie: is that a smile of excitement??

 Dart River

Paradise valley

Snow on the Remarkable Mountains - Queenstown (it was 28 degrees the day before)

View from our villa over Lake Wakatipu, QT

The gang at the top of the Gondola, QTgolf course in the background

Nan and Rick chillaxing in Lake Tekapo hot pools

First night in Blenheim after a 10 hour road trip - kids still full of energy

Queenstown and Doubtful Sound Jan 25 to 26

Wednesday 25 Jan we flew from Wellington to Queenstown. (by plane ha ha). Scenery coming in to land at Queenstown was spectacular. Drove to our new accommodation for the next four night - on a hill above the lake Wakatipu just outside queenstown. Our villa is part of the Heritage hotel group - very nice and stylish. Uninterrupted lake views. Thursday Nan Rick Norrie and myself went on a full day trip by bus and boat and bus and boat to Doubtful sound, on the south west coast of the south island. We were gone for 13 hours and it was very memorable (even though i cant remember it), the second bus trip through the rainforest was hair raising. Deep gorges, massive waterfalls (swelled with huge rains that day), narrow gravel roads, crazy comedian bus driver - and no toilet paper on board ha ha. Bloody hell!! At the Sound (like the fiords of Norway) we headed out to the mouth of the sound, on the Tasmanian sea - but the weather was wild and wet and we couldnt get right out. That boat trip was 3 hours and as a result of the heavy rains the waterfalls quadrupled in size. The boat went right under the waterfall at one stage where passengers could have a shower. We arrived home tired and hungry but very satisfied from our trip. Off jet boating tomorrow - more to follow

Wellington to the Wairarapa Jan 19 to 24

We took the commuter ferry across to Wellington city centre to meet Matts uncle Peter and his family for a fabulous dinner at the Tinakori bistro. We stopped off en route for a drink at the Foxglove - a bar which has a wardrobe you walk through to access an inner bar - great craic (despite the fifteen dollar glasses of wine sinead and nor were drinking!), see photos below.
Thursday Hugh was busy on a playdate so Sinead took us to the local shopping area of Petone. We went to a massive supermarket (Pak n Save) and an equally massive DIY shop. we checked out the local irish pub and made it home for dinner and to pack for our first expedition away from Wellington - to the wine region and Matt's home town: Martinborough
We drove there on friday - its about an hour's drive from Wellington, over the Rimutaka hills, very winding. The country here is agricultural with huge farms and thousands of sheep and cattle. Even such a short distance from Wellington the climate is very different - hotter, drier, sunnier. Sinead booked us into a beautiful traditional NZ colonial type house set in a magnificent garden  with wrap around verandah for enjoying all the sun. It also had a salt water pool and i had my first swim in years - wonderful. Hugh and Emily are proper water babies and were in and out of the water all day, playing with their new floaty toys. On saturday we were invited to gladstone vineyard - about a half hour away - to celebrate Matt's aunt Jennifer's 70th birthday, where we sat in the shade of a beautiful vineyard garden and ate and drank for hours. There was a kids playground where all the youngsters played. Sunday morning Nan, Rick, Norrie and I played 18 holes at Martinborough golf course, very enjoyable - i played much better than the previous round and Nan had a birdie!  we finished just in time as the rain started in the early afternoon - washing away our plans to go out hunting with Matt. He took us on monday morning instead and although we managed to climb a hill in very wet conditions, and Matt took off in pursuit of the deer - we didnt bring one home. we were glad to get back safel though as we were all soaked and hungry by the end of it. Back then today to Wellington after a lovely long weekend in the beautiful WAirarapa region. Monday night no rest for the wicked and we were all invited to dinner at Sinead and Matt's friends' place - Mark and Annette. They live  on the waterfront in Eastbourne in a home with most spectacular views of Wellington harbour. The hospitality was second to none and gorgeous food. Great craic there, hopefully we will se them again before the holiday is over. Tuesday we managed to squeeze in another round of golf at Boulcott Farm GC with Nan and Rick - at the same time as HUghie was having golf lessons, he seems to be taking to it. The afternoon was spent getting everything ready for our trip to Queenstown - before taking Sinead out for dinner to celebrate her 40th birthday. We dined at the Cobar - a terrific spot with spectacular seaviews in days bay.

Boulcotts Farm Golf Club where Nan and Rick are members for the holiday

A spot of shopping

 Matts Aunts Party, Gladstone Vineyard

Lake Wakitupu

Nan with Pat Diederich, Matts dad

Hugh and Emily and their Diederich/Underwood cousins

NEXT STOP - QUEENSTOWN - ADVENTURE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD - WATCH THIS SPACE!!!