Waitomo bed and breakfast

Our b and b in Waitomo was amazing. When we drove up to it, the road twisted and turned and kept going up and up. We had a hire car for this part of our journey. Shirley would have struggled anyway I think. When we arrived, there were some gorgeous wooden cabins right at the top of the world!
We had views of Taupo and Mount Ruapehu, the air was fresh and the sun was warm. The cabins were on a big farm and we could walk around to explore if we wanted. There was a pond nearby and a mini glowworm walk too.
It`s a shame we were only here for one night, this was one of the nicest places we had stayed at. The hosts were really friendly and hospitable and the cabins warm and comfortable. We also had OUR OWN bathroom!
Angus, one of our hosts also worked at the blackwater rafting outfit and said that as the New Zealand Prime Minister was also Minister for Tourism, he had done black water rafting too and thought it was a great experience. I can`t imagine Gordon Brown trying it, but who knows?!

Waitomo black water rafting

This was something we had on our list of `to do` in NZ, and Waitomo is the perfect place for it. We had looked at the brochures and expected a leisurely ride on an inner tube floating on a gentle underground stream. It was not like that at all. First of all, we had to practice jumping off a bridge backwards to prepare us for the water falls inside the caves! Even though the jump was not from a great height, it was a bit of a shock.
Once inside, we clamboured over a rocky terrain which was sometimes knee high in water and obviously cold and dark except for our miners torchlights. However, once we had got used to the idea of what it all entailed, we really enjoyed it. There were times when we did float on our inner tubes and look up at the glowworms which was magical. Even the waterfall jumping was fun.
We all got out cold and wet, then had a shower and hot soup and bagels. YUM!
After the rafting, we went to a wonderful B and B up in the hills nearby.

Plimmerton

16th March
We got a phone call while we were at WOMAD form some people who had looked at the van and they confirmed that they wnted to buy it. So as they lived in Wellington, we drove back to our `home` in Plimmerton. It was so nice to be back with our friends and feel so welcome. We cleaned up Shirley and took her to her new owners. I felt very sad to be letting her go. She had been our home and transport for a long time and we had got really attached to her. However, it means we have some more money to spend!
We stayed with Sandy, Myles and Zoe for a few days. A BIG thank you to all for everything.
We went with Sandy to see the Terracotta Warriors in Wellington. The first Emperor of China was buried with a terracotta army to protect him in the next life. We saw reproductions of the real thing and only about 48 on display. The whole army was about 7/8,000 originally. The buried army was only discovered when some farmers were digging a well in the 1970`s. Emily remembers that the final flank of soldiers had no weapons, but were given beer to drink for courage. This is shown by their beer bellies, and they did have more cheery faces than the others!
We left Plimmerton on 22nd March and made our way to Waitomo for some black water rafting.

WOMAD

On 12th March, we set off for WOMAD which was being held in New Plymouth. We stopped half way in Wanganui. Our campsite here was the cheapest and one of the nicest. We had our own toilet and shower and there was a conference room which they let us use for the evening. It had a wide screen TV, glass topped table and a really comfy sofa. No one else was using it, so it was like our very own sitting room. We were asked if we were going to watch Coronation Street which is very big over here. We didn`t, but watched TV while we ate our evening meal, very decadent.

The next day, we got to the campsite at WOMAD. We camped in the family area and the facilities were great. I was expecting maybe some mobile chemical toilets, but there were flushing toilets and even SHOWERS! The showers had hot water all the time which you didn`t have to pay for and rarely had to queue for. They only had a curtain between you and the outside world which was OK depending on how much wind was about. I soon realised why the shower near the door was usually free.

We went to look at some bands on the Friday night, but Saturday and Sunday had the best weather. It was sunny and warm which was perfect for a festival. We saw some great acts, notably Ska Cubana (They are in one photo, and are from Cuba and UK, really good fun), Fat Freddy`s Drop(NZ), The Little Bushmen(NZ) and Rokio Traore (Mali).

We also watched a Maori Haka which was amazing. The video shows how scary these guys would have been to the first Europeans. We were scared!

I loved hearing the men and women singing too, their voices were really strong and their harmonies were spot on.

Em bought a scarf and had a temporary henna tattoo put on her hand. She got all `Hippied up`as our friend Zoe said.

A great time was had by all.

Punakaiki

This is on the west coast of the South Island and it can be pretty windy. During the night, the wind got up so much, we thought Em`s tent would collapse at one point!

Scientists think that the Pancake Rocks were formed through a process called stylo-bedding, but apparantly, the scientists are still rather baffled (as we were - stylo-bedding?)

When the tide is high and the waves are big enough, the sea booms through blowholes.

Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers

These glaciers formed during the last ice age 15,000-20,000 years ago. Sometimes the ice melts at the bottom faster than it forms at the top and the visible ice appears to retreat back up the mountain, however, it`s still moving down (`comin` atcha like Cleopatra` as The Lonely Planet guide says!)

The prime minister of NZ in 1872, Sir William Fox, named the glacier after himself, (modest man that he was!). Franz Josef (or Franz Ferdinand, as Steve calls it) was named after an Austrian emperor. Of course, the Maori had their own names long before us Europeans came along. We have put in the Maori story of Franz Josef (or Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere - Tears of the Avalanche Girl) to balance things up a bit.

Doubtful Sound

We all did one last trip together while we were in Manapouri. This was a whole day excursion and involved 2 boats and a coach. We got on a boat at Lake Manapouri and cruised that until we got to the coach which took us to the Hydro power station. Here, we had a guided tour and one of the most interesting pictures was of the Justice Minister, Ralph Hanan in 1968 firing the last shot of dynamite, it was packed with too much dynamite, so it blew all the officials` safety helmets off! The plant inside looked very much like the setting for a James Bond film.

We then got back on the coach and went over Wilmot Pass. We saw some beautiful scenery including many waterfalls.

We then spent 3 hours on a boat going around Doubtful Sound. Apparantly, it got its name because Captain Cook said he was doubtful that his ship would be able to sail into it, so they didn`t!

For me,the best part of this boat ride was when the captain turned off all the engines and asked everyone to be quiet and enjoy the peace and natural beauty for a few minutes.

We also saw a pod of Bottle-nosed dolphins swimming nearby. Magic. What lucky people we are.

Manapouri

On the road from St Bathans we encountered some aliens crossing. luckily, they were very friendly and we passed safely.

We stayed at a funky campsite in Manapouri. It had lots of old Morris Minors lined up and chalets to stay in which looked like doll`s houses. It also had an old tractor to play on which Em was rather taken with.

This was our last night with Rob and Tracy, they were going to walk the Milford Track and we were heading back up the west coast.

So we had to divide the bottle of whisky up. This was a very precise operation and as you can see, it took 3 people to make sure it was fair!

We have added a picture of me making a cuppa near Lake Wanaka, just to prove that I do use the cooker too!

Queenstown White Water Rafting

This was great fun. We travelled on a precarious dirt road up to the head of the Shotover River, classed as a grade 3-4+. Our guide was really nice and made Em feel safe by making her sit next to him. We practised our instructions on the first part of the journey when it was relatively calm and then hit the rapids!

After the initial surprise of the boat filling up with water and luckily self bailing, we all relaxed more and enjoyed the ride

I would definately say the safety procedures are much more tight than when I did it last 20+years ago in the States.

We would all happily do it again.

St Bathans

This entry is mainly for Tim and Ali.

We all stayed here 20+ years ago and I wanted to go and visit it again. It`s still a lovely little place and, I found out later, of historical importance because they have discovered fossils of great significance here.

Pauline and John Bellamy, (whose house I am standing looking in), said we could stay here all those years ago which we did and we also stayed with them in Dunedin not long after their son Manu was born.

I talked to the landlord of the pub and he told me about the family.

Pauline still owns the house in St Bathans and she is quite a well known artist in NZ. John manages their art gallery in Otago Peninsular. Max, (Pauline`s eldest child) and Manu are also artists in their own right.

It brought back a lot of good memories and also made me feel old!

Anyway, hope you like the pictures.