Day 23 Milford Sound

Tues 22nd Jan

Sunny periods am 18 degrees, afternoon dire!

Drive to Milford Sound. The only fiord accessible by road.

We set off just after 10 am hoping to have missed the early line of tour buses as we are driving to Milford Sound, one of THE places to take a scenic boat trip in Fiordland and a renowned great 120 kms drive to get there. The signs advise 2 hours, but that’s without a stop, and we plan to stop lots of times. We intend to just do the drive there and back as we are taking a boat trip tomorrow from a different sound. (A Sound is the old name for a Fjord - don’t ask me why it changed)

The scenery is eye watering!

We drive through beech forests on to river views. 

This is Mackey Creek in the Eglington Valley.

Next on to Mirror Lakes where a short boardwalk leads through the beech forest and wetlands to a lake - which reportedly on a calm clear day reflect the Earl Mountains . It is not such a day but it is still very pretty.

Then on to Lake Gunn and  Cascade Creek - known to Māori as O Tampara - it was a regular stopover for parties heading to Anita Bay in search of pounamu ( greenstone). We did the nature walk through the beech forest leading on to the Lake.

As we approached the forest there were various signs advising that poison had been used - to protect the indigenous wildlife and fauna NZ seems to have a policy of trying to kill off any creature brought on to the islands from elsewhere by earlier settlers, eg, rats, rabbits, mice, stoats, possums. There is a saying “ the only good possum is a dead possum”. Carol was looking forward to seeing a possum but it looks like we may be too late... as the only one we’ve yet seen was a dead one - a pelt on a wall in a museum! You can get a variety of knitwear incorporating possum though... 

We did see a few NZ robins as above so guess the policy is working..... Carol can’t help feeling sorry for the possums, rabbits etc .....

The beech forests contain trees which can be up to a couple of hundred years old.  They’re covered in lichen and moss and the contrasting colours are strangely beautiful. We get up close and personal with these old trees, which allows us to understand later how they survive in the fjords. These are nothing like Northern Hemisphere beech, completely different but the same name. We have true beech trees, Fagus. NZ has false beech trees. The forest beech trees are red beeches (unlike the ones that grow along the mountains and fiord hillsides which are silver beeches)

A botanist would love the variety of lichen, mosses etc growing on the trees..

The trail was very informative with signs indicating various species of plants and shrubs, such as...

We tried it ( just crushing the leaves to get the scent - it was truly stinky!)

And on to a glimpse of the lake..

Back on the road we pass this stunning waterfall - the falls went under the road to meet the river at the other side. The force of the water is incredible we have stop for another photo.

Back on the road and the weather is closing in. Everything is changing to monochrome. Black mountains, snow on top. Everywhere the mountains are bleeding water. It all starts getting very ominous. We are going into Mordor!

We finally arrive at the mouth of Mordor, the gate to Hades.

More commonly known as The Homer Tunnel. This single tract 1270m long tunnel is the only vehicular access to Milford Sound. Began as a relief project for unemployment in the 1930’s it finally opened in 1954. Granite hillsides with lots and lots of waterfalls tumbling especially after heavy rainfall frame either end of the tunnel. Down and down we go, a long descent down to Milford Sound.

By the time we arrived in Milton Sound it was pouring down. We take refuge in the Visitor Centre but the rain doesn't abate. The visibility was so bad we couldn’t even see down the Sound. The poor people on the boat won’t be seeing much. Apparently Milford Sound has very steep hillsides which appear to be sheer right down to the water - you can just see a shadow of these at the edge of the photo.

The way back was quicker - less stops, and when we got back to Te Anau - sunshine! 

Although we did manage another rainy walk in yet another forest park en route..

A drop of rain wont put us off ..!

Fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow as we will be taking a boat on Doubtful Sound.  

Day 20 - 21. Queenstown - Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand.

Sun 20th Jan.

20 degrees , sunny spells

Up and at ‘em this morning - part 2b of our trip - flight to the South Island. After a hipster breakfast of sourdough bread, eggs, and a NZ version of heuvos rancheros, we walk out of the hotel just as the airport bus is drawing up. They know who they’re dealing with!

We say goodbye to our hotel view.

And this sign on a nearby building... hope it’s tongue in cheek...

We see a bit of Wellington on the ride out: high rise office blocks in the centre, attractive town houses further out - a bit in the San Francisco clapperboard style. This is the first city we have seen that remotely resembles a European city.

Walking from the bus into the airport takes us through the multi storey airport parking, Jags, Mercs, Audis, VWs, BMWs. These are about the only European cars we’ve seen. Most cars are in NZ are Toyota’s, probably over 3 out of 5. The rest are other Japanese cars or Hyundai’s. We hear there is a thriving business in second hand cars imported from Japan (they all drive on the left as in the UK). We got the feeling that Wellington must be expensive from all the banks and insurance high rise buildings around and this confirms it.

Wellington airport obviously enjoyed referencing the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings connections.

Our flight was on time, we were served coffee and cookies on our flight to Queenstown with the pilot stating we might have a bumpy pre landing approach, the landing which would have resulted in enthusiastic clapping on an European flight was shrugged off by the hardy New Zealanders!   

We sat next to a New Zealander who showed us various routes over the mountains we could see on our approach in to Queenstown.

We’re in for a treat.

We arrive in Queenstown - party town. There is a bearded, dreadlocked, pony-tailed, tattooed, braid wearing dude on every corner man. We checked in to our accommodation for the night - a back packers hostel calked Absoloot Value hostel! We have a penthouse ensuite room on the third floor with views right over the lake and in the centre of town. The young-uns in the cheap rooms are in dormitories, 8 per dorm - nice!

However we also have views of the Irish Bar - where the live music and enthusiastic Irish singing at 6pm did not bode well for a peaceful sleep! We had enough of that last year. Also we overlook the floating bar.. 

Queenstown is certainly a happening place. There are hipster bars galore, restaurants, adventure companies, bungie jumping, jet boats, paddle steamer rides, water sports, skiing, luge rides, nature walks, frisby golf, woodland walks, wonderful play parks for kids, and for the oldies, a crown green bowling club. Now, have you ever seen a bowling green with a backdrop of mountains like this? 

Queenstown is based on the South side of a huge lake with several fingers. All around are mountains, with the town itself already out of flat room for building. We go for a good walk round the headland to stunning views and, yes, the wind was getting up before our main event of the evening.

We have a reservation at the Skyline restaurant at the summit of the Skyline gondola - Bob’s Peak-which sadly is engulfed with drizzle. The Skyline is a 450m gondola ride up to a leisure complex comprising of mainly a restaurant, bungie jump and luge ride. We have been allocated the best table - a corner window table, and the buffet meal is (unexpectedly) top class. We tried to be restrained in our choices - we particularly enjoyed the giant tiger prawns and green lip mussels as a starter, then had a kind of roast dinner with lovely rare beef and lamb, and a selection of mini desserts. We watched some of our fellow dinners pile up their plates with a mix of awe and terror!  .

Our kindly sommelier managed to get our 2 drink vouchers changed to a bin end bottle of lovely Pinot Gris for no extra charge so we were well chuffed (Yorkshire saying!). Especially given the views we were treated to whilst dining.

Carol looking particularly tired as did not sleep well in Wellington and sadly tonight will not be good either - the young-uns in Queenstown certainly know how to party - not in the hostel I hasten to add, but outside. They called it a night at about 2am.

 

Mon 21st Jan.

18 degrees, windy, cloudy.

After a rather disturbed night of revellers, strong winds and sounds of small boats being tossed around on an angry lake, we did a bit of tourist souvenir shopping after another lovely breakfast Queenstown style. It really is a vibrant place!

We managed to persuade the hire car firm to let us have our car earlier than planned and headed off on a fantastic scenic drive to Te Anau. Guess what car it is? 

Toyota Corolla, this time with a boot. A bit older, and more basic, but this still has a lane departure warning - this is normally an extra in the UK (I think - long time since I’ve had a new car - G ). I wondered why and then we caught the end of one of those Police Car programs on TV where they show Police stopping wrongdoers. Anyway it appears that driving over the white line in NZ is an offence and the cops lie in wait to catch the unwary. Cut the corner in NZ and get caught it’s a fine. So that must be why all the hire cars have lane departure cameras fitted. At first all the buzzing was annoying but actually when your eyes wander to the scenery it’s quite useful. The rest of the car though - oh dear.

I think I should update you on the road situation. Our initial thoughts when we first drove from Aukland to Whakatane and Mt. Maunganui were we thought the roads were busy. This is not the case elsewhere, once you get out of the towns they are very quiet, and mostly relaxing to drive. Incidentally, that first drive took us past Tauranga, which has made the news recently as having the fourth most expensive property prices in the world. Behind Hong Kong but more expensive than London. The Government is under fire for having failed miserably to hit its target for house building and is considering taxing 2nd homes. Sound familiar?

Anyway, back to Te Anau. Everyone we have met has said Te Anau is beautiful even when raining,which it is forecast to do. In fact they say the more it rains, the more beautiful it is. We will see...

The drive to Te Anau was spectacular -windy roads through forests, dales and mountains - a 2 hour drive which we enjoyed tremendously - and also managed not to cross any centre lines.

We arrived in a wind swept misty Te Anau and having had no lunch bought a pie at ‘Miles Better Pies ‘ - Carol a seafood  one and Graham a vegetarian . We ate them sat on a bench overlooking the lake, with mercenary seagulls flying in for the kill! The pies were quite nice - but we’re struggling to  get the gourmet vibe of the pie! 

Pies seem to be the snack of choice of Kiwis, especially for lunch. Quite often masquerading as bakeries we initially wandered in hoping for some freshly baked bread only to be faced with a line of pies - often owned by a Chinese family - which struck us as an odd combination, but an OK pie.. In this case however, the name gave the game away, so we were expecting a pie. We could have had a cornish pasty but that would have been sacriledge.

A quick supermarket shop - Carol’s in for a treat tonight as Graham is cooking one of his signature stir fries. All the motels or homestays in NZ come with a kitchenette so you can save some money by not eating out every night" tonight is one of those nights. Also, one of us has bought some gin, so a lovely gin and tonic watching The Chase on tele for Carol as the chef prepares dinner. ( The TV is not as British  standard but there are an awful lot of British shows- Corrie, Who wants to be a Millionaire, and a rather weird garden make over programme with Laurence Llewelyn- Bowen - this one made in NZ - for example - The Chase seems quite classy!) So you can see we know how to live!

Then early to bed as we have a long scenic drive to do tomorrow...

 

Short post today for two reasons: the blogging software keeps crashing so we’re cutting down the size - maybe too many photos? And secondly, the next post may contain a lot more pictures.

Day 18 -20 Tongariro National Park

17th Jan.

Mid 20’s sunny.

Taxi down to the station to catch the train to Tongariro National Park and Chateau Tongariro - our first (and only) posh hotel. There are others at the station, phew! After a long wait - delayed by an hour - sound familiar? We take our allotted seats and find ourselves sat next to an lovely elderly French couple, Frederick and Claire, escaping the Parisian winter. They speak perfect English but on finding we speak (a little) french, immediately revert to french as it is a rest for them. After discussing Brexit and Macron, and in the light of les gilets jaunes,  they ask Graham what he would change about the French system. Oh heck, where do we start? Break the unions, decrease cost of employment, simplify the tax system, oh what a merry hour we passed. Carol looks out of the window.

We passed through a rural station where the employee of the week was allowed to greet us - or was it a punishment for the least performing employee? - either way this is what they looked like...

Views from the train were lovely, and then from the shuttle bus, the view of our hotel comes into view, with the majestic volcanic Mount Ruapehu ( 2,797 m, 9,174 ft ) in the background - thumbs up from Claire.

Chateau Tongariro was built in the 1920’s and has the air of a once very grand hotel which is in need of some renovation. However, it is very comfortable and the service is excellent. Sadly what looks to be an old grass bowling area and small golf course are now totally run down but do provide a nice walking area.

Views the other way showed Mount Tongariro (1,968m, 6,455 ft ) and Mount Ngauruhoe (2,291m, 7,514 ft )

Both Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe are active volcanos. Mount Ngauruhoe last erupted in 1996. There are signs on buildings with eruption escape guidance - thankfully the hotel is deemed a safe area.

Views of  Ngauruhoe and Tongariro frim the hotel grounds.

 

It was 3pm, and because we had coffee and cake on the train we’d skipped lunch, so it was a nice surprise to have a complimentary cream tea.

J



Our room - a cut above what we’re used to.

 A short walk and a stroll round the grounds followed by a sauna and a swim for Graham and a long soak in a full size bath for Carol and then dinner. Lovely old dining room with proper service. We choose monkfish in fish chowder with asparagus and squid ink gnocchi and a really nice bottle of wine, and then breadgate happens. Graham asks for a bread roll to mop up the chowder. Waitress scurries off... chef says no... How about some wholemeal bread then? more scurrying... chef says no, no wholemeal. White or focaccia. Focaccia then please. It is horrible. We eat some but only because we asked for it. Other people looked to be having nice bread which we later discover is a $15 extra on the a la carte menu (we’re on the table d’hote)

Tongariro National Park is a ski resort in winter, and a hiking destination in summer. There is a famous Tongariro Alpine Trail, an arduous 18.5kms (8+ hours) hike with spectacular views across volcanic craters. Often described as THE best one day hike in NZ. A whole industry of shuttle buses and hostels has developed to service the hikers. There are longer circular walks across all the summits which take days, hiker’s resting huts are scattered amongst the mountainsides.

Next day, lovely breakfast and then off for a nice walk - 6kms, through forest, turrock (scrub) and rock - about 2+hours round trip to a waterfall. ( Carol’s phone app says 9.3 kms and 16,000 steps at the end!)

The Taranaki Falls plunge over old lava flow from a previous eruption that occured thousands of years ago!

Mountain now obscured by clouds

Weather was very changeable - sunshine start, drizzle higher up, and then sunshine again when we got down. We decide to eat our packed  lunch in a small nature walk close to the hotel by a stream. We had requested a packed lunch prepared by the hotel - it was enormous - 2 rounds of sandwiches each, 2 bananas each, a large bag of trail mix, 2 large bottles of water each, barley sugars and first aid plasters - we left 1 of the lunches in the room fridge - that’s our picnic lunch for tomorrow sorted. Obviously the hotel thought we were doing THE day trail!

The scenery is superb - not surprising to hear that scenes from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and  Lord of the Rings films were filmed in the National Park area.

 

Another sauna and swim and then time for dinner. This time we go for a cheaper white - Cloudy Falls, which is very nearly as good but $15 cheaper which allows Graham a glass of cab sauv with his steak. Tonight the dinner is stupendous, beetroot smoked salmon followed by beef fillet with beef cheek, cauliflower puree, potatoes. It was cooked to perfection. (Another review by GT bon viveur extraodinaire!)

Sat 19th Jan.

20 degrees, sunny.

Saturday we do a little shopping at the excellent tourist information centre before catching the shuttle to the station.

A fantastic mural outside the tourist centre.

There is a brilliant little cafe next to the platform, but independent of the station, which appeared to be used by locals as well as tourists, the meals and cake selections looked delicious. We enjoyed a proper coffee sitting in the sun overlooking the platform. Probably the nicest station cafe ever. We are really looking forward to the 5 hr scenic railway journey which we’ve been told is spectacular.

Rumour is it that the train is being replaced by a bus. Denied by our shuttle driver, but believable as Fred and Claire had earlier told us that their train ( due in 2 days) is now going to be a bus.

While we wait for the train due just after 1pm, Megan the shuttle bus driver (who also does the Alpine Trail shuttle), and is here to pick up arriving passengers, gets a call asking for advice. A hiker on the trail has twisted an ankle and cannot walk - telephone the police is her reply, and let the helicopter deal with it. The helicopter is a free service she tells us. You pay for ambulances but not for helicopters. 

The train eventually rolls in, one carriage short. It seems that one carriage is broken and everyone catching the train after Auckland  is going by bus, including us. Fantastic! - Six hours on a coach. Our longed for ( and paid for) scenic journey of a lifetime ruined. The train manager explained to us, a couple from Sheffield, a couple from Sweden and a young man from Manchester with a bike, that we would be refunded our money, apologising to us as we stood on the platform with our luggage, forlornly watching the train pull away with the lucky Auckland passengers crowding the observation carriage leaving about 30 empty seats through various carriages flaunting their luck! 

What seemed like an age later a bus arrived - not the most modern of the fleet, to transport us to Wellington. The picnic lunch we had taken with us did not have the same appeal huddled on the worn bus. After a 30 mins regulatory stop for the driver en route we arrived in Wellington just after 7pm - the drizzly misty weather that greeted us matching our mood.

So we passed on walking the streets of Wellington and after checking in, headed for the hotel bar to drown our sorrows....bloody Kiwirail.

Tomorrow is another day and we’re flying to the South Island!

Day 15 to 17 Rotorua to Hamilton.

Mon 14 th Jan.

Pouring down - around 18 degrees

Today we head off back up to Rotorua. Managing to wake early we hastened to depart our studio in the rain and hurried on to an attraction which only happens every couple of hours...

We drive to the car park at the lock gates of the Aratiatia dam. Getting out of the car to enquire if we were in the right place - it was confirmed as a stampeed of wet, bedraggled raincoat wearing, and one swimsuit wearing, persons hurried past our car in the direction of a pathway with a sign proclaiming “5 mins to lower viewpoint, 8 mins to upper viewpoint”. It was 9:53. Yikes, which one? We hastened to put on our raingear and Graham shot off like a mountain goat with Carol muttering slower behind, up along a narrow steep slippery path. 

We both managed to arrive at the lower viewing point in good time  ( tortoise and the hare? - C) before a shrill whistle announced the 10 am event.... the opening of the dam enough to flood the dry waterfalls and rapids and lower river section as it would have been before the dam altered the view of the natural enviroment.

View of the dam and waterway from the viewing platform before...

And after... The Aratiatia rapids! Not really as dramatic as we hoped but at least it got us up and out.

After 10- 15 mins the dam closed and that was that.  This happens only 4 times a day. It must rain a great deal to service these things... and today is one of those days...

We continued on to Rotorua the intoxicating eggy smell drawing ever nearer as we approached the city.

After popping in to the tourist office to see what there is to do in Rotorua on a rainy day, along with hoards of other mostly younger outdoor looking types, we discovered the only place - the famed Rotorua museum was closed.... due to earthquake damage sustained in 2016. There is a cinema showing Mary Poppins - ( please no...- G) if we get desperate.

We drove on to the impressive Lake Rotorua and had our picnic lunch in the car (against the car hire rules - we wound down the windows so we were almost outside!)

The local birdlife enjoyed our crusts - including this colourful chap... a pukeko.

We then ambled around a supermarket to waste time before checking in to our motel at just after 2pm avoiding the 3pm cinema agony for Graham.

The motel is tucked away down a side street very close to the town centre. All good other than the sulphur eggy smell is enhanced by the fact the motel uses the spring water for heating, and also has a lovely bright green hot spring water filled dipping pool which the proud owner explains is good for so many ailments especially skin complaints. Not sure Carol will risk it though....

On entering our room Carol promptly lit a couple of scented travel candles ( thanks kids!) and settled into the room on the recliner chair for a snooze. Graham siezing the opportunity of a break in the weather took himself off for a stroll.

And a very nice stroll it was. Rotorua is flanked by a large lake. On one side, called Sulphur Point, hot springs and acid, but as you go round you pass some wetlands, (which I guess is whence our blue friend came on a foraging trip) and then on to a park area where children feed ducks, and finally to the quay for pleasure boats and seaplanes. 

Tues 15th Jan.

Cloudy, rain promised and 18 degrees.

A leisurely start to the day, the picnic packed ( Graham is in picnic heaven so far on this trip!) and off to walk the boardway around Lake Okareka. After the usual false start trying to set off from the wrong part of the lake.

We drove on and soon found the entrance - the walkway is a 5.5 km trip there and back along the nature reserve part of the lake.

It was delightful.

We spotted many a Tui - it’s song sounds like R2D2! - but getting a photo was a different matter as they are a bit shy, and a bit quick. One on NZ’s native birds it has that shimmery green/blue/black colour that looks different in different light, with a white fluffy bit under it’s neck.

All our photos were rubbish - so here’s a soft toy we bought as a souvenir (it even makes a call when squeezed!)

An other wading bird also again proved easy to see and less easy to photograph.This one had a call louder than it’s size suggested accompanied by impressive head bobbing. A pied stilt.

There were cormorants, ducks of various sorts, little herons, glebes, black swans, yellow hammers, fantails - birder heaven!

The scenery was stunning and the sun tried to shine.

A great place for a picnic.

Glimpses of waterlilies through the trees

And on the hillsides our first real glimpse of New Zealand Sheep

What you looking at haven’t you seen a sheep before ?!

And on the way back to the boat launching area the arrival of a tourist group with a difference....

Before we headed out for an evening out we both braved the sulphury bright green dipping pool. We were advised to remove all jewellery as it would turn black.It was hot bathwater hot!!

A notice on the wall declared it was a cure all for everything from impetigo to menopausal problems.Carol hoped it would cure her unsightly drying sunburnt back. However  a notice also warned us not to put our heads under as certain amoebic thingys could cause meningitis! We both shot out the pool and showered thoroughly.

Graham just before we read the other notice.

Tonight is one of Carol’s highlights - a west end show. We are picked up and taken to a reconstructed Maori village for a demonstration of Maori life in days gone by. Unlike the Fijians, Maoris now prefer suburbia to their villages, but still pass down the old traditions and language.

Yes it was very  touristy as our guide Manu showed us around the reconstructed Maori village and showed us the sacred spring reverred

by this particular tribe. But the land is owned by a local Maori family who are keen to ensure that the ancient Maori skills and traditions are not forgotten. We watched the warriors come down the stream in a boat.

As part of the role play one of our group volunteered to be Chief of our tribe and undertook a ceremony where he received a peace offering from the Maori chief and made a speech on the group’s, sorry, tribe’s behalf. 

The Chief  greeting us and giving us information re his tribe.

 

We were then given a demonstration of Maori warrior weapon skills, traditional music and dance. The participants sang with power and pride and created a lovely sound. It cumulated in the Haka - again powerful but not as intimidating as the “All Blacks”. Carol was quite moved by the whole performance whilst Graham found it difficult to suspend his natural cynicism... 

Note quite a few of the women have a chin tattoo “moko” - it represents the move to female adulthood. More Māori women are having traditional tattoos as a sign of renewed pride in their heritage. We have seen many women with them as we travel through the area.

Not sure what the men’s tattoos represent.

We then had a traditional meal, the Hangi - which was like a massive roast dinner with the meat cooked underground for 4hrs. Although a buffet it was very tasty, seafood chowder, followed by chicken and lamb with stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, rice, some potato and creamy spinach dish accompanied by gravy and mint sauce! There were several desserts also but we couldn’t manage them.

(Not like the two girls from Nevada sat next to us who definitely had sweet teeth).

The Hangi ready to serve.

After we had eaten our fill  we were escorted through the village into the Rainbow Springs nature reserve by a park ranger who spookily resembled the Masterchef legend Monica Galetti in both looks and voice. As we walked she explained how the Maoris use the underside of Silver Ferns to aid tracking as it reflects light - the cleverer ones rub the underside in their hands to make almost a powder and use that. The Silver Fern is the emblem of New Zealand although informally it is that rotund bird with the long beak.  

We passed by a few glow worms but hope we will be treated to a much better show when we visit the South Island.

We entered the reserve and saw an enormous viewing tank of the biggest trout we have ever seen. Trout is not allowed to be farmed in New Zealand but can be caught in the rivers for personal consumption only with a license.

We also saw a local lizard called a Tuatara.

But the highlight of our visit was to see Kiwis! And we saw 2 of these unique nocturnal creatures - both will remain in captivity due to health problems, but this is a breeding reserve where they have a 65 % success rate of releasing the birds into the wild. 

The ranger explained that in the wild the success rate of birds surviving is 5%! Apparently the female is responsible only for laying the egg - the size of a 35 lb equivalent baby! After doing that job she clears off never to be seen again... The male then incubates the egg for about 80 days - after which he leaves the egg on its own for 5 days to hatch and returns to sit with the hatched chick for about another 5 days and then also clears off leaving the chick to get on with it -  never to return.. You can see why the survival rate!

Apparently the chick embryo is attached to a placenta inside the egg via an umbilical cord attached to its belly button. At the appropriate time the Kiwi scratches it off.

The Kiwis resembled a giant furry hedgehog ( the size of a large chicken/small turkey) with what looks to be a  long beak and strong legs - it thudded along as it ran in the enclosure  - not the delicate little bird we had imagined! Apparently because it’s nostrils are so far down it’s beak it has the smallest beak in the bird world?!

Wed 16 Jan

Overcast low 20s

Easy drive to Hamilton today, only an hour an a half to pick up train tomorrow morning which will take us across the mountainous Tongariro National Park to a posh hotel. So we take the drive easy, pulling over to let cars and lorries past. 3/4 the way there we turn off to a rest stop signposted as a dam. We spy what looks like a regatta in the distance so we mosey down, driving on a single track road across the dam and find a massive boat race going on with thousands of cars parked, canoes on roofs. We park up ($5) and head on down.

There are stall selling teeshirts, hot dogs, coffee, massages, and all manner of sporting gear. We ask and it is a national Waka-ama competition spread over a week. Teams from all over NZ come and race for medals and a place in the world championships. Waka-ama is a 6 person canoe with one outrigger where the paddlers have a single blade paddle. It’s a testing course, about 400 metres 4 times - up, turn round, back down, turn round, up again, final turn and back down. Today is the 13 to 16 year olds, tomorrow 16 to 18 and so on to the weekend for the adults and individual races.

From the looks of things the competitors were over 90% Maori.

We stop at a stall selling mussel fritters. We imagine a cone of freshly cooked tempura battered mussels and then remember we are in NZ. Nothing as sophisticated. Its mashed up mussels mixed up in a thick pancake batter and fried on a hot plate and served on a slice of white bread. You can make it more palatable with chilli or garlic sauces. The kind lady lets us try some and we promise to spread the word. So there you go and here they are.

Our tester being made.

As we have to return the hire car at 4pm we take our leave and arrive in Hamilton where we have a late picnic in the Hamilton Gardens. These were once the site of a refuse tip but now have been transformed into parklands with a lake and several individual gardens reflecting styles across the world: English Garden, Indian, Italian Renaissance, Japanese, Chines, Tropical, Experimental, it goes on and on. There are beautiful and amazingly, they are free - Here’s a few

We then headed off into central Hamilton to drop off the car. Downtown Hamilton is a laid back affair - the usual rows of shops with overhead sheltered walkways. It seems all efforts go in to creating beautiful gardens and less so in town planning.. 

Before we did so we went to the railway station to doublecheck re tickets for tomorrow... the railway station did not sit proudly in the city centre as most around the world but in a trading estate off centre - it looked rather forlorn as we approached just 1 car in the car park - it was shut! Looks like it only services the tourist train which does not pass through daily.

As we filled up with petrol the attendant - they still have these! - explained that there is very little public transport in New Zealand - when he first arrived he had to hire a bike to get around and you cannot get anywhere without some form of personal transport. 

We overnighted in a fab studio appartment which even had a washer/dryer and a free portion of washing powder! So welcome into our 3rd week of travel.

We ate in a local Italian restaurant - food and atmosphere like ones from the 60’s and 70’s - in fact so far New Zealand feels like we’ve time travelled back a few decades!

Tomorrow we catch the Northern Explorer train down to the National Park. Can’t wait....