Tuesday Nov 19
We arrived in Christchurch at about midnight after a pretty good flight in Qantas business class. We received a "cheery" welcome from the Kiwi Customs & Immigration officials - had to unpacked our hiking boots and alpine pools to prove they were clean - they don't take one's word for such serious matters - then we had to still put our luggage through the X-ray machine. Several flights had arrived at the same time so there was plenty of queuing to enhance our frame of mind. Upon exiting the airport there was yet another humongous queue for taxis. Anyway we finally made it to our hotel, the Rendezvous about 1:00am. Our deluxe room was about 10 sq. m with literally no space to even open our large "red roller"; we complained but were told the hotel was totally full. So it was off to bed.
Wednesday Nov 20
We got up to a cloudy, pretty cool and very windy day (it eventually cleared up and reached the projected high of 23℃) - we had breakfast which was about a 7 out of 10 with WiFi available. After breakfast I tired to connect my MBP in the room only to find WiFi was not available in the room, only a broadband connection; alas I noticed for the first time that my still shiny new MBP does not have a broadband connection. I called reception to inquiry and to my total surprise they asked if we wanted to move to different room - following up on our complaint of the previous night. Just before we headed out we were able to move to a larger room - what a difference.
We then set off for a bit of a walking tour to check out the CBD and how the rebuilding is going as well as find a Harvey Norman so I could buy a mobile data device. The rebuilding is very much a work in progress with the center still looking a bit like ground zero with almost none of the higher buildings occupied. It all seemed so very forlorn. One bright note was the re-start mall, a funky shopping / cafe area built from brightly painted shipping containers. I managed to buy a 2degrees USB mobile data device - they did not have the mobile data router in stock.
We headed back to the hotel to test my new device and freshen up before going out for lunch - which we had at a nice pizza pub. Then a bit more wandering around and photo taking before taking an early mark back at our hotel - late PM rest followed by showers. We had an excellent dinner at the nearby Novotel - quite a surprise, then off to bed early.
Thursday Nov 21
After planning to get up and away early, we slept in until 8am - had breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was a total zoo due to what seemed like a large tour group of pommies. It was a glorious sunny and warm day - high of 25℃. We took a taxi to the Apex car hire to pickup up our 5 year old Corolla, did the grocery shopping ($NZ325 for a few days worth), went back to the hotel to collect our luggage and check-out then finally hit the road around 11am. We arrived in Kaikoura around 1:15pm, checked into our luxury apartment overlooking the bay, unpacked and had a late lunch of homemade sambos.
By then it was too late to do too much so we explored the small tourist town of Kaikoura and checked out the tours - in particular, swimming with the dolphins. Back at our apartment we relaxed, had fives'es and made dinner at home (NZ spring lamb cutlets, roast potatoes and asparagus - all good). It was then off to bed early.
Friday Nov 22
True to the forecast we awoke to an overcast and drizzly day - high of 16℃. We had a leisurely breakfast then headed out for a pre-lunch walk to town. After lunch we took a major 3 hour coastal walk - one-way on the cliff route then we tried to return along the beach as it was low tide but got "stopped" around the half-way mark due to large numbers of grumpy seals blocking the trail so we turned around and returned via the cliff top walk. As a result we only got back to apartment after 5pm so had to shower, relax and go for dinner at 7pm. We had booked at Maxton's just down the road where we had an excellent dinner - we both had dessert which was a bit OTT. Then it was home for a herbal tea and off to bed.
Saturday Nov 23
Up just before 8am (still getting over that 2 hour time difference) - made the same breakkie as yesterday - fruit, yoghurt and cereal and lashings of coffee - the apartment even has an expresso machine. It was a warmer day with a projected high of 22℃ and cloudy with a sunny afternoon forecast. We dagged about in the morning then took the dolphin viewing / swimming tour departing at 12:30 - returning around 5pm. It was excellent - we elected not to swim just view for greater photo opts. We stayed home for a dinner of pasta and salad.
Sunday Nov 24
It started as a very foggy day but eventually cleared to a very warm and sunny day - high of 26℃. We packed up and headed off to Nelson at 10am (check-out time) - we were very pleasantly surprised to find Waves only charged us for 2 nights instead of 3 as we were inconvenienced by tradesmen working on the reverse cycle airconditionaing system. On the way we stopped for a short walk up to a waterfall where baby seals spend time in the winter months; of course, they were not there when we visited. About an hour outside of Nelson we stopped at a winery for an excellent lunch - I then drove the rest of the way to Nelson. We arrived at our 1-bedroom apartment motel around 3pm; dropped our bags and walked into town to check out the grocery store and restaurants. In the end after stopping at the pub for a drink we decided to just have cold cuts at our apt motel which turned out to suit us to a T.
Monday Nov 25
Well the great weather of the previous day was only a fond memory - it was cloudy and cool - max of 20℃. We set off just before 10am and did some more grocery shopping then headed off to Collingwood, a beach side hamlet on Golden Bay on the northern top of the South Island. We arrived at our beach house, Tullamore, in time for a late lunch. After settling in we drove to the village center - less than 5 minutes away - it is less than a one-horse town, even the convenience store had closed down. There is still a pub, a milk bar, post office, licenced cafe and couple of art shoppes. So it was back to our beach house for a short beach walk then home for showers etc. Dinner was once again NZ spring rack of lamb, roast potatoes, and gobs of asparagus.
Tuesday Nov 26
Oh dear we woke to a very rainy day !! So much for the fine weather - we booked the spit tour for Wednesday departing at 7:30am - they don't go if the weather is "too bad" - they had warned us yesterday that today wasn't looking too good. Anyway - since there was no rush to get the day going, we had a liesurily breakfast of fruit salad (lots of wonderful PYO cherries), yoghurt and cereal. We decdied to get stuck into the laundry and other mundane tasks. Using the internet was problematic as there is no WiFi in the house and my super-duper 2degress mobile data fob had poor reception here; also it seems to gobble data - I already had to buy an additional 3GB for $50.
After lunch at the house we drove to the Spit where the weather has cleared and did a great 2 hour walk to the most amazing beach, Wharariki. The sun came out and the outlooks were amazing, green rolling pastures with 1000's of sheep and the beach with huge rock formations with many arches - reminded me a bit of the Great Ocean Road.
Back at the beach house we had an excellent dinner of mushroom and asparagus pasta with salad.
Wednesday Nov 27
We got up very early for our Spit tour which started out on a bad footing - poor weather and a 45+ minute wait for the bus to pick us up (this was casued by poor information from the tour operator - we thought about going back to complain but by the time the tour was over we were also over the frustration of waiting in the pouring rain and freezing cold very early in the morning - hardy folks that we are). Anyway things improved once we got going - the rain eased and we had an excellent drive up the spit to the lighthouse then back again. We did not see as many birds as we had hoped for but all in all it was a good half-day trip. Back at the start we had a late lunch at the Spit Cafe - a funky place run by a bunch of backpackers - we shared a pizza which was just past the OK mark. We headed back into the town of Collingwood and made a quick stop at the pub for a drink - one was more than suficient as the pub was all a bit depressing. We headed back to our beach house the enjoyed the late afternoon and started packing up for our departure the following morning - yet another early start.
Thursday Nov 28
We got up early and disaster struck - while making coffee using our Germany filter into a plunger pot, the whole contracption fell over and covered me with boiling water and coffee grounds - a total mess and I burned my right arm extensively. Dieter ceaned up while I applied ice - which I needed to do all day as the burn was quite serious and extremely painful. Anyway we took off in the rain around 9:30am for what we thought would be a 3 hour drive to Picton. This turned out to be closer to 4.5 hours due to torrential rain and gale force winds - both of which seemed to increase the closer we got to Picton. After checking into The Harbour View Motel in Picton, I went to a medical center to see about my burn; they were too busy dealing with an "emergency" to see me so they sent me to the pharmacy who gave me (in fact applied) an amazing burn treatment cover and bandaged the area - immediate relief - I felt like a new person - from going to wondering if we would need to cancel our QCT walk now my only worry was the weather. We had dinner at a local restaurant, Escape to Picton, selected due to its proximity to our motel and had a pretty good dinner - fish of the day for Dieter and fish curry for me. Off to bed.