New Zealand, February 2018

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The QANTAS A380-800 (VH-OQJ) which took me from Heathrow to Dubai and then on to Sydney. Inside this huge fuselage for 13 hours it's a great environment to pick up a cold or virus and that's just what seemed to happen!

On Day 2 we drove north up the east coast from Christchurch to Picton. The road often hugged the coast with steep cliffs to our left. The recent earthquakes along with cyclones had caused major damage to the road and parallel railway line. We stopped at the resort town of Kaikoura, famous for whale watching trips and seeing dolphins and fur seals.
We did a 4 mile walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway. In this photo we stopped for lunch on the beach after viewing some seals and their pups in the rocky piles and pools nearby.

We travelled on a fast boat from Picton, along Queen Charlotte Sound to Ship Cove, which is the start of the Queen Charlotte Track. Today we would walk the 15 km down the coast to Furneaux Lodge. Here at the start is an impressive monument to Captain James Cook who landed here on one of his later voyages.

Having made the initial ascent from Ship Cove we now have a beautiful view of Resolution Bay to our left.
Note the ferns, which are found in many guises everywhere in New Zealand.

Here we are close to Resolution Bay, the walking track tends to stay high up parallel to the coast, away from the beaches.

Some of our group take a breather, the pace was comfortable for us, about 9 miles today but no major ascents.

Having arrived at our destination, Furneaux Lodge, I had a ten dollar beer at the bar/restaurant. I had a paddle in the shallows (which was excruciating on the soft soles of my feet) and soon we were at the jetty awaiting our boat trip back to Picton. The trip back was sunny with a stiff breeze.

As we leave Picton and head on the scenic route to Nelson, we stop to view Queen Charlotte Sound for the last time.

Picton town with the Marina in the background.

Day 5 and we head north from Kaiteriteri on the boat heading for Bark Bay and the start of our walk in the Abel Tasman National Park.

We disembarked here on the beach at Bark Bay.

Further down the track we cross the suspension bridge which spans the Falls River inland from the coast.

..and another footbridge to cross, I think this one was across Torrent River.

We are approaching Torrent Bay where we had lunch near the beach. There were some NZ army officers who had stopped there too.

A weka, one of New Zealand's flightless birds. I saw a few of them during the trip, they would appear out of the bush looking for food, sometimes in car parks where they expected to find a few titbits. They are about the size of a small hen but apparently pretty aggressive with their beak!

The last leg of our walk took us up to the top of a peninsula, to the south can be seen Adele Island. THe path took us down to Anchorage, where we were eventually picked up by the boat to take us back to Kaiteriteri and our coach.

The first stop on our road trip today (Nelson to Punakaiki) was a stop at the delightfully peaceful Lake Rotoiti.

Beneath the jetty in the shallows were some large black eels and the usual mallards.

The Kilkenny Lookout on a bend in the road alongside the Lower Buller River Gorge. We are driving on the State Highway 6 towards Westport.
A short walk today on Cape Foulwind Walkway. From a viewing platform we saw fur seals vegging out on the rocks, plus there were typical views of the west coast such as this one.

A sign with useful destination pointers (18761 km to London), which is about 11,581 miles.

Our final sight of the day was a short walk in the Paparoa National Park to see the famous pancake rocks, limestone formations with multiple strata laid on top of each other.

At this place it looks like a collapsed cavern forming a void over the sea.

Another site with dramatic geological features.

A view up the west coast. Our hotel stay for tonight was just south of us at the Punakaiki Resort.

The beach in front of the hotel at Punakaiki, today we head south destination Franz Josef.

The small former gold mining town called Hokitika where we stopped for coffee and shopping at the jade emporium.

After my epic helicopter ride with 5 others in our group we all got back in the coach and did a short walk up to the business end of the Franz Josef glacier. We weren't allowed too close but here I had a photo taken to show how excited I was about the whole day so far!
The scene on the glacier constantly changed with cloud coming and going. In this picture you can spot where the ice almost merges with the low cloud.

Back on the road again, leaving Franz Josef and heading for the lakeside town of Wanaka.
First stop was to see Lake Matheson, the most photographed lake in New Zealand. Well not today though, the weather was atrocious, a few of us went along the Walkway as far as the jetty viewing point but only 2 did the circumnavigation. Afterwards the best idea was to have a coffee and cake in the cafe and visitor centre. Well you can't win them all.

We stopped on the roadside near Thunder Creek Falls. This is 28 metres high and tumbles into the Haast River.

More info about the waterfall and the glacial history of the general area clipped from a noticeboard near the road.

We stopped again at Blue Pools, where alcohol-fueled young men jumped off the footbridge into the river below.
Earlier in the day, after Lake Matheson we stopped at Haast Information Centre for a look around and to view a film about the area.
We then stopped in Haast town itself for lunch. After the waterfall and the bridge jumping we continued along the road to Wanaka and stopped at a roadside cafe at Makarora. Finally, we continued on the scenic route to Wanaka and its stunning blue lake which was a very pleasant sight.

The walk today was Diamond Lake and Rocky Hill, one of the most iconic walks in New Zealand.
The distance was given as about 5 miles, with 500 metres of ascent. Not a bad view either from the viewing platform perched on a cliff above the lake!

Another vista from the platform of the mountains to the south.

Looking back as our group climbs up Rocky Hill.

This is what it's all about - the view from Rocky Hill with the mesmorising Lake Wanaka spread out below.

Panning a little to the east to see more of Lake Wanaka. To the left, the flat estuary feature is called 'The Island' and the actual island beyond is called 'Mou Tapu'.

Barbara looks west towards the Mount Aspiring National Park.

Kate in our group inadvertently provides extra colour for yet another spectacular view of Lake Wanaka.

And here I am again, just to prove I reached the top!

Yet another view looking east across the lake.

Back down in Wanaka town, this photo was taken on the windy beach looking in the direction of our hotel resort .

The main drag of Wanaka town, which had plenty of places to eat, drink and shop.
In the afternoon I wandered around the town and did enjoy a huge tub of lemon and raspberry sorbet at the local ice cream parlour - and it was good!

Today we travelled by bus to do a classic walk along the West Matukituki Valley and then up the Rob Roy stream to view the Rob Roy Glacier high above us.
From Wanaka it is 33 miles to the Raspberry Creek Car park in the West Matukituki valley — the last 18 miles is unsealed.
In this photo we cross to the north bank of the river by suspension bridge.

It was a wet day as you can tell by the gear we were wearing. Here we have reached the final viewing point and have our lunch.
It wasn't as spectacular as the Franz Josef glacier but still worth the effort.

Another view showing one of the many waterfalls coming down off the upper levels, no doubt glacial meltwaters.

More of Rob Roy.

The Rob Roy stream which gushes down to join the Matukituki River.

Another shot of the stream as we make the return journey after lunch.

Back in the flat bottomed valley and not far from the suspension bridge. The total length of this walk was apparently 9 miles according to various GPS devices used by some of us.

The coach journey from Wanaka to Te Anau took about 4 hours. After lunch in the town we all met up on the shores of Lake Te Anau and went on a small boat trip across the lake to Brod Bay. It was quite an exciting experience because we had to transfer to a rubber dinghy for the last few yards of the trip to the shore.
Everyone got to shore safe and dry thanks to the skipper.

We walked a section of the Kepler Track back around the lake shore to Te Anau. Not a hard walk.

The map was on the wall at the hotel we stayed at for three nights. I've marked in a black arrow the town of Te Anau.

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The QANTAS A380-800 (VH-OQJ) which took me from Heathrow to Dubai and then on to Sydney. Inside this huge fuselage for 13 hours it's a great environment to pick up a cold or virus and that's just what seemed to happen!
On Day 2 we drove north up the east coast from Christchurch to Picton. The road often hugged the coast with steep cliffs to our left. The recent earthquakes along with cyclones had caused major damage to the road and parallel railway line. We stopped at the resort town of Kaikoura, famous for whale watching trips and seeing dolphins and fur seals. We did a 4 mile walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway. In this photo we stopped for lunch on the beach after viewing some seals and their pups in the rocky piles and pools nearby.
We travelled on a fast boat from Picton, along Queen Charlotte Sound to Ship Cove, which is the start of the Queen Charlotte Track. Today we would walk the 15 km down the coast to Furneaux Lodge. Here at the start is an impressive monument to Captain James Cook who landed here on one of his later voyages.
Having made the initial ascent from Ship Cove we now have a beautiful view of Resolution Bay to our left. Note the ferns, which are found in many guises everywhere in New Zealand.
Here we are close to Resolution Bay, the walking track tends to stay high up parallel to the coast, away from the beaches.
Some of our group take a breather, the pace was comfortable for us, about 9 miles today but no major ascents.
Having arrived at our destination, Furneaux Lodge, I had a ten dollar beer at the bar/restaurant. I had a paddle in the shallows (which was excruciating on the soft soles of my feet) and soon we were at the jetty awaiting our boat trip back to Picton. The trip back was sunny with a stiff breeze.
As we leave Picton and head on the scenic route to Nelson, we stop to view Queen Charlotte Sound for the last time.
Picton town with the Marina in the background.
Day 5 and we head north from Kaiteriteri on the boat heading for Bark Bay and the start of our walk in the Abel Tasman National Park.
We disembarked here on the beach at Bark Bay.
Further down the track we cross the suspension bridge which spans the Falls River inland from the coast.
..and another footbridge to cross, I think this one was across Torrent River.
We are approaching Torrent Bay where we had lunch near the beach. There were some NZ army officers who had stopped there too.
A weka, one of New Zealand's flightless birds. I saw a few of them during the trip, they would appear out of the bush looking for food, sometimes in car parks where they expected to find a few titbits. They are about the size of a small hen but apparently pretty aggressive with their beak!
The last leg of our walk took us up to the top of a peninsula, to the south can be seen Adele Island. THe path took us down to Anchorage, where we were eventually picked up by the boat to take us back to Kaiteriteri and our coach.
The first stop on our road trip today (Nelson to Punakaiki) was a stop at the delightfully peaceful Lake Rotoiti.
Beneath the jetty in the shallows were some large black eels and the usual mallards.
The Kilkenny Lookout on a bend in the road alongside the Lower Buller River Gorge. We are driving on the State Highway 6 towards Westport.
A short walk today on Cape Foulwind Walkway. From a viewing platform we saw fur seals vegging out on the rocks, plus there were typical views of the west coast such as this one.
A sign with useful destination pointers (18761 km to London), which is about 11,581 miles.
Our final sight of the day was a short walk in the Paparoa National Park to see the famous pancake rocks, limestone formations with multiple strata laid on top of each other.
At this place it looks like a collapsed cavern forming a void over the sea.
Another site with dramatic geological features.
A view up the west coast. Our hotel stay for tonight was just south of us at the Punakaiki Resort.
The beach in front of the hotel at Punakaiki, today we head south destination Franz Josef.
The small former gold mining town called Hokitika where we stopped for coffee and shopping at the jade emporium.
After my epic helicopter ride with 5 others in our group we all got back in the coach and did a short walk up to the business end of the Franz Josef glacier. We weren't allowed too close but here I had a photo taken to show how excited I was about the whole day so far!
The scene on the glacier constantly changed with cloud coming and going. In this picture you can spot where the ice almost merges with the low cloud.
Back on the road again, leaving Franz Josef and heading for the lakeside town of Wanaka. First stop was to see Lake Matheson, the most photographed lake in New Zealand. Well not today though, the weather was atrocious, a few of us went along the Walkway as far as the jetty viewing point but only 2 did the circumnavigation. Afterwards the best idea was to have a coffee and cake in the cafe and visitor centre. Well you can't win them all.
We stopped on the roadside near Thunder Creek Falls. This is 28 metres high and tumbles into the Haast River.
More info about the waterfall and the glacial history of the general area clipped from a noticeboard near the road.
We stopped again at Blue Pools, where alcohol-fueled young men jumped off the footbridge into the river below. Earlier in the day, after Lake Matheson we stopped at Haast Information Centre for a look around and to view a film about the area. We then stopped in Haast town itself for lunch. After the waterfall and the bridge jumping we continued along the road to Wanaka and stopped at a roadside cafe at Makarora. Finally, we continued on the scenic route to Wanaka and its stunning blue lake which was a very pleasant sight.
The walk today was Diamond Lake and Rocky Hill, one of the most iconic walks in New Zealand. The distance was given as about 5 miles, with 500 metres of ascent. Not a bad view either from the viewing platform perched on a cliff above the lake!
Another vista from the platform of the mountains to the south.
Looking back as our group climbs up Rocky Hill.
This is what it's all about - the view from Rocky Hill with the mesmorising Lake Wanaka spread out below.
Panning a little to the east to see more of Lake Wanaka. To the left, the flat estuary feature is called 'The Island' and the actual island beyond is called 'Mou Tapu'.
Barbara looks west towards the Mount Aspiring National Park.
Kate in our group inadvertently provides extra colour for yet another spectacular view of Lake Wanaka.
And here I am again, just to prove I reached the top!
Yet another view looking east across the lake.
Back down in Wanaka town, this photo was taken on the windy beach looking in the direction of our hotel resort .
The main drag of Wanaka town, which had plenty of places to eat, drink and shop. In the afternoon I wandered around the town and did enjoy a huge tub of lemon and raspberry sorbet at the local ice cream parlour - and it was good!
Today we travelled by bus to do a classic walk along the West Matukituki Valley and then up the Rob Roy stream to view the Rob Roy Glacier high above us. From Wanaka it is 33 miles to the Raspberry Creek Car park in the West Matukituki valley — the last 18 miles is unsealed. In this photo we cross to the north bank of the river by suspension bridge.
It was a wet day as you can tell by the gear we were wearing. Here we have reached the final viewing point and have our lunch. It wasn't as spectacular as the Franz Josef glacier but still worth the effort.
Another view showing one of the many waterfalls coming down off the upper levels, no doubt glacial meltwaters.
More of Rob Roy.
The Rob Roy stream which gushes down to join the Matukituki River.
Another shot of the stream as we make the return journey after lunch.
Back in the flat bottomed valley and not far from the suspension bridge. The total length of this walk was apparently 9 miles according to various GPS devices used by some of us.
The coach journey from Wanaka to Te Anau took about 4 hours. After lunch in the town we all met up on the shores of Lake Te Anau and went on a small boat trip across the lake to Brod Bay. It was quite an exciting experience because we had to transfer to a rubber dinghy for the last few yards of the trip to the shore. Everyone got to shore safe and dry thanks to the skipper.
We walked a section of the Kepler Track back around the lake shore to Te Anau. Not a hard walk.
The map was on the wall at the hotel we stayed at for three nights. I've marked in a black arrow the town of Te Anau.