Just so much to go over in such a little amount of time, so I've had to knock these down to the highlights...
Wellington
Wandering around Zealandia, a park devoted to the restoration of the native habitat of NZ, which was primarily bird species (VERY few mammal species before colonization). While it was a little cold, the park is situtated above Wellington and is quite beautiful.
Also, despite the cold drizzle that was weighing down the morning, I explored the botanical gardens of Wellington, where I found both beautiful plants, but also noticed more of the amazing birds that I had just found in Zealandia. It was truly a treat to have the gardens almost to myself and be able to relax and take in all of the sights and sounds.
Next, I walked through the Bolton memorial cemetery of Wellington where many of the earlier pioneers are buried. Strangely, it seems to straddle a major highway cutting through Wellington. I'm not sure how that works...
After meandering through the central public square and through some of downtown, I found my way back to our cottages and was pleasantly surprised to see that Sita (Bridget's friend and our travel companion for the South Island) had made it in! After some lovely beer and ginger wine, we wandered our way down Cuba Street, where we crushed some bar trivia and 2 for 1 ribs. Sadly, since we arrived late, we were not allowed to compete in trivia; obviously they could see how smart we were and just wanted to give everybody else a chance :)
Blenhiem
The next morning we were up early to catch the ferry (with our beloved car!) over to Picton on the South Island. After parking and moving up to the deck, we were delighted to find one of New Zealand's many i-Sites, where you can get information on a plethora of tourism issues. And there, we met the trip planning woman of our dreams: Bev. Throughout the course of the 30 or 40 minutes that we monopolized Bev's time, she was able to cancel a night at our hotel (free of charge) explain all of the different wine options in Blenheim, book us a hotel in Blenheim, and book us a wine tour that would pick us up at our hotel as soon as we got there. Frickin' amazing. I <3 Bev.
During the ride I decided to try a coffee (of course) and a local snack: a lolly slice. Basically a bit of chocolate with marshmallows set into it. So, of course, it was amazing.
Landing in Picton, we quickly made our way down to Blenheim, dropped our things off at the hotel, and were off on our wine adventure!
The North of New Zealand is mainly a white producing region and we enjoyed many excellent Sauv. Blancs and Chardonnays through the four or five wineries we went to. Because it was cold, rainy, and in the middle of winter, we were basically the only people in most of these wineries and got excellent service throughout. In fact, one of our wineries was located next to a shop with local liquors, so we had a quick little side trip to do some "down in one"s (shots) of tasty local beverages. Favoites included mint and chocolate and butterscotch liquor mixed with butterscotch cream. Mmmmm....
After so much wine, we were all a bit tipsy and so, not realizing what time it was, we headed of to dinner...at about 5pm. Luckily, through some more good beer and convivial conversation, we were able to extend our dinner to a decent hour. One of the highlights was a family that got seated in the table next to us seemed like they (seemingly husband, wife, and mother) were having a birthday celebration for the mother (probably in her 80s). To spread the good cheer we decided to buy their desert. Afterwards, they came over and thanked us profusely and said that it had been a really trying time for them as their mother was going down hill, and that our act had gone a long way. So happy to spread some love into the world...
Kaikoura
Leaving early from Blenheim to make the most of our day in Kaikoura, we were treated to a beautiful drive along the Pacific ocean along the way! We even got our first seal sighting as we pulled over to the side of the road and found several seals just lounging about near the pull-off area.
Making our way down to Kaikoura and settling into our hotel (complete with hot tub...) we were quickly back in the car and headed toward the beautiful cliffs of Kaikoura. After dropping Justin off at the golf course for a quick round, Sita, Bridget and I headed back to the cliffs for a quick walkabout and lunch.
I don't know that I can describe just how beautiful a place Kaikoura actually is. From the moment we parked our car to pick up lunch, there were tremendously beautiful views across the bay to amazing snow capped mountains on the other side. After playing around with some seals (one of which blended in so well it gave Bridget quite a scare), we were up the cliffs and overlooking the ocean. While a bit soggy, the whole path along the ocean was beautiful view after beautiful view. I know it's cliche, but the pictures really don't do it justice.
After a brief pit stop for a freakishly expensive apple cider at a local hotel overlooking the bay, we headed off to a local sheep shearing! Being low season, we were the only ones there (except for the amazingly friendly sheep dog) and got to watch as a local farmer showed us how sheep are sheared. We even got a lesson on the different types of sheep and wool, as well as being able to see some of the historical instruments used to shear. While I desperately wanted to have a go at shearing, unfortunately it's dangerous both to the animal and myself, so I was forced to leave it to the professional. I did, however, get a chance to hold the sheep and the sheering clippers (as if I was actually shearing...).
Having a full day of beauty and culture, we picked a local delicacy (crayfish) from a street vendor in the middle of nowhere, picked up Justin from the course, and headed back for a night of good food and hot tubbing. The next day would lead us to the amazing Fox and Franz Josef glaciers of the West coast of NZ.
Wellington
Wandering around Zealandia, a park devoted to the restoration of the native habitat of NZ, which was primarily bird species (VERY few mammal species before colonization). While it was a little cold, the park is situtated above Wellington and is quite beautiful.
(bottom of Zealandia, looking up)
(a very endangered ground bird)
Also, despite the cold drizzle that was weighing down the morning, I explored the botanical gardens of Wellington, where I found both beautiful plants, but also noticed more of the amazing birds that I had just found in Zealandia. It was truly a treat to have the gardens almost to myself and be able to relax and take in all of the sights and sounds.
(more birds??)
(nice and quiet)
After meandering through the central public square and through some of downtown, I found my way back to our cottages and was pleasantly surprised to see that Sita (Bridget's friend and our travel companion for the South Island) had made it in! After some lovely beer and ginger wine, we wandered our way down Cuba Street, where we crushed some bar trivia and 2 for 1 ribs. Sadly, since we arrived late, we were not allowed to compete in trivia; obviously they could see how smart we were and just wanted to give everybody else a chance :)
Blenhiem
The next morning we were up early to catch the ferry (with our beloved car!) over to Picton on the South Island. After parking and moving up to the deck, we were delighted to find one of New Zealand's many i-Sites, where you can get information on a plethora of tourism issues. And there, we met the trip planning woman of our dreams: Bev. Throughout the course of the 30 or 40 minutes that we monopolized Bev's time, she was able to cancel a night at our hotel (free of charge) explain all of the different wine options in Blenheim, book us a hotel in Blenheim, and book us a wine tour that would pick us up at our hotel as soon as we got there. Frickin' amazing. I <3 Bev.
During the ride I decided to try a coffee (of course) and a local snack: a lolly slice. Basically a bit of chocolate with marshmallows set into it. So, of course, it was amazing.
Landing in Picton, we quickly made our way down to Blenheim, dropped our things off at the hotel, and were off on our wine adventure!
The North of New Zealand is mainly a white producing region and we enjoyed many excellent Sauv. Blancs and Chardonnays through the four or five wineries we went to. Because it was cold, rainy, and in the middle of winter, we were basically the only people in most of these wineries and got excellent service throughout. In fact, one of our wineries was located next to a shop with local liquors, so we had a quick little side trip to do some "down in one"s (shots) of tasty local beverages. Favoites included mint and chocolate and butterscotch liquor mixed with butterscotch cream. Mmmmm....
(more wine? yes please)
(Down in one!)
After so much wine, we were all a bit tipsy and so, not realizing what time it was, we headed of to dinner...at about 5pm. Luckily, through some more good beer and convivial conversation, we were able to extend our dinner to a decent hour. One of the highlights was a family that got seated in the table next to us seemed like they (seemingly husband, wife, and mother) were having a birthday celebration for the mother (probably in her 80s). To spread the good cheer we decided to buy their desert. Afterwards, they came over and thanked us profusely and said that it had been a really trying time for them as their mother was going down hill, and that our act had gone a long way. So happy to spread some love into the world...
Kaikoura
Leaving early from Blenheim to make the most of our day in Kaikoura, we were treated to a beautiful drive along the Pacific ocean along the way! We even got our first seal sighting as we pulled over to the side of the road and found several seals just lounging about near the pull-off area.
(here sealy sealy sealy...)
Making our way down to Kaikoura and settling into our hotel (complete with hot tub...) we were quickly back in the car and headed toward the beautiful cliffs of Kaikoura. After dropping Justin off at the golf course for a quick round, Sita, Bridget and I headed back to the cliffs for a quick walkabout and lunch.
I don't know that I can describe just how beautiful a place Kaikoura actually is. From the moment we parked our car to pick up lunch, there were tremendously beautiful views across the bay to amazing snow capped mountains on the other side. After playing around with some seals (one of which blended in so well it gave Bridget quite a scare), we were up the cliffs and overlooking the ocean. While a bit soggy, the whole path along the ocean was beautiful view after beautiful view. I know it's cliche, but the pictures really don't do it justice.
(yep, not ugly)
(still not ugly)
After a brief pit stop for a freakishly expensive apple cider at a local hotel overlooking the bay, we headed off to a local sheep shearing! Being low season, we were the only ones there (except for the amazingly friendly sheep dog) and got to watch as a local farmer showed us how sheep are sheared. We even got a lesson on the different types of sheep and wool, as well as being able to see some of the historical instruments used to shear. While I desperately wanted to have a go at shearing, unfortunately it's dangerous both to the animal and myself, so I was forced to leave it to the professional. I did, however, get a chance to hold the sheep and the sheering clippers (as if I was actually shearing...).
(our tour "guide" shearing)
(me, "shearly" having fun)
Having a full day of beauty and culture, we picked a local delicacy (crayfish) from a street vendor in the middle of nowhere, picked up Justin from the course, and headed back for a night of good food and hot tubbing. The next day would lead us to the amazing Fox and Franz Josef glaciers of the West coast of NZ.
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