Cruising with the Christies

Jobs this morning are washing and Windows and a general tidy up.  An early lunch  and then we are off wine tasting with Diane and Colin Christie from Gisborne who are down in Arrowtown to see grandchildren and the golf.
First stop: Akarua.  This won our vote for the best hostess. She was so efficient in dealing with several groups at once and we even twisted her arm into opening a bottle of their award winning rosé even though it was not on the tasting list.
Second  stop: Carrick.  Their priority was their lunch customers and we got very poor service at the wine tasting area and consequently only bought one bottle.
Third stop:Mt Difficulty where we got good service and also saw Terry Costello from Gisborne.   Some really nice wines here.
Fourth  Stop: Mount Rosa which was certainly the jolliest of the tasting areas , and a new brand  for us to try. They had a pinot blanc, and when we were growing pinot gris we did notice some clusters of berries were white not grey. We shared a tasting area with a couple who were biking between vineyards. They warned us that they were  a bit stinky so we nicknamed them Stinky  and Mrs Stinky. They followed us to Brennan.
Stop Five: Brennan.  Duncan was desperate to revisit this Vineyard and buy a new cap , as well as buy some more wines as they are outstanding  last year  when we visited. This definitely earned the award for the most knowledgeable cellar master ( see photo below) and the wines we particularly enjoyed were Trio -a blend of aromatics and also the pinots.
DAY 15
Duncan went off to play golf at Arrowtown  with Colin. It is quite an interesting  narrow course. I cleaned the bathroom and the stove and kept up with the correspondence and read. A nice relaxing day.
Then we walked into Arrowtown for dinner with the Christies at the Fork and Tap. Slept much better for the walk home , but by early morning it was freezing! We had the electric blankets on again.

Days 12 and 13. Weekend in Wanaka

Cold and blustery morning ,  but I get a load of washing done while Duncan goes for a run then we have breakfast.  Duncan  goes to pick up Robin and Chris and because of a multisport event being held in Arrowtown we walk to the village.  Rob and I look at the shops while the guys go for a coffee. We have a great lunch at the Stables and then we dropped them at the airport for their flight to Brisbane.
After a small nap we head off for Wanaka.  Di was feeling a bit groggy with her diabetes, but soon came right and we watched her get the dinner ready. Brian (optometrist ) had had to work in Dunedin  before he drove up. A plate of nibbles , a few bottles of wine , roast veges and lamb back strap, an apricot tartin and a constant flow of conversation ensued until we hit the sack at about 11.
Duncan and I went for a little tiki tour around Wanaka while Brian and Di packed up the house. They intend to live there when they retire next year. Wanaka is certainly a very  modern town.
It is a short drive to Cromwell golf course. I did 9 holes while the others did 18. It was very hot and we were glad of the gusty wind. Had 16 stable ford points.
I sat in the shade and watch some of the young hopefuls practice for the qualifying rounds of the NZ Golf Open. By the time the others finished it was 31 degrees. We freshened up and headed off to Wooing Tree for a couple of platters and a bottle of rosé.
We head back to Arrowtown. .. I am desperate for a nap! It's great to catch up with friends and such a pleasure to relax with them.

Day 11Starting our Arrowtown Stay

Packed up and on our way by 9.30am and an easy run through to Twizel for morning tea. Then on through the MacKenzie Basin with its barren Dunn coloured Hills and bright turquoise water coloured by glacial  dust. We play Spotto sheep or cow but there are an awful lot of large white rocks and dense dark bushes on the majestic mountains to confuse us.
We head into the camping ground at Arrowtown to find a large concrete surround by our tap which really curtails an efficient layout of our site as we want to put up the gazebo.
We are just  about to head off to meet Robin and Chris when they text to say they are running late. Still we take off to suss out the Indian restaurant that we are going to at Frankton then head into Queenstown where we hope to go for a walk along the foreshore. But Queenstown is heaving with tourists and we couldn't get a park.
We drive to the new centre at Five Mile and have a walk around there. Then we go back to Frankton and have a drink in the pub before meeting Robin and Chris and their friends Mick and Marilyn. They have just finished the rail trail so much reminiscing and also catching up with family news.
Picture: Rowan berries in the camping ground.

Day 10. Heading for the stars

A slow start this morning as I have had terrible diarrhea overnight. However  we make a  cut lunch and by 11.30 we are off down the road to the Mount John walkway.  It was  1 hour slog uphill all the way but we are there for the 1pm  tour.
Our guide is a young French  astronomer. First the site was used by the Americans but they also  used  it for spying  and  eventually had to leave.  He showed us the old telescope 1936 , the mount which allows the telescope to track across the night sky so the stars don't blur is as important as the focal length and aperture.
Then we see the B and C telescope which clearly  demonstrates the tracking  system of the mount based on the celestial equator with delineation angles.
Lastly we see  the MOA telescope and apparently all we need to remember is that M is for multi and this takes 10 images and pieces them together. Neither of these last two machines have you looking through an eyepiece as it is all computerized.  Our French guide tells us that from the  Northern Hemisphere  the Milky Way is only visible low on the horizon and the Magellan Clouds of other galaxies are not visible at all. He says if you are in Paris  you are lucky to see 5 stars.
Lastly we look through the solar scope  and the sun is an orange orb with whiskers. . the solar flares. There is also a telescope on Mount Cook.
We eat our home packed lunch and start the trek down -this is more painful on our knees than going up! We are grateful for a swim in the hot pools despite the $43 price tag,  and I am also grateful that I have organised Duncan  to cook  tea!

Day 8. What happened to day 8?

There has been some concern that day 8 was missed but as there wasn't any photos  I thought I would miss it.
A bit of a rest day today , but the Robinsons are busy.  We visit the supermarket and restock the caravan  fridge.  After lunch Duncan heads off to help Dave with the portaloos and Porta shower for the wedding while Chris and Anne go to a girls lunch.
Dave and Duncan have  just  arrived  home  when there is another juddering earthquake. I just lazed around this afternoon  but Chris  comes back and swings into  action cooking another gourmet meal of roast beef and mushrooms followed by meringues from the French baker and apricot mousse.  Dave complements this with a French sauterne.

Day 9 Christchurch to Lake Tekapo

Dave and Chris are busy with their nephew's wedding so we are up early and away after some manoeuvring and a bit of bush cutting in the Robinson's driveway. We stop in Ashburton for a cuppa which I spill all over me as a bettle drops onto my arm from the light fitting above.
We take a nice straight road from Tindall and I get to drive for about 20km. The caravan does wobble and it takes me some time to adjust. I think  I turned about 2 corners in the whole 25km!
We had lunch in the caravan at Fairlie by the war memorial. It was quite cold. The bread was a bit mouldy but we manged to eat the best bits.
Then we went on to Lake Tekapo and set up...down to 15 mins in set up time. We took a walk along the lake to the hot pools and spas and are a little dismayed to find it costs $20 for seniors. We walk back and take the car to the village to get some info on the observatory , and get some fresh bread! Then we make the obligatory trip to the Church of the Good Shepherd and the dog statue. The sun is out and we settle back and  read  our  books, but by late afternoon it is starting to cool off.
While we are having dinner...anywhere between 6 and 8pm our block fills up with about 25 campervans, a dozen ducks and 4 rabbits - maybe more. Duncan wins scrabble with DUX  on the triple word score.

Day 7 Rocking and Rolling around Christchurch

At 3.30 am we are woken by a thunderous roar and sharp jagged  tremors.  A quake far different  from the rolling ones we get in Gisborne.  There is a period  of time when the whole house lies nervously awake ,  waiting. ....
Mid morning we head out with Dave  and Chris for our Christchurch  EARTHQUAKE  tour.  I guess  I  had  expected  that the roads might have been organised  by now... 5 years after the big quake but there are red cones all over the place and many detours.
Some new boxy buildings have appeared but generally the building progress seems chaotic.  We see the  CCTV  building memorial with the list of those killed including Paul Dunlop (optometrist ) and Trish Stevenson  (Anna's friend). We see the white chair memorial and then visit the  cardboard  Cathedral.  Ìt is simple and beautiful. In contrast the old Cathedral is dilapidated,  scarred and ugly. We saw the container shops and had lunch in one. We visited the cleared site where Dale's practice used to be. But our overall  impression is that the city is scarred and tragic.
A trip to Ballentine is oddly reassuring and we are able to get pods for Duncan's  coffee machine.
We drive out to Sumner where houses have basically fallen down the cliffs or had to be removed before they  did move. Then we wend our way through the Red Zone near Bexley. Friends have told Dave  and Chris  that their property sunk 1.78m and is below  sea-level but with banks stopping the influx of the water.
The trip home is frustrated by road closures and red cones. Anne has made dinner for us and  Dave  brings out a Chateau Lynch Bates Pauillac  which he has bought for $50 en  primeur.  When we Google  it , it's present day value is $594.07!! Very  delicious.  Liz arrives around with her fiance and the new engagement ring.  Andy has been the  Project Manager for the Margaret  Mahy playground  which we also saw today.
Hope you can sort out the pictures below as I can't get captions on them at present

Day 6 Staying with the Robinson s in Christchurch

Up and away by 9.30am without any drama. Quite a windy road from Kaikoura  but reasonably pleasant travelling with two large pods of dolphins in the bay.
Our first stop is in Cheviot for morning tea and since our "twin" Oxford caravan is there we give them a head start and spend some time in Emporium saying "Jackie would like this". It was interesting  to compare our two caravans as they had been both the same ... even the fabric. We have both replaced our TVs.
Next stop Waipara Hills  winery for a tasting and a few purchases. Then we parked down by a river and had our lunch.
I think  we took a very circuitous route to the Robinsons but later we found that our planned route had been blocked, so we didn't do too badly.
Anne is also here with her 4 month  old Charlie who is a little treasure.
Afternoon tea merges into drinks and nibbles and then we head off for the Lantern Festival to celebrate  the Chinese New Year. The Lanterns are silk covered frames depicting all sorts of objects and animals. There is a stage show ... but Chinese  people  don't  sing very well. We buy a range of Asian nibbles. ..wonton, dumplings , satay , spring rolls, and crispy chicken. We  wander around the stalls selling all sorts of Chinese  trinkets  and toys. There are fireworks to conclude the night , but we catch a glimpse of these before going to bed  at about 10.30pm.

Day 5. At Peketa

We got up early..... well 7.30am.. so that we can play a round of golf before it gets too hot. The Kaikoura  golf course is well manicured and looks deceptively simple. Duncan had 41 for 9 holes but I  struggled.  I tell him that I need more gossiping while I play to relax me.
After a snooze we prepare to go fishing. The beach is dark and desolate.  It is covered with pebbles, some pure white (probably  quartz) The first cast is held fast by rooks and we lose a hook and sinker.  We  catch quite a bit of sea lettuce but no fish.
An evening stroll around the camping ground shows us lots of Zephyr  caravans like we used to have, and a couple of 5th wheelers converted to permanent cabins.

Day4 Through to Kaikoura

...and after a sleepless night we remembered than the trains and trucksassed over a nearby overbridge. Not to mention a large plane at about 2am!

We were on the road before 10am....our packing up is getting faster. We travel through voneyards and parched golden hillss and stop at Kekerengu at the famous The Store for morning tea.

We pass through Kaikoura to Peketa where we set up camp.The beach is very pebbly and there is a fearsome undertow. We watch a strong young man be totally dumped by a wave in the shallows. The lady at the store told me it is very hard to get out of the water as thepebbles keep moving underfoot.

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An array of edible flowers attracts Duncans attention.k   

We drove back tWe drove back to Kaikoura and pick up some fruit, gas, diesel etc and have adrive around the foreshore. It is very humid, but we manage a game of CRAZY golf back at the camp.Duncan wins the minigilf 66 to 67! for 9 holes. Fortunately the camp store does hot chips so Duncan BBQs the steak while I do the greens and we have a lovely meal. Below are two pictures taken just outside Kaikoura....one to show the length of the caravan and car and the other shows the rocky foreshore and you can see how well the seals are camoflauged.

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Day 3. Over the ditch.

You are probably a little suprised to get Day 3 as this post, but I cannot download the photos for day one and 2 whichI took on my camera rather than on my phone. I am still learning so you will find the photos in the reverse order- unless I can figure this out before I post.

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Aboard the interislander

We begin the day in Martinborough. Duncan went out for a cycle first thing this morning, then we packed up in quite extreme heat. We had a break in Featherstone and I bought some of the truffle cheese we had been recommended at one of the wineries.

We were taking the windyand windy road over the Rimutakas, but managed it without too much stress and then its straight to the ferry on the motorway. We arrived quite early and popped into the carvan for lunch and watched the other ferry dock and disgorge its trucks followed by a bike gang looking menacing and loud. However as they drove off we saw their gang insignia..... Jesus Lives. Redeemed. so they cant be too intimidating.

The terns and seagulls huddle on the wharf as we wait. The ferry is late leaving and we go to see Dads Army on the Ferry Cinema.

As we enter the sounds the hills are khaki and we finally get off the boatat 1/4 to 7. We miss the turnpff to thePicton Camping ground and the NZMHCA overnight parking area is full so we move on to Blenheim. We have stayed at this camping ground before......

I seem to have lost my second picture! Better luck on day 4.

The Last Day Part 2

Duncan didn,t want a big fuss

s so I just took in some morning tea and bought coffee. Amanda had made some eyeball cupcakes.  There were

 no speeches, just a few kind words.

This is an ocean liner anchored in the harbour but it looks like it is floating above the grapevines!

Iam doing this with photos off my camera but if you look at the other last day blog I am now doing it with photos off my phone.