Just back from South Island - Trip Report
 

This trip was taken from April 15 – May 8, 2005 (inclusive of travel time). All prices are given in NZ dollars unless indicated otherwise.

About us:

We’re a fairly well traveled couple in our forties. We’re American, but currently live in Indonesia.

This was our sixth trip to New Zealand, and true to form, we spent all of our time on the South Island.

We flew from Pekanbaru, Indonesia to Singapore via Garuda Airlines. We collected our boarding passes for our Singapore Airlines flight to Christchurch and had our luggage transferred via the Transit Desk in Terminal 2 of Singapore Changi Airport. We then hung out in the Star Alliance Lounge for four hours awaiting our flight.

The 9 hour and 35 minute flight to Christchurch was bumpy but otherwise fine. We both managed to get about four hours of sleep - the flight was completely full.

We arrived in CHC at 10:45 am the following morning, but unfortunately, our luggage did not. This is the second time in four months that we’ve had a luggage mishap at the Transit Desk in Singapore. We must be cursed.

We reported our missing bags to the lost luggage desk in Christchurch and were given amenity kits and $100 each to purchase essentials. We then picked up our rental car and headed to Oamaru, which took us about four hours with stops.

The drive from Christchurch to Oamaru is not particularly scenic. However, it was a pretty day and the changing leaves made the drive a wee bit more interesting.

Can’t visit Oamaru without seeing the blue penguins, so that’s what we did. Admission to the penguin colony/viewing area was $15 each and we saw 26 penguins. The viewing was interesting, as were the historic building in Oamaru. After a quick dinner, we were settled in our motel where we caught up on some much needed sleep – 12 hours worth. Bella Vista Motel - $105 – clean and comfortable, but small.

The following day we headed to Invercargill via Dunedin and SH 1. School holidays were underway and there was more traffic than we’d seen in previous visits. We stopped at the Moeraki Boulders, paid our $2 admission and walked to the beach. An interesting sight. In Dunedin we stopped at the airport and swapped our Mazda 6 for a much quieter Commodore Acclaim - $5 more a day, but what the heck. After spending a little time in Dunedin we were back on SH 1, stopping to take photos of the only shoe fence we saw during the whole trip. We took a break in Balcutha, then continued on, arriving in Invercargill some three hours after leaving Dunedin. We’d booked another Bella Vista Motel - $105 - and it was an exact replica of our room in Oamaru. Imagine that. Best of all, our luggage was there waiting for us compliments of the competent and friendly employees at the Christchurch Airport. Great service.

We were in the mood for Indian food, so we headed to the Bombay Palace on the recommendation of the owner of the motel. It was pretty good, but seemed a wee bit expensive.

The next day we left Invercargill and headed to Bluff, where we’d booked the 12:30 pm ferry to Stewart Island for the start of our vacation (Oamaru and Invercargill were just a means of getting there). The drive to Bluff took about 40 minutes. We were only allowed two carry on bags each, so we left our suitcases in the trunk of our rental car and parked in the ferry’s secure parking lot for $5 a day. The ferry was $90 each return and took about an hour. I’m prone to seasickness, so I was concerned about the water conditions, but I was assured that today’s crossing would be smooth. It was and the crew pointed out areas of interest along the way.

We were met at the ferry terminal by the owner of the Bay Motel, who drove us up the hill to the motel, our home for the next three nights. We’d booked the Honeymoon Suite - $150 per night. Our room was comfy and well equipped and we had nice views of Halfmoon Bay from the balcony.

After getting settled in our room and a drink at the South Seas Hotel pub, we went to the DOC and picked up some walking maps. We took the Fushsia walk to Golden Bay, then on to Deep Bay and back to Halfmoon Bay, which took about 1:30. We gave this walk a 2 boot rating.

1 boot – flat, level, easy
2 boots – steps, undulating, elevation gain, slightly rocky, moderate
3 boots – lots of rocks, rugged terrain or rough trail, steep incline, difficult
4 boots – strictly for gluttons for punishment

Note: This rating system is completely subjective.

That evening we attempted to have dinner at Church Hill Café, which we’d been told was the best restaurant on the island. They were fully booked, so we made reservations for the following night and settled for a so-so dinner at The South Seas Hotel.

To be continued…

Despite the ominous looking clouds and a forecast for rain, we called Kaitan Taxi and booked a water taxi to Port William. The 30 minute boat ride was $40 each and left from Golden Bay. From Port William we walked the Rakiura Track to Lee’s Bay, which is the official start of the track. We then continued walking to Halfmoon Bay. The entire trip was 12 km, the last four of which were on the road. It was a nice walk, a 2 booter with some steep steps and hills. The walk took us four hours, and it turned out to be a beautiful day, as the skies cleared. There were some sandflies on the beaches and they were particularly thick around the Ship to Shore store in the village. We saw and heard a lot of tui, which are fascinating birds that make some incredible sounds.

After drinks and bird watching on our balcony we walked to the Church Hill Restaurant, which is indeed on top of a hill, and had a disappointing meal.

Then it was back to our motel for a long soak in the spa tub.

The next day we woke to howling winds and light rain. Stewart Island gets 275 days of rain a year, so we weren’t all that surprised and were glad we’d had good walking weather the previous day. We decided to brave the weather and booked a water taxi to Ulva Island. Some taxis weren’t operating due to rough seas, but Kaitan Taxi was, so once again we took off with Captain Peter Cox. The ride to Ulva was $20 each return and was definitely rough, but mercifully short. We spent three hours exploring Ulva Island and walking the 5 km of tracks. It was windy and wet, and we had a short, but violent downpour that sent us running for the shelter. We really enjoyed Ulva though, and we saw many weka and a wide assortment of other birds.

Peter collected us three hours later and took us back to Stewart Island where we warmed up with soup at the Empress Café on the waterfront.

Dinner that night was at the South Seas Hotel again, and it was better than our first meal there.

We had torrential rain during the night and woke to a sunny cold day. We were booked on the 11 am ferry back to Bluff, but it was running late due to a large amount of cargo that had to be unloaded.

The return ferry ride was rough and I was glad I’d remembered to take my Dramamine before boarding. I noticed that barf bags were provided in front of every seat, and I’d read somewhere that crossing the Foveaux Strait can often be rough. It was.

It was also cold in Bluff with a bitter wind. We collected our rental car, had a quick lunch in Invercargill, then headed towards Queenstown via SH 6. The weather improved as we approached Queenstown – the drive took just over two hours.

We’d booked a room at the Bella Vista Motel, which is located in a quiet area near the Skyline Gondola. Similar room to those we had in Oamaru and Invercargill, but a tiny bit bigger - $125 per night.

We walked to town and had a drink at Morrison’s Irish Pub. We’d noticed that NZ pubs had gone non-smoking since our last visit, so we chatted up the bartender and got the details. Apparently NZ went completely non-smoking on December 10, 2004. Good news for us non-smokers, but the bartender said that business had declined in the pub and the casino upstairs.

That evening we had a much anticipated dinner at Little India, our favorite NZ restaurant. We were not disappointed – the food was excellent.

Queenstown was much more crowded than we’d seen it in the past, no doubt due to school holidays. The roadwork on the highway into town has finally been completed, but there are several new hotels going up on the same road. Road repairs within town were creating serious havoc and walking through the village, let alone driving, was like running an obstacle course.

The following day we took SH 6 towards Cromwell. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day. Just past Arrowtown we stopped at Amisfield Winery. They had an excellent Pinot Noir, Ice Wine and Chardonnay. We left with three bottles. Our second stop was Wentworth Peregrine, where we tried eight types of wine and bought some of their Dry Riesling and Rose. We also stopped at a fruit stall where we found some gorgeous tomatoes.

An employee at the Amisfield Winery had suggested Ashraf’s Indian and Kashmiri Restaurant in Wanaka, so we stopped there for lunch. I had an excellent vegetarian thalli and Bill went for the chicken thalli. Both were very good.

Sated, we drove to Mt. Difficulty Winery where we tasted five of their wines and bought a nice Sauvignon Blanc. The views of the valley from the winery were gorgeous, especially with all the yellow leaves on the poplars. Our last stop was Olssen’s Winery, where we tasted four wines and left with a bottle of Gwertzminer.

Back in Queenstown it was Little India for dinner again, then off to the casino, where I won a random jackpot of $53. Every little bit helps.

To be continued…

Enjoying it! ((R))

Thanks Jed!

Our second full day in Queenstown we drove to Glenorchy (40 minutes), stopping at the DOC to purchase some walking maps and get some info on the condition of the tracks in the area. We were told the Rees Track was a mud bath, so we decided to walk a portion of the Dart Track. The drive to the start of the track took about 45 minutes and involved crossing some fords. Fortunately, there hadn’t been much rain, so the fords weren’t a problem and we didn’t feel too guilty about violating our rental car contract (again). The sandflies were really thick in the carpark, and along the coastal areas of the walk. Bill was eaten alive, but I somehow survived three weeks in NZ without a single bite. We wanted to walk about two hours of the track, then turn back, but we ran into quite a bit of mud about 90 minutes in, so decided to head back early.

We enjoyed this track – it was a mixed bag of flat areas, meadow, hills, rocky areas, exposed limbs and mud – another two booter.

Upon our return to the carpark we were approached by a backpacker from Israel looking for a ride back to Glenorchy. We were happy to oblige. She’d just finished walking five days on the Rees-Dart Track and had also walked the Milford Track and a few others. Oh, to be young and energetic…

That evening we had another excellent meal at Little India, then returned to our room and listened to the wind howl all night.

We were surprised to see snow on the mountains surrounding Queenstown when we woke the following morning.

We left Queenstown and headed towards Wanaka via SH6. There was snow on the ground in Frankton and the grapevines were covered in frost. It was a gorgeous autumn morning and the drive was really pretty – the poplars were yellow, the vineyards and orchards were green, yellow and red, and it was a sight to behold.

Special thanks to Kodi for telling us about the Blue Pools. Don’t know how we’ve missed them in the past, but the stop and short hike were definitely worthwhile. It was really cold and our hats and gloves felt pretty good as we walked to the pools. The sun was out, but it was spitting snow. Crazy NZ weather. We also stopped at Thunder Creek Falls and took the short walk to the falls and back.

As we approached Fox Glacier it dawned on us that we were on the West Coast and it WASN’T raining! It was cold, but the sun was out and it was a brilliant day. There wasn’t a single ominous looking cloud in the sky! We were shocked.

We stopped in Fox Glacier for a late lunch at the Cook Saddle – fortunately, they serve lunch until 4 pm. It was okay, nothing special.

We continued on to Franz Josef and checked into, you guessed it, the Bella Vista Motel, our home for the next three nights. The drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef including stops, had taken us 7.5 hours. Our motel room was remarkably similar to the others, but a bit more expensive at $130. BTW – if you’re looking for a big room at the Bella Vista Motel in Franz Josef, room #18 is very spacious ($160).

The following day was Anzac Day. Due to recent changes in the NZ labor laws, businesses now charge a 15-20% surcharge on public holidays as they’re required to pay their employees more. This was the case in all restaurants and even the grocery store in Franz Josef, but our motel rate wasn’t affected. I’m not clear why it’s 15% at some places and 20% at others, but maybe a Kiwi can clarify this for me.

Anyway, I digress. It was another sunny, clear day, so the weather gods were definitely still with us. We picked up some sandwiches and headed to Okarito. Once there, we walked to the Okarito Trig Viewpoint (took about an hour round trip) and were rewarded with some spectacular views. We gave this walk 2.5 boots as it’s rocky and has some rather steep steps. We also walked a portion of the Three Mile Lagoon walk, which was hilly, but a nice wide path (1.5 boots). We also drove to the end of the road and walked along the beach and watched guys fishing in the sea – no sandflies here! We then took the Pakihi walk, which offered some nice views of the mountains and Okarito Lagoon.

We decided to take full advantage of the gorgeous day, by driving to the Franz Josef glacier, then walking to the terminal face. Apparently there have been some improvements since our last visit, as the path was much nicer than we remembered. The glacier looked entirely different.

We had drinks and a light dinner at the Alice May Cafe, which is right next door to the Bella Vista Motel - it was okay, nothing special.

The following day was gloomy and overcast. We drove to Fox Glacier and walked to the terminal face and back. This walk was more strenuous than the walk to Franz Josef – it was rocky and treacherous in spots. Afterwards, we found Glacier View Road and took the Chalet Lookout Walk, which turned out to be our favorite of the trip. It took us about 90 minutes return and was a steady uphill climb, rocky in spots with a few stream crossings, one of which was a bit tricky. We were rewarded with a great view from the lookout (2 boots). Directly across the parking lot from the Chalet Lookout trailhead is yet another a walk to a glacier overlook that offers an entirely different view of the glacier. It’s a steep uphill climb back to the carpark, but it only takes five minutes.

To be continued…

After our Fox Glacier walks we had lunch at the Cook Saddle. Maybe we were just hungry, but my toasted cheese and onion and Bill’s toasted cheese, ham and pineapple tasted really good. The best toasted sandwiches of the trip.

We knew we had a long drive day, so we left Franz Josef early the next morning, under overcast skies. We headed towards Greymouth via SH 6. This was a pretty drive with very squiggly roads, particularly around Mt. Hercules. We drove through one scenic reserve after another and were amused by the permanently bent trees. We arrived in Greymouth two hours after leaving Franz Josef. We stopped for gas and paid a whopping $97 to fill our almost empty tank - $1.35 per liter – yikes.

We then took SH 7 towards Reefton, picking up SH 6 to Murchison and Nelson. The sun came out and we were blessed with another beautiful day. At Kohatu we picked up the Motueka Valley Highway, which was an absolutely gorgeous drive, especially with the changing leaves. We passed a huge hops farm, trees laden with apples, an alpaca farm, a walnut grove and several vineyards.

Once in Motueka we stopped at a milk store for ice cream, a bad habit we develop on every trip to NZ. We continued on towards Golden Bay, via the squiggly roads on Takaka Hill. The drive from Franz Josef to Golden Bay had taken almost nine hours with stops (seven hours of actual drive time).

In Takaka we checked into our home for the next three nights, Ashlea Downs, a self-contained cottage on a beef & dairy farm - $120. We’ve stayed here before and it’s a personal favorite.
We got settled into the cottage and shared a bottle of wine from Central Otago on the deck as the sun set. We had dinner that evening at The Wholemeal Café in Takaka – they make a nice curry.

We woke to a beautiful day. We picked up some walking maps at the visitor’s center, explored town for a bit, then headed towards Collingwood. We drove to the start of the Heaphy Track, 33 km from the turnoff. The last 14 km was unsealed and a bit rough. We had to cross three fords (here we go again, violating the rental car contract) but fortunately there hadn’t been much rain, so they weren’t too bad. We walked the track for about 90 minutes from Brown’s Hut, then returned to the carpark via the Brown River Walk. We gave this small portion of the track 1.5 boots for the steady uphill incline. We saw many birds and heard A LOT of bees high in the trees.

After our walk, we drove to Cape Farewell, then took the road to Wharariki Beach and then walked to the beach – 20 minutes from the carpark. As we crested the hill to the beach we were hit with a fierce, cold wind. We walked to the water and saw 8-12 seal pups frolicking in the pools – they were jumping out of the water like dolphins and it was fun to watch. We saw one larger seal sunning himself on the rocks, seemingly oblivious to the activity around him.

Another curry dinner at the Wholemeal Café and we were back in the cottage in front of a nice warm fire.

The following day was just as pretty. We drove to Upper Takaka and took the 27 km drive to Cobb Valley. We went as far as the dam, where several walking tracks originate. We backtracked to Cobb Ridge and took the Asbestos Track to an old asbestos mine in Kahurangi National Park. This was an interesting & diverse walk along an old road with a gentle steady incline – a 1.5 boot for most of it. A small portion of the track was covered by a rockfall, and the detour over the road was more of a 2.5 booter. This section was very rough and fairly steep. We also had to walk up the stream a bit where an old bridge had collapsed. The walk took us 2:10 return.

We had a not very good lunch at Bites Café in Takaka, then an obligatory ice cream, before heading to Golden Bay’s most famous attraction, Te Waikoropupu (Pu Pu) Springs. We spent some time exploring the springs then returned to our cottage for more wine on the deck.

To be continued…

Lovely trip report, Melanie - I can hardly wait to read the rest!

Lee Ann

Thank you Lee Ann!

Our next destination was only a short drive away, so we decided to stay in Golden Bay long enough to take the Te Waikoropupu Springs Hydro Walk. We expected a short stroll, but were surprised when the boardwalk ended and the walk quickly became rough and steep. It eventually leveled off at the narrow water race with a steep drop off on one side and the diverted stream on the other. The walkway ended and a rough road led back downhill ending at the powerhouse – a 2 booter overall. The loop took us 90 minutes and was really interesting, especially for Bill, who appreciates engineering ingenuity.

After our walk, we headed back over Takaka Hill, stopping in Motueka to check our e-mail, have some lunch and pick up a few groceries. We then continued on to Mapua near Ruby Bay, where we’d booked Almyra Villa for the next three nights. The villa is a nicely furnished and well equipped home located in a Mapua neighborhood, walking distance from the village - $170 per night.

That evening we had dinner at the Mapua Smokehouse, a place we fell in love with after a visit in 2002. The Smokehouse has since been sold and is now under new ownership, and we were a bit disappointed in our meal there.

The following day we headed to the wineries. Our first stop was Waimea Estates, where we left with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and Dry Riesling. We then visited the Grape Escape, a great little place with wine from three vineyards; schnapps, liqueurs, sauces and olive oil from Prenzel’s Distillery and a gift shop. I really enjoyed this stop and we were there for quite awhile. The wines on offer were from Te Mania, Holmes and Richmond Plains Organic. We really liked the organic Chardonnay.

We headed into Nelson hoping to find some Indian food for lunch, but it was Sunday, so most restaurants were closed. We settled for kebabs at Akbabas Turkish Kebabs on Bridge Street.

We stopped at the Sunderland Marine Pier and watched the sailboats for awhile, then headed to Rabbit Island. We’d never been there, and a recent thread on Fodor’s had piqued my interest, so we went to check it out. It was busy – no doubt due to the beautiful weather on the last weekend of school holidays. There were some people in the water, which was pretty amazing considering how cold it was.

We then continued our self-guided winery tour, stopping at Stafford Lane Estate. Our tasting included three wines, bread, olive oil, olives, dukkah and chutney. The $3 per person tasting charge was absorbed with a wine purchase.

The 20 year old olive trees on the property were absolutely laden with olives. I’d never seen olives growing, and was amazed at how many each tree produced. The olives will be harvested in late May.

We’d collected more wine than we could drink in our remaining time in NZ, so we forced ourselves to avoid any more wineries.

Dinner that night was at Flax, another favorite of ours, located next door to the Mapua Smokehouse. Our meal was excellent! Tenderloin wrapped in bacon with potatoes and salad for Bill, marinated chicken breast in au jus over mashed potatoes with lemongrass and caramelized vegetables for me. Delicious! This was by far my favorite meal of the trip.

The following day we headed toward St. Arnaud via 60 & SH 6, picking up Korere Tophouse Road at Belgrove. This led us through a heavily logged area that was being replanted and through the Tophouse Scenic Reserve. We then took 63 to St. Arnaud and entered Nelson Lakes National Park. We stopped at Kerr Bay, where we walked the Lake Rotoiti Loop Track (1:30 return). This was a nice varied hike through lush forest. We saw lots of birds and various types of mushrooms, including some that were bright purple.

Back on the road again, we continued on 63 to Kawatiri, picking up SH 6 back to Nelson at Belgrove.

We reached Nelson just before 2 pm and made a mad dash to Little India before they stopped serving lunch. We had another good Indian meal, but this time it was a wee bit too spicy (even for us).

To be continued…

Hi Melnq8,
Reading with great interets and pleasure.

I see that Little India is one of your fav. And perhaps you can understand why I thought the Smokehouse was overrated.... :)

Chenoa -

Yep, I completely understand. I've recommended the Smokehouse to many people, but unfortunately, things change. So far, Little India has been consistently good - cross your fingers that it stays that way.

We left Mapua the following morning and headed towards Nelson and beyond via SH 6. We passed through Havelock, the Green Lipped Mussel Capitol of the World, where we picked up Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton. This is a very squiggly road, but it’s a gorgeous drive, with nice views of the Marlborough Sounds, several picnic areas and an assortment of B&B’s and arts/crafts studios.

We reached Picton in less than three hours. We were booked on the 1:30 pm Cougar Line water taxi ($60 each return) to our next destination and big splurge of the trip - The Bay of Many Coves in the Marlborough Sounds - $240 per night – low season.

Our first stop was the Budget car rental office near the ferry terminal. We asked if we could leave our car with them, thereby saving $20 a day in parking fees. They were happy to oblige and asked us to just drop off our keys when we were ready and they’d take it from there.

We checked in with the Cougar Line, leaving our carry on luggage, then popped into Sea Breezes Café, where we had a quick lunch. Then it was back to Budget to drop off the car keys and a walk back to the Cougar Line’s office where we waited to board our water taxi.

One of the ferries had hit a boat and killed a man the day before we arrived in the Sounds. The ferry involved in the accident had been impounded and was unable to sail.

The taxi was full (about 16 people) and the water was rough and choppy because the weather had turned on us. The taxi ride took 30 minutes – we were the second stop.

The Bay of Many Coves Resort manager met us at the pier and took us up to our unit. Our luggage was delivered a short time later via golf cart.

Our one bedroom apartment was very nice. King sized bed with mink blanket, plush bathrobes, in room safe, spacious bathroom with plenty of thick towels, nice amenities, luxurious seating area with LCD TV, music system, well equipped kitchen complete with mini fridge, cooktop and dishwasher.

The apartment was light and airy with windows and louvers throughout. There was a spacious balcony with table and chairs and a great view of the bay. We were in heaven.

It was cold, windy and raining by the time we arrived, so we hunkered down in our apartment for the afternoon.

We had dinner in the resort’s restaurant that evening – a starter of green lipped mussels and a main of beef tenderloin on mashed potatoes with mushroom pate and au jus for Bill and Thai red chicken curry with rice for me. Bill said this was his best meal of the trip. Mine was also good, but my meal at Flax was still my favorite.

The wind howled and rattled our apartment the whole night, but we woke to a calm day. It was overcast, but it was much warmer than the day before and there was no wind.

After a chat with Lisa, half of the resort’s management team (her husband Mark is the chef), we decided to attempt the Lookout Walk. Lisa warned us it was steep and slippery, but we foolishly decided to give it a try anyway.

Lisa was right – the "walk" was a killer. The first three boot trek of our trip. It took us almost an hour to reach the lookout. The trail was very steep, with slick roots and mud and it was overgrown in some areas. We saw two wild pigs, and lots of birds. Once at the top we were rewarded with gorgeous views of Picton and the surrounding bays so the walk was definitely worth the effort. It took another hour to walk down - my knees hurt just thinking about it.

We had lunch in the café, then walked 30 minutes of the Base Track, which was more difficult than advertised on the resort’s walking guide. My knees had had enough for the day, so we went back to our apartment and I had some wine on the patio while Bill took a soak in the hot tub.

We booked the Cougar Line taxi for a 9:30 pick up the next morning, then had dinner in the restaurant. Bill ordered the same main as the previous night, but he said it wasn’t nearly as good. Different cow I guess.

To be continued...

The following morning we were picked up by the water taxi and taken to Ship Cove, one of the starting points for the Queen Charlotte Track. Once there, we decided to let the other walkers on the boat get a head start, so we detoured to the waterfall, an easy walk that took about 30 minutes. We were accompanied by a friendly fantail, a bird that follows trampers because they stir up insects as they walk.

After checking out the Captain Cook Monument and with no other walkers in sight, we began the Queen Charlotte Track. The first 45 minutes of the walk were uphill, but we were rewarded with some awesome views once we reached the lookout. We continued on to Resolution Bay, which has a small shop offering coffee and muffins to walkers who want to take a break. It was closed, so we didn’t stop.

We both liked this walk; it was really diverse, with meadows, virgin forest and incredible views of Cook Strait and Resolution Bay from the ridgeline.

We’d made arrangements to meet the taxi at Furneaux Lodge at 3. The plan was to stop at Furneaux for lunch before catching the taxi back to The Bay of Many Coves. We thought we’d have plenty of time, but we were wrong. We knew we were in trouble when we saw a sign indicating Furneaux was 25 minutes away at the same time we heard our taxi heading towards the pier.

We made a mad dash to catch our taxi, arriving at Furneaux exactly at 3 o’clock. The taxi arrived early and left five minutes after we boarded. Guess we shouldn’t have taken the waterfall track! The 15 km walk took us 4 hours and 15 minutes including many stops to admire the view.

Our friendly boat captain pointed out areas of interest on the return journey. He also saw some dolphins and took us out to see them.

We’d missed lunch so we had a snack in the resort café. Then it was back to the apartment for a soak in the hot tub, some wine and a hot shower.

The next day it was time to leave the Bay of Many Coves. We were booked on the Cougar Line taxi at 11 am for our return to Picton. The taxi was running late, so we spent about an hour talking to the manager Lisa. She filled us in on life in the Sounds, the cost of property in the area, etc. By the time the taxi arrived it had warmed up considerably and we were blessed with another nice day.

As we boarded the boat we noticed that the water was thick with jellyfish. Lisa told us they’re harmless, but it was unusual to see them so late in the season.

Upon our return to Picton, we collected our keys from Budget and reclaimed our car, which they had thoughtfully washed. We headed towards Blenheim on SH 1, stopping for lunch, then continuing on to Kaikoura. Along the way we saw a huge seal sunning itself on the rocks right next to the highway.

Two scoops of ice cream and one wrong turn later, we were back on SH 1 headed to Hanmer Springs, our final stop. From SH 1 we picked up 70 and enjoyed yet another gorgeous drive. We reached Hanmer Springs just before 6 pm and checked into the Settlers Inn for the night - $145 for one bedroom unit.

We knew we wouldn’t have much time to spend in Hanmer Springs as we had to leave early the following day. The idea was to avoid spending a night in Christchurch, yet stay close enough to catch our flight the following day.

After a so-so dinner at the Hot Springs Hotel, we spent the evening packing our bags.

Our last day in wonderful NZ was cold, but clear and sunny. We left Hanmer Springs early and headed to Christchurch arriving just before 10 am.

After returning our rental car and checking in for our flight, and paying our $25 per person departure tax, we headed to the Air NZ lounge.

The return flight was as full as the flight we came in on and a wee bit longer at 10 hours and 25 minutes. The flight was bumpy, the food wasn’t very good and we thought we’d never land! Finally, we arrived in Singapore at 7:50 pm where we spent the night at the Airport Transit Hotel (S$129 for double room). Our Garuda flight to Pekanbaru left the following morning at 11:20 am.

The End!

<font color="red">Whew!</font> ((F)) ((F))

Whew is right Jed. I intended to write a short report, but obviously I'm incapable of doing so.

Anyone wanting even more details on the walks we took, the places we stayed, the places we ate, driving distances, what things cost, etc, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

PS - Just added up the gas receipts. We spent $350 (US dollars) on gas in three weeks. Yikes.