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Whanganui

by KC2RIY, on March 12th, 2011 (New Zealand)

We only got as far as Whanganui. The countryside was rather flat but we could just see the volcanoes of Tongariro off in the distance. Helen was not feeling particularly well so after a lunch stop in Whanganui we decided to stay here for a couple of nights. We found a riverside (well there’s a road between us and the river) motel with a comfortable room and booked in.

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In the afternoon we decided to walk into town and peruse the stores as we needed one or two things. We didn’t realize the whole town shut down at 4pm. Where it had been a bustle of shoppers, performers and everyone else earlier in the day it was now a ghost town. We found a book store that was open and perused a few titles to use up a bit of time. Heading back to our motel room we picked up some Thai food which turned out to be less than inspiring.

Although the plan is for a day of rest today I suspect we’ll be out and about at some point.

Category: New Zealand | One reader has left a comment, here is mine

Wellington

by KC2RIY, on March 11th, 2011 (New Zealand)

First of all – thanks to all who’ve sent their best wishes regarding the possibility of any effects of the terrible earthquake in Japan reaching us here in NZ. We’re ok and I understand that warnings for the region are now lifted. Having met a number of displaced families from the Christchurch Earthquake our hearts go out to all the people affected by this new one, 8,000 times stronger.

We left our accommodation around 8:30am and headed for the Te Papa museum to park our car. We knew it wouldn’t be open but we figured it might have reasonably priced parking for the day and it did. We left the car there and headed for the tram up to the botanic gardens.

Realizing the botanical gardens spread all the way down the hill we bought one way tickets to the top. We wanted to visit the observatory there but it too was not expected to be open until 10am so we walked the gardens for a while to make up the time.

We watched a good show in the planetarium and among other things learned how to use the southern cross and other stars to find polar south. As we’re in the southern hemisphere for the next few years this will remain handy.

After reviewing the rest of the astronomy museum which was very well put together we made our way down through the gardens. As autumn is now approaching the gardens were past their best but nice all the same.

After finding lunch we returned to the Te Papa museum and spent a couple of hours there. It was one of the most impressive museums we’ve seen with incredibly well put together sections covering geology, biology and the history of New Zealand.

Wanting to make some mileage north we left Wellington late afternoon taking a back route out for a change of scenery. It may not have been the best idea as it did take longer to get out of town and may have worsened the effect of traffic jams out of town that we ran into.

We spent some time calling around various motels, etc. and eventually found a room in a roadside motel in Otaki which had the bonus of free internet.

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We settled down for the evening. After having dinner we watched a bit of TV which was soon taken over by the breaking news of the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Although there were some early warnings raised for New Zealand we didn’t feel too threatened. Although we’re only 4km from the coast we have a bit of elevation and we’re not in any bay that may amplify any small waves that would reach this far. Nothing we can do about the boat so that is out of our hands.

I managed to upload recent photos so most are now on the blog.

Today we’ll head towards Whanganui and perhaps onto the area around Egmont National Park. At least that’s our plan.

Category: New Zealand | One reader has left a comment, here is mine

Ferry Day

by KC2RIY, on March 10th, 2011 (New Zealand)

We were our of our lodging by about 10am. We spent a little time in the small museum by the waterfront before driving to one of the viewpoints on the Queen Alexandra Drive where we read for a while enjoying the view. We then headed down to the ferry terminal and spent a while lining up before boarding the ferry.

With much better weather heading north than we had heading south we had a much better view of the sounds and the two coasts. One two occasions we saw dolphins in the water.

Upon arriving in Wellington we found a backpackers within walking distance of the town center. It’s a good price but a bit grubby. We won’t be staying long.

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In the evening we walked into the town center and ate at the food court in the same building as the movie theatres.

Today we plan to visit the Te Papa museum which we’ve heard is very good and visit the gardens. We intend to find somewhere out of town to stay tonight.

Category: New Zealand | Here is my comment

Last Hike in the South

by KC2RIY, on March 9th, 2011 (A Cappella, Inspiration Lady, New Zealand)

After our previously mentioned lie in we roused ourselved and drove into town to meet the A Cappellas and Inspiration Ladies. We chatted in a small cafe for an hour or so before Ed and Cornelia had to leave for the ferry. We wandered the high street with Jackie and Gary before finalizing our plans for the evening and parting ways.

Helen and I picked up a small lunch before driving a short way south of town to a walk which offered good views of the town from a hill overlooking the area.

From the look out we carried on getting down to the main road east of town. Once we’d made our way back to the car we headed back to our room to read for the afternoon.

At 6pm Gary and Jackie joined us on the balcony of our room. We’d agreed on an takeaway and made our choices from the menu we’d collected earlier. Gary and I went to collect the food leaving Helen and Jackie to sort out where to eat. When we returned we found they’d set up down below in the garden which was a great idea.

Another Canadian couple ended up joining us and we had a good time – it almost felt like times back on the boat.

We don’t have a great deal to do today before our 1:10pm ferry so there will be no rush to leave our room. We’re thinking of staying in the Wellington area tonight to give us a chance to see the city but this is still not set in stone.

Category: A Cappella, Inspiration Lady, New Zealand | Here is my comment

Waikawa

by KC2RIY, on March 8th, 2011 (Inspiration Lady, New Zealand)

Before leaving Blenheim we booked ourselves onto the 1:10pm Thursday ferry to Wellington. The drive from Blenheim to Picton was took a fraction of the time compared to most of our recent travels – mainly because a mere 26km separated the two towns. On the way we decided to look at the Backpacker accommodations in the area from our BBH guide. There were a few rated in the 90%+ range and we picked the Buccaneer Lodge to look at first. For $75 a night it offered us a large en suite room with a balcony overlooking the marina at Waikawa. We didn’t bother looking elsewhere.

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Better still we were able to check in there an then. Having done that we strolled down to the marina wondering if this was where Inspiration Lady was berthed. As it turned out, Gary and Jackie saw us as they were leaving in their car, called out to us, turned around and stopped to chat for a while. We caught up some, learned of their favourite fish and chip shop and agreed to go out for a curry Wednesday evening (even though we’re also meeting them for lunch). They were off to Blenheim so we parted company.

We decided we wanted to hike the nearby peninsular so returned to the lodge to pick up apples and water. We drove to a car park on the ridge and set off towards the end of the peninsular (called The Snout) via the Queen Charlotte Lookout. It was a fine hike with great views of the sounds. There was a lot of ups and downs which kept our hearts going but we were never out of breath. There and back the hike took nearly three hours so we retired back to our room to shower and read and have a facebook chat with one of the boys.

During the day we also booked dock space in Whangarei from Thursday 17th. That gives us almost a week to make our way back across the north island. We’ve no idea where to go yet.

Around 5pm we drove into Picton to pick up some fish and chips (we couldn’t resist) which we brought back to our lodge and ate on the balcony. There we met our temporary neighbour, Paul, and ended up chatting into the evening.

Today we are planning to meet the A Cappellas and Inspirations Ladies at 10:30am for a brunch. Ed and Cornelia are on today’s 1:10pm ferry, hence the time. We were going to walk into Picton but have opted for a lie in. It’s allowed.

Category: Inspiration Lady, New Zealand | Here is my comment
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