Days 3 and 4, Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

It was another beautiful mild day when we left Christchurch, we couldn't get over how lovely the weather had become. It was very easy to pick up the car and get out of the city. We arrived at Hanmer Springs by midday and were able to check into our accommodation early.
Hanmer Springs is just like a little alpine village, lovely tall pine trees and beautiful mountains surrounding it on all sides. So picturesque.
We headed off to the thermal pools after lunch, something enjoyable but a little over-rated, and definitely smelly. The full thermal one was very hot and very stinky, also not recommended to wear silver jewellry in it.
We found a beautiful park across the road from our motel and wandered along a stream, it reminded me of parks in England so much. The village had some great cafes to choose from for dinner, we found one selling Monteith's beer, John's favourite NZ drop!

Setting off on Wednesday early we chose the mountainous scenic route to Kaikoura, and couldn't help but marvel at the valleys, mountains, beautiful grazing lands and the wide river streams which were fairly empty but I'm sure don't stay that way. We even followed some cows that were being moved for a while. We got to Kaikoura early and started on the 3 hour headland walk. What a magnificent day it was and the views rivalled any we have seen elsewhere. Kaikoura is cliffs and coastline, and it is renowned for the sealife. We walked back along the beach/rocks and spent quite a bit of time up close to a colony of fur seals, careful not to get too close! The rest of the afternoon has been spent exploring this pretty spot and we are looking forward to a fresh seafood dinner tonight. It's still shorts and T-shirt weather.... I only have one pair of shorts!

The Traz Alpine Journey

It was a very early start, pick up at 7.15, but a great day and a fantastic journey. Luck was on our side and the day was mostly clear, but still only got to a max of 17deg ( at 7.30 it was a lot colder than that!)
Lining up to get our tickets John nearly got bowled over by some blonde Victorian policewoman, what a surprise, Caroline, who was only a few behind us in the queue. Dawn, Carolyn and Cliff and their friends were in a different carriage to us, but we saw a fair bit of them during the morning and had a short time with them when the journey ended in Greymouth and before we returned back to Christchurch.
But back to the journey, what magnificent scenery, only a few glimpses of snow but the wind in the outside viewing compartment was freezing, however it didn't stop John from spending most of the trip out there getting photos. The hills were spectacular, and the tunnels through the mountains amazing, as well as the gorgeous colour of the water. The return journey was even better in some aspects, as the sun was shining on the hills and it was lovely to take it all in again. The Canterbury plains are beautiful, although a lot drier than I expected.
We had dinner again in our favourite Irish pub, and won't have much trouble sleeping tonight!!

Christchurch

After a lovely short flight we landed in Christchurch early afternoon. A short taxi trip saw us settled into our very central accommodation for 3 nights, the new Novotel, right in the centre of town next to the Cathedral. A really great spot. We spent the afternoon getting our bearings and then headed next door to the Irish pub for dinner, with our favourite beverages, Guiness and Magners Pear Cider! Yum! The weather was overcast and cool, about 17 degrees.

Day 2 in Christchurch was a little clearer initially, so after a nice sleep in we decided to do the scenic tram trip and headed out to the Gondola by bus. It was a great view, although could have been a little clearer, but quite cool, about 13 degrees! Haven't felt temps like that for a while. John survived the gondola trip, he didn't really enjoy the return trip down the mountain but!

After arriving back in town we continued the tram journey and found the arts district, with it's lovely craft markets..... yes I visited the markets (didn't buy anything, but enjoyed the experience) and then wandered around the Botanic Gardens. We watched people punting on the Avon river and heard a pipe band in the Gardens and loved looking at the Dahlia's and trying to take photos of flowers and bees.

This really is a lovely city, very easy to wander around with some lovely historical buildings and gorgeous parks. It is very English, and has some lovely open areas. The sun finally gave up trying to come out and the clouds won over, and the temperature stayed cool but it hasn't rained. The hills around Christchurch are very dry, a bit reminiscent of home.

We have an early start tomorrow for the Trans Alpine Train trip, hope it fines up a bit.

The Itinerary

27th to 30th March in Christchurch, South Island
- doing the TransScenic Rail Trip on Monday 29th

30th March - 31st March - Pickup car and drive from Christchurch to Hamner Springs

31st March - 1st April - Drive from Hamner Springs to Kaikoura

1st April - 2nd April - Drive from Kaikoura to Picton

2nd April - 5th April - In the Picton area

5th April - 6th April - Drive from Picton to Nelson

6th April - 10th April - Nelson pickup for Abel Tasman National Park 5 day sea kayak and walking tour.

11th April - Drive from Nelson to Greymouth

12th April - Drive from Greymouth to Fox Glacier

13th April - Drive from Fox Glacier to Wanaka

14th April - Drive from Wanaka to Queenstown

15th April - Drive from Queenstown to Te Anau

15th April - 19th April in Te Anau, visiting Milford and Doubtful Sounds

19th April - Drive to Dunedin

20th April - Drive from Dunedin to Timaru

21st April - Drive from Timaru to Christchurch, staying near the airport

22nd April - leave Christchurch early morning for Australia.

Our New Zealand Trip - 27 March til 22 April 2010.

The Journey begins.... Saturday March 27th with a flight from Sydney leaving at 8.50am.