We were blown away with the beauty we saw today.

We started down in Lyttelton harbour, sitting in a coffee shop with views down to the working docks. We saw a container ship, an ice breaker, a trawler,  a dredger and other smaller ships. Lots of activity loading containers and logs, and the dredging of thick mud up from the dock.

We set off to Governors Bay and saw a wildlife reserve. There were loads of small herons and oyster catchers.

We followed the road up and down round the mountain which is a huge volcano and stopped at Okains Bay. Here is the Maori and Colonial Museum. It is in a pleasant valley surrounded by grassy steep hillsides. The museum was really interesting and we spent a long time there. It was so hot 28c.

The road follows the circumference of the volcano about 120 miles as you twist up and down in and out of valleys….it has breathtaking views. We stopped in the lovely tourist spot by the sea at Akoara for a relaxing break, drinking tea in the shade looking out to sea.

The whole day was amazing, really loving NZ and the outstanding scenery xx

 

We got up feeling well and full of energy, I think we are finally over our plane journey, illnesses and slight jet lag.

With the car full of petrol we set off on highway 8 which a picturesque route around the lakes and to see snow capped Mount Cook.

Again the road inland was flat and easy to travel along. The lakes and scenery are amazing. We saw Lake Tekapo, Lake Fukald. We went through a town called On the return we passed Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemona,Lake Waitaki. Then the towns of Omarama, Kurow and Waimate. We went along a dirt track for a few miles to see the clay cliffs and we also saw limestone outcrops with Maori drawing on.

This is the wine we drank with our pizza takeaway tonight!

Hope you like the photos xxxx This is where the penguins come at dusk to Timaru.

We left Christchurch in 28*c and this heat continued South with us. The road was so easy! It is a very straight road along a never ending plain. The mountains in the distance are running parallel with the coast and the road and railway follow inland about 20 miles from coast. There were so many farms with mainly sheep and cattle although we saw some wheat and vegetables on fields. As we noticed before each field is bordered by high fir tree hedges.

We stopped half way at Ashburton. This is a very busy town with wide streets, plenty of parking and trees everywhere. We are getting good at finding coffee shops along the way!

We crossed 3 wide beautiful rivers and saw so many birds. At one was a huge sculpture of a salmon fish about 20 feet tall. Sorry Lily Grandad wouldn’t stop for a photo of it 😳

Well we are now at Timaru in the Comfort Hotel which is full of very noisy chinese tourists. (NB they arrived at 9pm were so noisy until 10 pm then complete quiet until 6.30am. They shouted and were noisy until 7.15 when they left on their coach!)

The beach here is sandy and safe for swimming. The Penguins come into the bay each night at dusk. We saw a dead penguin on the beach. Vince and I chilled out on a conveniently placed washed up tree trunk on the beach until we just got too hot.

In the evening we went out for a meal and had tasty NZ lamb and vegetables.

slept really well  xxx

Today is hot and blue skies, perfect for exploring inland mountains.

We took the Great Alpine Highway as far as Arthur’s Pass and it was so beautiful. As you travel inland the road takes you in a virtual straight line over miles of flat agricultural land. We saw many farms with sheep and cattle. The fields have huge fir tree hedges around them. It looks tidy and organised everywhere. We passed two small towns Waddington and Sheffield Anona!

As the hills started to rise steeply, we came across Castle Hills they are outcrops of limestone and very distinctive.

We followed a beautiful river and the railway line through Arthur’s Pass National Park.

On the way back we stopped at Lake Pearson and sat watching the ducks on the lake and admiring the views in the sunshine.

We had a perfect day xxx

We are now 1hours ahead of you its  7pm Wednesday here and  6am Wednesday with you!

 

Christchurch had an enormous earthquake in 2011 when 185 people died. The centre of the city is slowly being rebuilt. They lost many buildings including the cathedral and hotels. A thriving city is now just full of construction workers cranes and roads closed off, (Our sat nav doesn’t realise this!)

We went on the tram for a guided tour of the city, it was a hop on hop off to see the sites.

 

This is a mirrored street… each side the shops are identical shape and colour.

The cathedral seems too dangerous to repair, a decision has not been made about it and it is left supported and boards around.New artwork is being put up in cathedral Square.

We found Maori artwork outside the city hall and in the brand new art gallery. The art gallery building, until recently, was used by the civil defence to coordinate the rebuilding of the city. Shops were and still are being housed in shipping containers until they are rebuilt!

We enjoyed the city with its River Avon and  walkway running through. We want to return in a few years when the city is rebuilt and up and running.

We went to nearby South Brighton to find the Pacific Ocean. The waves were not so fierce as in San Francisco and there were surfers to watch there.There is a sand spit here and a long beach and pier.

behind the spit are fresh water lagoons and many water fowl.Late afternoon we went up Port Hills via the cable car in a gondola. The clouds were rolling up and down the mountain but we luckily managed to get good views. It is an extinct volcano and from te top 360 degree views over Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbour. Hope you like the photos 

 

Hi, our last day in a rainy SanFrancisco went quickly. We had lunch in a fish restaurant in fishermans wharf with a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the marina close by. We went down to the Baker Beach again and saw huge surf waves. The tide was right in and the sea was stormy. Vince got pictures of the bridge in the mist and full of atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I was ill with a tummy bug which came on suddenly, just my luck as we were about to fly. With tablets I survived and was just about OK by the time we boarded the plane.

We both got a bit of sleep overnight and arrived first in Auckland and then got on an internal flight to Christchurch 2 hours later.

We haven’t seen much of Christchurch yet as we are resting, we are in a motel and also have a kitchen with a hob, microwave sink and pots and cutlery.

It’s  weird that at 9pm it is still daylight. There are leaves on the trees and summer flowers. I need o check which way the water goes down the plug hole next ha ha!

Missing you all, please send me some pictures of the children and Alex were you in Bristol with your new Facebook picture?

Today we travelled back down the Redwood Highway 101as far as Ukiah. The River Lee  and the trees looked beautiful in the mist and sunshine.

We turned off towards the lake area on the Highway 20 We loved seeing all the birds on Upper Lake ,Lucerne (Switzerland in the USA )Clear lake, Lower Lake, and Middletown.

We stopped at a Bellas Bakery in Calistoga and ate a divine quiche and shared a mouthwatering blueberry cheese cake..heavenly tastes!

The last leg of the long journey took us down part of the Nappa Valley and then towards Sonoma.

The whole journey was easy with beautiful views of hillsides,valleys,rivers and lakes. We passed by vineyards and olive groves and orchards of walnuts.

Tomorrow is our last day in California and although we have had lots of different weather ……storms and sunshine, we are really pleased we’ve had the time and   space to enjoy the moment xxxx

Hi from a very wet soggy Janet and Vince! We still had an adventure today in spite of the atrocious weather.

We went back to our coffee shop in Eurika. While we were there  we noticed a tramp sat counting out the dimes he had and he appeared not to have enough for a coffee. Vince gave him a few dollars and he lined up in the queue. When he was out of earshot, the lady on the adjacent table told us not to pity him. It seems he regularly goes to the 2 coffee shops in town and does this hoping people will give him a bit of change. At home he has bags of very old coins which he sells when he is short of money! Well after that gesture of good will we returned to our car to find we had a soggy car park fine stuck onto the wet windscreen 😳 The car was parked well so we thought, but was the wrong way round on the street….$38 dollar fine…..

Next we went to Trinidad beach, I opened the car door and the wind nearly took it off its hinges! It was wild down there. The parking ticket flew out in the wind and was lost. “Oh well that’s that” thought Vince. Much to his disgust I found it lying on the beach, where it had been blown over the sand dunes.

We continued down the highway 101 to the lagoons and a spit along the coast line.

An hour later we gave up on the weather, although enjoying the waves and wildness of it.

We were stopped by park rangers, a large tree was down right across the road we had just travelled up. Weren’t we lucky! It was interesting to see how the police warned the oncoming traffic. They lit flares like fireworks along the side of the road at intervals to warn the drivers there was a situation ahead on the road. Part of the tree trunk was cut and dragged from the road so one side could move forward at a time until they removed enough of the trunk away on the other side. Yes it was a very tall tree.

We had clam chowder for our lunch wth fresh lemon mint juice, yummy!

 

 

This morning was a complete wash out, but we set out regardless to go to the next town of Eurika along the River Eel. Here we found a shopping mall to walk along inside where it was dry!

By midday and a coffee shop later in the old town, the rain eased a bit. We decided to travel North to the nearby coastal town of Trinidad. What a lovely surprise. The coastline was beautiful and there was a lighthouse.

We found there was a state park along the headland, Patrick’s Point and a scenic coastal road to travel along. 

As you can see from our photos the coast guards were practising manoeuvres with helicopters and so we had a free show. I think we were the only ones in the park!

There were prisoners working with the fire service to clear the debris and paths.

We walked along one trail, it was a bit muddy from all the rain but we got some exercise and enjoyed the views.

Today we walked the trail through Founders grove ancient forest in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We saw the giant Founders Tree and the fallen Dyerville Giant which fell in 1991. We saw trees you could walk inside and an actual room inside a living tree . You could see through some trees.

In the afternoon we travelled to ” California’s lost coast” ,to Shelter Cove and saw the huge waves again pounding the rocks near Cape Mendocino Lighthouse. The road zigzagged up and down the King Range Mountain….Pleased I wasn’t driving!!

Heavy rain tonight