With Toni & John in New Zealand

Tuesday 5th March
Another early start - the airport bus collected us at 5:15am, and we were off for a new adventure in New Zealand. Toni and John Haddow met us at the airport in Christchurch. Many of you will remember Toni and John as they were our neighbours in Sheepscroft, Chippenham. Aunt Shiela fondly remembers sharing 'sex on the beach' with John after he introduced her to the delightful cocktail, while others may remember the BBQs that we shared together.

Toni and John took us back to their home in Prebbleton, near Christchurch where we were greeted by a very grown up Ryan and their dog Jen. Later in the day, a beautifully grown up Kathryn joined us, with her partner, for dinner. I know that Kathryn and Ryan won't thank us for it, but we still think of these young people as the 10 and 12 year olds who left for pastures new in 2004.We loved Toni and John's new home, (designed by John) and can certainly appreciate why they stay in New Zealand.

Wednesday 6th March
Our new adventure really began today. John chivvied us up while he packed the car and we headed out for the west coast of South Island. The beautiful drive took us over the majestic,  snow capped  Alpine mountains and down again towards Punakaiki, our first stop and Toni's favourite get-away.  The breath-taking  views along the coast road leading to Punakaiki  are  just one reason for the journey being considered 'One of the world's top 10 drives' by the Lonely Planet Guide (a comparable web-sight to 'Tripadvisor' that Ian consults regularly).
Outcrops of stratified limestone along the Punakaiki coast have created the distinctive Pancake Rocks at Dolomite point, with their spectacular blowholes and tunnels. The unusual formations were created by wind and waves eating into the softer layers of rock sandwiched between harder layers of stratified limestone.

Our accommodation at the resort overlooked the Tasman sea and we were treated to this spectacular view as we opened our eyes on a new day.

Thursday 7th March
There was a knock on our apartment door shortly after 9:00am. Toni and John had been, packed up and packed the car. Ian was in the shower but I had packed up. Within half an hour we were paid up, packed up and off to Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes along the coast in the Paparoa National Park. The blowholes, with jets of seawater propelled high into the air are very impressive but operate only under specific conditions; a strong south-westerly wind pushing up a big ocean swell from 2 hours before high tide. Unfortunately the conditions were not right for us. It was 3 hours after high tide with a wind that only just stirred the leaves. Oh well, can't win them all! The views and rock formations were spectacular enough anyway.

Once we had walked around the viewing points and taken many many photos, we went into the cafe for a breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup and crispy bacon. Delicious.
Once replete, we set off again, this time heading for Kaiteriteri , north of Nelson  in Tasman Bay. Here, Toni and John had hired a Batch with a nearly-private beach just 15 steps from the building, for two days (a Batch is a small beach house designed for short weekend breaks). It is a tiny slice of paradise and it is all ours for a few days.
Kaiteriteri boasts one of the most popular beaches in the South Island with its clear blue water and golden sands that are typical of the region. The sands derive from granite rock that runs from the hills to the coastline and their magnificent golden colour is attributed to that. The sea along the beach is shot through with tiny silver flecks and this is the mica that has been released from the granite as it was ground into sand over the centuries.

Once we had unpacked the car, we sat on the private beach with a drink and snacks to relax from the 4 hour drive before starting the incredibly difficult task of cooking a BBQ and making salads for our evening meal. We sat out and watched the stars appear in the night sky and counted the satellites as they moved silently across a bejewelled backdrop.

Later, when we all retired to bed, I couldn't resist drawing back the curtains in the bedroom. The large picture windows revealed a magical scene of tranquility as the quarter moon rose into the sky throwing a reflection of pure silver light that danced on the rippling water across the bay.

Friday 8th March
As you might expect the sunrise was spectacular and I didn't even have to get out of bed. Words cannot adequately describe the painted scene that I saw. I opened my eyes to find that the mountains across the bay were painted a black velvet with a broad, deep orange ribbon of sky to enhance them. The sea lapped gently and peacefully on the shore. As I watched, the orange ribbon paled, the sky lightened and the mountains slowly turned from black to a charcoal grey. The few small clouds were painted a deep iridescent orange shot through with molten gold. The sea morphed from inky black to pale blue and gradually the whispering sound of the waves against the golden beach was joined by the birds rejoicing the birth of a new day. Suddenly the rim of an orange orb appeared above the mountains, throwing a pale golden light across the sea to touch the beach below and within seconds the rim was a complete burnished golden disc. The pathway across the sea strengthened in intensity until its brilliant golden light was too much to stare at. The sun had started its journey across the sky; a new day had began.

Breakfast was crispy bacon butties done on the BBQ. As soon as we had cleared things away, we walked up the steep access road into Kaiteriteri. It had been our intention to do a guided kayak trip to split apple rocks and back but we discovered that we had left it too late. Not to be put off, we booked the kayaks for tomorrow and took a 'coffee 'n cruise' boat that meandered around the inlets and bays along the coast for a little over an hour. The afternoon was spent on our own nearly private beach swimming and exploring rock pools. It was here that John found the starfish with 11 legs and we had to see it before we believed him.

Starfish with 11 legs

I have twice referred to our nearly-private beach so let me tell you what I mean by that. Technically, it is a public beach and anyone who can get to it is entitled to use it. However, the beach is at the end of a private road so only those with access to the road have access to the beach unless they come by boat.

John was chief chef again and while he BBQed we watched a flock of birds behaving in a most peculiar manner. I don't know what the birds were but they closely resembled the South African franklin. We watched as they lined up at the edge of the shrubbery then, in small groups, they  dashed across the grass to the shrubbery on the opposite side. The funny thing was the way they dashed; they stretched their heads straight up as if to make themselves as tall as possible then ran as fast as their little legs would carry them, stopping abruptly as they reached their target.


Sunday 10th March
Our adventures today were in Akaroa, a charming harbour village with a distinctive French flavour. The local Maori tribe had already discovered the beauty of the location well before Captain Cook sighted Akaroa Harbour in the 1770s but it was in 1840 that the township was established by French settlers.
Ian, John and Ryan were up before the LBJs (little brown job or sparrow) could cough. Theirs was a sea fishing trip. Leaving Toni and I, the men set off at 7:00 am. They had an hour drive to Akaroa Harbour were they met up with other fishermen and the boat.
The ladies had a more leisurely start with croissants and coffee, but it was soon evident that the weather was not going to play ball today. I have to say that this is probably the only day that the weather has interfered with out plans.
Toni and I set off for Akaroa a little after 9:00 we were going to do a dolphin watching trip but as we drove over the mountains the clouds descended and the temperature dropped. Dolphin watching was out of the question so we went shopping instead. We were quite surprised to find that the men had fared no better. They had returned from their fishing trip early as the fish were not biting, although Ian did catch something even it it was a cold. Not to be beaten, we tucked into a lovely lunch before we took a walking tour of the harbour. We decided to cut short our day in Akaroa and head for home where Jen the family dog was waiting to be collected from the kennels. As friends do, we spent a lovely evening simply being together with a glass of something.