We planned to do a 4-day bike-ride along the Otago Central Rail Trail with our friends Rog and Wendy. But Tropical Cyclone Alfred disrupted that plan by hitting the Gold Coast and flooding our creek crossing and closing the airport. So we had to miss our flight and cancel the bike trip. Rog and Wendy live in Coffs Harbour and made it out through Sydney.
So we flew to Queenstown on the Thursday rather than the Monday and got settled in to an AirBnB.
Queenstown beach, looking down Lake Wakatipu
Plenty of Asian tourists
We walked to the top of Queenstown Hill which provided some awesome views.
Roaring Meg
Driving to Glenorchy along Lake Wakatipu
The Routeburn Track is three days long. We just did a couple of hours, but it was very beautiful.
Bridal veil falls
George looking for a hobbit
We left Queenstown and drove to Wanaka, across the stunning Haast Pass, and then up the West Coast.
Lake Wanaka
Lake Hawea, on the road to the Haast Pass
Lake Hawea
River on the West Coast
We provisioned in Hokitika and found a rather special AirBnB called The Nest at Hurunui Jacks.
Feeding eels
The West Coast is famous for rain. It arrived!
A flightless weka
A walk in the rain on Hokitika Beach. Lots of driftwood, some of it assembled into sculpture.
Driftwood dragon
Arthurs Pass
Arthurs Pass
We stayed in Christchurch with my old friend Doug, and his new wife Jenny, whom I hadn't previously met.
Jenny
We also met one of Doug's sons, Tim, and his two young sons, Victor and Alex, and Jenny's daughter, Ali.
Alex
The Botanic Gardens in Christchurch are lovely.
Punting on the River Avon
We flew to Wellington and threw a dinner party for eight friends from my time in Wellington (1976-81). A lovely catch-up.
Then we drove to Palmerston North, and had lunch with four friends from my time there (1974-76). Another lovely catch-up.
Next we drove up through the lower North Island to stay in a bach on Lake Taupo at Kinloch, which had been lent to us by some Wellington friends. Just beautiful.
George posing by toetoes, with contra-jour lighting
Bach at Kinloch
View from above. Our bach has a yellow tree in the yard.
We visited the Wairakei Hot Pools
George walking past a geyser
Hot pools of various temperatures
Huka Falls
Craters of the Moon geothermal area
Duck seen on the walk around Lake Rotopounamu
Next we drove from Kinloch up to Cooks Beach on the east coast of Coromandel.
Coromandel view
Eggsentric Café near Cooks Beach
Lonely Beach
Shakespeare Cliff
Coastline near Whitianga
Whitianga ferry
Soaking at Hot Water Beach. This is a thermal spring that bubbles out of the beach at low tide.
We went on a boat trip along the coast run by Mercury Bay Discoveries. Highly recommended.
Esther, one of the deckies on the boat
Cathedral Cove
Champagne Rock
Fish jumping for food
On to Auckland for one night before flying home.
Jamie Packer's superyacht with a range of Auckland classic boats
Green-lipped mussels
We left home in a cyclone on 13th March, with no power and floods over the causeway between our house and the city. We arrived home on 29th March, with much of Queensland under water, including our causeway, so we had to drive home the long way up and down the Springbrook Mountain!
