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Hey hey hey,
Ok so since my last blog, I've packed up my life and left Wanaka :(! Already missing it and it's not even been 2 weeks since I left. Even though I thought i appreciated the beauty of the place while i was living there, travelling around has made me appreciate it even more!
I headed off to Queenstown for a day before heading up to Auckland to meet Mum & Dad. We met up, wandered around Auckland and had a lovely meal by the marina and the next day we picked up our car and headed off! We drove down through Cambridge, and saw some rather strange corrugated iron scupltures (photos will follow) and on to Rotorua.
We stayed in a beautiful lodge called Koura Lodge on the edge of Lake Rotorua, far enough away from the city to not smell "the smell"!! We went to Wai-O-Tapu - see photo attached to blog - and saw the Lady Knox geyser do her thing and the spectacular Champagne pool!! All this during while the rain began to fall!
We then moved on via Taupo to Hawke's Bay and the rain continued! Napier itself was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 so is now famous for its art deco town centre, which made Mum v. happy!! Not to mention that Napier is the centre of Hawke's Bay, a major wine producing region so we thought it'd be rude not to indulge so we also went on a tour of the Church Road winery and sampled some of their wines before heading off to Craggy Range winery to compare! Millar Road where we were staying was a truely delightful little cottage in the midst of the vines with a beatuful view over the bay (yes the rain stopped long enough for us to see the view).
From Millar Road, we drove south through the Wairarapa to meet with Dad's friend James and his wife Rebecca at their jawdropping house just outside Masterton. The house was gorgeous as I had been advised it probably would be. A modern glass and concrete box is essentially what it is but gives no idea of how truely beautiful it is as a building and now homely they've managed to make the open plan interior! Oh and it has a swimming pool, tennis court and fully equipped gym, yes Rebecca is a typically energetic Kiwi! We had lunch with them before we all headed off to Wellington for dinner and the show that is WOW aka World of WearableArt! You have to look at the wesbite to understand!
We spent the next day in Wellington, not thinking there was much to do! Thankfully the sun decided to grace us with its presence and we walked around the Quay to Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand and a v. good one at that, so much so that despite the sun we spent around 4hrs enjoying the simulator rides and exhibitions. That night we had yet another lovely meal! It was a great way to say goodbye to the North Island!
On to the South Island! We flew from Wellington to Nelson, in a prop plane as it was only a 35 minute journey but the take off was sufficiently bumpy to upset an already anxious Mum, but we made it safe and sound and headed into Nelson. Our flat looked across the Tasman Bay to Abel Tasman National Park. Unfortunately, the rain decided to decend for the next couple of days. Us being us, we carried on regardless and went on a drive, as close as you can get to Abel Tasman to get a sense of what it'd be like on a sunny day...we just about managed that! Nelson treated us to some of our best meals and for me, some of the best wine of the trip...it being a mainly white wine region.
Then today we travelled down via Havelock and Picton to Kaikoura where we are staying in the most luxurious treehouse I could've imagined. Thankfully, the rain seems to be giving us a wee break and the wind and tsunami warning did not ruin our lovely drive and ensured the seals were lounging on the beach just north of here!
Anyway gotta run, dinner calls! You can tell food seems to be ruling my life at the moment!
Love you all
Jenny xx
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