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Sunday 18th February
Had to be up at 4.30 a.m. to be at the airport for 6.00, our flight was leaving for Christchurch at 8.10a.m. and left right on time, we put our watches forward 3 hours this time as New Zealand are currently GMT + 13. We had fantastic views of the Southern Alps and the Canterbury Plains as we flew over New Zealand and arrived to brilliant blue skies and sunshine. After checking in at the hotel we walked to Cathedral Square (the centre of the city) it was only about 300m away, and then followed the path down to the Avon River where we watched the punts going up and down. We called in at the information centre to see what Christchurch had to offer and picked up several leaflets one of which was advertising a balloon flight. The forecast was good for the next day so we rang to see if there were any places left, yes there was but we would need to reconfirm (weather conditions) the next morning before 4 a.m. and if they were flying we would be collected from our hotel at 4.40 a.m. (oh no would we ever get any sleep?).
Monday 19th February
The phone rings in our room at 3.50 a.m. - the night porter ringing to say that the balloon flight was on even though the conditions were cloudy, we both felt like #### as our body clocks were telling us it was only 1.50 a.m.. There were 21 of us for our balloon trip plus the pilot who came from Bristol, of the 21 though there were 4 children under 12 and several Chinese people who couldn't speak English, that created a few problems later with setting up the basket and envelope as everybody is needed to help. We drove to a town called Kirwee which was 36 km West of Christchurch and pulled up into a sports field to start the procedures, sun rise was due at 6.55. All able people were needed to drag the basket off the back of the trailer and then to unwrap the envelope. After a lot of effort we were given our safety instructions on how to enter the basket and how to brace ourselves for the landing, there was one Chinese girl who could interpret for the rest, the pilot put us in the same side as the Chinese as he needed an English voice to help with the proceedings. At last the instructions to climb aboard and off we went, first views were pretty cloudy and we just hoped we wouldn't be disappointed. It was decided to rise above the cloud level and WOW we could see the mountain ranges and the shadow of our balloon on the clouds with the sun then blazing above us. On landing an hour later we were told to brace as the pilot was expecting a very bumpy landing as one of his controls had broken, we landed very heavily, went up again and then landed even harder in the middle of a cow field! It took a good hour to pack all the equipment away again and we were all rewarded with champagne and taken back to our accommodations. Later on we took the local bus to Banks Peninsula where we took a gondola ride to the top, the views over Lyttleton Harbour were stunning and that is only the start of the views we will experience in New Zealand. We also rode on the old trams around Christchurch where you can get on and off at your leisure, unfortunately for us there were 2 cruise ships in today and everywhere was packed with tourists!! Later that evening we got talking to the young lad called James (from Dorset) who was running the bar, he had a young trainee girl from Japan following his every move. He decided to teach her how to make cocktails and we were the recipients, so we had free "Toblerone" for the next hour, this consisted of Kaluha, Crème de Cacau, Baileys, cream and honey, then decorated with chocolate sauce and dusted with cocoa powder, the verdict "very nice".
Tuesday 20th February
We decided to follow the Avon River as it meandered around Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens, it was just like walking around a village green with lovely old oak trees, horse chestnut trees and ducks sitting at the side of the river, the water was not very deep and crystal clear. Part of the walk was blocked off as the local council were having to cut down a very old pine tree that had been damaged. The scent from the rose garden was beautiful and the display of dahlias as good as any we had seen. Lastly we walked through Victoria Square which had the usual statue of Queen Victoria and also one of Captain Cook. Back to the hotel to sort out our forthcoming journey the next day.
Wednesday 21st February
Picked up the rental car and headed South for Dunedin, we had been previously briefed by Arthur on what areas we should stop at. So as advised our first stop was at Timaru, this is a small town on the coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Travelling on we then stopped at Oamaru, this is home to the Blue Penguin Colony but you can only see them at dusk as they return from feeding in the ocean. Instead we settled for lunch at the Harbour Restaurant and sat on the sun deck soaking in the sunshine and fresh air (the air is much fresher in New Zealand). Carrying on South we had another mark on our map saying you must stop here (written by Arthur) it was to look at the "Moeraki Boulders", these spherical boulders all sit in clusters on the beach front and many Maori stories are told about them. We checked in at our hotel just in time for "Happy Hour" and sat talking to fellow British tourists who were on a bus tour of N.Z. with the same company that we had booked our self driving tour with. The hotel puts on entertainment for bus tours and we were treated to seeing the piping in of the haggis, later we talked to the Scottish pipers who were originally from Paisley and had moved to Dunedin 18 years ago.
Thursday 22nd February
We drove to the Otago Peninsula which is home to the Royal Northern Albatross, yellow eyed penguins and a variety of seals. We felt that we were driving around Scotland as the views were pretty similar. The first stop was to the Aquarium, we had to drive off road for about 2 km up a very steep single track with very tight corners, when we arrived at 10.00 it was to find that they don't open until 12.00. Never mind the next plan was to go the Albatross colony, when we arrived, there were 2 coaches and numerous other vehicles in the parking area. All the land neighbouring this colony is privately owned so you could only view the albatross colony with an official guide, then we found out that all the tours were full for the next 2 days, but we were advised that we could wander down to Pilots beach at the bottom of the hill where you could sometimes see seals on the beach. On the walk down the hill we had seen several people peering into bushes which contained "baby penguins" and on the beach there was 2 large brown seals sunning themselves. In the water there were several other seals swimming around, so we did get to see some wildlife. We headed back into Dunedin and decided that we should try and book a scenic train trip to the Taieri Gorge, it was one of those days all the trips for today and tomorrow were fully booked. It seem that in this part of the world you have to pre plan everything as the coach touring companies book everything up!! Only option left for today was Cadbury Chocolate World, who have a factory in Dunedin. Just as well that Linda had not given up chocolate for Lent as we were giving loads of samples. By now the drizzle had set in and the temperature had really dropped, it looks like we might have to get ourselves a sweat shirt.
Friday 23rd February.
It is pouring with rain when we got up this morning, the forecast is for it to clear up later with a top temperature of 15 degrees ( we feel cold). Off to the shops to buy some warmer clothing, we knew that we would probably have to in the South Island of New Zealand. Once the rain had stopped we spent the day walking around the town, taking in the statue of Robert Burns (makes a change from Captain Cook).
Saturday 24th February
The sun was shining today, so we discarded the warm clothing we had bought the day before and went back to the shorts and tee shirts. We set off early on "The Southern Scenic Route" which runs from Dunedin to Te Anau, we are going as far as Invercargill today and will be driving through "The Catlins" an area that every New Zealander tells us that we must drive through for its stunning views and beauty. Most of the roads are sealed but naturally the ones to the beauty spots are just gravel and we had been told by the car hire company that we were not allowed on these roads. Our first stop was to be Nugget Point which boasts of spectacular coastal views, and is home to Elephant seals, sea lions and yellow eyed penguins. After negotiating an 8km drive along an unsealed road, we admired the views but unfortunately didn't see any of the wildlife, it was also quite bracing standing at the cliff tops of the S.E. coast. The next stop was to be the Matai Falls which would involve a 30 minute round trip walk through the forest, it was quite muddy and slippery underfoot but the waterfall was in full flow. We had decided that the Tautuku Estuary Boardwalk would be our next stop but we missed the sign for it so looked to the map for our next destination. Cathedral Caves would have been a good choice but can only be viewed when the tides are out, as we passed we saw that the opening times were between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., it was only 11.30, so back to the map. The next stop now looked like Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay where the Hector Dolphins come to "play" in the shallow waters of the bay. As luck would have it (for a change) the dolphins were in full view so Linda decided to have a paddle (up to her knees) the water was freezing cold but worth it as the dolphins came right up close as they swam in the surf. It was a good place to stop as we also saw one solitary penguin and one fur seal sunbathing on the beach. We were happy now and carried on to Invercargill with only a short stop at Fortrose where we had lunch overlooking Toetoes Bay. Our hotel was situated 5km away from the city centre (next to the racecourse) and was set in beautiful gardens, as the sun was shining and it was really warm we sat on our patio enjoying the rest of the day.
Sunday 25th February
Late breakfast this morning (after 9 a.m.) and we are heading to Bluff, the most southerly town on mainland New Zealand. A bit cloudier today so as a precaution we took our newly acquired jumpers with us and were we glad, at the top of Summit Hill in Bluff, the wind was brisk to say the least, but we had good views of Stewart Island. We also learnt that between 1842 and 1844, 1600 immigrants landed at Stewart Island from Glasgow (Ron says at least they were not convicts). Heading back to Invercargill Linda spotted a couple of penguins at the waters edge in Bluff Harbour, but there was no suitable spot to pull up in the car to get a better look. Not much open in Invercargill on a Sunday so we decided to walk around Queens Park and to our amazement there was about 15 Highland Pipe Bands performing in a competition, all we could see was bagpipes and kilts!! As the sun came out a bit later we spent a couple of hours walking around the gardens and listening to the bagpipes, which we did enjoy.
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