Friday, February 13,
After a delicious dinner at the Boat Shed restaurant along the harbor in Nelson (we tried cockles for the
first time), we awoke early for a full day of sea kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park. We caught a 6:45
a.m. bus to the outfitters, hopped in a van which brought us to a dry beach where we climed into a water
taxi which was pulled by a tractor into the water. Once in the water, we sped up along the length of the park
to Bark's Bay. At least two or three different outfitters unloaded kayaks at the same time as we got our
instructions and assembled our group. Unlike our first kayak expereince in Marlborough Sounds, the Abel
Tasman operation is a busy affair with up to hundreds crowding the rocky waters. After some heavy
paddling past Pinnacle Island for close up view of fur seals, we made our way to Adele Island for some
lunch. From there, we hoisted a make-shift kayak sail, joined the four kayaks together (each person
grabbed the next person's kayak) and headed for shore.
Our Nelson lodging was the delightful Shortbread Cottage, with extremely friendly service and fresh
shortbread served daily at 6 p.m. (recipes provided)
Saturday, February 14 (Valentine's Day)
Another early morning as we excitedly boarded a bus for a much anticipated day at the 21st annual
Marlborough Wine Festival. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived to find expensive food, a poor
venue for wine tasting, and a bus that would not be leaving for another eight hours. It didn't help matters that
Tasya was beginning to feel the effects of some questionable Indian food from the night before. So, after
contacting the event coordinator directly, Robert managed to get our money back and we headed down
the road to do our own tasting. With the help of some kind motorists, we zipped down to the Matua Winery
for a sample of the region's whites and reds. A short but slow taxi ride into the town of Renwick and then
lunch at the local watering hole "The Cork and Keg," (Tasya napped while Robert captioned photos). We
wandered down the road to the Forrest Estate where a delicious tasting of seven varieties cost a
whopping $2 NZ. As we headed across the road to Framingham Winery for our last tasting of the day, we
managed to bring the Forrest Estate's friendly Airedale along with us. The Framingham's rose garden
offered a beautiful view until it was hidden by rain and fog. We called another taxi to get us back to the
Wine Festival just as it was winding down, and the remaining party goers were clamoring for the limited
portapotties. Robert was surprised to run into our very drunk Malborough Sounds kayak guide ("like
Tony") Blair. Dinner was simple Chinese take-out; Tasya nursed soup and plain rice, and because it
_was_ Valentine's Day, Robert presented her with a small box of chocolates.
Sunday, February 15
Boarded a bus to continue our journey through the Marlborough Region and a night in Blenheim, and for
the third time, ran into Stacey the Kenebunkport Kiwi heading further east to Kaikoura. Blenheim was less
inviting than anticipated with endless rain, Tasya feeling ill and everything closed. So we made time for a
trip to the movies and Tasya's favorite honeymoon/upset-tummy dinner of toast w/avocado.
Monday, February 16
We made our way by train to Kaikoura in search of sun and some whale watching. Instead, we got more
rain and nice lodgings at the Sunrise Cottage (whale watching was cancelled). We began what would be
the start of numerous SCRABBLE games.
Tuesday, February 17
Took the train to Christchurch and rode a taxi with a very stinky driver to our charming lodgings at the Old
Countryhouse hostel (checked in by a recent Macalester College graduate). The day finished with no rain
and a delicious meal at the Memphis Belle for smoked chicken, camembert and cranberry pizza - it's really
good, honest!
Wednesday, February 18 - Exploring Christchurch with sun!
Surprisingly, after we wandered to the town centre in search of car rental info, we ran into Stacey (again)
and grabbed some much anticipated banana pancakes. We toured the Christchurch Art Centre and the
fudge cottage factory (with samples!), strolled through the lush botanical gardens and Tasya enjoyed the
local history museum. We ended our day, soaking in more sun on the patio of Dux de Lux and their own
local brew.
Thursday, February 19, Tranz Alpine to the West
We boarded the Tranz Alpine for a much anticipated ride across the Southern Alps. We arrived in
Greymouth only to be greeted by more rain, which we found would be endless. We took a bus further up
the coast to Punakaiki, home of the Pancake Rocks and the Punakaiki Beach Hostel. We bought a
couple homemade muffins from the staff and settled into the lodge for an afternoon of more SCRABBLE
as we listened to the rain and wind pound the coast. It was our latest night yet, as we remained in the
lodge talking to an Israeli about his experiences of trekking in Nepal and not wanting to get drenched
making our way through the dark to the Seaside cottage.
Friday, February 20, Punakaiki
In between rain showers, we tramped a little around Punakaiki, then headed to the Pancake Rocks just at
high tide when the water was spouting through the blow holes in the rocks. Unfortunately, this was also the
time when the wind and rain was pounding the observation point, which made viewing a bit difficult and
getting drenched very easy. We sought refuge at the Wild Coast Cafe and dined on some hot pancakes
and Flat Whites as we tried to dry out, then back to our lodgings for more SCRABBLE.
Saturday, February 21, Franz Joseph
Thanks to a ride from Sierra from California, we got a ride down the coast to Franz Joseph and the
Glaciers. After checking into the Montrose Backpackers, we booked a heli-hike for the next day and went
in search of internet and SCRABBLE. We found about seven internet terminals housed on a big red bus,
but no SCRABBLE. Fortunately, Robert had made a sketch of the board during our freetime in Punakaiki,
so he was able to fashion a smaller version of the real thing complete with cardboard letters and paper
trays!
Sunday, February 22, Glacier!
Morning came and with it grey clouds, so the helicopter ride was cancelled. We opted for an afternoon of
hiking in the intermittent rain on the glacier. This was an amazing experience for both of us. The glacier
was so imposing, but after donning talons, climbing the slope was just a matter of pounding our feet into
the ice as we climbed the steps made by our guide and previous groups.
Monday, February 23,
Considering we didn't have a plan to get to our rental car waiting for us in Christchurch (the bus was full),
we managed to do okay. After about 18 minutes of hitchhiking in the rain, a nice English couple came to
our rescue and drove us all the way to a conveniently waiting shuttle (surprise) in Hokatika which speedily
carried us the rest of the way to Christchurch where we found our (large) car waiting in the car park at an
airport hotel (Ahh, to have a car again!). We gathered some provisions for the next few days and headed
past Christchurch to the charming French Settlement town of Akoroa and the Onuku Farm Hostel.
Surprised at first by the rustic charm (no electricity) of our clear roofed Stargazer Cottage, we warmed to
the opportunity to spend the night viewing the stars.
Tuesday, February 24
We tramped around the many acres of the Onuku Farm, scared a few sheep, and made our way into the
village of Akoroa. We purchased a bad croissant (surprising since we were in a French town), some very
cheap but excellent quality wool (for Tasya's knitting projects) and hit the road. We travelled through the flat
Canterbury Plains on our way to the mountainous region of Otago, stopping to view Mount Cook and Lake
Pukaki and then to our night's lodgings outside Omarama at Buscot Station (on the grounds of a 7000
acre sheep farm which supplies wool both to Smart Wool & Tasya's new fave, Icebreakers; our host Tony
was very nice -- which is good, since we were literally staying in his house).
See our pictures for this chapter of our trip here:
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