Bill & Nancy's Excellent Adventure

A day in Wellington

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 11, 2023 1 Comments

Today we slept in until 8:30! It felt so good! Gertrude came by bus at 11:45 (bringing our wash she did for us last night) and we headed on a walking tour of the oldest and government buildings around town on our way to Wellington Botanic Garden. We then walked through a very historic Bolton Street Cemetery graveyard. It was divided into sections, Church of England, Jewish and Public.

We had a lovely brunch at the Picnic Cafe with a view of the Lady Norwood Rose Garden which had 300 varieties of roses! After lunch we went into the Begonia House which tropical and temperate displays. Then started on the Downhill Walk guided by the symbol on the ground, we saw beautiful flowers, bushes and trees along the way to the Cable Car Entrance. Since the Cable Car takes you from the highest point to the street across from our hotel I think they could have named it Uphill Walk for the people going up to it and Downhill Walk for people coming out on top and walking down! But the fact is, it really wasn’t a difficult walk and the view at the top was stunning!

We got back to our room around 4 and relaxed until our favorite person here in NZ came to pick us up. We had a tour of Memorial Monuments. A lot of people don’t realize how the islands assisted in the 1st and 2nd World Wars. An interesting monument was 2 metal tree intertwining and if you look closely you will see a soldier in the middle of the branches. Tour still continued in the car with Gertrude pointing out areas and important buildings.

We had dinner at Beach Babylon across the street from the bay. What a perfect evening to eat outside. We got back in the car and drove to get our dessert at Dark Horse but before that went to see the New Zealand bucket sculpture and of course the ice cream was delicious.

From Lake Tekapo to Christchurch to Wellington. Goodbye South New Zealand, Hello North!

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 10, 2023 2 Comments

Alarm went off at 6 am. We were waiting on the front porch by reservations at 7:30 but the bus was at the hostel reservation location. Oops! The bus was filled already and looking for us Lightning drove up slowly, hopped off the bus, added our backpacks under the bus and one of the girls moved over so Bill and I could sit together. Onward to Christchurch from where we started the Kiwi Tour. Along the way we picked up 5 more people.

We were only going to be on the bus for 4 hours so halfway through we stopped in Geraldine were I got a chai tea and Bill and I shared a scone. From that point on no stops and just Lightning telling us about each town we are driving through. At 12 we are dropped off at Hotel Give. The bus drivers/tour guides were wonderful! Although we saw older tours, I’m glad we went with the younger crowd. It pushed us to do more things out of our comfort zone! Kiwi Experience and their staff will get a glowing review from us!

Once unloaded and bags in hand we decided to eat our chicken and vegetable stuffed leftover pitas from last night on the picnic table. Bill bought us some drinks from the cafe so we were set! We had 3 hours to kill before our plane to Wellington. Across the street from the hotel was a quilt expo. Curious I went over and checked it out. A wall of some pretty quilts but small. But the rest was just material and kits.

I went back across the street to see a bride and her father, and 2 bridesmaids waiting to be picked up for the wedding. Meanwhile another bus load of people were getting on the Kiwi Experience to start their journey.

Bill called Uber and 9 minutes later we were in the car and headed to the airport. We walked right in, got our boarding passes and waited for our plane to arrive. One door says 1-10 and the other says 11-20. You walk out in the tarmac and climb the stairs! 45 minutes later we landed in Wellington greeted by our host! Gertrude drove us to the hotel and gave us an hour to freshen up. She came back and took us to Lulu’s for dinner. We had a family style meal. Wood roasted edamame, sour dough bread, pork shank, coconut wild rice and a salad made of seaweed, bok choy, mung bean, spring onion and toasted sesame seeds. It was all delicious. After dinner we had ice cream for dessert. This time I had mango, Bill had chocolate, and Gertrude had a combo. We walked to the water and had our official picture at the Wellington sign – we put the “I” in Wellington! After a travel day of bus, Uber and airplane we are officially calling it a night!

From Queenstown to Lake Tekapo

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 9, 2023 0 Comments

This morning we started at 9 am leaving the bustling Queenstown behind with Lightning driving the bus. He recognized Bill immediately 🤣The kids on the bus said that they didn’t get back from the bar crawl until 2 am! Not one missed the bus but it was a VERY quiet bus. I talked to the Swedish girl sitting in front of us that said it wasn’t her thing to bar hop. I gave her a “good on you!” She has been traveling for over 6 months and has been to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and now New Zealand. She is leaving in 2 weeks and very happy to be going home. And we thought 4 weeks was long!

As usually we stopped at places along the way to take pictures but today we also stopped at Jone’s fruit stall with fresh fruit and vege’s per the sign. I got 5 apples and 4 peachterines (that’s what the sign said)! The peachterines were delicious!

Once again the mountains changed their vegetation and color. They are called the Southern Alps! I also have been noticing deer on farm land and found out they are red deer and also used for food along with the steers, lambs and sheep.

We stopped at Lindis viewing site and Lightning got out of the bus and asked if he could take our picture for us (instead of the selfie). We gladly handed him my phone.

We got to Lake Edge around 2. The weather was cloudy and windy. Lightning promised by 4 the weather would be excellent. Our place has a beautiful view and a nice little kitchen. After relaxing awhile, around 4, we decided to walk to The Church of The Good Shepherd dedicated in 1935. True to Lightning’s word the sun was out and it was a pleasant walk. We walked over a newly constructed bridge to get there.

Here’s another first for me. I paid $1 to use a bathroom. It was very interesting. When I swiped my credit card the door opened. I went in and had to press a button that closed the door and I heard “door closing, you have 10 minutes to finish”. Music starts playing. The entire soap, water and hand dryer are located all together in an alcove under the mirror. The soap comes down, you step over a little and the water comes down, step over again and the dryer starts. Until you do this the toilet does not flush! You then press the button and the music stops playing and the door opens.

We went to 4 Square Market thinking I would make grilled cheese and get some butter and soup. But plans changed quickly. We bought a stick of garlic butter, carrot, green pepper,onion, zucchini, mushrooms and a cooked chicken. Made a stir fry that we put in pitas. We had enough to make 4 more for lunch tomorrow!

Another early start tomorrow . On the bus by 7:45. It’s our final bus ride with the Kiwi Experience which will end in Christchurch. Will get an Uber to the airport and fly to Wellington.

From Franz Josef To Queenstown

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 8, 2023 1 Comments

A 6 o’clock alarm and by 8:15 our luggage and we were on the bus this very rainy morning! If you think riding the bus is scary normally with all the twists and turns, add rain! Lots of stops and at each one it stopped raining while we went to the overlook or beach. It was amazing. Hamish took 2 more group photos. Around 10 we stopped for an hour and went to a cafe for chai tea and a long coffee with a scone and lemon curd muffin.

Back on the road we travelled passed many aqua colored lakes surrounded by majestic but different type of mountains. Around 1:30 we had a picnic lunch at Wanaka Park. I had made sandwiches and we brought the chips, chocolate milk and cookies we bought on Tuesday. We traveled passed many lakes and stopped at a waterfall. A very interesting experience is riding over one lane bridges – 23 of them today. I can’t imagine something like that working in the US! Everyone is in too much of a hurry.

We arrived in Queenstown at 4:30 and Hamish drove us around showing us places to go to eat and things to do for our only night here. Sadly we said goodbye to Hamish – he truly went above and beyond. Tomorrow we will have Lightning our first driver back.

After getting to our room we relaxed while picking a place to eat – Saigon Kingdom Vietnamese Restaurant won. It was nice to walk down to the wharf to get to the restaurant. After dinner we went to Patagonia Ice Creamery. Double chocolate for Bill and Hokey Pokey for me! A rainy day turned sunny!

A whole day in Franz Josef

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 7, 2023 2 Comments

After breakfast we walked to our first location to go for a boat ride on Lake Mapourika. Dale was our guide and there was only 4 of us on the boat including Dale. He told us about the wildlife, mostly birds which we saw quite a few of. The stunning views of the lake, mountains and glaciers, oh my! Pictures can’t do it justice. Dale made me a rose out of a flax leaf. He also showed us a picture of two trees taken 111 years ago and then the same trees that hardly changed size in all those years. Halfway through the ride he made us tea or hot chocolate. It was an unplanned private tour!

Getting back into town we went to the market and bought food for lunch and dinner.

At 2:45 we headed back to the second location. Again only another couple showed up and we rode to Westland Tai Poutini National Park. Chris, our next guide was as awesome as Dale. He took us off the beaten track and we saw things no one else did! I actually got a picture of a chamois but it’s far away and hard to see. Once again, halfway through the walk, we had cookies and coffee or tea. He took us to the river/rapids and also to Peter’s Pool. Our final stop was Defiance Hut. Another amazing tour and we think that we got a great view of Franz Joseph!

Back at the hotel, I made the first home cooked meal while on vacation. Can’t believe how excited we were about having curly noodles and meat sauce with Italian bread for dinner and an apple strudel for dessert.

Another wonderful day in the books!

From Westport to Franz Josef

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 6, 2023 2 Comments

An early 9:30 start after breakfast. Cape Foulwind Walkway (seriously) was our first stop and this time when Hamish said like Lightning did that it was a one way walk, we smartly decided to hang back with the bus and he drove to the end of the trail. Instead of over hill and dale until we finally saw the seals we walk up one hill and immediately saw them! Back on the bus we continued on, seeing the Tasman Sea along the coastal highway.

We stopped at a scenic overlook. It absolutely did not disappoint. Then on to Pancake Rocks. Formation 27 million years ago, Uplift 5 million years ago and Erosion the last 100,000 years.

One more overlook where Hamish took another group picture then another 45 minutes and we stopped for lunch. We brought toasted peanut butter sandwiches and ate on the Great Wall of Graymouth. Known for the gold rush in 1864, three million ounces of gold was procured from the mountains. From Graymouth we rode our final 2 hours to Franz Josef. Situated on the rugged West Coast, Franz Josef is a small township with many things to do, but is most famous as the home of the Franz Josef Glacier which is located approximately 5 km away from the main town. It was first explored by geologist Julius von Haast in 1865 and immediately named after the Austrian emperor.

Once in our room, we took a walk to locate the places we would have to be tomorrow morning and afternoon for our day of exploring. At 8pm it was time to join the others in the dining room for a taco dinner. A margarita was given as a starter and $6 shots of tequila were available. They were the smallest margaritas I’ve ever had. No tequila shots – thank you anyway! We left after dinner and so many of the young ones were already drunk! It’s another day of sightseeing in the books!

From Abel Tasman to Bazils Hostel & Surf School in Westport

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 5, 2023 1 Comments

The day started out rainy (the first one here for us!). We had to be out of our hostel at 10 but the Kiwi Bus didn’t leave until 11:30. We got to stow our bags under the bus and have tea sitting under the porch. Our bus driver Hamish was an awesome tour guide and driver. When we stopped at Rataroa for a picnic lunch (we had pepperoni slices and an apple) the rain had stopped. We took pictures of 100 year old eels and mountains they call the NZ Alps. Continuing on our way to Westport he stopped at a couple overlooks so we could take pictures. He also gathered us together for a group picture. Can you spot us among the young ones? Hamish was very excited to show us his TREERex! When we arrived at Basil’s quite a few signed up for surfing. Nope, not us! Pizza is being made in the pizza stove for dinner tonight. Another full travel day tomorrow!

A day of rest on a Saturday! Back on the bus tomorrow.

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 4, 2023 0 Comments

We started the morning enjoying the paradise around us having our tea and toast outside. Bill decided he would venture into the water but once again decided on sitting on the beach with me and listen to the gentle waves and watch far braver (mostly children) in the water. We spent a couple hours there soaking in the sun and reading our Kindles. We strolled up to the restaurant for lunch. The numbers are given out randomly. So, number 233 was given out after number 1. It’s just used to find the table. We both had burgers with chips (we call them fries) for lunch. After lunch I gathered our wash and one of the cleaning people here helped me figure out the washer and dryer. I sat outside in the shade and enjoyed working on a little project I brought along. About 2 hours later everything was folded and back in the room.

A walk on the beach was our work out for today. Lots of shells that we just look at because they can’t come home with us!

Around 7:30 we decided to go to dinner. The breeze was strong outside so I went back to get our fleeces. Still chilly we decided to dine inside and a very nice man from Austria asked us to join him. His wife came a little later and turns out she was an au pair in New Jersey down the shore but couldn’t remember the name of the town because it was 30 years ago! Then a 2 piece band started up. Very loud! So we headed back outside and the plastic wind blocker made it nice to sit on the deck again. A couple minutes later our food arrived. 2 hours later we said our goodbyes after some wonderful conversation!

A Three Hour Tour!

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 3, 2023 2 Comments

A nice relaxing morning. Followed in the afternoon of a three hour boat tour!

I know as soon as you read the title you are already humming the song! Last night we read a couple brochures and decided on a 3 hour tour on the Tasman Bay. The boat came right up to the beach where we boarded. We left from Kaiteriteri up to Totaranui and back down. Some of the people on board got off at a locations and hiked in the woods next to the bay for a couple hours others for a couple days and had their backpacks. Some didn’t make it back in time from their hikes and the boat went to another bay in search of them but couldn’t go up to the beach so the people had to wade out to the boat and got back on soak and wet.

We opted for the seating on the upper deck and met a couple from the North Island who were at a Sting concert last night (2nd row) and flew here this morning. They are planning a trip to the US – New York in August/September and want to go to a baseball game. They both were wearing NY Yankee hats and had no idea that it stood for the Yankees not just New York! He asked about the Mets but I convinced him otherwise! 🤣

We passed 46 points of reference. I will only share one with you. Split Apple Rock: Main rock type along the coast is granite approximately 135 million years old! The granite splits along natural fault lines, then breaks down to form golden quartz sand beaches characteristic of this coast.

The cloud formations and the shore line with the mountains in the distance never fail to amaze us!

Since we had been snacking on cheese and crackers most of the day when our boat came back to shore we decided on an early dinner then topped it off with a Hokey Pokey ice cream cones! Hokey Pokey is vanilla ice cream combined with honeycomb. True to Gertrude’s word when she told us New Zealand ice cream was like non other- they were delicious!

Traveling to Abel Tasman

Nancy Lee Carlson Mar 2, 2023 1 Comments

We got on the bus at 8:45 and then had a long wait for the whale watchers and dolphin swimmers. Finally on the road by 9:30 with a couple drop offs and pick ups. We arrived at Picton where the ferry is. Many got off to go North and many got on to go south. We stopped in Wilson to changed buses because the one we were on needed to be serviced. We made two stops along the way to enjoy the scenery. Then our last stop was at PackNPay and we bought some treats while some of the kids got into another van to go skydiving.

We arrived at Kaiteriteri and pulled into Kaiteriteri Lodge. Bill was so excited when he saw the beach he had to put on his bathing suit and put his feet in. After relaxing a bit we headed out to dinner at the Beached Whale. I had delicious pork ribs and Bill had mussels. Glad to be here!