Taupo to Wellington via the East Coast

The road from Taupo to Napier was mountainous and more heavily forested than I expected, not that I knew much about the road to start with. The road was quite rugged in places and I missed a turn off to a lookout that I think would have provided some awesome views. There was nowhere to turn around, so there was nothing else to do but continue on.

Napier is a pretty little place set around the coastline. The houses are very quaint and have a Spanish influence following a weather event that almost wiped them off the map many years ago. I enjoyed soaking up the views as I had a late lunch at a little place on the beach.

Half an hour on from Napier is Hastings where I had a room booked for the night. Hastings is not on the coastline as Napier is and I was wishing I'd booked at Napier rather than Hastings, even though Hastings is a little bigger. 

The place I stayed was in easy walking distance to a supermarket and during a drive that evening I came across a Humanity Book Store. It was probably a good thing that it was closed otherwise I may have come home with an extra heavy suitcase.

It was a somewhat noisy night with a bunch of rowdy people staying in a few rooms nearby. They eventually quietened down around midnight, then were up bright and early at 6 am for a rather noisy pack and departure! 

I headed off around the same time (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em type of thinking), heading towards Wellington. It was a brisk 2 degrees with ice on the windscreen and a very heavy fog for the first part of the journey.

I saw some of those snow capped mountains that I always enjoy and an abundance of farm animals along the way, including some very curious chooks.

Again, parts of the road were mountainous, heavily forested with steep winding roads, particularly the last 60 km's of the drive. I would have loved to have taken some pics, however, there wasn't too many places you could pull over. I managed to get a couple but it seems there was some operator error with the camera and the pics weren't great.

Wellington seems to be an appealing city as I drove in and I enjoyed a little drive about while I found where I was meant to be. It was very windy that day so I was hoping that the wind would die down overnight before I had to get on the inter-islander ferry the next morning!

 I was staying by the waterfront and thought it would make a beautifully scenic walk, however, I didn't get too far due to a rather icy wind!

I spent a couple of hours at Te Papa Museum and thoroughly enjoyed some of their displays. They had a skeleton of a blue sperm whale on a colossal giant squid on display.  This thing was absolutely massive and the beak on it was flat out scary! There was information about the earthquakes in NZ, plus a room you could go into and experience the simulation of an earthquake.

I liked Wellington and it's another place I wouldn't mind coming back to. I also had the pleasure of catching up with a former work colleague for dinner that night. I hadn't seen her for around 4-5 years, so it was fantastic to catch up and hear what she'd been doing. Ironically she'd been at a conference at the Museum for the day, meaning we were in the same building for a couple of hours without realising.

After dinner it was off to bed ready for an early start to catch the ferry from the North Island to the South Island.

Part 2 of the crazy jam packed fun trip

After our slow drive through town and brief stop to admire the lake, albeit in stormy weather, we headed off to the first appointment of the trip. The meeting was at an accommodation place that was perfect and just what I was looking for. Even better, the manager was lovely and also very helpful.

I noticed during our meeting that the kitchen was large and well set out, with 4 separate work spaces and ovens.  I asked about the possibility of having a cooking class that could become dinner one night and whether there was anyone in town who ran classes. 

The manager thought for a moment and then said, Bruno!  I'm sure Bruno's wife would do that, before calling and confirming that yes indeed, Bruno's wife would be delighted to do a class and we should definitely go up and meet with them.

By this time I was thinking, great! An Italian cooking class, that should be fun. We were told the place was easy to find, just up on the main street on the left as you're heading out of town and it's called Sasanoki's.  

Well that didn't sound very Italian like, however, off we went to Sasanoki's and of course, there was nothing Italian about a Japanese restaurant! Needless to say, Bruno wasn't Italian either. However, Bruno is a great chef and the food is absolutely delicious. If you're ever in Wanaka, I recommend paying them a visit.

The Wanaka Agricultural and Pastoral Show was also on that weekend and is apparently a big draw card for the region running over the Friday/Saturday. Our line of thinking was to check out the show on Saturday evening, see some of the horse events and enjoy a wander. I had another couple of meetings in the morning and we wanted to do a little sightseeing so it made sense to do the A & P Show in the evening. You know, cram as much in as possible!

I realised that first night in Wanaka that the diary I'd offloaded at the airport had all the contact details for these next meetings.  Names, phone numbers, you name it... all in the diary in the boot of my car at Gold Coast Airport!  Right next to the little notepad thingy, so we were completely technology free.  I sincerely hoped no one had tried contacting me to change anything!

Our next meeting was over breakfast at a place called the Urban Grind. Thankfully the person I was meeting with turned up and again was lovely and ever so helpful.  Breakfast at the Urban Grind is great and their hot chocolate comes with a stick of Whitman's chocolate. Perfect for the chocoholic!  

By late morning, we had both scheduled meetings done and dusted so the time was ours for exploring. We decided to head towards Queenstown via Cromwell and return via the Crown Range and Cardrona.

There always seems to be wildflowers growing along the Cromwell road in places, particularly the beautiful Californian Poppies. We stopped to have a look at Lake Dunstan and of course, pick a couple of wildflowers. I had the grand idea of pressing a couple in my diary.

A little further along and we came to the Roaring Meg, the turbulent stream that drives the hydro electric power station and merges with the Kawarua River. 

We did bit of a drive through in Queenstown, however, Queenstown always seems to be busy and it can be difficult to find parking.  So we basically used it as the loop to head back onto the Crown range road, with a stop in a little place called Arrowtown.

Arrowtown is like taking a step back in time. It's a very touristy little town, however, it's quaint with it's older buildings. It was a gold mining area, so there are a few shops that sell gold in the main street and there's also an old fashioned sweet shop that sells locally made fudge.  

Arrowtown has the backdrop of the mountains and tree lined streets, so is quite picturesque. We stopped at a little pub in the main street for lunch and it was no hardship to enjoy the scenery while we relaxed.

With a spot of shopping and lunch done, we were back on our way. One of my favourite parts of the Crown Range drive is the hairpin bends located at the Arrowtown end of the range. They're like a zigzag with their tight bends and are impressive to look back on from the viewing point.  

It's quite a mountainous area and for me, was a little disconcerting to see a plane flying between the mountains towards Queenstown. You can just make out the plane in the centre of the second pic below.

If you look closely in this next photo, you can see the Queenstown airport runway in about the centre of the pic, just in front of the lake! This pic was taken from a lookout at the top of the Crown Range, where the views are incredible.

The Crown Range road is the highest road in NZ and it reaches an altitude of 1121 metres. During winter time it's often covered in snow and ice, so can be quite a treacherous drive. While the distance is shorter than going via Cromwell, the driving time is a little longer due to the range and it takes a little over an hour in good driving conditions.

We were probably three quarters of the way back to Wanaka when the fuel light came on in the car. I suddenly realised that we'd driven from Christchurch to Wanaka, checked out Wanaka, then driven to Queenstown and almost back again on one tank of fuel!! 

I knew the township of Cardrona was coming up, but couldn't recall whether there was a fuel station. My gut feeling was there wasn't but one can live in hope. We stopped and I went into the local pub (it was about the only thing open) to check on the fuel station status and as thought, there was none. 

The guy was somewhat amused and reassured me we were only about 20 kms out of Wanaka and it was a downhill drive most of the way. We managed to get back and I'm sure the car sniffed it's way into the first fuel station we saw.

That done, we decided to take a look at the Clutha River which you cross as you come into town. Again, the scenery is lovely and the river is fast flowing.

By this time it was getting late in the day, so we figured it was high time we went and checked out the show. I thought there was also a rodeo on at nearby Lake Hawea, however, this is where is pays to read all the info about events. We discovered the show ran from 8am - 5pm both days! So we turned up in time to see it closing. Talk about disappointment.

It was just on sunset when we were in Lake Hawea and I have to say that mother nature turned it on for us.  The sunset colours were stunning! My trusty little camera did not do justice to the sunset at all, however, you do get bit of an idea.

Our change of plans gave us the opportunity to sample more of the fine cuisine Wanaka has to offer. This time we tried the Spice Room. The place was packed, always a good sign and once again, the food was fantastic. 

We rounded off our evening with dessert and a drink at one of the local places overlooking the lake. There are a few restaurants and pubs opposite the lake front and the atmosphere is always great.  

We had a rather early start the next morning as our flight left mid-afternoon, meaning we had to check in by early afternoon. We left when it wasn't quite light and somehow, I managed to miss the turn off. I'm still not quite sure how I managed that, but I did and we had gone about half an hour out of our way before I realised that something wasn't right. So of course we had to back track and start over basically. 

Our trip back was fairly straight forward with only a couple of quick stops for photo's. I can't help myself! I have to soak up every moment of this beautiful country. Both these next pics were taken at Lake Pukaki, just before Tekapo.

Despite almost running out of fuel again, (something I never do yet did twice in one trip!) we made it to Christchurch just on time. We'd certainly made the most of our 63 hours in NZ, 36 of which were in Wanaka. Business, pleasure and sightseeing all rolled into one.

A crazy jam packed short but ever so much fun road trip

Hello dear reader! I was going to continue with the my adventures in the North Island, however, I've decided to share about a whirlwind trip I had with a dear friend of mine as bit of a 'pick me up'.

There have been some life challenges for me recently and I'm experiencing a deep sadness. As a result, I'm finding myself with an intense longing to run away to Wanaka.  Alas, I'm unable to go there at the moment, so instead I will share about this crazy funny trip I had with my friend.

A few years ago, I starting running women's retreats and I dearly wanted to host one in Wanaka, my favourite place in the whole wide world. (I may or may not have already mentioned that in a previous post or two!)

Because I'd fallen in love with Wanaka and I could see it becoming my go to place for time out, I wanted to share this little piece of paradise where I found peace and replenishment for my soul.  

I wanted to share it with other women who were needing a window of opportunity to have a break from their day to day life and do some self care. 

Wanaka is a place where you can relax, enjoy and do as much or as little as you want and lends itself well to people needing some wind down time. 

So I started making enquiries and exploring the possibilities for the retreat. My plans were coming along well and I decided it would be of benefit to have a quick trip over to meet with some of the people I was making arrangements with around accommodation, food, activities etc.  

I mentioned to my friend that I was going to do a quick trip over and asked would she like to join me. She initially said no, but then a week before my trip, she changed her mind and decided to come along. 

Well needless to say that set the scene for seeing how much we could jam pack into one weekend! 

We flew out of the Gold Coast to Christchurch. After we managed to make it through check in and security that is! We were just travelling with carry on luggage and unfortunately, mine was slightly overweight so it was a quick trip back to the car to ditch the little tablet sized computer, my diary and my book. 

Back in, had my bag re-weighed and I was good to go. We got to security and my friend had packed a large bottle of shampoo, plus some type of vitamin powder in a larger sized tub - opened of course. After a few cheeky words to security about how dodgy she looked, she was allowed through sans the shampoo (they took pity on here with the vitamin supplement because it had only just been opened) and we were on our way.

Our flight left late afternoon and arrived after 11 pm in Christchurch. Given I rarely eat before I fly (long story but not a fan of flying), I was hungry by the time we arrived and was very grateful there was an airport cafe about to close that I was able to get a delicious little chicken and camembert quiche. My friend on the other hand, doesn't have the no food while flying policy, so wasn't hungry and was basically too tired to eat.

By the time we arrived at our motel, it was almost midnight and the quiche went down with a fair bit of over tired giggle and chatter. Both of us were dog tired, but ended up chatting for at least another hour before we finally settled. Like a pair of teenage girls who hadn't seen each other for 2 days, rather than the women slightly older than teenagers that we were who had just spent the last 8-10 hours in each other's company.

We had an early-ish start to pick up a hire car the next morning at 8 am and had a 5 hour drive ahead of us to Wanaka. There was a bit of mucking around at the car hire company because for the first time ever, I went with a mob I didn't know and I hadn't read their fine print.  Meaning, they weren't located at the airport and they had a larger than expected deposit charge which meant I was now travelling on a much smaller budget than anticipated for the weekend!

Eventually we were on the road and it wasn't too long before the worms were biting, so we found a little cafe in Ashburton to have breakfast. I can't recall the name of the place now, but they did a delicious breakfast and had some of the grandest toilets I've seen in a little cafe.

Back in the car and a bit further down the road we turned off to head west to Wanaka.  There's a quaint little place called Geraldine where there were some of the biggest pigs I'd ever seen in a paddock. Meanwhile, my travelling companion had drifted off to sleep! Can you believe that? Sheesh!  

Never mind though, I managed to wake her when we rounded a bend and saw snow on the mountains. I can't say it was a lot of snow and I certainly wasn't expecting to see any given it was March, however, snow is snow and I still find it exciting.  So of course, we had to stop, get out of the car and take pics.

Back in the car again and I can't recall whether I managed to keep her awake with chatter until we got to Lake Tekapo, however, it was a place we had to stop because the views are simply worth it.

We spent a good half hour or so exploring, having a look through the little Church of the Good Shepherd and walking down towards the water front, taking pics of everything. Well that would have been me because I always seem to have my camera in hand!

As mentioned in a previous post, the view from the window above the altar is spectacular and inside the church itself is only 11 pews. Very quaint and also very beautiful.

The waters of the lake are crystal clear and the pics here don't do justice to the colour of the water.

Back on the road again and it wasn't long before my friend was nodding off and I was wanting to stop and show her the next lake. She indulged me with a reminder that we had to stop stopping if I wanted to make Wanaka in time for my first 3.30 pm appointment. Ha! No worries, of course we'll get there in time I said.

A little further along and another quick stop (or was it a slow down? I think it was a stop) to look at the Clay Cliffs on the Omarama Lindis Pass. 

Another reminder ensued that I really must stop stopping! I could see time was moving along and indeed, my friend was right. We still had a little way to go so any further stops needed to be just a slow down rather than a stop, otherwise we would be late.

I believe there may have been one or two more slow downs before we finally made it into Wanaka on time and with 10 minutes to spare before my first appointment! Of course, with 10 minutes to spare we had time for a quick lake pic before our meet and greet. 

Although we had arrived in cloudy breezy weather, as we drove into Wanaka my friend said she could see what my attraction to this little place was and that it was just me all over.  Of course, that gave me a smile and shiney eyes for a brief moment.

Well it seems this tale needs to be told in two parts, otherwise this post will have chapters! 

Lake Taupo

The drive to Taupo became exciting when I caught my first glimpse of snow-capped mountains. That type of view never fails to get to me and put a silly smile on my face! Taupo is built around the lake and has a population of 32 907, much bigger than that of Wanaka with its 6471. Taupo is picturesque, very tourist-y, but still very nice.

After getting settled where I was staying the night, complete with a herbal tea and friendly chat with the receptionist, I went for a drive to Huka Falls. They are very impressive both in colour, size, the speed at which they flow and the sheer amount of water in them. Took lots of pics and even a few video clips!

The place I stayed had little individual spa type pools for each room that you fill with geo-thermal spring water. It comes out piping hot straight from the bore so you have to make sure you put cold water with it. It sure was nice to sit and relax in that for a little while! You can’t put any soapy stuff in there, just the water and I wasn’t sure how it would go when it was cool outside, but it was very nice and relaxing.  

I was grateful to get a better sleep that night. Perhaps the soak in the hot tub and the hot chocolate I had before bed helped! I was still wishing I’d done the Redwood Forest walk the afternoon before and it turned out to be the big regret of the trip. Ah well, I only had myself to blame for that one! 

I was feeling a little blah that morning so decided to treat myself to eggs bene for breakfast before going on a lake cruise to see the Maori carvings. I had enough time after breakfast before the lake cruise to go to the post office to post some cards home and to buy a new suitcase, similar size or slightly smaller than I have now. 

A heavy backpack and heavy suitcase while carrying a heavy jacket is a pain. I had an allowance with my flights for 2 suitcases, so figured I’d get something that would fit everything else in and then just check it all through.

The case was kinda cute and heavily discounted so I got lucky with that one. It also had a 10 year warranty, so is obviously (or is that hopefully?) a decent brand.  It proved to make things much easier for the remainder of this trip. 

I was thinking I’d packed too much, but I used pretty much everything I brought with me. This trip was in cooler weather to when I usually travel and I had to allow enough to get me by without being able to wash for 4-5 days at a time.

Anyways, back to the cruise. Lake Taupo is beautiful and the weather was gorgeous that particular morning, albeit a tad crisp out on the bow of the boat. Needless to say, I didn’t stay out there too long! I love being out on the water and normally I would be out there for most of the time, however, the wind and the weather was just a little too brisk even for me so I came back inside and had a cup of tea and bikkies instead. The hostie kept coming by to check on me and chat, I think she was concerned I was travelling alone and even asked was I ok at one stage.

We had the company of a few cheeky ducks for some of the cruise who like to join the boat for any bread that may be lurking on board. 

The Maori carvings can only be reached by boat or kayak and were completed in 1980 by 4 artists over a period of 4 years. They are spectacular pieces of artwork and each has it's own story and meaning.  Very interesting and being a beautiful clear day meant plenty of photo's were taken while enjoying the sights from different angles.

The lake itself was so clear it looked like you could see the bottom in places. The skipper asked whether anyone had gone on a cruise further north and gone through the hole in the rock. He said he couldn’t offer the same thing here, but there were two rocks close together (near the carvings) and he could go through the rocks, which was kind of similar and rather amusing. 

The cruise took two hours and covered just a tiny portion of the lake which is absolutely massive and is the largest in NZ. If you have the time and the opportunity, it makes for a nice morning out on the water.