We flew from Cairns (Australia) to Queenstown (NZ) via Jetstar Air, on which you pay for all the food and liquids you want and for the entertainment package. They were on time, so no real complaints. We were picked up by my cousin Tom Perkins and his wife Carolin. Tom"s father moved to NZ in 1958 with his wife and 5 children. The story is that he was escaping the threat of nuclear war (movie: On the Beach, 1958), but his family thinks it was mainly for the adventure. Two of the cousins now live in Auckland as did Tom and Carolin before they moved to Wanaka (South Island) about 3 years ago where they have a beautiful house with amazing views.
View from our bedroom window at T&C's
Tom and Carolin on our hike
Our Wanaka hosts are serious outdoor enthusiasts, like so many Kiwis. Lots of hiking, biking, and skiing. Not to mention some serious wine drinking. T&C took us on two hikes, the first was 6 miles through sheep fields and then up a mountain where at the top we were looking at a smalll glacier with a rushing river beneath and about 8 waterfalls coming off the glacier, some of which you can see in the background of the T&C photo above. Strenuous - but we kept up. My thighs felt it for days afterwards.The glacier actually "calved" a bit and the rumble was loud with snow/ice adding to the waterfall beneath. Kind of exciting. The second day we got lost in the sluicing channels of an old gold field, so a 20 minute walk turned into an hour of wandering and laughing.
Then Tom took us to Mt. Cook (3 hour drive). The day was cloudy so no views of the peak but still quite nice with lots of snow-capped peaks surrounding. Then on to the lake town of Tekapo where we stayed for the night. A beautiful lake with a historic church. We hoped to stop at the St. Johns Observatory which has a late night "Starry Night Experience" but they were booked. And, besides, the clouds still were in the way.
Mountains around Lake Tekapo
Town of Akaroa
Then we headed for the small town (population about 800) of Akaroa - kind of a "thumb" into the ocean half way up the east side of the South Island. We spent half a day exploring Akaroa and stayed overnight. Almost felt like a small town on the Eastern Shore, but with a New Zealand accent.
Finally, Tom dropped us off in Christchurch, a city hit by two earthquakes in 2011. The 2nd quake, during the work day, was devastating. Nearly all the buildings in the CBD were destroyed or left structurally unsafe. Most of the functioning buildings in the downtown are new, with many remaining buildings boarded and fenced off. Not sure whether they are to be demolished, restored, or they have not figured what to do. Susan and I visited the "Quake Exhibit" which had many of the personal stories of loss and rescue heroism. 185 people died in the quakes and thousands lost homes and places of work. Eleven years later, Christchurch feels like a vibrant city with a great new downtown for nightlife and work. Restoration work is ongoing on two spectacular churches. There is a feeling of purpose in the city that continues to animate the rebuilding.
Unrestored building in Christchurch
New construction after the earthquake
After a night at a very nice B&B. Susan and I picked up our rental car for the trip to Marlboro (one of the wine centers of South Island) and to Abel Tasman, one of the more wild national parks. We were supposed to get a small, fuel-efficient vehicle. They gave us a big 4WD Ford Ranger with 740 miles on it. You will see later on that it was destiny.
The grape vines in the Marlboro/Blenheim area go for miles. Incredibly straight rows of plants intended that produce some of he world's best wines, including Sauvigon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. A night at Russell and Glynis's home (Airbnb) was pleasant with a couple of hours of conversation as we ate dinner on their deck. We hit the Withers Hill winery on the way out of town. Gorgeous building, nice wine, wonderful people who kindly squeezed us in for a tasting before their completely booked lunch sitting.
Vinyards in Blenheim
We then headed out of town for Abel Tasman/Golden Bay but had spotted the Flaxmore Winery on the way and stopped in. A revelation. George Anderson, the owner, served us samples of his truly wonderful wines. He talked about wine-making for nearly an hour as we sipped slowly. We found out that you can buy vines with "active" root systems or "slow" root systems. Who knew? George is the kind of man whose dream has been to build a winery. He is small right now, only 1000 cases a year, so they do not export. But he has big plans and based on what we tasted, you may see his wines around in a few years. We wish him the best. It was great to sit in his simple tasting room and hear his stories as we drank his wine. We bought two bottles on the way out.
Funny list of "choices" in Flaxmore restroom -
we even liked George's sense of humor
Then on to Abel Tasman/Golden Bay, where we had booked a "rustic" Airbnb for 3 nights. The space was a converted shipping container. We found out later that you can build a "sleeping room" without a permit on your property, but you cannot attach a bathroom, or have a kitchen. We
knew about the lack of a kitchen but were promised a grill, which turned out to not be available. But the "walkout" bathroom was a bit much in the rainy night coming. And -- they had no hot water. The host apologized for the lack of hot water, offered a refund and we headed out in search of warm water and a little less rough accomodations with just a couple of hours to spare, as it was 6:00 p.m.
Overly rustic Airbnb - outdoor bathroom
The good news is that we found the Sunflower Motel in Pohara, which had a kitchen, an indoor bathroom, and hot water.
The next day was rainy and cool, so we drove to the little town of Collingwood which had a tiny museum of life there. Then we decided to enter Abel Tasman Park from the Pohara side. That was interesting. A narrow and winding dirt road that continued to get narrower with 180-degree blind curves. We forded two small streams and kicked up a lot of mud before we ended up alone on a small bay where we took a short walk. This was off-road heaven for a city boy like me. Have never done it before and may never do it again, but that truck was dirty.
The next day was a 3 hour kayak tour on the bay and some time on the beach in the afternoon. And a wonderful distillery tour of Kiwi Spirits where Jeremy had us tasting his gin and whiskey and several mixed drinks. Loved the mixes with their tangelo liqueur. A classic day on Golden Bay.
Jeremy with his Breakfast Martini
Man and his truck
Then it was on to the Nelson Airport an the flight to Auckland to visit the other two cousins. A good time on the South Island.
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