Wednesday 19th April
Last nights accommodation was lovely. It was a little studio cottage on a farm just south of Hokitika (Hoe-ki-ti-ka). They also provided a lovely breakfast basket. Eggs, bread, pastrami, cheese, muesli, cereal, yoghurt, milk and fruit juice. Just what I needed after my run this morning. It was a lovely run through the farm and then down the highway.

We headed into Hokitika town and had a browse through the shops, jade factory/shop and the Town library which had some of the town history displayed. We were treated to a town history blurb from the curator. He said that they experience an earthquake once every two hours somewhere in New Zealand. In gold rush days the people arrived by the 1000’s and there are still their descendants living there (Germans, English, Scottish and Chinese to name a few. Carnegie organised the building of the library and then set up reading rooms and trust to ensure people knew how to read. The author Eleanor Catton researched Hokitika and this is the basis of her novel The Luminaries.

We had a look at the making of Pounamu jewellery, clubs, etc. It takes 4 to 5 hours to make a pendant about 4cm in size. They use diamond drills to shape the pendant and then a sandstone to file it smooth. They range in price from $65 for a pair of earrings to $3200 for something midsize. A 10cm kiwi cost $675. It is very expensive but that is because they are all made by hand.

We then headed to Franz Josef to have a look at the glacier. The track we used last time we were there has been closed as they have put in a new one that takes you a lot further along as the track has receded a very long way. As far as we could tell they no longer hike from the foot of the glacier. You can still do a heli-hike.

Our next stop was Lake Mathieson where we went on a 45minute walk through the rainforest to the lake. It is know for the reflections of Mt Cook but unfortunately it was too windy and not smooth enough to see.

We then had a 3 hour drive to our next bed at Lake Hawea (How-wee-a). Unfortunately it was dark and we missed the views as we  drove through the gorge. Although we did see many, many dead possums along the way. We luckily arrived at our new home 10 minutes before the office closed at 8pm. We are slipping into old habits of trying to fit too much into each day. We will try to go back to slowing down a little.

Tuesday 18th April
Well today started out a lovely day. The weather has turned. Lucky us as apparently it has been raining on the west coast for 2 months. Phew!!

We went for a lovely walk this morning on the Cape Foulwinds track. Abel Tasman made his first anchorage at Cape Foulwinds in 1642. DB dropped us at the start, then drove to the finish and ran from there to meet us and walked the rest of the way back to us. There were a few steep bits but very enjoyable. The greenery has grown considerably since we were here last time, impeding the view but it was a pleasant 3km walk. There was a large seal colony along the way with many seal pups there frolicky in the pools and on the rocks.

We then headed to Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. An interesting rock formation that got its name because the rocks look like a stack of pancakes.

Then off to Hokitika Gorge. A short stroll, only 650m each way to the gorge over a swing bridge which was quite rickety with extra people on it. Then home to our accommodation. A quaint little farm cottage. On the way up the drive DB spotted an animal in the grass. He is amazing the way he always spots an animal movement. It was a European Hedgehog that looked up at us then went into camouflage mode. It had a very angelic little face.

Easter Monday 17th April 
Well today started in a beautiful way. SUNSHINE.
I had a lovely run along the foreshore at Nelson then we headed to Kaiteriteri via Ruby Bay.

The coastline is very beautiful and we have finally reached a beach with yellow sand. They look so much better. Kaiteriteri has developed considerably since we were there in 2009 although no where near as much as Picton. It is still vey beautiful.

We then headed to Marahau, where we went on a 5km walk through the Abel Tasman National Park ton Tinline Bay and return. It was very beautiful and the track could still be used in a wheel chair, even with all the rain we have had. It was lovely to get out in  the fresh air and sunshine.

We then had a 3.5hr drive to our stop for the night at Westport. Again a lovely drive through mountains, farmlands, past rivers and through the gorge. A late arrival today at 7pm.

Easter Sunday 16th April
Well today we woke to a clear day in Nelson. We had an early start as we had a 2 hour drive to our 9am boat cruise at Picton. The blue sky was a welcome sight.

On arrival at Picton which has changed considerably since we were here in 2009, we headed out on Beachcomber Cruises Ship Cove Cruise. A 3 hour cruise on Marlborough Sound from Picton to Ship Cove and return. Alighting at Ship Cove where Captain James Cook landed in 1770 to source provisions and rest the crew. It was a lovely trip to Ship Cove in the sunshine although a little cool. We learnt some things about the Maoris and First European settlers and then headed on our way back to Picton. So as not to disappoint the rain clouds rolled in. We had a shower or two on the way back which was a shame. It was still an enjoyable trip though.

We took Charlotte Drive out of Picton which is 30 mins of hairpin turns and hill climbs. It was a lot easier this time in a little Corolla as opposed to the campervan we were in last time. Unfortunately mother nature wasn’t on our side and we encountered some heavy rain on the return drive to Nelson.

The afternoon entailed a visit to the World of Wearable Art and Classic Car Museum. This was very interesting and very clever of the Museum to have a male and female interest under the same roof. I spent most of my time in the Art museum and DB in the Car one. The art was really good, I also viewed a video with the art being displayed in a fashion show. There were an incredible number of cars in the museum, they are someone’s personal collection. There were ferraris, an EJ Holden, an Astin Martin, a Delorean, Jaguars and many many more. Enough cars to keep DB busy whilst I was looking at the art.

Sign in the museum – “Wearable art makes the body an internal frame for personal expression, and in doing so makes a great deal of new art possible.”

Saturday 15th April
Hammer Springs surprised us with a lovely sunrise this morning. I had a run up Conical Hill and back down. We then headed for a walk to the town centre, followed by a visit to the thermal springs. We had a lovely relax in the pools for about an hour. Temp 38-40°. Very relaxing.
Now on to Nelson where we will stay for 2 nights. After about an hour it started raining again. Oh well at least we had a day of sunshine yesterday. Luckily the rain only lasted about an hour.

DB said they have almost as many witches hats as sheep, which is saying something as there are millions of sheep here. There are roadworks and construction everywhere as a result of the earthquakes. We have to take the inland road to Nelson which adds a couple of hours to a two hour trip. The inland road is now carrying all the trucks and traffic that normally heads north from the east coast due to SH1 being closed. It is quite dangerous and apparently about 15 people have lost their lives over the last 5 months.

We arrived at Nelson at about 4.30pm and checked-in in the daylight. wonders will never cease.

Good Friday 14th April
Well boy did it rain last night. Torrential rain for hours. We woke to the rain still teeming down. We got organised leisurely as it was so miserable. Destination today is Hanmer Springs via Kaikoura.
We headed off just after 10 and took State Highway 1 which DB had checked last night was open between Christchurch and Kaikoura during daylight hours. Once again it wasn’t long before we were travelling through pastures on single lane each way highways. It was lovely scenery. As the morning progressed the rain eased off a bit, clouds started to lift and we could see small patches of blue sky to the north. YAY!!
We had been driving for 1.5hrs and were at Cheviot when we came across a sign saying SH1 closed between Goose Bay & Kaikoura. Great! DB stopped and checked website again which now indicated the road was closed. They could have posted that sign further south where we could take the most direct route but alas they were about 40mins toolate. We kept going north figuring they would send us in the best detour. About 20mins later we were diverted west to Waiau (Why-ow). A very windy narrow but picturesque drive. From There we headed east again. Added about an hour to our drive and was disappointing that the we missed the coast road. Apparently since the double earthquake in November 2016 the road north of Kaikoura has been closed and the road south gets closed every time there is a lot of rain as it causes landslides and rock falls which block the road. With the diversion we now also had another small problem, petrol, or lack thereof. Enough to get to Kaikoura but not enough to return. And Good Friday, New Zealand and small town. OOPS!! No choice but to carry on. Worst case scenario we would have to find a room in Kaikoura instead of the already booked room at Hanmer Springs. Not much we can do about that one so we tried not to think about it. Luckily as Kaikoura was a tourist area there was a couple of service stations open. But wow $205.9 in Christchurch for 91 and 211.9 in Kaikoura. Diesel is only $1.39.
Once in Kaikoura we were starving as we were an hour later than expected and I was saving my lunch break for the BBQ crayfish specialty we had last time we were here. So DB and I shared a crayfish with rice and salad. Unfortunately as always I still think crab is tastier I finished off with some BBQ scallops which surpassed the crayfish with flavour and price. Whole cray $52, 1/2 doz scallops $10.
After lunch we headed to the point to check out the seal colony, not too many today but they laze around and don’t even notice us. A quick walk up the hill to view the coastline from a lookout and then on to a sheep shearing display. The owners used to own the entire Peninsula but sold all but 100 hectares a few years ago. They now only keep enough sheep for their shearing display. Keeping sheep wasn’t very lucrative they get $2 a kilo and each sheep (Drysdale) is shorn every 6 months and the wool weighs about 3 kg, so they make $6 per sheep twice a year. $12 a year. Our display cost $12 adult $5 a child. There were only the 3 of us plus 2 people staying in their B&B tonight. So $36 for that sheep. 6 times the income for 45mins effort. It was a very interesting and informative display and the shearer was entertaining.
We left Kaikoura for Hanmer Springs a bit later than expected, but what’s new. Colleen would like shares in the company that makes witches hats as they are absolutely everywhere. As we left they opened the SH1 again so we got to travel the coast road which was really good. We also got to see how damaged the road was, landslides, rock falls, ungraded, narrow in many parts and they are using rows of shipping containers to protect the road from further rock falls. This was good as it cut our trip to Hanmer by about 40mins. YAY!! One for us. All in all, a good day, the weather stayed good all day.

Thursday 13th April 2017
Today is very wet and gloomy. With Cyclone Cook on its way we have rejigged our loose plans again. Cyclone Cook is due through the North Island early and predicted to head down the south coast to us by late afternoon. But yet again we will venture out to try to make the best of a rainy situation.

We headed for a drive to Akaroa, a little sleepy fishing town on the peninsula south of Christchurch. It was a lovely drive through picturesque pastures with many many sheep and was quite an enjoyable drive for us girls. A bit wet for DB but lucky he loves driving. We needed to put on our rose coloured glasses to see the azure blue waters and blue cloudless sky. Lucky I always have mine in my pocket. Hehehe!!

The little fishing town of Akaroa was very quaint with lovely little souvenir, craft and art shops. They have a little timber lighthouse on the point which was moved from Akaroa Heads by the Preservation Society. We had a nice lunch by the lake/bay which had huge tides which unfortunately was low. Oh well a bit more Broadbent luck. What hope have I got with 2 Broadbents with me this time. After a walk around the town we went back via the Summit Rd hoping we might have a better view, but it was not to be. We went home via Okains Bay where we reached the coast and there was a nice rolling wave. Too cold for DB though.

Well home to batten down the hatch in case we get the 100km winds predicted.

Wednesday 12th April 2017
Still recovering a little I slept in until 8.30am, very unusual for me. We woke to a rainy day again, with lots of rain during the night. Pretty disappointing as we were thinking we might have gone for a drive today. Change of plan. Lucky our plans are always so loose.

We decided to head into the city and then maybe go to Antarctic World. We drove to the city centre and caught the city tour tram. The rain had stopped for a little while. We went past Cranmer Square, another park that had a memorial of crosses for Anzac Day, Cathedral Junction. We alighted at Cathedral Square as I wanted to see this after it’s destruction by the 2010 earthquake. It is still awaiting re-construction but there is currently court proceedings taking place to determine if it will be rebuilt, demolished or adapted. We saw the Chalice which is a contemporary monument which was a gift to the city in the millennium year. Throughout the city there are many murals on the buildings which have been commissioned to brighten the city when the art gallery closed and whilst it is being rebuilt. The whole city is pretty much a construction zone. The buildings cannot be rebuilt any more than 6 or 7 storeys. The library has started to be rebuilt but currently is only a couple of lift shafts and due for completion in 2018. Some of the shops in the city centre are in shipping containers but have been made to look quite funky. Lots of Wilson Parking stations have taken the place of the flattened buildings. The city is due for completion in 2019 according to one book, hard to believe as there are so many buildings in different stages of construction and some not started at all. We then went to the Canterbury Museum and spent a few hours in dryness. It featured a large section on Maori history, then smaller displays of Asian art, a Bird Hall, a Mummy, Dinosaur, geology, Ivan Mauger Speedway King, Antarctic, Paua Shell House, Air New Zealand. It was very interesting as there was a diverse range of exhibitions. We then walked back into the city to look at the temporary Cathedral which was constructed from cardboard. The local boys choir was there practising for the Easter festivities. Then to the 185 chair memorial. It was a corner block which had 185 empty chairs. A temporary art installation reflecting on the loss of lives, livelihood and living in our city following the earthquake of 22 February 2011.

Unfortunately we ran out of time for the Antarctic Centre.

Tuesday 11th April 2017
Sleeping in a little due to our early morning arrival, we had a late start, we collected our hire car, went shopping for breakfast and lunch groceries and headed to a park to eat. We decided we would stay in Christchurch for the next couple of days. We booked a 2BR cabin in a caravan park and we able to check straight in which was great. After unloading we made some lunch and headed off to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens in South Hagley Park. The weather was pretty dreary, wet and cold. Not to be discouraged we walked around the gardens, through a number of different gardens, hothouses and rose gardens. There were some by pretty flowers, different trees and it was very pretty. The gardens were very green. We walked along the Avon River that meandered through the Gardens. It starts near the airport and travels 26km through Christchurch out to the ocean. We then walked towards the city and had a look at the Canterbury College which has the same facade as the Christchurch Cathedral.

Monday 10th April 2017
Well off we go again!
The day started with a message from Jetstar that our plane would leave 1 hour later than scheduled. Bugger, that means a 8.40pm take-off. Our original arrival time was 12.50am so not looking forward to the delayed arrival. Oh well, not much we can do about that. The flight was uneventful, DB still dislikes flying. We made amazing flight time, arriving at 1am. After heading through customs, buying a couple of phone sims we had about a 15 min walk to our hotel. We got to our room at about 2.30am and Colleen and I headed straight to bed.  DB headed to Maccas for some more dinner.  He had some interesting conversations as he waited for his extra dinner as Maccas has lockout after midnight so you order through a hole in the front door and have to wait outside for your food.