Okay, so now figuring out where I left off…..
Thursday:
Thursday morning we woke up at Lake Taupo and had a big day
of driving ahead of us. But, before leaving the area we wanted to make sure and
see a few things. I knew about Huka Falls from just living here so that was
definitely on the itinerary. We also asked Vicki and Nigel if they knew of any
places that were a must see and they recommended Craters of the Moon park where
there are mud pots and other steam vents and stuff so we did that as well, but
all after a nice breakfast at a local café. At the Craters of the Moon we
walked around and looked at all the bubbling mud pots and steaming vents and
such. It was cool, but if you’ve ever been to Yellowstone there really isn’t
any point in stopping. Yellowstone is just so much cooler!
After the Craters of the Moon, we snuck back to the hotel,
checked out, and then went to Huka Falls. The waterfall is unlike anything any
of us had ever seen. (Now that I’m writing this I feel like I’ve already
explained all this so I’m going to skip ahead now).
After leaving Taupo we drove down the middle of the North
Island to get to Wellington so we could take the ferry over to the South
Island. There was a 6:30 and an 8:00 ferry. We were hoping to make the 6:30 if
possible, but hadn’t yet bought our ticket so weren’t in any real rush. On our
way down we passed multiple snow-capped mountains and drove on the desert rode
where they had gotten snow only hours before. We took a few photos here, had a
one-sided snowball fight (my dad was throwing snow balls at the car my mother
and I were sitting in), and were really, really cold. Since it had only just
snowed and there was still snow on the ground I imagine the air temperature was
around 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, probably less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and
since we mostly have spring/summer clothes with us that was a bit cold. After
passing through the snowy desert we went back down into more pastureland and
stopped in a cute little town (don’t remember what it was) for a coffee and
cake at the Brown Sugar Café. While in town my father also bought an Ice
Breaker, it’s like the NZ equivalent of North Face. The unique part is that all
their clothes are made of NZ Merino Wool. Chris (the husband of the family we
stayed with on Tuesday night) owned one and it was all my dad could talk about
after so we made sure he got one, and quickly. And he loves it!
Continuing on into Wellington and the drive was stunning. We
saw a lot of sheep towards the end of this drive, one beautiful hilly pastureland.
Pretty much everywhere you look in NZ (outside of Auckland) everything is just
so beautiful. Each place in it’s own way but each place is just so beautiful.
(It has helped immensely that we have had good weather almost every day.) After
once again getting out of Auckland I really start to understand why people come
here, why they stay here, and why they never leave. Maybe a trip back to NZ is
in my future?!
Anyways, arriving in Wellington just before 6:00 we were
there in time to catch the 6:30 ferry. We drove right to the ticket office only
to find out the 6:30 ferry was not running because it was broken down and we’d
have to take the 8:00. I had not purchased tickets ahead of time for two
reasons, 1) I wanted us to be able to be flexible with out day and 2) I heard
you could get last minute deals on ferry tickets. When we got there the price has gone up from
what I had seen on line. I couldn’t believe it and asked what the deal was to
which he replied prices go up on the day of. Dumb me! It wasn’t much but I was
annoyed anyways!
Since we had some time to kill we headed in to town to try
to find something to eat. I am not familiar with downtown Wellington so didn’t
know where to go. My father was driving and since he hasn’t driven much on this
side of the road, and thus still needs to concentrate very hard on what he’s
doing, he wasn’t able to very easily navigate the city. I took over shortly
thereafter but we never ended up finding something that seemed convenient, was
open, and had somewhere I could park. But, because I don’t know that city that
well, we got quite a nice tour of downtown as I drove around on random streets
trying to find my way back. Which we eventually did. And in time to sit in a
line waiting for the ferry for about 45 minutes and eating a picnic lunch in
the car that my mother did a fabulous job preparing given our minimal
ingredients, utensils, and plates. Great job, mom!
We loaded on the ferry before 8, got the car parked, and
found seats inside. It was cold and rainy night so we weren’t outside enjoying
the setting sun, but rather huddled inside trying to stay cold and not focus
too much on the rocking boat. We made it across the channel in good time and
without loosing a propeller (something that happened recently on one of the
ferry crossing).
About 11:45 we off-loaded on the South Island into a town
called Picton. We decided in a split second not to stay the night in Picton but
rather head on to Nelson/the Abel Tasman region where we wanted to be the next
few nights. This did not end up being a good idea but we committed and there
was nothing we could do after that. I drove this entire 2 hour night drive. For
part of it were we the last car in a vehicle convoy including a few semis and a
handful of cars. This was the best part of the drive for me because being the
last car I was able to see well ahead of me what the road was going to do and
thus wouldn’t have any surprises. (Also, since there aren’t really any big
mammals here you don’t have to worry about things like deer running out in
front of your car at night, which is very nice). After parting ways with the
convoy I had to carry on for about 1.5 hours completely alone on unlit mountain
roads. Thankfully there was an almost full moon and a clear night sky so there
was some light. We could see the outline of large hills/mountains all around.
As I started to approach the first set of ranges it became obviously there was
heavy fog around. Thankfully it was not on the road for most of the drive but
it made me nervous none-the-less.
We finally arrived in Nelson, on almost no fuel, around 1:30
am and there was nowhere to stay. After asking the gas station attendant, we
drove to the only proper hotel in town – with an overnight receptionist, The Rutherford,
and inquired about a room. They had rooms available, but the receptionist guy
told us to try a 24-hour motel instead. When we got there the NO VACANCY sign
was lit up and they didn’t have any rooms. We drove around and around town for
another 1.5 hours looking for a place to
stay, hopeless that we’d find anything and finally landed on going to the 24
hour McDonalds and getting something to eat and staying there. We got something
to eat but apparently rules are that no one can be in the dining room after
midnight so that was a bust. When we were outside in the parking lot, arguing,
my father saw the sign for The Rutherford again and we decided to head back
there. I had not previously mentioned this idea because I thought he wasn’t not
interested, turns out he had forgotten. Anyways, I can’t spend forever on the
details of this night but we were finally tucked in bed about 4:00 hoping for a
few good hours of shut eye.
Friday:
We woke up somewhat refreshed the next morning around 8:00
and ready to get out of that hotel and on with our day. We packed up our stuff,
checked-out, had a quick breakfast in town, and then made our way up towards
the Abel Tasman. We had not booked ahead, and since it was Friday, and coming
into a beautiful weekend, we had a lot of trouble finding a place to stay. We
went to the iSite in Motueka (information center) where they were calling place
after place for us but to no avail. Eventually we tried a very nice B&B
outside of town and they had 2 rooms so we booked on the spot. The place has
turned out to be spectacular and relaxing and just what we needed. My father
and I also booked a kayak/walk trip the next day in the national park (this
turned out to be fabulous as well). After booking our accommodations and
activities and having a small snack in town we headed out to the B&B. We
were so happy when we got there; we just sat around relaxing, reading, walking
on the beach (which is just in front of the B&B), it was so nice. In the
evening we went into the local town, Mapua, and had fish and chips at the local
takeaway. It was the best Kiwi experience ever. The town is so picturesque, a
small town with a few local places to eat, right on the water; it was a sunny
but a bit windy night. Everyone was out in town, families, teens, older
couples, enjoying the live music at the local brewery just down the way from
the fish and chips joint. We ordered 4 pieces of fish, 2 scoops of fries, and
got a can of tomato sauce as well. It was so nice to have such a kiwi
experience together. And on such a perfect night! After, we went back to the
B&B, relaxed a bit, and then when to bed as my father and I had a big day
planned for Saturday.
(Okay, it’s currently Saturday night as I’m writing this and
I’m very tired. Will continue tomorrow. As for photos, we haven’t had the most
reliable access to Internet and thus I just haven’t had time to let my computes
sit for 1 hour while tons of photos upload. I will do my best to stay onto of
the blog but I just can’t promise much for photos right away, sorry. They will
come in time, however.)
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