My Kiwi Adventure

Yes, I have just returned from my little sojourn to New Zealand. And of course I had to jump straight onto the BLOG to ensure all my fans could check out the pics. There's some absolute beauty's but sadly I had to pick the best to show you. I'll now have to get the rest printed out for those who would like a more in-depth look.

In the name of journalistic ethics, I took my responsibility to all my fans out there very seriously and kept a strict and accurate journal of my activities. How could I disappoint the readers by trying to remember what the hell I did 10 days ago when I left. Especially after the amount of absolutely outstanding wine I drank but no doubt my mother will be reading this so forgive me if I leave some details out.

Please find to follow a true account of my trip. Sorry for the separate entries but alas you have to do that in BLOG land with lots of photos. I hope you enjoy!

Day 1 - 25 May 2007

We arrived in Christchurch at midnight so it was 1am local time by the time we got to our hotel. After 3 hours on the plane, a hectic day at work, and having to listen to a guy snort the whole way there, I was eagerly awaiting a shower. Alas, my combo lock had somehow been changed in the journey and I couldn't get into my bag.

This was not the start I was hoping for. There was no other choice but to sit there and go through every possible combo. 30 mins later I had cracked it and exhausted popped into the shower and went to bed. I didn't get to sleep til 3am and the sun came shinning into my room at 7:30am. It was a rough start so first thing was first - we needed to find coffee!

Day 2 - 26 May 2007

Off we went to find the coffee we so desperately needed. We came across a little cafe, orignally called Le Cafe (which I guess sounds Gucci if you say it in a French accent). I ordered my coffee and bircher museli and we sat outside dodging the seagulls that dove in to pick up the crumbs.

The Cafe was next to the Arts Centre, adorned by this little beauty. I have absolutely no idea what is was but how could you not love it or feel happy and warm inside after seeing it - which was really good cause it was a chilly 17 degrees!

We then took a stroll around the markets and came across some street performers. They were fantastic and finished off by telling the kids that if their parents didn't give them money to put in their hats it meant their parents didn't love them, or worse, they were adopted. Excellent marketing and needless to say their hats were well and truly full!

That afternoon Kel and I caught up with my friend Tania and her fiancee Aaron. I worked with Tania many moons ago at TransLink and just happened to find her before I left so it was quite fateful I got to see her. They took us for a tour around Christchurch including their version of Noosa. The beach was pretty chilly but I took this great photo of Tans and Kel by the water. Tania wanted me to test the water to see how cold it was but I definitley took her word for it!

After that we went to Winnebago's which I can professionally say was the most outstanding pizza I have eaten outside Italy. It was so fantastic we made Aaron text his sister right then and there to see if there was one in Dunedin but alas no. If you ever head to Christchurch you MUST go to this place. Words can't describe the yummyness!

We then headed to a few night spots to check out the locals. Although sad to say we were home by 10. It was a fantastic night that provided some great tastes of some of NZ wines. Needless to say we all had big smiles on our faces!

Tania, Me & Kel

Day 3 - 27 May 2007

I got up and went for a jog at 7:30 which meant the sun was barely up. As a result, I donned my jumper, beanie and gloves as I wasn't prepared to be cold. I suddenly felt a bit like the Michelin Man when others were running past me in shorts and t-shirts but decided they were all mad and at least I was nice and warm.

We then headed off on our wine tour - which ended up being chauffeur driven in the Audi - yes, we went in style. It was just Kel and I which meant we could do whatever we liked. The first stop was Mud Brick which is rip-off of it's famous counterpart in Marlborough. We had lunch here which was a beautiful antipasto platter and of course beautiful wine. It was my NZ happy place!

We then headed off to Pegasus Bay which is a famous winery - wines ok, and the other two I can't remember. But the wine at the first was definitely the best. The last place we went to had liqueurs and we were treated to their version of the Cocksucking Cowboy. She was quite amused when I told her they were now called Heath Ledgers and lamented that it was her last day at the job as she swore she would have used that every day! I was glad to bring a little culture into her life!

Day 4 - 28 May 2007

We left Christchurch bound for Lake Tekapo - approx. 3 hrs away. It was a beautiful drive we we got our fill of sheep along the way. We stopped in Geraldine for lunch which is a tiny little town on the way. We sat in the sun in the rose garden and had a fantastic lunch. The air was much crisper and everything was so green - I had forgotten what green actually looked liked.

We got to our 4 star B&B in Lake Tekapo for our one Gucci night of the trip. We were the only ones staying there so even though our room didn't' overlook the lake, we got to use the balcony that did. Not a bad view hey!

Our hosts recommended driving up to the Planetarium to get a different view of the lake. Apparently sky gazers and astronomers come from all over the world as this is one of the few places in the world where the Milky Way can be seen every night. I even got to see a shooting star!

One of the other reasons everyone comes here is for the lonely little Church - The Church of the Lone Sheppard. It fits about 20 people and couples come from far and wide to get married in it.

Our hosts also told us that the sunset shouldn't be missed. It was starting to get a little cold so when in Rome...



Now that I was well protected I was ready to capture the sunset and wasn't disappointed. I went a bit snap happy so this was the best of the bunch!




Once the sun was gone - at 5pm, I decided to warm up in the spa. Well, we were in 4 star luxury after all. But me being me, instead of the champers I decided to take the cider! Yep, am classy with a capital K!


Our lovely hosts then treated us to happy hour and I had a beautiful bottle of sav. blanc. They were planning on taking a trip to Noosa so Kel and I shared our limited local knowledge with them and got another glass of wine for our troubles. Ahh, bless their little hearts.

The next day I decided I should get up to capture the sunrise too - which was 8am!

Day 5 - 29 May 2007

We headed off to Dunedin through the mountains and came across some beautiful lakes that were filled from the glaciers. This gave them their amazing blue colour. Once in Dunedin we had a walk through the City and checked out the local student talent. It must have been classes on or something but there wasn't much talent to be found, but a lot of Scotsmen funnily enough!

We treated ourselves to happy hour in the bar and room service. We had driven all day so decided to be lazy. Sadly it was really substandard wine and wedges so that was the end of room service for me!

Day 6 - 30 May 2007

Our first day in Dunedin was going to be spent in true fashion. First stop - Cadbury World! Luckily we had a 1.5 km walk to get there as it meant we'd have the same walk to walk it all off. I was a bit disappointed with it, having been to Cadbury in Tassy too. But it was ok. We got some free samples of NZ specialities - Moro (Mars Bar equivalent) and the Perky Nana which is like a banana Paddle Pop covered in chocolate. It was ok, but rather sweet! I had to have my photo taken in the Cadbury Truck just because it was there!

We ended up having a glorious sunny afternoon so decided to take a drive out to Port Chalmers which we had on good advice was not worth missing. We have no idea why we were told this as we couldn't find a single thing there worth remembering. We were driven on by our desire to sit by the water with a glass of wine so continued to Long Beach thinking it would offer us something. Alas no, just a beach. We headed back to Dunedin with a heavy heart but decided to perk ourselves up by checking out the steepest residential street in the world.

I'm not sure if we were brave or stupid, but walked up the 247 stairs to the top. It's 70.6m at the steepest point and I was impressed I made it up without dying. However coming down was a little more tricky. I woke up the next morning barely able to walk and it took 3 days before the agony in my calves subsided. Yeah, was real happy I walked up it!

Day 7 - 31 May 2007

We headed to the Otago Peninsula on the other side of Dunedin Harbour. The first stop was the end of the peninsula were the albatross and seal colonies live but sadly they weren't out for us.

Then it was on to Lanarch Castle. It was built by a mad Aussie who then committed suicide in Parliament a few years later. It was a kitche castle with what looked like a huge sunroom going around it. And it even came complete with it's own methane room out the back which they combined with other gases to power the chandeliers in the ballroom. Now that's ingenuity!

We then headed back into town for lunch and went to the fancy pants wine bar Bacchus. I ordered the most expensive glass of wine I had had thus far and ended up getting it for free because they could only fil it 3/4 full. Ha, thank you wine gods!

Day 8 - 1 June 2007

This was our first bad day of weather for the whole trip. It was cold and rainy so we decided to drive back to Christchurch a day early. We were over Dunedin and decided we'd rather have an extra day to check out a bit more of Christchurch.

We were over half way into our 5.5 hr drive back when we came across Gypsy Day. This is when all the cows are moved to the farms they've been sold to so they just go walking up the highways moved along by guys on motorbikes. When I found this out we were surprised we had only seen the one bunch. I took a little movie of the cows encircling our car but alas I can't upload it here.

Just outside of Christchurch we stopped at the Giessen winery. Their real winery is at Marlborough but this was the one they use to bottle of the wine. They had since sold it but I still got to taste some. Oh, can highly recommend the premium range and this red called Pinotage - had never heard of it but was awesome!

Day 9 - 2 June 2007

Alas today was my last day so I decided I had better make the most of it. I started the day by checking out the local Westfield - still in shopping mode til the very end. The only thing I managed to find was a new pair of sunglasses but was happy with that.

I then drove out to Akoroa which is a small French coastal town 1.5 hours out of Christchurch. The drive was rather windy and there were some pretty tight turns but the scenery was beautiful.

I had lunch by the water and walked around. I would have liked to have stayed there a night as it was such a cute little town where I finally succumbed to the Kiwi's love of fudge and bought myself a piece of Rocky Road fudge - it was fantastic.

On the drive back I stopped in at Barry's on the Bay cheesery and tried some local fare. I bought a piece of the Massaman cheese (don't ask me what it was but no, it didn't taste like curry!) I then headed to the French Farm Winery just cause there was wine there.

They were really busy and everyone was drawn to the Gucci people who landed by helicopter. Yep, helicopter. Suddenly our chauffeur driven wine tour didn't look so glamorous in comparison. I want to do that one day!