Sunday, February 17, 2013
Rotten eggs!
The night before heading to Rotorua we discovered the free camping spot by the lake in Taupo was full. We got chatting to another couple who suggested an area behind the police station. It sounded safe but not particularly picturesque, however, we were pleasantly surprised when we found it and the boys enjoyed breakfast with a view the next morning.
Upon arriving in Rotarua the smell of sulphur was so intense that Oliver and William declared it the 'smelliest place ever'. Apparently the earth's crust on the whole is between 10 and 100 km thick. Whereas in Rotorua it is only 5km thick resulting in hot water boiling and steaming close to the surface releasing sulphur, hence the smell.
We visited the Thermal Wonderland outside Rotorua and were treated to an other world landscape of mineral terraces, mulitcououred pools and bubbling mud.
Much to the boys delight we arrived in time to see Lady Knox Geyser blowing her top. Generally this geyser goes off every 24 -72 hours. However, in the nineteenth century a group of prisoners washing their clothes in the naturally hot water set it off due to the soap disturbing the surface tension of the cool water allowing the hot water to force up and the geyser to erupt. Hence the geyser now erupts at 1015 every day. Sam and I had a 'how times have changed' moment here when the guide told us that they now use an organic material to set it off rather than soap powder as it has no environmental impact. Thirteen years ago, when we were here, soap powder was fine!
The following morning we set off to the nearby Buried Village. In 1886 there was a spectacular eruption of Mount Tarawera which destroyed many villages in it's vicinity. However, the village of Te Wairoa was saved from the worst damage by nearby hills but was buried in mud! In effect this preserved it until about 80 years ago when the Smith family begun to excavate it and have been doing so ever since. It was a place we particularly wanted to visit as after the eruption the Earl of Onslow bought the remains of the Meeting House from the village and shipped it to England and erected it in his garden at Clandon House in Guildford! I discussed this with the guide who had a photo of 'our meeting house' and rather fiercely told me that until UK law changes they can't get it back!
Our thoroughly modern tour of the village and museum was conducted via an itouch which was excellent and kept us all interested. After walking through the village we headed down to the valley to get a good view of a waterfall.
Gone fishing...
Arriving at Taupo on the North Island we had one activity in mind - a visit to the prawn farm where you can catch huge prawns and eat them!
On the tour of the farm we learnt all about the breeding and growing of prawns.
Sam is keen to adopt a prawn lifestyle for himself as the males seem very at home with at least seven females whom he eats if he gets annoyed with!
During a visit to the hatchery we fed baby prawns and were introduced to the largest one ever to live on the farm, a whopping 63cm long!
Despite our enthusiasm to catch a prawn or two we had no luck nor did many of the others around us.
We quickly realised that the Hawkridges are not cut out for fishing when the boys suggested that we stop fishing and go to the restaurant if we want to eat prawns!
So we did!
On the tour of the farm we learnt all about the breeding and growing of prawns.
Sam is keen to adopt a prawn lifestyle for himself as the males seem very at home with at least seven females whom he eats if he gets annoyed with!
During a visit to the hatchery we fed baby prawns and were introduced to the largest one ever to live on the farm, a whopping 63cm long!
Despite our enthusiasm to catch a prawn or two we had no luck nor did many of the others around us.
We quickly realised that the Hawkridges are not cut out for fishing when the boys suggested that we stop fishing and go to the restaurant if we want to eat prawns!
So we did!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Life's a Beach
The weather was glorious for our two days r and r from our road trip so we spent it on the beach. We all swam in the sea, explored the rocks as the tide went out and built sand castles.
For the first time this holiday we stayed on a proper motor camp. The others have all been a mixture of cabins, vans and tents or sites in the middle of nowhere. It had mainly New Zealanders staying there and they all seemed to know each other. We had a good insight in to the life of a caravanner, they were all in bed by 9pm and Sam and I were quite the party animals sitting outside our van drinking wine until about 10:30! I don't think the Hawkridges will be joining the caravaning club just yet!
When our two days were up we headed towards the ferry terminal stopping for a Valentine's (remembered by us both halfway through our meal) dinner for four (!) at The Mussel Pot in Havelock, the Green Shelled Mussel capital of the World! Sam and I came to this restaurant 13 years ago and it was just as good as we remember!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
"The open road, the dusty highway, here today and up and off to somewhere else tomorrow "
We left Wanaka with the plan to follow Highway 6 all the way to the top of the South Island stopping off at the Glacier's and combining some nights in campsites with some rural free camping.
Our first stop for the night was in the beautiful Haast mountains where we had amazing views from our 'campsite'.
Upon arrival at Fox Glacier ( named after a Prime Minister not a mint!) we donned walking shoes and set off on a hike to the terminal face. William and Oliver enjoyed learning (well as much as Sam and I could remember from geography!) about glaciers and land slides.
We then checked in to a fantastic campsite with excellent facilities and a brilliant children's play area. Oliver and William befriended a boy and had a couple of hours of fun. Rather appropriately, as it was Chinese New Year's Eve, the family were Chinese and Sam and I practised a bit of mandarin.
In the morning we went for a walk round Lake Matherson, the reflection lake.
We then headed up the coast stopping for a swim (wash!) in a lake and supper before heading to another remote camping spot. William and Oliver were asleep when we arrived and we heard them make derogatory remarks about being parked in a bush and not on a beach as they had hoped!
However, we were not too far from the coast and we had breakfast over looking the beach at Hokitika before the boys all played wave catching. Hokitika is an arty town and has many driftwood sculptures on the beach and a glass blowing showroom which the boys enjoyed.
Still on Highway 6 we continued up the West Coast, a section of which is in the Lonley Planets Top Ten Drives in the World. It wasn't hard to see why.
A section of limestone rock on this coastline have formed in to an unusual layer formation which no one can explain why. The have been named Pancake Rocks and as they are eroded blow holes and surge caverns have been formed making it interesting to watch as the waves hit them. The rocky coastline makes an ideal place for seal colonys to form and Oliver and William were delighted to spot seals, including babies learning to swim. We decided to stay by the beautiful beach and have a swim and supper.
William and Oliver went to bed and Sam and I decided to head for the beaches at the top of the South Island so we could have a couple of days without driving to wait for our ferry.
The drive took about four and a half hours and we arrived within the vicinity of an area we could free camp in good time. Unfortunately, we struggled to find the right place in the dark and drove on to a very random camping area at about midnight with a very creepy man wandering about! We quickly reversed out and after realising a new road had been built, located where we were meant to be.
The following morning showed our camp choice to be a good one.
We had breakfast and headed to Kaiteriteri on Tasman bay for a few days of beach chilling! On the way in to the village we saw a shop, the name of which inspired this blog title!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Adrenaline Rush to Gold Rush
After a short flight south from Auckland to Queenstown we found ourselves in the extreme activity capital of New Zealand, if not the world.
We were pick up in our camper an at the airport and quickly found a campsite to park in while we went to book Sam's bungy jump. William and Oliv did not want to leave the van but we lured them away with talk of speedboats. sam booked his bungy for the following morning and we then found ourselves booking a trip of the 'world's fastest jet boat'! Oliver and William just about met the height and age requirements and within half an house we found ourselves at Shotover Creek donning life jackets!
The 30 minute trip down and back up the Shotover river was amazing. We skimmed over rocks, narrowly missed rock faces and completed countless 360 turns in impossibly confined sections of the river all at 80kph! Our concerns that William and Oliver might be scared turned out to be unfounded. They laughed most of the way and now assess every river for it's jet boating potential. With jet boats costing £160,000 and burning through 40 litres of fuel each trip we are hoping it is a passing holiday fad!
Having developed a taste for such activities we took the gondola up a mountain for superb views over the city and more importantly two races on the luge track. Oliver and I won the first race and were attempting to make it two from two but were well and truly beaten by Sam and William.
The following morning we were up and off in good time to get to Kawarau Bridge for Sam's bungy jump. He chose to this one as it was the first commercial bungy in the world and was over a river. William, Oliver and I watched nervously as Sam was strapped up and stepped to the edge of the platform. He did an amazing swan dive off and ended up dunked to his waist in the river. After being picked up by the boat he came up the steps grinning and on a real high. Now we have to afford not only a jet boat but trips to worldwide bungy sites!
From the bungy site we headed to Arrowtown a settlement built up around the gold rush of the late 19th century. After the initial gold rush in Arrowtown miners were lured away by other gold rushes. To replace these miners Chinese immigrants were invited over to work. In Arrowtown they have excavated and partly restored the Chinese settlement. It was fascinating for us seeing it and observing the similarities it has with the way migrant workers in Shanghai live today.
The weather was fantastic and we explored the lovely old main street in Arrowtown, including the old fashioned sweet shop where Sam and I took the boys on a trip down the memory lane of our childhood sweets.
We then picnicked and searched for gold in the river.
After a short drive to Lake Wanaka we stopped for a play in the lake and supper before setting off over the mountains for the West Coast.
We were pick up in our camper an at the airport and quickly found a campsite to park in while we went to book Sam's bungy jump. William and Oliv did not want to leave the van but we lured them away with talk of speedboats. sam booked his bungy for the following morning and we then found ourselves booking a trip of the 'world's fastest jet boat'! Oliver and William just about met the height and age requirements and within half an house we found ourselves at Shotover Creek donning life jackets!
The 30 minute trip down and back up the Shotover river was amazing. We skimmed over rocks, narrowly missed rock faces and completed countless 360 turns in impossibly confined sections of the river all at 80kph! Our concerns that William and Oliver might be scared turned out to be unfounded. They laughed most of the way and now assess every river for it's jet boating potential. With jet boats costing £160,000 and burning through 40 litres of fuel each trip we are hoping it is a passing holiday fad!
Having developed a taste for such activities we took the gondola up a mountain for superb views over the city and more importantly two races on the luge track. Oliver and I won the first race and were attempting to make it two from two but were well and truly beaten by Sam and William.
The following morning we were up and off in good time to get to Kawarau Bridge for Sam's bungy jump. He chose to this one as it was the first commercial bungy in the world and was over a river. William, Oliver and I watched nervously as Sam was strapped up and stepped to the edge of the platform. He did an amazing swan dive off and ended up dunked to his waist in the river. After being picked up by the boat he came up the steps grinning and on a real high. Now we have to afford not only a jet boat but trips to worldwide bungy sites!
From the bungy site we headed to Arrowtown a settlement built up around the gold rush of the late 19th century. After the initial gold rush in Arrowtown miners were lured away by other gold rushes. To replace these miners Chinese immigrants were invited over to work. In Arrowtown they have excavated and partly restored the Chinese settlement. It was fascinating for us seeing it and observing the similarities it has with the way migrant workers in Shanghai live today.
The weather was fantastic and we explored the lovely old main street in Arrowtown, including the old fashioned sweet shop where Sam and I took the boys on a trip down the memory lane of our childhood sweets.
We then picnicked and searched for gold in the river.
After a short drive to Lake Wanaka we stopped for a play in the lake and supper before setting off over the mountains for the West Coast.
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