Monday, 25 October 2010
New Zealand - the first few days
The trip from Singapore to Auckland went well with a smooth transfer at Brisbane and full bio-security screening to check our luggage for any items likely to impact on the biological stability of New Zealand. This included inspection of walking boots (packed and squeaky clean!), checking of medication lists and all foodstuffs. The bus was waiting as we exited the airport so we were quickly on to our 40 min journey into the city and the bus dropped us off a few paces from our hotel. Having been up for 27hrs at this point we grabbed a quick shower, dinner and bed.... we were in New Zealand! Friday 22nd October: Our first full day in New Zealand; an early start with breakfast at 0630, a short walk to the station and onto the Transcenic Overlander train to Wellington. The journey is 600km and takes 12 hours; not an ‘express’ and slowed further by lengths of single track leading to waits at passing points. The early scenery was non-spectacular (great views of the suburbs of Auckland)but as the journey progressed so it got better and better, with spectacular engineering demonstrated at the spiral tunnels and snow laden mountains in view as we passed through National Park. We arrived in Wellington on time and were met by Heather (my Auntie) and Denis; I hadn’t seen Heather for over 40 years and only knew Denis from my Dad’s tales of his time out here some years ago. A very rapid bond was formed and the start of five days of fun in Wellington began!
The next day saw a lazy start (we had a sleep deficit to catch up on!) then out for coffee, sort out an NZ SIM card, get some cash and do some shopping. A bite of lunch back at base and then we were taken on a ‘mini-tour’ of Wellington including all the major locations in the city, Mount Victoria, the cable car to the Botanic Gardens and superb views across the harbour, the Rose Garden (but a little early for the roses) and hot houses.
The following day (Sunday 24th) was Family day! Mark’s two aunties (Heather and Anne), two cousins (Niki and Tania) and six of their children (Trent, Jasmine, Summer, Tai, Kartjia and Declan), plus Denis’s daughter Tracey, Heather J and Denis himself.... a day of much fun, catching up, photographs, eating and drinking. (Auntie) Heather had arranged an excellent spread which was contributed to by other (adult) family members and enjoyed by all, especially the desserts! The only disappointment was that nobody had a camera ready to capture Jasmine licking out the bowl of chocolate dip!
Once the last of the visitors (we don’t count!) had departed a decision was made to catch the last of the daylight with a walk by the local lagoon – fading light and the red tinge to the sky made an excellent end to a great day, meeting some relatives we had not seen for 25 years and others we had only heard about.
Monday we visited the waterfront in Wellington itself, including a walk along the wharf, a ride on a four person crocodile bike and coffees at Te Papa before visiting some of the exhibitions there. We then took in a number of museums showing the history of Wellington and the Maori culture. Lunch was fitted in at the excellent Wellington Brewing Company which colour coded each menu choice to indicate which of the beers was best suited to each dish – it seemed foolish to do other than follow their guidance....
Another couple of days here and then we’ll be catching the ferry to the South Island before heading to Christchurch on the train. They have been having more aftershocks (up to 5!) in the last few days, so we may well have an ‘interesting’ experience there!
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Singapore
After a smooth journey from home to Singapore this continued with the shuttle bus dropping us off at our Hotel at about 0930 where our room was ready! We made the most of this and grabbed a quick shower before 4hrs shut-eye (despite the pile-driving outside where they are working on the MTR upgrades)..... then we became tourists!
Our hotel is right by ‘Little India’ so that was our starting point– a plethora of shops and an array of bright colours which seems to be a theme for Singapore. We had more offers to make a suit (which we can ship home for you Sir....) than we could possibly use but we declined those and found the Star Cafe where we had a late lunch/early dinner for less than £10 for the two of us. The temperature was 33 degrees this afternoon, and quite humid.
We then walked via Albert Street through Bugis Street market with its hundreds of stalls, bright colours, and opportunities to exceed the capacity of our suitcases, through to the Suntac Centre, past the Singapore Flyer (just like the Millennium Wheel) and the harbour. A walk along the river gave us views across to Merlion Park, the science centre which is constructed like a lotus flower, and the skyscrapers that are the centre of Singapore’s business community. After a riverside beer/coffee (you can work out who had which!) we then strolled back to base past Raffles City, back through the market to Sim Lim Square (home to many tricycle rickshaws) and into Albert Court and our hotel.
Tuesday: Slept well but were awoken by the pile-driving outside, however, this was 0845 so can’t complain! Our room is right by the road and the traffic hardly stopped all night (and no double glazing!) so we asked at reception and have been moved to a room a bit further back from the road and without the vast expanse of glass that we had in our first room.
A relatively late start saw us on the MTR and down to China Town on another warm day. This was more ‘organised’ than Little India but far more “hello sir, where are you from..... .....I can make you a very nice suit sir...”. Again it was an array of bright colours with more places to eat than I have seen anywhere. We had lunch here in a Thai restaurant where Heather’s fruit salad was just as spicy as my beef tenderloin curry!
After lunch we wandered past the Mariamman Temple and to the waterfront... where it started to rain. We sheltered under a canopy outside the One Fullerton Hotel where we got invited in to sit in the rather posh lobby while we waited for the rain to stop! The young concierge gave us a brief history of the recent and ongoing development of the hotel and then jus left us to read the coffee table books on ‘boys toys’ (luxury yachts) and expensive jewellery. When the rain stopped we wandered off for a look at the Merlion, take a bumboat tour on the river and then a journey on the MTR back to our hotel.
The evening saw us on an excursion to dinner and a ‘night safari’ at the Singapore Zoo. Dinner, the ‘night safari’, fire-eating display and ‘fishing-cat walk’ were all good with a range of animals being spotted as we went round, even if the fishing cats have got lazy and wait to be fed! The door-to-door service was spot on at the end of a long day and we expected to sleep well...... so much for expectations!
Wednesday: All packed ready to fly on to Auckland tonight. Before that we plan an MTR ride to Clarke’s Quay and perhaps pop in to the Long Bar at Raffles.... then we’ll leave the 30+ temperatures behind as we head into the next phase....
Our hotel is right by ‘Little India’ so that was our starting point– a plethora of shops and an array of bright colours which seems to be a theme for Singapore. We had more offers to make a suit (which we can ship home for you Sir....) than we could possibly use but we declined those and found the Star Cafe where we had a late lunch/early dinner for less than £10 for the two of us. The temperature was 33 degrees this afternoon, and quite humid.
We then walked via Albert Street through Bugis Street market with its hundreds of stalls, bright colours, and opportunities to exceed the capacity of our suitcases, through to the Suntac Centre, past the Singapore Flyer (just like the Millennium Wheel) and the harbour. A walk along the river gave us views across to Merlion Park, the science centre which is constructed like a lotus flower, and the skyscrapers that are the centre of Singapore’s business community. After a riverside beer/coffee (you can work out who had which!) we then strolled back to base past Raffles City, back through the market to Sim Lim Square (home to many tricycle rickshaws) and into Albert Court and our hotel.
Tuesday: Slept well but were awoken by the pile-driving outside, however, this was 0845 so can’t complain! Our room is right by the road and the traffic hardly stopped all night (and no double glazing!) so we asked at reception and have been moved to a room a bit further back from the road and without the vast expanse of glass that we had in our first room.
A relatively late start saw us on the MTR and down to China Town on another warm day. This was more ‘organised’ than Little India but far more “hello sir, where are you from..... .....I can make you a very nice suit sir...”. Again it was an array of bright colours with more places to eat than I have seen anywhere. We had lunch here in a Thai restaurant where Heather’s fruit salad was just as spicy as my beef tenderloin curry!
After lunch we wandered past the Mariamman Temple and to the waterfront... where it started to rain. We sheltered under a canopy outside the One Fullerton Hotel where we got invited in to sit in the rather posh lobby while we waited for the rain to stop! The young concierge gave us a brief history of the recent and ongoing development of the hotel and then jus left us to read the coffee table books on ‘boys toys’ (luxury yachts) and expensive jewellery. When the rain stopped we wandered off for a look at the Merlion, take a bumboat tour on the river and then a journey on the MTR back to our hotel.
The evening saw us on an excursion to dinner and a ‘night safari’ at the Singapore Zoo. Dinner, the ‘night safari’, fire-eating display and ‘fishing-cat walk’ were all good with a range of animals being spotted as we went round, even if the fishing cats have got lazy and wait to be fed! The door-to-door service was spot on at the end of a long day and we expected to sleep well...... so much for expectations!
Wednesday: All packed ready to fly on to Auckland tonight. Before that we plan an MTR ride to Clarke’s Quay and perhaps pop in to the Long Bar at Raffles.... then we’ll leave the 30+ temperatures behind as we head into the next phase....
Friday, 15 October 2010
Not long now.....
Just one more day at work and then we need to start packing!
The final bits of the jigsaw have pretty well come together, with the bookings for the excursions at Queenstown now sorted and the bike trail (you just knew they'd be some cycling in there!) finalised.
48hrs and we'll (hopefuly) be at the airport...... gulp!
The final bits of the jigsaw have pretty well come together, with the bookings for the excursions at Queenstown now sorted and the bike trail (you just knew they'd be some cycling in there!) finalised.
48hrs and we'll (hopefuly) be at the airport...... gulp!
Sunday, 19 September 2010
North Island as planned as it's going to be...
North Island plans are a bit looser than South Island, with a few bits still to be confirmed. That said we have an itinerary that will give the journey some shape, as well as building in some great things to do and tying up with some people who we haven't seen for a long time!
As per the 'South Island' post, we arrive back in Wellington and link up with my Auntie Heather. It looks hopeful that we will be going to Kapiti Island with Heather & Denis while we're in Wellington; Kapiti is a wildlife haven with all predators having been eliminated and has the world's largest population of little spotted kiwi (adolescent NZ'ers?).
From Wellington we head North a little way via Cape Egmont and to the Whanganui river. It's here that we'll be canoeing one day and jet boating the next, gaining very different perspectives of the river I am sure. Then it's across to Lake Taupo and the thermal wonderland and glow worm caves of Rotorua, camping by the beach in Papamoa and meeting up with an ex-student and subsequently colleague David Croft. He admits to owing me several beers so that's a "must do"!
From there we make our way North in a nomadic sort of way to Cape Reinga and Karatia at the most Northern tip of the Island before heading South again down to the Bay of Islands where the plan is to meet up with my Uncle David. After a few days there we'll head back towards Auckland where we will say farewell to the camper van and book into some rather nice accommodation at Quay West for four nights before ending our New Zealand tour.
As per the 'South Island' post, we arrive back in Wellington and link up with my Auntie Heather. It looks hopeful that we will be going to Kapiti Island with Heather & Denis while we're in Wellington; Kapiti is a wildlife haven with all predators having been eliminated and has the world's largest population of little spotted kiwi (adolescent NZ'ers?).
From Wellington we head North a little way via Cape Egmont and to the Whanganui river. It's here that we'll be canoeing one day and jet boating the next, gaining very different perspectives of the river I am sure. Then it's across to Lake Taupo and the thermal wonderland and glow worm caves of Rotorua, camping by the beach in Papamoa and meeting up with an ex-student and subsequently colleague David Croft. He admits to owing me several beers so that's a "must do"!
From there we make our way North in a nomadic sort of way to Cape Reinga and Karatia at the most Northern tip of the Island before heading South again down to the Bay of Islands where the plan is to meet up with my Uncle David. After a few days there we'll head back towards Auckland where we will say farewell to the camper van and book into some rather nice accommodation at Quay West for four nights before ending our New Zealand tour.
The Earthquake
As followers of this Blog will know, we have plans in place to visit South Island and spend some time in Christchurch; it's also where we are planning to catch the trans-alpine railway from, and where we're due to collect our camper van..... I'm sure that you'll also know that Christchurch has recently been at the centre of a significant earthquake (7.1) and subsequent after shocks (up to 5.4). Reports on the web via news sites and forums give a varied picture, and it is apparent that some areas are severely damaged, others are unscathed. Clearly for anybody losing their home, their possessions or the building that contained their business it was disasterous; it is incredibly fortunate that nobody got killed.
We have been in touch with the companies with whom we have contacts and ALL of them were back up and running within 24 hours and the hotel we're booked in to has not been touched at all. We have been assured that all should be fine, though clearly Christchurch is going to have a few sights that are a bit different than we were expecting!
We have been in touch with the companies with whom we have contacts and ALL of them were back up and running within 24 hours and the hotel we're booked in to has not been touched at all. We have been assured that all should be fine, though clearly Christchurch is going to have a few sights that are a bit different than we were expecting!
Sunday, 8 August 2010
The plan for South Island is in place.....
Since we last posted we have done some serious work including looking at routes, identifying some 'must dos', and actually commiting to some of the itinerary. It's a careful balance of commitment against freedon - hopefully we've got the balance right.
In the previous post we talked about getting to Christchurch and doing the transalpine rail ride - well that's all booked now, and we've booked the campervan too.... for 43 days with the drop off in Auckland.
Our South Island 24 day tour route sees us leaving Christchurch after four night in the Charlotte Jane hotel and takes us via Mt Cook, Lake Pukaki, Dunedin and Invercargill to Bluff, with a ferry ride to Stewart Island to get as far south as we can (for fellow brits be reminded that going South in NZ means it's getting colder!). Then we have a few days to get to Te Anau where we are booked in on an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound to celebrate Heather's birthday... Then on to Milford Sound and a few days in Queenstown (booked the Gondala ride to an elevated lunch on day 1 and the renowned TSS Earnslaw vintage steamship cruise to dinner at the Colonel's Homestead at Walters Peak on day 2; then we chill....).
After Queenstown we have a few days 'drifting' before we pick up bikes to do a couple of days on the Otago Rail Trail, basing ourselves at Ranfurly but getting transported so that we can do the best bits. After that we pick up the beautiful West coast and head North, taking in the glaciers, Hanmer Springs, Lake Rotoroa and working our way back to the ferry.
We then plan to have a few days in Wellington (Hello Auntie Heather!!) before we embark on our tour of North Island..... we've started to look at that, including a jet boat ride and some canoeing on the Whanganui river (any of the NZ family fancy joining us?) and a pencilled in meeting up with an ex-student and colleague of mine who emigrated a while back.
Next installment will follow once we firm up North Island a bit more.... we're hoping to hear back from my Uncle David and cousin Scott about getting together as they are in the northern part of North Island.....
In the previous post we talked about getting to Christchurch and doing the transalpine rail ride - well that's all booked now, and we've booked the campervan too.... for 43 days with the drop off in Auckland.
Our South Island 24 day tour route sees us leaving Christchurch after four night in the Charlotte Jane hotel and takes us via Mt Cook, Lake Pukaki, Dunedin and Invercargill to Bluff, with a ferry ride to Stewart Island to get as far south as we can (for fellow brits be reminded that going South in NZ means it's getting colder!). Then we have a few days to get to Te Anau where we are booked in on an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound to celebrate Heather's birthday... Then on to Milford Sound and a few days in Queenstown (booked the Gondala ride to an elevated lunch on day 1 and the renowned TSS Earnslaw vintage steamship cruise to dinner at the Colonel's Homestead at Walters Peak on day 2; then we chill....).
After Queenstown we have a few days 'drifting' before we pick up bikes to do a couple of days on the Otago Rail Trail, basing ourselves at Ranfurly but getting transported so that we can do the best bits. After that we pick up the beautiful West coast and head North, taking in the glaciers, Hanmer Springs, Lake Rotoroa and working our way back to the ferry.
We then plan to have a few days in Wellington (Hello Auntie Heather!!) before we embark on our tour of North Island..... we've started to look at that, including a jet boat ride and some canoeing on the Whanganui river (any of the NZ family fancy joining us?) and a pencilled in meeting up with an ex-student and colleague of mine who emigrated a while back.
Next installment will follow once we firm up North Island a bit more.... we're hoping to hear back from my Uncle David and cousin Scott about getting together as they are in the northern part of North Island.....
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