Had a bit of bother with internet connections as we have been moving down the west coast of South Island.
We had to stay in Wellington a day longer than expected since a huge storm was forecast with heavy rain. Thankfully, it was John Reid (our tour manager) who had the headache of sorting it out. All the Interisland ferries were cancelled. And we were very, very glad.
We had a day in the huge Museum since it was wild outdoors.Many in North Island were without power and were flooded. It was very interesting in the Museum but very noisy since there was a group of Maori people doing exhibitions on weddings and playing very loud music, so loud you couldn't hear the explanations of some of the exhibits.
I had a problem too after the Hangi in that I had a tummy bug of the worst kind! I got over it though.
The crossing on the Sunday was OK but there was still quite a swell. You are not in the open for very long and soon into the Marlborough Sound which is sheltered. We were four and a bit hours instead of three because there was another boat berthed and we had to wait for it to leave.
We landed at Picton-- a lovely little seaside village. It had a pub called the "Flying Haggis". Because of our delay we only had one night here instead of two.
First thing in the morning, we headed for the Winneries where we did some wine tasting. Really good, you would all have enjoyed it. Some thing to cater for every taste. This valley specialises in Sauvignon Blanc. I liked the unoaked one. They had some nice Rieslings and I really loved the dessert wines. We visited Hunters, Drylands and Framinghams. They have a range called the "F" range which Gordon Ramsay uses in some of his restaurants.
We met up with the others from the bus at a place which had a few shops. One was a wool shop but they haven't got the range of yarns we have at the moment. They did have lovely patterns for tiny jumpers.
Since the hotel is a little way out of the town, we had an hour in Nelson first and visited the Cathedral there. It had a magnificent organ on beautiful wooden stilts. It had a Guide/Scout area with a flag from 1934 brought out by Lady Baden Powell and it had standards from the regiments who fought at Gallipoli. It also had a beautiful Rose Window. Pity it looked so ugly from the outside!
The hotel was really strange. It was like the set of Coronation Street and we had a little cottage with the lounge, kitchen etc downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. We shared with a couple from Carnoustie--Ron and Marie. Since we had an early start next day while it was still dark, it was no problem. The dining room was strange two with French court style chairs for which the room was too small.
Next stop was to be Franz Josef Glacier. On the way, we visited the Pancake Rock and Blow Holes at Punakaiki on the west coast. Unfortunately, the tides and swells didn't allow us to see the Blow Holes to advantage but the rocks were very unusual indeed. Getting through the Alps was almost as bad as the Trollstig road in Norway if not worse, can you imagine it! We had a break at the town of Hokitika and saw some jade being worked but we headed to another shop which was a cooperative for all sorts of New Zealand artists.
The cloud limited what we could see of the glaciers today but we did catch glimpses through them. Again roads awinding through the dense woodlands and native vegetation.
Today, we had a jet boat ride on the Haast River. It was great fun especially when the driver did 360 degree turns.
We are now in Queenstown the Adrenaline Capital of the World. We have seen the Bungee Jump bridge on the way into town. You will be glad to know that we are passing on that but not all of our group seem to be!
Hope you are all fine.
LOL M&D