And in the words of R.E.M……………….

It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine
I feel fine………….

Now you can read how fine we felt –

Days 1 and 2 with a lot of time changing and hours lost and gained (Heathrow to Auckland via Singapore, gonna take a while)

Words never before spoken – I love the M25 travelling clockwise at sunrise.The trip to Heathrow was miraculously seamless with Sophie, our early morning chauffeur for the day, only once having to really brake the orange and black beast (aka Toyota Aygo) anything like hard when we, earlier than anticipated, arrived at the drop off point for Terminal 2.
It’s was all change here too; after checking in online at home, you now quickly check in your hold luggage at one of the automatic terminals dotted around the concourse where your luggage tags are then automatically printed, you attach them and keep the receipts somewhere safe finally dropping your luggage as usual at the appropriate desk. Passport control and cabin luggage check was also quick and efficient even though the contents of Maggie’s rucksack had to be removed and checked/swabbed; no, nothing found! Finally straight through the last passport check followed by a well deserved cup of tea – EASY!
Now for the inevitable wait and look around the shops at Duty Free, eventually to walk to the gate via a variety of escalators and travelators, to board the plane, and to experience the long haul flight and all that this has to offer.
Well readers, good news, although the Singapore Airlines A380 800 aircraft which was our preferred mode of transport for the first and longer leg of our 2 part flight to NZ took off only 30 mins late, we were soon crossing the channel and, whilst tucking into our first meal of the journey; a very pleasant on at that, were overflying mainland Europe, above Strasbourg, Vienna then north of Istanbul and across the Black Sea.

We were seated in the very back of the cabin with, this time, a fair amount of legroom and no one sitting behind us, just a bulkhead so no bumping and banging of our seat backs thank goodness. I think I will always try to book these seats in the future. Unfortunately and rather annoyingly, my headphone socket only worked on the left channel, I didn’t use it – bah! Aha, I now discovered why, a little jiggling and hey presto both channels were functioning.
Next over the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan where it suddenly became quite bouncy on the plane, sporting I think they call it, even the cabin crew had to stay seated, perhaps it’s the weather coming off the western end of the Himalayas? No, wrong again, the captain let us know that there was a particularly strong jet stream blowing and that we were crossing it, that’ll be the reason then. After half an hour everything settled back down again to the monotonous hum of the engines, the whoosh of the AC and the feeling of smooth forward motion. Anyway, onwards to the south of New Delhi and Calcutta (I prefer to call it that rather than Kolkata), across the Bay of Bengal and down the coasts of Burma (aka Myanmar) and the Andaman Sea to the coast of the Malaysian peninsula flying continuously south eastward towards Singapore. We ate lunch or was it supper or perhaps even breakfast? Whatever, we still ate and drank even though the tea could be seen jumping erratically around in the cup as the plane bobbled along.
At around 7.45am local time we touched down in Singapore Changi Airport and after disembarking we quickly made our way to the departure gate which was very conveniently located next to our arrival gate.
After a rapid security check we boarded an Air New Zealand B787 aircraft and were soon on our way again. This final leg of our journey was going to be slightly shorter; 9h 15min – whoopee.
Breakfast was soon served and we all settled down for what began as a very bumpy ride. It soon quietened down as we flew over the islands of Indonesia and then across Australia, North West to the East coast and on out into the ocean towards our final destination New Zealand.

This flight seemed to go much slower than the previous leg even though it was shorter. We both seemed to have had sufficient of watching films, eating meals and snacks and sitting still in our seats in the small spaces provided by the seats in Economy Class. My eyes kept looking at the ‘time to destination’ information shown on the screen which seemed inexplicably to get forever closer to my eyes as each hour passed, the minutes seemed to pass even more intolerably slowly as the cabin crew busied themselves whilst passengers dozed and others meandered around all this accompanied by the occasional sound of a child crying perhaps out of shear frustration of having to keep stiller than they would have liked, oh well all part of the fun of flying long haul and you couldn’t get any longer than this.

At last we arrived in Auckland (New Zealand)

Here follows a short factual introduction for the uninitiated to New Zealand taken from a book which I chose to read on the way:

A Land of 2 Halves, An accidental tour of New Zealand by Joe Bennett

a must read for any would be visitors but, please make sure not to laugh too loudly on the plane whilst reading it.

“Superficially, New Zealand appears to be a land of contradictions. It has a masculine image but it was the first place in the world to give women the vote. It sits in the South Pacific but until recently traded almost exclusively with Great Britain. It sent soldiers to Vietnam but banned American warships. It promotes itself as a virgin paradise, but it has destroyed 90% of it’s native bush. It is a rural country but most of its people live in cities. It has the land area of the U.K. under Elizabeth II, but the population of the U.K. under Elizabeth I. It has 2 main islands, and 2 main races. It seems in short, a land of 2 halves.”

So now you know!

Day 1 proper (Sunday 19th February, Auckland)

After a not too long sleep we had a light breakfast and hot footed it down to the harbour area. The weather was broken cloud but warm and humid. Our hotel was close to everything so most attractions were within easy walking distance.
The marina come port come harbour come ferry terminus was busy with everything from runners and cyclists to tourists and people off to work – when I say busy please be assured, I do not mean London busy! We walked around gazing open mouthed at some of the super yachts moored up and watched as various craft busied themselves whilst seaplanes or float planes as they are known as locally took off for sight seeing trips.

The harbour was vast with lots of inlets and islands based all around this city, quite aptly known as, the City of Sails.

We walked over various bridges dotted around and had to stop for a moment whilst one was lifted to allow passage for an Americas Cup type yacht. We next visited the fish market to marvel at the fish and seafood on sale, thank goodness each tray was individually labelled otherwise most of what was on offer would have remained unnamable. After a while the clouds burst and we had to shelter for 10mins.
Now for an amazing lunch story. Back in the U.K. whilst having our coffee in the conservatory one Sunday morning we came up with the idea of booking a brunch (12.15pm) in the Auckland Skytower Orbit 360 Restaurant so after spending time in the harbour, we strolled back to the hotel, got changed out of our shorts and sandals and into something more suitable and walked 5mins up the street to the entrance of this imposingly tall structure, 52 floors later and we were shown to our table, provided with menus and sat back to enjoy the show. Not only does the restaurant slowly revolve hence the 360 but people were outside bungy jumping before our very eyes.

The food, I must inform you, was excellent as was the wine.
Following brunch we got back into the lift to go even further up, this time to the viewing platform on the 60th floor – here the views of the city were even more spectacular.

Next back to the hotel for a bit of R & R.
I’ve forgotten the darn iPhone/iPad charger lead so we will have to sort that out next.
After a bit of an unplanned snooze we woke up at 4.58pm for a 5pm meeting with the rest of the group and our tour guide Erika. Our leader and surprisingly, as we also discovered, our driver, lived on the North Island and had been a guide for 4 years. She at first appeared somewhat inexperienced and a little nervous but nevertheless, this myth would soon be dispelled. Our first impressions were very favourable. We were 10 in total and would be sharing a large bus so there was plenty of room. Erica talked us through what we would be doing and where we would be staying throughout our journey an explained to us some of the optional activities available. We booked the Americas Cup Experience, kayaking and sailing/hiking – all which sounded amazing. By the way, I have to tell you, it’s by no means cheap here!
Maggie and I went out for an evening stroll and found that the harbour area looked very different at night with so many more people eating and drinking in the numerous bars and restaurants dotted around. The lights on the boats looked lovely all the while the Skytower with its subtle lighting dominated the place. We opted for fish and chips washed down with a Tui (beer) each.
We walked back to the hotel to catch up on our sleep.

Day 2 (Monday 20th February – Tour of Auckland and Americas Cup Sailing Experience)

What a day today!
We woke early as we were still getting used to the time difference. Breakfast was at 8.30am and we were on the coach by 9.30am off for a tour of Auckland and the areas outside the city centre. We first visited the Auckland Bridge and its marina area, I’ve never seen so many boats! We walked under the bridge which is reminiscent of Sydney Harbour Bridge on a much smaller scale but nevertheless still boasts an 8 lane highway into and out of Auckland (at busy times in the morning 5 lanes in and 3 lanes out and in the afternoon rush hour the other way around.)
From there we drove along the shoreline towards Mission Bay, so named because this is where the first missionaries arrived; NZ being first settled in the late 1200s by the Maoris who called it ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud.’ It was then visited although not settled by Abel Tasman in 1642, a Dutch explorer who named it Staten Landt later to be renamed as Nieuw Zeeland after an area of the Netherlands and finally by Captain James Cook in the 1769 who claimed it for Great Britain. Next, to a memorial on a hill where we could look over the bay and towards an island formed comparatively recently, only 600 years ago by seismic activity.
From here we drove through an area containing the most expensive houses in Auckland, you could certainly see why this was the case, they were huge, had great views and were all designed differently. Thence on to the Auckland Museum and war memorial. We didn’t go into the museum choosing rather to walk back to our hotel via the city where, I am pleased to say we managed to buy a lead for the iPad. We had a slice of pizza each for lunch and an iced tea and came back to the hotel to prepare for this afternoon’s adventure.
At 1.30pm we met in the lobby and the 5 of us walked down to the harbour where we paid for and collected our tickets for a 2 hour sailing experience on an actual Americas Cup yacht. After a little while waiting around we donned our life preservers, listened intently to our safety briefing and along with others climbed aboard this incredible machine designed solely for the purpose of moving as quickly as possible through water, we were 25 in total with 4 crew so some of us would be needed to assist.

We motored slowly out of the berth and then, when we were in open water, the huge sails were hoisted up the masts with the help of the paying passengers manning the grinders, 4 heavy winches which had to be turned, 2 people to a winch. It looked like and was hard work, you can ask Maggie if you don’t believe me. I avoided this strenuous activity using my genuine bad back excuse. As we sailed north the boat angled itself steeply as each visitor was given an attempt at steering, this was great to experience and good to watch especially as each new helmsperson had to make his or her way to the wheel across a forever sloping deck.

We wandered up the bay and as the boom swung across signalling our turning point we picked up speed running with the wind to around 11 knots (about 14 mph) – what an experience!
We passed a variety of craft going this way and that which included a huge P & O liner which appeared to us to be stationary. The next thing we knew, we were approached by a police launch and our captain was being quite severely reprimanded for crossing too closely in front of the liner, he disagreed quite openly across the gap of ocean between our 2 vessels but was still told in no uncertain terms that he would be required to fill out a form upon arrival back at port, needless to say he was none too pleased and I suspect that when he rang his boss which he did from the front of the yacht and out of our earshot he wasn’t too happy either however, this wasn’t the case. His boss agreed that his captains’s actions were completely acceptable and on this occasion the police were wrong, who knows?
The sails were soon down as we motored back to the mooring and then the rain came so we rushed to the nearest coffee shop for a drink and some shelter. What a fantastic 2 hour experience, worth every penny, sorry, dollar.
We strolled back to the hotel, only 5 minutes away and had a freshen up before dinner which began with at 6.30pm, a meet in the hotel lobby affair and then a walk to the restaurant.
Tonight was going to be the first group meal of the trip. Once again we strolled to the harbour, obviously in Auckland the focal point for meals and drinks on warm summer evenings! Our restaurant tonight was a bustling Asian Fusion one with bright red and yellow decoration and the smell of cooking coming from the open kitchen. Maggie and I ordered our cocktail starters and then a sharing mix of Bali Prawns, Thai Red Vegetable Curry and Egg Fried Rice, all this was soon demolished with the chopsticks working overtime; delicious and very much needed.
We paid and then regrouped in a somewhat quieter location, The Fox Bar, for a drink and our briefing for tomorrow. Eventually the others in our group departed whilst Maggie and I stayed on for a while to use the free Wifi.
We returned to the hotel around 10.00pm and soon were in slumberland.

Day 3 (Tuesday 21st February – The Coromandel Peninsula)

After a slight disagreement, I’m going to call it a misunderstanding, last night during the briefing, it was eventually decided that breakfast would be around 8am with a checkout time of 10am Meaning we could all leave after loading the bus at 10.30am and guess what, this is exactly what occurred but not before Maggie and I had paid a visit to the bank to change some currency and had walked back along the harbour front where we were lucky enough to see – the Queen Elizabeth which had recently docked.

Today we would be driving Eastwards to the other side of the bay  from Auckland and across the Thames river, yes I know what you’re thinking, another great James Cook idea and you’d be correct! He came here in 1769 and as it reminded him of our River Thames he named it accordingly, in reality it’s nothing like the River Thames. Next to the township of Thames for lunch and then onwards to Tairua, our base for the next couple of days.
The drive took us through some lush hilly countryside, across flat grassy valleys and past cattle farms and also what appeared to be unspoilt wild fern forest. It was a complete contrast to Auckland and yet so closeby. After about 45 mins we eventually arrived at the aforementioned Thames, a smallish and rather quaint town with one Main Street and residential areas dotted around. On one side of the town was the Thames river and the Firth of Thames and on the other the green hills rose to the blue sky above, a great location. We spent around 1.5h here so Maggie and I decided to take a walk along the side of the estuary, it was quiet, peaceful, clean and as we past the croquet club felt like a step back in time, it was delightful. We saw a good variety of bird life, a New Zealand Kingfisher, Variable Oystercatchers, a New Zealand Falcon, Herons and Gulls of various types. We also spotted a Monarch butterfly, enormous and flying like a bird, this one would be the first of many.

After our walk we bought a few things for lunch and boarded the bus for the next part of today’s trip which saw us end up at Tairua, a small waterside settlement a bit like a surfers town only without either surf or sufficient peope to call it a town…..….
Initially we passed straight through so we could visit the top of the local dormant volcano, Paku. Erika drove us up as far as she could and we had to walk the last bit which took us about 20mins on steep steps with the final 20metres up a rough rocky natural staircase. The views were amazing, the breakers from the Pacific Ocean rolling in to meet a long wide Sandy beach empty of people and behind this a large bay of shallow water encircled by a selection of houses which lay generously spread out and scattered round about.

This place was beautiful because of its apparent remoteness even though in reality we were only about 2 hours drive from Auckland. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone visiting NZ.
Our hotel for the next 2 nights would be The Pacific Harbour, a collection of single story deluxe cabins flanked on either side by water. Our cabin, number 14 was very comfortable.
After settling in we thought a swim would be a good idea, however, although the water was as warm as a bath, it never seemed to get any deeper than knee height so we paddled and enjoyed the birds, crabs, fish and the crunch of cockle/oyster shells beneath our feet.
Once again we did a bit of food shopping for tomorrow’s lunch and once again we were amazed at how expensive this country is. This evening it got quite a bit cooler, so much so that a number of diners in the restaurant in which we had chosen to eat, not that there was that great a choice of eateries, had wrapped themselves in blankets freely supplied by the restaurant. We ate fish and chips with a side salad all washed down with a pint of the best on tap, lovely.
The stars were out in force tonight even though it had gotten a bit cloudier so while I popped down to the beach to take some star photos, Maggie made ready for bed. When I returned half an hour later she was soundo and it didn’t take me long before I was likewise.

Day 4 (Wednesday 22nd February – Hot Springs & Cathedral Bay)

An unusual start to the day to have to cross over the road for breakfast still, the roads here are simply not busy so 9 times out of 10 there’s nothing coming. This was the case this morning. Breakfast was particularly good, the scrambled eggs were yummy.
Today we visited a beach where hot springs, and I mean HOT, simply bubbled through the sand in numerous places. The hotel provided us with towels and spades of all things. The spade would allow for some of us to dig holes so that homemade beach baths could be filled used to relax in. Upon our arrival, we immediately saw that the areas of the beach located near these hot water outlets were already under siege by an army of cosmopolitan labourers, it was like a scene from The Somme, some of our group joined in but we on the other hand just strolled a bit further along the beach to where the water was simply bubbling out and it wasn’t long before we were ‘hot footing’ it waiting for each wave of cold seawater to arrive and cool our feet, amazing.

After some time we strolled back to the coffee shop for a relaxing cappuccino.
We again boarded the bus an Erika drove us through the stunning green and pleasant landscape that seems to cover this part of New Zealand, fields with cows, vineyards and farms surrounded by what appeared to be virgin fern forest. Do you know there are 5 varieties of tree fern out of the 250 different types of fern found in NZ? Well now you do and that helps to explain the use of silver fern symbol by the Kiwis to represent their country.
After around half an hour we parked up at the starting point for our afternoon walk to Cathedral Bay.

The long path come track, so obviously trudged in the heat by so many visitors to this beautiful location, was busy and quite undulating with steps and staircases all eventually ending at a magnificent golden sandy beach where a huge archway in the rock led to a neighbouring beach, hence the name. The breakers were really coming in here loud and regular,

what a great place for lunch. We’d already prepared our vegimite rolls and these washed down with cold fruit flavoured tea made for a nice snack.
After numerous photos had been taken and some of our group had been for a swim, we retraced our steps stopping every now and again to look at plants, birds and the stunning views of the Pacific. The next landfall from this spot would be Chile, although I don’t know how many thousand miles away this would be. The journey back to the hotel took around 30mins so when we got back we just (Chillied – see what I did there?) chilled for a while glad to be out of the heat of the day.
After a shower and freshen up we decided to go for dinner. Oven grilled Blue Nose fish steaks, salad and fries with skins, a panacotta and a drop of the local on tap beer rounded off with 2 cappuccinos came to $110NZ so you can see what I mean by expensive. Still, it was very tasty and just enough.
We were in bed by 9.30pm after having whatsapped Sophie & Lyndsey.

Day 5 (Thursday 23rd February, Tairua – Waihi- Matamata [Hobbiton] – Rotorua)

This is certainly a ‘Green and Pleasant Land’ of that we have absolutely no doubt given the pastureland, fields of crops, rolling hills, fertile valleys, virgin fern forests and the variety of shades of green on show, it is nature displaying at its very finest and to use a well worn cliché, very much like the U.K. in the 50’s.
Today we drove across across the Coromandel Range using winding roads both to ascend and descend then through a picturesque gorge with a crystal clear river with a footpath/cycle path running all too invitingly beside it, oh to stop here and have a walk, this surely would have been a better option than visiting an artificial movie set!
Onwards however into a flat land area with much straighter roads and then we reached the old gold mining town, and I use the word town loosely, of Waihi. I loved his throw back to the past and could have spent the day here sat on that bench by the roundabout just watching the world or what constituted the world in these parts, go round (no pun intended). The place was empty by our standards with a Main Street and not a lot more, a few shops styled on ‘Grace Brothers’ each and every one of them. We visited the open cast mine which, only a couple of days ago had had another fall of rock causing untold damage. The last time this happened, we were told, 50 workers had to be laid off, something the town obviously could not afford to have happen.

After a stroll we continued on our way.
Our next stop just outside the town of Matamata would be the now made permanent Film Set used in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. I have to admit that I was not looking forward to this commercial tourist trap, I’ve not seen the movies and had, yes had, no desire to see them, however, that might have very recently changed.
This place was slickly organised and ran to time. Our slot was 1.20pm and on the button the coach arrived to deliver our group alongside many other tourists all led by an official guide to the village in the ‘Shire’ and to Bilbo Baggins’ house along with many other hobbit homes, his garden area, an artificial tree, a water mill and finally a pub in which we received a well earned ginger beer. The attention to detail in this area was amazing and it was hard to tell real from artificial. It was colourful and, I’m surprised I’m saying this, rather attractive and magical. Oh well, that’s the impression they’re trying to give and they’ve caught me! Many others did not need catching, by all accounts many people’s specialist subject given half the chance on Mastermind would be the books of J. R. Tolkien.

After walking around the set for 2 hours in the heat of the day we were all ready to climb back aboard the coach for some A/C cooling.
Next stop was Rotorua which means lake number 2 i.e. the second lake to which the Maoris arrived when first coming to New Zealand. It has a population of 60,000 making it the 10th largest city in New Zealand, it is also home to 40% of New Zealand’s Maori population making it an obvious centre of Maori culture.
On the way in we noticed numerous small conical peaks each finished off with its own rock outcrop um…………… yes, my thinking was correct, all results of local volcanic activity.
This place is known as the adrenaline capital of the North Island and we saw some evidence of this, Zorbing, parascending on the lake, a dry luge run etc. It must also have the stinkiest city claim to fame because of the many sulphur (rotten egg) smelling hot vents dotted around the place each with their own danger hot steam and water signs closeby, certainly not a place to dewell in for anyone with breathing difficulties.
After checking in to our hotel we went for a walk along the lake side which was very pretty and then further on to visit the Maori Meeting Hall which was again very peaceful.

 

This evening we walked into town and ate pasta in an Italian restaurant, mine was with mussels and assorted seafood but unfortunately for me the mussels were simply just too large to be easily eaten so I had to leave a couple on the plate.
Back to our hotel for a good night’s well earned rest.

Day 6 (Friday 24th February, in Rotorua visiting Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Area)

We woke today around 7am, it was already light and there was a broken cloudy sky above. Breakfast buffet was excellent and just as varied a selection of foods available as you would imagine in such a large hotel.
At 9.00am we climbed aboard the bus and Erika drove us the half hour or so to the geo thermal area situated just outside the main centre. First we visited the boiling mud pools where lakes of gloopy grey mud bubbled away quite happily steaming as they did so, it stunk of sulphur but was still great to experience.

After a few more minutes in the bus we had arrived at the visitor centre and entrance to Wai-O-Tapu proper. We decided to take the long walking route, a combination of all 3 shorter dedicated routes, this would take us 1h 30mins to complete and would give us the fullest of experiences possible passing by such features as Rainbow Crater, The Artist’s Palette, The Champagne Pool and Devil’s Bath (a bright green pool).

It was a fantastic experience and what Rotorua is famous for. The colours of the rock ranged from yellow to orange and red and the waters varied between blue, red and the brightest of green.

Boiling bubbling superheated water, steam and bottomless pits

from which came spooky gurgling sounds seemed to appear around every bend of the track. Now and again we would come to a viewing point where we could get the best possible position from which to photograph these spectacular natural events sometimes having to wait for the steam to disappear from around us before getting a clear view, numerous Chinese tourists on the other hand could frequently be spotted ignoring the ropes and keep away signs instead choosing to live dangerously in order to get that all important and closeup selfie. We walked up and down staircases, across walkways between steaming hot lakes with those warning signs telling us not to stray from the track and along paths through beautiful wooded areas, we really did enjoy all this area had to offer and as we were leaving the crowds were really building so we reckon we’d had the best of it much to ourselves and a few Chinese.
Quickly back into the coach we returned to the museum quarter of Rotorua for a tour around the garden area. Unfortunately due to the recent earthquake the museum was shut for repair. The area round about was a reminder of the early 1900s, all cricket, bowls, croquet, and formal gardens with cream and brown painted, what we would now regard as old fashioned buildings.

Our guide told us about the different things to see and do, the swimming pool with its original changing rooms and attached tea rooms, the various WW1 memorials to the ANZAC Troops, the sculpture garden and the steaming hot pools. The Museum building was spectacular from the outside and was originally built as a Spa later to be used as a convalescent home for returning First World War troops. The NZ troops certainly were sacrificed in huge numbers. When our tour had ended and we’d said our thankyous, we left the group and decided to take a closer more detailed look at the war based sculptures in the park, they were certainly all different and original.
Next we walked into town for a light sandwich lunch and a well deserved cold drink.

Kia-Ora (I know what you’re thinking, the orange drink during the intermission at the cinema, well no, not in this case, it’s the Maori greeting meaning hello or welcome)
Now for our Maori Cultural evening which turned out to be certainly better than expected. We arrived at the Te Puia centre along with quite a few other people and after collecting our tickets waited in the tourist trap (aka souvenir shop) for our group leader to invite us to enter the grounds proper. As this was also a Maori carving and weaving centre we took the opportunity to buy ourselves a mask as well as one for Jane. We also bought our usual, a decoration for the Christmas tree.
After a brief introduction as to the cooking of traditional Maori food in a Hanga or hot stone pit oven we were invited to view the cooked food, some of which we would be eating later this evening. Next we were explained about the protocol of strangers when meeting with a Maori tribe and how a Maori warrior would try to intimidate the chief of the strangers who when picking up the fern leaf left by the warrior would either choose to turn his back to walk away showing that he was a coward or would step away backwards when the warrior would then accept and welcome his new friend. This went off smoothly with one of the tourists acting the part of the visitor and then rubbing noses, literally face to face with the warrior. After this had been completed we were all invited into the meeting house and officially welcomed by the Maori group. Instruments were played, dances performed and songs sung, weapons demonstrated and a Haka performed. Did you know, they poke their tongues out as a sign that they just might eat you?

Finally it was the tourists go, women danced and swung Pom-poms and men did the Haka, all good fun. After all this we ate. What a banquet, as much as you liked, soups, salads, vegetables, fish, meat, curry, pasta, bread etc. all followed by a fantastic dessert selection.
When everyone had completed their meal we walked down towards some geysers which by now had been illuminated in the dark. Maybe they didn’t perform to their best but they were still impressive.

We eventually strolled back to the coach studying as we did the stars in the clear night sky, I remember seeing Orion’s Belt. Finally Erika got us all on the coach and it wasn’t long before our noses told us that we had arrived back at the hotel.
A super day.

Day 7 (Saturday 25th February, Rotorua – Taupo – Napier – Wallingford)

Well today I have to start with the last first. Tonight we are staying in a homestead which could easily be regarded as a stately home, the Wallingford Homestead to be precise. This enormous 1853 building in which we are the only guests is extremely grand and ostentatious to a magnificent degree where we are waited upon hand and foot. The rooms are wood panelled and the furniture antique. There are two drawing rooms, a grand dining room with bone china and silver service, numerous guest rooms off long corridors equally classically decorated with separate bathrooms.

This place has the wow factor in abundance.

Anyway back to the start of the day which began earlier than usual at 7am for breakfast. We were away by 8am first to visit Huka falls, a rushing torrent of river water just off to the side of the highway and obviously a good rest point for those heading southwards.
Back on to the coach again and through some stunning countryside much of which is given over to managed pine forest eventually after some 100+km to arrive at the town of Taupo sitting beside a lake of the same name, the largest lake in NZ. On the face of it a town catering mainly for summer lake and winter mountain activities but nevertheless quite pleasant and laid back. It was here that Erika gave us our earthquake safety advice, lay flat, get undercover of a table or similar object and hold on – um!
Our next stop saw us arrive at the seaside town of Napier famed throughout NZ for its Art Deco buildings, many having been rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in the 1930s. These now mostly shop fronts showed off all aspects of this architectural style, the colours, shapes and lettering used but, and it’s a big but, would have been even better had many of them not been covered with gaudy modern signage e.g. Thai massage, Chinese take away, no parking etc.and had not been surrounded by so many parked cars. All the same it was very interesting and obviously attracted visitors from all over the globe.

It was here that Maggie decided upon a jade necklace as a 40th wedding anniversary gift.
After lunch we met at the icentre (information Centre) and drove on for a very short distance to a vineyard for some wine tasting. Here we experienced 5 types of wine certainly some of which were better than others. It was a laugh as well as an interesting thing to do.
Now all we had to do was drive to our overnight stop which which had been changed from the original one in Napier to an alternative in Wallingford from where I write this after having had a swim in the pool, a pre dinner drink and just having been served a delicious 3 course evening meal cooked by a chef who, if you don’t mind, once cooked for Lord Carrington and Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher. When everyone had gone to bed I took a look out at the night sky. There was no light pollution and the stars were absolutely amazing in the clear black sky, the more you looked, the more you could see. I spent some time photographing these and it was half past midnight by the time I got to bed.

Day 8 (Sunday 26th February, Wallingford – Wellington)

Our departure today was the latest one so far at around 10am. This was, of course only after a breakfast which I will describe next and a tour of the wings of the house, the wool shed and part of the garden.
Breakfast was served at 8am and we were all summoned to the dining room by the sounding of the bell. After juice, yogurt, muesli and fresh fruit salad, we were presented with eggs Benedict, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, toast, tea and coffee, as much as we could manage!!! A breakfast fit for a king especially in these palatial surroundings.
Following breakfast our host and owner of the homestead showed us around the rooms within the building, 14 bedrooms in all each with its own specific name leading off 3 different corridors, ours was the school room furnished and decorated in its own unique style. Next a quick hop across the courtyard to the Wool Shed described as a bit ‘rumpy.’ This is where only last week, the sheep had been sheared, each sheep taking 1 minute to have its fleece removed at one of the 5 shearing machines. The fleeces are then baled up and sent off for processing.

After this we stood on the lawn looking at the rows of elm trees purchased as saplings for their ability to produce truffles after having first been impregnated with truffle spores, they have since grown quite a lot and the truffles are already being sold on the New Zealand market.
Finally we said our farewells and were back on the road. We passed through first a Danish and next a Norwegian town then stopped for a comfort break and to fill up with petrol. An hour and a half later we stopped for lunch. Maggie and I weren’t that hungry so we simply orderd a ginger beer each and shared a halumi salad, not bad, whilst others ate a lot more fully.
Finally after driving for a while beside the Tasman Sea, we arrived in Wellington, a city at the southernmost end of the North Island and yes, named after The Duke of Wellington.
Our hotel here, The West Plaza Hotel was pretty new and Maggie assured me that it was Earthquake proof. This is important when considering that the cinema has recently closed due to earthquake damage. This area is very prone to earthquakes sitting as it does on a major plate junction.
We strolled through what we thought was the centre of Wellington and were not that impressed perhaps because it was also a Sunday and the shops were closed but mainly because it seemed rather tacky, anyway, we walked up to The War Memorial which certainly was a very definite commemoration to those soldiers who died during various wars. The tomb of the unknown soldier was quite moving as was the sculpture given by the Australians to the people of New Zealand for their support and friendship during times of conflict.
Tonight we ate in Loretta, a pizza, quinoa and rice berry salad accompanied by 2 artisan beers all went down very nicely. This was a very busy and happening restaurant and thank goodness also quite close to the hotel as tonight we were a little travel weary.

Day 9 (Monday 27th February – In Wellington)

If I gave you the wrong impression about Wellington I’m sorry, after the day we’ve had I must change my mind completely. This city is stunning, helped by the weather being warm and comfortable from the moment we awoke. After a mega breakfast we decided to find the cable car station which lay up a lane just off a very smart shopping street. The cable car was more of a what you and I might call a funicular railway. We paid $4 each for a single ticket and after queuing for only a short time boarded the cab and were on our way. It only took about 90 secs or thereabouts for the ride to the top of the hill where the view of Wellington was spectacular, you could see the harbour, the city, the blue sea and the hills in the distance with white clouds as if suspended above them.

We made a few purchases in the shop and had a look around at the tram museum, the Observatory and the old artillery piece. Although it seemed busy in and around the cable car station the crowds soon thinned out and we were virtually alone. It was quiet and peaceful and with the pastel coloured buildings really did remind me of my childhood in Plymouth.

We decided after consulting the map to walk through the Botanical Gardens. If you ever come to Wellington this is a must see.

The Begonia House was wonderful and with the Rose Garden made a super spot to dwell.

Then to the Fern Garden, Succulent Garden, Australian Garden all followed by a ride in a lift to the treetops viewing platform. Next to the duck pond, Fragrant Garden and Seasonal Flower Beds then finally past some graves and over the highway and back to the city centre via the Parliament Building (the beehive) from where we had started; we’d been walking for about 4 hours in total.
We decided to buy some sandwiches and a cold drink each and then walked to the harbour area where we sat in the shade and ate.
This walkway come esplanade was full of upmarket eateries, nothing like Cuba Street and its takeaways that we’d experienced last night.
We walked past some lovely old buildings, cranes and boats to the Te Papa Museum, one of the best museums in the country and free at that!
We decided to look around the Maori exhibits which were excellent and after an hour had a coffee in the café. Our evening meal today was a fries and Halumi Salad concoction washed down with a Campari & Soda for Mags and a Beer for me. New Zealanders are heavily into beers of all types both bottled and tapped, we’ve tried quite a few and there is yet to be a complaint. New Zealanders are also, it appears, in love with tattoos, we’ve seen everything from full face, arms and legs, necks in fact most body parts apart from the ones upon which the sun don’t shine. Well I’m on a roll, New Zealanders seem to dress peculiarly wearing all sorts of strange garb from pink tights to shorts and kilts mix, little netted tops etc. etc. Oh and they like piercings too – oh well. I’ve threatened to have a Maori tattoo on my left shoulder but Mags has vetoed that!

Day 10 (Tuesday 28th February, Wellington – Picton – Nelson (South Island)
Today we woke earlier than normal had breakfast at 6.30am and had left the hotel by 7.30am. We had said goodbye to our coach last evening as today we would have a super shuttle to take us to the ferry terminal ready to cross the Cook Strait to New Zealand’s South Island where a new coach awaited us. We booked in at the ferry terminal at 8am which was very similar to booking in for a flight from an airport. Our baggage was tagged and taken from us and we soon boarded the ferry and were underway. We climbed the stairs and found a seat as we eased out of Wellington harbour and spun around to begin the 52 nautical miles and 3 and a half hour crossing. It was busy on the boat but as people moved around from deck to deck and from seating area to lounge, a lot of room soon became available. People were lining the sides of the boat taking photos as we left the harbour but we quickly entered open water and soon steamed straight away into a bank of thick fog. The captain sounded the foghorn, the sun and blue sky disappeared so we went down 2 decks and found a seat in one of the lounges where we had a coffee. After about an hour the sun reappeared as we entered Queen Charlotte Sound so we went out on deck again to admire the absolutely magnificent views of the coastline and islands we were now passing. We glimpsed some dolphins and later some seals as a variety of yachts and motor cruisers passed us by. The clouds were stark white and contrasted beautifully against the unspoilt and scarcely populated and in many instances uninhabited landscape. Everyone was taking photographs!

Eventually and spot on time we docked at Picton on the South Island. We picked up our luggage from an airport like carousel and climbed aboard our coach.This was a quiet seaside town which luckily had a great Dutch bakery where we bought a veggie roll each for lunch. Yummy, lunch by the sea sitting in the shade of a palm tree just watching the day pass by.

Next on to the bus (a new white one) then to the town of Nelson via a very winding road passing through a variety of small settlements, one which claimed to be the Green Shell Mussel centre of the world, it even had a giant mussel advertising this and another, Canvastown, so named because the original settlement was made up of only canvas tents. The road rose and dropped as we crossed ridges and sped alongside a number of small bays, inlets, sounds, channels, call them what you will, the scenery was still spectacular.
We arrived at our hotel The Rutherford by driving up Trafalgar Street and round Trafalgar Square, no surprise there then after all this town was called Nelson!
The hotel was very comfortable, we had a large room and everything we could possibly have needed.
After settling in we took a stroll back down Trafalgar Street to visit a bike shop I had spotted on the way in. Of course I made a purchase, I don’t know why you might think otherwise. I am now the proud owner of a pair of New Zealand Cycling shorts and very snazzy they are too. On the walk back we just happened to pop into a bar for a beer. It was here we spotted the sign ‘Tuesday Special Fish and Chips and a beer for $20.’ Needless to say we returned there later that evening and took advantage of that bargain offer and delicious it was too.
Early to bed as tomorrow was going to be a long day, still, more about that tomorrow.

Day 11 (Wednesday 1st March in and around Nelson)

Today was a sail and hike day all taking place in and around The Abel Tasman National Park just an hour along the coast from Nelson.
After an earlier than normal start today we boarded a coach that would deliver us after about 1 hour to Kaiteriteri where we picked up our catamaran that would motor then sail us to a bay called appropriately enough Anchorage.
After boarding and being introduced to the captain, there followed a brief, very brief safety briefing, Kiwis don’t go overboard about these sorts of things – did you see what I did there?

The cat motored out of this bay in a generally westward direction. We were allowed to sit anywhere on the yacht so we decided best be up the front on and beside the transom, a sort of trampoline that stretches above the water between the 2 hulls. As we motored in and around various bays we went close to rocks to look at birds and seals. At last we were in the open sea and there was a breeze so the engine was switched off, the main sail and jib were hoisted and we were sailing. It was lovely, the sea was blue, the sky was bluer and we were pretty much alone.

Tea and coffee was served and we just kicked back and enjoyed the ride. At around 12.30pm we dropped anchor and reversed into Anchorage where we were presented with our lunch – falafel baguette and the most enormous blueberry muffin you could possibly imagine, perhaps this is why no evening meal was required tonight.
After lunch we followed the Pitt Head and Tepuketea trail up and down through virgin forest stopping at each and every one of the viewpoints to take it all in.

This circular walk took about 1.5h to complete and you guessed it, we were so warm by the end that we just had to cool off with a dip in the The Tasman Bay, it was pretty cold let me tell you!
At 3.45pm on the dot the water taxi pulled out of Anchorage to take us the 30min back to our starting point where we boarded the coach which returned us safe and sound to Nelson.
We’re still glowing from the amount of sun we’ve been exposed to today. Fab!

Day 12 (Thursday 2nd March, Nelson – Murchison –Cape Foulwind – Punakaiki – Greymouth – Hokitika)

I just thought you’d better know that it’s 6.40pm and I am writing this sitting on our balcony in the last of the day’s sunshine hanging in a blue blue sky whilst I’m looking out over the waves breaking upon a beach strewn with sculptures made from bleached driftwood, not a bad place to inspire a good blog tonight. We’ve just had dinner, a little early I know because we skipped lunch today.
Another early rise this morning saw us leave the hotel at about 7.15am. This was because our journey today was a long one, 6 hours with a number of stops along the way.
After a couple of hours we broke for coffee at Murchison a small town on the Great Ocean Road which runs down the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island and very beautiful it is too.

Our first stop today should have served 2 purposes, coffee for us and possibly a new windscreen for the bus as a stone had earlier been flipped up from a lorry in front of us causing a star burst in our screen. Unfortunately there was no one here who could fix it so we would have to try again at our final destination Hokitika. Whilst we were in Murchison we did have an interesting encounter with a long distance cyclist, this one, one of many seen along the way, had already cycled across Europe and Japan and was now cycling the length of NZ, amazing! As was typical for Erika, whilst she drove us along the winding road she would tell us various interesting snippets of information. Today’s useful info concerned an introduced species to NZ, the possum. Do you know that because the possum population in NZ is increasing far too rapidly and therefore endangering indigenous wildlife there are possum hunters known as possumers. Possum are hunted for their meat used in possum pies and for their skin use to make clothes and soft furnishing. As a result of their huge numbers the government is also involved in attempting to eradicate this species by dropping a poison known as 1080P onto possum inhabited areas, some environmentalists are opposed to this. There are numerous signs therefore warning people of this. So, one of today’s talking points could be regarded as ‘Possum droppings, a heated topic of conversation.’
After coffee we moved on towards Cape Foulwind by way of the Buller River gorge, a beautiful place where kayakers, walkers and mountain bikers were in their element. Foulwind, yes I know it sounds like a comment that could have been made by Sir Edmund Blackadder to Baldrick after a particularly heavy dinner engagement but this place was actually named by Captain Cook for obvious more meteorological type reasons. It was here that we also observed the strange West Coast dance craze – ‘The Sand Fly bop,’ a tactic employed by members of the toilet queue upon conveniently presenting themselves as a quick meal to these pesky little biting insects. Needless to say we all declined the offer of that particular comfort break.

It was just a little further on that we visited a fur seal colony all displaying themselves in the surf and on the rocks below where we spotted them. There were adults and pups everywhere. The pups played chase or swim tag whilst the adults dozed in the sunshine. What an idyllic spot.

Next to Punakaiki with its so called pancake rocks. These rock features made up of layer upon thin layer of sedimentary rock were very unusual, we’d never seen anything like them and what with the heavy waves breaking over them they made for a spectacular photo opportunity.

Back to the bus and a bit of purchasing, a pot with a lid both made from local trunk of palm. Some people chose to have lunch here whilst we just picked up a couple of iced teas.
Finally via Greymouth and on to Hokitika originally a gold mining town. This part of the journey ran alongside a railway line somewhat narrower than we have at home. It also shared a bridge with the aforementioned railway line, literally shared a bridge, single lane driving on top of he rails, thank goodness no trains were using it. The odd thing was that there was a bridge for the railway about 50m away and the line didn’t go over it. That’s not all, there were 2 roundabouts just before Hokitika and both had the railway line running right through the centre of them – all very strange!
At last we arrived in Hokitika, a seaside town with 2 main roads, a few shops, I suppose 20 in all, with at least 6 of those selling jewellery and other trinkets and ornaments made out of local green stone (jade) and also carved locally.

We had a walk around and bought some bits and bobs and then had our early evening meal. We had fish (Blue Cod) and chips, the plates were overflowing with food! This coastline is certainly dramatic and beautiful and the sea sounds majestic.

Day 13 (Friday 3rd March, Hokitika – Frank Josef – Fox)

A late breakfast today before our 4h drive this morning. However, when in Hokitika one should take the opportunity to see the Kiwis, eels, Tuatara etc at the local wildlife centre, we did because you almost definitely won’t see a kiwi in the wild as they are reclusive nocturnal birds and slowly being hunted to extinction by weasels and stoats, 2 regrettably introduced species. This place was very interesting. We got to touch the eels, very slimy and huge, they breed near Tonga and can live out of water for up to 24h by breathing through their skin, amazing what you learn. Next we walked into the darkness to watch the kiwis being fed. There were 2 of them but we had it on good authority that they were not the best of friends. They have vestigial wings and nostrils at the end of their beak, very strange creatures but still good to see eh?
Now we were off proper, once again along the Great Ocean Road and through some attractive scenery although the sky did have 100% cloud cover. It wasn’t too long before it began to rain, slowly at first then heavier. When we arrived in Franz Josef the place was dripping wet and any views of the glacier were only available on postcards or in our imagination. We had a hot drink each and shared a muffin then were off again.
Our final stop for the day was the town of Fox, a town built around activities associated with the Fox Glacier. We filled up with fuel and booked in for our helicopter ride due tomorrow but very weather dependent. We gave our names to the ticket office lady and were weighed. Just 5 min later we were booking in to our hotel for the night, The High Peaks Hotel, but the view of the High Peaks was obscured by cloud, we were assured they were there somewhere. Perhaps Low Peaks or even No Peaks would have been a more appropriate name.
Nearby there was a walk around Lake Matheson which some of us decided to take. I am very glad that we chose to do this walk, it was lovely. We walked through a rainforest which contained not only a great variety of plants but also all the shades of green you could possibly wish for.

The rain began to abate and as there was little wind, the reflections on the lake were mirror perfect.

Slowly the clouds began to part and the mountains along with Fox Glacier made an appearance, they did not disappoint. When crossing a bridge we saw this slowly appear below us, maybe an omen! Duh, duh, duhhhhhh.

Once again we did a bit of purchasing and then returned to our hotel, did some laundry and afterwards had our evening meal.
Early to bed and early to rise tomorrow.
Goodnight.

Day 14 (Saturday 4th March, Fox – Haast – Makarora – Wanaka – Queenstown)

Maggie decided to decline the invitation to come to breakfast this morning, perhaps the size of her meal last evening coupled with the idea of a few more minutes in bed got the better of her. I have to say that I did bring her back a banana from the fruit bowl for later consumption.
The weather i.e. clouds were not playing ball today so despite getting up early, our helicopter flight had to be cancelled, pity. As a result of this and some serious discussion in the car park it was decided that the group would take a hike up to the viewing area as close as we could get to the Fox Glacier (named after a former Prime Minister of NZ, not a well known make of mint – other mints are available). This was a lovely walk that took us past previous many places where the head of the glacier once used to lie, it is receding at an incredible pace and will undoubtedly disappear in the near future. We walked across the outwash sands and moraine that had been carried down by both the glacier and meltwater and increased our pace as we passed signs saying ‘no stopping’ – obviously as a result of recent nearby rock falls. After a particularly steep last section of the path we arrived at the viewpoint and took some good photos of what I thought was a particularly dirty glacier.

It was then we were visited by a Kea, it circled and landed very nearby and got even nearer when it took a liking to a tourist’s gopro. It squawked, opened its beak wide, hopped around and starting picking up stones, all very nice poses for us to catch. After some minutes it flew off to join 2 others perching on the rocks closeby. Very unusual for these birds to get so close to humans we agreed.

After retracing our steps to the coach we were off towards our final destination Queenstown some 6 hours away. Little did we know what a breathtakingly beautiful 6 hours this would be.
We said goodbye to the coast for the time being as we turned inland and drove through acres and acres of untouched rainforest completely unspoilt by mankind and across numerous single track bridges (a sign tells you who has priority) spanning not only broad half empty river beds and deep gorges but also clearwater streams until we eventually arrived in Haast. We had coffee and a short break in this interesting and yet very busy roadside café seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Next across a bridge at Haast Gateway, a gorge with white water rushing across and between the rocks and boulders strewn around. We stopped for a few minutes to take photos from an extremely busy and narrow road bridge and had to be careful not to get wing mirrored in the process.

After more driving in this increasingly mountainous scenery we stopped for a lunch at a restaurant which had been recommended to Erika. It was obviously well known and very popular and again was rather isolated being 5km outside the town of Makarora.

Lunch over, onwards to the rather snazzy town of Wanaka where only the well healed lived. A place for both summer and winter sports.

It was now we began to notice more and more mountain bikes, being ridden, transported on cars and resting outside shops and eateries. Erika filled up with fuel for our last leg over a steep narrow pass across the mountains and a drop into Queenstown, a place that would be very different from our more recent stopovers.
Queenstown is the adrenaline capital of the South Island and has shops, hotels and restaurants a plenty. It is the undisputed home of the bungy jump.
After settling in to our hotel we decided to take a ride on the gondola to view Queenstown from above and very attractive it was too.

Lucky me, when we got off at the top and walked around the corner a complete stranger gave me a ticket for a ride on the luge. Of course I accepted graciously. It was real fun first travelling even further up the mountain, this time on a chairlift, and then climbing aboard my own luge and after some brief instructions hurtling down the track back to the top cable car station, what fun!

Finally we travelled back down to ground level,

found a nice Italian restaurant and had cannelloni and a pizza for dinner helped down with 2 beers each.

Early to rise tomorrow for what appears to be a very exciting day!

Day 15 (Sunday 5th March, In Queenstown)
Yet another early morning alarm awoke us from our slumbers to announce the arrival of what we anticipated would be for us an adrenaline fuelled day.
After breakfast a bus picked us up literally across the road from the hotel and after a few more pick ups drove us the length of Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy a small settlement of a few hundred people many of whom are employed by the water activities companies based in and around this area. Our company, Dart River would be providing today’s entertainment, however that changed later in the afternoon after an incident in which I was to be the main attraction.
After changing into wet suits, neoprene booties, fleeces, smocks and life jackets our group was ready for the ubiquitous short safety briefing.
Today we were going jet boating on the Dart River. A shallow, rocky, wide and in many places fast flowing river coming directly from the meltwater off the mountains surrounding us and the ones towards which we were now going to travel.

We boarded our jet boat, 10 of us in all and we sat in the rear seats. After a quick burst across the lake and a 360 turn, just to see if we liked it, we were off. It was exhilarating. We swerved and turned just missing rocks and other debris, we did 360s and got soaked, we shouted and whooped with excitement! Every now and again, our driver paused to tell us about our surroundings then no sooner had he finished his last sentence we were off again holding on tight to the the bar in front of our seat.

This went on for just under an hour when we finally came to a quiet pool area where we climbed out onto the riverbank, smeared insect repellent and sunscreen on ourselves and were allocated Funyak groups, for funyak read 2 man inflatable kayaks. Our group of 8 were allocated our funyaks and following a briefing we were off back down the river that we had just roared up. Our pace was slightly more sedate but quickly became much more erratic as we tried to come to terms with steering in the current and the strong wind which had now picked up. This was difficult stuff but we somehow managed it, more by luck than judgement.

At lunchtime we stopped in a clearing on the edge of the river but not before having to drag our boats approximately 100m through very shallow water. Lunch was served to our group and others who joined us, it was delicious and we were ready for it and so were the birds.

After lunch we climbed back into our kayaks to paddle first into then out of a very picturesque narrow gorge.
Once again we were off downstream often through stretches of more turbulent water sometimes in control, sometimes not and sometimes going backwards. We were nearing the end of the trip when Maggie and I found ourselves the last kayak in our group and running sideways with the current. We hadn’t seen the huge submerged flat boulder in the middle of the channel and hit it broadside on. The kayak stopped immediately and started to tilt over and you guessed it I was unceremoniously dumped out of the kayak and into the freezing cold water which immediately made its way into my wetsuit soaking me completely my fleece acting like a sponge just itching to absorb as much water as humanly possible, I followed my safety instruction, lay on my back and waited for Dylan, our leader, to throw me a safety line. I grabbed it and he hauled me into the edge of the river. Maggie floated on down awhile and somehow managed to beach the kayak safely. Everyone was laughing, I was soaked, so what, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
We all climbed back into the kayaks to finish the trip, beached them and deflated them so they could be transported back to the start. We climbed aboard the 4 wheel drive bus, some of us more wet than others and returned to Glenorchy.
We got changed returned our kayaking kit and were bussed back to Queenstown tired and hungry.

The town was pretty empty tonight, after all it was Sunday. We managed to get a table easily.

My recommendation to Explore is – no more hotels at the top of a steep hill please.

Day 16 (Monday 6th March, Queenstown – Te Anau – Milford Sound –Te Anau)

I’ve got a head cold and today is our longest day so far. We woke at 5.30am for a 6.15am breakfast to leave the hotel at 7.15am and I’m pleased to report that the schedule was adhered to admirably by everyone. The first leg of our journey took us to the lakeside town of Te Anau (Maori – The Cave of Swirling Water) but more of that later. As this was going to be our overnight stop today, whilst we had a walk around and a coffee, Erika fuelled up and dropped our luggage at the Kingsgate Hotel. When she returned we jumped back on board, turned right at the roundabout and hit Highway 94, this would be the only turn necessary for the next 6 hours if you don’t include any car park manoeuvring. As we drove along we passed through very different scenery, meadows of long grass, across flat wide river beds, beside mountains, along glacial valleys, across gorges and next to temperate rainforests. All the time the dark and menacing clouds were building and the rain was getting heavier. We stopped 4 times en route, once at an industrial sized public toilets able to cope with large numbers of every type of person all with one aim (get it?) to empty their obviously very full bladders. Once to visit the Mirror Lakes; a group of tarns only 5 minutes away from the roadside.

Once at the aptly named Flat Knobs meadow (ooer!) for a photo opportunity

and again at The Gorge which came just after the Homer Tunnel, an area of superb natural beauty made even more spectacular because of the lush green jungle like vegetation.

All these places we visited alongside a large number of Chinese tourist who we just simply found it impossible to shake off today.
The rain continued upon our arrival at the Ferry Terminal at Milford Sound, named after Milford Haven in Wales, one of our main focuses of today and another place I highly recommend. It wasn’t too long before we boarded our ship and were motoring out and into the sound which was actually a fjord because it had been made by glacial action and not river action – now you know the difference.
We decided to eat our lunch quicker than normal today, a mix of East meets West, an assortment of Thai, Chinese Dumplings, rice, seafood and vegetables washed down with coffee or tea and then we headed out on deck. The scenery from the start to the finish was unlike anything we’d ever witnessed. Thank goodness for the rain because this had brought the waterfalls which ran like ribbons of white from the stark dark grey cliff sides of the Sound and poured effortlessly but noisily into the sea below. They looked like veils as they widened before hitting the water and when we got up close to them as we did on 2 occasions not only were they deafening they soaked us, fantastic.

We spotted seals and terns at the bottom of the cliffs and rows of black mussels at the tide line. Everywhere we looked was a sight to behold, the contrasting colours and angry skies made for great photographs. At the end of the Sound we turned around and headed back past snow capped mountains and places where the vegetation came down to the shoreline. It seems almost impossible to describe this place.

Our trip back to Te Anau was uneventful with individuals nodding off to catch some well earned shuteye time. We got back to the hotel around 6.00pm and believe it or not were due to be off again at 7.55pm. We had a quick bath to warm up and freshen up and donned our warm clothes for tonight we were away to the other side of the lake to visit the caves I had previously mentioned and their unusual inhabitants, the glow worms. We were the last group of the day to leave and cross the lake which meant it would be dark and quite late upon our return. It took about 40min to cross the lake and then we pressganged 2 more couples to join our group which meant 14 in all, the required group size. We were given an explanation of what we would see and how to keep silent (not like the 2 Chinese toddlers who behaved very badly during the talk) and to not touch anything then we followed our guide. We entered the cave system remaining very low, almost bent double so as not to bump our heads. After a minute we were able to stand up straight and as we looked up we could see our first glow worms on the cave ceiling, still able to pick them out even though there were some dim electric lights to mark our way. After about 250m of walking both beside then above some beautiful rock formations formed by the action of the roaring subterranean rivers we reached a small landing area and boarded a boat. As we sat in the middle of the boat, back to back and looking out sideways all the lights were switched off and as our eyes became accustomed to the blackness the lights of thousands of glow worms illuminated the walls and ceiling of the tunnel in which we were now floating slowly along – amazing and so glad we hadn’t missed this wonderful sight. This went on for a while before we retraced our steps along the gantries and walkways to where we had started.
Back to the hotel across the lake and then to bed, we deserve it. A brilliant full on day.

Day 17 (Tuesday 7th March, Te Anau – Gore – Dunedin)

Well the temperature certainly does drop the further south you travel and today we got as near to the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island as we were going to get. Our route today would take us across the island from the West to the East and through some really good farmland with sheep a plenty, deer for venison and Alpaca for – I’m not sure.
We left after being granted a bit of a lie in before breakfast and were soon in the small township of Gore, no not the one by Don Bennett between Gore Tex and Gore Blimey, but the one at the start of the road to Clinton, the road known locally as ‘The Presidential Highway’ – get it? We had our morning coffee at Gore, not the most attractive nor busy of places but it did have a few shops all be they rather specialised and dated. Clinton on the other hand welcomed visitors with the slogan, ‘ Making The Most Of Opportunities,’ my suggestion would be they need a painter and decorator at their earliest opportunity, the place was extremely run down but not in the possum roadkill sense more in the paint me please sense. Between Gore and Clinton we sped through the very small settlement of Waipahu which also had an interesting sign which read, ‘No Doctor, No Hospital, One Cemetery,’ um! Insurance documents – check!
At last we were now on the part of our journey which would lead us into Dunedin (The original Gaelic name for Edinburgh) a very Scottish town but before booking into our hotel we drove on along the edge of this enormous natural harbour out onto the Otago Peninsula where we visited at Tiara Head one of the only nesting areas of the Royal Albatross. This was a really interesting place to visit as we got to see, up close, numerous albatross both nesting and flying/soaring in the wind, it was very windy here.

We were on the side of the Pacific at 46 degrees south, in line with southern Chile which would be our nearest land should we venture East. Following this visit at which hundreds of photos must have been taken, we drove the 2 minutes to another nature reserve come farm where we were taken, by a man who appeared to be Donald Trump’s doppelgänger, to see grey seals lounging on the rocks or playing in the sea in the late afternoon sunshine and to also view some Blue Penguins on their nests.

The penguins were sheltered from humans behind nesting box doors, they have no fear of humans but do need to be protected from outside influences, flash photography and noise in particular.

We drove back along the peninsula retracing our steps and then to the hotel after a very quick familiarisation drive around the town centre.
After a hasty freshen up we went into town, the roads were again very steep here like they were in Queenstown. We chose to go into a pub called Ratbags which had half price pizza night. We ordered a sweet potato (Kumara), cream cheese and spinach half metre pizza to share and 2 pints of tap beer for the princely sum of $32. It was one of the best meals we had eaten all holiday and possibly the cheapest.

Once again we are very tired so writing this blog has taken some effort believe me.

Day 18 (Wednesday 8th March, Dunedin – Moeraki Boulders – Oamaru – Omarama)

Today we had a lie in. I take back everything I said yesterday about the further south you travel the wetter and colder it gets. Our morning, which was now a hot and sunny one and which contrasted spectacularly to the weather we had experienced yesterday was spent in Dunedin, a City that showed us some of the best Victorian architecture and the majority of it built on hills above a bay, in fact it boasts the steepest hill in the world!

We liked this place with its coffee shops, art galleries, theatres and beautiful buildings the most sumptuous of which must have been the railway station. Please take note, these places are railway stations not train stations as modern American English would have us believe. After walking around looking at a variety of buildings we made our way down to the Octagon in the centre of the city and to its shops where, of course, we made a few purchases. We then popped to the station to take a look inside at its Victorian exuberant splendour, it was everything we hoped it would be, there was even a train, The West Pacific (The Silver Fern) waiting at the platform. We returned to pick up our sacks and then went for a fleeting visit to the public art gallery before Erika arrived with the bus to pick us up.
Our next stop would be a beach strewn with huge spherical rocks known as the Moeraki Boulders. These unusual geological formations, if that’s what you can call them, were magnificent. They were big and scattered around and about the sandy beach, some fully exposed, some poking out from the sand and others hiding in the sea allowing themselves to be partially revealed as the waves passed by. There were even shattered boulders on the beach with veins of exposed golden brown and bronze crystal glistening in the beautiful sunshine. A photographers paradise.

We were soon on our way again. We drove along hugging the coastline and arrived at Oamaru, another Victorian city. The buildings here were even grander than we had previously seen and looked rather out of place with their more modern neighbours. This was the SteamPunk centre of the country. There were parts of steam engines and old rusty industrial type machinery laying along the roadside and rail side, there were old shop and building signs alongside more gaudy coloured modern signs and there were some artisan type shops that we would have liked to visit but we were pushed for time here, only half an hour. No sooner had we arrived than we were leaving the town behind us, a distant weak memory.
Now we drove inland between mountains and past lakes, scenery we had experienced in and around Queenstown a few days ago, no surprise then when looking at our map we noticed that we were now in the centre of the South Island and not that far from Wanaka Lake, that other centre of winter sports we had passed through some days before.
Our night was spent at The Heritage Gateway Hotel in Omarama but more interesting than that, our evening meal was taken in a roadside ‘pub,’ and very good it was too, directly opposite this road sign which I am still trying to get to grips with. Is it a command or a request?

Did we laugh? You bet your bottom dollar we did. The pub, by the way, had an interesting photo above the bar, a plane pulled up in front of the building obviously after having first landed on the straight road outside.

Day 19 (Thursday 9th March, Omarama – Mount Cook – Geraldine – Christchurch)

Today, our penultimate day of the leg of this trip was maybe the best day of all, you decide. You’ll remember that some days ago those who had opted to take a helicopter flight over Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers had been disappointed as the bad weather had caused the cancellation of the trip? Well today we had been given our third opportunity to ride in a helicopter, today the weather was perfect, blue sky and sunshine which meant that the trip would go ahead as planned only this time because we were on the Eastern side of the island we would fly over Mount Cook and also make a snow landing on the Southern Alps. We were first weighed as usual to determine our seating positions to allow for even weight distribution within the helicopter and then given our safety briefing should anything untoward happen. We waited for the helicopter to land and were ushered forward one by one in order. We climbed aboard, fastened our seat belts and donned our headsets. When all was ready the pilot introduced himself and we were away. We flew towards the Mount Cook and Mount Tasman ridge over glacial valleys, glacial lakes, glaciers, jagged ridges of bare rock bathed in sunshine and fields of pure white snow some flat others clinging precariously to the steep slopes, it was simply jaw dropping in its beauty. We flew slowly and smoothly onwards taking photographs and gazing at this rugged scenery, the exact place where Sir Edmund Hillary (The first person to summit Mount Everest) had learned those most necessary mountaineering skills. I felt privileged to be here. After about 15 min the pilot spotted a fairly flat snow field even though to us it appeared to be the size of a postage stamp and informed us that we would be landing. This he did with great precision and control. This snowy area turned out to be quite large and the snow crunched crisply under our feet as we stepped from the helicopter. It was warm and the air was still, we could have worn shorts and Tee shirts if we’d have known. We spent 15 min there at 7750ft looking at the ridges and peaks surrounding us. The place was empty apart from the 7 of us. We took photos of each other sitting, standing and kneeling in the snow and of the mountains before the pilot called us to climb back in the helicopter. Once again the lift off was smooth as silk and we were flying directly towards the summit of Mount Cook. We hovered here for a while amazed at how close we were, it was as if you could have reached out and touched the mountain, it was that clear. We banked left as the pilot identified the glaciers that lay in the valleys below us. Our journey back hugged the ridge line as we slowly descended towards the helipad in the distance. We’d been flying for 50mins, not rushed, able to take it all in and were all certainly happy that we had been lucky enough to have had this experience, one that will stay forever in our memories.

Back to reality. After a coffee we left the centre and were back on the road. We stopped, along with far too many other people, at The Church of the Good Shepherd and the Monument of the Dog, 2 well known landmarks in these areas and a great location from where to take some photos back across the lake with Mount Cook in the distance.
We now drove for a couple of hours through very fertile flat farmland where we noticed that the colour of the sheep had changed to a dirty brown, we were now in Merino country. Our next stop would be an interesting place, one which had been identified by a road sign a little before we had got to it, a sign perhaps more often seen in a public phone booth in London advertising her services rather than by the roadside in New Zealand, it read simply ‘Geraldine 2.7km.’ You guessed it, the township we next stopped in had the unusual name of Geraldine and upon further enquiry from some local residents upon our arrival I can inform you that we are none the wiser as to how this place got its name. It was here we ate lunch. Thank goodness for Subways and their Veggie Delights. On the road again, across the longest bridge in NZ and through the suburbs towards Christchurch, the city that was so violently damaged and where so many people lost their lives in the recent earthquake disasters and one which was also showing the scars of a bush fire so recently reported on international news.
As you might have expected, a lot of new building had taken place, many new homes had been erected in the outlying areas for the people of Christchurch who had lost their homes and had nowchosen to move to supposedly safer outlying locations. Many new industrial type buildings had also sprung up, just like the ones you see surrounding so many of today’s modern cities, we now knew that we were back in the land of suburbia!
Christchurch is still suffering from the dramatic events of the recent past, many buildings, particularly the more classic older style ones lay derelict. The Cathedral at the heart of the city is in the process of being rebuilt; the tower collapsed in its entirety. The once busy main shopping street is no longer. Here and there walls were being supported by metal shipping containers full of sand. Well known and well loved local buildings were being rebuilt stone by stone, in some areas there is absolutely no clue as to what was there before, these spaces are devoid of anything apart from some rubble and weeds. New buildings, earthquake proof ones this time are springing up everywhere, block shaped and made of more substantial steel, concrete and glass, similarly styled and fairly utilitarian in appearance. Even the locals get lost because of the disappearance of the once reliable familiar landmarks, such a pity.

Eventually and after a short tour around this city we arrived at our final hotel. This had also undergone some recent repair and was styled in a Tudor fashion, strange. As today was our final evening, Erika had organised a group meal in the hotel, this was very pleasant and gave us an opportunity to say a group thankyou and give her a tip. Amanda made a very good speech on our behalf and that completed our evening perfectly.

Day 20 (Friday 10th March, Christchurch – Singapore)

Today would be our final day in New Zealand. After breakfast we completed our packing trying to get as much into our cases as humanly possible so as to keep our rucksacks as light as we could. We said our goodbyes and thanks to Erika and to those in the group who would be going their separate ways and not with us on our flight today, boarded our shuttle bus and were driven the 20min or so to Christchurch airport. We had already checked in online and selected our seats, those at the very rear of the aircraft which seem to give us the most legroom, handed in our baggage and walked leisurely through security, this is not the busiest airport in the world. The departure lounge was pretty empty. We spent the last of our NZ dollars on stuff we really didn’t need or want and waited to be called to the gate. A tannoy announcement requested Maggie to go to Gate 34. She did as she was told and the check in staff informed her that as her seat’s screen was not working she would have to move to another seat. Surprisingly this was only one away from her previously allocated seat. Result, as the woman informed us, every cloud has a silver lining, we would be 2 passengers in a row of 3 seats, the middle one remaining empty. In my books this simply meant more space for us – yippee! The flight was very comfortable and although it took 9.75h the time seemed to go by very quickly and before we knew it we were in Singapore. We took a taxi, which was really easy to do, to the M Hotel that we had previously booked online and settled in to our room trying to get to grips with the time difference, we are now 5 hours behind NZ time. I am writing this at 10pm Singapore time when our minds and bodies feel it should be 3am

Day 21 (Saturday 11th March Singapore)

Singapore is one of those places in the world that unless you have been there is so difficult to describe but I’ll make an attempt so here goes.
The day in Singapore beings immediately upon leaving the A/C of the hotel lobby. The senses, all five of them, are attacked simultaneously, nothing is left to the imagination and this does not stop until that swing door closes behind you upon your return later in the day to the sanctuary of your hotel.
Central Singapore is walkable as we proved today, however, beware of the heat and humidity. We paced ourselves trying to keep in the shade as well as always taking an enforced breather by waiting for the green man before crossing the roads (this is the law anyway in this place)
We walked around the bay area today and into the Garden By The Bay where we booked our evening meal. We could get used to eating at height!

Everywhere we looked there were modern buildings being built beside other modern buildings, it’s a Mecca for glass and concrete enthusiasts. Reflections, colours and designs all working in unison to make this place one of the cleanest and most clinical places on the planet but nevertheless a must see destination.

BUT, there is nothing natural, hardly any birds, and no relief to the land, a polar opposite location to all that we had done and seen in New Zealand. I know why this is the case so please don’t tell me. As a result, I think that you could easily and quickly become rather disinterested in Singapore. It’s a 3 or 4 day stopover in our opinion nothing more.
Yes there were modern pieces of artwork, sculptures and public exhibitions like the i light installations placed around the bay which looked equally attractive both during the day and when they were lit up at night.

There were the shopping malls with very up market shops and canals running throughout the centre of them with water fountains etc. but all these did not make it an easy place in which to relax.

Still, enough of that let me tell you what we did. We visited Raffles Hotel which was a beautiful reminder of more colonial times and managed to book our meal for tomorrow, our 40th wedding anniversary, in the Tiffin Room.
From there we trekked through the heat back to the hotel to rest, shower and change.
In the evening we again walked to the waterside area and to The Gardens By The Bay. We manoeuvred ourselves slowly alongside and at times against but always dodging through what seemed to us to be the whole population of Singapore who for some inexplicable reason had had the idea to simultaneously visit this small area.

It was now 7.45pm and we knew there was a light show planned to begin right at this time and, just as we arrived, the light show started. It was amazing and fitted well with the musical accompaniment. At 8.00pm we took the lift up inside the main and largest of the tree like structures and were seated in the restaurant at our table for dinner. The food was excellent in The Indo-Chine our restaurant, we can thoroughly recommend it.
When we had paid our bill which was not an insignificant one, we walked up a couple of flights of stairs to the open air roof bar where the sight that met us was pretty spectacular. We had a complete 360 degree bird’s eye view of everything lit up at night, what an end to a pretty exhausting yet remarkably interesting day.

Day 22 (Sunday 12th March, Singapore)

It’s our 40th Wedding Anniversary today.
Maggie selected our walking tour today which was to be a visit to The Singapore Botanical Gardens. As this was so far away from the hotel we decided to get their by using the MRT, the metro/tube/underground call it what you will. After an initial bit of confusion we soon had the ticket machine at our mercy. We touched the appropriate name of the station we wished to travel to when it quickly appeared on the screen, fed the machine two $2 notes and after ‘processing’ our request 2 tickets slowly appeared along with the jangle of the 40 cents change as it fell into the tray below. Next we found the correct line going in the right direction, went to the platform and waited for the train. It came quickly so we waited at the door side standing in the red area by the red arrows whilst passengers disembarked using the green arrows in the green area, all very organised and typical of Singapore. We got aboard and travelled to another station where we changed lines to achieve our final destination, simple.
The Botanical Gardens were huge and we walked most of it. The plants, flowers and lawns made for a nice green space in this busy city and as it was a Sunday there were a lot people relaxing and spending the day there. Oh and the Chinese were, as usual, preoccupied with taking photos of themselves using their mobiles and selfie sticks. I have to say that this has been somewhat of a recurring theme throughout our holiday. Children were playing, locals were full on picnicking and visitors of all nationalities were busy taking photos, buying gifts, eating in the restaurants and enjoying this, not to be missed experience. We spent a long time there looking at the exotic and downright unusual plants on display.

We walked a part of the way back to the hotel via Orchard Road, the main shopping street in Singapore. It was busy beyond belief both above and below ground. I’m glad that our hotel is in a quieter part of the city.
We had a lazy late afternoon reading and resting then we went for our dinner to celebrate at Raffles Hotel, this was utterly self indulgent and amaaaaaaazing. The Tiffin Restaurant Indian Buffet as you might imagine from a world famous venue was varied, extensive, perfectly presented and delicious with chefs on hand to explain, cook and even fetch samples for you to try. The choice was most probably too wide but I have to say, we sampled most of what was on offer apart from the meat dishes of which I am happy to say there were only a few. We were waited on hand and foot. Waiters took photos of us, pulled our chairs out for us each and every time we were being seated, put our napkins on our laps when we came back from the buffet tables and even rearranged our crockery and cutlery every time we were away selecting what next to eat. There were even people in the toilet opening and shutting doors and making sure that everything was impeccable. This place is a must if visiting Singapore even though it costs serious money.

How lucky are we?
Finally back to our hotel by MRT. Goodnight.

Day 23 (Monday 13th March, Singapore)

Today was our last full day in Singapore and turned out to be the hottest of the 3 days so far. This morning we planned to take a ride on the Singapore Flyer and then visit Little India in the afternoon, this would mean that we would then have covered all that we had wanted to do and to see.
Before I move on I need to clear up a few things:
1. With regard to the lack of wildlife, as I have previously stated, there isn’t much to be seen, however, over the past few days, today included, we did see a variety of butterflies, a beautiful lizard, some larger birds of prey, many minah birds, sparrows and pigeons and today what must rate as the piece de resistance, 6, yes 6, otters. They were eating their freshly caught fish under a bridge in Singapore harbour where they had set up home, we watched them for a while and it was a real added bonus, something we really were not expecting.

2. Now about the MRT, this public transport system is cheap, runs perfectly on time, has no graffiti nor window scratch tagging as always on show in the U.K. is clean and of course has signs which remind people that they will be fined if caught eating/drinking, that there should be no flammable liquids carried on boardand finally that there should be no Durians (these are the smelliest Asian fruit in the world), again, breaking these rules would incur significant fines.
3. I previously wrote that this city is all concrete, metal and glass. After visiting Little India this is an incorrect assumption on my behalf. The buildings in the Main Street in this area are old, small and in serious need of repair made from a variety of materials but mostly brick/block, wood and corrugated iron.
Now I’ve cleared that up let me tell you about our day in a little more detail.
We’ve got a reasonable understanding of the layout of Central Singapore and can now use the MRT to move around efficiently. This morning we took the underground to Promenade via Bugis (both station names before you ask) as we wanted to ride on the Singapore Flyer; a big wheel similar to the London Eye but twice the size.

We paid $33 each and after queuing for a short we were invited to board one of the pods. The wheel turned slowly enough for all passengers to move around with ease and get the best views possible and the remarkably clean windows coupled with the clear sky allowed us to admire the spectacular sights from this high vantage point, the vessels in the distant sea, the barrage controlling the water entering the harbour, the Grand Prix track which rings the base of the Flyer and all the other buildings which we had now become a lot more familiar with.

Amazingly the Asian passengers in our pod seemed more interested in taking selfies or photos of each other without being concerned about the background, the places of interest so inviting to photograph and so easily seen at this height. I suppose the ride took around 30min and this was one of the venues I’m really pleased that we didn’t miss visiting. After exiting the pod at the base of the Flyer we were hot and thirsty so bought a cold drink and sat in the shade whilst we cooled off.
We decided then that we would walk to the Lion fountain along the harbour side retracing some of our steps from Saturday. As we slowly strolled along, we spotted some animals swimming in the water and running on the bank below the footpath, to our great surprise and pleasure we realised they were Otters. They were noisily and enthusiastically ripping apart with their sharp teeth and then chomping down large fish that they had caught in the clear water. They let us get quite close to them, there were 6 in all and we watched them for a while. Some even disappeared into the concrete bridge supports into a home that they had obviously made for themselves. Magical.
Next we arrived at the Lion/Fish (Merlion) fountain, an emblem/symbol of Singapore along with many other people, most of whom were doing the selfie strange pose thing. It was particularly hot, the middle of the day, Starbucks beckoned and we submitted. As we drank we watched, on the face of it what appeared to be an inexperienced fisherman land a huge fish as much to his amazement as to those around him. Well it kept us amused for 10 minutes!
Now we walked over an old bridge to the Victoria Theatre and the Museum of Asian Arts, back over another old bridge and along the Singapore River through the Chinese restaurants which line this part of the river. We booked in for a meal later in the evening but were not sure that this would turn out to be a successful firm booking or just a tacit agreement given by the waiter. Next we trained to Little India but we’re very disappointed as we walked along the Main Street in this part of Singapore. It was shabby, dirty and totally opposite to what we had expected. Every other building seemed like a shop selling very yellow gold earrings, necklace as and bracelets whilst all other buildings fell into the category of either food or eating establishments, nothing really that interesting. The temples advertised were not particularly special either except for the one which was highly decorated. We decided to use the MRT to return to our hotel after this brief foray.

As previously noted, when walking around and about today we had spotted a likely candidate for dinner tonight by the side of the Singapore River. We returned there at around 8.15pm because, I hate to admit it but we got a little bit lost – just one river over from our desired destination. Anyhow our meal tonight was typical Chinese Fayre, stir fried fish in lemon grass and ginger, sweet and sour fish, mango salad and Singapore Noodles all very tasty and made even moreso when eaten using chopsticks. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for them as they hadn’t uttered a single word to each other, we got chatting to a couple on the adjacent table to ours. They were Scottish and from a cruise ship that had recently docked – nuff said.
We said our goodbyes just as the laser show got underway so we watched a while from the bridge.

A lovely end to a lovely few days. We’re off home tomorrow so bye bye Singapore, we’ve enjoyed you.

Day 24 (Tuesday 14th March, Singapore – Bexleyheath)

Today was our earliest start whilst in Singapore. The alarm woke us at 5am in time for us to wash and change and pack the last few things ready for our taxi to Changi airport due to pick us up at 6.15am, as always in Singapore it was spot on time. There was little traffic so the journey only took 20mins and surprisingly only cost $30. Checking in was easy. We bought a coffee each and whilst Maggie spent the last of our Singapore cash I sat and waited patiently. We were called to the gate, boarded quickly and to our great relief found that, yet again, we had a spare seat in our row of 3 – great. Although this was a 14h flight it really didn’t seem too long before we were descending into London Heathrow. We zipped through epassport control, collected our bags and made our way to the Underground station. After 4 minutes the train arrived and we were heading, with only one change, towards Victoria. Just 2 flights of stairs were left to negotiate before we boarded the Bexleyheath train at platform 8. A 10min walk up Pickford Lane/Avenue Road and we were home sweet home (ahhhhh- PG Tips)

Great Holiday – Here’s to the next one. Make ours a pint each of whatever’s on tap. Cheers!