| Submitted by: R Wicks, United Kingdom |
| Submission Date: 31 December 2006 |
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We left Heathrow on a Cathay Pacific 747-400 at 18.50 on Monday 4 October looking forward to a smooth flight down to Hong Kong and being able to get a bit of sleep. Didn't manage much of that but I did watch Fahrenhight 9/11. Scary. The free world seems to in the charge of a blithering idiot.
We landed in Hong Kong on time after 11 hours 55 minutes in bright sunshine and 28 degrees C.
Having a 5 hour stopover we decided to go out and have a look at the Big Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery on Lan Tau Island.
So we grabbed a blue taxi, showed the driver a picture on the Big Buddha and he said "Ah, da big buddha". And off went.
The 35 minute taxi ride up over 2 small mountains on very good but narrow winding roads, was pretty exciting. Plenty of stopping to let buses pass, plus road works, but some spectacular scenery on the way.
The buddha is the largest bronze buddha in the world and sits up on top of a hill, accessed by a long stone stairway of 268 steps. We took our time over the climb but I did see a couple of people jogging up. The climb is very worthwhile as the views over the valley are quite spectacular.
At the foot of the hill is a small street market selling souvenirs, hats etc plus some food and drink stands. This is a major tourist attraction and despite he narrow winding access roads there were plenty of coaches and busses up there, and there is a cable car under construction.
Back to the airport to get our flight to Auckland, we had time to get washed and changed into some fresh clothes and look round the duty free shops. I'm not so sure they are duty free. Tip for you if go here, check the prices carefully. I looked at the Apple iPod in the electronics outlet and found the price to be 450 Hong Kong dollars more than the price listed in the Hong Kong Apple store. I questioned a salesman about this and he shook his head saying he didn't know why. He tried to tell me it was because they gave a worldwide warranty. Nonsense. All Apple products have worldwide warranties irrespective of the place or country of purchase.
Curiously a similar situation exists at Heathrow where the same 40gig iPod is £297 in Dixons duty free shop. The exact same price as John Lewis will sell it to you for, including tax.
From Hong Kong to Auckland the Cathay Pacific Airbus once again delivered us on time to be greeted by clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine. We collected the Avis Toyota from the car park next door to the terminal and made for the Silver Point Motor Inn 5 minutes away on McKenzie Road.
We had an early dinner with Dean before a typically sleepless first foreign night.
Thursday morning was dry but overcast as we headed for New Plymouth. The rain chased us down Highway 1 towards Hamilton, with a coffee stop at Te Kauwhata on the way. Leaving Highway 1 at Hamilton for Highway 3 we made for the Waitomo Gloworm Caves. These limestone caverns are home to millions of gloworms that line the cave ceilings and look like tiny stars as you drift through the darkness in small boats.
During the short walk back up the hill from the caves river entrance you can listen to the Bell Birds up in the giant redwood trees that grow so fast in this area.
Leaving Waitoma we made for 8 mile junction where a decision had to be made. Do we carry on down 3 to New Plymouth or do we take a detour down the Lost Highway. By this time the weather had closed in and we decided on the direct route. Leaving the Lost Highway for another, better, day.
New Plymouth is a large coastal town nestling at the foot of the extinct volcano Mount Egmont and the Taranaki National Park. On Friday we took a ride up the Surf Highway to Oakura Beach and on to the Cape Egmont lighthouse. From there you can get a good view across to the mountain, which was covered in cloud for us.
Back down the highway a little way is the road off to Lucys Gully, a popular picnic area full of Pongas (tree ferns) and tall trees. Further back towards New Plymouth, turn off and up the winding road to Pukeiti Gardens. This rain forest is full of Rhododendrons of all varieties. Here we got caught out in a torrential thunder storm with no alternative but to shelter in amongst the trees and ferns until it eased off enough for us to make it back to the Lodge complex at the entrance.
Back in New Plymouth we took a walk along the newly created coastal walkway, past the Wind Wand, along with the joggers, skaters and cyclists out for an evenings exercise.
Saturday saw us take Highway 3 south heading for Wellington. A short way out of New Plymouth is Lake Mangamahoe where we saw Tue's and Kingfishers in the trees and black swans on the lake with ducks and geese of all varieties.
The cruise down the almost deserted highway takes you through farmland for the most part with isolated farming communities every few kilometres. On a Saturday afternoon in most of them there was no sign of life.
We stopped for lunch of smoked chicken paninis and hot club sandwiches at the Lake View Bar overlooking the Winter Gardens at Wanganui, before driving through the Art Deco centre of town and over the bridge to the Durie Hill Lookout. The entrance to this is through a carved Maori gateway and into a 205m. long tunnel carved into the cliff face leading to an old wooden lift which takes you up through the hill to the cliff top. From the lookout platform on the top of the lift house is a spectacular view over the town and out to the mountains. For an even better view climb the 187 steps of the stone lookout tower.
Further south on Highway 3 we joined Highway 1 for the run down to Wellington via the Kapiti coast, stopping at Paraparaumu to buy drinks and Lotto tickets at a convenience store overlooking the bay and the Kapiti Island nature reserve. Here we once saw basking whales, but not this time. An easy run down the highway into the northern suburbs of Wellington and into Karori to see some relatives, before the short run down into the city and round the bay towards Eastbourne and Lowry Bay where we are staying with friends in a hillside house with spectacular views across the bay and out towards the sound. On a clear day from here you can see the South Island.
After a lazy Sunday morning we went into Wellington to The Brewery bar on the waterfront for drinks and chips. This refurbished warehouse has a modern micro brewery with an elevated viewing area where you can see the brewing process together with some good views over the harbour. We hit the Wellington shops on Monday and took a look at the Old Bank Clock in Old Bank Court. This refurbished BNZ building houses shops and a super food court offering a huge choice of meals from all corners of the world. The perfect place for a shopping expedition lunch break.
Up to Mount Victoria after lunch to take some photographs. From here you get a 360 degree view over the whole city. Back down the hill, round Oriental Bay passed the floating fountain that my uncle helped to build, and never seems to be working when we're in town, and on to The Chocolate Fish Cafe at Scorching Bay for coffee. This was a popular hang out for the stars and crew of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy as the studio is nearby.
Tuesday saw us take a drive over the Rimutaka range to the Wairarapa region. The switchback road climbs out of the Hutt valley to around 550m before descending into the sleepy towns of Featherstone and Carterton with their boutique shops and cafes. From here we drove into Martinborough where we intended to have a beer at our favourite Martinborough Hotel. But it was closed so we crossed the road to the Martinborough Wine Centre for an excellent lunch, before returning to Wellington in time for dinner.
On Wednesday we took a drive up towards the Kapiti coast and visited the Lindale Centre. This large tourist complex houses craft shops and galleries as well shops selling cheese and ice cream made on the premises, plus The Lindale Farm Park with weekend shows and farm walks. The evening was spent with friends at the popular Lifeboat Inn in Eastbourne.
After a quick visit to the Magnum Apple store in Wellington on Thursday morning we spent time in the Te Papa museum before our customary family reunion dinner, this time at Uncle Chongs Chinese restaurant in Courtney Place.
Friday morning saw me catch up with some work. Thanks to the Internet some clients are not aware that we're not still in Spalding. A musical evening at the Wellington Bluegrass Society rounded off the day.
A lazy Saturday in Lowry Bay was rounded off with dinner at the Hogs Breath Cafe in Courtney Place, where the mouth watering inch thick medium rare rib eye steaks are on the rare side of medium and the portions on the large side of big. If you go there make sure you're really hungry.
Sunday morning dawned clear and sunny and saw us fly out over the blue Pacific Ocean on the hour long hop to Christchurch on the South Island to pick up an Avis 4 wheel drive Toyota and head for Arthurs Pass and the West Coast.
The drive from Christchurch to Arthurs Pass is pretty uneventful. Mainly farming country with the mountains in the background. Arthurs Pass itself is just a handful of buildings, including a visitors centre and possibly one of the smallest post offices on the planet. The railway passes through a tunnel at this point and the settlement was created to house the workers who dug the tunnel. From here we drove down the mountain over a spectacular viaduct and into Hokitika for the night. Dinner of lamb shanks in Stumpers is highly recommended.
On Monday we headed for Franz Josef by way of Lake Mahinapua and The old gold rush town of Ross, where we took the Water Race walkway for some spectacular views out over the town back up to Arthurs Pass.
From Ross we carried on down Highway 6 to Pukekura, population 2, and the home of the famous Petes Possum Pies and the Bushmans Centre and Puke Pub and cafe. Easily recognised by the giant sandfly hanging over the main entrance. Unfortunately the pub was shut because Pete was away and his partner was busy making possum pies.
The next township down the highway is Hari Hari, famous because pioneer aviator Guy Menzies crash landed upside down in the local swamp after the first solo flight over the Tasman sea from Sydney.
The Okarito Lagoon is the next significant stop on the highway, once a bustling gold mining community with several hotels and theatres, now home to 16 residents.
Franz Josef Village is a surprisingly busy place, with motels, restaurants and shops just 4 kilometers from the foot of the glacier. The Sentinal Rock Walk through a rain forest takes you to a viewing platform overlooking the glacier face.
Fergs Kayaks has an interesting Internet facility in an old bus, providing several PC terminals on a fast connection.
We spent the night at the Alpine Glacier Motel before heading off down Highway 6 over the Omoeroa and Cook saddles towards the Fox glacier, stopping at Lake Matheson for some photographs of Mount Cook.
From the township of Fox Village we took the Fox Glacier Valley Walk up to the glacier face over moraine left behind after the glacier retreated back up the valley over the last 200 years.
As the weather closed in we managed to keep ahead of the rain down the highway, across Copeland Valley via Bruce Bay and Lake Paringa to Haast.
Haast is a confusing place for the visitor. The approach from the North is over the longest single lane bridge in New Zealand, 760m with 2 passing places. You then find signs for Haast Township, Haast Beach and Haast Junction. We stayed the night in the Heritage Park Lodge Motel in the township and once the rain had stopped we witnessed a magnificent sunset over the mountains.
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny and we set off through the Haast pass following the course of the Haast river South towards Wanaka and Queenstown. The 262 kilometers from Haast to Queenstown took about 8 hours due to the many stops along the way to view the stunning scenery, waterfalls and lakes along the way.
The puzzling World of Stuart Lansborough at Wanaka is a good place to break the journey. |
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