Bryans Big Trip

Into March already; it doesn't seem possible! Today I had a leisurely start as I didn't have a lot of distance to cover; only approximately 50 miles. All packed up and checked out at 09:30, my first plan was to go to a place called Mount Vernon on the summit road overlooking Christchurch. This had twin benefits; a view across the city of Christchurch, and also a view the other way over the very picturesque Diamond Harbour. A stop for coffee before heading for Akaroa where I'm staying for the night. If you look at the map, just to the southeast of Christchurch is a peninsula that looks a bit like a volcano .... that's because it is an extinct volcano! I drove up a steep winding road to get to the summit of the caldera for some fantastic views before descending into the caldera where Akaroa waits at the end of the road. (no Sheryl Crow again, but aptly a bit of Alanis Morissette came up on the playlist as I was driving the curves!) The views were stunning (is there a view...

Today was one of those long awaited days; a day that was planned and a must do in New Zealand from long before this trip was actually planned. It's another Lord of the Rings day; the day when I visited a place called Mount Sunday .... the place they built Edoras. Away from the hotel at 06:45 for what Google Maps told me was a 3 hour 8 minute journey to the Mount Sunday car park. A quick diversion off the route to find fuel, and then back onto the roads. There was a real novelty here; the straightest roads I've driven since arriving in New Zealand (no, Sheryl Crow didn't appear on the playlist!). At 08:40 the sealed roads ended, and I had 30km of gravel roads to get me to the car park.  I think this is why there was such a long drive according to Google Maps; I've figured that the slower you go over the corrugations the more you get shaken, and found today that between 40 and 50kph seems to be the best speed for these roads.  A stop for a viewpoint of the valley then a b...

Today was my opportunity to explore Christchurch, and it dawned overcast and drizzly. A relaxed start to the day, I left my room at 09:30 and took the 15 minute walk to the information office. There I bought a ticket for the tram tour of the city; a circuit of 18 stops where the driver provides a commentary. I thought that the logical place to start was stop 1, so I found the indoor portion of the track and boarded the tram.  We got as far as stop 2 before the driver pulled into a siding at the cathedral square and informed us that there was a problem with the tram; we all hopped off, and onto the tram that was approaching stop 2 behind us.  The track consisted of two distinct loops, both of which passed stop 2 ..... the tram we boarded was visiting the second part of the loop first from this stop, so I although I did the whole track, it did it a bit backwards.  Christchurch seems to me to be a city scarred from the earthquake that hit on 22 February 2011. This is both ph...

Today has been another day of travel primarily, with a not that much planned. Only about 110 miles to Christchurch, so today was all about getting there. Breakfast at the hotel (danish pastries just out of the oven; yum!), a video chat with my nephew Ben, and all packed for a departure at just after 09:00. I resisted the temptation to get yet more footage of that same viewpoint of the mountains and the ocean, but did stop off at Kaikoura South Bay for the view looking southward where I was about to journey. The first stop I had pencilled in was for a viewpoint about 10km down the road, but on arrival there was nowhere to pull off the road. Therefore I continued on my way along State Highway 1, accompanied by the inevitable winding road and stunning scenery (and Sheryl Crow again ... I guess that in New Zealand it's inevitable that when I hear 'every day is a winding road' on my playlist that I'm bound to be on a winding road.). I left the state highway at the town of Ch...

At the risk of repetition and becoming a tad boring, today has been an excellent day.  Awake before the 06:00 alarm, I was ready well before my planned early departure, so I popped out to the front of the hotel to take a look at the sunrise over the Pacific ocean. Yesterday it was overcast when I arrived in Kaikoura, and I knew that there was an impressive mountain range just inshore from the coast, but the cloud obscured the majesty of the view. Today was forecast to be more sunny, and before the sun rose already the view was better. More of the mountain range was visible with a pink sky behind, and gaps in the cloud gave hints of what a scene this could be. I tore myself away from the scenery at 07:00 to make the short drive to the Whale Watch Kaikoura base for my 07:15 check in. Whale Watch are based in an old railway station that they have termed the 'whaleway station', which is a play on words I appreciated. All checked in, I had a chance to explore the surroundings and ad...

Last night I went to bed with rain; this morning dawned mainly clear, so the timing looked great. There was a siren went off last night, so I asked what that was as I checked out; it's what they summon the local volunteer fire brigade with, and we are near the fire station so it seemed a bit loud. I had wondered whether it was something I'd needed to take notice of. I had my weekly video chat with Mum, and then left just after 09:30 on what promised to be a fairly short day. Onto SH1, and I headed southwards towards Kaikoura where I'm staying for the next couple of nights. Over a pass, and onto the coastal road. I had planned to stop at some salt works that promised pink lakes, and although I got a glimpse of the pink lake from a distance on the road, there were no points to get a good view. Where I could get a view of the lakes the sun's position meant that I couldn't see any pinkness. Onwards once more, and the clouds were hanging on the hills to the right and the...

Today was the day that I returned to Picton; the scene of my arrival on the South Island on Monday. The original plan had been that I'd do a hike from Ship Cove to Furneaux Lodge; a 16.3km (10.1 mile) journey considered to be a challenging route. I changed this plan as I don't believe that calf would be able to cope with this distance ..... 4km yesterday left me pretty immobile once I stopped! So, rather than doing the hike I just did the cruise portion to have a look at the starting and ending points and enjoying the beauty of Queen Charlotte Sound. It was an early start, and I was on the road at 07:15. Through Blenheim and up SH1 for a half hour, and I parked in Picton where I had planned just before 08:00. There was a sign saying 4 hours only, and as I was due back at around 12:00 I figured that would do nicely. Over to the kiosk to check in, and I had time for a coffee and bit of lemon cake for breakfast before boarding at 08:45. It was a mad scramble for the top deck as us...

On the move again today; I left the motel in Nelson at 09:00 with a definite plan for the day before ending up in Blenheim. Today I was going to go via Nelson Lakes National Park. The first target was Lake Rotoiti, and the hour and a half drive went without incident ..... until I arrived at the shores of Lake Rotoiti, at which point I had to pull up suddenly. I was not expecting a view like the one I was presented with, and once a few WOW's had escaped my lips I pulled up to park on the lakeshore.  This I think has to be the best view of the trip so far; I'm struggling to think of one that betters it. A bit of time for photos and videos, then I put the hiking footwear on. Many months ago I'd marked a loop track here to hike; 4km and about two hours is what the official national parks blurb said, so off I set. Through the forest just back from the lakeside, after 10 minutes a sign indicated that the loop track was both straight ahead and off to the left; I took a left, and i...

I'm quite pleased to be doing a blog; putting the day in the title would you'd think give me an idea where in the week we are, but each day I come to do the blog I'm totally clueless as to what day it is again. So long as I remember which day I video call Mum I'll be OK ....no more pound coins in envelopes for me! Today has been quite a day; one of those planned and booked in November that has turned out to be absolutely the best way to explore where I am. First up, when I did the cycle and wine tour in Napier, I teamed up with a couple from Vancouver called Bill and Eve ..... they are in Nelson currently and we met up last night.  I have had the Kayak, Cruise and Walk trip here booked since November, and on mentioning this to Bill and Eve a few days ago, they have also signed on for the same trip. So an early departure this morning for Kaiteriteri where we check in at 08:45, picking up Bill and Eve en route. We arrived in Kaiteriteri in good time for the check in for t...

My second day in Nelson, and the tentative plan today was to head northwards as far as the roads would take me past Abel Tasman National Park. Away at 08:30, the first destination plugged into my Satnav was Kaiteriteri, and a check of where I can park and check in for my Split Apple Rock kayak, cruise and walk tomorrow. It took me just over an hour to get there, and there is plenty of free parking, so all looks good. I checked in at the kiosk, and need to check in tomorrow at 08:45, so it'll be a bit of an earlier start. Back on the road, and I was heading for Hawkes Lookout. Up a steep and winding road, and at the summit a sign to the left for the lookout. I was in a long trail of traffic, and it seemed like most of us pulled into the carpark; I found a spot easily that the campervans in front of me were too big for, and started on the 10 minute walk to the lookout. There seemed to be a bit of consternation on the path ahead of me, and when I got a bit closer there was a ram on th...