Staying tuned......

Hi Mel,
Glad to hear that your visas were renewed (always stressful!) and that even torrential rain doesn't deter you!
Hope it wasn't too wet for photos of those waterfalls and seal pups!!

Sadly it was too dark for photos of the seal pups sassy_cat - it was only 2 pm, but felt more like midnight back there in the rainforest. I got some good photos of the adult seals along the coast though.

We're under a severe weather warning here on the SI - it's snowing in many areas and some roads have been closed. It's wet and seriously blowy just about everywhere else. Should be an interesting drive to Murchison today, which incidentally, is our 30th wedding anniversary. Thirty years, holy moly we're getting old.

Happy Anniversary Mel! Know the feeling - my 35th this year in August although it should be said - I was a child bride

Good to see your visas are now renewed, Mel, and you will continue to be in our neck of the woods. Will you still be based in WA?
Welcome back to NZ albeit the bitterly cold NZ today. Sitting here in Wellington in front of my heater with temperatures around 7 degrees, dropping to 4 overnight, and I am about to turn the heater up a notch. I mustn't complain though as it is quite tropical in comparison to Christchurch's maximum temp of 1 degree Celsius, dropping to -3 overnight!
Happy 30th Anniversary, and safe travels. Those of us who hit the 30+ anniversaries have done well. We celebrate 43 years in August. You are both spring chickens to me!

Mel, Congratulations on your 30th wedding anniversary.

Enjoying your trip report with admiration as with weather that bad I might have stayed under the covers!
Temperatures are below average for June in Massachusetts (dropping into the 40's the last couple of nights around 7-8 C). I'll be ready for winter in Sydney at the end of the month.

Hearty congratulations to stormbird and dottyp for your upcoming August anniversaries

Congratulations, Mel, on your 30th Anniversary!!!

We're enjoying your ongoing trip report. You seem to be "weathering" the inclement weather, but after a while it must get discouraging. We wish you warmer temps and some sunny days. Will continue to follow your report.

Happy, happy 30th!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. Safe travels!

Many thanks to all for the good wishes...seems there are several of us child brides here.

Yesterday began in Nelson with cyclonic wind and rain that sent sandwich boards skittering down the streets and hair whipping about madly. We had a nice warming lunch at our fav Indian establishment (Little India) and poked around town for a bit. We'd hoped to visit a winery or two, but we missed the turnoff and the weather was just so nasty that we continued to forge ahead to Murchison. This turned out to be a wise decision as we encountered quite a bit of snow on Hope Saddle, which as it turned out, was the only route that hadn't yet been closed.

Almost froze to death in our accommodation last night, but at least we had electricity, unlike many in Christchurch.

What a difference a day makes...today we were hiking and the sky was back to blue by noon. Today's highlight...hiking in the snow in NZ for the first time in our 10 visits to the SI. Being from Colorado, we're all too familiar with snow, but never expected to see so much of it at low elevation in NZ.

As for the visas...sadly it's only temporary...Bill's new location work permit just came through and we'll be leaving WA sometime in July or August. The later the better, I say.

Looking forward to more of your trip report. Off season travel can be an adventure in and of itself can't it?!

Happy belated anniversary from me as well. We are sneaking up on 29 (yes I was also quite young) and I am trying to persuade Steve that a trip to Australia would be a fine way to celebrate 30. I have a year to work on him. Sad to hear you are leaving WA.

Off season travel can indeed be an adventure, Toucan, but I never have been much for doing as others do. Another old time married couple I see...I think a trip to OZ would be the perfect way to celebrate.

So, here I sit in the cold back bedroom of our Murchison cottage, laptop perched on top of a suitcase on top of a bed, me uncomfortably straddling the end of the bed because there's no place for my legs to go as I balance my tush on a small luggage stand and lean awkwardly over the suitcase....the drapes are open revealing moody dark skies and the magic little white box on the accommodation owner's porch that gives me Internet access. This is the only position in the entire cottage that will work and it's about as unergonomic as one can get, so I'll keep this short.

Today was another day of walking in the rain. First the 4.7 km Lyell Walkway, which leads through a former gold mining town, next the Six Mile Matakitaki Walkway which leads through the forest and alongside an old weir and water race, and finally a sedate easy stroll along the Buller River.

About five miles of hiking and three minutes of sunshine, but that's the chance one takes when one visits NZ in June. Thank goodness for rain suits.

Tomorrow we leave Murchison and head to Hokitika for two nights, where we'll do a bit more hiking if we're able to still move in the morning.

It certainly was a wild and windy day in Nelson Melnq, started off quite warm and calm and then came the wind, the rain and the cold temperatures.

I am amazed that you can get any internet coverage at all in Murchison, cell phone coverage is virtually non-existent.

Hope the weather improves for the rest of your stay. What an amazing sight those young seal pups must have been. Looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

Just love watching the seals around the Kaikoura area. We always stop at Ohau and spend time watching the seals frolicking in the water. If we have time we go right through Kaikoura to the seals out at the point. Here the seals are very close. The last time we were there we were able to walk past several rather large seals who appeared to be sleeping. They are intriguing animals.

Safe travels around the SI, Melnq8. I hope the weather will pick up there as it has in Wellington. Out of the wind it has been a very pleasant day today. I swear the playground had twice the usual number of children playing soccer at lunchtime today - the children were so pleased to get outside!

Left Murchison in the rain yesterday and headed south to Hokitika. Never doing things the easy way, we took the slightly longer route towards Westport, as I recalled it being a pretty drive. The sun made an appearance just long enough to get some nice photos at Berlins, then it was back to rain...then sun...then rain again...a never ending cycle here on the SI.

The sun appeared again as we approached Punakaiki, where we stopped for coffee and a wander through the walkways of the Pancake Rocks...just us, no one else around.

Got some good photos of a couple of fearless Weka, probably used to being fed by the tourists. I cringe everytime I see someone feeding the wildlife, it does so much more harm than good.

Stopped at an old favorite in Greymouth for lunch - Bonzai Pizzeria, Bill driving there as if he'd just been (it's been several years since we were last there).

We then made a late afternoon detour to Lake Brunner, me remembering it being pretty and wanting to explore a track or two, which we did, although it was getting rather late in the day.

Finally arrived in Hoki around 6:30 pm.

Today looked promising with some actual sunshine, but it was a distant memory by noon. We had a lovely breakfast and even better dinner at Cafe de Paris. Wandered around Lake Kaniere and out to Hoki Gorge...walked a couple of short tracks then poked around the shops in town for a bit, bought a piece of jade as a keepsake...in the rain of course.

Tomorrow it's off to Central Otago...Pinot Noir country.

Melnq8, we're following your trip, enjoying your day by day postings. Having been in the SI a few months ago, albeit in warmer weather, makes it all the more interesting. Surely wish the weather would pick up for you! But you seem to be making the most of it. Keep the reports coming. We'll keep up with you guys.

Thanks tomarkot. It's raining AGAIN this morning, but we're headed further south today, so perhaps some dry weather awaits us there. Fingers crossed.

Hope the sun comes out for you today!

Your good thoughts must have worked sassy_cat, we had a beautiful (but cold) day in Cromwell today, which we spent visiting wineries and indulging in way too much Pinot Noir and...wait for it...Riesling, which we found dry, crisp and right up our alley. Lovely day all around...nice lunch at Mt Difficulty, fab wines, warming dinner at a local pub, wonderful accommodation. No complaints here.

Meanwhile, we heard there was a fierce storm in Perth yesteray...sure hope our house is still standing.

Heading to North Catlins tomorrow and probably won't have Internet access for a few days.

Melnq a co-worker's son and DIL live in Mandurah, have two and half week old twins, their power was out for 22 hours but back now. They moved to Perth as they house was destroyed in the Christchurch earthquake.

I think rain in NZ is probably better than a tornado in Perth!!!

You're certainly right about that nelsonian!

Sounds like a lovely day and much better weather.

Fingers crossed your house will survive the storms in Perth but at least you're not there right now! A friend in Warnbro said she couldn't hear the TV because of the storm but she wasn't complaining because they still had power!

Melnq8, so happy for you that you are experiencing better weather. Even if it's chilly, sunshine can really lift the spirits. Your experiences at the wineries sound like fun.

And trust that your home in Perth is OK!

As expected, I’ve fallen way behind. We’ve not had Internet access for a few days, so I’ll try catch up in one go. I do plan to write a much more detailed report at a later date if I have time.

I think we left off after a nice dinner at Café de Paris in Hokitika…

The following day we drove from Hoki to Cromwell, which I absolutely do not recommend. I’d estimated the drive at 6.5 hours, so we knew it was going to be a long day, but what we didn’t count on was sunshine on the West Coast, which encouraged us to stop more than we’d planned. I was so excited by the glorious clear sunny day in Franz Josef that we drove out to the glacier and walked to the viewpoint. We were tempted to walk to the terminal face, but we’ve done it many times before and sanity prevailed, so we moved on to Fox Glacier where we stopped for lunch at The Saddle, knowing there weren’t many food options further on. In between there were many stops for photos which didn’t help our progress much.

We also stopped to walk the beach at Bruce Bay, which we don’t recall ever seeing in the sunshine before…resistance was futile. Same for Knight’s Point.

I’d hoped to walk a new track at Haast, but there was just no way…it was getting late and we wanted to get over Haast Pass before dark. I’m not sure why, the pass really is no big deal, although the road was in pretty rough shape this time last year with some scary eroded areas and drop offs. It was fine this time around. Of course there was no time for the Blue Pools either, but it didn’t really matter as we’ve visited many times before, and the sun was gone, so my hopes of nice photos were dashed anyway.

Our next detour was to Wanaka, by design, as we thought a nice Indian dinner would taste pretty good and we knew dinner dining options are limited in Cromwell . The food hit the spot, but delayed our arrival to Cromwell even more…we arrived in Cromwell at 7:30 pm in the pitch black, with no idea of how to find our accommodation, get this, 10.5 hours after we left Hoki. I repeat, I do not recommend this, even for seasoned SI visitors like ourselves (even less so in winter when the days are so short).

We spent two nights in Cromwell, in a lovely vineyard cottage, which gave us one full day to visit the area wineries, have a nice winery lunch and just relax.

Then it was on to the North Catlins via Clyde, Alexandra and Roxborough, and a side road I’d learned about on another travel forum, which of course made for another slow drive day. We stopped to look for penguins, nearly getting swept away in some ferociously cold gale force wind and rain near Nugget Point. It was seriously nasty.

We spent three nights in the North Catlins. We were fairly lucky with the weather (well, it’s all about perspective, isn’t it?). We had a snippet of sunshine here and there on the Catlin coast and plenty of rain, but we managed to get in some good walks and it didn't slow us down much.

Te Anau up next...stay tuned...

Hi Melnq8, so glad for your recent update. We sort of have the same travel rhythms. . .go with the flow. Hey! When you get some unexpected breaks in the weather, take advantage. Happy that the lift in weather extended to the Glacier area. Now for some beautiful weather in Te Anau. Just curious whether or not you're staying at the Croft Inn. Because of your recommendation, we had a wonderful stay there. We really liked the hospitality which Jane offers, not to mention the beauty of the property. And complimentary internet access is a bonus. (We owe Jane an e-mail and pic from last February! We're behind, just a little!) Here's wishing you fun and more decent weather wherever you go!

You havent' mentioned your ice cream adventures yet Melnq8!

You are in Deep South country!

tomarot -

No, we're not staying at The Croft. I contacted Jane twice to make a booking, but when she didn't respond I booked The Birchwood Cottages, where we are now. We only had four days to make all the bookings, so time was an issue. Jane did eventually get back...she apologized for the delay. Seems they have a new grandbaby and were busy with family matters. They were going to be away during our visit anyway, so just as well. We like the Birchwood Cottages so far - I had concerns about them being right on the main road, but didn't hear a thing last night. This is Te Anau afterall! Free internet here too, which is always a bonus, especially when it works.

mlgb -

You must be a mindreader - we made a point of stopping for some Deep South near Invercargill yesterday - first ice cream of the trip. Lemon/lime and hokey pokey for me. Plain vanilla for Bill (boring). We must be slowing down in our old age.

I bet those penguins were hiding from the weather.

What on earth is hokey pokey ice cream? I'm not sure it's safe to google!

Hokey pokey ice-cream is delicious, one of my favourite flavours, vanilla ice-cream with little lumps of crunchy toffee.

Hokey pokey is overrated, just slightly better then plain Vanilla.

Impressive drive, have driven from Blenheim to Bruce Bay several times before, thats a tiring drive and would not recommend. I go down there for long weekends hence the marathon driving effort.

I love the Haast area, the forests have a primitive charm to them. Have Kayaked around knights point, quite scenic looking back inland.

We saw one penguin, but we were the ones hiding from the weather...he took his own sweet time working his way up the beach.

About the hokey pokey...it sort of reminds me of honeycomb candy in the US or the interior of an Australian Crunchie Bar.

Yikes Thomas, I wouldn't recommend that one either.

It gets worst, I normally finish work around 3pm then hit the road. Reach Greymouth around 6pm, grab dinner. Then reach Bruce Bay just on sunset which is around 9:30 (Got a nice little campsite here). If I am smart I would get fuel at Hoki, otherwise its a nervous drive to Fox until these 24/hr fuel. I have mates who live in Greymouth which I could stay with but still keen to do it in one try.

The return trip is more laid back, and normally takes me all day. with plenty of stops and visits to the glaciers.

Oh, I love Crunchies especially the new version Cadbury Crunchie Rocks (more chocolate!).
Thomas, vanilla is my favourite flavour so Hokey Pokey must be nigh on perfect!

One wild penguin on the beach would make my day whatever the weather.

Aloha from Kauai -- a very different kind of paradise from NZ . First, happy anniversary!!!

Your weather report has me nervous. I'm glad it doesn't seem to be spoiling your good time. My next trip back to NZ will be June (2013). I'll be working in Auckland and Christchurch--and hope I get better weather!

My previous trips have typically been in May--and we never encountered any snow--although we had LOTS of rain last year in Auckland. We had snow-capped mountains in Queenstown -- making it even more beautiful.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

We were here over the exact same dates last June and had entirely different weather - still plenty of rain mind you, but no snow on the roads and fewer overall wet days.

Speaking of which, today it's raining just about everywhere on the SI according to weather reports. We'd planned to go to Doubtful Sound, but don't think we will. The cruise yesterday was cancelled as only three people had booked, which was a shame, as it turned out to be a really nice day.

I've been in November/December and had the same iincluding snow in Arthur's Pass. There is no telling with NZ weather.

Usually hotel managers are understanding and will shift your dates if they have space. I try not to book off season lodging too tightly, I am less picky about hotels than most.

I never pee-book, Outside of peak holiday season (last two weeks of December and all of January) it is normally very easy to pick up accommodation almost anywhere.

Even in peak, if you are prepared to compromise its normally possible to get accommodation in most locations.
Although the advantage of pre-booking is that you do not waste time looking for accommodation in a strange town. Plus it gives the freedom to arrive into your destination later. Booking a couple of days out is often a good strategy.

Have seen heavy snow in December before, although only on the mountains.

And freeze it did…we woke to the kind of NZ winter day that really makes me happy…clear skies, low cloud clinging to the hills, and the promise of a pretty day ahead. A layer of ice on the steps nearly sent Bill flying as he loaded the suitcase into the car. There was even a layer of frost on the backs of some cows we passed as we left our accommodation - It was definitely frosty.

Back on the Southern Scenic Route we headed to the South Catlins, stopping for coffee at the Niagara Falls Café, which was so cozy and welcoming that we regretted not being hungry. We detoured to Slope Point and made the 20 minute walk to the southernmost point on the South Island. There was no wind, blue skies overhead.

What more could a person want?

After more poking around, we finally arrived in Te Anau to gloom. Figures.

On our first full day in Te Anau, we made the early morning trek to Manapouri to look into taking a Doubtful Sound cruise…the weather wasn’t promising, but is it ever? Unfortunately, the cruise had been cancelled that day as only three people had signed up, so we left and worked our way along the Milford Road to seek out some walks.

We hadn’t planned on driving to Milford, but it turned out to be such a pretty day (yes!) that that’s exactly what we did. We didn’t take a cruise (done that many times), but managed to keep ourselves busy for many hours, returning to Te Anau in time for a showing of Ata Whenua, drinks and dinner.

The following day, we made the trek back to Manapouri, in even worse conditions. We decided at the last minute to take the Doubltful Sound cruise, which turned out to be a very good option. The weather wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t raining!

From Te Anau we drove to Glenorchy , which is where we are at the moment, winding up our three night stay. Yesterday was all winter gloom, but we still managed to walk several miles on the Caples Track. We popped into Kinloch Lodge, which was open for casual meals and drinks on a drop in basis – nice spot to rest the old legs.

Today was absolutely glorious – sunshine, snow-capped mountains, Glenorchy at its absolute finest. A perfect day. I’ve just now watched the sunset, leaving a gorgeous orange-pink cast over the snow covered mountains – incredible. We managed to fit in three hikes and hopefully I got some really good photos which I’ll share in the longer trip report. Whether or not we can move tomorrow is another issue altogether!

Tomorrow we’re off to Geraldine for a night, then it’s up to Christchurch for our final night before our early morning departure on Sunday morning. How fast the time goes…

Melnq8, loved your recent post. So happy that you got some clear days. Glenorchy sounded wonderful. It was gorgeous when we were there in late February, but no snow on the mountains as you so vividly describe. We can just about visualize the remainder of your path. Hope the last couple of days are good weather for travel. Will await your pix.

Well, the trip has come to an end. As I type this, we're in the Auckland Airport, awaiting our flight back to Perth. We have a long layover, as we booked flights only four days in advance and used FF miles, so pickin's were slim.

Our drive from Glenorchy to Geraldine was wonderful, thanks to some sunshine which afforded some brilliant views of Mt Cook and the surrounding mountains as we drove via the inland route. We stopped in Lake Tekapo for lunch atop Mt John at the Astro Cafe, surrounded by snow drenched mountains.

Our time in Geraldine was short, just one night at a lovely B&B, where we met Rick and Evelyn and had a very nice dinner at Taste, which we'd booked (fortunately) three weeks in advance....we'd have been turned away otherwise. It was an excellent gut busting dinner and we discovered affogatos, which we're now hooked on, much to the dismay of our waistlines.

Yesterday was a wet and fiercely winding drive to Christchurch via 72/79/77 - we had to dodge lots of downed branches and it was a struggle to keep our little Toyota on the road. Christchurch was calm and downright balmy though. We walked to the CBD from our motel and spent some time walking around the Red Zone of the earthquake damage. It was hard to take all the devastation in, even 16 months after the fact.

We logged close to 4,000 kms in 21 days...not sure I'd recommend it to others, but there was a method to our madness which I'll go into in further detail later if time allows.

Wow, you clocked up 4000km and your trip report reads like a walk in the park!
I guess that kind of road warrior trip only works for a repeat visitor who knows the terrain well especially during the winter.

Did you get photos of the penguin?

I just got back from an overnight on Cape Cod and watched a seal swimming just yards from the shore for an hour. It seemed to stick within the lifeguard zone and just swam back and fro keeping an eye on the beach! Here's a photo.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76264535@N02/

All the gory details to follow if I get the time to do a proper report sassy_cat.

No, I didn't get photos of the penguin. I didn't even take my camera with me to the penguin hide...I didn't want to subject my baby (camera) to the torrential, wind driven rain. Wouldn't have worked anyway, too far away even with my zoom lens and too dark. I took entirely too many photos as it is, will have to go through them all now and put together a TripWow with some of the good ones.

Way cool with your seal though!

We're home. What a long day yesterday was though. Up at 4:30 am to get to the Christchurch Airport by 7 am (couldn't sleep, so was awake since 1 am), 90 minute flight to Auckland, then a six hour layover (ugh, but beggars can't be choosers), eight hour flight from Auckland to Perth, four hour time difference. I got home and promptly went to bed, even though it was only 7:30 pm.

Fortunately, we escaped the Perth storm unscathed, so no nasty surprises when we got home (but it's still dark here, so haven't checked to see if our outdoor furniture is still there).

Have enjoyed your report, Melnq8. I know the area you were in although not the walks or Glenorchy. We will have to visit there some time in the near future. I just loved our day (apart from the Manapouri trip underground!) travelling through Doubtful Sound. Really amazing scenery, especially in the wet. Have some wonderful photos of that day.

What a relief to arrive home to an undamaged house. So pleased for you.
Dot

You didn't like the tunnel bit Dot? I thought it was very cool. The power station sent Bill's engineering bits all a twitter...nearly had to drag him out by his ear.

<<"engineering bits all a twitter...nearly had to drag him out by his ear.">>

A perfect description, I can relate to this. Engineers are a different species and there are many variants but they all exhibit this 'twittering'

Glad to hear your home was not damaged in the storm. I saw photos of scattered garden furniture in Perth after the storm with the comic headline..
'Perth June 2012 : We will rebuild'

How's the weather this week? My husband will be arriving in a couple of days if the thunderstorms here will allow his flight to leave!

The weather outside is typical mild Perth winter cool, no rain since we got back Sunday. However, the weather inside my house is quite cold...no central heat. It's 57 F in my office as I type this. This time of year I usually have to go outside to warm up.

Apparently the storm reports were the usual media hysteria. I spoke to an American friend yesterday who said Perthites have no idea what a real storm is (she's from hurricane country in the US south).

Hi, Melnq8. My husband loved the tunnel, but I'm mildly claustrophobic, and have got worse over the years. I sat in the bus and pretended, with my eyes shut tight, I was outside. Fortunately I was not alone, and the really fantastic tour driver came back to keep us sane-ish! He said over the years he had had a few people who couldn't cope with the tunnel being underground. C'est la vie . . .

In that case, you did well to even go into the tunnel Dot!

What we do for our DHs!

Information given is very helpful to people and will learn to come up a best knowledge.

Hi
your trip sounds amazing. i hope we can pick your brain a minute!!
we are planning our honeymoon for June 2013, we are hoping to do 3 weeks in Oz and 2 weeks in NZ. How bad is the weather in NZ?? we would prefer to drive so just so conscious we will drive ourselves crazy if the roads are bad and some closed. our main places we want to go to is Queenstown, Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier in the SI. Could you recommend what do you think we should do?
have got opinions from friends, some say do a tour but since we will only have about 10 days in the SI we dont want to be going to places we have no interest in.some say base ourselves in queenstown for 4 nights, get to Te Anua and stay 2 nights, do milford from here. would you get a bus or drive to Te Anau? Then to get to Franz Glacier....so confusing...please help us. we want to book it all as soon as we can...about August 2012.thanks

Regarding "how bad is the weather in NZ"...

Well, I assume you read my comments about the weather we encountered above. We had snow (which was unusual considering where we were on the SI), rain, sunshine, cloud and some frost. It was generally cold, but we did have one
or two days of coat free weather too. We were there during a freak SI storm which resulted in several road closures, but that was unusual, and they weren't closed but for a few days.

The roads can be slippery after a frost ---think black ice----but by 10 am it's usually a distant memory. Just be aware and take care if setting out early in the morning.

Milford Road is anyone's guess...I've been there when it was closed in Sept and it closed for a few days after we left this year, but they do their best to re-open it as quickly as possible. Sometimes it's only closed for a matter of hours, or they just close it early to blast for avalanches, etc. The day we drove it this year it was slippery due to frost, but not for long.

If you're comfortable driving on the left, or think you can be, I suggest you drive yourself. Basing yourself in Te Anau for a few nights to see Milford is a grand idea. It will allow you to get there before the tour buses and will shorten your driving, as it's only about two hours from Te Anau. It will also give you more time to explore see the area, without having to rush through on a bus.

Where are you flying into?

Hi
thanks for above. so far our plan is fly dublin to Oz for 3 weeks and then going from cairns to queenstown, stay 4 nights, drive te anau stay 2 nights. do milford day cruise here. drive to wananka for 1 night and then onto franz glacier for 2 nights, do the heli hile from here. drive to greymouth to get bus to tranzalpine to get to christchurch. going to fly from chrsitchurch to roturua, stay 2 nights here and then 2 nights in auckland before returning home to Ireland. It is all up in the air at the moment but want to finalise itinerary by the end of July as we can book everything in August.
any help and advice you can give would be great.
thank you