Saturday 27th February

Today we drove round the Coromandel peninsular and then across the hills to Whitianga, again in the sunshine. The coast line was spectacular with lots of sandy bays and islands. The sea is a brilliant blue/green colour, which, having earlier seen a bay called ‘Teal’ Bay, Liz has decided the colour must be ‘teal’. The main feature through the hills was the Waiau waterfall, which was very pretty. The house style in this area reminds us very much of the wooden houses with verandas we saw in the South Carolina towns of Georgetown and Charleston.
We ate out again at a ranch type restaurant. Liz has been disappointed with the fish dishes up to now as the choice seems to be between shellfish, calamari or battered fish and chips. Ben, of course is happy with steak every night!

Friday 26th February

Another sunny day! By comparison with earlier drives the scenery between Dargaville and Papakura was not as spectacular. Nonetheless we found some lovely bays to the North of Auckland on the Pacific side. The drive though Auckland was a long slow traffic jam – we did, however, get a good picture of the city from the car. En-route we visited the Kauri Museum which shows the history of the local area and gum digging. The ‘British’ influence is strong and all the preserved machinery used in the saw mill and offices was from the UK – including an old Imperial typewriter made in Leicester! There were some excellent ‘gum collections’ and I can see why it was so valuable (Pic of butterfly in gum). The Kauri wood has been worked into some lovely furniture and ornaments. Liz has bought a small bowl and box as mementos. We ate in Papakura at a cowboy themed restaurant and had excellent fillet steaks.

Thursday 25th February

Today’s drive took us through more varied scenery. Most of it was on very twisty roads through the Kauri tree forests – which were dense and lush. We stopped here to view the oldest Kauri tree in New Zealand; as an added bonus there was a bus tour party with a Maori guide singing a sacred song – in fairness he had a good voice!! We again found some fabulous deserted white sandy beaches which stretched for miles. We crossed the Hokianga harbour on the car ferry and had lunch in a cafe and sat out on the veranda which had decking out over the water. We have stopped for the night in Dargaville and are going to sample the food in the ‘Returning Services Association’ Club.

P.S. Ate at the RSA Club – they had finished cooking when we arrived but managed to rustle us up some excellent fish (snapper) and chips!

Wednesday 24th February

Today we took a bus trip to Cape Reinga via the ‘90-mile’ beach. We roared up the beach at 60+ miles per hour until we were slowed down by a rain storm. We then drove up a river to some huge sand dunes. Ben (despite his knees!) climbed to the top with his sand sledge and successfully careered to the bottom without falling off!! (Liz was waiting at the bottom checking the insurance documents). We then continued on to the Northern most point of NZ where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. Whilst it was a little murky the grandeur of the area was still evident. We then moved South via a couple of bays on the Pacific coast back to Kaitaia. We have successfully BBQ’d tonight at the Motel and done justice to a bottle of New Zealand wine!

Tuesday 23 February

We started off at Whangerai falls. These are reputed to be the most photographed falls in New Zealand. We then had a most picturesque drive to Russell, which included a stop at an art gallery/coffee shop with a stunning view of the East coast. Russell was an interesting and quaint small town which was the first capitol of New Zealand. We then continued to Kaitaia via the Karikari peninsula, which had some spectacular beaches. The motel in Kaitaia was very much better than the last. Everyone is very friendly and pleased to see us!!

Monday 22 Feb 10

Today was a blue sky day with endless sunshine. We drove from Auckland up the north east coast to Whangerai, where we are staying in a pretty grotty motel. The coastline was beautiful with white sandy almost deserted beaches and fishing coves. We have been surprised by the number of islands off the coast, all different shapes and sizes showing the remains of volcanic activity. Tomorrow we are continuing north visiting a couple of areas which have been recommended as worth visiting, so will update in due course.

Sunday 21 Feb

Yesterday was very hot and sunny. We set off to look around the coastal and port area of Auckland. We ( Liz) have found it quite difficult to navigate around Auckland with the small street map we have been given. Eventually we found Bucklands Beach where there was a lookout point on the top of a cliff where we could see the city and surrounding islands. We then drove around the coast by beautiful sandy beaches and had a look around an underwater sea life observatory. There were penguins basking on snow, but we are looking forward to seeing them in the wild. Then on to the America’s Cup Quay where there were some very expensive racing yachts and we also looked around the maritime museum, which explained the history of New Zealand from a sea point of view, including the history of the America’s Cup. In the evening we had a very good meal in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower. There was a lovely view of the sunset. We are moving on today north out of Auckland.

Saturday 20th Feb

We arrived in Sydney on time having had a very comfortable flight from Singapore – Liz said she did not sleep but the picture tells a different story. We went through the transfer gate where Ben was ‘chosen’ for a random check to see if he or his hand luggage had been in contact with explosives – they had to check his camera bag twice as the first time it gave a positive reading!! We had an uneventful flight to Auckland and landed to be greeted with lovely sunny weather and 24°C. We are staying in an apartment block in the city centre and have been upgraded to a very comfortable 2 bedroom flat on the 10th floor. We will explore Auckland and report back in due course.

Friday 19th Feb - Singapore Airport

An opportunity to update you. We arrived at Singapore airport to check in and we were unexpectedly upgraded to business class; it obviously pays to be polite to the check-in staff. We are now sitting in the business lounge with a glass of red wine awaiting our flight - we will have beds to sleep on the plane which is a real bonus! We had a quiet morning and visited St Andrews cathedral and the Mint toy museum.

More to follow when we reach New Zealand.

Singapore

Wednesday/Thursday.
Flight uneventful and transfer to hotel went according to plan.
Walked around shops local to the hotel in evening and visited Raffles Hotel-very colonial. We had Singapore Slings in the Long Bar which was a must despite the cost. We later ate at a street cafe for under £2 each.
Ben bought his binoculars and then we set off to go on the Singapore Flyer (equivalent to the London Eye). It was very hot but there was a downpour on the way – see the pic which is apt given the mode of transport! We were ‘befriended’ by an Indian and his wife who insisted we shared their Singapore Flyer pod and took photos of us. We will probably be famous now throughout India! We had great views from the ‘flyer’ of Singapore City and it’s skyscrapers. Afterwards, we went on a Singapore River boat cruise and saw the statue of Raffles where he first landed in Singapore. We had our first ever iced cappuccino and caught the hopper bus, which travelled the length of Orchard Road, before dropping us near our hotel. We have just got back from China Town, which is still celebrating the Chinese New Year (metal tiger); everything is decorated and awash with colour. It was very busy and great to be a part of. We ate in China Town and had Peking duck and chilli Singapore Crab (as recommended by Patricia). We leave tomorrow evening for Auckland via Sydney and will update you when we next get hooked up to the internet.

Our Itinerary

Day 1 February 16th 2010
Fly from Heathrow 21.55

Day 2 February 17th 2010
Arrive Changi Airport 18.30
Night at Peninsular Excelsior Hotel, Singapore

Day 3 February 18th 2010
Day in Singapore
Night at Peninsular Excelsior Hotel

Day 4 February 19th 2010
Morning in Singapore
Fly from Changi Airport 20.05

Day 5 February 20th 2010
Arrive Sydney Airport 06.35
Fly from Sydney Airport 11.30
Arrive Auckland Airport 16.35
Buy spirits up to 3 bottles of spirits each
Pick up rental car
Night at Chifley Suites in Auckland

Day 6 February 21st 2010
Day in Auckland
Ragitoto and Motutapu islands
Auckland museum
National maritime museum
Beehive building
Night at Chifley Suites in Auckland

Day 7 February 22nd 2010
Auckland to Whangarei (165kms)
Night in Whangarei

Day 8 February 23rd 2010
Whangarei to Kataia (178kms)
Night in Kataia

Day 9 February 24th 2010
Kataia to Cape Reinga and back (232kms)
Advise take bus
Night in Kataia

Day 10 February 25th 2010
Kataia to Dargaville (169kms)
Night at Dargaville

 
Day 11 February 26th 2010
Dargaville to Auckland
Visit Kauri Museum 45 kms south of Dargaville
Night in Auckland

Day 12 February 27th 2010
Auckland to Whitianga (199kms)
Visit Hot Water beach
Night in Whitianga

Day 13 February 28th 2010
Whitianga to Tauranga (189kms)
Meet Jill and David
Night in Tauranga

Day 14 March 1st 2010
Tauranga to Rotorua (86kms)
Night in Rotorua

Day 15 March 2nd
Visit Wai-O-Tapu and Lady Knox geyser
Rotorua to Taupo (86)kms
Night in Taupo

Day 16 March 3rd
Taupo to Napier or Havelock (143kms)
Visit Hawkes Bay and Marlborough(wine)
Visit Art Deco buildings in Napier
Night in Napier

Day 17 March 4th
Napier to Wellington (323kms)
Night in Wellington

Day 18 March 5th
Karori Sanctuary
Museum of New Zealand
Ferry crossing to South Island
Night at Picton in Broadway Motel

Day 19 March 6th
Picton to Kaikoura (157kms)
Whale watching off Kaikoura Peninsular (fur seals, dusky dolphins and wandering albatross)
Night in Kaikoura

Day 20 March 7th
Kaikoura to Nelson (245kms)
Night in Nelson

 
Day 21 March 8th
Nelson to Collingwood (135 kms)
Abel Tasman National Park 60kms from Nelson on E end of Golden Bay
Trip to Farewell Spit
Night in Collingwood

Day 22 March 9th
Collingwood to Murchison (219kms)
Night in Murchison

Day 23 March 10th
Murchison to Karamea (198kms)
Oparara Basin
Night in Karamea

Day 24 March 11th
Karamea to Greymouth (198kms)
Punakaili Pancake rocks and blowhole
Night in Greymouth

Day 25 March 12th
Greymouth to Franz Josef Glacier (177 kms)
Carving in Hokitika
Night in Franz Josef and Fox glacier area

Day 26 March 13th
Day at glaciers
Night in Franz Josef and Fox glacier area

Day 27 March 14th
Franz Josef Glacier to Wanaka (287kms)
Night in Wanaka

Day 28 March 15th
Wanaka to Queenstown (117kms)
Mount Aspiring National Park
Mining cottages at Arrowtown
Night in Queenstown

Day 29 March 16th
Queenstown to Te Anau (170kms)
In Queenstown gondola ride to Bob’s Peak
Te Anau glow worm caves
Night in Te Anau

Day 30 March 17th
Te Anau to Milford Sound and back (242kms)
Night in Te Anau

Day 31 March 18th
Te Anau to Bluff (182kms)
Night in Bluff



Day 32 March 19th
Bluff and Stewart Island area
Kiwi spotting on Stewart Island’s Mason Bay
Night in Bluff

Day 33 March 20th
Bluff to Dunedin (247kms)
The Catlins Coast between Balclutha and Otago
Night in Dunedin

Day 34 March 21st
Dunedin and Otago peninsular
Penguin spotting at penguin spotting
Dunedin Public Art gallery
Taieri Gorge Railway
Baldwin Street – Worlds steepest street
Night in Dunedin

Day 35 March 22nd
Dunedin to Timaru (199kms)
Moeraki boulders at Oamaru
Night in Timaru

Day 36 March 23rd
Timaru to Christchurch (163kms)
Night in Christchurch at Holiday Inn

Day 37 March 24th
Day in Christchurch
Fly from Christchurch to Sydney 3.45pm
Night in Sydney at Somerset Darling Hotel

Day 38 March 25th
Circular Quay and the Rocks

Day 39 March 25th
Opera House and Royal Botanic gardens

Day 40 March 26th
St Mary’s Cathedral and King’s cross

Day 41 March 27th
What a Darling

Day 42 March 28th
Getting out of Sydney- hire a car

Day 43 March 29th
Water- beaches


Day 44 March 30th
Free

Day 45 March 31st
Fly to Changi 16.30

Day 46 April 1st
Arrive Heathrow 05.10

Route planning and night stopovers well underway!