Copyright © Tanya Piejus, 1997

Day 8

After poached eggs on toast for breakfast, we headed up the road to the church to see the window. It wasn't actually stained glass but the picture was etched onto plain glass. I had to buy a postcard of it rather than take a photo - I hate the way churches do that; it seems immoral.

Thence to Rainbow Springs. This is a native bush walk with various things to look at on the way and a farm demonstration. The bush walk had a trout farm incorporated. They raise trout there and release them into the rivers for sport fishing. No-one is allowed to sell trout so they can't farm it and sell it but can only release them to be caught. This is to preserve the sport of fishing. Weird, but that's the Kiwis!

The trout themselves are absolutely huge - much bigger than at home. We saw a succession of trout ponds including one with an underwater viewing gallery. A couple of the ponds had springs bubbling into them through sand. The springs bring up obsidian and the bottoms of the pools are turquoise. With the fish and a couple of ducks swimming about above, it all looks very pretty and faintly Japanese.

They also have a couple of tuataras (the native giant lizard) and a nocturnal house with kiwis in it. There was a breeding pair who were busy probing for worms when we went to look at them. Great birds!

There was also an aviary full of the commoner native birds - tui, white-fronted heron, pied stilt, paradise shelduck - which I've being seeing wild. I fed deer, pigs and miscellaneous other animals that had cottoned onto the fact that 50c of deer food needn't necessarily end up in the deer if they looked hungry and appealing enough.

After we'd had our fill there, we went over to the farm show for a demonstration of sheep dogs, sheep-shearing, cream-separating, sheep breeds and lamb-rearing. Audience participation was the order of the day and I got to churn the milk into butter. Mum milked the cow and fed lambs.

We tried to go up the gondolas to a restaurant above the town for lunch, but it was already heaving with busloads of Japanese, French and American tourers. So we had a hot-dog and then went up. There was a nice view of Rotorua in the sunshine and we went for a bit of a walk to see more of it. They also have up there what they call a luge which is basically a flat concrete path down which you ride on a rubber sled with a handlebar to control your speed. It looked a bit naff initially but I eventually had a go and you could go really fast if you wanted. They had a chairlift to take you back up to the top for another go.

When we'd had enough of luge-riding, we got the gondola back down, bought a few souvenirs and presents and went back to the motel to prepare for the Maori hangi and concert. It was marketed as a cultural experience rather than as an evening's entertainment. We were bussed out to a reconstructed marae (Maori village) by a driver who's a member of the local tribe who built the village. While we were on the bus, we had to choose a 'chief ' to represent us. An Aussie bloke volunteered.

When we got to the village, the conch shells were being blown to announce our arrival to the villagers. All the chiefs from the five buses had to stand in a line in front of us in order to accept a peace offering from the tribe. One young warrior came out of the village to present the haka challenge with much gesturing, grunting and shouting. He threw down a piece of branch as an offering which the chiefs accepted and we were allowed into the village. The Maoris had set themselves up around the village singing and dancing by their thatched huts and fires. It was all very nicely done and we meandered through the village for a while taking photos and watching.

Then we went into the whare-nui, the big meeting house, to be greeted officially. The elder of the tribe gave his Maori welcome speech, the group sang a song and our chiefs had to hongi (press noses) with the tribal leaders. Throughout, we had to observe some tribal customs like not standing up during the welcome speech and no women or children in the front row seats.

After the official welcome, the group performed traditional songs and dances, including an action song which we all had to join in with. They told us a lot about their beliefs and customs too. After the concert, we were lead into the hangi by our chiefs. We had carrots and kumaras (sweet potatoes), coleslaw (that traditional Maori dish!), a sort of stuffing full of all sorts of things, pork, lamb, salted beef and potatoes, followed by ginger pudding and custard (!). This was all cooked in the hangi oven which is basically a hole in the ground into which the food is placed and leaves and hot stones are placed over it. This makes a sort of giant pressure cooker and everything comes out with a not unpleasant smoky flavour.

One of the tribal elders was wandering round speaking to everyone and he had a cloak with feathers from 12 species of native bird sewn onto it. It was a very interesting and enjoyable evening.

Day 9

Today started wet and went downhill from there. We'd planned and intense itinerary but were soon thwarted by the rain. We went first to Wai-o-tapu, a geothermal area. We'd been recommended it by several people and it was amazing, even in the dismal weather. Lots of hot, sulphurous pools, incredible changing colours where minerals bubbled out of the ground, a vast sinter terrace, boiling mud, clouds of steam, water coming out of the ground at 105 degrees C. There's also the Lady Knox Geyser nearby which they throw soap down to make it erupt at 10.15 am daily. The guy chucked the soap down, talked about the history of the geyser for a few minutes then withdrew to a safe distance. The geyser then began to regurgitate the soap as froth, then out came the superheated water which spurted up to a height of about 15m. It was still pouring with rain but I got a few pictures.

We saw some excellent bubbling mud before giving in to the weather and heading down to Taupo. We stopped off at the Huka Falls which were pretty amazing. They consist of a narrow gully full of pounding water which plunges over a ledge and into a whirling pool. For once, the rain was a bonus! We then stopped off at the Craters of the Moon where there is more geothermal activity. There were none of the impressive pools and colours there but steam comes out of the ground everywhere giving the whole area an ethereal, prehistoric look. I kept expecting a brontosaurus to lumber out of the forest at any moment. Again the rain actually improved the feature as there were great clouds of stem that engulfed us every so often and smelled faintly of sulphur.

After that we lunched in Taupo and picked up a bit more information on the South Island. We then headed straight for the B&B as it was cats and dogs weather by that time. Now in Te Rangiita, well fed and dry again!

Day 10

Another day of big plans that didn't come off because of the weather. We'd planned to go for a walk on Mt Ruapehu, an active volcano which is smoking at the moment. We drove up the road to the visitors' centre but could only see a few hundred feet of the volcano's base because it was covered in low cloud. It was also raining. We had a meander around the visitors' centre but decided against going for a walk. We drove up as far as the road went which was to the skifields but still couldn't get above the cloud even though the top was probably in sunshine and looking spectacular.

We gave up and carried on towards Wellington via Wanganui along a beautiful green, hilly road which reminded me a lot of Austria. Wanganui has a really lovely town centre with lots of Victorian and art deco buildings. The cinema is fantastic. The weather was much better in the middle of the day but deteriorated again in the evening. It's now blowing a gale and raining hard although the forecast is promising sun in the South Island.

We're now staying with a nice, chatty part-Maori couple. Had fish and chips for dinner from the recently-voted best chippy in NZ. We had terakihi and bluenose in breadcrumbs with kumara chips. Mmmmmm!

Day 11

The weather overnight was terrible - howling wind and rain continuing. We really feared that the crossing to the South Island would be dreadful but the day dawned clear and sunny with very little wind. The ferry crossing was fantastic. We pulled out bang on time and chugged down the coast from Wellington. Mum made me hold up a 'Good-bye North Island' sign, much to the amusement of the other passengers on the rear deck. The coast out from Wellington is very hilly and barren with no settlements at all. We were only in the Cook Strait for about 50 mins before heading into Queen Charlotte Sound. Then the scenery got really spectacular as we squeezed our way through a gap with high-sided, green escarpments on either side.

Once in Picton, we had a quick lunch and a bit of a stroll before taking the road south to Kaikoura via the Cloudy Bay vineyard near Blenheim where we picked up four tasty bottles of their finest brew. The scenery on the way to Kaikoura was totally different from the bottom of the North Island of which we'd thought it would be a continuation. It was very brown and rather bleak hills on one side with a long, unbroken, black, pebbly beach on the other side. We stopped off at what at first seemed to be just a look-out but was in fact a New Zealand fur 'seal' colony where several sealions were lolloping in the sunshine.

Once in Kaikoura we pottered a bit on the beach and in town, then drove down to the peninsula where there were more seals. Then we climbed up to the top of the peninsula to look at the view. There was an amusing sign up there saying: 'Is this the best view in New Zealand? In the cloud, who can tell?' It is certainly one of the best views I've seen - turquoise sea lapping a black beach with mountains rising out of it beyond, their snow-capped heads resting against feather pillow clouds in an aquamarine sky - wow!

Our beds for the night are in the Old Convent which has now been converted into a guesthouse by a French chef and his wife. The building is gorgeous and has all sorts of tucked-away staircases, cupboards-cum-showers and sunny, unexpected balconies. We ate dinner there with four other Brits, which made a change, although the meal wasn't up to the price tag compared with what we've become used to.

Day 12

An English couple also staying at the Old Convent were booked on a 5 am whale-watch so when we went down to breakfast we asked them how it had been. They couldn't tell us because the 5 and 8.30 trips had to be cancelled because the sea was too rough (the company lost a Japanese tourist last year so weren't taking any chances). So the day didn't start as well as it could have. We packed up to leave and headed down to the Whaleway Station to see what the situation was with our 10 am trip. If that was going to be cancelled we decided that we'd go on a plane trip. We waited on tenterhooks for half an hour and found out that it was on with the proviso that the skipper would come back if it got too rough.

The boat driver asked for 16 people to go on the top deck so we volunteered and promised not to be seasick. It was a high catamaran with covered seating and open viewing decks. The Maoris have claimed all rights over the seas on the technicality that the Brits didn't when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, so they run the whale-watch outfit.

We bounced out off shore, over the continental shelf and into deep water to start scouting for whales. A couple of goes on the hydrophone failed to locate anything so we cruised around a bit more until one of the guides spotted a distant spout and we raced for the whale, but it dived before we could get there. The same thing happened again as a tantalising tail slipped into the waves. Finally, one of the other boats picked up a whale that had dived c. 40 mins earlier and we got about 30 m from it. We watched him spouting for about 5 mins then up went this back and his tail flipped into the sea. The whales here are all young male sperm whales, cruising around and growing until they're old enough to breed. Not much of the whale actually shows when it's on the surface but what you can see gives a good impression of a 40 ft leviathan under the waves.

After a couple more failed attempts to chase down a 2 m spout on the horizon, the crew said they'd give it another 5-10 mins before heading for the shore. We thought that was it but another whale popped up near us and we got to it before it slipped away. We could see a bit more of this one, along to the front of his head, and the snowy mountains rose up behind it making a beautiful natural scene. We rode back with everyone feeling very elated and happy. As well as the two close-up whales, we saw four tails and another distant spout so there were probably at least five individual whales out there. This was very successful by the crew's standards. We also saw a few wandering albatrosses, rare Hutton's shearwaters and a shy mollymawk amongst the more common birds, but no dolphins unfortunately. Apparently, they hang out further up the coast.

After a picnic lunch just outside Kaikoura, we set off for Hanmer Springs along a very scenic route requiring much jumping in and out of the car to take pictures. Once we got to Hanmer Springs we went for a short walk in the forest. The weather was really good and we got hot walking back along the road. The B&B we are booked into is in the middle of a plateau completely surrounded by mountains. It is a fantastic house with five-star facilities. The couple who run it are ex-Brits and restauranteurs. We had a fantastic meal and I had a luxurious spa bath before bed.

Day 13

The day started sunny with a rainbow over the mountains from the rain that we were due to head into. Booked a fly-cruise-fly trip to Milford Sound from the Hanmer Springs tourist office. We then set off for Greymouth via the Lewis Pass. We hadn't got far when the rain started and it tipped down! Cats and dogs, stair-rods, whatever. The rivers were raging, the high mountains were covered in creeping grey fingers of low cloud obscuring the snow-tipped tops. We didn't stop to take pictures!

When we emerged from the mountainous areas onto the west coast, the rain stopped and it wasn't even too windy. We turned north from Greymouth to Punakaiki where there are some really strange 'pancake' rocks. They are made of layers of soft and hard rock, and the soft layers have been worn away by the sea giving the rocks a curious stacked-up look. The sea rushes into certain areas and forms a blow-hole effect where the spray squirts up narrow fissures in the rock to splatter people standing on the walkways. The rough sea actually improved it - one of the few occasions when bad weather has made things better. We then turned south again to find our home/farm stay for the night. They have a huge plot of land with vast areas of bush, sphagnum moss beds and farmland.

After a reasonable meal in Hokitika, we were taken around the local glow-worms who hang out (literally) in an abandoned mine shaft. They live where the moist, moss-covered rock is, but not where the iron seams go. We saw their sticky threads hanging down to catch insects and the actual beasts themselves, neither of which I got to see at Waitomo. We also learnt about some of the plants and we saw a possum (a live one - mostly they are squashed flat 'possum pancake' on the roads) feeding in a bush. John, our guide, doesn't think the possums are anything like as much of a pest as the Department of Conservation makes out. We also saw another one trying to get itself run over in the road. I bought a home-killed, dried and tanned possum skin from John.

Day 14

After a lengthy chat with our hosts this morning, we headed towards Frank Josef Glacier and stopped off at the places they'd suggested we take a look at. We went first to Shantytown, a reconstructed West Coast gold mining town. They've done it out really nicely with lots of odd bits and pieces in each of the old shops and services. There's also a sweet little steam train that takes you up to the sawmill and gold-panning area. One thing I've noticed about NZ tourist and information things is that they're all done with a refreshing sense of humour. That and the fact that most people seem to look ten years younger than they actually are.

After Shantytown we went to Lake W-something but it was rather windy and we didn't stay long. We stayed long enough to take a photo of the swings in the play area which were swamped by several inches of water - just to show how much rain we've been having in the last few days. We then stopped in Ross where there's a 200 ft deep, genuine gold mine. The mining company want to buy the whole of Ross and turn it into a big, money-spinning hole in the ground, but the people of sweet, little Ross have other ideas.

Next stop was Lake Ianthe for a quick lunch, then to the Bushman's Centre where they have a little museum of the Bushman's job. This is basically hunting and logging. There was an explanation of the 'possum problem' and a live possum in a cage. It was asleep, of course, so all we could see was a heaving blob of brown fur. They also had an enormous pig called Sir Ron Trotter, the 'manager' of the Centre. There was a pool with three eels in it and various stuffed and preserved things on the wall. They also have a cafe with wacky toilets which have a boot as a counterweight to keep the door shut and bits of tree branch as loo-roll holders. Dead possums graced the seats in the cafe and they served possum pies and 'bambi burgers'.

After that, we hauled on through the forests to Franz Josef Glacier. We're now in the Terrace Motel, a Qualmark 4 star, rather plush joint and I had monster king prawns for dinner. The mountains between which the glacier lies are out the front, pleasantly snow encrusted, and hung about with fluffs of cloud. We go up the glacier face tomorrow...

Next page...