New Zealand

Sunday 14 July

We’re picked up a little before 6 this morning to get to the airport for our flight back to Auckland.  We needed to ‘bounce’ off New Zealand to get to Tonga – our next stop.  Seeing as how we both love New Zealand it seemed a shame not to spend at least a bit of time there.  We’ve given ourselves a week but hadn’t really thought what we’d do with it – especially as it is winter.  Then Nick hit upon the obvious but brilliant idea: go skiing.

Our flight to Auckland is smooth and painless.  When we arrive we make our way over to the domestic terminal to pick up a connection to Queenstown.  There’s some bad weather hanging over Queenstown that delays us a little and we’re further delayed when our pilot discovered he’d left his glasses in his car and had to go back for them (I kid you not, but I’m not complaining – I’d rather have a pilot that can see).

The flight is mercifully short and it is going well until we hit some horrible air over Greymouth that sets us bouncing like a ping-pong ball.  Still, the views (when we get a break in the clouds) over the southern, snow-capped Alps are beautiful.  I’m more than a little relieved when we finally touch down.  We’re staying in a cozy little motel in the city centre.  We warm ourselves up with a cup of tea and proceed to layer up with virtually all the clothes we have with us (this proper cold is a bit of a shock to the system and our pacific island wardrobes are not really up to the task).  Once we’re as wrapped up as we can be we walk down to the lakefront to a Mac’s brew bar for a pint of Mac’s Gold in front of the fire.  After that we walk to our favourite pizza spot: The Cow.  You’ve got to love New Zealand.

Monday 15 July

As we knew we’d be getting in late on a Sunday we gave ourselves today to sort stuff out.  We get some washing done, stock up on groceries and take a walk through beautiful Queenstown.  It’s cold but it’s also dry and bright with spectacular views of mountains and lakes in all directions. 

We sort out our ski hire, lift passes and transport and get ourselves kitted up with hats and gloves. 

Tuesday 16 July

For our first day skiing we hit the slops at the Cardronas:

Wednesday 17 July

Today we stay closer to Queenstown at the Remarkables:

Thursday 18 July

As we enjoyed yesterday so much, we ‘re at the Remarkables again:

Friday 19 July

We’re flying back up to Auckland today and, for a change, we’re flying at a reasonable time.  It’s a beautiful day for it too – bright and sunny.  Queenstown must have one of the most picturesque airports with snowcapped mountains on all sides.  We’re a bit late taking off but the flight is wonderfully smooth this time.

By the time we arrive at our hotel it’s mid-afternoon.  The highlight of our day is that we have our own washing machine – everything is going to get washed about three times. 

We spend the evening visiting our favourite haunts from last time: the Northern Steamship for drinks 

and Little India for food.

Saturday 20 July

It’s a bright, sunny winter’s day in Auckland.  We have a lazy start (doing yet more washing) then spend the rest of the day wandering through the city. 

We window shop, take a walk through the art gallery and explore the docks.  We find the delightfully quirky Silo Park – it’s old, industrial land that has been turned into a city center park. 

Today there is a market with clothes, crafts and food stalls and this evening they’ll be screening a film here.

We pop out for a few drinks in the evening and Nick once again decides to take on 500g of beef.  Oh dear.

Sunday 21 July

It’s a nice, sunny day again today.  Once we shake off our respective hangovers (mine from too many cheap bubbles, Nick from too much meat) we spend most of the day pounding the pavements.  We take a walk through Parnell, Newmarket and Ponsonby.  It’s mid-afternoon before we’re back at the hotel and we take some time to get ourselves packed up and ready for the next leg of our journey.  In the evening we pay one last visit to the Northern Steamship then find a Mexican café for some eats.

Janet adds: Off to Tonga in the morning…