It all started in the week leading up to Christmas. The closest ferry crossing I could get to Christmas Eve was Thursday morning at 2.30am! Wow! It pays to book months and months in advance. Anyhow, the day after I sent the email to Mike detailing the ferry crossing booking I got an email back from him saying I had flights for me and Toby down to Christchurch on the Thursday morning. Getting into Christchurch at the civilised hour of 9.30am.
Mike, meanwhile, was the lucky person that got to get the car onto the 2:30am ferry and meet us in Christchurch after our leisurely flight. All this after getting back from Sydney and having medical appointments Christmas week, plus a friend was over from South Africa and having a party on the Wednesday night before the Thursday morning! So Mike ended up driving straight from the party to the ferry queue. He slept in the car until boarding time and raced up to find a cabin. He then slept his way over Cook Strait all ready for the glorious drive down the east coast through Kaikoura.
Toby and I were driven to the airport by Vivienne - which made our morning a lot easier. Even if I did have to ring her up early to say the flight was earlier than we thought. We had a short flight to Christchurch, and Mike got to Christchurch airport in good time to collect us (we probably waited just over an hour). First stop was at the local Intergen office, strangely enough. Mike caught up with some people he had worked with in Sydney. Toby caught up with computer game time in the car. Eventually, after Mike satisfied his social obligations, we were off just after midday. The drive to Dunedin was good - I drove because of Mike's shenanigans to get the car to Christchurch and he was feeling the effects of sleeping in cars and boats.
Dunedin and Aramoana
We got to Dunedin at dinner time, and pitched our tent in Mike's parents' backyard with millimetres to spare all around the grassy patch just outside their sliding doors. After a good tea we all collapsed into bed. I did have a restless night with SH1 traffic noise keeping me awake during the night. But this night must have cured me because it never caused any bother ever again.
The next few days revolved around wrapping presents and buying food and any last minute gifts. Normal activity in the day or two before Christmas. Far better running around Dunedin doing it compared to a horrid experience shopping on Christmas Eve once in London. The shopping malls allowed smoking still and entering the mall must have shaved years off my life. Awful.
Another thing to fill in my time was my ultimately fruitless endeavour to catch a glimpse of the glorious comet in the early morning skies. Three times I got up at 4am and twice I drove down to St Kilda beach to spy it. The first time I spent a few hours with Liz, also in Dunedin for the holiday, chatting away and enjoying the sunrise. We watched a cruise ship heading towards Port Chalmers in the early hours. Another day the boys came with me to keep me company. I have had to make do with the gorgeous photos in my astronomy magazine - that other people took.
Toby was very excited on Christmas Eve. As he lay down in the tent, he kept waking up to peer at his stocking hanging from the tip of the tent above his head. He was sure he'd catch Santa in the act this year. But Santa managed to sneak in and fill up his stocking without Toby catching him. Sneaky Santa. I think sneaky Santa might have twitched a bit when Toby moved in his sleep!
Christmas morning Toby opened up his presents and had a great time. I got a lot of DVDs from Mike (and subsequent viewings have proved they are very good). Mike got a book from me and started reading it immediately (a new Richard Dawkins book called The Magic of Reality) and murmured his appreciation. Christmas Day was a wonderful lunch at 733 with Mike's cousins (Jane and Richard) and a friend of Jane's from Bathurst.
Boxing Day we were up early to get breakfast on the way to Aramoana. Josh and Aidan had rented a crib down on the sandy spit at Aramoana and apart from the shooting committed there a while back, I knew nothing about the place and had never been there. Oddly, neither had Mike. Anyhow, some bantering during the year meant I had to provide marmite toast for breakfast to make sure our friends knew the right way to eat the stuff for maximum pleasure. Yummy bread in hand, trusty jar of marmite in the other, we were off. The day was glorious and the drive down to Aramoana was great. I know the road to Port Chalmers quite well as our grandparents lived there when we were young and we'd have Sunday lunch there every Sunday. But from Port Chalmers to Aramoana it was all an unknown quantity.
We found the crib and discovered it really was built on a big sand dune. There was sand everywhere - outside, on, even in the house. But it was idyllic. A real beach house. Lots of in and out and nothing a broom couldn't handle. Aidan had made scrambled eggs and they were fantastic. I made marmite toast (secret - not too much marmite, hot, buttered toast - can't fail!) and everyone liked it. We exchanged presents (hahaha - I got hankies from Aidan - very funny because I would run out of tissues at her place and I'd get lent a hanky!) and went for a walk along the beach past the moll and to a giant sand dune.
The sand dune occupied a lot of our time. The photo of it is above and you can see it behind us. It really is very high. Josh and Jackie continued their walk along the beach while we walked up to the top of the dune and barreled down it. I laughed when Mike went by on his tummy with Duncan riding on top. Mike's face just buried into the sand as he tried to swim the butterfly stroke in the deep sand. Running down was a lot of fun. Rolling down not quite so much - that sand got in everywhere. We watched a seal just offshore for a while and Josh and Jackie reported seeing some along the beach when they returned from their walk. A great place and one we'll have to go back to one day!
Back to the crib and we drove out (and got a little bogged in the sand) and went to a family Boxing Day get together at Joy's house at Macandrew Bay. The sun was boiling hot and we all soaked up a lot of sunshine, knowing we have to bank the sun we get for the winter ahead! Hahahah. It was great catching up with everyone. Bev only just got in the night before after a big earthquake a few days before in Christchurch (that we only just missed by 24 hours when we drove down). It was amazing to hear her talk about the year in Chch.
The next day we took Josh and Aidan on a guided tour of Dunedin, such as it was. The tour was very specialised and hardly likely to feature in many tourist brochures. Possibly the view they now have of Dunedin is now quite unique in the world. Certainly while they were at Aramoana, they saw many tourists arriving in cruise ships, and I can almost guarantee none of those passengers got to see the Dunedin that Josh and Aidan now know (and love?).
First stop was Scribes, that great second hand book shop that used to be just down the corner from my flat, and in-between me and university. How cruel! Nice to see Aidan spent just as much in her one visit there as I did on some of my previous visits.
From Scribes we walked through the university grounds. I walked with Josh, Jackie and Duncan. Mike walked with Aidan, Emerson and Toby. Oddly, Mike and Aidan talked so much that Aidan never saw the clock tower. I made sure Josh and Jackie enjoyed the grounds a lot more. They know I have seen salmon in the Water of Leith and that the computer science building has moved from the basement of the old wing!
From here we popped into the best wee museum in the world. I love the Otago Museum. It rightly is on the tourist brochures (as is the university, so really, we haven't deviated an awful lot from a bulk standard cruise ship tour of Dunedin). It really punches above its weight for a town Museum. Better than museums in much bigger cities - I reckon it'd give the Melbourne Museum a run for its money (well, it doesn't have an IMAX cinema though). Aidan took the boys into the butterfly area and discovery centre while the rest of us had a whirlwind tour of the rest of the museum. Josh and Jackie were disappointed to see the outrigger canoe from the Hawaii exhibit was lost. I must check it is back next time I am there. We oohhhed and aahhhed at the collections in the attic, they were underwhelmed with the mummy (I used to love seeing that as a kid) and perplexed by my fascination with the huge sunfish on the wall. Generations of Dunedin children have stared at this big sunfish and found it extremely odd. A sort of in joke I guess.
A quick pop into the University Book Shop and we then split up. Josh, Mike and Jackie went to grab some sales in the camping store while Aidan and the boys and I went for an awesome milkshake at the Percolator. The others caught us up and we were off to see Baldwin St (steepest street in the world - yep!). Josh drove the car up and down while Aidan walked (ran) up and down.
We caught up with our local friends, Richard and Theresa the next day. It happened to be their daughter Ellen's first birthday - didn't we time that visit well? Richard and Theresa had a party for her and we crashed the tail end of it. Then we stayed for dinner of party leftovers! Toby loves their company and didn't want to leave when it was time to say goodbye. He was all for arranging a sleepover. But he was placated by the fact that Richard and Theresa were also heading to Wanaka for New Years.
Wanaka and Southern Lakes
Next day was the 30th of December and we were leaving the hospitality of Dunedin (specifically 733) for Wanaka. Mike had managed to get us a tent site at Glendhu Bay motor camp only a few weeks out from our holiday. Lucky for us. Mike packed the car (which involved running into town to buy new lux bags for his morther's lux so he could lux out the car before packing) and we were off by 10.30am heading down to Wanaka via Roxburgh. My objective was to have a Jimmy's pie at Roxburgh. Turns out that was everyone's objective because Roxburgh was packed with people eating a Jimmy's pie. We ate in the park while Toby ran away from heaps of midges (they must like the pies too).
When we arrived at Wanaka we went straight through to Glendhu Bay and found our allocated tent site. It was a massive site, right next to the beach and a boat ramp. We pitched our tent, luxuriating in the space. Well, the space created its own dilemma of where in the massive site to pitch the tent really. But we coped. Then we headed back into town to get some dinner. The weather was so lovely. We bumped into Josh and Aidan's boys who where busy jumping off the jetty into the lake, and then we picked up our takeaway Thai and headed back to our campsite to sleep!
The next day was New Years Eve with all the excitement that day brings. Mike had already celebrated a New Years in Wanaka some time in the dim, distant past, and he has made a point of never having New Years in the same place (he's kept this up for 25 years or so and counting). So all that truly mattered to him was that when the clock struck twelve he was not in Wanaka. Glendhu Bay was his 2011 New Years place! We spent the day in Wanaka with Aidan and the boys. Josh and Jackie had hired a fishing guide to take them to the best fishing spots. They went into Lake Hawea and up the Hunter River (flowing into the northern end of Hawea). Apparently a bit of wind spoiled their day a little, but we had no such wind problem in Wanaka. It was toasty pie warm. We drove out to the Toy Museum (same place as the airport) which I expressed a bit of reluctance to visit. However, in the end, I think I loved it the most. It was full of toys I remember. I must be getting really old if things I recall easily are now museum pieces. Yikes! I took a photo of the toy dog Karen had when she was wee.
Outside was a play area for kids and huge hangars full of old cars. While I wandered around the hangars, Mike pushed Toby, Duncan and Emerson in a big pedal car. It is entirely possible Aidan read her Kindle at this stage.
After this we drove out past Luggate in search of a nice cafe for lunch. Turns out it was all booked so we drove back to Wanaka and ate lunch at the Tabors apartment. After that we spent a really hectic day on the beach. The lake was very inviting and we even got Aidan jumping off the jetty at one point. She swears it is far scarier when you don't have your glasses on and can't really see how far up you are. Seems to me that it must have the opposite effect. Anyhow, we all enjoyed leaping into the cool water. The boys did it for ages.
There is a pontoon anchored not far from the shore and Mike and the boys all swam out to sit on it for a while towards the end of the day. Duncan and Emerson were fine but Toby was freezing while he sat on the pontoon. So Mike brought back the kids in two lots, giving a bit of extra time to Toby to warm up before the swim back. We had dinner with the Tabors and heard all about the exciting fishing trip. Josh and Jackie looked so well but tired after their exertions. I had also found it tiring sitting around reading, eating and swimming all day!
We drove back to Glendhu Bay for the New Years Eve all important placement, only to turn around at the camp gates to squeeze in a visit with Richard and Theresa at her family's crib. We had almost forgotten where the house was, but something rang a bell and we crept into the front yard with Mike talking to Theresa on the phone. He tapped on one tent, but found out Theresa was in the other tent. Heheheh. We talked to them for a while before heading back to Glendhu Bay to celebrate the New Years.
The campsite was so full and absolutely heaving. We were locked out of the gates by this stage so walked in past loads of people celebrating the end of 2011. We went to bed and left the fly open to watch fireworks on the beach and listen to an excited group not too far away playing Trivial Pursuit. Toby eventually dropped off to sleep and we joined him after midnight, lulled to sleep by the murmur of humanity just beyond our tent fabric.
New Years Day dawned just as wonderful as all the other days in our wee slice of paradise. Back into Wanaka to swim again at the beach with Aidan and the boys. We made lunch and then went to swim at Beacon Point, just for a change. Today Jackie and Josh had what was declared as their best day of fishing ever! Awesome! Dinner again with them before heading to Richard and Theresa's for a trivia night. You are now reading the blog of the 2012 Wanaka Crib Trivia winners. Hahahah. We were shadowed quite closely by another team until the final round where we kicked butt! Ooossshhh!
Toby engineered a sleepover with Richard and Theresa (the wind got up and he ended up sleeping inside on a couch or something) so Mike and I returned childless to the tent. We chatted away for hours in the tent, just reflecting on a great holiday and what 2012 might bring.
We went in to grab Toby nice and early and got ready for one of our most favouritest day walks ever. The Rob Roy Glacier walk at the head of the Matukituki valley. This must have been the fourth time I have done this walk over the past ten years or so. Today was another glorious day. We had sold an Otago holiday to Josh and Aidan largely based on this day walk. They drove past our campsite and we got in our car and tagged along after them for the bumpy gravel drive up to the carpark.
We all walked in shorts, t-shirts and sunhats up into the alpine region below the glacier. We had a great lunch, waiting to see a bit of glacier cascade down into the valley opposite. However, we didn't quite get that lucky. A loud noise as we walked back down indicated someone may have seen a spectacular icefall. After the fourth time I have to say this walk doesn't get old or tired. I absolutely love it. An easy gradient up into proper mountains. Not to be scoffed at I am sure. But I have only ever done it in wonderful weather.
The next day we drove over the Crown Range Road into Queenstown. Our aim was to visit Mike and Karen, also in this neck of the woods for the holiday. We caught up with the Tabors in Arrowtown briefly, had a drink with Aidan and dropped her back in Queenstown before having a walk and dinner with Mike and Karen in Kelvin Heights. The Hilton has built a huge hotel just below their crib. Massive place. Mike and Karen and their three kids were such great company. I miss them a lot. You wouldn't believe they live about 3 kilometres from us in Wadestown. We hadn't seen them for over a year. I wish I had an answer why I let this happen. Busy lives on both sides I guess...
The next day was the 4th of January and we stayed at the campsite and chilled out for the day. I caught a great lenticular cloud on my camera not long after I was querying Mike about them.
I have also been saving the perfect skimming stone for about three years in anticipation of the perfect skimming conditions. Today was the day. The boys joined me at the beach and I took my stone and skimmed it out into the great, slightly choppy, lake. It skimmed twice and dived into the drink. The disappointment. Had I choked and pulled my shot somehow? Oh no!
Later, we went for a swim (told you it was hot) and amazingly we found my stone again (I guess it was unlike anything local so it did stick out a bit). I tried to skim it again, but it just didn't work well. So, we collected it again and I still have it. I'll wait for the perfect conditions once more. Perhaps in another three years?
West Coast
Next day we struck the tent and packed the car. The end of our Wanaka holiday, and the start of our West Coast adventure - our first trip all the way up, and Mike and I were both eagerly looking forward to finding out what we'd been missing all these years.
We were away early and grabbed some breakfast at a bakery before heading over the Haast Pass. We took a peek at a waterfall in the pass itself, then stopped at Fox Glacier and walked up to take a good look at it.
Toby took our photo when we were there. Mike and I had never been anywhere near here before so it was fun for all of us. It felt like we were a minority, being kiwis here. All we heard were non-English speakers all the way along the path. Great! The signs at the end were funny in a black humour sort of way. In the last few years some tourists were squashed by falling ice when they went beyond the fence to get a photo taken. The signs have newspaper articles about it and a life size cut-out DoC ranger holding up his hand to stop all the tourists leaving the path.
Up to Hokitika after this and I ate a great lunch of whitebait patties. Yum! What did the boys have? No idea and I don't care. I was on the West Coast and whitebait it would have to be.
We hadn't had any rain at all the whole time we'd been away. We expected the West Coast to end all that with its reputation as a wet wonderland. But we had beautiful weather again. How great is that?
We booked into the Breeze Motel in Greymouth for no other reason other than our friend Grant's parents used to own it a few years back. After having Indian takeaway for dinner, we had a bath for the first time in ages (a nice spa bath) and slept on a real mattress. I slept the sleep of the dead!
The nest day we drove to Nelson and had to fill up at the petrol station advertising the price of its petrol honestly.
Once in Nelson we wanted to find Jack, one of Toby's good friends, and his parents. Toby was the only one of us who had ever been to their crib in Nelson and he actually navigated us directly to their driveway through a myriad of streets. Trouble is, he didn't recognise the house when he got us there. We didn't know anything, not an address, nothing. So we had no idea how close Toby was. We rang John and asked where they were. You could have bowled us both over with a feather when we realised Toby had taken us straight there.
Their crib is a bit of a fancy mansion. It is so spacious and airy and solid. And has a great pool, heated! With an infinity view (is that what it is called) where the pool ends in glass and the water dribbles over it. You can swim up to the end of it and look out over the port of Nelson. We went for a walk to the Centre of New Zealand (a bit bogus) and the Chinese gardens. Then back to their house for an amazing dinner courtesy of John. Their hospitality was very much appreciated, especially as they hadn't had a lot of space to themselves having just had family vacate the house a day before we got there.
Next morning (Jan 7th) we visited the market before jumping in the car and heading towards Picton. We visited a few wineries on the way and onto the 6pm ferry to Wellington feeling like we'd had an incredible holiday. Mike loved the salad he got on board. And we arrived back home to get ready for the start of another working year.
It's a bit hard from the middle of April to imagine the holiday now. Lucky I had written it all down in point form when we first got back, otherwise the old memory would have been struggling. The highlights for me? Christmas with family is always tops. Mornings failing to spot a comet. Showing off Dunedin. Showing the off Wanaka. Whitebait patties on the West Coast. Friends. Such a great time. I miss Dunedin a lot. Otago was fantastic and we only scratched the surface.
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