Fox Glacier

It takes some negotiation of the river to get there, but the glacier is quite an awesome sight close up. The river gushes out from beneath the ice and you wonder why it doesn't all just melt and disappear. It looks a bit dirty and I guess the rain didn't help add to the whole atmosphere, but weel worth the visit and walk.

All good things come to an end they say. Well, we had to move on. Despite the wind we headed for the West Coast. We nearly got bogged at the bridge after I'd almost backed into a gutter to turn around. We were headed for glacier country. Next stop Haast, then Fox Glacier.

Taking in the sights around Wanaka

From tramping up to the lookout over Diamond Lake to.....

Chilled out with a book and no sandflys. I was probably in charge of dinner, or just resting.

One Day You're Gonna Get Caught......

This is what you get for volunteering to take the dogs out for a quick wee. Some happy camper with her finger on the trigger of the camera. That would be Lake Wanaka in the background if you can just focus past the dogs and the bloke in his boxers.

If you find a good spot then stick to it

This is the "no dogs" camping ground where only the owners and us can have dogs. How good is that? We stayed here 3 nights and loved it. I'm sure the only reason I don't have my book and a glass of wine is that Trina was busy taking this photo.

Just a little ray of sunshine

We were staying just out of the Queenstown rat-race in the suburb of Frankton. The van park was on the water's edge and had great facilities. This was our view.

A little food and wine

It's a tough life on the road...for some.

Rail Trail

Depending on your perspective, Clyde is either the beginning or end of the Central Otago Rail Trail. The trains have long gone, but the path of the track follows gentler gradients through the rugged area making it an ideal trail for riders and walkers. Various pubs and guest houses thrive during the warmer part of the year as tourists pause to refresh from their pedal along the 150km trail over 4-5 days. The Lauder Hotel is one such pub which is also a POP (NZMCA Park Over Property). Trina, I and the dogs walked from here hoping to make it to a bridge and a tunnel. We reached the bridge, being the second longest curved railway bridge in NZ, but the tunnel was too far. As it was, we covered 10km for the return walk. A long dusty walk on little legs. Dogs rested well that night.

Cromwell

Cromwell is situaated just a few kilometres upstream from this hydro-scheme dam. The dam levels would have flooded most of the original town so it was moved and is now an historic precinct where there is a market held every Sunday. The bakery does great brioche and jams. Well worth a visit.

Central Otago

After a restful night beside Lake Benmore where each van site has its own toilet/shower unit, we headed south through Lindis Pass. We were headed for Northburne Station near Cromwell where we were expected for a wine tasting. The landscape constantly changed as we climbed and weaved through the mountains. This sign was a significant reminder of our intention to visit the region once we'd settled into NZ life.

Lake Tekapo

Mark sent us on our way via his late dad's house in Ashburton and the inland route via Geraldine. Our first view of an inland lake was this one. The colour was amazing as you can see. From here we headed to Omarama for the night.

Akaroa

We finally embarked on a 2 week holiday in the Campervan. Taking the west-coast route down to Christchurch, we stayed over with Mark and Deb for a couple of nights. Mark took us out to Akaroa for the day. An historic, quaint village, originally settled by the French, on a peninsula about 90 minutes drive west of Christchurch. Fish'n'chips for lunch made it perfect.

Driving is a male thing

Karli is sleeping and Trina is mucking about with the camera, that leaves me and Zac to concentrate on the windy roads.

Wellington - Nelson Wineart

Golden Hills Estates is my newest adventure into the world of wine. Having been grape-growers for the past six years, Sophie and Jeff Marr have decided to launch this new label and I am selling it into Wellington. We only have 1000 cases this year but it is an exciting challenge and next year is much larger. This trade show is the beginning of Golden Hills Estates venture into Wellington, held at The Boatshed on Wellington Harbour. When we get a Pinot Noir, I'll create a new market in Schulz-ville.

Pohara Boat Club

We arrived here to find a pristine glassy harbour glistening in the setting sun. Rose wasn't far away after walking the dogs along the breakwater and taking in the scenery. The next morning a sea mist rolled through and dropped the temperature to about 3C. Pohara Boat Club is suitable for self contained campers but has a shower($2 honesty box) and toilet available. A small donation is requested for overnight stays.

Naked Possum Cafe

As you drive over the Takaka Hill it's like entering another world. The valley stretches north-south for miles with snow peaks in the distance to the west. There is a noticeable difference in pace and style once you reach the small townships which dot the edges of Golden Bay; a mixture of hippies ,farmers and others choosing more organic lifestyles. The Naked Possum Cafe is in inland from Collingwood at the edge of Kahurangi National Park. They have a possum hide tannery, game food and other local produce. You can spend the afternoon listening to a local trio, eating venison sausages cooked by the fire and knocking back a Mussell Inn beer. We were a bit too on-the-move for that so settled for coffee and chocolate mudcake.

Escape to Golden Bay

After a few weekends of working on the van to put in a grey water tank and a loo, it is now certified as fully self contained. This means we can stay at any of the POP's (Park Over Properties) listed in our New Zealand Motor Caravan Association Travel Directory. This one(1319) is at Motueka on Jan & Colin Pretty's place. It has power, shower and toilet and is set up really well. Trina met me after work and we drove about 30minutes to get here as a first night stop over.

Sunday Sunshine

It seems like along time coming but here we are, in the van, sun shining, relaxed. Every other well planned trip in the camper has became an excuse for mother nature to rain down upon us. Not this weekend...and we didn't forget thee matches either. (last week we forgot the matches and couldn't light the stove for coffee or toasties...plus it rained) We are in Aniseed Valley, only a 25 min drive from Nelson. This is how we had hoped Nelson winter would be. Everyone says this has been the coldest winter in memory. Much to look forward to next year. After a long lunch, including a code-cracker, we took the dogs for a walk up the Whispering Falls track.

Queen Beatrix

Queens Gardens are just over the road from our house and often where I end up whilst walking the dogs. The other morning I stopped at this plaque and found it had mum's middle name on it. I wonder if Grandma named mum after this Queen?

Day off

This morning was cold and overcast with the feeling of impending rain, so I packed the water and raincoats and headed for the hills. As you can see, we reached the top with barely a drop. The snow covered mountains in the distance reinforced the icy elements of winter. Zac and Karli loved it. Having all this within walking distance of the front door step allows me to attend to other things on my day off too...starting with "the list".

Getting on with posts

I can't believe how long it is since my last post. It's really about photo downloads. No photos, no post. If I could get into a better routine you could really see what we're up to here in NZ. As you can gather, the veggie garden has finally materialized. So far there are broad-beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, silver beet and fennel. Only 10 weeks to go until we can eat something, that is if the slugs and snails keep away. Since the photo, I have fenced it off so the pooches keep out. That was last weekend.

Totems for a Vineyard

It is one of the most beautiful and peaceful times, walking the dogs around the vineyard at sunset. At Woollaston Estate, the feeling is enhanced by some of the art installations which take on new dimensions in the changing light. Christine Boswijk's Totem for a Vineyard was inspiring this particular evening as it appeared silhouetted against the pinkish sky .

More "wine dogs"

Zac and Karli having a momentary rest from inspecting the rows in Woollaston's Mahana vineyard.

Cellar hands at work

Here are my cellar hand buddies who have been teaching me all the tricks of the trade. Doug is looking after the press. Michael is on the fork-lift. This is the last day of Sauvignon Blanc processing. Next week it's Pinot Noir.

Easter Sunday

The unlikely event happened, that Woollaston gave us the entire four days off for Easter as the Sav Blanc is now processed and the Pinot Noir picking will commence in earnest this coming week. Although I worked Saturday afternoon at Fresh Choice and Trina had a day of My Pie at the Mapua Festival today, most of the weekend involves gardening. The weeds have taken over and so we have undertaken to pull back the old tan-bark, pull out the weeds and then put down some weed mat before replenishing the tan-bark and making it all pretty again. Also, the long awaited vegie garden will evolve in a quiet corner. 

After collecting Trina from the festival this afternoon, we drove home via Richmond where we took the dogs for a walk up the hills. I just happened to pack a bottle of Pinot, glasses, chips and dog treats and we all stayed and watched the sunset over the Tasman Ranges. 

A few winery shots

Zac and Karli made it to work today...not much help though.

The Lees Filter

This filter can turn the muck at the bottom of a tank into pure clear juice...if you connect it up correctly. Those filter plates can go in two ways, the right or wrong way. With a 50:50 chance of getting it right, I managed to get it wrong today. After pulling it apart to fix it, we didn't lose too much juice, but, it makes me think of the efforts of all the people involved the steps along the way to get it to this stage and so the importance of keeping every precious drop gains magnitude. 

Every day is a learning process and today's mistakes will lead to tomorrow's success.

Karli spotted a cicada and is trying to work out how she can climb the tree to catch it. It's her latest sport since there are no geckos or skinks to chase here like there were back in Brisbane.

Autumn Approaches

Walking down to the vet this Saturday morning we were reminded that Autumn would be a noticeable season as the colours change and mornings become cooler.

Driving to work

Some mornings just make you want to stop the car and watch the sunrise. Today I just reached for the camera as I drove along the highway from Nelson to Richmond.

Variety in cleaning

The barrel cellar floor needed a spruce up with the high pressure washer.