Wow!

[yorkshirelass]

What a holiday - NZ South Island for two whole weeks.
Me, my hubby and 13 yo son flew for the very first time and enjoyed the whole experience. Ok the flight was very tireing but was well worth it.
We stopped in LA to re-fuel so had a couple of hours to walk round the lounge and help ourselves to refreshments, biscuits and crisps (free).
Obviously security over there is very tight and found it much slower coming back.
Anyway we landed in Auckland where we caught another flight to Christchurch - our luggage we didnt see between London until Christchurch which made it easy.
We collected our motorhome which is based within walking distance of the airport but they provide a free shuttle service.
We visited the Antartic centre before setting off for the Top 10 Campsite in Christchurch.
We met the penguins and saw all the excibits - very interesting.
Got to the campsite which was very clean and quiet. Constant hot showers, communal kitchens, laundrettes and very close to a shopping Mall. (Northlands).
We stayed there 3 nights and enjoyed the city of Christchurch, always caught a bus into the city and visited the Gondola - got photos, though there was low cloud when we visited but still managed to get some good shots. My advice to anyone thinking of going to NZ : Have a good camera for clicking away - hubby bought me a Casio FH20 - not a compact camera by any means but very capable of freezing up to 40 shots per second - so good for catching those dolphins/whales/wildlife, etc;
We then made our way north on the east coast to Kaikoura - not a large town but this was where I was booked in for the swimming with dolphins on the Wednesday.
Unfortuneatly it was to be cancelled due to the dolphins swimming further out to sea and the boats only go so far out. But because of health problems I couldnt book another session further into my holiday - which was a real big dissappointment but once Im sorted then Im sure we shall return to fullfil that dream ! We got booked to Whale watch by plane and made a mad dash for the airport. We managed to find the one Whale and I managed to get a quick snap of it before it dived. What a lovely sight of such a massive whale.
Again we stayed at a Top Ten campsite and again it was clean and quiet.
Though we did find at one of the campsites that the showers were coin operated and for only so many minutes - so make sure you have change.
We next stopped at Blenheim - there are many vineyards here - a real wine tasters dream - though we never visited any as dont drink it. But it would have been interesting.
This is where I met my penpal of over 20 years for the very first time.
They are so friendly over there - much more friendlier then us Brits - even all the shop assistants were so helpful and friendly.
I was amazed at the houses - they are so different to here in England - alot of wooden ones.
Then on Aztac Day (Remembrance Day) we went to Picton. Mnay of the shops were shut in respect for those that died in the war.
You really do have to visit Picton - the harbour is gorgeous and this is where hubby went fishing. Whilst he went off to sea - we went on the Picton Postal boat - delivering post/gas bottles, etc; to those that lived out of the way. It was amazing to see where some people lived - well out in the sticks. There were mussel farms to see. We were out for nearly 4.5 hours and even stopped off at Ship Cove where Captain Cook stopped off. We were allowed 15 minutes there where I kept snapping away with the camera. By this time the the rain had started so was glad to leave for Picton.
On our way back my son was allowed to steer the boat (I know you boat lovers will correst my non-boat terms hahaha) he was really smitten and he did really well. We had seen some lovely little private beaches on our travels, the mountains were awesome, as was the islands.
When we did arrive back to harbour, my hubby still had not returned so we went off to the shops were a few had opened up and so we did some retail therapy.
Hubby had caught some red perch so thats what we had for tea that night - very nice too.
We then made our way up Nelson way and stayed at Richmond - above Nelson. Never did go into Nelson.
Once parked up at site we walked into town and stopped off at the Taverna Restaurant. Very highly recommend.
Next day we decided to drive to Takaka - it was mainly up and down mountain - careful driving was needed because the sides of the road just had sheer drops.Meanwhile I was just clicking away with that camera.
Oh and also get a huge mega memory card/stick - you'll need it - honest.
We stopped off to a spot of salmon fishing - cannot remember the name of the place but it was before Potura Beach our next campsite.
The rods and nets were provided free of charge - all you pay for is the fish you catch - the owner stressed not to throw the fish back into the water as this stresses them out and kills them.
Anyway we caught 6 nice salmon -all 3 of us having a go and that was without any bait .
The place was idyllic and an oasis - ahhh absolute bliss.
Because of the long mountain drive we had decided not to go back to Richmond, so we booked into Potura Beach Top 10.
If you do tour these campsites you will be told about the discount card and make plenty of savings.
Next day we drove to Grey mouth on the West coast - Cor what a difference the ocean is to the east coast. This west coast is much wilder and the weather is very much the same.
It rained all the way there.
Stopped off at a small town called Reefton - an old gold mining town.
Caught a glimpse of two old guys with long grey beards - the sort you would see on those old westerns at the gold mines !
Had a late lunch at a nice little cafe.
We had difficulty finding the campsite in Greymouth so best to get a good map.
Next day went to Shanty town - an open air museum - smaller then Beamish up NewCastle way.
We didnt allow the rain to dampen our spirits. Once through the doors we caught the steam train which took us into the rain forest (well it was raining) there we had the chance to look at the train and read interesting facts about the sawmill that was our next stop.
Once the train dropped us at the sawmill it left us there so we could walk the rest of the way back into Shanty Town.
In between there we had the chance to pan for gold and we struck it lucky - even brought it home in a small vial. But if you dont want to take it home you can swap it at the gift shop for a Shanty Town coin.
In the town there was a post office, bank,camera shop, school, hospital,dentist, shoe makers, stables, fire station, court house, sweet shop and other buildings. I bought a postcard from the gift shop and posted it at the old postoffice where the mail stamps it Shanty Town - a very much sought after post stamp.
At all the sites there were computers that were coin operated so if yo need to email, then its there - we were amazed at all the email places in towns and cities - us not being that pc literate!
We drove through Arthurs Pass back to Christchurch where we stayed our last night at the very first campsite we had stayed at. Did our last bit of shopping for gifts.
Friday we caught our flights and home we flew. Managed to sleep better coming back home.
We flew with Air New Zealand and were very well looked after. Flew Economy class - hubby 6'2" only problem he had was when the person in front of him tried to recline thier chair - hubbys knees wedged the chair upwards hahahha......
On way back there was no-one in front of him so he was ok.
Because we were new to flying we didnt know about the duty free. At Heathrow we got through security, collected our cases and actually walked through customs - not a soul there to check our cases. We didnt know duty free was suppose to be bought in NZ !
Through this very first flight we have learnt quite alot for our next one.
We are hoping to fly back to New Zealand again - maybe in a couple of years time.
Now Im on the look out for a nice digtal photo frame for the piccies.
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Treat every day as your last as life is too short for rehearsals.