Day 3 – South Island Tour – 28th February 2010

It’s Sunday. Had a lay in. Got up at 9:00am. Such Luxury. Had breakfast and wandered through Queenstown to the gondola and went up to the top. Great views and loads to do up there. You can get a chair lift to go even higher. There is a luge that looked very tempting but with my track record probably as well we didn’t go on it. There is a bungee jump but fortunately it didn’t open until Noon and we had to be away. Otherwise I would have done it. Honest.

At 12:30pm we departed for a wine tour. First stop was at the Gibbston Valley Estate. We went to the cellar for the tasting. Didn’t get much of each wine but had four different wines to sample. Wine is really expensive in New Zealand and is no cheaper at the vineyard. After the wine-tasting we went to the on-site cheesery. This is on the site of the winery! There wasn’t a butchery! Such a shame. Had five different styles of cheese. All very nice, then went for lunch. Even nicer. Had some decent quantities of wine with the lunch. We selected the Pinot Blanc and it was a light, dry white with a distinct green tint in the glass. Nuances of citrus and a decent after taste, IMHO. Needed a second glass to confirm initial findings. The photo on the left is where we had lunch. Splendid!

We then left to visit a second winery and had another four wines to try. I could get to like this. We were then brought back to the hotel and guess what. Had a kip!! After the kip I had a nice long soaky bath. It is now 8:00pm and you just wonder where the time goes. Will have an early night tonight as we are off again in the morning at 8:30am for a sail along the full length of Milford Sound. It is a fair old drive to get there and then we have a fair old drive back to Te Anau to stay at the Village Inn.

Day 2 – South Island Tour – 27th February 2010

Did it again, got up at 5:45am. But this was because WE COULD FLY!

Got the helicopter flight to the Franz Josef Glacier. Beautiful morning. Set off on the flight before the sun had actually peeped over the mountains but it was great. Lovely clear, clean, fresh morning. Excellent light. Everything looked pin-sharp. Set off and immediately the glacier comes into view. Got the same initial view as we did yesterday from the viewing point but the difference was that this time we were higher and just went on getting higher and higher. Two passenger couples and the pilot in the helicopter. It was great. No sense of fear or doubt or uncertainty at all. Just the sheer exhilaration of being in a small helicopter and flying over a frozen ice flow. We eventually made it to the top of the glacier and landed perfectly on the ice-field that feeds the glacier. Got out and took photos and had photos taken. Then got in and set off back down the adjacent Fox Glacier and landed at a tiny helicopter landing site where a bus took us into the little township build up to service tourists at the glacier.

Our coach then arrived and picked us up and we set off south. We drove for miles and miles through the scenery and forest of the west coast of South Island. There is sod all there really. Just one road. Not very wide. Lots of bridges over lots of rivers and creeks that were just wide enough for the coach. Lots of great views. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand and we kept getting views of it until we finally left it behind. Drove for miles past a lake, then over a ridge and more miles past another lake. Beautiful. Stopped a couple of times at viewpoints and got out and took photos. Stopped at three other places for snacks and whatever. All really nice and all well worth visiting.  Eventually we arrived at the Haast River and boarded a twin water-jet powered speedboat. It didn’t look much to be honest but boy could it move in the water. We had a power ride up the Haast River. The pilot(!!??) whizzed the thing around and did quite a few full 360deg spin turns. Terrific.

Meanwhile the coach driver drove up the road and met us at the end of the trip. We then continued travelling south until we eventually reached Queenstown. We are now staying at the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside hotel for two nights. Bliss. No early get up in the morning.

An hour after landing we had to depart to go and board the TSS Earnslaw. This is a one hundred year old (but beautifully restored) twin screw steamer (coal powered by hand). Queenstown is on the shores of lake Wakatipu. We had a nice cruise to Walter Peak High Country Farm. This is a brilliant place way up the lake and we had a great meal followed by a sheep rounding demo. The guy running this part of the proceedings had a real dry sense of humour. He then talked us through the history of sheep shearing and then sheared a sheep. I laughed my socks off at his comments. Afterwards we boarded the Earnslaw for the return trip. A grand piano graced the upper saloon and we sat around and sang old war-time songs all the way home. A great time was had by one and all!

Day 1 – South Island Tour – 26th February 2010

Got up at 5:00am. OMG! Well early. Went out for a little walk around the block until breakfast was served. Coach departed at 7:30am for the railway station where we boarded the Trans Alpine Train. First hour a bit boring as you travel through the Canterbury Plain and the outskirts of Christchurch and nearby towns. Eventually reach the Southern Alps and things improve. Tried taking photos through the window but the bright sunshine just caused loads of reflections so really not possible to take shots looking down. OK if shooting high as the reflections are much less intrusive but you soon get a bit tired of taking shots of unknown mountains.

Left the train at Arthur’s Pass. The coach had arrived before we did so we just rejoined the coach. We then drove parallel with the train track and caught it up. Interesting.

 

Took a few shots of the train we had just left. We then headed for the west coast and then drove down the west coast road to Hokitika (see photo of clock tower) where we visited a jade factory and had a spot of lunch. Then continued down the coast before cutting inland to the Franz Josef Glacier. We had wanted to take the helicopter flight that takes you up to the top of the glacier and lands on the actual glacier itself. But they weren’t flying as the cloud had come down. Bit of a bugger but what can you do? So we went in the coach up to the car park from where you can walk up to a viewing platform that has displays telling you all about the glacier. Took some photos. As you do! Walked back and rejoined the coach and went to the Franz Josef Hotel where we have just had a rather nice meal and a bottle of Pinot Noir. Nice!

Now back in the room typing this and hopefully I can go to reception and upload it for $5 for half an hour.

Full day in Christchurch – 25th February 2010

This is better. Bit more leisurely. Got up and showered and in for breakfast at 9:00am. Stoked up and then went out for a walk around the city. Victoria Square is the name of the gardens in front of the hotel. Lovely little spot where the river Avon runs through the grounds and you can hire a punt and a punter. We didn’t do that. Walked around to the theatre alongside the Town Hall and saw a group of scruffy roadies hanging around a couple of massive rigs. Tom Jones appearing tonight. Blimey. No chance of a ticket, fully booked up.

The city of Christchurch, just like loads of cities throughout the world, used to have a tram network and got rid of it. Christchurch, however, had the sense to realise it had lost a major attraction so re-instated a loop around the city centre. They picked up four of their old trams from various places and did them all up and now have a really neat little system in place. The trams are from the 1920’s and are quite wonderful. The tram driver gives a running commentary. We went on two of the four trams and the sense of humour of the drivers is a hoot. They are now extending the tram track to cover more of the city centre.

Hagley Park is a huge place and is just a short hop from the centre. It has lots of open grass for field games and sports. We had a good walk around but only got as far as the croquet club! We then found a most pleasing memorial walk alongside the Avon (it gets around a lot does that river). This was in and around the botanic gardens. We then came across an electric train thing that was quite comfortable and saved a heck of a lot of walking. After seeing a lot of the gardens we ended up at a nice cafe in the gardens and had another iced coffee. These are now our most favourite drink for a hot day. Nice tall glass with milky coffee in it, couple of scoops of ice-cream and whipped cream squirted over the top with cinnamon sprinkled over that. Oh Yes!! It is that good.

Got the tram back to the centre and chilled out a bit in the hotel and waited for Joe Cannon to come and pick us up. He took us for a spectacular drive up the hills where he lives and along the ridge to a lookout point that allowed you to see the whole glacial, silt-filled basin on which Christchurch now stands. You could look both ways and see the sea on both sides of the ridge. We wound our way over to Sumner which is a resort town and beach up the coast from Christchurch. A very long sand spit has formed a sea lake which makes a great harbour for loads of small boats. When the tide is out you can walk across the end as a sand-link emerges that completely seals off the lake from the sea. We were right at the end, a bit further up the coast where the breakers make for decent surfing. On this occasion I didn’t avail myself of the opportunity. Rather we sat and had another iced coffee and watched the surfers.

Joe then took us to his home after stopping off to buy a few items for the Barbie! His eldest daughter, Amelia, phoned up to see where he was and he handed me the phone and I and then Val had a nice little chat with her. She is a smashing little girl and as bright as a button. She is five and a half years old. Her sister, Matilda, is just one and remained quite shy.

Rachael did wonders preparing the nosh for the Barbie and it made a thoroughly splendid meal. As Joe fancied a couple of drinks, Rachael very kindly stayed tea total so she could drive us back to the hotel. All in all – brilliant.

When we got back to the hotel Val had to sort out all the stuff in the cases while I, err, sort of, didn’t. We wanted to leave a case at the hotel to avoid dragging a couple of big, heavy, cases around South Island. It was during this activity we realised the air-conditioning had packed in. A lad came and nearly ripped the unit of the wall before deciding he couldn’t fix it so we ended up with a big fan. We then went to bed as we needed to be up early for the start of the tour.

Transfer from Sydney to Christchurch – 24th February 2010

Got up at 5.45am! Checked out at 6:45am and got the shuttle to the airport. Picked up at four other hotels so had a last trip around Sydney. Flight to Christchurch left pretty much on time at 10.15am. The in-flight, back of the seat, Information – Entertainment – Communications (ICE) system in these Emirates planes is really good. You can check where you are, where you are going, how high, air temp, air speed, ground speed, altitude, time to destination, time at destination, arrival time and so on. You can select camera views front and below. If you want to pay you can make calls and send/receive emails. But the best is a massive array of films, videos, TV shows, radio stations and the one that has occupied me most of all – every single top twenty hit since the hit parade came to life in 1952. Talk about “in my element”. Hip, swinging, groovy, cool, bad, and whatever young folk say nowadays. I’m currently up to 1984 after a full 24 hours flying time!

Anyhow, we are now in Christchurch and what a lovely city it is. We were amazed to find it was 32degC when we got here. Clear blue sky and bright sunshine. The drive from the airport to the city centre was excellent. The suburbs are elegant and the road tree lined. In fact this is just what I expected of New Zealand.

Christchurch is a classic grid city. All right angles and blocks. In the centre is the cathedral square. There is a historic tram service running around in a loop. Most likely we will have a spin tomorrow. We are in the Copthorne Central, right opposite the town hall and gardens. The river runs through!! You can hire a punt on the river. Very Cambridge like. You can also take a gondola trip up a nearby mountain so we will be doing a bit of that if we have time. Now back at the hotel and typing this and will shortly go on line and publish it and see if any emails will download. Much better connection prices here. $10 for two hours with a wired connection in the room. That’s better.

Sydney – Day 5 – Tuesday 23rd February 2010

Not as hot today as more cloud about, but still very pleasant. Tried to check in on-line this morning but it wouldn’t have it. Means we have to get up at 6:00am tomorrow to take the airport shuttle at 7:00am to be sure of getting to the airport two hours before departure at 10:15am. The shuttle trundles around other hotels picking up folk but is substantially cheaper than getting a taxi and means we have a final look at Sydney.

What we did manage to do is get ourselves good seats on all the remaining flights. Which was nice. We did all this at a supermarket at the bottom of Pitt Street, near the ferry quays. The supermarket had a whole bunch of PC’s available and some wired connections for laptops. All available at a fantastic price of $4/hour – rather than the $27/hour at the hotel. Wish we had found it before!!

We returned to the hotel and dropped off the laptop, keyboard and mouse!! Then walked back down to the quay and got the ferry to Manly. This is on the north peninsular at the entrance to Sydney Harbour, inland from the North Head. The peninsular necks down to provide a short stroll across from the harbour side to the sea, where Manly beach awaits. This link is a pedestrian thoroughfare filled with shops and bars and restaurants and is called “The Corso”. It forms the heart of the shopping area of Central Manly. Turning right at the beach we strolled round the headland (Marine Parade) towards Shelley Beach. Just around the corner there is a big old rock with a hollowed out centre where you can spend a happy 10 minutes taking oddly framed photos. We have the photos to prove the point.

Returning, we went to the famous Manly Fish Market, which is actually a Fish Cafe where you can select the fish to want and say how you want it cooked. Or you can just have a plate of fish and chips! And wine, of course. Very nice. Very tasty. And this was the real reason we went all that way. Apart from the pleasure of the ferry ride.

Now back in the hotel and rested after another day of fruitful exertions. Val is packing up and ironing a few things and I’m extremely busy sitting here typing up this blog!! Anyhow, enough of this rambling. Onwards and upwards to New Zealand in the morning. Christchurch beckons.

Sydney – Day 4 – Monday 22nd February 2010

Well! What a scorcher. Hottest day by far. 37degC today. Bit too much to be honest. Good day for taking a nice trip around the harbour though. Captain Cook would be amazed at the ships now bearing his name. We went on a Magistic (their spelling) Cruises Catamaran. Fully air-conditioned, thank you very much. I was in seventh heaven. Beautiful buffet with everything I like. Big prawns, prepared oysters, mussels and so on. Bottle of Chilled Hardy’s something or other. And watching the world go by. Or, at least, all the famous landmarks and scenes. Two hours of perfection. Once again, took a few photos.

Returned to the hotel after that to relax for an hour or two. Then went for a ride on the Monorail. This should have been a nice relaxing trip over the streets of Sydney. But the air-conditioning had failed and it was very uncomfortable so we were glad when it was over. Returned to the hotel again to cool off.

Sydney is a lovely city. It is a shopper’s paradise and some of the shops and department stores are quite historic, such as the Queen Victoria Building on George Street. It really is quite spectacular. Joining George Street and Pitt Street is the beautifully preserved 150 year old Strand Arcade. In contrast there are ultra modern shops and shopping malls. The very stylish Galeries Victoria are a case in point. But the whole city is bursting with fine dining places, markets, museums, galleries and a whole host of “places of interest”. Far too numerous to list, let alone to visit in a short trip. There are theatres, dance companies, bars, clubs and sporting venues. All you can do in five days is visit the major attractions and just scratch the surface of the rest. To say I am impressed with Sydney is a bit of an understatement.

We have been out this evening to see the city by night. Pretty good. Also still very hot. 32degC at 10:00pm.

More PC Blues

Outlook now will not open. It looks like it will open, the main window flashes up long enough to see it, but then it disappears and a message box pops up saying "cannot open the Outlook Window - great.

I also cannot send messages to the Yahoo group now so will have to do it in real time – which means I won’t send another after this until I get somewhere with free WiFi. Haven’t spotted any free WiFi here signs in Sydney. I’m sure they exist but they don’t advertise the fact at all well.

I know some good folk have sent me some emails but please excuse the fact that I haven’t replied on the grounds that I’m a cheapskate!

I have updated this blog as I can prepare it in the room and just go down to reception to send it. 55c a minute, still can’t believe it. It has cost me £10 so far for two short sessions. Tsk! Grumble. Mutter.

Sydney – Day 3 – Sunday 21st February 2010

Another very busy day. Started out by going up the Sydney Tower. The highest building in Sydney. Spectacular views over the city and all the surrounding harbour, suburbs and countryside. The distant mountains were easily seen in the heat haze. Another really hot day (by our standards). The temperature was over 30degC. Had a snack while up the tower but declined the skywalk! Went down in the lift to the foyer level and had a short film show sat on active seats. A bit IMAX, I suppose. But the seats really bumped you around and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

We walked through Hyde Park over to St Mary’s cathedral. Lovely building. It now has twin towers but these were added long after the building was substantially completed as there was a tax in place on completed buildings so the church claimed for a long time the building wasn’t finished. When the tax was removed they added the towers. We then walked through “The Domain”. This is a public park and they were setting up for a big concert in the park. We crossed the road and walked to the tip of Mrs. Macquarie’s Point. This gives great photo shots of the Opera House with the bridge behind it. We then sat in Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair!!

After enjoying the great views from the point we strolled back to the Royal Botanic Gardens and round to the Opera House. Took the tour and enjoyed it immensely. It is a fantastic place and the story of its construction makes you realise it was a wonder it was ever built. One disappointment was that “The Man in Black” (The Johnny Cash Story) was being staged and we would have loved to have seen the show but it is booked solid for the duration. By ways of compensation we revisited the rocks and went round all the Sunday Market stalls. It was very busy. On the way past Circular Quay or Sydney Cove we booked a lunch tour of the harbour region. That will be the big event for Monday.

Sydney - Day 2

We feel much better after 12 hours sleep. Headed out for the tourist bus to see all the sites. Stopped off at Darling Harbour for a good look around. Had a ride on one of the little trains. Real good value for money for a change. Then went out to Bondi Beach but it was full!

After a full day out returned to the apartment for a well earned kip and something to eat. Caught up on emails that I downloaded last night but was too tired to read. Wrote a few replies and this blog note. Had some strawberries and cream and spent another fiver to connect and send this.

Dubai Update

Forgot to mention the fantastic last day in Dubai. Returned to the Dubai Mall as we really wanted to see it again. The taxi driver got lost so we had a trip around some of the less obvious tourist areas! But I have the say the mall and surrounding area, with the tallest building in the world dominating everything, is brilliant. When we got back to the hotel we then went out on the Desert Safari adventure. This is well worth going on and involves a trip out of the city into the desert where a whole load of 4x4’s congregate in a large expanse of sand dunes. Then all hell breaks loose as the driver takes on an alter-ego and plunges off into the dunes. Up and over and along and in-between. Sand being thrown up everywhere and lots of side sliding and we never over-turned once. Fantastic.

We then went to this odd place in the desert where loads of us experienced sand-dune experts all sat down, in a most uncomfortable position, to eat a meal. If you happened to be a Bedouin or were less than 10 years old then maybe you were comfortable but my poor old body wasn’t up for it. But I managed to sit still once the belly dancer turned up. Wow. What a cracker. Photos can be sent privately at $10 a time.

Sydney – Day one

 

Well. Here we are. Back on-line once more. We are a bit zombiefied. We left Dubai at 10.30am on Thursday 18^th Feb for our 13.5 hours flight to Sydney. But Sydney is 7 hours ahead of Dubai (which is 4 hours ahead of the UK) so we arrived at 7.00am Sydney time (did you follow that?) No chance of sleeping on the plane and it was about 9.00am when we arrived at the hotel after a $55 taxi ride from the airport.

Disappointed to find the hotel (Mantra 2 on the corner of George Street and Bond Street) was full and no chance of an early check-in. At least we could leave the cases so we set out to see a bit of the city even though we were not exactly fighting fit. First job was to hunt out a computer shop to repair the PC but after trying a few it was clear that we were not going to succeed so I bought a USB keyboard after trying it out in the shop to make sure my dodgy “proper” keyboard did not prevent the USB one from working correctly AND IT DIDN’T. Great stuff. Just $25 wasted (around £15)!!

So remember children, don’t go playing with whisky whilst sat at the keyboard.

Dropped the new keyboard off at the hotel and went down to the waterfront (Circular Quay) where the ferries come and go. Only a short walk from the hotel and the first thing we see is the famous bridge. The very next famous thing we see is the new Queen Victoria docked right by us. How cool is that? The third most famous thing we see is the Opera House across the Quay. Took the odd photo or two. Then sat and had a glass of wine and a bite to eat. Then went to the farmers market and explored the Rocks area then fell asleep on our feet and went back to the hotel at Noon and by then a room was available so we checked in and went to the room and checked out for three hours.

When I say “Room”, being seasoned Time-share owners we actually booked an apartment. It is very nice but it doesn’t have the little touches we are used to with DRI. The furnishings and decor are fine but the kitchen utensils, crockery, cutlery and glassware are really minimal. Only one hand towel (but two bath towels) in the bathroom, no waste bin in the lounge, no dressing table in the bedroom. Little things like that. But, must remember, tons better than a standard hotel room (more expensive as well).

So, there we are. All settled in. All I have to do now is go downstairs to the lounge, set up my netbook, external keyboard and mouse, and pay a fortune to connect for a few minutes to upload this and download emails.

Dubai - day 3

Had a bit of a disaster with my laptop. Splashed some 18 year old Glenmorangie over the keys and now it doesn't work. The keyboard has turned into a random event generator and I cannot type on it at all. Just had to pay to use a PC in the business centre to check-in on line.We are off to Sydney in the morning. It means we can now have breakfast before departing.

We have packed in a lot while we have been here. Did the full city tour yesterday and last night sailed the creek on an illuminated Dhow after watching fireworks and had a lovely meal. First day we explored old Dubai and all the trading "corridors". Went to the museum and the spice and gold souk across the creek. Today we are going back to the huge shopping Mall as it is so mind-boggling in "Downtown" so we want to see it again. Later this afternoon and evening we are going on the desert drive. Four by four over the sand dunes, watch the sun go down in the desert, have a meal and be entertained by a belly dancer. Nice!

We drove all round the Palm Jumeirah and had our photo taken outside the Atlantis. It must cost a fortune to stay there. If there is a recession in Dubai it isn't immediately obvious. I suppose you can see some of the building work has stopped but by no means not all of it. The place is very busy. Lovin' it!

Pity about my laptop, though. Might try and get it fixed in Sydney.

Dubai - Day One

We are all nicely settled in now. Regarding the overnight flight. Not the most wondrous experience. All our flights are with Emirates and they are great planes, wide-bodied with four seats in the middle and three down both sides. Leg room is better than anybody else but they are only straight-forward seats that only recline a little bit. Each one has its own screen which is great. I watched the new Ricky Gervais movie. A really funny film I thought. But trying to get my long legs comfy was just too difficult so I hardly slept. Val had a better time of it but we were quite tired when we arrived.

We knew we would be tired on arrival and even though the plane was 50 minutes late arriving in Dubai it meant we arrived at just before 4:00am our time. So, we paid for an early check-in so as soon as we arrived at the hotel we could go up to the room, which was brilliant.

We slept and dozed and went out around noon. We are in the old quarter by the creek which is the original settlement for Dubai. We had a nice long walk and went down alongside the creek and circled back to the hotel via an old historic area. We stopped off for an iced coffee and a spot of lunch in a lovely little place. Then back to the hotel where we went to the Sherlock Holmes pub within the hotel. Enjoyed a pint of Kilkenny until I got the bill and found it cost £6. Looked at the restaurants in the hotel and we will go for a Chinese later this evening.

We did in fact go to the Silk Route Chinese and Thai restaurant in Arabian Courtyard Hotel in which we are staying. It was delicious. Loved every morsel. So glad I didn’t fill up on Camel Burger earlier in the day. The other photo is of me sat at the desk in the hotel room typing up this blog. What a sad sight. Should be out enjoying myself shouldn’t I – but then, I did!! 

Dubai

We are now in the hotel in Dubai. It is the Arabian Courtyard. Just got the Internet connection sorted out and hopefully it is free. We arrived about an hour later than we should have done. It is now 6:30am your time but 10:30am here. We are just chilling out in the room for a while, then we will go out and have a little explore. The city is huge so you cannot do a lot on foot.

Off to the Antipodes

As it says. Not long now and away we go. First leg is Dubai, then Sydney, then South Island and North Island New Zealand, then return home via Melbourne and Singapore with a change of planes in Dubai and then home. Good, eh?