Cheltenham House South Island

... so the hot baths were very nice. We are heading back in after dinner for a twilight soak. We found a hotspot for internet with really low rates so will be able to keep in touch until the end of our trip. Tomorrow we are heading to the west coast and hope to finish in sunshine and see more mountains. The Heritage Hotel where we are staying is quite lovely and peaceful. Since it is Monday there are fewer people around. It has nicely manicured ...

... stop at Pegasus Bay winery on the east coast and we found it easily. The place was stunning, the weather warm and sunny and the food delicious. Sitting on the outside patio surrounded by grape vines felt so Tuscan. A very restful and pleasant lunch as we sampled a couple of glasses of their "Sem-Sauv". Leaving the winery, we arrived in Hanmer Springs around 3:00. This is a resort area with Natural Hot Springs. We hope ...

... Nice sales technique. For some reason that I can't quite define, I don't rate homeopathic preparations that highly. We have taken the precaution of swallowing conventional Serious Drugs that I happened to have with me. The group is the usual cross section of foreigners travelling in NZ: smartly dressed Germans (I was going to say well-dressed but it depends on your view of men wearing red trousers and designer label yellow polo shirts), keen Dutchmen, a couple of Japanese ...

... and drove north where I joined the Lewis pass road which will take me west to the coast through the northern Alps. Once again more beautiful scenery along this windy mountain road. I'm sleeping tonight on the highest point of the pass at around 870 metres. Pretty mild tonight but rather wet and misty. Will probably head for Abel Tasman national park tomorrow, suppose to be some stunning coastline near the most northerly tip of the south island.

Got to the first stop. Hanmer Springs. Nice little village with lots of Hot Springs and Thermal Pools. Had a bit of a walk around. Found a nice forest walk. Realised after about 10 minutes that it was quite a hike and we weren't particularly @rsed so headed back to the van to drive to Kaikoura to stay for the night. My turn for the driving. Roads in NZ are pretty good ...

... well south of Picton. In the car, instead of our earlier plan to head West, we detour to the South, chasing the sun. The weatherman in New Zealand appears to be no more accurate than the weatherman in Kansas. It rains. Fog rolls in. During a break in the rain, we stop at a beach near Parikawa. The sand is black and very fine. Later, we stop beyond Parikawa where the beach is round rock. As the waves ebb, they take the rocks along with them making a surreal sound ...

Destination 227: km119'685 Ich habe in Christchurch auch nur ein Kurzstop eingelegt, aber es nicht verpasst, eine kleine Rundreise auf der Banks Halbinsel zu machen - sensationell! Highlight war das Teilstueck von 14 Kilometer zwischen Port Levy und Pigeon Bay - eine einspurige Schotterstrasse mit seitlich steil abfallenden Gelaende, aber ...

... was unexpected! After a long and hard walk, we treated ourselves to time in the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve. We paid for a private pool, which cost $22 and this includes entry to the normal pools as well. We both thought we'd have an outdoor pool, like the others, but the private pool was a bit like being in a pool in a sauna, and it was a bit too hot for me. The outdoor pools were really cool though. They have a variety of ...

... is usually easy to find. Yes they were easy, pity the first three had no money!!!! Finding an ATM that had money as proving to be a tad difficult, I found this quite funny Brett on the other hand in his most sarcastic voice "oh yeah Claire, Traveling is fun"!!! Brett George, you AIN'T seen nothing yet... you are flying Jetstar over the tasman!!! We eventually found an ATM and we were both cashed up, we had some breakfast where we sat at ...

... the boat, jumped no more than 6 feet away from us and generally put on a great show. You cannot imagine being able to see Dolphins as far at the eye can see swimming towards you! It was magical! So that was today. Expensive, but money well spent we think! Tomorrow we cross over back to the North Island and hope to go to some of the great beaches north of Auckland. Love to everyone and hope to hear from you soon. Charlotte and Michael. xxx