Heritage Highway Motel Hokitika

... The Forrest winery had too much choice and the young English chap leading the tasting spent ages talking about them, he was interesting to begin with but went on and on and on……….I wanted to shout just pour the b****y wine.

For anyone interested in a wine tasting holiday I would recommend staying in Blenheim or Renwick and hiring a bike to get round all the wineries – they are all very close and the roads are flat. I did try another winery ...

... a black and white top, a mask and a swag bag, and Zoe went as a black fairy, with wings and a wand! I made her dress myself!

We had such a brilliant evening, there were nearly 50 people and every one had made an effort, there were some brilliant costumes, considering everyone was made out of bin bags. Our friend Dave went as batman, it was hilarious helping him make his costume. Especially his efforts of drawing the bat symbol.

... fierce wind had blown up. Our B&B is in a very modern house high on a ridge above the beach would have been a brilliant place to sit and watch the sun go down, but it was just too cold and windy and later it also rained. Today they are forecasting a blast of wintry weather in the South Island with gusts of wind up to 120km per hour so it's probably a good job we'll be driving again and hoping this weather has gone before we ...

we found an independent site at westport very hillbilly but very cheap, there were old converted buses & vans looked as tho they had come out of the arch. but the following morning it was up with the lark, this is getting too regular stuart will be expecting this when we arrive home! we headed towards caters beach & cape foulwind, there was to be a seal colony there, they were certainly there, it was not called foulwind for ...

... full cooking facilities as well as being a bargain at NZ$15.50 per night. In the evening we went down to the beach which is only a couple of hundred yards from the campsite where the sand is a grey volcanic colour and the sea was very rough. We only paddled a little and D decided fishing was out of the question. We had feared that the weather might be a little cold for camping at night but were pleasantly ...

... the people naming the down were clearly called Umm and Err and had inherited their parents' inspiration). It has two streets of shops, almost no restaurants, and I don't think you could class it as being designed for tourists. In the i-site (tourist information centre) the adverts seemed to focus on what you can do in Abel Tasmen to the north, and Franz Josef and Fox to the south. Never-the-less, I wasn't there to see Greymouth, I was there ...

... near the start of the Otira Gorge at 450 metres above sea level. The road eventually climbs to just short of 1000 metres where the highest settlement in New Zealand is located. Apparently some great 360 degree views of the southern Alps from the settlement and surrounding walking tracks. Will hopefully see for myself in the morning if the weather continues to be fine and clear. I'm not expecting the weather to hold though, remember I'm in soggy New Zealand, could snow tomorrow, who knows.

... Another stop at Cape Foulwind to see the a large seal colony seals and to recreate the famous photographs at the fingerpost. Apparently it is closer to London than to Paris (not sure my spherical geometry can work this out, something to do with great circles or other) We saw Wekas for the first time, and ...

... amount of time. There was a Woman from Scotland and two old chaps that road motor cycles in The Ulysses Club. Apparently there are a lot of bikers over the age of 50 all over the world and they can be part of this prestigious club. The owners Alice, Phil and their son Jason offered us all beer and we sat down after supper and talked into the wee hours of the morning. We listened to music Jason had on his computer. I learned about 07, Air and Johny cash. It is time for sleep HugZ sabine Ng

... black, yellow, green, white and red bags? Its all in the detail! Dinner time and we're all ready.I even accessories with a yellow bin bag hand bag - we all look fab if i do say so myself! Dinner is fantastic for £4. Huge steak, venison stew etc yum.and then its time to go and tape ourselves into our costumes before returning to the bar. the things people have come as are fantastic, there's a raspberry, a banana, nuns, twister, Liz Hurley, a ...