Greenacres Chalet and Townhouse Motel South Island

... which is a nice place to sit and relax, away from the main street. There are these really funny trees, all covered in splotches with leaves that look like maple leaves. We have discovered that weekends are the time for Kiwis (New Zealanders) to travel and stay active around here. They actually have a slogan "Get Off Your Bum, New Zealand!" to motivate people. I should make a sign for when I get back home to do the same. Can you imagine ...

... jump in on Monday. Right now it is just a quiet night. We aren't very hungry after the big lunch we had so are taking it easy and reading and writing. The resort is lovely, with a view to the gardens and mountains. The wind is currently gusting, so hope that will clear out the clouds. We think the rain has cleared for a few days at least. Driving through New Zealand we see tons of sheep. The Merino sheep feed high up in ...

... to conceal harpoons under their jackets) and the obligatory Yorkshireman. The boat is a specially designed catamaran. Two hulls are necessary so that when a whale is spotted on one side and everyone rushes to see it, the boat doesn't fall over. We all have to sit in comfortable padded seats while the boat is travelling fast. There is a good AV system that gives us information about the marine life in the area and gives us immediate background about anything we see. The ...

A bit overcast today and as we drove up into the mountains, it got a bit wet, but the car did get dirty! Today we had river crossings with REAL 4wd roads! On the first one we followed a "local" so we got great shots of him going through the water AND we got the ...

... well signposted and not a pot hole in sight! Only thing is we had to keep an eye on the petrol because the spaces between petrol stations are miles and miles apart. So we finally got to the first campsite. We had made the decision to only stay in campsites and not to free park on the sides of roads as had heard alot of horror stories of people being attacked. Scary.

... any we have heard as the rocks clatter against each other further rounding each one. The roads are narrow and the drops from their sides precarious. When a place to turn off presents itself, you are tempted to take it if only for the chance to stop and see what prompted the engineers and roadmakers to make the pavement wider. So, when we came upon such a place near the Paparoa Point, we pulled off. Our respite was a disruption for the seals there. At first, we ...

... Sicht! Weiter bis nach Hanmer Springs, einem Thermal Kurort mit dem ganzen Schnickschnack - aber die 12 $ fuer die heissen Quellen habe ich mir diesemal geleistet, auch wenn es schoenstes Wetter war und es fast zu warm dafuer war... XXXXX I also just held a short stop in Christchurch but didn't miss to do a little round trip on the Banks ...

... at different temperatures. It is advised that you move from hot to cold to hot. I say cold, but the coolest one was 29 deg. The sulphur one was the hottest, at 41 deg, and also the smelliest. When we came out though, our skin felt really soft and silky. The motel has a large collection of dvds that can be borrowed, free of charge. Each room has a TV and DVD player, so on both evenings we chilled out and made use of these facilities.

... window watching the water pour down... I on the other hand was enjoying the view of the federal police :-) We made our way through immigration and security toward the illustrious duty free. Brett couldn't understand why I needed a trolley... Brett George, will you EVER learn? So after the damage was made to the fantastic plastic we headed to the gate and sat by the window, watching the rain. We sat, waited, watched, waited... listened to ...

We drove from Franz Josef Glacier north to Greymouth, then east through the Lewis Pass (more stunning scenery) till we reached Hanmer Springs. This is basically a resort town famous for its natural hot springs. We thought we deserved a short break from all this travelling (you really feel sorry for us ...