Signs And Quotes Seen In New Zealand

Means shopping cart!

Means speed bumps!

Bay Of Plenty - It Is All Downhill From Here

The ferry ride from Picton on the South Island to Wellington on the North Island took 3.5 hours. It was smooth sailing. After a quick Starbucks stop in Wellington we took turns driving. We reached Tauranga in Bay of Plenty 522km and 7 hours later. We wanted to get another ocean swim in. Some local people suggested we go to Tauranga, if we wanted warm water. That was really important to us because we only had two nights to spare before returning the Spaceship in Auckland.

Bay of Plenty is one of NZ's most popular holiday spots due to the long picturesque white-sand beaches, it's low-key seaside, and plenty of activities to chose from. 

Tauranga

We spent the first night in Tauranga, which has one of NZ's fastest growing populations. We had dinner on The Strand, which is buzzing with bars and restaurants- especially on a Friday evening on the officially last day of summer!

Mt. Maunganui 

Mt. Maunganui is a resort-like town with white-sand beaches and the iconic cone-shaped extinct volcano Mauao overlooking the town. 

We did our last hike in NZ to the top of this 232m hill, often called 'the Mont', and had some spectacular views of the peninsula.

Then a last warm swim in the Pacific Ocean in NZ, and a Danish ice cream.....

We spent the last two days of our round the world trip in Auckland preparing physically and mentally to go home. Neither was an easy task!

 

We Still Get Butterflies - The Queen Charlotte Track

We have had so many great and exciting experiences on this trip, so you might think it would be difficult to get us excited. But we were very excited about doing two days of the 71km Queen Charlotte Track in Marlborough Sound. A very nice and service minded lady at the iSite in Blenheim talked us through the hike and our options as we didn't have time to do the full hike. She booked everything for us, and it worked like clockwork. 

We drove the 25km to Picton, and took a Cougar Line water taxi to the trail head at Ships Cove.

It was a cold and overcast, but skipper promised that it would burn off after noon. Ships Cove is the place Captain Cook first landed in 1770.

He came back several times and mapped the area.

The vegetation at sea level is dense and jungle-like.

As we climbed beech, birch and other native trees were predominant, 

and we had some great views along the way on the first 14.5km of the track.

Andy was not the only one enjoying the view.

The weather cleared as promised, and we had time for a nap at Furneaux Lodge while waiting for the boat to pick us up.

The 10 minute ride across the sound to Punga Cove Resort was beautiful. The boat ride and luggage transfer were included in our ticket and saved us 11.5km of walking!

We relaxed and had a wonderful dinner in the restaurant overlooking the sound.

We woke up to wonderful sunshine, and prepared ourselves for the 24,5km walk to Portage Bay. We had stunning views along the track, which consisted of a lot of up and downhill. 

At lunch time we had company of yet another weka bird.

Admitted, we were tired when we reached the Portage Bay Resort after about 7 hours of walking, and it was a relief to take off the boots.

The Resort was set in a beautiful location.

After replenishing the dehydration, 

we went for a very refreshing swim in the ocean, and had yet another wonderful dinner while watching the sun set over Marlborough Sound.

We got up early to enjoy the morning in this beautiful spot until the boat picked us up, and took us back to Picton.

It was a wonderful hike, and we would have loved to have done it all. It was great service to have our luggage taken to the hotels, so we just had to carry daypacks. We stayed in the cheaper 'walker's rooms', but there are all types of accommodation. We are so glad we did it.

The Marlborough Wine Trail

Marlborough region is famous for its breathtaking beauty and it's wine. It is NZ's largest grape-growing region with 75% of NZ's wine production happening here. 

We abandoned our Spaceship (again), and stayed in a motel in Spring Creek just north of Blenheim. We then drove to Whites Bay beach, and had some nice views on the way.

It was a very quick swim, as the water was COOOOOLD. The lifeguard said it was 15C! But it was a beautiful beach.

The following day we got picked up at the motel by the bike rental company Bike 2 Wine, and taken to Renwick 10km away to pick up the bicycles. There are 25 cellar doors within a 5km radius! Equipped with the gear and a wine map, we were set to go. 

Sauvignon blanc is the pride on the joy of this area, os of course we had to taste a lot of that wine.

Forrest Wines

Is owned by two doctors, who produce and prescribe a range of fine vinous medicines. We shared a tasting tray consisting of six wines: four whites and two reds. None of them impressed us enough to buy some.

Giesen Wines

Next wine stop was the Giesen winery, and we liked the organic sauvignon blanc 2013 so much that we bought a bottle! It has expressive, fragrant aromas of lime leaf, crushed nettles and lemon grass with a focused textural acidity on the palate showing elegance and restrained power.

Huia

Biking against a strong headwind was a struggle, but worth the effort. The Huia winery is a small fully certified organic vinyard. The organic 2013 sauvignon blanc show tropical fruit and elderflower on the nose and the palate with chalky lime minerality on the finish. We liked it so much that we bought two bottles! Biking is getting increasingly difficult!

Hans Herzog Estate

We did another tasting at Hans Herzog Estate, which has the largest selection of handcrafted organic wines. Our favourite was the Montepulciano red wine, which brought back wonderful memories of Italy. We enjoyed a cheese tray in the garden with another glass of our favourite red? It was a true European experience.

Moa Brewery

Here Andy's favourite was Moa Noir beer; Chocolate and richly roasted coffee beans dominate the senses with a full flavoured palate, giving Moa Noir a long smooth finish.Then we took a much needed nap on the grass in the sunshine.

Last stop was at the Makana Confection Chocolate Factory, which makes great chocolate. Bike 2 Wine picked up the bicycles at the motel (they will pick you up anywhere along the route should you get 'tired'), and it was a relief not having to bike in headwind the 10km back to Renwick - great service.  It was a fun way to visit vineyards and see the area.