December 2011 In New Zealand

December Trip to New Zealand

I just realised it is February and the last time I updated my Blog was November. Maybe that is a sign of just how busy life seems to have got lately.  December was a very interesting Month, we completed our year in Malaysia and on December 9 we flew out to Christchurch.  We spent  4 extra days tidying up work related issues and ensuring the December Holiday Programme at MAE got off to a good start. Our original plan had been to spend December trekking in Nepal however it didn’t happen, late in the year we made the decision to return home and spend time with family.

We arrived in Christchurch around midnight we had a motel booked in town where the lovely people made sure that we could slip into our room without disturbing anyone. The first thing we noticed about Christchurch was it seemed deserted, where were all of the people at 1:00 am on a Saturday morning. The second thing we noticed  was there were many streets still blocked off, making it very different to navigate around. We were still feeling like it was 8:00 pm and we were hungry. We couldn’t find anything nearby not even a service station that was open.

Saturday Morning arrived and we got ourselves down to Escape Rentals which was just around the corner but we had to take the long way. During this taxi ride we had our eyes opened to just how bad the damage was from the earthquakes. The taxi driver was full of interesting stories and up to date information.

 

A few words about Escape Rentals..... Awesome Concept! We knew we wanted to visit Lloyd in Blenheim, Brad in Wellington.... My Bros in Rotorua... and Paeroa, Thames, Tepuke and Katikati.  Of course we couldn’t do all of this in 1 day. Escape rentals gave us the option of driving and not having to worry about a bed because their rental van is self contained. It has a bed and a basic kitchen unit of sink, stove and chilly bin. All for not much more than a small car rental, but a much cheaper option than staying in hotels and motels. There are loads of options for staying , DOC camping grounds, private camping grounds and campavan parking spots.  The team at Escape rentals are so easy to deal with. The highlight of their product is the individual paint job for each van. We chose the Bat Mobile. It was loads of fun driving around in this brightly painted van and watching the reaction of the locals. Even more fun was the reaction when they discovered we were Kiwis.

We drove up to Blenheim on Saturday and spent a few days catching up with Lloyd and Anna. It was really good to spend the time with them. We managed a site inspection of their new house, which was great and passed inspection. We also managed to get out and do a couple of walks with Lloyd and Anna as our guides. We also enjoyed seeing Lloyd and Anna so happy in their life, loving where they are at the moment. While in the area we had a great walk on Wither hills, a stroll around the North Banks and a morning out at Rarangi beach.  One of the highlights for us was a drive around a few of the wineries with Lloyd and tasting a few good wines. Ending up at Cloudy Bay and getting to taste some of the wine he is involved with making was really a big high for us. His passion for what he is doing is refreshing. Also getting to try some wines that we never get to enjoy in Malaysia was a great experience. Our few days in Lloyd’s corner was rather short and all too soon we were on our way to Wellington.

We drove this part of the journey around past Rarangi and along that bit of coast to Picton. This winding coastal road has a number of scenic views. As we drove the rain rolled in and the weather made a change for the worse.  We had lunch and spent a few hours in PIcton before we caught the Bluebridge ferry to Wellington. This service was very good and I would definitely use them again.

Wellington is our capital city. However like most towns and cities in NZ when you arrive at 11:00pm nothing is open. We had booked into the Campervan Park down on the waterfront. This just happened to be in the corner of a carpark next to a busy street. Our site was reserved and due to being tired we managed to park right next to the one saved with a road marker cone. We spent 3 nights in this location. It was right in the heart of the city and a good place for spending some time with Bradley. He and Jing Jing have settled in to their life back in NZ. The first day they made their way down to meet us and promptly informed us that they were engaged. All very exciting and somewhat unexpected, however a good reason to celebrate a little. We had arranged to be in Wellington over a weekend thinking it might be a good time to catch up with them both. Jing Jing had work and her weekend didn’t begin until Sunday Night. So we arranged to go on out to Paekakariki and meet up with them out there. They were able to come out on the train. It was great to catch up and spend a couple more days with them.  Having the campervan was really paying off.  By the way if you happen to be catching a ferry in Wellington and you are looking for a base nearby. Paekakariki Camping ground is a good bet. It is clean, quiet and not too far for an early morning dash to the ferry. The hosts there are pretty good as well.

Once we saw Bradley and Jing off on their way back to Wellington we packed up and started our drive north. The weather was more like winter and so driving in the van was a little better than getting out and playing tourists. We did drive the long way,  through National Park. We also made a detour up Ruapehu to, the Top of the Bruce. It looks so different in summer. No snow around and we ended up with quite a clear view of the Volcanic Plateau. We stopped overnight in Taupowhere we stayed  at De Bretts Motor camp. This was a great choice due to the hot pools there and the ability to swim in  very warm pools as much as we wanted. So it was an afternoon swim followed by dinner cooked in the camp cookhouse and another swim. We slept well that night.

The following day we drove up to Thames via the Putaururu. We decided to take the wrong side of the Waikato river, just because we could. This is an interesting drive that took us past Mangakino and eventually across the Arohena dam. It is a road that neither of us had ever really been along. We stopped for lunch in Tirau. We had just ordered our lunch and were stepping outside to sit at a table when we bumped into two old friends, Leister and Karen. We last met up with them in Hong Kong. We ended up having a great lunch and a good old korero. It was quite funny we had been following each other most of the way up from Christchurch.  You know it doesn’t matter where you are in the world you just don’t know who you are likely to meet up with next.

Our next few days went very quickly. Staying in Thames. Visiting Ruth’s parents. Enjoying some quality time with Beth and her family. Catching up briefly with the keep fit guys. Enjoying Thames but not really having enough time to catch up with everyone. A couple of enjoyable evening bar-b-queues with friends and family. We dropped the Escape Camper back in Auckland on the 23 December.

We had planned to have Christmas in Rotorua with my two Brothers. We made our way over to David’s on the 24 and enjoyed his hospitality for the next few days. Christmas at his place was great with an opportunity to catch up with Jason and Craig. We also caught up with Ian and Brigid, and Geoff and Katie. They are in a new house at Holden’s Bay right on the edge of the lake. We spent a lovely couple of hours there on Christmas day. On Boxing Day we went out and visited Mum and Dad at their tree.  It is always calming to go out and spend a little time up at the tree.

Before we knew it we were back in Thames with a couple of days until we were to fly back to Malaysia. It was after Christmas so most of the locals had gone off on their summer break. Beth was up at the caravan. We did take a drive up to visit her for a day. The weather was not good for fishing so we spent the day chilling out and enjoying their company.  We realised that we have miss this part of paradise, but one day we will return and get the most out of it all. Most important to us this year was that we caught up with family and friends. We noticed how so many of them have made important decisions during 2011 some had begun their journey along  new pathways in life.  We feel that we were very lucky to have had the opportunity to share in a little of this over the very short time we were back in NZ.  Before we knew it we caught a shuttle to Auckland airport and were on our way home having had a very good trip home for Christmas.  It was great to catch up with everyone. 

Happy New Year!!

May 2012 bring another great year to you all.