Thursday 27th on to Singapore

An excellent flight on another Boeing 777-300A with good food and wines. Business class was less that half full so we had great service from the Singaporean air hostesses. Ray has decided that we might want one as they would be very handy for replenishing drinks whilst watching rugby, cricket etc! I think it's fair to say that Lucy was less convinced!

On time at Singapore which is the most incredible, efficient airport. Ray was particularly impressed when the immigration officer looked at his passport and asked if he was a Newcastle United supporter and part of the Toon Army! Quite a contrast from the rather grumpy officials in Australia.

A taxi to our hotel and off we went to explore Singapore. The area where our hotel, the Swissotel Merchant Court, is situated is very central and includes a restaurant/shopping complex called Clarke Quay (and an MRT station of the same name). The buildings in the area are pastel coloured and attractive in a rather gaudy way.

Very hot and humid and after a wrong turn in Fort Canning Park resulted in the LLW having to climb a lot more stairs that she deemed necessary there was nothing for it but to retreat to Raffles for a cooling drink. No not Singapore Slings this time but perhaps tomorrow.

It was now so hot and humid that we decided to head back to the hotel for a while until it cooled down. It was too hot to walk back so we had our first experience of the Singapore MRT underground system. Very impressive and blissfully air conditioned.

Ray had a swim in the outdoor hotel pool and it had been decreed that Little India was the destination now and we again used the MRT for the few stops to Farrer Park station which is at the northern end of Little India and close to the Mustafa centre which is a 24 hour Indian shopping mall. All quite extraordinary and buzzing. Amazing displays of gold jewelry and food not to mention row upon row of designer (?) watches.

We wandered on down through the area heading towards the southern fringes where a Nepalese restaurant ad been recommended in our guide book. The temperature was now quite pleasant and we sat outside enjoying a very good indian/nepalese meal.

Having had a 04:00 start we were now wilting and it was time to head back to our hotel.

Wednesday 26th. Leaving NZ for Sydney

Another brilliantly clear but cold morning and we had our usual leisurely breakfast routine starting with 2 cups of team in bed.

Work is finished for the time being and everything packed and we are almost ready to go. Last year when we were in Queenstown we walked along the lake to a very pleasant cafe called the Boat Shed and as this is on our way to the airport, we have decided to stop there for a coffee.

There is an important announcement to make and that is that the LLW has changed her name to Lucy! The reason for this is that one day she was engrossed in her work and emails were being sent dozens to the minute. She handed me a cup of tea and said there you are Alex! To which I replied thank you Lucy and it has stuck!

We arrived in Sydney 45mins late, experienced a long delay clearing immigration and emerged into pouring rain. We had dinner with Hilton &Anne at our hotel and retired for a few hours sleep before our 04:00 start!

Very much looking forward to seeing Singapore but will miss NZ.

Tuesday 25th back to Queenstown

Brilliant sunshine and cloudless skies greeted us on Tuesday morning but it was cold; probably only about 8C!

The LLW had yet more work to do so we did not set off until 11:00. We phoned Tim Wilson to finalise meeting arrangements only to find that he was in Palmerston North visiting his mother, Rosemary's aunt Joan whose 91st birthday it was. Best laid plans etc.

Off we went towards Queenstown and on this occasion using the high road via the Crown Range and Cardrona (which is a major ski resort in winter). By the time we had reached he pass it had warmed up considerably and was ~20C. The views were spectacular and it is not an exaggeration to say that we did not see one cloud all day. In particular the descent towards Frankton and Queenstown was wonderful.

The plan was to stop at Gibbston Valley Winery en route and procure a case of their excellent Pinot Gris. The weather was delightful when we arrived there and upon spying the beautiful outside dining area the LLW decided that a reasonable lunch was in order.

This proposal was formally submitted to the management committee and unanimously carried.

A really excellent lunch with the highlight being a terrific smoked blue cod pate with a delightful salad and toasted French bread. A sample of the single vineyard School House Pinot Noir was declared to be top drawer so 2 bottles of this were substituted for 2 Pinot Gris' in our case.

On then to Queenstown and again we passed the home of Bungy jumping but still not tempted. Lake Wakatipu and the surrounds of Queenstown were looking at their absolute best and we stopped along the lake just north of the town to admire. An intense blue lake, breathtaking mountains and a clear blue sky; just wonderful.

The town was very busy and judging by the queues at Fergburger, the gap year students have not yet run out of cash.

We settled into our campsite reversing impeccably into the most difficult pitch on the site. More work for the LLW so a while before we head into town for the evening.

This will be our last night in the campervan and tomorrow we leave New Zealand which is very sad. The campervan has again been a great success and we have loved being in this beautiful country once more; the people are delightful, the food and wine are terrific and the scenery is beyond compare.

We will definitely be back!

Monday 24th. Lake Hawea

As I have mentioned before NZ weather can be very strange at times and whilst we knew it had been cold over night I was surprised when I visited the campsite shop to buy some milk to be informed by the lady in charge that it had been 4C at 7am! Probably warmer than that in Rackham. However, the sun was out and the temperature was rising quiet quickly eventually reaching 22C but since there has been a very strong wind it has felt cooler than that.

We planned to visit Lake Hawea which is close to Wanaka but is much less populated and wilder. We have been previously and remember the views as being wonderful. We were not disappointed and the air was incredibly clear so the views were spectacular. Arriving at the southern end of the lake, the LLW announced it was time for coffee and cakes so off we went to the nearest hostelery where they served not only the ubiquitous flat whites but also some fantastic NZ muffins. These are in the style of the US ones but in our opinion much superior.

I had a savoury ham, cheese and spinach one, whilst the LLW made short work of her banana and caramel one!

Suitably recharged we drove up the lake to the northern end where had camped last time at the wild camping site of  Kidds Bush. This is along a fairly lengthy unsealed road and we decided not to drive all of the way as our already badly cracked windscreen threatens to fall apart at every judder.  Lake Hawea looked amazing and brilliant views were unveiled at each turn. The wind was now so strong that at times it was a struggle to open the campervan doors to get out and in places the waves on the lake resembled those on an ocean.

In the evening we used the barbie for the last time on this trip as we are heading off for Queenstown tomorrow morning and are planning to meet with Rosemary's cousin Tim for dinner.

After supper (including another excellent Pinot Noir, Lowburn Ferry) we watched a film on our in campervan TV/DVD and then saw the most spectacular display of stars I think I have ever seen. There were billions and the clarity and lack of light pollution made it awesome!

Sunday 23rd. The day after!

We woke reasonably early in spite of the fairly late night and the boisterous celebrations!

The weather looked to be changeable as the forecasters often say in the UK and this indeed proved to be the case. We had a quiet morning around the campsite and then set off for a barbie at David & Jess's house where all were gathering once again.

Rain threatened on a number of occasions but nothing really materialised. David has multiple barbies (what else would you expect)and they were all employed to feed the hordes. Their friend Barry ( originally from Blyth near Newcastle but now Wanaka residents) runs a small holding and he had contributed a pig called Beckham to the feast but Victoria was nowhere to be seen.

It was now time for the various guests to say their goodbyes, wish the newlyweds all of the best and to resume their travels. Some were spending more time in NZ and others were off to other parts of the southern hemisphere on their way home. We are on the same plane as Hilton and Anne on Wednesday and are all staying overnight in Sydney before they go to Tasmania and we to Singapore.

Saturday 22nd David & Jessica's wedding

Saturday dawned with brilliant sunshine but a fresh wind and the view across Lake Wanaka was stunning.

Off we went to the wedding having decided to take the campervan for the ceremony and then come back to the campsite for a short while before the evening celebrations. This proved to be a very good move since the ceremony and following drinks etc were all outdoors and the sun was fierce. It was good to get some respite for a short period.

The wedding was delightful and the non religious ceremony was conducted by a lady from nearby Cromwell. Jessica looked absolutely lovely and it's very clear that she and Dave are well suited to one another. What can I say about the setting, just awesome and quite simply the best setting for a wedding we have ever seen..

Whilst the register was being signed we heard strains of Fields of Gold and I whispered to Rosemary that this sounded like the Eva Cassidy version being played. However, when we looked right we were amazed to see that it was Jo, Ali's wife who was singing. We had previously no idea that she had such a wonderful singing voice. I offered to be her agent for a paltry 20% but I'm afraid I was given short shrift!

In typical David Dixon fashion it was decided that the best way to celebrate his marriage was to take Jess, Ali his best man and Jo, Ali's wife on a helicopter ride to Roy's peak and back. The views must have been stupendous.

After the witty, and often very emotional, speeches we enjoyed more excellent Kiwi food and wine followed by dancing until we left on the minibus at 11:30.

The speeches and dinner were hosted in an annex to Rippon Vineyard's tasting area and featured a series of large transparent plastic windows looking out on to the lake and the mountain skyline of Wanaka. The colour and shade changes that took place as the sun set were rivetting and something never to be forgotten.

Friday 21st Cooler in Wanaka

Fairly cloudy and much cooler this morning which was not really a problem as the LLW had lots of work to do before we headed off for more exploring.

Once completed we drove around parts of the lake that we had not seen before, contemplated a swim but quickly decided against having tested the water temperature and then prepared ourselves for he evening's celebrations with lots of wedding guests at Francesca's in the town.

We decided to walk down which was slightly longer than we had remembered at 2.2 miles and noted that it was mostly downhill which means the opposite on the way back!

A really excellent meal at Francesca's which is a relatively new Italian restaurant in Wanaka and interesting to see that by and large the Italian wines were cheaper than the New Zealand ones; it's a funny world at times! Our boisterous party pretty much took over the restaurant and I felt rather sorry for one couple who looked as though they had planned a quiet romantic dinner.

People arrived at various stages during the evening; some having just landed at Queenstown and others having toured the two islands. The following is a photo of Helen, Hilton & Anne's daughter holding Grace her brother Ali's daughter.

All very enjoyable but now time for the uphill walk back to out campervan which was quite hard work!

Thursday 20th Sunshine in Wanaka

Glorious sunshine this morning and the view from the back of our campervan is wonderful. The forecast for today is for the temperature to hit 32C and it's already well on its way there!

The LLW had to get up fairly early to get some work done and we will have a quiet morning before heading off for a swim in the lake.

The Dixons and the in laws to be are panning a barbie down by the lake at 4pm and we will join them for a while.

Once the work was over we headed off down the lake to Gledhu Bay which offers excellent swimming and also view of Mount Aspiring the second highest mountain in Australasia (after Mount Cook). Aspiring is know as the Matterhorn of New Zealand and has some similarities.

Just delightful swimming in the lake here and we even had a cormorant observing our freestyle technique.

The barbie was great fun and its is fascinating to see so many people from all around the world gathering for the wedding

Wanaka in the sunshine must be one of our favourite places.

Wednesday Wanaka here we come

Bright and sunny this morning as we sorted out the campervan for our short trip to Wanaka. The cracks in the windscreen get longer by the day but by now we have done most of the mileage so hopefully it will stay intact until we take the van back on Wednesday 26th.

We had resolved to order a case of Wooing Tree Pinot Noir to send home and take a case to David and Jess so called by on our way out of Cromwell.

It is an easy short drive from Cromwell to Wanaka along the beautiful shores of Lake Dunstan. This time the hills surrounding the lake are looking very dry and arid, which is not surprising since this part of Central
Otago is known for heat and lack on rainfall. It's is however quite a contrast from our last visit which was two months earlier and when the hills were covered in brilliant yellow flowers.

The camp site at Wanaka is a fairly popular spot so we decided to drive straight there and secure a scenic spot. Having achieved this we headed into town to replenish our supplies and to have a wander around. Wanaka enjoys a fabulous location at the southern end of Lake Wanaka and whilst fairly popular with tourists it has a much more laid back feel than Queenstown.The New World supermarket in Wanaka is really top class and would rival the best supermarkets in the UK.The Dixons were immersed in stag and hen dos other that Anne who was on baby sitting duties with Grace. Stag and Hen dos in the Dixon family usually involve climbing mountains, racing down mountain biking tracks and numerous other strenuous activities before the evening's event get under way. The LLW had decreed that we we should stay clear! We visited Anne for a while in the evening before returning to our campsite. The LLW was not in a good mood because work was piling up and it had been decided that a relatively early start was needed in the morning and this involved setting the alarm - shock horror!

Tuesday 18th off to Cromwell

It's certainly not just the UK weather that is difficult to understand! After a relatively cool and blustery day yesterday we awoke to brilliant sunshine, clear blue skies and by 11:00 the temperature was 28C.

After a leisurely start we headed off for Mount Difficulty Vineyard at Bannockburn just outside Cromwell. The LLW had decided that lunch here was definitely in order and we sat outside under a very shady and necessary canopy with stunning views over the vineyards and forests. An excellent meal accompanied by some very good Mount Difficulty wines including a lovely Roaring Meg Pinot Gris and the always excellent Pinot Noir. MD sell their wines in the UK and we have found the Pinot Noir at our local Waitrose but have not seen any of the other wines and we were particularly interested in the Pinot Gris. We enquired about UK distribution of this and were informed that it was available under the label "Trinity Hills". I am at a loss to understand why they don't use the Roaring Meg brand but what do I know!

Tonight we are staying and the Top Ten campsite in Cromweel where we stopped on out first visit to NZ and we soon found a good site and the tea was on.

Monday 17th Around Twizel

After such as stunning day as yesterday we were slightly disappointed to wake up to grey skies and cooler temperatures. The LLW had some work to do so I headed off for a walk around part of Lake Ruataniwha which is man made and was created during the huge hydroelectric project in this area. Apparently the town of Twizel was only created in 1969 and was planned as temporary accommodation for construction workers on the project. The plan was to bulldoze the temporary town once the project was completed. However, some of the workers had other ideas and liked the area so much that they petitioned to save the town which they eventually did and Twizel became a permanent metropolis (slight poetic licence there as it has only ~1400 people residents).

One the LLW had all under control we headed off to have a look at Lake Ohau and were surprised to find near gale force winds greeting us as we came close to the lake which at times looked like the raging ocean rather than a relatively small lake in the southern alps. Ohau village looked very deserted and like many of its counterparts in the French alps it probably only comes alive during the skiing season.

Thoughts of a picnic lunch were abandoned and after seeing the sights we headed back towards Twizel. It was difficult to envisage the lake with a flat calm in the way that we saw Pukaki yesterday.  En route we stopped at a salmon farm which has been established on one of the canals which link parts of the hydroelectric complex. Some hot smoked salmon was duly purchased to serve as an entree.

We decided to drive along the canal linking Lake Ruataniwha with the northern end of Lake Benmore, the southern end of which we visited yesterday. There were two very large and impressive generating stations on the way and I could not help but think that this is a really efficient way of generating renewable energy. It would be interesting to know how many wind turbines it would take to generate the same amount of electricity as this project.

It suddenly occurred to me that on this trip we have not seen a single wind turbine. Apparently most wind turbines in New Zealand are situated in the very windy southern part of the north island.

Back now at the camp site and after a short stroll down to the lake it will be barbie time again.

Sunday 16th Oamaru to Twizel

As we left Oamaru it was cloudy, cool and raining slightly. Today we are headed towards Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook via the Waitaki river valley. The last time we were at Riverstone they featured some wines from Ostler Vinyards in the Waitaki valley and Ray had spotted an advert for a tasting outlet for Oster in Kurow so it had been decreed that we should have a pit stop there. Much consternation when said tasting outlet was closed so the LLW decided that we must console ourselves with two flat whites and a very large slice of carrot cake. Also purchased from the same cafe were some excellent looking sausages and we will report on these later when the best sausages in the world contest resumes!

As we left Kurow the weather slowly improved, the sun came out and the temperature starting rising. There were wonderful views of Lake Waitaki, Te Akatarawa and Lake Benmore. We took a detour from the main road to have a close look at Lake Benmore and the Benmore dam which was awesome.

By now the weather was great; brilliant sunshine and rising temperatures. We decided that it was the perfect day to carry on to Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook as it was so clear. We were not disappointed and the view from the end of Lake Pukaki towards Mount Cook was stunning.

As we travelled north along the western side of the lakes we were treated to more and more stunning views of the lake and the mountain; it was truly wonderful. We stopped for a while in Mount Cook/Aoraki village which is very much purpose built for the climbing and mountaineering fraternity and where there are even more wonderful views of the mountain and the Mueller glacier.

Back then to Twizel where had decided to stay at Ruataniwha lakeside camping and after a short stroll along the lake we unleashed the barbie again.

A wonderful day!

Saturday 15th around Oamaru and Riverstone Kitchen

A bright morning but clouds appearing and still quite cool. We spent the morning sorting out a few chores and having a relaxing time before heading off for our planned lunch at Riverstone Kitchen which is a few miles north of Oamaru. We visited there last time and thought it was excellent so both were very much looking forward to a special lunch.

We were certainly not disappointed. Both opted for the tasting menu with wines chosen to match and each course seemed to outdo the previous one. We both said it was one of the best restaurant meals we had enjoyed for some time and the finale of Chocolate Nemesis with Blackcurrant ice cream was stupendous! Chef Bevan Smith has a philosophy of using top quality, fresh ingredients prepared very thoughtfully but quite simply cooked. All we can say is that it works brilliantly.

This evening we are off to see the blue penguin colony just along the bay. We had done this last time and both the LLW and I were very keen to go again. Well prepared for the cold (which we experienced last time), the LLW appropriated at least 2 of my fleeces, and off we went. The little blue penguins are very sweet and we saw ~ 60 return from their days fishing (apparently their current favourite dish is salt & pepper squid) and head off for their burrow and nest boxes. This is a conservation project and the colony around the bay has now increased to over 1200 from only 200 or so 20 years ago. This time we were able to walk along the boardwalk after all had returned to shore and there were still a number of penguins hiding under the boardwalk and occasionally having a curious look at us. Nobody is allowed to take photos in the area so, I'm afraid, there are no visual support for my comments.

Friday 14th On to Moeraki

We left Queenstown early for the 300km drive to Moeraki where we had booked for lunch at Fleurs Place. Still cool but much brighter and as we progressed along the route it became sunny with excellent views.

As we approached Cromwell there was a sudden bang on our windscreen which had been hit by something fairly heavy and travelling fast. I can only assume that it came off a lorry travelling in the other direction. This was no ordinary windscreen chip and glass actually came off the laminated screen inside the cab and cracks spread in several directions including one from top to bottom in the centre. We duly reported this to Maui and were assured that there was no need for urgent repair unless the cracks restricted our vision when driving.

We travelled through some beautiful countryside and arrived on the Pacific Coast at Palmerston in good time where we stopped for a coffee before heading north to Moeraki.

By now the weather really was great with brilliant sunshine and stunning views across the ocean. Fleur's Place is a well known fish restaurant on the wharf at Moeraki and we braved the fairly chilly wind to sit outside in the sunshine looking across the bay. 

A very good fish meal followed and we then had a stroll to the point to see whether shapes in the sea were seaweed, seals or something else. The conclusion was that it was mainly kelp but we did see one NZ fur seal basking on the rocks just below us.

The walk to the point featured Agapanthus on both sides and those framing the sea view looked particularly impressive. 

On then to Oamaru where we plan to stay for two nights at a Top Ten campsite where
we have stayed once before. All safely checked in and tea in the sunshine was on the
agenda.