Hello everyone

What’s this? A new blog entry? Yep. That’s because my English pen pal, Pen, (and I always want to write Pen pal because of it), has decided that she wants to see the pōhutukawa in flower and is heading Down Under for a Kiwi Christmas. Of course, you don’t come halfway around the world for a couple of days, so she, and I – and, of course, Scott of the Antarctic and Kally – are going to Tiki Tour about the place, seeing parts of New Zealand she didn’t see last time (and some of which I’ve never had the opportunity to see at all.) We’re calling it the SCALLYwag Safari.

So? What’s our plan?

Pen flew in on December 5^th, recovered overnight in Auckland, and caught the bus to Thames. As I was still working, I had an early afternoon tea and met her bus, before taking her home and leaving her to catch up on her sleep, get herself sorted, go exploring, or whatever took her fancy whilst I returned to work.

Saturday was the Thames Santa Parade, so she watched as I, dressed as an elf, accompanied the Friends of the Historic Kōpū Bridge float down the length of Pollen Street. After that, there was a whānau (family) day at Thames South School/Te Kura o Te Kauaeranga, where we got our lunch and some hangi for tea.

Sunday, Stephen, took us up the Kauaeranga Valley, and we had a look around the little magic spots that only someone who lives there could know. We were even allowed to go onto a farm so we could enjoy the view away to Table Mountain in the distance.

Monday, I took the (first of many) day off work and we travelled with Jan D. to Coromandel and the Driving Creek Railway. We did the railway part of this experience the last time Pen was out here, but since then they’ve added a zipline/flying fox and we all zoomed down the hillside at the speed of gravity, with native bush flying beneath our feet. (Kally was buttoned up in my pocket.)

Once we’d recovered our equilibrium, the original plan had been for Jan and me to head back to Thames, whilst Pen stayed in Coromandel and explored parts of the peninsula more extensively.

This is where plans started to fall apart.

Firstly, the bus between Coromandel and Whitianga is no longer running and there are no other services available to transport passengers between the two towns. After much email chasing, Pen finally managed to find a taxi company that was willing to take her… for a price. That price needing to be paid in advance using internet banking – which, naturally, I did.

Second issue. Pen had planned on doing a Coastal Walkway Tour out of Coromandel. Only to discover that one of the two tourist operators had closed up shop and the other only worked on certain days, but the certain day Pen wanted to tour on was fully booked with a private charter!

So, she decided that it was either kick around Coromandel with nothing planned until she caught her taxi, or come back to Thames with Jan and me, spend the night at my place, and then head over to the other side of the Coromandel Peninsula via State Highway 25A – a road which had lost a section down the hill during storms and wasn’t due to reopen until December 20^th… Last year. At least that’s one thing that’s worked in our favour.

I got my money back.

Whist Pen was Tiki Touring about the Coromandel Peninsula, I was at work, being glad that my stomach didn’t have to deal with our windy roads. Note: Our local information centre once told me, when I was on their committee, that the Thames/Coromandel/western side of the Coromandel Peninsula was for bush walks and history. The Eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula was for beaches and trying to kill yourself… through the joys of adventure tourism.

Because her plans had been shifted back one day, Pen’s came back to Thames on Saturday 14^th December (The bus was early, so I had to chase after her as she’d started walking a different way to me.

That day, Carolyn kindly took us to the Goldmine Experience, where we had three different tour guides show us the stamping operation, through the mine, and then Russell showed us a part of the complex that regular visitors don’t get to see. (Loved to see his enthusiasm. Then we went up to the site of Tōtara Pā (aka Tōtara Cemetery), as Pen had seen the model of the pā at the Thames Museum. After that, we went to check out the Historic Kōpū Bridge (naturally). Unfortunately, due to the trustees not getting back to me, we were unable to show her the swing span in action.

Sunday, (which happened to be Pen’s birthday) I had keyed up a couple of friends to take us up to the Waiomu Kauri walk as this was something the three of us had planned to do a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, something else cropped up and they weren’t able to take us on this date. Instead (as it was her birthday and she’d always spent it in the cold, Pen wanted to go paddling in the sun – so Janice (and Rocky) took us to Waiomu Beach.

Monday 16^th, Pen went Tiki Touring again – this time to Matamata/Hobbiton and Whakatane to see Whakaari/White Island not blow its top too severely. And Ispent another week in relative drudgery at work getting things finalised for the end of the year. With two cases of Covid-19 in house. (They both kept well clear of the office, once they realised they were potentially infectious.)

Sunday 22^nd December (i.e. tomorrow) I’ll be heading to Auckland to meet up with Pen at the Auckland City Hotel. We’ll spend a couple of days enjoying the sights (MOTAT’s Christmas lights, Smith and Caughey’s final ever Christmas window display?) before heading to Rangitoto Island on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day will be spent in peace and quiet on Rangitoto. Pen’s going to get a shock. Especially with freeze dried Christmas dinner.

Thursday 26^th we’ll head back to Auckland.

Our plan to head south was to catch the Northern Explorer train service on the 28^th and ride the Main Trunk Line from Auckland to Wellington. Thoroughly looking forward to the experience (I’m going to ride a TRAIN!) I went to book our seats…

The last passenger train of the year left on the 23^rd.

What!? During the summer holidays!? When people wanted the chance to relax and enjoy the scenery!?

You will be pleased to know that I did write emails to the Minister of Transport (no response), Minister of Tourism (automatic email response), and my local MP Scott Simpson. To Scott’s credit, he did respond with a personal email (in politician speak, of course), and then forwarded my concerns to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises. And then, when he got a reply to that communication, forwarded it to me. This email suggested that I write to KiwiRail, which I did. And was told that, being a quiet time of year, this was the best time to do maintenance on the rail network. And that there are only three trains a week because that’s all that’s viable.

Gee. I – wonder – why.

(I’m still considering writing to our newly installed Minister of Rail.)

Now what?

Option one: Bus. Having to rely on the skills or otherwise of a bus driver, my stomach might not appreciate this.

Option two: Fly. Not unless absolutely necessary. I’m not going to be responsible for putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Option three: Drive down. As I don’t drive, Pen would have to do this and that would mean she’d miss the sights.

Option four: Night bus. Still not ideal (see option one), but at least my eyes/balance organs won’t have that disconnect – especially if I manage to get to sleep.

So, I booked us the night bus. (Wish me luck, everyone.)

We had thought about being in Wellington for New Years, so that we could watch the fireworks, or better still (environmentally speaking) drone display. But, one of the things we wanted to see was Wētā Workshop’s/Pūkeko Pictures’ Thunderbirds are Go display, but that doesn’t exist anymore, so it’s not an option.

If we’d taken the train, because of the lack of Thunderbirds, we’d planned on sailing the following day. Because we’re taking the bus and may want some real sleep, we’re spending the day in Wellington. There’s plenty to do there if we’re wide awake – Zealandia, Te Papa, Wellington Museum, etc.

So, on the 30^th, we’re heading further south. Wish us luck that the ferries are running and haven’t broken down or jammed themselves on a rocky outcrop.

Here we’re coming into another of our pre-journey dramas. Pen was keen on heading to the Abel Tasman National Park and doing a kayaking trip. I wasn’t sure that I had the upper body strength for this, but she assured me that the tour company took this into consideration.

But what the problem was, was that it seemed impossible to get from Nelson to Motueka in time for the tour’s start, and even if that was possible, there was nowhere to stay.

So, we’ll see the New Year in at Picton, and then catch the Coastal Pacific train (yes, it is running… At the moment) to Kaikōura.

As you know, Kaikōura’s main tourist attraction is their whale watching tours, which we did the last time Pen was on this side of the globe, so we’re going to enjoy other activities. We’re ziplining again!

We were also going to do an escape room that, instead of “locking” us in a room, sent us on a walk around the town. A week ago I got notification that the app that provided the experience wasn’t working, so our visit had to be cancelled.

Kaikōura’s recently been made a Dark Sky Reserve, so we’re hoping to get a good look at the Milky Way in all its light pollution-free glory. Clouds permitting. Plus, the last time we were there, we just enjoyed the town, so we’ll spend some time chilling on the beach. We’ll probably need the time out by then.

After that, we’re off to jail!

As we did last time, when we reach Christchurch (by Coastal Pacific again, of course), we’re going to be staying in the Jailhouse Accommodation, aka the former prison in Addington which is now a backpackers’.

While in Christchurch we’re going to catch up with my school friend Mary, the doctor who was such a help when D.C. was in hospital. So, that’s something I’m looking forward to. We’re also going to do the TranzAlpine trip across to Greymouth and back. (Naturally.) It will also be an opportunity to see how Christchurch is recovering, since we were last there just after the earthquakes.

After Christchurch (sadly by bus as the trains no longer go south of Christchurch – except for special runs for four days in May), we’re heading to Oamaru and then on to Dunedin. After Dunedin we’ll still be heading south to Bluff and then across the infamous Foveaux Strait. Wish us luck, everyone!

Our plans, when on Stewart Island (a part of the country I’ve never been to before), are to (hopefully) see kiwi in the wild as well as visit Ulva Island. Stewart Island is also a dark sky sanctuary and that, coupled with the fact that we’ll be entering a “solar maximum” creating the Aurora Australis, should mean that we’ll being seeing some spectacular, and very late, night sky vistas.

I hope.

After Stewart Island we’ll be heading across to Te Anau and then to Doubtful Sound to spend a peaceful night on a boat on the water. Following that it’s back to Te Anau – a place that I really liked as a child, but I now have no idea why and may rediscover, and then on to Queenstown.

Ah, Queenstown. The adventure capital of New Zealand and winter resort town. There won’t be anything much happening in Queenstown in mid-January, right?

Right?

My job was to book the accommodation for this part of the trip, so I went to a Queenstown web site and one of the first names that popped up was the ABBA Hotel. The name attracted me, plus they had a dog, which would appeal to Pen. However, for that time of the year, they would only accommodate people for a stay of a minimum of four nights.

So, I went hunting. But it seemed that every time I found a place within walking distance of the town centre that had twin rooms, the rooms were booked out. I found Haka House backpackers (which I liked the look of because it’s got a lovely mural with a couple of NZ birds on it) and they had a twin room with shared bathroom. Not 100%, but about 99%. I started confirming the booking and then decided that, since the twin room was roughly the same price as a hotel, I’d do another search. Nothing was available. So I went back to Haka House, only to find that the room had gone.

“What’s happening in winter resort Queenstown on the weekend of the 18^th/19^th January that’s got everything booked out?”

There’s a Greenstone Entertainment Summer Concert on the 18^th.

So, out of desperation, I booked the last two beds at Haka House. It’s a six bed, all female dorm. And the other four ladies are probably all going to the concert and will come back at some ungodly hour giggling and making a noise. But at least we’ll have someplace to lay our heads for the nights.

Then I started thinking about Te Anau. I booked a twin cabin at a campground for the 14^th, as it was not too far out of town and, naturally, cheaper than a hotel. The problem with that was that the cabin didn’t have an attached toilet. So, I decided that we’d be better staying at the Fiordland Hotel, more expensive, but it would give us a couple of good night’s sleep before Queenstown. Then I wondered about our bags. The Doubtful Sound trip we’re doing only allows an overnight bag, so we’d have to leave our cases somewhere. We’d have a better chance doing that at a place we were coming back to. So, I cancelled the cabin (10% cancellation fee), and booked the hotel for the 14^th (No cancellation fee – Why can they do it and the holiday park not?) Then I emailed the Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park, and they kindly cancelled the booking for no charge. (Which I was grateful for as I’d only made the booking about ten minutes earlier.)

Once we’ve spent a couple of days in Queenstown, we’ll be flying back to Auckland for the last little breather before Pen and Scott fly back to England (a flying penguin!) and Kally and I head back Thames… And work.

And I’ve determined that the following weekend, which is coincidentally Auckland Anniversary weekend, I’m going to crash. I may not even look at my photos. The only thing that I’ll be prepared to do is meals on wheels on the Monday – if we end up swapping our run from the previous week for Auckland Anniversary day.

So, that’s the plan, and we’re taking the attitude that it’s “bad dress rehearsal, great opening night”.

My other plan is to write up each day’s activities in the evening, so that you all can follow our adventures. But be aware that some entries will be made the following day if it’s a late night. After all, we’re heading almost as far south as we can go, in the middle of summer, when the sunlight hours are longer, and we’re going to be looking at the stars. So, I don’t think I’ll be wanting to come back to our accommodation and type until the wee small hours of the morning. I may try to dictate the day’s activities into my phone, which always throws up some interesting anomalies when the word processor transcribes them. Also, please be aware that proof reading will be secondary to the actual writing process, so don’t be surprised if you find a multitude of errors and garbled text. (Especially if dictated.)

And it’s been so long since I’ve written my blog, I’ve forgotten what to do!

So: Wish us luck everyone!