8. Wellington
We met our son (whom we had not seen for 2 ½ years, as he had spent 1 year in Australia and then 1 year in New Zealand) in Wellington. He drove us through the hilly streets to our accommodation. The evening was spent as a family, catching up on everything. Wellington is the capital […]
7. The Cook Straits
We took the Inter Islander from Picton to Wellington and followed parts of Captain Cook’s voyage as he navigated around the two islands. What is the story? Captain Cook sailed from Tahiti to unknown waters on the HMB Endeavour (a barque). It was not a big ship, only 27 meters long. It was actually too […]
6. Kaikoura & Picton and saying goodbye to the South Island
Kaikoura is a small town located north of Christchurch. It’s a world away from the West Coast of the South Island. It is all about the ocean and its activities here. It is having a good time with water. We left Christchurch and drove 180 kilometres north to the small town of Kaikoura. It is […]
05 The “Tranzalpine” Railway to Christchurch.
We took the bus from Punakaiki to Greymouth, where we boarded the Tranzalpine Express from Greymouth to Christchurch, from the west coast to the east coast. For the fans of Lord of the Rings, the line crosses a few places where the films were made. New Zealand has three passenger train lines. The Tranzalpine Express and […]
04. Hokitika, Greymouth, Punakaiki
After our exciting stay in Franz Josef, it was time to go to our next destination, Punakaiki. It is 217 km further north, and much of the road leading there is along the west coast. The weather had turned again, and the sea was rough. Rain and a violent storm had even destroyed the bridge […]