Mount Cook National Park

The Church of the Good Shepherd and beyond it the mountains of the Mt. Cook National Park

As I've mentioned previously we changed our original plans to go directly to Queenstown from Christchurch due to the distance and added a stop mid way in Omarama. This had the additional benefit of allowing us more stops to look at the scenery and to visit Mt. Cook National Park. And what a day to do it! Bright sunshine and clear views. It was a delight to set out early with that day ahead!

Sheep, deer, cattle all graze over the endless fields

One sheep found the activities in our car park
quite interesting. 

Views of distant mountains followed us all the way from Christchurch to Omarama.

We stopped briefly in several of the pullovers provided pretty often (both for photos and to allow traffic behind you to pass) and then had a great visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd. This is a iconic scene shown often in photos of New Zealand. It's close to the Mt. Cook National Park and on one of the beautiful lakes, Tekapo, that make this Mackenzie District so famous. Built in 1933 it features a large picture window instead of the usual painting or crucifix. 

A view of Mt. Cook from the Hermitage

The Alpine Center had films, artifacts and lots of
history & photos of the area. 

The drive up to Mt. Cook is along the lake at first and then up to the head of the valley. There is a small community there serving tourists, hikers and winter sports. The Center illustrates the overall history of the area, especially mountaineering.  Glaciers cover 40 percent of the park and Mt. Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand at 12, 217 feet and was the training ground for their most famous mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. This has been a popular spot since the first Hermitage Hotel was built in 1884. The current building is the third and finished in 1958. It houses the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Center. We sure wish we were able to stay there for several days!

The view from our table at the Omarama Lodge

Scott and I enjoying our wine before dinner.

But we were so grateful that our change in plans allowed us to enjoy this whole area. Our hotel nearby, the Sierra Motel, was very comfortable and walking distance from another great dinner choice - the Omarama Lodge. The hostess and chef were from Nepal and we had a nice talk with her and enjoyed his food very much - local grilled salmon on a bed of black chickpeas & potatoes with a Nepalese spiced sauce. As you can see from the photos - a lovely spot. 

The road up the Lindis Pass

Scott at the viewpoint over the Pass after our 
hike

The next day was beautiful again and after a huge breakfast at the Wrinkly Sheep (who knew they could be wrinkly?), we were on the road again. It took us through the Lindis Psss at 3781 feet the highest in the South Island state road system and second highest in New Zealand. We enjoyed a nice hike up to a viewing point and imagined how difficult it must be in the winter - stops to put on chains are a good hint. We saw them on the Arthur Pass as well and remember them from our trips to Yosemite at the Christmas holidays with our daughter Zoe and her family. 

The Shotover River from the bridge

The view from our table at Cloudy Bay Vineyards

Next we went by several lakes and made an abrupt turn at a sign for a wine tasting at the Cloudy Bay Vineyard. What a beautiful place! We opted for a glass of wine overlooking their pond and vineyards with a snack of pork croquettes. It was just a little early for lunch given the size of our breakfast!

Scott on one of the viewing sites

Queenstown was spread out below us.

We passed over the Shotover River where we would be jet boating the following morning and drove right to the Gondola in the center of Queenstown. We knew the weather was iffy the next day so wanted to see the sights here today. And it was so lovely and gave us a great idea of the area around Queenstown. We had a bit of lunch up there as well. This is Bob's Peak and the first access was a very steep rough road built in 1961. The first gondola was built in 1967 and a new gondola and building were built in 2023. It's quite a complex with hang gliding, bungee jumping, and several luge runs. We were actually tempted by the hang gliding but the price made us hesitant and then when we asked again, they had closed for the day. 

The view from the living room to the deck

One direction from the deck

The lake

Looking at the mountain at sunset

Our Airbnb was really lovely with views in 3 directions and was very comfortable inside. We didn't need two bedrooms but the deck and living area were really spacious for the two of us. We made breakfast each morning and had one dinner in. But more on all that in my next post.  

Arthur's Pass and Christchurch

The mountains had skirts of clouds on this drizzly cold morning.

 Arthur Dobson was the first European to cross over the Southern Alps at the pass now known as Arthur's Pass. The Maori knew of it but used the Harper Pass north of it (also named after a European who first explored that area. As a result the Harper was used until the Gold Rush. when a more suitable crossing was needed for vehicle traffic and in 1865 a rough track was completed for drays over the Athur. The Harper Pass is now an official trail "tramp" that takes 4 or 5 days. 

With all the rain the rivers were raging.

The road climbed over the pass but it was pouring
rain so we didn't get any pictures through it.
Now we're on the other side and it lightened up.

This normally pretty spot on a lake had several
RVs staying there. There are public spots all over
the country and there's a AP to find them. Only 
caveat - there must be toilets if you aren't self
contained.

But the Arthur Pass now is fully paved and it only took us a couple of hours, unfortunately mostly in the rain. Occasionally it would let up when a pull over was available and we got a couple of photos. But it was still beautiful with the clouds and mist hanging over the mountains. We passed many signs for ski area and if the weather had been better, we would have checked some out. 

The Classic Villa retains it's facade and the
original building but has a big addition in the back.

The lounge area where we enjoyed meeting other
guests and talking to our hostess.

The cloudy damp weather held during our stay in Christchurch but we really enjoyed our time there. First of all, our hotel,  the Classic Villa, was superb. Built in 1899 the Italian style home located right in the center of the historic district. We had a room in the original mansion with a marble fireplace but all the conveniences. It was run more like a bed & breakfast with a beautiful lounge and breakfast served buffet style. Our hostess was so friendly and nice. 

Settled in our Hop On Hop Off trolly. We took one
trip around the city and then on the next one,
stopped off to see things.

The trolly runs through this "pedestrian only"
street with shops and restaurants.

We had a very nice lunch at this little place. I
loved the quote from Julia Child, upper left -
"People who love to eat are the best people"

Our one full day we booked the Hop On Hop Off trolley that run through the historic district, and visited the Quake City Museum, the Botanical Gardens and the Arts Center. Christchurch is still under construction after the devastating pair of earthquakes that hit in 2010 and 2011. It was the second one that caused the most damage and loss of life - 185 people and injuring thousands. It was the second deadliest earthquake in New Zealand as 258 died in the Napier quake in 1931. I was in a smaller quake once in the Philippines where we did have to evacuate our house in the night so it was particularly interesting. . We're grateful nothing happened during our visit!

The Curator's House Restaurant - right in the
Botanical Gardens. 

Scott did it again, choosing two wonderful restaurants for our dinners: Featherstone and the Curator's House. The latter was a Spanish Tapas place and so much fun to try a bunch of little plates. SO overall a great visit despite the weather. And the next morning we woke up to a glorious clear sunny day. We had an exciting day ahead visiting Mt. Cook National Park and that will be in my next entry!

A tiny section of the Botanical Gardens, lovely walking and 
right in the center of the city.

Scott loves taking photos of flowers
and he took so many beautiful ones
it was hard to choose..

These retro phone booths work!!!

The River Avon (New Zealand's version) runs through the 
city and you can rent a boat and punt on it.

There are over 28 buildings in the complex but most were badly damaged in the earthquakes. Restoration is still very much ongoing with two thirds of the buildings now open.

The Arts Center is in the original Canterbury 
College started in 1878 that later moved to a 
larger campus out of town.

We chatted with a number of the artists throughout
several of the buildings. These two were 
particularly fun.

Nelson and the Abel Tasman National Park

It was a huge car ferry to Picton
and carried hundreds of passengers.

We saw at first islands and then the sides of the
Sound with a few homes.

The passage into Picton

 

The ferry ride over to the South Island was very smooth, happily, as it often is quite rough and the entrance into Picton very scenic. We then got a really lucky break. We were only able to reserve a car at the Blenheim airport, which was quite far and hard to reach. But when we checked into the Budget office right there at the Ferry dock to get directions, they found us a car right there!! 

The view from our motel room in Nelson.

The beautiful restaurant where we had dinner  our
first night at the Tides Hotel. 

The drive to Nelson took a little over an hour and we were able to check into our hotel. The Harborside Motel was small but right down at the Marina and our room had a great view of the boats. It was wonderful to have a relaxing afternoon for a change. And Scott did his magic once again, finding a wonderful restaurant on the river in the center of Nelson. We liked it so much we went back there the next night!

Scott relaxes up on the top deck.

Split Rock

Our "cruise" shuttle motor catamaran could 
pull right up on the beach.

There were so many of these beautiful beaches 
all along the Abel Tasman National Park coast!

Our one full day here we booked a cruise down the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. It was an easy drive about an hour south along the shore. The "cruise" was really a shuttle service going down the length of the park. Most of the passengers were getting off at one of the beaches either to stay there at one of the lodges or to hike/swim. I wondered why the cruise said it was 3 - 6 hours! If we had understood we could have worn different clothes and gone for a hike or swim, picking up the next boat. But it was a beautiful cruise and a perfect day for it - as you can see from the photos.

We were able to get off once in a while when
the boat ran ahead of schedule and walk on the
beach

There were occasional small islands 

Our boat loaded up right from the street at 10 AM but by the time we came back the tide had gone out and it's a big tidal range. So we had to walk quite a ways and then cross this bridge. It really was a plank! Luckily a couple of the crew helped me across.

The next day was a long one from Nelson down to Kumara. It took 5 hours and a lot of concentration. I don't mind the driving on the left side of the road - I've driven a number of times that way. But the roads were narrow, very twisty with one way bridges and constant speed changes. We were exhausted at the end of the day. And it was cold and damp. That made us reconsider our plans ahead. We had reservations for 3 nights in Christchurch and 4 nights in Queenstown. The road from one to the other was probably 8 hours. So we booked a hotel a little more than half way and split the trip. That meant only two nights in Christchurch but with cloudy, showery weather conditions for the next 2 days, our trip down to Queenstown would be in good weather.

On the way from Nelson to Kumara we stopped 
at a cafe for coffee and scones. And discovered'
it was St. Patrick's Day!

We stayed in a converted Theater in Kumara - this was a former cold mine town. We actually had a separate cottage which was lovely although still dreary with the damp cold weather. The restaurant was cheery though and had good pub food The next morning we left early as we had a long drive over Arthur's Pass to Christchurch. And it was pouring rain! But that's my next post!

Theater Royal Hotel, Kumara pub.