To the West Coast

You can tell its summer holiday season when you see a family arrive at the motel with their boat and six bikes - zoom in to see some kiwi ingenuity at play... that's one way to adapt a boat trailer!  Gorgeous day for a slow drive across to Westport via Cable Bay and Nelson.   

We had to stop and admire an Argosy air freighter on the outskirts of  Renwick  - this one allegedly spotted UFO off the Kaikoura coast some years ago when it was running freight to the Chatham Islands. 

We left the dry Marlborough valley to head in land and start making our way to the West Coast. 

Onwards towards Cable Bay with a quick stop at the Pelorus Bridge - the sign warning off jumpers was very necessary as the water levels looked so low - yikes.

A short walk up some steps and you could admire the beauty of Cable Bay - where the original power cable connected the North and South Islands.  We were there at low tide so the estuary tide was out but on full tide the little causeway connects the mainland with Pippin Island. It's a magical spot and a beautiful day. 

Lunch in Nelson and a stop at the Nelson yacht club. So many holiday makers out enjoying the sunshine at Tahunanui beach and the boulder bank. 

Inland towards the west coast. We stopped at the top of Hope Saddle and the air had a lovely vanilla smell - the manuka was in full bloom and the little native honey bees where buzzing around - lovely.

Driving through the upper Buller Gorge is like driving in a green tunnel - the trees seem to cover the road and the foliage is beautiful Southern Beech with a soft delicate canopy.

Every so often you pop out of the green tunnel to be met by stunning glimpses of the Buller river with the odd fisherman spotted up stream. Crystal clear waters.

A few one lane bridges still on the go, Winston Peters needs to visit the South Island after he's finished the one lane bridges up north :) 

Little known fact that there was once a uranium mine in the area - we stopped at what was once the site of the uranium works - great spot, right on the river but it wasn't successful and went bust pretty quickly. The little cafe is for sale, it will be a hard sell.

The road workers back in the day did a brilliant job of carving the road into the side of the Buller Gorge - in places it's one lane only and is such a pretty drive but you have to keep your eyes on the road! 

In the gorge below is Uranium Point - I wasn't quick enough to snap a pic of the road sign. The mountains on either side of the gorge are Mt Cassin and Mt Jacobsen - named for the two prospectors who discovered radioactive material there. Fun fact was that they were issued with NZ's first commercial helicopter license in 1955.... there were great hopes for the Buller region and the West Coast but there wasn't enough to mine properly  and it all went belly up. Now hikers and fisho's can enjoy the gorgeous scenery. 

Westcoast update next time folks - a fun day driving today.

South Island summer

 

Remember you can click on the photo's to see larger image & please ignore  poor editing, doing this on the hoof :)  

Yikes, the 3.15am alarm call was a bit of a rude shock but up and packed and in the car to get in the queue for the 6.15am inter-island ferry from Wellington to Picton. We needed to check in at 5.15am and with  a 45min commute we gave ourselves plenty of time in case of any traffic snarl-ups.. even at that time in the morning.  It all worked out great and we lined up with many other bleary eyed travelers.

We could see the sunrise creeping up over the Orongorongo hills, gradually lighting up Wellington Harbour. It looked like a good day for a ferry crossing :)

Good bye Wellington - last snip of land before we entered the Cook Straight and the water was like velvet.  We saw a few hardy 'fisho's' way off shore on the edge of the trench fishing for deep water fish like Groper - they must have had an early start to get out so far so early.

Beautiful entry to the Marlborough Sounds - lots of yachts and fishing boats heading in all directions for a day of sea and sunshine.  

Many more salmon farms in the sounds than I remember.

Some of the land looked tinder dry but it makes for a stunning contrast between the blue, blue sea and sky. 

Just over three hours later we arrived in Picton. Time  to hunt out a spot for breakfast as we didn't fancy the breakfast on the boat, personally  I need to eat on dry land :)

Both Picton and Waikawa marina were buzzing with visitors and holiday makers which was great to see for the local retailers and hospo teams. Lots of groups of young people having fun together and enjoying the sunshine.

30 mins down the highway in Blenheim town we had a lovely stroll along a crystal clear Wairau river feeder stream and spotted what we think were either young trout or salmon. We had 40 winks under a shady tree, after all we had an early start. 

For our overseas pals Blenheim is the gateway to Marlborough - the country's largest  wine region and is famous for its world class Sauvignon Blanc.  You can see why the vines do so well here,  plentiful acreage of gravel soils from the Wairau river and stinking hot summer heat....its hot, hot, hot!

We had to check out the old Wairau River Rowing Club to see if it had changed from my rowing days all those years ago.  The river looked so inviting and fresh. 

Always a library and gallery fan we dipped our toes into a bit of 'culture' and visited the new whiz bang Blenheim library and art centre. Strangely the gallery didn't open until 1pm and we were moving on, however the building and design is beautiful. 

A great start to our exploring new opportunities in the south island, so far we like it!

Not quite the famed Marlborough Sav Blanc but a cheeky Squealing Pig Marlborough Chardy to end the day ..... perfecto!

 Winter roses 

The roses still think it's summer time here in Queensland. The rosebushes are pushing out new buds and I'm fighting the pesky sap sucking aphids....don't they know it's winter time! 

Loving all the tropical foliage, the mango tree flowers above smell divine!

The possums here are very small and much 'cuter' than the New Zealand opossum, unfortunately the poor critter below touched one wire too many and met a shocking end :(

Another jaunt into the city and exploring the riverside environs. You can jump on the free  little City Hopper river boats and visit a range of locations along the riverside.  From the South Bank public gardens and entertainment  options  to the Felons Brewery, where you can sit alongside the river tasting a range of locally brewed ales as you watch the river water traffic - the options are endless.  You can walk the extensive river paths, kayak, paddle board, hire jet skies or take a lunch/dinner river cruise -  lots of options for the energetic or for those wanting to take it more leisurely. 

We are loving the Australian names, Felon's Brewery is named after four felons who in 1823, on their way to Illawarra from Sydney, were blown off course and found themselves lost at sea. Legend goes after the being at the mercy to wild conditions the felons ended up shipwrecked on Moreton Island and made their way to Brisbane with a thirst..... for ale. The rest is history, or so they say.

The Story Bridge pictured above  is a heritage-listed steel cantilever bridge and it's a gorgeous structure that is lit up at night.  Fun fact is that it is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia and it only takes 2 hours to climb the bridge - we admired the structure from the City Hopper. Another fun fact is the Sydney Harbour bridge is made from British steel while the fabulous Story Bridge is made almost entirely from local material -  Aussie made!  Brisbane City has some spectacular old buildings that are being restored and sit cheek by jowl with the new city skyscrapers and they hold their own with dignity. 

Brisbane is a melting pot of cultures and there is any number of restaurants to tempt you. We opted for a well known city dumpling institution and we weren't disappointed. You can watch the dimsum and dumplings being hand rolled front of house.

  

Every city we visit we always make a beeline for the local botanical gardens and the Brisbane Botanical Gardens are right on the edge of the CBD so they are super accessible. On Sunday's they have a local market in the gardens with music and chilled vibes to be enjoyed by old and young alike, deffo worth a visit.

Have I banged on enough about the winter weather here? Another stunning weekend and we hit the northern beaches of Woody Point, via Humpybong, Margate and Scarborough. They were all beautiful and you can walk [approx. 10k's] from Woodypoint along the beach path to Scarborough with plenty of café and refreshments stops available on the promenade.

The Scarborough Sunday market is a local institution with music, crafts, fresh veg and homemade potions and lotions to tempt you. All along the beach promenade there are picnic areas, shaded tables and a lovely pier to wander along.

For those not brave enough to swim in the sea there is a fantastic free public sea salt pool right alongside the shore with the security of life guards. Lovely!

 We have been walking the local neighbourhood and getting to know the property market and we found this beauty - what a view! 

 Winter walks in sunny Queensland

Another super week getting to know the Redlands Coast and loving the winter weather here. Temps haven't dropped below 22degrees during the day, brilliant sunshine during the day, cool nights - perfect.  

We explored the Tingalpa Creek Reserve, about 5 minutes from where we are staying. Again the facilities for the community are so good with covered fishing platforms and clearly marked paths. We watched a young girl fishing with her dad. It was great to see her  squealing with delight as she landed a tiny fish - gotta start somewhere :)   

The area we were walking in was clearly marked as having had a recent fire burn-off to prevent future wild fires. The air was thick with the smell of smoke. The further we walked, the stronger the smoke smell became. We were mindful to stay on the path to avoid any falling branches. 

As we walked the smoke became stronger and next thing we saw actual flames where some of the burned off material had been flamed alight again.  We stamped out the flames and retraced out steps lickety-split. 

Our little neighbourhood has a range of  walking paths, nature reserves and food forests for the wildlife - koala if you are lucky and an amazing array of bird life. As we quietly walked along one track that  looked like it hadn't seen much foot traffic, we startled a young Whistling Kite who took off with a great rustling of its amazing turkey-like tail feathers - alas not quick enough with the camera.

The flora and fauna is very different to what we are used to and we love the texture of the paperbark trees. I read there is an essential oil in the paper bark that is good for treating skin infections..... I should get distilling as the little biting midges and bugs are feasting off my blood and leaving me with awful biting souveniers...no amount of extra strength insect repellent deters these Australian blood suckers. 

Whilst saying unprintable things about the great Aussie biting machines I enjoy the gorgeous flowers in the parks and gardens...Queensland the sunshine state lives up to is name. 

We were advised that Sunnybank is the best place for Asian food. It's overtaken Chinatown as home to Brisbane's biggest Asian community and is now the in-spot for authentic Asian eats and shops. There are Chinese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean and Vietnamese eateries  and some very 1970's style shopping plaza that have been made over by the Asian community. You can take guided food tours here to  ensure you don't miss out on any of the gems. We followed our nose and  chose That Viet Place which is like Vietnamese street food - cheap and cheerful and so delicious. It will be hard to switch our early allegiance to try other places, although numerous dumpling houses look tempting. 

Winter and people are still swimming as the sea temps are around 22 degrees.   We hit Wellington Point beach on Friday night to catch the sunset after a stunning day. The sunset didn't disappoint - check out the pics below - remember click on the pic to enlarge.