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The arrival in Mapua coincided with the arrival of rain. Warm and humid, the rain looks to be with us for the duration of our stay.

Always great to catch up with friends Cameron and Maria, who live in Tasman Village. The Mapua, Tasman and Moutere area is renowned for its arts, crafts and wine. There are also vast areas of hop plantings. It’s always interesting to visit the many galleries both in this area, and Nelson.

With the weather forecast unfavourable, we decided to drive over to Nelson and check out the art galleries. The Suter Gallery is excellent, with the bonus of a very nice cafe. No purchases were made, but the Pharts enjoyed their day of culture.

St Arnaud is a small alpine village in the Tasman district, and situated at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti. Our accommodation is at the Alpine Lodge, which has an in house restaurant. This proves handy as there are very few other dining options!

The area has an abundance of mountain biking and walking trails, so we decided to do the Mt Robert circuit. This involves driving to a car parking area, walking up the Pinchgut Track to the top, then down Paddy’s Track. A round trip of around four hours. The walk up is long and steep, through bush and open country. The views make it worth it. At the top we are at 1400 metres.

A most rewarding walk. We made it a little harder for ourselves than needed, by taking a wrong turning. The Lakeside walk was pleasant, but meant a long uphill walk on the road, to get back to our car.

After two very comfortable nights at Alpine Lodge, it was time for the Pharts to move on. Destination .. Mapua (near Motueka). On the way, a stop at the 9 hole Golden Downs golf course. Its claim to fame is the longest hole in NZ, at 659 metres! A nice course, which we had to ourselves.

The itinerary for the Old Pharts on tour was head up the West Coast. An overnight stay in Hokitika, then on to Westport for three nights. However, torrential rain and an awful forecast, forced a change in plans. The decision was made to head up the East Coast to Christchurch, then on to Blenheim. The weather in both of these places wasn’t great, but the correct decision was made.

Highlights in Christchurch were C1 Espresso cafe, Ballantynes, Francesca’s Italian restaurant and Waitikiri golf course.

Highlights in Blenheim were Chateau Marlborough Hotel and Quenches restaurant, Wither Hills restaurant, Herb and Olive cafe, the movie ”Belfast”, and the Marlborough Golf Club at Fairhall.

After the rigours of the Milford Track, the Travellers had three days at Millbrook Resort to look forward to. An old pharmacy student friend of Blair’s, Ken Millar and his wife Emily have a house at Millbrook. Games of golf at ”The Hills”, ”Millbrook Coronet” and dinner at the Kobe Restaurant will be shared activities.

The next day, golf with Ken and Emily was again scheduled. The course this time was to be the Millbrook ”Coronet” course. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated, with overnight rain and showers during the round. The Old Pharts however completed their round, and loved the course.

Dinner that evening was at Kobe restaurant, at the Resort. Fantastic Japanese food, and highly recommended.

We loved our stay at Millbrook, and a big thanks to Ken and Emily for their hospitality and generousity.

The intrepid travellers were excited to depart Hamilton on the morning of Sunday, January 23rd. A days drive to Wellington, an overnight stay, the very nice QT Hotel, then on to the Picton ferry the next morning.

A perfect ferry crossing lead to the classic road trip down the East Coast of the South Island to Christchurch. Another overnight stay, in the excellent Quest on Manchester.

The road trip was to continue the next day, destination, our old friends at The Cairns of Lake Tekapo. We had been caught there in August with a Covid lockdown, when a 3 night stay became 15!

With the golf clubs in the car, we stopped and played the Hororata golf course on the way. A really pleasant course, with a cafe adjacent to the course, for a post match snack.

The next day it was on to Queenstown. We attended the afternoon pre walk meeting at Ultimate Hikes, collected our day packs, and were set to go the next day. Our accommodation for the night was at Millbrook Resort near Arrowtown. Dinner at the ”Hole in One” at Millbrook. We are to return to this Resort for three nights, at the conclusion of the walk.

The Milford Track experience begins! Forty eight keen and expectant trampers, plus four guides, depart Queenstown for Te Anau. Lunch at the latter is followed by a short journey north, and on to a boat. This one hour long ride takes us to the top of Lake Te Anau, and the start of the walk. First stop, Glade House

The next morning after a hearty breakfast and lunch making, the Old Pharts and intrepid trampers had a 16km walk, destination, Pompolona Lodge. A flat, pleasant walk, with a swim in Prairie Lake for some shortly before arriving at the Lodge.

After another wonderful three course dinner, it was an early night for the group. The next day was the ”big one” of the Track, the Mackinnon Pass.

Unfortunately at breakfast the next morning, we were informed fifteen of the group were struck down by a vomiting and diarrhoea virus. They were unable to participate in the days walk. Very disappointing for them, and relief for those who “dodged a bullet”.

The Mackinnon Pass was indeed a challenging hike, particularly the downhill, which was steep and rocky. However, the weather was great, and the Old Pharts “knocked the bugger off” without issue. They still had enough juice in the tank to check out the Sutherland Falls. Despite a lack of rainfall in January in the region, they were an impressive site. Another comfortable evening of great food and company, this night in Quintin Lodge.

The penultimate day of the Milford Track experience, is the final day of actual walking. A 21 km walk, pretty flat, through the bush to the final destination of Sandfly Point. From here, a boat ferries us across to Milford Village, and our accommodation at Mitre Peak Lodge.

Day 5, the final day, is a mornings cruise on the Milford Sound. Once again, a glorious day, with the lack of recent rainfall meaning the absence of waterfalls cascading down. As walkers, we were quite happy to remain dry.

Cruise over, its back on the bus for the long drive back to Queenstown. Goodbyes to friends and acquaintances made over the last few days. A big thanks to our Ultimate Hikes guides, Meg, Sandy, Naomi and Ethan. Quality guides and people.

After flying to Christchurch from Hamilton, we collected our RAV4 rental, and drove to Tekapo.

An hour after our arrival, the Prime Minister announced there was to be a lockdown, due to a Community COVID case in Auckland. Three days in the South Island, and seven in Auckland, until more information is gathered. Not a great start to the holiday!

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Day One of lockdown, and a morning visit to the Supermarket was followed by a local afternoon walk. Sunny but cool day. Our cabin in “The Cairns Alpine Resort” is well appointed, and nice and warm. A smart TV is very welcome.

With the three day South Island lockdown, we have had to cancel our one night stay at Ohau Lodge, and extend our stay in Tekapo by a further night. At this stage, no known cases of COVID in the South Island.

Day 2, and after the daily masked visit to the Supermarket, we settled in for the Prime Minister and Director of Health’s daily update. COVID appears restricted to Auckland at this stage. An anxious wait for tomorrow’s announcement, and whether we can continue on to Wanaka.

Our exercise for the day was the Peninsular Loop Walk, with great views of the Lake and Mountains.

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Level 4 lockdown continues until Wednesday, so in Tekapo we remain. The Manager of our accommodation complex has kindly provided us with golf clubs, so we can attack the 9 hole Cairns golf course.

The weather has been gloriously fine, adding to lockdown frustrations. We have cancelled our Wanaka accommodation. Depending on the Government’s announcement on Monday, we may make it there for a few days. The area needs to be at Level 2 for ski fields to operate.

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Another “bluebird” day at Lake Tekapo! We decided to play the 9 hole Cairns Golf Course this afternoon. Had the course to ourselves. Quite a challenging course, made tougher with a lot of surface water. However, in pretty good condition, and wonderful views.

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Another fine day, albeit it very windy. After the morning Supermarket visit, and 1pm COVID update, we decided to attack the Mt John summit track.
Quite steep, but we were rewarded with great views.

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A few more days in Tekapo at Level 4, as just announced by Prime Minister Ardern. Walked the Cowan Hill walkway this afternoon.

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The wonderful weather continues, so we decided to walk the Mt John Lakeshore and summit track. A three hour journey and, according to my Fitbit, 18000 steps!

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Still locked down in Tekapo, and running out of areas to explore! Today we walked along the Tekapo River to Lake George Scott. This is a man-made lake created as a holding pond to divert water from the river into the Tekapo Canal. Tekapo A Power Station is located here also. This is the beginning of the Waitaki Power Scheme. The power station began operations in 1951.

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Lockdown over, and it’s time to head home to Hamilton. That was a ski holiday that didn’t go to plan .. never got the skis out of their bag! Three planned nights in Tekapo, one at Ohau Lodge and nine in Wanaka turned into fifteen nights in Tekapo!

A huge thanks to Lisa and the team at The Cairns Alpine Resort. They were very helpful and supportive, and the accommodation was just perfect. We will be back, hopefully next time without Covid disruption.

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Last year we stopped in Taihape, and played the Rangitira golf course. This time we decided to do the same, but this time play the Taihape golf course. Our accommodation once again was at Llanerchymedd, a B&B on the hill above Taihape. Spacious and comfortable, with excellent hosts.

The golf course runs sheep, but was in good condition, with some challenging holes, including the long drop par 3 12th. An enjoyable outing, well worth the stopover.

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After almost four weeks away, and many thousands of kilometres driven, it was time to head home to Hamilton. A marvellous trip .. not a bad country is New Zealand!

After a smooth sailing across the Strait, we had one night in Wellington before crossing the Remutaka Hill to the Wairarapa.

We stayed at the Copthorne at Oriental Bay .. an old favourite .. and had dinner that night with Pharmacy friends Noel and Di Waterson. We dined at Fratelli’s in Blair Street. Excellent food and company.

This was to be our third visit to Martinborough in as many years, and staying once again at Pinot Villas. This is very comfortable and centrally located. Golf was on the agenda, as was wine tasting, dinner at Union Square bistro and catching up with relations in Masterton.

Dinner that night was at the Union Square Bistro. Sue had the steak and myself the pasta. Top quality!

The next morning called in to nearby Greytown for a coffee, and a wander around the town. It was time for some exercise again, so we drove to the Mt Holdsworth area, at the base of the Tararuas, and about 15kms from Masterton. There is a camping area, and a number of DOC walks, of varying distances and difficulty. We did the loop walk, which took about an hour.

We then returned to Martinborough for lunch at Poppies. This was the platter with a glass of wine. A popular destination. It was then on to the nearby Luna Winery for tasting and purchasing!

Later in the afternoon, we drove up to Masterton to visit Uncle Rick and Aunt Marion at their home in the Lansdowne Lifestyle Village.

Dinner that evening was at CBK in Perry Street. There were a number of old framed photos on the wall, including one of Rick from his butchering days, circa 1970! It was nice to catch up with the cousins and some of their children, many of whom we hadn’t seen for years.

Time to head home, but not before a stopover in Taihape.

After a thoroughly enjoyable time in Golden Bay, it was back over the Takaka Hill and on to Mapua, near Motueka and Nelson.

Our accommodation was at a delightful 2 bedroom cottage near Mapua wharf, we we had in fact stayed previously. It is called Ferntree Cottage, and we would recommend.

Our friends Cameron and Maria Rodgers live in nearby Tasman Village, so we will enjoy catching with them. They have a spacious section with wonderful gardens, and a cottage on the property, which they rent out. Tasman Cottage is an excellent option for this area.

We decided to play the Greenacres Golf Course, which is actually on Best Island, near Rabbit Island. Being a Sunday, it was very busy, so we only completed 12 holes. However, from what we played, very pleasant.

Nelson and surrounds have many Art and Craft galleries and shops, and we bought a very nice Glassart Vase from Flamedaisy. We then visited the Suter Art Gallery, which has on display Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere, Toss Woollaston and Rita Angus works. We also purchased stainless steel Arum Lillies and a Kiwi made from forks and spoons from Forest Fusion at Mapua Wharf.

Dinner that night with Cameron and Maria, and the next morning a drive to Picton, and the ferry across Cook Strait to Wellington.

This was to be our first visit to the Golden Bay Area. We had been many times to Motueka, Mapua and Nelson, but had not ventured over the Takaka Hill.

Talking of the hill, it is steep and windy, and takes quite some time to drive. There are washed out road repairs going on, necessitating a lengthy stop/go system.

However, we soon arrived in Takaka, and had lunch at The Wholemeal Cafe. Very popular and very nice. We then checked in to our accommodation at the Golden Bay Motel. Fine for our needs.

We had the afternoon to explore the local area, and stretch our legs. Nearby attractions are the expansive Pohara Beach, Labyrinth Rocks and the Grove Scenic Reserve. All well worth an explore.

Dinner that evening was intriguing named “Dangerous Kitchen”. Excellent food. Thus far on the tour, not one poor meal or dining experience.

The next day dawned fine and warm, as we had plenty to pack into the day. Collingwood, Farewell Spit, Cape Farewell and Wharariki Beach were all to be explored. We decided against an Eco Tour of the spit, and just did a 4km walk, incorporating both sides.