Travel – Shardlows Highs

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 5 Christchurch

the city is recovering from the devastating earthquakes

Continuing on from our trip round Banks Peninsula, we checked into our motel not far from Christchurch centre, then wandered down into town for a quick look around. The weather was still very warm, so when the motel offered us a choice of free breakfast or air-con, guess which we opted for.

On Sunday we walked into the city, and came across the first of the Elmer Elephants on the trail, for which I’ve done a separate blog.

We were interested to see how the city is recovering from the devastating earthquakes, and were pleased to see it looking bright and stunning.

There are lots of murals around the city, which of course I had to snap.

The central shopping areas are pedestrians and trams only, which made for a nice wander.

We stopped for lunch in what, at first, we thought was a small cafe, but turned out to be a large food market, The Riverside Market, serving any nationality food you could wish for. As it was still hot and sunny, we enjoyed our food sat outside.

Then we took a visit to the Quake City Museum, which has great interactive exhibits showing how the earthquake happened, and what progress has been made to recover.

Many building are either repaired, or shored up awaiting repair. The first image is the Cathedral.

There are also stunning new builds around.

One new build I particularly wanted to visit was the Cardboard Cathedral.

This building was originally planned as a transitional structure while the old cathedral is rebuilt.

However, planning etc has meant that it was eventually made a more permanent structure that will be given to St Johns Parish, who donated the land, when it is no longer required.

Its construction is based on huge cardboard tubes.

Hot and tired, we decided to visit the gondola next.

On our way back to the motel we came across the incredible Margaret Mahy Playground, built on land left derelict by the earthquake. On a glorious Sunday, it was full of very happy children enjoying the huge complex of climbs, slides, fountains etc. The playground cost over $40m but is certainly one of the best features of the city.

That afternoon we drove over to the Christchurch Gondola.

The cable car travels 1,000m up Mount Cavendish and offers panoramic views of the city and Banks Peninsula.

There was a refreshing breeze up at the top, and we enjoyed an ice cream.

That evening we drove around the surrounding area looking for more elephants. This took us to places we would not have ventured to otherwise.

We came across this sculpture, which we decided were of Higgs and Fern, the Swedish Valhunds, waiting at a tram stop.

After another hot night, and with our flight later that afternoon, we opted to visit Orana Wildlife Park on our last day.

It is situated on the outskirts of Christchurch, and is an open-range zoo.

It has a very different feel to most zoos we have visited, with wide open, roughly landscaped areas to stroll through.

We had a friendly Fantail dance around us for a while.

And more animals

Sadly, that took us to time to return our hire car and catch our flights home.

We were very sad to leave this incredible country again, and hope it wont be too long before we can return. From 30degree sunshine, we returned to -1 degree UK.

I hope you have enjoyed our journey.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 4 Banks Peninsula

Just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea in the sunshine

After a brief break while my laptop was repaired, I’m back with part 4. On a foggy frosty morning in the UK, this seems so far away and so long ago.

I left you in Timaru in Part 3. On Saturday we drove up to the Banks Peninsula, created from 2 volcanos. Our first stop was at the White Rabbit café, that I remembered from our previous visit. we had some mouth watering cake and a drink and then set onwards to Akaroa, a harbour created by the volcano.

Our first stop was at a marvellous place on the edge of town that we only found through tourist guides. It is a private house and gardens called The Giants House, ‘the happiest garden on earth’.

WOW, what a place.

Climbing up a steep drive, your first glimpse of the wonders inside are mosaic sculptures at the entrance.

These continue into every corner of this incredible garden, nestled into the hillside.

I’ll just put the photos up, as words cannot fully express the glory.

I am very jealous of the wonderful black Aeoniums.

a grand piano, covered in bright mosaics, set in a lawn

Everywhere you look, there are more crazy figures, or steps, or pools, all covered in a spectrum of mosaics.

Lots more…

Assorted creatures rising out of the foliage.

You could never be lonely here.

Tempted to break a few plates yet?

Ian had trouble dragging me out of here, but as it was very hot and sunny, we needed to cool down and get refreshments.

If you are ever in the vicinity, go and visit.

We got an ice cream and browsed around Akaroa, a pleasant sea side town, for a while.

Some shade from the sun at last.

A very English Cottage garden so far from home.

As I think the crazy garden has probably wowed you enough, I’ll leave Christchurch for my last post.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 3 Dunedin

This town has 70 heritage buildings and has capitalised on the Victorian theme

We followed on from Clyde by driving down Highway 8, taking the route alongside the Clutha river for most of the route.

The end wall of our room in the Stables

We checked into our room in Dunedin, The Stables, which was even better than expected. Describes as a quiet, off-street boutique establishment, it didn’t disappoint. Our room on the first floor had vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and many exposed features from the original building.

Even better, downstairs we found a wonderful kitchen for everyone’s use, which was great as we were staying 2 nights.

Once we had settled in we wandered down the (steep) hill into town. Dunedin is named after Edinburgh and has many similarities. There are also lots of wall arts to find.

Rather than find then that evening we opted to have a Turkish meal at Sila. They were doing some renovations, and looked almost shut and empty, but we risked it, and had the most delicious meal of the trip. If you are even in Dunedin, check them out.

On Thursday we set off to check out the Otago peninsular. All along the route are cute seaside villages and harbours.

After a very windy drive we reached the end of the peninsular where the only mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses exists. we last visited 19 years ago and it was foggy and calm. This time the sun was shining, so we paid our entrance fee and walked up to the viewpoint, and saw the magnificent birds sitting o their eggs.

Not albatrosses (red beaked gulls).

Not albatross, a seal.

An albatross.

There were 4 nests visible from the hide. None of the birds flew off as they share nesting duties, so one bird flies off to catch food for a few days, then they swap over.

There were lots of other sea birds around too, and we had an educational film and talk while there.

The albatross sitting on their nests.

There is also a beach at the centre where little blue penguins nest, but it was only open in the evening, which would mean driving the long windy road in the dark, so we decided agaist that.

We stopped at a beach for a break on the way back. This is the changing rooms.

Next we tried to find the Mt Cargill view point, but got totally lost, so made do with views from the road we ended up on.

I’m so glad I have a wide angles lens to capture the incredible scenery.

Driving back into town I was puzzled by a photo opportunity showing up on my map, while were were going through housing estates. This turned out to be Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world.

I wouldn’t want to live here!

We needed something for dinner, so we walked through the lovely Botanic Gardens to the supermarket.

Dunedin botanic gardens.

On Friday, before we set off north, we drove down into town and parked up, then I quickly walked around finding some street art. I love these bright displays of talent cheering up blank walls.

Wall art in Dunedin.

Next stop was to see the Moaraki boulders.

These huge spherical boulders look alien and unnatural sat on an ordinary beach.

After a coffee in the visitor centre we travelled up Highway 1 to Oamaru, the steampunk capital. This town has 70 heritage buildings and has capitalised on the Victorian theme, with Steampunk HQ well worth a visit.

Along the road from there is a row of warehouse shops selling all you need to capture your steampunk image, and the children’s playground continues the theme.

Oamaru playground. We stopped for ice cream, but the wind was bitterly cold so we didn’t linger too long.

Our hotel for that night was the Grosvenor. Timaru is a strange town, sat alongside the port, and this hotel is not far from the sea. The corridors are decorated with Mondrian and other art styles, and it has a hip vibe about it.

We took a walk around town, but it was deserted and most places were shut, so after a pleasant meal in the hotel restaurant, we walked down to the beach.

Most evenings, near the road between the port and the beach, you can watch little blue penguins waddle up to their nests.

This one even stood and did a little dance and sang his song for us. This was far better than the long drive and entrance fee to see the Dunedin penguins.

Our next day sees us travel to Christchurch, so I’ll leave that for the next post.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 2 South Island

A few stops to capture great views

After a week on the North island with Andy and Kelsey, we ferried across to Picton, which is a small town whose main purpose is to provide an overnight stay to ferry passengers.

I can recommend the Green-lipped mussels.

We picked up our hire car the next morning, had a quick look round the shops, then stocked up with supplies for breakfasts in Blenheim.

A quick pit stop in St Arnauld for some lunch, we spotted this huge sculpture. Andy had warned us of the mosqitoes along the west coast, and the tiny garage come cafe come general store had 3 whole shelves devoted to insect repelents, so we headed the warnings and sprayed up.

A few stops to capture great views which abound in New Zealand, then on to Punikaiki.

We stayed in The Treehouse, set right in the rainforest.

view out of patio doors onto balcony surrounded by rain forest ferns and trees

Our balcony, overlapped with tree ferns and palms.

A short walk through the forest brought us to a delightful beach.

The only downside to this beach was that it was entirely tiny little gritty pebbles, so a pain to walk on.

Monday we drove the short distance to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.

walk through a forest of Phormium plants

A 10 minute walk through these Phormiums took us to the views.

The tide was not high enough for the blowholes, but the wonderful rock formations , created by a process called stylobedding, were magical. The walkway took us round the headland and over rock bridges with the waves crashing below.

Back on the main road we stopped in the cafe, and I succumbed to buying a gorgeous outdoor Scribbler coat.

The coffee shop had a tame Weka quietly plodding between the tables.

After a leg stretch and lunch in Greymouth we continued on to Hokitika, where Kelsey had recommended the pie shop. When we got there the shelf was almost empty, but another batch was just about to come out of the ovens, so we purchased 2 for dinner to check their quality. I can confirm that they are delicious.

Hokitika beach is scattered with bleached driftwood, and there is always a sign spelt out of the wood, but I think its time this had a refresh.

Next we stayed in the Rainforest Motel in Fox Glacier. The town is very small, just a couple of bars and some sports wear shops, plus helicopter rental offices galore, and due to the glacier melting, it is a long walk up to view it these days. However there is a delightful path through the rain forest just on the edge of town, that also has glow-worms if you visit in the dark.

As we did not intend on climbing up to see the glacier, we did the next best thing. By driving 10km away from the glacier, you reach a viewpoint.

The road continues down the coast with routes around river estuaries. If you’ve never travelled NZ roads before, they are a delight. Hardly any traffic, speed signs to tell you how fast you can take the bends, and passing places every few km.

We called in Haast for lunch before starting the journey inland to Lake Hawea, stopping to view waterfalls en-route.

As we arrived early we carried along to Wanaka, and visited Puzzling World, where we last called 19 years before. There are crazy rooms that distort perspectives, and make you doubt your eyes, plus a 3D maze that is almost impossible (we cheated after 45 minutes and escaped).

Looks easy, doesn’t it?

A short visit to town and then back to our hotel, which I chose because it has great views across the Lake.

Sadly, we were disappointed by the hotel. The chair on the balcony collapsed when I sat on it, the replacement chairs they brought us were covered in black soot, and then we found out that the hotel did not serve breakfast in the restaurant, and there were no facilities in the room to make our own.

Definitely not worth the extra money this hotel cost. Luckily the evening meal was good, and they gave us a free drink.

Our next drive took us across to the east coast, stopping in Clyde to capture the wonderful Karearea recycled-metal sculpture.

I will continue the trip at Dunedin, I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing this trip so far.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 1

Lunch had to be fish and chips

Just after Christmas 2023, we ventured across the planet to New Zealand to visit family.

The trip didn’t start too well as fog at Dubai airport delayed our arrival, and departure so that when we arrived in Melbourne there was no chance of catching our connecting flight to Wellington.

We were then told we were going via Queenstown, so quickly got into the long queue for security, and managed to catch the flight.

At Queenstown we were told conflicting versions of what we should do. Eventually we were instructed to complete the baggage security/lost baggage forms, even though our cases would hopefully go direct to Wellington at some point.

There were long queue for all of the gates, and no staff helping catch the next flight, but luckily it was delayed and we got on.

We arrived 4 hours late and baggage control was then shut, so we had no cases.

Our first stay was at my son and daughter-in-law’s for a few days to get over jet lag.

The following day we had to buy a few items as the cases were still ‘lost’.

On New Year’s eve we were told the bags would arrive in the evening, so we cancelled plans for a meal out, and ordered a take-away instead.

They turned up at 20:00, so I got to wear my sparkly top for the evening, playing games and seeing the New Year in.

The next day we visited Paraparaumu Beach on the west coast, for a sunny walk along the beach with their dogs in tow.

View looking across to Kapiti Island.

Of course, after a morning on the beach, lunch had to be fish and chips.

On Tuesday, after a lazy morning we set off to a cottage in Martinborough, a favourite village of ours from previous trips.

We dropped the 2 dogs off at a boarders, and drove over the steep and twisty Highway 2, and once we had settled in, we walked into town to the Brewery for beers and ciders all round.

After a gentle stroll back to the cottage, Ian agreed to cook dinner, while more beer and wine was consumed.

However, this relaxation was quickly put to a stop when the dog boarder rang to say the pups had escaped, and one of them was still loose.

With not long until it became dark, and knowing the boarder was set in bush not too far off the main highway, panic set in.

Luckily I had only had one cider, so leaving Ian to deal with dinner, I drove my son’s car back over the hills, and we spent an hour calling for her, until, at last, the other dog’s barking finally found her.

After a discussion on what to do next, it was decided the dogs should come with us, and they lent us a large crate, as the cottage was dog friendly, but not on furniture.

We finally ate dinner at 21:00, and started to relax again.

Wednesday morning Andy and Kelsey took the pups for a long walk, then, as it was so hot, we left the older dog in the cottage, and set off to Poppies for wine tasting and lunch.

A delicious charcuterie board at Poppies

Doesn’t that make your mouth water?

Our whole family are huge fans of Poppies wine, and we were not disappointed. Several bottles were purchased to take home.

Obviously, one vineyard was not enough, so we moseyed on to Moy Hall, and then to Colombo, where the smell of Pizzas cooking tempted us.

A gentle walk back to the cottage and played some board games.

To make a change, the next day we drove to Matthews and Boggy Pond Reserve. a wonderful, almost dystopian landscape, with lots of wildlife.

Jellyfish clouds against a bright blue sky

Wonderful Jellyfish Clouds

Dragonfly

Family of black swans

A goldfinch

The dystopian landscape of the Boggy Pond reserve

After lunch we wandered into Martinborough to browse the shops, but sadly, the price tags were mostly beyond our range, so a cold milkshake was about all we bought.

Our evening meal was at Karahui in the centre of town, in an old Bank.

A delicious meal, highly recommend visiting here.

Friday saw us return to Andy and Kelsey’s, where we helped them with some gardening, and played more games, and drank more beer and cider and wine.

Saturday morning, we had lunch at Janus Bakkej in Lower Hutt, then went to catch the ferry to the South Island, saying our goodbyes until we meet again.

The weather was still warm and calm, so a very pleasant trip over to Picton, which is where I shall end this part of the trip. Look out for part 2.

Credit to Kelsey for some of the photos.

Elmer and Friends, Christchurch, 2024

Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail

During our recent trip to New Zealand, we visited Christchurch, where we hadn’t been since before the devastating earthquake.

Whilst we spent a lot of time visiting the usual sight, we also noticed several large model elephants around the city.

A little investigating found they were Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail raising fund for Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust.

Having found the app showing their location, and having nothing better to do in an evening, we set out to find as many as we could.

So here goes, lots of elephants for your delight.

Elmer!

Neurographic Friend

It’s Blooming Camouflage

Sneaky Kiwi

Pasifika

Sweet Tooth

ELEELE

STARt

Elebones

3 small elephants, Faith, Paparoa Street School Elmer and Tane.

Wild Flowers

NZ Natives

The most L.F.B.I.T elephant

The Elephants Daydream

Putahi

Animalphant

World of Wonder

Be Extraordinary!

Rainbow Bloom

Kaitouna

The bench at Elmer headquarters, Tūranga.

Aidan

Reverse side of Aidan

Tiaki

Tā moko

Waggle

And finally, at the airport as we finished our holiday, Splodge.

We managed to find 41 out of the 60 elephants, not bad for a couple of days.

For the rest of our trip, go to Part 1

Beach Hut Addiction

I could have spent all day taking photos!

I have not written any blogs for a long while as we moved house, and I’ve just not found the time, but our recent trip to Mersea, a small island on the south Essex coast, deserved a blog, so I’m back.

With moving house, most of the trips Connie the van made this year were to carry large purchases, like sheds, green houses and wardrobes. The bulk of her trips were to Ikea, so having got most of the big jobs out of the way, and with a new grandson to visit, we needed a holiday.

We wanted to combine a final campervan trip of the year with a visit to my son and family. A browse of available sites found Waldergraves on West Mersea, somewhere neither of us had previously visited.

The forecasts had been dire the previous week, but improved day by day, and in the end we had lovely weather for mid October.

Mersea has a causeway that floods at high tides, and the day we arrived was such a tide, but we got there shortly after the sea had subsided, and settled in for a G&T before checking out the beach.

It was only a short walk from our plot on the edge of the large site to the beach.

The sun was dropping as we walked towards the town of West Mersea.

If you google West Mersea you will find lots of photos of the beach huts, and they didn’t disappoint. There are around 400, and a large section are identical huts painted in soft pastel shades.

The beach has very large tidal ranges, so can be very narrow, or stretch away into the distance.

While the background was not the most scenic, with a disused Nuclear power station, and many wind turbines, the sun on the water, and the groynes and seabirds was very pleasant.

The following day we ventured further along the beach, which the Puligans enjoyed.

As we approached the town, the huts became random, many different styles and paint palets.

I could have spent all day taking photos!

A few yachts were enjoying the fine weather

As we rounded the end of the island, there were many houseboats, all appearing stranded but on closer inspection each had a channel in the shore.

A boardwalk took us into the small town, and then a slow walk back to camp.

As it was Ians birthday we later walked to a local pub with the dogs for a mid week roast.

On Thursday the weather was forecast to be rainy, so we only took a short walk then, finding the weather was actually very warm and sunny, spent the rest of the day sitting in the sun and reading and relaxing.

On Friday we decided to walk the other direction towards East Mersea, but the coastal path has eroded making it unpassable. So we took the diversion inland and found ourselves at a vinyard, which we had to visit for morning cake and drink.

Our route then took us past the back of the site and onto a neighbouring campsite, where we dined on fish and chips, our holiday tradition.

It was then time to continue on to Dartford, but we will probably return as we thoroughly enjoyed our autumn break here.

I must now catch up on my missed blogs.

Costa Rica 2011 Part 2

After a tranquil nights sleep, we were woken by the sounds of the jungle, and some cheeky white faced Capuchin monkeys crawling around the site.

Any food we took into our cabin had to be shut away in the lockable cupboard, as these monkeys happily climb in and raid the cabins.

Todays activity was a Nature walk, and boy, did we see nature!

The scarlet macaws are very noisy, but you wouldn’t believe how well they hide in trees.

After all that adventure, Ian decided to try the sloth way of life

And another sunset to end day 2 here

Day 3 activity was snorkeling on the reef, one of my favourite activities, but Ian is not a great swimmer, so was not as excited.

Off we set in a small boat to the island of Cano would could see from camp.

En-route, our guide spotted a sea snake swimming along – these are deadly, and can jump from the water, so after a quick look we moved on

A few other boats were visiting the reef, but it was very organised, and I was soon enjoying the sea life

Eventually I had to end this adventure and head back to the lodge.

This was our last night here, but we ended with a night nature walk – no photos, as it really was dark, but very interesting – we saw a tarantula hiding in a log, and narrowly avoided a venomous Fer-de-lance snake resting in a branch we crept under.

We left Corcavado Lodge by boat again, and picked up our van for the rest of the trip, plus the remainder of our luggage, as the small plane couldn’t take it all, they had arranged for some bags to be left behind.

First stop was at Canta De Ballenas Hotel, in Bahia, a short distance from the Marina Bellina National park.

I don’t seem to have many photos of this park – I think I might have forgotten to take the camera. The park is shaped like a whales tail, jutting out into the ocean.

On Friday we moved on again, this time to Manuel Antonio National Park.

This park has a split personallity – it has stupendous wildlife all through it, but it also hosts some of the worlds best beaches. In order to maintain the park, there is a limit on the number of people in the park at any time. Despite this, I felt some resentment to people there just to sunbathe, with no interest in the scenery or wildlife.

As soon as we walked into the park, we saw sloths, weird insects, tree frogs and spiders.

However, when we took a rest on the beach, the raccoons soon appeared, and more monkeys, all very cheeky and unafraid of the people.

You can see why the beach is so popular – Ian even had a swim – this is almost unheard of, but the water was bath temperature.

One animal we hoped to see in the park was the squirrel monkey, but none appeared. But at breakfast at our hotel Manuel Antonio the next morning, this pair turned up, sat on the kitchen roof, so we didn’t leave disappointed.

Costa Rica 2011 Part 1

This is a throwback special. A friend has said they have booked flights to Costa Rica, and wanted to know if I had blogged my trip. This was before my blogging days, so lets do one now!

The trip was Ian and my main honeymoon, we got married the year before, but wanted to miss the rainy season, so chose February 2011 for our trip.

We had no idea where we wanted to go, and I didn’t know where Costa Rica was exactly, but this trip stood out in the travel brochures. It was also an activity trip, whereas we wanted to see the wildlife, but it turned out the best option.

Our holiday began with flights into San José, the capital, and an overnight stay at the Rosa Del Paseo Hotel on the main road through the city. It is a quaint Victorian building, within easy walking of the centre, and here we met the rest of our party and our tour guide.

The second day began with a flight from San José out to Palma Sur airport in a tiny plane, where they had to weigh us as well as our luggage, and they decided that our bags had to follow on the next plane out.

The flight was not going high, so was not pressurized – this meant it could have huge windows, giving us a great view of the scenery as we travelled.

Soon we reached a Palma Sur airport, and transferred to a coach, and then travelled down to the river Sierpe, where we were loaded onto a barge like boat, and set off towards the sea.

However, we had noticed that this boat had rather impressive outboard engines, and once out of the town, the gentle trip turned into a white water ride! Wheee.

After an hour we reached the sea, and then went down the coast to reach our next stay – the Danta Corcavoda Eco Lodge, on the Pacific Coast of the Corcadavo National Park.

CIMG1990 — First sight of the lodges at Corcavado Lodge

There are few roads in the park, so boat is the best way to arrive, even if this meant paddling ashore from the dingy to the beach.

We carried our bags up the hill to find our lodge, a wooden building with mesh windows, and a balcony facing the ocean.

The view from our balcony.

We still had some daylight left so wandered down to the exquisite beach.

The beach was covered in tiny hermit crabs, making it appear as if the sand was alive.

Back to the lodges for dinner, and then time to relax on our balcony. My one ‘must see’ on this trip were Macaws, and on our first evening we saw several fly across the jungle between us and the sea – Wow.

Sunset across this peaceful corner of our planet – bliss.

New Zealand Murals 2019 Napier

Earlier this year during our travels to New Zealand, we came across lots of murals.

Plastic Pollution / Ocean health by Pat Perry at Willix Legal, Vautier Street, Napier

Some were just random art works, but a lot of them had been created by Sea Walls – Artists for Oceans. These are projects that bring together internationally renowned artists to paint large scale murals.

Shark Conservation by Freeman White on Raffles/Bower Street in Napier City Council Car Park

Their purpose is not only to highlight the enhance town they are in, but to highlight the beauty of the oceans, and address pressing issues relevant to local and global communities.

Climate Change / Ocean Acidification by James Bullough at the back of Quest Hotel, Station Street, Napier

In Napier we were lucky enough to find a copy of the map, listing the murals there with a brief description of each, and we followed the map to find many. In Gisborne they had run out of maps, so we found many by chance, others by using Pokemon Go! as many are Pokestops.

We have adjusted my photos to allow for the positions we had to photograph them from, so this has removed a lot of the building and cars around them, so you can see almost their full beauty. However this has possibly diminished their sense of scale.

Some are small paintings on street furniture, or just a couple on a blank wall, while others covered the whole of a car park wall, but I will post them in a random order.