Sunday/Monday/Tuesday

Well, the holiday is just about over - at least the interesting bits. Pete is doing his 3 days work in the office here in Dubai & Abu Dhabi whilst Ingrid chills out, edits the video taken on our trip and catches up on the reading. It's a bit too windy to really do any sunbathing but pleasant enough. We will be on our way home tomorrow night (Tuesday) so home on Wednesday morning - just the packing to do!  Thanks for following us and we'll see you back in the UK shortly

Last Day of Holiday for Pete

One of Pete's former partners is a member at Yas Links, a course in Abu Dhabi.  Having fixed a date some time ago, the course was booked for a golf day this afternoon so a shotgun start was arranged for members and their guests.  A 7.30 tee off meant a 5.30 alarm call and a fast drive to Abu Dhabi.  The sandstorm of yesterday seemed to have abated as we we going along the motorway, although there was still a breeze.  By the time we started playing the breeze was a wind and, from about 3 holes in, it was a three club sand storm!  Having started at hole 4, we turned into the wind at the 7th and didn''t turn back until the 15th.  As the greens were slick (11 on the stimpmeter for the golfers amongst you), the course was, to say the least very challenging.  It was an occasion when Pete's glasses were a benefit as he got less sand blown into his eyes.  All in all it was a huge challenge and some of those that started gave up, whereas we continued and played out the full round.  By the end, we were very sandy and in need of a long shower.  Now we are into the few days of work that Pete has to do and Ingrid is hoping that the weather will allow her to go outside to

enjoy some sunshine

What is it about boat trips?

We awoke today looked out of the window and were greeted by the sight of date palms bending in the wind and a somewhat gloomy view across the road - we were in the midst of a sandstorm!  This meant having to consider a different approach to the day - what to do in Dubai when you cannot stay outside for long.  We consulted the concierge, whose initial suggestion of shopping was dismissed quickly;  we thought about a museum trip and found that there was a hop on hop off bus route that included the museum and a boat ride on the Creek.  We thought this might work as we could be out of the sand and, if it cleared, get off the bus.  In short, we did the bus tour - sniggering at every point that the commentary said to get you cameras ready as there was a great view of 'x' coming up - because there wasn't.  We did the visit to the Dubai Museum and curtailed it so that we could do the 5.30 boat trip.  We walked from the Museum to the departure point and loitered.  End position is that we failed on a second boat trip - this one was cancelled because of the weather.  A poor record for us on sightseeing boat trips!!  We rejoined the bus thinking we would get off at a stop nearer to our hotel and get something to eat.  As it was, the bus stopped at a mall  in the western end of the old city (we are to the east in the financial centre) and, it transpired, was going no further.  No choice for us, therefore, but to look into the mall and follow up with a taxi ride home.  Taxis here are plentiful and very cheap.  End result of the day is that there are bits of commentary that we know by heart, we know that you need your glasses or sunglasses in a sandstorm and we know that if you actually want to get out on the water on a boat, it is probably best not to arrange to go with us  

Long Day in Dubai

For once a flight arrived early - not necessarily what you need when the arrival time was about 0500 local time!   We collected our bags and made our way through immigration and customs all too efficiently.  As a result, we arrived at our hotel before 0630 and left most of our baggage with the meeters and greeters (as our room would not be available until later) whilst we negotiated that we could use the pool changing rooms to freshen up.  Having had a shower and changed, we decided to have a wander.  This is not always the best option in Dubai (a) because of the drivers and (b) because the footpaths may end abruptly as one comes across the next building site (of which there are many).  Not much was happening so we went back to the hotel and decided to decamp to Dubai Creek golf course where we were due to play later.  We managed to secure an earlier tee time (some 2 hours better) and, therefore, scurried about to get ready to play.  We played with a nice Japanese couple.  The course has been remodelled a bit in an attempt to get the Dubai Desert Classic back and was both enjoyable and a good test - especially the last two holes which have the creek down the left hand side and other hazards down the right.  We went back to our hotel, had a swim and another shower.  When we were considering dinner, the decision was for something straight-forward so we went out to one of the shopping areas and found a Rivington Grill (basically the same format as the one in Greenwich);  as the evening progressed, the tiredness set in and approaching 9 o'clock we had both had enough and we set off back to the hotel to get some sleep in the hope that a good night would get us over the long flight here.  And, yes, we had to get "that" photo at Dubai Creek

      

Signing off from NZ

As an addendum to yesterday's blog, mention must be made of our last dinner in New Zealand. Pete had had the forethought to book us in for dinner (in a very posh restaurant) as he thought that finding somewhere at short notice on Valentine's might prove troublesome! It only had 24 covers so everyone had some personal attention from the very good staff. It was a 10 course tasting menu (1 veggie, 2 fish (with an alternative for Pete of course), 4 meat and 3 puds). The range of tastes and the presentation were amazing and we both tried some things we wouldn't nornally go for. The quail dish was superb and the strawberry dish, to die for (and, with the exception of the Roquefort cheesecake which wasn't really to our taste, the other courses were pretty good too!)

All in all a fantastic end to our NZ trip (well almost) THANKS PETE for a lovely evening x x

(piccies showing the style of the food.....)



Today was a grey and miserable day in Auckland.  We went to the NZ Navy museum in Devonport, which was very interesting and well set up.  We then decided that a harbour tour would help fill the time - we had a leaflet for an operator running a tour at 2 p.m.  Having found some parking relatively nearby (after a few u-turns), we went to the advertised place, but there was nothing there.  We asked, were pointed to one of the quays where we went and waited.  At 2 we decided that this was not to be and so we aborted that plan, wandered around the marina for a little while and decided to visit One Tree Hill on the way to the airport.  We managed that bit and went to the top of the hill for some views of grey and wet Auckland - an unfortunately damp end to what has been a great holiday here.  We are now back using the airport wifi and waiting for the call for our flight.  Not looking forward to the 19 hours or so that it takes to get to Dubai (via Sydney)!  Love to all at home.

Gulf Harbour and Sightseeing

The forecast for today was for showers developing into possible afternoon thundery showers.  This did not bode well for our last game of golf in New Zealand as we did not want to be packing wet gear and clubs for our flight tomorrow.  As we drove across the Harbour Bridge northwards, the morning seemed bright.  When we eventually found the golf course (the sat nav suggested there were roads where there were not!) it was sunny and warm.  As the morning developed, it got warmer and more humid.  The course starts off relatively gently and then develops nicely into quite a challenge with the back 9 being both very picturesque and quite tough.



11th Gulf Harbour

There are two holes where one is driving over gorges with cliffs and the sea on the right hand side.  From the very back tees, the shot is quite daunting and requires a huge carry.  There is one par 5 of some 570 metres.  Altogether though, it was one of the best courses we have played during our visit.  After rehydrating in the clubhouse, we decided that, if it was still bright when we got back to Auckland, we would go up the Skytower.  This is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and, they tell us, weighs the same as 6000 elephants (clearly an important piece of information!).  There was quite a queue to get in as there was a cruise ship in today, but the wait (when one got up the tower) was worth it (even though we had to pay full price today compared to yesterday when we were admitted as senior citizens!).  We were able to look out on where we had been over the past few days, watch some people 'walking the tower' and, indeed, one mad fool jumping off the tower (all roped up, we should add).  Not one for Rachel this as the lift has a clear door and there are windows on the way up and, when you get to the top, there are sections of plate glass floor to let one see straight down!  An opportunity for a few photos though.  Out for our last dinner in New Zealand tonight and, we reckon, a gentle day of sightseeing tomorrow before our flight.



Checking the video footage

 

To Auckland

Today we left the very wet Coramandel Peninsula to drive to Auckland.  It stopped raining as we got back to the main highway and brightened up as we neared Auckland.  We saw more cars on our drive today than we have in the whole of the remainder of our time here!  We went to the Auckland Museum to see the Maori Gallery and some of the other exhibits, we did this in two sessions sandwiching a trip to Takapuna (one of the suburbs) to meet up with Matt Lambert.  In trying to find Matt and then a parking space, we missed meeting Rochelle, his girlfriend, by 5 minutes, which was a pity.  We have checked in to our last B&B now; golf tomorrow and then some more sightseeing.

Coromandel Peninsula

Today we drove up to the Coromandel Peninsula.  The sat nav took us an interesting way (up what appeared to be the equivalent of a B road through the farming country).  As we went on to the peninsula, we noted that there was, by kiwi standards, a veritable traffic jam of cars and motor homes coming back from where we were going.  They clearly knew something we didn't!

We had been driving in pleasant sunshine and it was warming up nicely.  However, now there was cloud hugging the hills and, as we climbed, we went into the cloud and the mizzle.  As we went down the other side and towards the coast, things did not improve.  We got to the Lakes Resort where we were due to play golf about 2 hours ahead of our tee time.  It was raining well at that point and groups were pulling out.  We went to check in to our accommodation and dump some gear.  As we did, it rained even harder.  The promise was that it should clear up.  There was a vets tournament at the course on Monday morning, so deferring for an early start tomorrow was not an option.  We, therefore, donned the waterproofs and went for it.  The course is meant to look like this:



Our view was more like this:



There had not been rain here for some 3 weeks;  today it was making up for it.  The fairways were getting very wet but, give them their due, the greens stood up very well and were still fairly quick.  We made it round (probably with those in the pro shop talking about the mad Brits on the course).  The only moment of note relates to a piece of native New Zealand fauna - the tussock grass (example below).



In a moment of wrong pedal buggy driving, Ingrid managed to relocate a reasonably substantial example of this plant which required recovery from under the buggy and replacement - maybe they won't notice that the top is a bit flatter than it was!!

It is still raining and the cloud is closing in again - time for a glass of wine!!

From this end it is quite scary that we have only 3 more nights in New Zealand.  Hope all at home are well or at least improving from Thursday night.

As a footnote, deferring to Monday would have not been a good plan - it has not stopped raining, 65mm in the last 24 hours, and the Lakes are now not limited to the water hazards!!

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

A drive from Napier to Rotarua was today's challenge.  The morning in Napier was miserable - grey and wet - which left us hoping that things would clear up before our scheduled walk and boat ride in a volcanic valley near Rotarua.  The news on the radio reported that there had been two earthquakes last night in New Zealand - one in Christchurch and one in Napier.  It was a by-line in the news and the Napier 'quake was only 3.7 and 40km east and, therefore, we did not even feel it.  As earthquakes are basically a daily occurrence here (see http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html), this is hardly a headline event.

As we cross the hills toward Taupo, the clouds cleared and the sun came out.  We called in at Taupo on the way to Rotarua and passed the Swiss Chalet where we stayed in 2001.  We had a wander around the town so that we did not arrive early for our booked trip.  The Waimangu Volcanic Valley is claimed to be one of the world's youngest geothermal systems and we had arranged a self guided walk (advertised at 1hr 50 mins) and a boat trip.  The walk was well organised (and signposted) and a leaflet explained all of the main sights.  There is, half way through, a choice of route - the 'easy walking' route or the Mount Hazard hiking trail.  We opted for the latter and set off up the hill.  Half way up we were not convinced it was the right choice given the steps and the humidity, but it was worth it as we saw a couple of craters that you cannot see from the main route and, because you are higher, the views along the valleys are probably better.  The boat trip was very interesting in that one is in a lake created by a relatively recent eruption and which has covered the principal tourist attractions of the late 1800's (the white terrace and the rose terrace).  There is plenty of current activity around the lake and we saw a couple of geysers and several hot springs, one of which only appeared 3 weeks ago!

From there it was on to Rotarua.  The smell here is much the same as we remember it!  Oddly though, the volcanic valley was not as pungent.

Napier Day 4

We had a quiet morning as there was lots of activity and comings and goings in the Lambert household.  This was followed by the somewhat odd situation of Liz, Kristi and Nicole packing and us saying goodbye to them as they left their house!  This was all because today was the kick off of Kristi's hen weekend and they were off with 9 friends to Wellington, leaving us house and cat-sitting for one night.  In amongst the preparations, Ross and Beau came to say their goodbyes.

After their departure (and a bit of emotion from some), we went into Napier and did a bit more walking around and along the promenade.  On the way back to the car we passed the crazy golf course and failed to resist.  Jade had acquired some rhubarb and left it for Pete the day before and, as always, up for the challenge, Pete was determined to do something with the fruit and leave it.  Part of the evening was, therefore, spent preparing a rhubarb sorbet which is currently residing in the Lambert freezer disguised as a Thai take-away!  This allowed Ingrid some time to pack for the last leg of our New Zealand trip.

Napier Day 3

This morning we started slowly and, mid-morning, went out for a coffee with Nicole. Afterwards, we went up Ta Mata Peak, which gives views over Hawkes Bay and the remainder of the area (being the highest point for some distance). As it was a sunny day, we got good views over the surrounding area. The hill is steeped in Maori legend. It is said that Maori chief Te Mata O Rongokako fell in love with the daughter of his rival, the Heretaunga chief. To prove his worthiness and win the beautiful Maori maiden’s love, Rongokako accepted a series of near-impossible challenges. He choked and died attempting his final task, which was to eat his way through this rocky range. It is said that Te Mata Peak depicts the outline of his body and is called the Sleeping Giant by locals.

From the peak we could see a vineyard in the next valley which would give a view of the crags we were standing on.  We, therefore, visited the Craggy Range winery and tried their reds - they do two Pinot Noirs (one from Martinborough on the north island and one from central Otago in the south) and it was very interesting to compare them side by side.  After our visit it was time to go back to Liz's so we could get a lift into Napier from Nicole and meet Liz at her office.  We had been invited out to the Linden Estate with Liz and some of her work colleagues for a tasting.  We were the only people at the winery and were able to sit outside, enjoy some wine and a cheeseboard having tasted the four wines they offered (a sauvignon blanc which was quite nice, a chardonnay which was not, a blended red which was a bit thin and a shiraz which was very drinkable and the wine we alighted on to go with the cheese).  Altogether a very nice evening on the best day weather-wise that we have had for some time.

Napier Day 2

Today we went for a walk in the local nature reserve/Maori site, Otatara Park.  There was a Maori settlement there and the site sets out to show how a large 'village' was set up and established.  The walk is meant to be a circular tramp from the car park, through the site and back again.  Sadly, there is a bit of an issue with signage and having thought we were on the route, we found ourselves with a disappearing path.  With overnight rain and long grass, this led to wet shoes and trouser bottoms.  Town shoes also proved a disadvantage for Ingrid as she slipped on the wet stuff and added to her dampness!  We decided that a return to Liz's was necessary for a change.

We then went into Napier and did a self guided walk around the city to look at the many art deco buildings.  We managed to get into the theatre and have a look at that (we were looking at the foyer when we were invited to have a shufti by someone working there) - they have retained much of the art deco interior in spite of extensions over time.



As we had offered to cook for the workers today, we were then off to the supermarket and the kitchen.  Cooking was punctuated by a quick trip to Kristi and Ross' to say hello.

Napier Day 1

Liz had taken today off and we were expecting her to be out when we got up as Ross was due back from Australia this morning.  However, his flight from Perth was cancelled and he was to come in via Sydney and Auckland and not due to arrive until early evening which meant a change of plan.  So, after a gentle start and Ingrid doing the washing so that stocks of socks etc are replenished, we went out.  First up, we visited a winery - unusually for us, it was not to taste any wine!  This was a trip so that we could see the venue for Kristi and Ross' wedding next month.  The winery has a lovely setting amongst trees and vines and, if the weather is good (which one very much hopes it will be) the ceremony will be held outside.  The winery itself has enough space and function room areas that dining and dancing can take place and those wanting a chat can be away from the main room.  Then we went on to a gallery near Havelock North called the Birdwood.  This has been set up by a family forcibly evicted from their farm in Zimbabwe - there is an eclectic mix of art and handicraft in the gallery and a sculpture garden too.  The highlight was, though, the next door old fashioned sweet shop!  From there we went into Havelock North and wandered round the shops and had a coffee before calling in at the information booth to get some details of local walks etc.  From there we went into Napier and to the top of Bluff Hill to have a look over Hawke's Bay and the port.  Sadly it was a bit misty and rain was gathering over the hills so the view was not quite the full monty.  We had lunch down by the Marina and, after that, went on to the Mission Estate winery, which was founded by Marist missionaries.  It planted vines for sacramental and table wines and there are records of commercial sales from 1870.  The building is very impressive - it comprises the old chapel and seminary - even more so, when one realises that the whole building was moved in 1910 up the hill from a coastal site prone to flooding.  We could not miss out on tasting a couple of wines here.


From there, we went back to Liz's to await redelivery of Beau from his child care.  Liz's parents popped in to say hello - we last saw them on out trip here in 2001.  After a shy 10 minutes, Beau was content to play (aeroplanes, trains and buses being the order of the day) and, by the end, he was happy enough to sit on Ingrid's lap for a couple of stories before being taken off to meet his delayed dad at Napier Airport.

Into Napier

This morning we played golf at Cape Kidnappers, which is a course that has been laid out over some fairly severe landscape.  The layout follows the tops of the ridges and these drop off into severe hay and then bush.  The greens are quick and very grainy so some of the breaks on them come as a bit of a surprise and down hill, down grain is quite scary.  We had a caddy (a +1 player) who could give some guidance on the grain but, on occasions, we set him a bit too much of a challenge with the clubbing.  Whilst ranked the No 1 course in New Zealand in some ratings, it is one of those places that you tick the box to say you have played it rather than think that it is a place that you must get back to and play again.

Some of the views when the holes were near the cliffs were quite spectacular.  From Cape Kidnappers (named because Captain Cook's - yes him again - had his cabin boy 'kidnapped' by the local Maori tribesmen there) we went on to Liz's in Taradale near Napier.  A warm reception awaited us and we are looking forward to a few days in the same location.

Otaki and Gannets

We were a bit delayed this morning chatting with our hosts.  When we got on to the road, we headed up State Highway 1 to the nearby town of Otaki.  We had been told that there were some good outlet stores here.  We had a wander round but limited our browsing as we knew we had a fair drive to go on our gannet safari this afternoon.  As things happened, the drive was a little longer as the road in one part was closed and we had to follow a diversion which added about 15 minutes to the drive.  We arrived at the place we were meant to check in to find the office closed and a sign saying 'next tour 0930'!  This was not exactly encouraging.  We were about to go up to the house above the car park (which said private property) when we spotted a tour bus refuelling.  We accosted the driver.  He knew nothing about us but was able to contact the owners and, after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, the lady in charge made an appearance.  It seems that she had taken her eye off the time and she asked the chap we had spoken to to take us out.  We were driven up on to the Cape Kidnappers estate, which is absolutely huge, and through to the coast.  There are four colonies of gannets on that piece of coastline;  one of them is on the cliff top and we were able to walk up to within a few yards of the nesting gannets.  There were a number of chicks of differing ages on the nests and adults both preening their young and flying out to get food.

The number of birds and the noise was quite something to see and to hear. This is the largest publicly accessible gannet colony in New Zealand.  We will be playing the golf course at Cape Kidnappers tomorrow morning and then it is on to Napier to meet up with Liz.

Kayaking and the Cook Strait

Today we got our water taxi from Furneaux Lodge and, by a round-about route, made it to Torea Bay where we were picked up by our guide, Marius, and taken over the saddle to Portage Bay.  It was drizzling (or perhaps we were just in the cloud base).  We got kitted up for our day of sea kayaking and headed off to the water. The plan, we were told, was to head to a bay that we could see across the water, look at a few coves, have lunch and come back.  We set off and Marius was quickly into a rethink as we reached the chosen bay somewhat sooner than anticipated.  We paddled on (and on) and were able to hug the coast and see mussel beds and oysters on the rocks.  There were stingrays and jellyfish in the water and shoals of whitebait making the surface 'bubble' as they broke the surface.  Pete was also cajoled into trying fishing from the kayak with a mussel as bait - something bit, but only took the mussel not the hook.  We paddled back to our start point with Marius telling us we had done most of the whole day trip not just the half day - when we asked how far we had been, he said he reckoned we had covered the thick end of 20km!!  It did not seem that far at the time.  Then it was back by water taxi to Picton, repossess our bags and check in for the Interislander.  The ferry takes over 3 hours but had the television on so more viewing of the Sevens on the way across.  We arrived in Wellington in the glare of the floodlights of the Westpac Stadium (where the rugby was still going on - England were playing the 3rd/4th match as we disembarked), got our last rental car and set off for our B&B.  We were warmly greeted when we arrived and, as we got our bags out, our arms were telling us that we had, indeed, paddled quite a distance earlier.  Sufficeth to say that we both slept well!

Queen Charlotte Track

Back in the intenet world, a quick report on the last couple of days.  Today, Friday, we drove from our lovely lodgings near Blenheim to Picton and found (a) the ferry terminal and (b) the place where we were to be briefed on our walk (in that order because our instructions suggested that we had to walk our luggage from (b) to (a) tomorrow and that we may only have 15 minutes to do so!).  The plan was to take a water taxi across the sound to the end of the walking track and then walk back to a place called Furneaux Lodge where we were to stay the night (about 15km).  We had packed what we needed in our backpack and camera bag and were handed our packed lunch to add to these.  The water taxi is intriguing in that it is the local delivery service, bus and means of communication.  The route is dictated by who and what needs to be where and who needs picking up - the passengers included the tourists and locals who were off to their 'batch' to tidy it up for an upcoming rental (a batch here is a holiday home, not a loaf).  We were advised that there was a waterfall near Ship Cove (our drop off point) that was worth a visit.  As with most of the places we seem to visit, Captain Cook got there first and there is a memorial to him in the bay!

We did the kilometre or so to the waterfall (which was very pretty) and back again and then set off on out 'tramp'.  The first part was uphill to gain height to walk around the headlands.  It was through the temperate rain forest and, every now and then, there are views over the sound and the bays in it.



As we had loitered in Ship Cove, we had let the others that were on the same taxi get ahead and, therefore, had the track to ourselves for a while.  The walk was somewhat more defined than the Hollyford and one did not get the same feeling of being out of the way as there were little houses about here and there and regular views of boats on the sound.  We did the run to Endeavour Inlet and on to Furneaux Lodge (an extra 25 minutes) in about 4 1/2 hours.

Blister Prevention en route

We were pleased to get into a shower, sit and read for a bit and then adjourn to the bar for something to eat and to watch the Rugby Sevens from Wellington.  We both agreed that we felt more tired from this walk than the first day of the Hollyford, but then worked out we had done the same distance in about an hour's less time!!

Marlborough Wines

A cool, grey day here today (all the locals moaning about how cold it is) - a good day for a chauffeured tour around some of the vineyards around Blenheim.  Our first stop was at Te Whare Ra where we were shown around an organic, bio-dynamic vineyard and winery by one of the owners.  This was followed by a tasting of 7 of their wines (5 white and 2 red).  The surprise package was that they make a dry riesling and, whilst we would normally avoid it, this one was certainly worth trying and some views as to this grape type were blown away.  Next we went to Auntsfield, which is on the site of Marlborough's first vineyard and has something of an interesting history - another wander around followed, this time, by 5 wines to taste (the best being a Pinot Noir Rose).  Then we went to Wither Hills - the winery there is fairly new but the estate is large and they supply wines to the UK with Tesco being a stockist.

We tried 6 wines there with each of our favourites being a white (Ingrid a Pinot Gris and Pete the dry Riesling), but the most interesting was one that has only been released for 6 weeks - a sparkling Gerwurtztraminer - which was much better than it sounds!  We had lunch here overlooking the vineyard.  Just as well to have some food at this point as, from here, we were of to Saint Clair vineyard (one of the bigger family owned wineries).  Again, we tried half a dozen different wines - they rate their sauvignon blanc, but neither of us were particularly keen, and the chardonnay which was meant to be 'lightly oaked' but was still a bit claggy to our tastes.  Their Shiraz was better than average though.  From there it was on to a chocolate factory where Ingrid had dessert by way of the tastings on offer and then to another tiny vineyard called Seresin and a couple making organic, bio-diverse wines and trying something different.

Again we tried an array of wines and, perhaps even more interesting, their own olive oil where they cold press the olives with citrus fruit (they had lime, lemon and orange to taste) and they were all very clean and tasty.  We finished our tour at a vineyard call TerraVin, which had six wines to taste, the best being the two Pinot Noirs (a 'house' wine and their 'reserve' wine).  Had we drunk everything poured for us, we would be struggling - there were some who do the wine tour on a bike, which has the makings of being quite dangerous!  We kept taking on the water and poured away what was not wholly to our taste so we survived and, we are sure, will be ready to do battle with a bottle of something at dinner time.  Now time to pack again - this time for a hiking day and a kayaking day.  We are unlikely to be able to get internet access on Friday or Saturday and, if we can't, we will let you know how the Queen Charlotte Track is come Sunday.  Have a good weekend all.

Where's Whaley?

This morning we were woken before the alarm by a text message (only 10 minutes early, thank goodness).  The only benefit of this was that we were just in time to see the sun rise over the Pacific and a rainbow over the mountains across the bay!  After breakfast we went to check in for our whale watching trip.  The forecast was for winds building during the day so we were pleased to be on an early trip.  We were slightly less pleased to see the sea-sickness warning when we checked in.  The excursion here is of some 40 odd people on a catamaran which heads out into the ocean hoping to find one of the sperm whales that pass through the area.  We are on the second trip of the day and the crews are radioed up to pass on information.  The first boat hadn't found a whale when we went out so our skipper took to a different part of the sea in the hope of finding one.  After a while there was a bit of activity as a whale had been seen diving - the bad news is that they take 45 minutes or more to surface and it was about half an hours ride away into the north-west swell.  The next bit was a test of mental fortitude and stomach strength as things became somewhat choppy and a few people succumbed.  We held on.  We had been out on the water for the best part of 2 hours when a whale finally surfaced and the view we got gave an impression of size, the power of the spouting and the like before it dived again.  At this point we had to head full steam back to the harbour, somewhat behind schedule.  Not quite as we had hoped, but it is a matter of luck with these trips.

From Kaikoura we drove along the coast road to Blenheim;  an expensive ride as a sneaky policeman with a speed gun was hiding in a farm gate and Pete copped it (ho hum).

Blenheim is the heart of the Marlborough wine country and one gets to a point where it is wall to wall vineyards and a game of spotting the labels one has seen back in the UK.  On the way to our B&B we passed Villa Maria, Oyster Bay, Wither Hills and other brands we have seen at home.  Our accommodation is in the middle of the Dog Point vineyards - we look out at some Pinot Noir vines.  The family of our host here, Kirsty, own the vineyard and, having checked in, we went for a wander over part of the estate and past the winery.  We will, we hope, sample some of the product later (and will report) (link here if you are interested http://www.dogpoint.co.nz/.  The setting here is lovely - in the hills outside the town (our room is in the building below).

Good news from Rachel too as she is now teaching the former head of department's timetable (with A level classes) and we are keeping our fingers crossed that this will mean full time teaching and a full time contract to go with it.