Volcanic Views

We woke up to a fantastic view of Mt Tongariro this morning - plus more than a dozen rabbits on the lawn outside!



And in the other direction was Mt Ruapehu with a little snow still in place.

Grand Chateau

On the spur of the moment, we decided to book into the Grand Chateau at Whakapapa tonight for our half-way stop on the way back to Auckland.



We managed to secure a room with a view of Mt Ruapehu and a rather threadbare carpet... The hotel has a rather faded grandeur now but it still reminds us of The Shining.

Carry on Camping

We travelled back across the Cook Strait today on the Inter-Islander to Wellington. When I looked down at the vehicle deck, I couldn't believe the number of campervans making their way north.

Swimming with Seals

Whale watching and dolphin diving are rather passe now so for my birthday we decided to go swimming with seals.

The coast at Kaikoura is home to a good number of New Zealand's 60,000 fur seals. Once hunted until close to extinction, the fur seal population is now growing stronger.

We took a boat out to a breeding colony where the seals are territorial on land but curious and full of fun in the water. Kitted out in wetsuits, snorkels and flippers, we were able to watch the new pups learning to swim in the rock pools and we floated close to the kelp where the older seals dived and played.



Afterwards, we warmed up again on the sunny deck of a cafe and tucked into a huge crayfish each - the seafood that gave Kaikoura its Maori name - how could we refuse?

Molesworth Station

Molesworth Station, run by the Department of Conservation and Landcorp, consists of four pastoral leases which were surrendered to the Crown around the time of the Second World War having been decimated by rabbits and too many sheep. It's now home to around 10,000 beef cattle with merino stud farms on the fringes.



The 180km gravel road across the station is only open for about three months each year and we were lucky enough to be in the area at the right time. We enjoyed a stunning drive across dusty ranges dotted with wild flowers and bisected by gravel rivers.

Vin et Velos

Every view in Blenheim resembles a wine label.



Today we borrowed bikes from our bed and breakfast and took the Renwick Wine Tour. We dropped in at several vineyards - Framingham, Nautilus, Huia - and enjoyed one or two glasses of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, riesling, gewurtztraminer and pinot gris.

We stopped off at Riverlore, the gallery of Joanna Dudson Scott, a local artist who is inspired by the gravel riverbeds and looming mountain ranges of the South Island. She showed us how she is incorporating silt from the rivers into her paintings.



We finished up with a beer and a cider at the Moa Brewery, surrounded by vines but relying instead on local hops, malt, wheat, barley and apples.

InterIslander

We crossed the Cook Strait today, from Wellington to Picton on Kaitaki, an InterIslander ferry which I was amused to learn was once the Pride of Cherbourg. It's the biggest ship of the fleet and much more spacious than Aratere which we passed on the way across.



The dismal weather made for some fantastic views but the sun came out as soon as we reached the South Island...



...and as we entered Queen Charlotte Sound, we even had a dolphin escort...

Foxed by Foxton

Having made good progress on the way to Wellington, we'd reached the Kapiti Coast in time for lunch. So we turned off SH1 at Foxton and headed down the main street to find lunch. We were sorely disappointed by what the town had to offer and will be giving the place a wide berth in future.

It claims to be a tourist town with its flax-stripping museum and windmill but only one of the cafes was serving lunch (top choice? toasted sandwiches) and every second shop was devoted to family planning with the alternate outlets being op shops.



Perhaps it looks better in sunlight but I couldn't help but wish that Foxton would return to the swamp from whence it came.

Corrugated Creations

Day 1 of our holiday and we passed through many unique small towns on State Highway 1 including Tirau - the home of corrugated creations.

Shrove Tuesday

We're hoping that next Shrove Tuesday, we'll be making pancakes from our own eggs...

Exams

I have exams today and tomorrow so here are some rabbit feet to bring good luck.



Good job I've got eight of them!

Bedtime Prayers

The huge insects just keep coming this week - must be the time of year.



I found this praying mantis on the bathroom window last night where the cockroach had been the night before.



And no, the photo is not upside down. The mantis was upside down.

Climbing Cockroach

Continuing the theme of insects and other little critters, here's a shot of the cockroach that I found climbing up the outside of the bathroom window last night.


When we're in bed and reading with the lights on but the curtains closed, we quite often hear loud thuds and dings as these beasts fly into the glass. Fortunately none of them have found their way indoors yet and so I don't mind them too much at the moment.

Passion Vine Hopper

This lacewing shouldn't have ventured out in daylight. It sat on my study window looking pretty for a bit but then tangled itself in a spider's web. Not a very sad end given that these little blighters eat vegetables and other crops.

Dragonfly

As well as the bumble bees, I've been watching the dragonflies from my desk. I didn't think I had a hope of photographing one until I found this one on the windowsill. I'm not sure how he got in but we got him out in a pint glass and decanted him, unceremoniously, on the lawn.

Walking Stick

I had a big shock when I opened the blind one morning earlier this week to find this on the other side of the glass - a phasmatodea.



He stayed there all day, waving his antennae around, until he wandered off at some point before night fell.

Busy Bees

Not many birds around at the moment due to the hot weather. So I've been busy watching the bumble bees buzzing around the hibiscus flowers.

I was amazed when I took a break and wandered downstairs with my camera to find a ball of five bumble bees rolling around inside one of the flowers.



After I'd taken a couple of shots, the ball fell out of the flower and five fluffy bees flew off in different directions.

Tiny spider

Just before my last exams, I found a snail trail across my notes.

This morning, I found a tiny little spider, its body no bigger than the head of a pin, crawling out of my file. I took a photo of it and was amazed to see the detail in the picture - I definitely couldn't see his hairy legs even with my glasses on.

Revision Timetable

This week I will mainly be revising. Which means no trips to the beach and no photos except for pictures of things that I can see from my desk...

Sea Cave

Crab Shell

Bethell's Beach II

Bethell's Beach I

White Rabbits!

Miss Febunny strikes a pose...