This covers 12th February to 17th February
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It is said that when missionaries first encountered Maori they were a little nonplussed because the Maori had no written language, so they set about devising one. The europeans decided to reduce the number of written characters to 15 instead of the usual 26 (unkind commentators state that the missionaries believed that translating the bible would be done in half the time). Anyway the reduced alphabet meant that some sounds had to be represented by a combination of letters, hence the 'F' sound is represented by the letters 'WH'. So, if asked the question 'are you going to Whakarewarewa?' then the correct answer is a dignified 'yes'.

Friday 12th February we set forth westwards for Otorohanga which is a small town on the railway line that runs down the western side of North Island from Auckland in the north to Wellington in the far south. Otorohanga means 'the place where you would stop for a rest'. This works for us because it takes two hours on the coach to get there and then we do indeed stop for a rest, albeit a short one of 40 minutes or so; just enough to replenish the cash reserves and the lunch supplies. The station is a tiny wooden building but adequate for the one train per day which passes through here. We have a journey of nine hours ahead of us and expect to arrive in Wellington at around 7:00 pm.

This time the picture does all of the work for me; how neat is that?	This is our route, as you will see we join the train well south of Auckland but we travel to the end of the line.	Mount Ruapehu. This is one the highest montains in New Zealand and the highest in North Island at 2797 metres.

There are 32 million sheep in New Zealand, give or take a few; I thought that you would like to know that very interesting fact! However there are 70 million possum which seems a little excessive. New Zealanders say that they have proved that possum carry bovine tuberculosis, also it is a fact that the population of 70 million have decimated several tree species and that now they have become carnivores (due to lack of trees) they are consumiming large numbers of small birds and birds' eggs. They are nocturnal animals and so they are often to be seen standing on their hind legs in the middle of the road transfixed by two approaching bright white circles! Drivers try very hard not to avoid them.

We pass through a small town by the name of Kihi, which means 'the noise of the cicada'. In days gone by farmers would determine the start and finish of the planting season for crops by reference to the dates that the breeding cicadas started and stopped their mating call. Probably useless information now but I thought it was quite charming.

Welcome to Otorohanga, Kiwiana Town, they call it and these tiles have the best picture of a kiwi that I am ever likely to get (bottom right). Now, look I'm not saying that kiwi are shy ...................	Otorohanga station is a suitable size for the town and for the one train that passes through here each day. At least it was on time.	Some local ladies enjoying the benefit of Vera's views? No, the luggage gives it away .... Jan, Ronnie and Lynn enjoying a rest (and a chinwag) after an exhausting coach ride this morning!

The James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor is our base for tonight and tomorrow night (Friday 12th & Saturday 13th Feb). It's another plastic hotel that you can't really say there is anything particularly wrong with but all these 'big chain' hotels have a sameness about them and they could be located anywhere in the world. We again find that the room air conditioning has been dsiconnected to save money so we have to complain to the hotel reception until they reconnect it. The room is at 25 degrees celsius when we arrive but we do manage to get it down a few degrees (the lowest setting is 18 degrees though and at home we are used to more like 12). Amongst the door instruction hangers is the one in the photo below - does anyone fall for this sort of con? I suppose some must, I am tempted to ask what the room rate reduction is for a 'non-serviced room' but I conclude I would be wasting my time, they would not understand the question. Enough moaning!

It's a neat idea to save the hotel lots of money and they say they are helping the environment - well the environment in our room was blue, not green when I saw this.	My word I had to work hard to get this photo. I had to abseil down from the train to the bottom of the ravine (tricky), take the photo and then scramble 5 km to meet the train further down the line ..... exhausting!	Steven, our very relaxed and helpful tour guide on the left and Peter, nominally our North Island coach driver but he also gives a running commentary as we travel and is very knowlegable and entertaining.

13th Feb WELLINGTON • Wellington is New Zealand’s harbour Capital city. We start with a cable car ride [they call it a cable car but its a funicular railway] to Kelburn, where views of the blue bowl of the harbour and far reaching aspects of Oriental Bay and other scenic bays can be seen. Peter then takes us on a tour of the city and we stop at the Parliament Buildings, Old Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the Lady Norwood Rose Gardens, the National Art Gallery and Museum. Finally we are deposited at the Te Papa Museum where we spend a few happy hours followed by a rare treat: The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are performing a concert of Rossini, Vivaldi and Respuighi pieces from 3:00 pm and, amazingly, entrance is FREE!

Yes, this is my idea of a safe cablecar. WilF does not like suspension cablecars; they are not safe and the world is littered with the wreckage of many disasters involving them. Funicular is good!	NZ Parliament main entrance. No fuss, we all just strolled up and photographed it.	It was very hard to choose a picture from the rose gardens, the display was so spectacular. This one I believe is called Superstar.

Ron's Blog Hello Folks, We are a week into our trip now and it's going well. Our fellow travellers are a mixed bunch of varied ability but they all share a similar sense of fun and adventure. It took only a few hours to pick out the gigglers and we haven't really stopped since we got on the plane. The tour manager is a Welshman so we had to comiserate with him last Saturday, but he's recovering well and is determined that we don't miss an inch of NZ in the short time we are here. He is aided and abetted by the local driver/guide who seems to know all the inches so the pressure is on. We have now completed our visit to the North Island and leave on the ferry for the South Island today where we will change drivers. Peter will be a hard act to follow and I don't envy Jamie, the new man, in his task, but we shall see.

We have certainly seen some sights on this first leg and I hope you are all keeping up. We will be asking questions at the end! Time now for breakfast and 'cases out', so all for now.

14th Feb WELLINGTON • PICTON • NELSON This morning we take the 10:25 inter-island ferry to journey across the Cook Strait before entering the waters of Marlborough Sound through the Tory Channel. The ferry is an ex-Cherbourg - Portsmouth ship and so we have been on it before when it plied that route years ago; bizarre! By now it is a bit of an old bucket but it is only a three-hour trip and the views, particularly in Queen Charlotte Sound are truly spectacular so we don't really notice much about the boat. When we enter the Sound there are mountains all around us and the water is so calm and clear that it is rather like being on a Scottish Loch, only better! The photographs go nowhere near to doing justice to the scenery but I have uploaded a few to give a flavour of how magical this route really is.

On arrival in Picton we disembark and board our coach where we say hello to our driver for South Island, Jamie. He immediately lapses into an informative and amusing commentary so we know that he will be a worthy successor to Peter who we said goodbye to before boarding the ferry. We head off now for the fishing-town of Nelson, where the Mediterranean-like climate lends itself to the successful growth of apple and kiwi fruits and the whole of the national crop of hops is grown. Wood carving, pottery and painting are a few of the crafts carried out in this area and this afternoon we follow the trail of some of them. We arrive in Nelson around 4:00 pm where we check-in at the Rutherford Hotel for our two night stay.

Today we leave Windy Wellington, city of contrasts. This looks like a dolls' house in amongst the high-rise blocks, but is in fact a real one.	This is typical of the type of domestic architecture here in Wellington but there is a wide variety of styles.	Wellington, apart from being windy, is built on hilly ground so the city stands on many levels. It os New Zealand's capital city but it is relatively small and has a friendly and relaxed feel.

The route map of our crossing of the Cook Strait shows that we travel westwards to reach South Island but we end up at the same latitude as Wellington. Whilst the scenery leaving the confines of Wellington Harbour is certainly very picturesque it is no match for that of Queen Charlotte Sound.	It is hard to select between all the photos that I have taken on this ferry crossing but the main point is that, in the Sound we are completely surrounded by spectacular views.	Looking back over the ship's stern along the Sound gives a good impression of the scale.

Another lovely scene showing many islands off to the starboard side as we travel through the Sound.	Our arrival in Picton Harbour.	Ferry berths are well organised.

Having looked at the dining options in the hotel for what should be a Valentine's Night Romantic meal, we decided that we would venture forth into Nelson town to find something more appropriate. We found it in the form of a small bistro, Bar Delicious where the waiters had T-shirts showing the Leaning Tower of Pisa with the slogan 'leaning towards Italian'. We pushed the boat out somewhat but it was a delightful meal and throughout there was a young violinist playing all our classical favourites, Bruch, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Shostakovich, indded all the romantic valentine classics you could shake a stick at!

Tomorrow we intend to have an 'easy day' - there was an excursion on offer which most of the crew are going on but we have decided to 'pace ourselves', relax a little, maybe do a few wineries and or breweries and some arty things in this small town which should be a nice change from the several large cities we have stayed in over the last week or so.

Just a thought; we are learning a lot about NZ history and about the Maori and their way of life. If anyone wants to know anything in particular about NZ do let me know and I will try to find out.

15th Feb NELSON A day at leisure for us to enjoy relaxing in the hotel or exploring the town of Nelson. We seek out the bar delicious Deli (sister establishment to last night's restaurant) and we are so glad we did. There have been multiple reports that the hotel eating facilities are not so wonderful (I'm being kind) so we find the deli and have a super breakfast in nice surroundings; I think the best scrambled egg on toast I have ever tasted? Ronnie wants to exploit the (limited) clothes washing facilities in the hotel so I am at liberty to do as I please for an hour or two! I choose to walk up Church Hill to Nelson Cathedral which I explore inside and out and I am able to create for myself a few minutes of peace and delight as I circle the hill taking photgraphs and listening to the cicadas calling.

Nelson, City of Trees they say .... and there are at least 13 varieties in this little park on Church Hill. If I lived in Nelson I would spend a lot of time here.	Nelson Cathedral; this small cathedral is perched on Church Hill. Perhaps it does not look very special in my photo but it gave me a few minutes of peaceful contemplation and I suspect that it is much loved by the people of Nelson.	The bell tower is unusual, to say the least and there are many glimpses of it to be seen through the tress as you walk a full circle around the park.

With trees as green as these, there is no need of Rain Moisture enough there is in rock where seeds will sprout again Cicadas sing their songs of joy all the day and night There is no need for aught else, except God's guiding light	With trees as green as these there is no need of Sun Heat enough there is in rock where warmth will always come Nightingales do sing at dusk, some say they sing at dawn There is no need for further life except God's gentle fawn	With trees as green as these there is no need of Air Air enough there is here so I think it is quite fair Insects do not come here except those cricket types There is no need for more winged beasts in this town so nice

After the clothes washing break, we return to the same park to eat our lunch in dappled shade, still listening to those cicadas. This may sound like the waste of a precious day but we have found that an occasional 'day off' to do as we please produces benefits - it is very easy on a tour of this sort to overdo things and that then ends in tears. Another of the party succumbed yesterday afternoon on the coach down from Picton and it is purely due to lack of sleep, exhaustion and not enough 'me time'.

Nelson Information Link

16th Feb NELSON • BLENHEIM • CHRISTCHURCH Blenheim, situated on the Wairau Plain, is New Zealand’s most important wine growing region and establishment of the Montana vineyards in the late 1960s, which is our first stop today [and there is a wine-tasting and a tour of the winery]. We then join the TranzCoastal train which winds its way along the Kaikoura coast, we are told whales congregate close to the shore so we may have a glimpse of these fascinating mammals but, in the event we do not. There are glimpses of dolphins but they are fleeting glimpses and Ronnie again complains that she sees nothing! Early evening arrival in Christchurch with its distinct English elegance, colonial architecture and impressive spires. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn City Centre Hotel. I manage to make contact with Maureen who lives here and whom we have corresponded with on Friends Reunited and we are hoping to meet tomorrow afternoon so that should add considerably to the 'wow-factor' of our holiday.

We have a tour of the Montana winery and a wine tasting here. This is the largest winery in New Zealand.	Our local winery at Hondon de los Nieves boasts only two fermenting vats, Montana is doing things on a much larger scale.	These are the oak vats used for maturing the wine; different varieties of oak impart very different characters to the wines.

We join the Trans Coastal railway at Blenheim for the trip to Christchurch	The engine and coaches are a little ancient but a plaque assures us that our carriage was renovated in1992.	For the first half of the trip we cling to the Pacific coast, then we travel a little inland amongst stunning mountain scenery

Christchurch seems very English and, by New Zealand standards is a very large city; apparently it has a population in the region of 380,000. This is remarkable because the whole of the South Island has a total population of about one million. This compares to the North Island population of around three million. We eat in the hotel restaurant this evening which is pleasant enough but unremarkable, as you would expect with a chain hotel like Holiday Inn. The restaurant itself is a little tired, the blinds at the windows have seen better days (much better days) and many of the large double-glazed panels are 'blown' which all adds to an air of faded opulence but not of the 'genteel' type, more of the penny-pinching type, pity really because the food is good and the staff are very attentive and friendly.

Church Hill in Nelson got me thinking about trees and the fact that wherever we have been in New Zealand trees are a main feature. When you consider NZ's history over the last 200 years or so it is quite amazing, not that so little forest has survived but that so much forest still remains. There are about 260 species of trees native to NZ (about 30 native species in the UK). My favourite to date is the Kauri of which there were originally vast forests; it grows only north of 38 degrees latitude and is a majestic tree. It may not be the tallest New Zealand native tree but it is unquestionably the largest and noblest of trees. It grows to 30 metres in height and they are often unbranched for the lowest 20 metres, the trunks are staight and untapered. You have to see the trees to appreciate the scale and immensity. The round female seed-bearing cones are spherical and up to 3 inches in diameter. It seems that many, many trees were cut down and abandoned when early settlers cleared the forests for farmland. Recently large numbers of these buried trees have been unearthed and recovered and it seems that the timber, some of it having lain buried for hundreds of years, is still preserved in first-class condition.

17th Feb CHRISTCHURCH This morning we travel to the quaint township of Lyttelton perched on the hillside overlooking the harbour, where once a massive volcano erupted and its crater was filled by the sea. Besides the marine bird life and penguins we are likely to espy, undoubtedly the highlight of the cruise is the sighting of the Hector’s dolphins, the smallest and rarest in the world. We embark and set sail in the catamaran at 10:00 - there is a measure of trepidation because Ronnie is convinced that she will jinx the cruise and that we will not see any dolphins at all. In the event all is well, We are only 15 minutes out and I spot dolphins on the starboard side so I tell the captain and he brings the boat round to meet them within a minute. There are several dolphins feeding and now playing in the boat's bow wave. These are Hector's Dolphins which are small, males 1.2 metres and females 1.4 metres maximum. And I am really, really lucky as I am snapping off photos I manage to catch two dolphins playing to their audience so I get quite a good picture of them swimming just below the surface. Ronnie is SO excited I think she is going to blow a fuse! We have been on dolphin-watch before and ronnie has never managed to catch even a glimpse of a dolphin, not even a glimmer and today we see several before we even realise we are on a boat and about twenty five dolphins in total!

Hector's Dolphins playing to the crowd, my camera just happening to be in the right place at the right time........	No, not penguins, cormorants (keep up on the back row!)	Eight million pounds worth of Spanish yacht sailing along with us, but we enjoyed ourselves more!

We have been in contact with Maureen whom I met on Friends Reunited (Poets Corner) some months ago and she lives right here in Christchurch. We arranged before we left England that Ronnie and I would try to meet up with Maureen when we arrived in Christchurch so we have spoken on the telephone and she is going to come to our hotel this afternoon around 1:30. After the excitement of the dolphins this morning we are excited again! This seems like a 'cool' thing for us to do - it's a bit like an internet date but without the risks! Maureen arrives early and we hit it off immediately; I remark to myself that within less than half an hour Ronnie and Maureen are chatting away as if they have known each other all their lives. Maureen lives at Diamond Harbour which is on Banks Peninsula east of Christchurch and she takes us by car for a tour of the Peninsula and some photo-opportunities to die for! The weather is a little dull and cloudy and the low cloud does interfere with the views but they are still spectacular views. At afternoon-tea time we go to see Stoddart Cottage (see pics) and then to a splendid tea rooms for afternoon tea at Godley House. We visit Maureen's house for more tea so we get to see how a real Kiwi lives. This is something we would not normally do on an organised tour such as ours and we also meet Ruby, a lakeland terrier and one of two cats (Boysey) so we are very grateful for this glimpse into real New Zealand life. To round off the day we go to a rather splendid Indian restaurand in North Christchurch, the Maharaja and had one of the best Indian meals ever. Maureen you gave us a lovely afternoon and evening, we are so grateful and so glad we could meet. We are looking forward to meeting up again on our return next week.

This beautiful old cottage has been sympathetically restored	And this explains about the cottage	The tea rooms with such fantastic views

The tea rooms gardens have these fantastic views over the bay area.	Diamond Harbour Jetty.	The Diamond Harbour ferry which goes across the bay to Christchurch.

Ron's Blog
Hello again from 'in zid'>
What an exciting day. I can't count the hours I've spent gazing intentely out to sea trying to spot a dolphin, or a whale, or an anything really. They have always just disappeared as I look. Even organised spotting trips have failed to produce a sighting, so imagine the elation when today I saw not one, but about 25 altogether. I haven't been this thrilled since I got a bike for Christmas.(I know, I should get out more) I still can't quite believe it. Needless to say I'm up for spotting a whale next.
The afternoon was great too. Meeting Maureen and seeing a bit of real Kiwi life. What a nice lady, and so generous with her time and patience. Hope we can see her again before we leave.
Don's birthday tomorrow so hope the weather is kind. We had the first rain on our trip this evening. Very early start tomorrow so time for bed.

Ron xx

This concludes my Week 2 blog page, tomorrow we take the train to Greymouth across on the west coast and then we motor northwards slightly to PUNAKAIKI.

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