Picton, our last hurrah on theS. Island

Picton is where the ferry to the north island departs. It's also home to Julie, Russel, and their 18 mo old daughter Emily. Russel is a paragliding instructor on the side, with 2 sail boats, a few kayaks, bunch of bikes, a subaru, a Toyota Hi Ace 4wd SuperCustom, and an amazing house overlooking Picton... not that we were jealous or anything...

Here's Kimbo playing with Em and her jeep.

Laura playing with her after she had a little accident.

Since the wind was too strong, we couldn't fly and we decided to head out to go sailing on their new sailboat. This was their second time on it.

Russ heading out to their moored boat.

Unfortunately there wasn't much wind so we couldn't actually sail, but we motored over to a nice bay on the Queen Charlotte track, cooked some dinner, drank some wine, and did some fishing!

Caught a few mullets... worth keeping too.



Next morning, we went ashore to check out the bay... and use their toilet...

Hmm... doesn't look too hi-tech to me...

Back at the house, we decided to use the smoker on the mullets we caught for lunch.

Mmmm

And we hurried off to the ferry.

Kevin turned into Flash.

Wellington resembled SF from the ferry, with a nice harbor, tall buildings and hills in the backdrop. When we walked around for a bit, we decided it feels like it too, with hipster hanging out on every corner.

After a nice 3 hour boat ride to Wellington, we found out that Matt & Kim were playing at a very hipster bar called the Mighty Mighty, so we fanagled some tickets to see the show.

Kim spinning the wheel to see if she can get a free beer... but instead she made 30 sec. of animal noises...

Oh, there was a street performer outside playing Dylan covers all night. This guy looked just like a young dyan and was spot on. That was another bonus... maybe I'll post to YouTube sometime...

That night we did the most urban camping on the trip, sleeping in our van about 20 ft from Cuba St. Mall. With Boy Racers cruising by all night, wasn't the most restful night...

Kim was going to buy me this shirt, but I flung poo at her.

Renwick WIne Tour... (May 5, 2009)

After a long drive up the west coast, we arrived in Renwick on Cinco de Mayo. Renwick and Blenheim lie in the Marlborough region, the largest wine region in NZ. So we decided to sample some.

Camping out the night before.


Next to a nice looking river.


We drove a short way to Watson's Way Backpackers where we rented bikes... and Kevin, our resident expert in NZ had been here on his trip 5 years ago... every other day or so he says, "Oh... I've been here before."


And we're off...


Kim cheating on Mingus...


We stopped in at Prenzel tasting room, where the nice lady fed us shots of whatever we wanted... very dangerous.


These are called Rigid Richards... very dangerous...


After visiting a few more wineries, we had a picnic lunch outside, and headed back. Overall, with the cooler climates, the wines are mainly white wines, with some lighter reds at a few wineries. The climate here doesn't allow for strong, bold reds, characteristic of California Wines.





Next morning, despite a short shower, we played some tennis in the back of the backpackers.


Here's a picture to reward you readers, if you made it this far...

Welcome Flat Hut (May 1-3, 2009)

We had heard about the welcome flat hut from numerous folks and were very excited to head up there, especially considering we hadn't been to any hot springs on this volcanic island.

...but it's a long way in, with many small stream crossings.


And the trail is in need of some repair. Lots of landslide activities on the way.


a makeshift "bridge"


And some real long bridges too...


Looking down...


LKM at the hut with a steamy cup of tea.


and the main attraction. The hot springs are... AMAZING... there are three pools, all with room for 10+ folks.






And the views from the springs aren't too shabby...




Took a quick walk up the valley the next morning to see some more snow and glaciers.




and the essential rainbow.


Back in the hot spring... I think I went in 8 times during our two night visit.






Including two night soaks with a near-full moon.


One more quick soak...


and we're back in civilization... at Franz Josef


After this hut, we decided all huts should have a hot spring at the hut. Oh and the hut warden is the author of the hot springs guidebook to NZ. She lives for soaking... she's even contributed as author for hot springs guidebooks in North America.

I'll leave you with some bacon varieties...