New Zealand visit.

[Fitzy]

Welcome to my newest thread. Landed in Christchurch, had a look around and then we drove to Lake Tekapo which is a bright blue lake surrounded by snow capped mountains, which probably means little to anybody else, but when you live in the tropics it's a bit special. It's also considerably cooler than the coast.

My first observation was how polite the locals are and how courteous the drivers are. I'm sure that'll change when we get to Taupo! Christchurch is a progressive city but small enough to be quaint. Everything looks manicured, even the farmland between towns is neat and tidy. All the road signage is UK based and there is a strong English influence in the way the houses look and how little villages pop up now and again along the highway. The food & service has been excellent so far.

Seen a handful of nicely restored old cars - a Mustang, 2 door Impala and a hot rod so far. I couldn't get any pics as I was driving at the time.

The attached pic is Lake Tekapo.

[JUSTA6]

Beautiful.  Looking forward to your pic's N story's.

[Ringo64]

Wow! That is amazingly beautiful! Jealous 

[KiwiStarChief]

Just wait till you head up to Auckland and see what you think about courteous drivers! Have a great holiday.

We are just off on a 4 week cruise up the East coast of Australia, otherwise I would have offered you a blast in the '57.

Edited September 4, 2022 by KiwiStarChief

[Wrongway]

Beautiful bro!

[Fitzy]

Thanks Guys - it's certainly a pretty place. Today we arrived in Queenstown, which is BUSY. The traffic snarl made me turn around, park the car and we just walked everywhere - much better that way. Queenstown borders another blue lake. The wind chill is enough to make me moan and carry on, but we walked around anyway.

The attached pics are of a little place called Arrowtown and the Roaring Meg River - both were en route to Queenstown.

I liked Russell's comment on courteous drivers. I am in no doubt I'm gonna get pushed around whilst trying to navigate Auckland. You know, if I see a hire car in front of me I'll always hang back and expect them to do erratic things or I get past them and leave them to it. I do not sit up their arse and act like a prick - I leave that to all the other aggressive redneck shit Australian drivers.

On a lighter note - I dined on Salmon Wellington last night. Salmon wrapped in cheesey spinach, in filo and baked. Pretty damn good.

[64 kiwi boni]

6 hours ago, KiwiStarChief said:

Just wait till you head up to Auckland and see what you think about courteous drivers! Have a great holiday

I have to agree ! We have spent the last 3 days in Auckland at our grand daughter's 1 st birthday  and  I sooo do not enjoy the traffic there ! 

Pete ! Great pictures mate 

get ready .  Next few days are going to be wayyy colder ! Winter hasn’t finished with us yet ! 
 I think they are talking snow where you are mate 

Edited September 4, 2022 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

[Fitzy]

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

[JUSTA6]

Justa WOW.  Beautiful shots.  In the 1st one, I believe you caught a UFO.  

[64 kiwi boni]

Your doing great with your pictures mate! how the snow level this morning ? 

We managed to miss it here in Taupo, but the roads to the east of us are closed

the weather is forcast to be nice for the next few days for you 

[Fitzy]

14 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Justa WOW.  Beautiful shots.  In the 1st one, I believe you caught a UFO.  

NOW I see it! Damn thing had been following us for days. No anal probing has occurred...yet.

We braved the cold and walked to a little restaurant last night, then when we woke it had snowed. Staying at Dunedin tonight. I wanted to go to Invercargill and have a look at Bert Munro's Fastest Indian bike but apparently there was not enough time in our itinerary, that's why we're now sitting in a hotel room twiddling our thumbs. I'll come on my own next time!

Dunedin...well, there seem to be an abnormal amount of weirdoes here - I thought we were in Taupo by accident. So, with the freezing wind and hordes of homeless and nutbags, I think I'll just sneak imto the bar next door and I'm done.

The pics are of our little walk for a coffee this morning across the frozen grass. I also saw a superbly restored Galaxie (65 or 66 I'm guessing) and a little Austin A30. 750cc of raw English power. I have attached a file pic for our International viewers.

[64 kiwi boni]

oh look frosty was here!

[64 kiwi boni]

mate after your long walk today . take the boss here...

https://www.thecraic.co.nz/

its in the centre of Dunnas' 

Edited September 6, 2022 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

2 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Dunedin...well, there seem to be an abnormal amount of weirdoes here

those are uni students mate!!!

 oh and while your in dunnas' best you walk the steepest street on the plant mate !!!

baldwin street !! i have walked it ... its a mission !

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2020/4/baldwin-street-in-new-zealand-reinstated-as-the-worlds-steepest-street-614287#:~:text=Baldwin Street%2C in Dunedin%2C New,after a formal record review.&text=Baldwin street previously held the,Llech%2C in Harlech%2C Wales.

Truely you have to stand at the bottom and look up.. its crazy steep!

[Fitzy]

Nah, these are your generic Class 1 common garden variety weirdo - cardboard sign, shopping trolley full of stuff, lots of facial hair...the men too.

We went to The Craic and sat next to the open fire whilst the guitarist & mandolin player warbled away with traditional Irish tunes. I had yet another Guinness (I LOVE Guinness) and wondered idly if the cute little barmaid would ever sleep with me. Upon deciding that I was dreaming my life away, we went back to our warm hotel room.

We'll have a look at Baldwin St on the way outa town tomorrow and will find somewhere funky to enjoy coffee & breakfast.

I saw a Lamborghini today. What on earth is one of those doing out here? Mind you, if it wasn't for the threat of a fine or jail, you would go as fast as you liked on these superb roads.  No traffic and well made sweeping roads through lovely country - perfect for the enthusiast driver.

One other observation: the hotel rooms here have clothes hangers that you can remove in order to hang your clothes. In Australia, the hangers in hotels are theftproof: you can remove the hanger but not the hook it attaches to. Apparently Australians steal clothes hangers. This is bizarre and embarrassing. What sort of Barbarians steal clothes hangers? The same ones who can't have a drink without getting shitfaced. This trip brings home to me just how badly behaved Australians can be. Really embarrassing. We're not all like that, but just like everywhere, all it takes is for the few bad apples to ruin the general reputation.

[Frosty]

On 9/3/2022 at 12:57 AM, Fitzy said:

Welcome to my newest thread. Landed in Christchurch, had a look around and then we drove to Lake Tekapo which is a bright blue lake surrounded by snow capped mountains, which probably means little to anybody else, but when you live in the tropics it's a bit special. It's also considerably cooler than the coast.

My first observation was how polite the locals are and how courteous the drivers are. I'm sure that'll change when we get to Taupo! Christchurch is a progressive city but small enough to be quaint. Everything looks manicured, even the farmland between towns is neat and tidy. All the road signage is UK based and there is a strong English influence in the way the houses look and how little villages pop up now and again along the highway. The food & service has been excellent so far.

Seen a handful of nicely restored old cars - a Mustang, 2 door Impala and a hot rod so far. I couldn't get any pics as I was driving at the time.

The attached pic is Lake Tekapo.

This photo reminds me a lot of Lake Tahoe California and perhaps a little of Alyeska Alaska. Both have nearby ski resorts near the water. Great views. Thanks for shariing.

On 9/4/2022 at 12:51 AM, Fitzy said:

Thanks Guys - it's certainly a pretty place. Today we arrived in Queenstown, which is BUSY. The traffic snarl made me turn around, park the car and we just walked everywhere - much better that way. Queenstown borders another blue lake. The wind chill is enough to make me moan and carry on, but we walked around anyway.

The attached pics are of a little place called Arrowtown and the Roaring Meg River - both were en route to Queenstown.

I liked Russell's comment on courteous drivers. I am in no doubt I'm gonna get pushed around whilst trying to navigate Auckland. You know, if I see a hire car in front of me I'll always hang back and expect them to do erratic things or I get past them and leave them to it. I do not sit up their arse and act like a prick - I leave that to all the other aggressive redneck shit Australian drivers.

On a lighter note - I dined on Salmon Wellington last night. Salmon wrapped in cheesey spinach, in filo and baked. Pretty damn good.

This definitely reminds me of Colorado, Utah, and California mountain terrain. Nice to know that NZ has similar driving conditions.

 

Drive safely mate!

[JUSTA6]

6 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

those are uni students mate!!!

 oh and while your in dunnas' best you walk the steepest street on the plant mate !!!

baldwin street !! i have walked it ... its a mission !

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2020/4/baldwin-street-in-new-zealand-reinstated-as-the-worlds-steepest-street-614287#:~:text=Baldwin Street%2C in Dunedin%2C New,after a formal record review.&text=Baldwin street previously held the,Llech%2C in Harlech%2C Wales.

Truely you have to stand at the bottom and look up.. its crazy steep!

That's cool, but not with snow N ice.  Here we cover it in salt or brine solution.  In the UK they cover it in grit.  How does NZ deal these probs?

Edited September 6, 2022 by JUSTA6

[JUSTA6]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

This photo reminds me a lot of Lake Tahoe California and perhaps a little of Alyeska Alaska. Both have nearby ski resorts near the water. 

 

Drive safely mate!

Good call on Alyeska Alaska.  Harrison Ford and this then new wife/Boss Calista Flockhart were there for their honeymoon when we were there.  No hat, No whip.... that's where he messed up. 

[64 kiwi boni]

6 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

That's cool, but not with snow N ice.  Here we cover it in salt or brine solution.  In the UK they cover it in grit.  How does NZ deal these probs?

JustA , here in nz they use grit and cma anti icing agent, Calcium magnesium acetate.

[JUSTA6]

43 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

JustA , here in nz they use grit and cma anti icing agent, Calcium magnesium acetate.

Ok, so how do they apply it to the hill?      We were in the UK and an inch and half of snow shut down London completely.  Stay Home!!  Stay off the roads until they could be gritted.  Had a good chuckle over that one.  That's LIL more than a Frosty sneeze on the mitten here.

[Fitzy]

Firstly, thanks to Ringo for putting this thread in the correct forum for me. Off Topic suits it better than the Progression page.

Had a look at Baldwin St - man, that's steep. I took a pic from the safety of the car and then we headed off up the coast. The little windy road that exits Dunedin was very pretty: narrow and through farmland. We had a killer breakfast at some little town and then stumbled across 'Steampunk HQ' IN Oamaru. I'm sure you're all aware of what Steampunk is: think Rat Rod style meets clothing, jewellery and machinery. I love this sort of thing. If I had any imagination I'd happily create this stuff all day. Anyway, I hope you like the pics.Looking up Baldwin St - photo cannot capture it's steepness.This thing was massive - those are fullsize tractor tyres.

[64 kiwi boni]

This image does not do justise too how steep this street is..

i am dissapointed mate !

i thought you would have a go at walking up it !!

its a real grind !

[Fitzy]

I've been doing enough walking, thank you. Trudging through the Botanical Gardens yesterday was quite the workout. Anyway, we got to Baldwin St uncaffeinated, so no time to muck about walking - there was coffee to find.

[Spike]

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻

On 9/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, Fitzy said:

We departed Queenstown this morning and I was glad to get out of the place - too busy. We did a pretty big drive all the way to Milford Sound and then back to Te Anau, another little town built next to a lake. In case you're not aware, Milford Sound has been described as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. It is achingly beautiful and spectacular. We drove through sleet, snow & rain to get there but when we arrived it was bright & sunny. This mountain country is simply awesome. Bit cold though...

Cold? It's bloody freezing...literally. The jacket I bought in Andorra several years ago that has been sitting forlorn in my wardrobe has been worth it's weight in gold.

Yeah, these are top pix for sure 👍🏻 NZ is such a  magnificent place and just outside every city or town is such awesome country everywhere you look. It’s a bit like all four seasons in one view.

cheers from Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺👍🏻