Day 78 - scenery around Hanmer Springs

After an unpromising damp and dull morning, it brightened up by lunchtime; another session on the trampoline (whew!), followed by a whiz round the lovely countryside of Hanmer Springs

Oh dear, here comes the rain again...

Day 77 - Hanmer Springs : the sun has (finally) got his hat on

Just as we were about to be deported for bringing the rain, a reprieve when the sun came out at long last. 

That could mean only one thing... Duncan's shorts (of course!) and time for the trampoline to tire out the twins, and equally knacker Sara the Tiny-toe-Eating-Monster 

and Duncan the magical protective Bouncing Kangaroo.

Not forgetting Mummy of course...

Duncan in charge of the Gator (that's our comfy little house in the background)

and also in charge of keeping everything in balance

Day 76 - a day-trip to Christchurch

We were last here in 2002 and we all know what's happened since then. 

Some things look just the same and you'd think that you were still in Oxbridge-on-Zealand of old

Spot the interloper...

but others sadly very different

The Christchurch Museum ...

is diverse - from Maori meeting-hall doors (check out those paua eyes again)

to recreated 18th century ChCh streets, complete with pennyfarthing, 

to "Antarctica" (though Scott got a much bigger write-up than Amundsen!). And, best of all, someone in the exhibitions dept is in a festive mood...

Day 74 and 75 - Hanmer Springs : and still it rains (but we don't care)

Lots of time for serious construction projects...

... paying neighbourly calls...

waging pompom war (I was ultimately forced to surrender - faulty machinery - until then, I'd had them on the run!)

Eventually the rain slowed and we ventured into town - Hanmer Springs (named after Thomas Hanmer, owner of Hawkeswood Station near the Conway river during the 1850s; population : 853; centred [unsurprisingly] around hot springs, discovered in the late 19th century) is a cute little place. So far we've met PJ the fish'n'chips-cum-catering man and Tony who runs the post office - soon we'll be practically locals.

Day 73 - Hanmer Springs : the English visitors bring rain...

Yesterday, sunshine; then visitors arrive and so do the clouds...  So, a damp day in Hanmer Springs.  

Ideal for making bran and banana muffins! And a little storytelling and finger puppet entertainment for the twins!

Day 72 - Kekerengu to Hanmer Springs

Drinking sauvignon blanc til late into the wee hours at our Kekerengu B&B was a good start to the South Island.  We blew away the cobwebs next morning with another look at the beach

and then headed south along the main coast road (with very odd moving mist banks following us down), 

via a teeny-tiny church 

with a graveyard view to die for

spotting a few furry seals and a parlour for healthy portions of hokey pokey ice cream, and naturally a playground...

finally quitting the beautiful coast

to come home to Hanmer Springs...

Day 71 - Picton to Kekerengu

Sunny morning in Picton

and a visit to a museum run by dedicated locals who've rescued an 1853-built merchant ship called the Edwin Fox, claimed to be the 9th oldest merchant ship still in existence, and of course charting her life, starting with being crafted from teak and saul in Bengal, to transport a wide variety of cargo including carcasses (lamb, of course!), coal, convicts, soldiers to the Crimea, and 751 Brits to their brave new world (another claim is that she's the oldest surviving craft which conveyed settlers).  Since holing up in dry dock, she's fared well and is an impressive sight.

Morag and Pete (and the twins, Lexie and Bella), very kindly drove up from Hanmer Springs to collect us, and we're overnighting in Kekerengu near Kaikoura, en route back, travelling through lovely South Island scenery, ending the day with an evening walk along the beach.

Day 70 - Cook Strait over to a whole new island

Dull dull misty start - grrr.  But, o ye of little faith, it cleared up.  A beautiful bright end to a calm crossing from Wton to Picton over the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands (also connecting the Tasman Sea to the west with the South Pacific) - 22 km (14 mile) wide at its narrowest point but apparently one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world.

But I'm getting ahead of myself - in the morning, we caught the 10am tour of the Parliament (Parliament House including the House of Representatives, the Parliamentary Library and the Beehive - or Executive Wing)  Much focus on the wonders of reinforcing the building and the floor to make it (more) earth-proof and emphasising how they've flogged on the know-how to San Fran and Tokyo (party line to justify spending those tax dollars!) but also some history on the rebuild after the 1907 fire and the duly impressive Chamber of Representatives .  

Sadly, no cameras allowed inside so you'll have to imagine the wooden wall-carvings with paua (local mother-of-pearl abalone shell) in the warriors' eye-sockets, adopting very fetching grimaces and bellicose tongue poking; the post-fire recreated marble panelling, stained glass, tiled floors (from Stoke-on-Trent, the only thing which appeared not to be locally sourced).

And then to Bluebridge terminal 

for a very full Straitsman ferry; the BlueBridge competitor, Interislander, last week "lost" a propeller (apparently it fell off in the Strait and divers haven't found it yet - is that the sound of the negligence action Claim Form being drafted?) and so we were choc-a-block.  

Two interesting facts of the day (well, well-known and/or self-evident for any Kiwis...) : when you travel from Wton on the North island to Picton on the South island, you're actually going due West as they're on the same latitude, and the ferry counts as a continuation of State Highway, allowing it to run the length of the islands.  These facts we read on signs at the Picton waterfront, eating our excellent fish and chips as we watch the sunset...

But meanwhile one last shot of the day...

Day 69 - Wangarui and back down to Wellington

It was such a lovely morning today that we went back to yesterday's Durie Tower and yes I too climbed the 179 steps.  Turns out that it was built in 1925 and is dedicated to the 513 "young people from Wanganui" who died in WW1.  

Then, remembering our promise to ourselves to revisit Te Papa, we scooted back to Wellington.  

As well as the parliament ("Beehive" unsurprisingly) which we'll try to tour tomorrow morning (see beside it the statue of Richard Seddon, born a Lancastrian, who is generally considered a good egg, having introduced old age pension legislation and overseen a bill permitting women's suffrage in 1893, well before anyone else thought of such a curious notion (though an account of his personal views on the topic depends on what you read!),  

the "old" St Paul's cathedral, dating from 1866 (and the replacement, though only on a drive-by)

and up to Mount Victoria for a cracking view of the city in the sunshine

and you can just make out a BlueBridge ferry coming into harbour, maybe the one which will take us to Picton tomorrow at 1.30

And finally back to Te Papa for a squint at the squid; colossal :  apparently its remaining eyeball (one fell out) is the size of a football...  And, with apologies to Te Papa and a caveat that we haven't looked at it, I feel it my duty to share the "build your own squid" link : http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/build-a-squid