I slept wonderfully. Apart from between 12:00am and 2:00am when three large gangs of middle aged women who had attended the World of WearableArt Show arrived back at the hotel. The first group treated the rest of the building to renditions of songs from Grease and Abba at obnoxiously high volumes. A second group got a trifle confused with what floor their room was on. This they solved by phoning a friend who was clearly deaf! While a third group in fits of giggling and laughter bounced their way off doors and walls down the corridor to the end of the hall. To show my appreciation, the next morning I replied in kind with several long blasts of my car horn as I departed for the Ferry at 6:00am! ‘I hope the show was terrible’ I muttered as I went in search of coffee! That morning the Wellington waterfront and harbour was a true sight to behold. The day was breaking still and calm. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, nor a ripple on the water. It was so nice I didn’t even mind the ferry to Picton was 45 minutes late, this was Wellington on a good day. John's Blog https://fromasmallcity.nz/ The latest print price guide: https://bit.ly/3oLw9OI
The ferry docked in Picton on a stunning day. All the little bays and inlets that made up the Marlborough Sounds near Picton looked ideal for swimming and soaking up the sun. Driving off the ferry, it was the type of day that made me realise why so many people decide to spend an extra day or two in the area. Once off the ferry I stopped to refuel both the car and myself before starting the 692km journey home. Leaving Picton, I passed by Mount Pleasant, Koromiko and Spring Creek before taking the wrong exit at a roundabout in Blenheim, eventually finding the correct road that took me through the Weld Pass and on to Kaikoura. It was somewhere along the Kaikoura coast, near the famous food truck Nin’s Bin that I started randomly pondering about the sites that I was passing. This led me to the conclusion that it’s amazing what you remember that you forget when you’re looking out a window. It also lead me to several observations about driving in New Zealand: Keeping left unless overtaking in a passing lane is apparently quite hard. Fields of Rapeseed are very pretty but have such an unfortunate name. The three waters bill doesn’t appear to be very popular. You can always tell buildings that were once a petrol station. Fonterra trucks turn often. There are plenty of places to buy bales of hay and horse poo. If we are living in the digital age, how come there are parts of State Highway 1 where I can’t get coverage? State Highway 1 is no place for a restored steam tractor to be towing a caravan and a car, no matter how lovely and old it is. Snow capped peaks and high mountain ranges that sit on the edge of the horizon alway look lonely yet strangely enticing. I love the sight of Dunedin from the Northern Motorway when you’re travelling south. John's Blog https://fromasmallcity.nz/ The latest print price guide: https://bit.ly/3oLw9OI
I recently found Falls Dam at Fiddlers Flat. The only problem was, I wasn’t actually looking for the dam. I was looking for the Falls Dam fishing village, which, it turns out, is located further down the lake. After spending time in Oturehua, located in the Ida Valley, I proceeded to Hills Creek before continuing on the Wedderburn-Becks Road, until I met-up with the St Bathans Loop Road. I was heading for Falls Dam and it wasn’t long before I came to Fiddlers Flat Road and a signpost that read, ‘Falls Dam 6km’. John's Blog https://fromasmallcity.nz/ The latest print price guide: https://bit.ly/3oLw9OI
