Monday 16th
We stayed in chch the night. John went up to Wellington for the graduation of his son Ross and flew back at 1.00pm on  tuesday.

Proud father and son

Proud Parents

We stayed at a lovely campsite near Chch airport named Christchurch North South Airport Park in the (NZMCA 1725 ) $34.00 for the night for two with  power. Andy and Kathy Bryce looked after us there . We met them at the Agm easter weekend. It was great to catch up with them again and have a chat.

While John was in Wellington, Mel & Pete & Marg went to the Antaratic Centre. This sure is a must to visit when in Christchurch. We spent four hours here and did not see it all . We were lucky enough to see the little Blue Penguins being fed some fish. Every little blue penguin at the centre had been rescued.
They had either been hit by boat motors etc. or damaged by fishing nets or larger seals.
The Blue penguin is the smallest and most nocturnal of the 18 species of penguins in the world.
The stand only 40cm high and weigh one kilogram. They can reach speeds of up to 6 kilometers an hour.  But they can swim up to 50 kilometers a day looking for food, and dive up to a depths of up to 30 metres to catch the 240grams of fish (about 24 small fish) they need to maintain their weight.
Between February and March they moult and live on the shore during this 2 - 3 weeks period.
Breeding takes place in September where, after a gestation period  of 20 days the female will lay two identical eggs. Incubation of the eggs will last on a average of 37 days.
The chicks are born blind and almost naked. At about 8 weeks old the chicks are ready to leave the nest and go to sea. They spend their first year at sea not coming ashore anywhere until they are at least ten months old.

Went on a Hagglund around the centre that sure was different and fun. (Sorry no photos until Mel and Pete get back to England and send them to us. John had the camera in wgtn with him.)

After collecting John from the airport we made our way to Hanmer Springs for a relaxing two nights.
Spent a lovely afternoon soaking in the hot pools . This was a first time for Mel and Pete in these pools.
The weather here was lovely there was not a cloud in the sky while we were in the pool. There was a covering of light snow on the surounding hills and there was a slight frost in the morning  when we left.

Mel & Pete. Marg & John  Hanmersprings hot pools

Hill by camping ground in Hanmersprings

Thursday 19th,
Made our way to Motueka. Stayed at the Top 10 and once again a very nice camping ground to stay at $36.00 for two with power.  The only people staying here were people with motorhomes. There had been a lot of rain and the ground was very wet in places.
Friday brought us a lovely sunny day and no wind. Off we went to drive over the Takaka Hill. Peter drove this lovely scenic route and said that is was the most winding road he had driven on for some time.
We visited the  Ngarua Caves at the top of the Takaka Hill . This was a amazing site of under ground caves.  A middle earth experience  seeing millions of stalactites and stalactmites,  skeletal remains of
 New Zealand 's extinct flightless bird,  the moa and kiwi. You had a tour guide take you into these for a 1 hour tour . Well worth the $15.00 per person.

kiwi bones found in the caves

white marble 45 million years old from a local quarry

Moa bones found in the caves

Cathedral in the caves

rock formation caused by water

the thinker

The haul of a boat in the rocks

Lunch in Takaka a lovely home made pie and chips yummy. 
From here we travelled 6 k out of Takaka to the Waikoropupu Springs. These are a must to visit if you are in the area.

Pu Pu spirngs

We stayed at Kaiteriteri Motor camp and we were told of some glow worms that could be seen on a walk way near the camp in the evening when dark. We did this short walk after tea and found them. Mel and Pete had never seen them before and were amazed at what they saw.

sunrise at Kaiteriteri



Kaiteriteri inlet