Crayfish in Kaikoura to World War I in Blenheim

The weather is just wonderful, it was so hot in Akaroa, we had to close the curtains late afternoon or we would have fried.
So up reasonably early and on recommendation of Linda and Neil (new best friends from Akaroa)we stopped at the The Little River Cottage for breakfast.

They have an excellent art gallery but we were too early for that but not too early for breakfast.

I had the Bacon Butty

And Dale had Vegetable Samosas a little unusual for brekki but delicious no less!!!

We bypassed Christchurch as we have all of the cities so far we are not on that kind of a tour.
Now we thought what we had seen of the South Island so far was pretty amazing but nothing prepared me for Kaikoura

Where the mountains meet the sea.
It is once again awe inspiring.

Look at these colours magnificentUnfortunately for our friend Debbie she was in Kaikoura for a dear relative’s funeral.
But it was fortunate for us as we were able to meet for lunch.
Kaikoura is famous for many things. Whale and dolphin watching.
Originally we had planned on doing one of those trips but as we have been up close and personal with dolphins and even a whale on the good ship Cajun Moon we swapped that activity for a crayfish lunch with Debbie and Summer her daughter

The information Centre was very helpful and we passed on the trendy Cafes and took their advice and went to the Lobster Inn. A tavern no less.
Very much the Sports bar. We ordered a whole cray each and Debbie supplied a bottle of the local wine. Our driver abstained but I helped the girls consume the bottle.

Steamed Crayfish with dipping sauce of malt vinegar and melted garlic butter and chips.
Just like it should be...wonderful. They added a ramekin of Thai Chili Sauce. Not necessary in my book. This was by the way the most expensive lunch without wine. Crayfish doesn't come cheap. BUT it is worth every penny
We took leave of the girls and The Lobster Inn

I loved these little Cray Shacks you can eat in or take out. They are so much fun.

And continued north.
No matter which way you look there is beauty.
Another good hint from John Wallace. Stop for coffee at The Store in Kekerengu

How’s that for a view from your restaurant

Good coffee, nice home baking

The colour of the water on this coast is like a tropical island.

Just beautiful.

So back to Blenheim the Heart of Marlborough home of the world’s best Sauvignon Blancs and …was it only 11 days since we lunched at Wairau River Café with Tony?

Tony and Annie’s house is nestled in their own parkland

Not only do they live there but they operate an excellent Home-stay look at their website

And guess who has yet another best friend.
Tessa was entranced with Dale she just wanted to lean on him.

Great humour for the troops.

Some wine and a tasting of their Olive oil with warm bread...It was beautiful. We have a souvenir of this on Dale’s shirt. Even after a good spray with Frend it is still there Never mind.

A bit of Napisan when we return should suffice.

Annie had made an excellent vegetable lasagne.
Well fed and watered, we retired.

Annie and I walked the dog, Tony went into town for his constitutional…coffee – the paper – the mail. All within spitting distance.
Well of course there are 2 Sudoku people at Chez Preston, Annie and Dale, so to keep the peace Tony photocopied all of the puzzles for them.
He also booked us into "His" Café Figaro for lunch.

Run by a cheerful crew it soon filled up. We had excellent lunch
Tony had Thai prawn salad

Dale had the Salmon

Annie and I had the sandwich - mine was Chicken Caesar Salad
Annie went for the lamb

The food is outstanding. Great coffee yet again and a little Pinot Gris on the side.

We had to have a little rest. It is so hot here as well. Around 30C .
Tony’s exercise for the day

Now a must see is the Aviation Museum at Omaka

Apparently the local society was putting this Aviation project together but they got a bonus. Peter Jackson of “Lord of the Rings” fame has a passion for World War I aircraft and memorabilia. He has invested several million dollars. Lucky Blenheim.
This is a World Class museum. Just a few images

Looking at the road map to find their way.

Hopefully these guys had a good eye in order to drop the bombs

This so so lifelike you want to lean out and touch them

I love this tableau below.

This pilot was about to crash and he climbed out onto the wing ready to jump, just before crashing his out of control plane, (as they did) but he discovered that by standing on the wing and holding onto the wheel he could maneuver the plane, and landed it and saved himself.

Those wonderful young men and their flying machines.

Manfred von Richthofen "The Red Baron" the Uber Hero of WWI was finally shot down by a lone Australian Gunner. This tableau depicts the Aussies grabbing souvenirs.
Apparently The Red Baron’s family was so impressed with the exhibition they donated memorabilia to the museum.

These exciting young men formed what was known as The Flying Circus

The Red Baron in the centre.

He was only 25 when he got shot down. I found this museum very moving what a waste of life.

But what a marvellous monument to these brave men from all sides.

It is sensational.

So to dinner…

Whitehaven Restaurant…fine dining one side...Pizzeria the other.
We took the Pizza option and more wonderful Marlborough wine.
Being very drink driving conscious we left the car and waddled home.

A lovely balmy evening…just a gentle 20 minute stroll.

Some extra wine to finish off the night.
So an early morning start
Bye to apresto.co.nz
I would award this establishment
♥♥♥♥♥
Beautiful Parklands, good bed, great food, great wine lovely dog
Good Sudoku and plenty of laughs

Akaroa A Taste of Old France in New Zealand

.Now enroute to Akaroa and through some of the most beautiful countryside you will even see.
Our trusty Lonely Planet suggested that a stop for breakfast at Emma’s in Oamaru.
But Oamaru is a slow town to start up. At 7.50 most places were closed.
Disappointed but still hungry we spotted a bakery a few doors down.
You must go there
“Temptations”
74 Thames Street
Oamaru
I had a sensational bacon and egg roll
Dale had a freshly made vego sandwich Beetroot, egg on
Molenberg Bread
Food to go!

Awamoku your next property?
Duntroon

More Churches

Dams A lot of these small towns have wonderful signs

Now here is an interesting town. Built in 1968 purely to house the power plant construction workers.
Much vilified – rows of little boxes just like these…all planned to be pulled down at the end of the project. But the residents objected and they pulled together and the town lives on and seems to be a thriving community. They are rebuilding he town square

We have found on this road trip that unlike New York City you can get excellent coffee anywhere in New Zealand for example we had excellent coffee at Shawtys in Twizel… highly recommended for travelers.
As we drove through this amazing Mackenzie country the old Who song came to mind “You can see for Miles and Miles” and you can. It is awe inspiring
Classic mountain ranges, salmon farms, and the bluest lakes you could ever see.
I love these mad watering systems they look like aliens Can you imagine what these mountains look like when there really is snow on them? And the jewel in the South Island Crown - Aoraki Mt Cook. The highest mountain in Australasia Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous

Onto Lake Tekapo

The Church of the Good Shepherd to the left and to the right a monument of a Sheep Dog which is in memory of the hardy mustering dogs “without the help of which the grazing of this mountainous country would be impossible.”
It was swarming with tourists but I managed to get a quick shot without them and then fled the convoy of buses.

So as Shakespeare didn’t say. “Lead on MacDuff”

Fairlie “The Gateway to the Mackenzie Country” for lunch. We are now exiting Mackenzie Country through Fairlie
But once again prompted by the Lonely Planet we ate at The Old Library Café

Whitebait Yea!!!
A stack
Potato pancake,

a bulging whitebait fritter,

salad,

cold smoked salmon and all topped with another potato pancake
With a citron vinaigrette
An outstanding lunch $30 each but well worth it
Just in case you didn’t know Fairlie is situated?

After Geraldine take highway 72 and through Ashburton Forks – Rakaia - onto beautiful Akaroa.

This is all a lot to take in - in one day probably in one reading as well!!!

This the view from the Hilltop Café who promised Great coffee and did deliver.
So down the hill and into this charming little town

A French whaling Captain Jean Langlois negotiated the purchase of this area and “raced” back to France but while he was away gathering settlers, the old British panicked and sent their own warship and claimed the area under the Treaty of Waitangi…so when the French…returned bad luck...they missed out. But they did settle anyway, thank God as they developed the place with French Style. Which accounts for Akaroa being the charming little village that greeted us. And as it turned out all the settlers got on famously.
Now to digress just a little…Graham Heinz is descended from Jean Langlois. Jean’s daughter Lucretia married Heinzie’s Great Great Grandad Isaac Cooksley. So that was exciting news. What a pedigree
But back to the town on the advice from John Wallace we hunted down L’Hotel

Situated on the corner of Beach and Church Rds a perfect place to stay
Then deal was good $170 per night and that included dinner. A starter and a main course each. The menu was inviting and so was Gordon the Host, so we stayed
Good view

Had a little Nana nap it had been a long journey
Bottle of No 8 and a game of Scrabble

Down to dinner
We ordered our food but it seemed they forgot about us, we polished off a bottle of wine and still hadn’t been fed. But we met nice people Linda and Neil from the North Shore.

The food finally arrived. I took photos too late so I won’t show you…there is nothing less appetizing than half eaten whole flounder…but it shaped up fairly well
Anyhow we were becoming pretty cheerful as the wine flowed
The music was from part of our era and we were all starting to sing along.
Then the discovery of the year.
The song which probably will become our anthem in a decade or so.

Cole Porter’s Where or When

It seems we stood and talked like this before

We looked at each other in the same way then

But I can't remember where or when

The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore

The smile you are smiling you were smiling then

But I can't remember where or when

Some things that happen for the first time

Seem to be happening again

And so it seems that we have met before

And laughed before

and loved before

But who knows where or when

Perfect don’t know why we hadn’t thought of the significance before.
Hope it doesn’t come back to bite me on the bum in the future!!!

If it does I won't remember
It was time for bed.
We woke up to this lovely sight

Off for a wander and breakfast
Dale has now embraced this eating with drinking culture of mine. It will show eventually as it already has on me. But he can worry about that later.

Bully Hayes and excellent choice for breakfast.
We walked the breakfast off
Everywhere you go it’s a photo opportunity
Looking back into town

Some images of beautiful Akaroa

The Maori

The French

\
The Freemasons Lodge

And more of these superb colonial buildings

I did manage to get pictures of our dinner the second night
Starter we shared Bruschetta

I had an excellent steak and mushrooms

And Dale had Parmesan encrusted fish

We were so full and had to walk it off
The pier is lovely

So goodbye Akaroa and off early in the morning for Kaikoura and final South Island destination Blenheim.

I would award this establishment
♥♥♥♥♥
Divine view, good bed, Shower so so, couldn’t close the door is you wanted to keep your hair dry but made up for that with proximity to restaurants and good food.