And then there was New Zealand - Part II
Where was I...? It was about to be a couple of Wednesdays ago in New Zealand... *g*
We started with a wee wandering to visit a giant kiwi - look, that's a real person under that person-sized blob beside it. It really was a giant kiwi! *g*
There was lovely pottering around an antique shop, and the buying of a chair (not me... *g*) and then it was off to lunch...
Not only were the surroundings fabulous but the food was gorgeous (and of course the company was good - alicambs and Mr alicambs... *g*) It's a quirky little place, where every step brings you something imaginative or artistic or flower-y - or eel-ish, if you're down by the stream and fancy feeding them!
(Look very closely at the well... *g*)
Off past Hawkes Lookout next...
...and then to some of my favourite things - caves! These were the Ngarua Caves, made of limestone and gorgeousness... I wish I had photos that did them justice!
The land above was just as gorgeous of course - and it was Hobbit country! Apparently one of the scenes (possibly to be in the third instalment) was filmed here - bonus yeay... *g*
Can't you just see the Company crossing that landscape? *g*
Of course the area was just pretty in its own right too - here's the view out towards the coast.
Thursday was a quiet day at home, working and working and working, but in these surroundings, even that was pretty cool... *g*
Friday turned out to be a Surprise Day - neither alicambs nor Mr alicambs would tell me where we were going! We drove west - hmmmn I thought - and then we stopped for a loo break...
(You've got to love loos that are artistic... have I mentioned how much I like NZ? *g*)
...and we drove south a bit, and then we drove north again a bit, and finally...
...we got on a boat! And that wasn't even the surprise! We were taking a water taxi to a place called Lochmara, which turned out to look like this...
It was a tropical island paradise! *vbg*
It also had a cafe with lunch and ice cream and a friendly parrot, and oh it was lovely to sit under the shade under blue skies, a gentle breeze wafting now and then... *g*
Off for a walk next - and Lochmara turned out to be somewhere else which had not only gorgeous views, and beautiful surroundings, but art!
Can you guess what that first picture is? Yes - a tea tree! *vbg* And then I loved the giant stick insect climbing the telegraph pole... *g*
The shoes and boots in that first pic marked the entrance to the the Queen Charlotte Walking Track - I'm not sure why, perhaps they're the ones who gave up on the 71km hike! *g* And you've got to love random llamas... *vbg*
Oh, I didn't want to go home, but at last we had to catch the boat back (we caught a boat! *g*) and wend our way home again - but how brilliant was that for a Surprise Day! *g*
Saturday was a nice pottering-around-trinket-y shops morning, with a bonus extra wee drive around parts of the area I'd not seen before, but liked alot. Just ordinary farming landscapes, but nice. And I do like places that smell of pine (outdoor places, not just "pine fresh scented!)
And then - that night - wheeee! We went to see The Hobbit, and the cinema featured Gollum and Gandalf on the roof, and inside a wee bit of the LotR set (a flower barrow thingie, if I'm remembering properly - I was a bit distracted... *g*) It also was showing The Hobbit in 3-D which I hadn't realised until I saw the pile of glasses by the door - and it'd been years and years since I saw something in 3-D, an Imax film that left my friend and I feeling a bit sick-y... but they've apparently come a very long way since then, and it was brilliant! *g* It was also the HFR (high frame rate) version, so I shall have to try and see the non-HFR version now to compare... for research purposes, of course... *g*)
Anyway, I loved the film, thought it was very well done, and the changes to the story didn't bother me as much as I'd worried they would, so that was alright... *sighs happily*
And then it was Sunday, and we went and wandered Motueka market, which was cool - and actually I did end up buying a funky dress that I've worn a couple of times now and really like. I've got their website too, and I must go and look...
That evening was fab too - Ali was singing in the Carols by Candlelight, and there was a picnic, and chatting, and then carols sung for us, and carols to join in with, and some local singers, and some local Maori singers, and it was all rather good. Candles were eventually lit, and it was all rather magical (though granted, a bit chilly that night!), and as it got darker the lights on the huge-enormous tree above the stage came on... *g*
(See those other trees beneath the lit tree? Those are normal-sized trees!)
All in all it was a lovely way to end my visit with the alicambss, and it was rather sad that I had to head off the next day, but I'm afraid that will have to be a tale for one more instalment, cos I'm all melty-eyes again now... More anon!
We started with a wee wandering to visit a giant kiwi - look, that's a real person under that person-sized blob beside it. It really was a giant kiwi! *g*
There was lovely pottering around an antique shop, and the buying of a chair (not me... *g*) and then it was off to lunch...
Not only were the surroundings fabulous but the food was gorgeous (and of course the company was good - alicambs and Mr alicambs... *g*) It's a quirky little place, where every step brings you something imaginative or artistic or flower-y - or eel-ish, if you're down by the stream and fancy feeding them!
(Look very closely at the well... *g*)
Off past Hawkes Lookout next...
...and then to some of my favourite things - caves! These were the Ngarua Caves, made of limestone and gorgeousness... I wish I had photos that did them justice!
The land above was just as gorgeous of course - and it was Hobbit country! Apparently one of the scenes (possibly to be in the third instalment) was filmed here - bonus yeay... *g*
Can't you just see the Company crossing that landscape? *g*
Of course the area was just pretty in its own right too - here's the view out towards the coast.
Thursday was a quiet day at home, working and working and working, but in these surroundings, even that was pretty cool... *g*
Friday turned out to be a Surprise Day - neither alicambs nor Mr alicambs would tell me where we were going! We drove west - hmmmn I thought - and then we stopped for a loo break...
(You've got to love loos that are artistic... have I mentioned how much I like NZ? *g*)
...and we drove south a bit, and then we drove north again a bit, and finally...
...we got on a boat! And that wasn't even the surprise! We were taking a water taxi to a place called Lochmara, which turned out to look like this...
It was a tropical island paradise! *vbg*
It also had a cafe with lunch and ice cream and a friendly parrot, and oh it was lovely to sit under the shade under blue skies, a gentle breeze wafting now and then... *g*
Off for a walk next - and Lochmara turned out to be somewhere else which had not only gorgeous views, and beautiful surroundings, but art!
Can you guess what that first picture is? Yes - a tea tree! *vbg* And then I loved the giant stick insect climbing the telegraph pole... *g*
The shoes and boots in that first pic marked the entrance to the the Queen Charlotte Walking Track - I'm not sure why, perhaps they're the ones who gave up on the 71km hike! *g* And you've got to love random llamas... *vbg*
Oh, I didn't want to go home, but at last we had to catch the boat back (we caught a boat! *g*) and wend our way home again - but how brilliant was that for a Surprise Day! *g*
Saturday was a nice pottering-around-trinket-y shops morning, with a bonus extra wee drive around parts of the area I'd not seen before, but liked alot. Just ordinary farming landscapes, but nice. And I do like places that smell of pine (outdoor places, not just "pine fresh scented!)
And then - that night - wheeee! We went to see The Hobbit, and the cinema featured Gollum and Gandalf on the roof, and inside a wee bit of the LotR set (a flower barrow thingie, if I'm remembering properly - I was a bit distracted... *g*) It also was showing The Hobbit in 3-D which I hadn't realised until I saw the pile of glasses by the door - and it'd been years and years since I saw something in 3-D, an Imax film that left my friend and I feeling a bit sick-y... but they've apparently come a very long way since then, and it was brilliant! *g* It was also the HFR (high frame rate) version, so I shall have to try and see the non-HFR version now to compare... for research purposes, of course... *g*)
Anyway, I loved the film, thought it was very well done, and the changes to the story didn't bother me as much as I'd worried they would, so that was alright... *sighs happily*
And then it was Sunday, and we went and wandered Motueka market, which was cool - and actually I did end up buying a funky dress that I've worn a couple of times now and really like. I've got their website too, and I must go and look...
That evening was fab too - Ali was singing in the Carols by Candlelight, and there was a picnic, and chatting, and then carols sung for us, and carols to join in with, and some local singers, and some local Maori singers, and it was all rather good. Candles were eventually lit, and it was all rather magical (though granted, a bit chilly that night!), and as it got darker the lights on the huge-enormous tree above the stage came on... *g*
(See those other trees beneath the lit tree? Those are normal-sized trees!)
All in all it was a lovely way to end my visit with the alicambss, and it was rather sad that I had to head off the next day, but I'm afraid that will have to be a tale for one more instalment, cos I'm all melty-eyes again now... More anon!