NZ - Wellington (2) Kapiti and Martinborough

Me and my pal Becky off of the stray bus decided to explore the nice areas near to Wellington for two days. Hire cars are pretty cheap so on Nov 30th we picked up the Toyota and headed for the beach near to Kapiti Island. The vineyard region of Martinborough was the next destination. After a long day on the road exploring we got back by 7pm and went to Becky's mate Mark's birthday bash in Welly.

below: Toyota 2.0 auto


below: good driver...honest

below: on the road

below: a beach stop in Otaki on the way to Kapiti

below: the beach that looks out to Kapiti Island

 below: a Martinborough vineyard

below: birthday cake. Note 'wally' the coolest dog in the background

NZ - Wellington (1) Hobbit fever

November 28th was the world premiere of The Hobbit film which was hosted at Wellington. The film was directed by NZer Peter Jackson and filmed in NZ. Hobbit fever gripped the capital city with red carpets, road closures, people having the day off work and the stars of the film graced the red carpet in the intense NZ sunshine.

http://tvnz.co.nz/hobbit-news/wellington-rolls-red-carpet-premiere-5240013

I saw the film for my birthday (fast fwd to Dec 13th) and I thought it was awesome, great story, great acting and the 3D 48FPS (frames per second) was very impressive.

below: Courteney Place



below: the red carpet gets rolled out

below: iced coffee before the stars start arriving

below: Peter Jackson's Embassy Theatre where the premiere was held

below: green space in the city was flocked by people chilling out and watching the action a few metres away on a big screen

below: Courtenay Place busyness

below: my crazy Canadian mate Caitlin posing with a movember coach

below: The red carpet is rolled up and the troll figures and hoisted back onto the lorry. Imagine pulling up next to this in your car?!

below: around midnight the premiere ends and the NZ Prime Minister leaves the cinema, closely followed by actress Cate Blanchett.

New Zealand (stray) - Christchurch to Kaikoura

'The seaside settlement of Kaikoura, situated midway between Christchurch and Picton on the rugged east coast of New Zealand's South Island, is overlooked by majestic mountains, which are snow-capped for many months of the year.

This unique combination of ocean and mountains offers stunning coastal alpine scenery and a host of eco-tourism oriented activities, including Whale watching, Dolphin swimming, walks, and much more!'

below: Kaikoura



below: beached seal

below: another one

below: afternoon activity was fishing

below: heading for fish and crayfish (rock lobsters)

below: crayfish, a shark and dan from germany

below: back to the village on the boat, being pulled by a tractor

below: lobster time mmm

below: the township of Kaikora

New Zealand (stray) - Rangitata to Christchurch

Me, Dave  and Adam hop off the stray bus for a day in Christchurch.Once checked in we visit the botanical gardens, go on a tour of the redzone (cordoned off area with unsafe buildings) and then visit the new shopping complex RE:START.


'On Saturday 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch and the central Canterbury region at 4:35 am. Located near Darfield, west of the city at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), it caused widespread damage to the city and minor injuries, but no direct fatalities.^[15][16][17]

Nearly six months later on Tuesday 22 February 2011, a second earthquake measuring magnitude 6.3 struck the city at 12:51 pm. It was located closer to the city, near Lyttelton at a depth of 5 km.^[18] Although lower on the moment magnitude scale than the previous earthquake, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was measured to be MM IX, among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area^[19] and in total 185 people were killed^[20][21] with nationals from more than 20 countries among the victims.^[22] ChristChurch Cathedral lost its spire^[23][24] and widespread damage was caused across Christchurch to buildings and infrastructure already weakened by 4 September 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, and the total cost to insurers of rebuilding has been estimated at NZ$20–30 billion.^{[25][26]'
source: wikipedia.} 

below: accommodation in christchurch is scarce and we have only decided two days beforehand to hop off we pay quite a lot as far as NZ hostels go. We stay in the historic jail on the outskirts of the CBD in Jailhouse hostel. Here is dave in the slammer making use of his phone call.



below: christchurch

below: botanical gardens

below: the time the first earthquake happened

below: in the 'redzone'. 185 empty chairs to mark the 185 people who died from the earthquake.

below: the old Holden car dealership

below: a 1920s style shopping street, fortunately not much damage to it but it is still cordoned off.

below: the theatre

below: the cathedral

below: starbucks

below: a restaurant

below: a hairdressers and corner shop

below: Subway and general area where people used to meet and eat

below: cathedral

below: football pitch near the redzone (when the ball goes over they have to ring the army up to throw it back!)

below: christchurch has not been defeated by the earthquakes. here is the new shopping complex made from shipping containers.

below: a ford mustang in someones garage

below:

below: Jailhouse

below: i get to watch the film of the book i read in the jailhouse cinema

New Zealand (stray) - Mt Cook to Rangitata

'Depart 10am. We make our way to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ landscape of Rangitata. We head around the turquoise Lake Tekapo. We arrive early afternoon in Geraldine, and then head through to spend the night at Rangitata Rafts in Peel Forest (39.1km from Rangitata).'

below: a small church on the way to Rangitata

below: triple bunk beds!

below: white water rafting in rangitata (the best place for it in NZ with 'grade 5' rapids). Myself, adam, sam, rayen, elisabeth, 'switzerland' go rafting under the watchful eye of instructor maddie.

below: jumping off a rock into the river down below

below: the course of the rapids