Fusing the old with an injection of cool, Hokitka, an
interesting seaside town on the west coast of the South Island, was the first
stop of the day. It is a great place to have lunch and while away a couple of
hours.
The gold rush of the 1860s may have given birth to this town
but now art galleries and studios specialising in pounamu (green-stone/jade)
jewellery and art are part of the treasures that line the wide streets.
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| Hokitka |
I can see why this place is a setting for so many novels.
Not only is Hokitka pretty, it is a great place to people watch. If I had stayed longer I am sure I
could have come up with an interesting script for a telenovela.
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| Seen from theTranzAlpine train |
The TranzAlpine train journey had to be the highlight of the
day. After travelling along Arthur’s Pass, going through swathes of rain
forests and seeing rivers and waterfalls, it was time to board the train. Rated
as one of the world’s best train journey, it passes through tunnels and
viaducts dishing up picture-postcard views of peaks covered in snow, beech
forests and gorges. The rain only added to the drama.
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| Marlborough Country |
After an overnight stop in Christchurch, we were up before
the crack of dawn to whizz through North Canterbury’s main wine region, the
Waipara Valley. We passed through silver and red beech forests before
travelling through Marlborough Country, home of the illustrious sauvignon
blanc. There are plenty of wineries here that you can visit, if you want to
sample the delicious dry, fruity liquid. If you fancy lunch in a vineyard, this
is the place.
It seemed all too soon that we were at Picton and ready to
board the Interisland Ferry to sail through the Marlborough Sounds and across
the Cook Straight to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital.
South Island was magical. Sometimes you look forward to
visiting the place of your dreams and reality is a let-down. This was so much
more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Pictures and words cannot do it
justice, you have to see it for yourself.
By Daralyn Danns
Getting there
Which city you fly into in New Zealand will depend on where
your tour starts from and therefore, which airline you choose. Highly
recommended are Cathay Pacific cathaypacific.com
and qantas.com The
service and inflight experience is spot on. Ensure that the flight you book is
operated by the company and not just code-sharing
The tour was part of the Grand Pacific Ultimate Small Group
Tours which I booked through Trailfinders (trailfinders.com) as I did the flights
The advantage of travelling aboard the Ultimate Coach is
that instead of carrying the normal 48 passengers, it only carries 20. You sit
in comfort in leather fully-reclining seats so no neck ache at the end of a
long day. (Distances are vast in New Zealand.) There is plenty of personal
storage. It is much easier being in a small group, no hanging around waiting
for people, no long queues for the loos, overall much cosier
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