Another Day... Another Sunrise... Another Place...

 Well... Here I am parked in Christchurch...

In Hornby - if you know Christchurch - outside

my Dad's house. The fence in the foreground

is around the edge of his garden. I've come to stay

with him for a while as he hasn't been very well...

As he's 96 I guess it's called old age!

He lives in his own villa in Woodcote

Retirement Village - so my first experience of

living in such a place... Not that I plan to stay 

here. I don't much like cities... I'd much rather 

be freedom parked somewhere in the wilderness

or at the beach... But here I am for a while...

 It was lovely to wake up the first morning I

was here to be greeted by this fantastic sunrise.

It was frosty and cold -5 but beautiful...

The sunrise is at 7.51a.m. and sunset at

5.03p.m... Nearly to the winter solstice

and the shortest day.

Onward... Through The Lewis To Christchurch...

I slept soundly all night, snug and warm in my bus...

Dreaming of hot water and bath houses...

But it was morning and 8am and time to go...

To leave these amazing mountains in the

Southern Alps behind...

The Lewis Pass has a climate all it's own. This

particular morning is was wet and thick misty fog...

But as I left the Pass behind it cleared and got clearer...
Actually it was a Nor-west... Do read about these

winds, peculiar to Canterbury... It's fascinating.

The road goes on... Through the foothills...

Over more shingle rivers... This is the Hope River a tributary

 of the Waiau River which rises at the Hope Pass in the Southern Alps. 

It runs north east through Lake Sumner Forest Park,  

(Do have a look at this fabulous scenery), turns south, then

east along a large valley formed by the Hope Fault a significant

tectonic fault line. It is joined by a major tributary the Boyle River

which flows south from the Lewis Pass 12 kilometers above

its confluence with the Waiau. All this water continues eastward

along the Hope fault's valley before turning south  through

a gorge near Hanmer Springs...

The Hanmer Springs turnoff...

And I'm nearly there...

But one last stop... Pukeko Junction...
A Five Star ***** cafe.

Delicious food and coffee and the fire is going...

Pukeko Junction opposite the turnoff

to Leighfield Beach... don't pass it by...

Take time to loiter and enjoy.

Maruia Springs... 'Onsen' - Japanese Bath House

 I adore hot pools so this was a great place

to park for the night... I was off to soak...

 It was misty and getting dark...

 This way to the outdoor rock pools...

There is accommodation here...

The gardens are beautiful... Japanese style...

 This way to the indoor bath house...

 Delicious hot water...

 Then to the bath house... It's exactly like the

ones I went to in Japan...

 Except I had it to myself...

Looking out the big window... What a divine place.

The Journey Continues... It Seems A Long Way

On my way to Christchurch... I hadn't planned to go there

just now but my Dad is not well... Needs help (I think)

so... It's Licorice Allsorts... And here we come!

These are photos I snapped on the way.

It's a lovely drive that I have done many times

but not for a while. It was a beautiful day...

Autumn colours, stunning skies...

Radiata Pine plantations...

I love the Black Beech Trees...

It's very different from the North Island bush...

I'm getting closer... How far will I get?

I don't think I'll make it to Christchurch today.

I stopped at  Kawatiri... To find gloves, scarf and coat...

It was getting colder.

Lewis Pass straight ahead... The sign said 'Road Open'

There's no snow about. I don't have chains and

can't imagine putting them on my bus anyway...

So it's onwards...

Bare trees...

A spectacular South Island braided shingle river.

 It's only just after 4 in the afternoon but it's getting dark...

I'm at one of my favourite places... A great stopping

place for the night...

So here I am... Parked on the side of the road on

a wide lay-by. This is the view from my door... 

The Maruia River... I'm off for a swim...

No not in the river... At the Maruia Springs

'Onsen' Japanese Style Hot Pools...

Sitting outside in hot water dwarfed by the

mountains, surrounded by mist and cloud...

As it gets dark... Magnificent

Heading South...

 From Kaiteriteri after my trip on the Sea Shuttle I drove to

McKee Reserve. I had planned to stay at Motueka as I

wanted to do some shopping but I found the free parking area

provided by the Tasman District Council (# 6142) not to be

a place I wanted to stay... So I carried on...

Back to McKee Reserve. It was just on dark when I got

there so I quickly found what seemed a level spot

and settled down for the night... To wake early to the most

fantastic sunrise... Yes another one but I always love 

to watch such amazing art in the sky...

 7.10am... The dawning day in 30 minutes...

 And on the other side of the bus was the moon.

 Another beautiful clear autumn day...

 As the tide came in...

And I sat in the sun enjoying my morning coffee before

hitting the road again,  heading for Christchurch.