Picton, Marlborough, New ZealandFriday
Not so early start leaving the ship at 8:45am to be bussed to Welton House , which had a great garden.
then there was Hortensia House a different style even a Monet style bridge over the water feature.
Back to the ship for a late lunch.
Afternoon at sea sailing to Akaroa
Saturday
getting colder 12C overcast
Another 8:15am leaving the ship to Fishermans Bay Garden. This was a 30min drive out of town to a house on the coastal cliff, getting there the bus had to stop to let the owner? move a mob of sheep along the road to a nearby gate.
Lovely coastal garden
On the way back we spent time at the Giant's House, Not the house but the garden which was filled with mosaic sculptures.
I stayed in the bus since access was via a steep driveway.
Then back to the ship for a another late lunch
At sea while the ship sailed down to Christchurch
Sunday
Morning at sea, arriving Christchurch around midday.
Bussed to Casa Rossa a little way out of town. A spectacular house and garden
then Broadfield Garden, a beautiful garden covering 3.5 hectares. There was no house attached. The owner lived in his house 4 kms away.
The garden was divided into a number of 'rooms' delineated by Totari hedges about 4m high, with an amazing sculpture of a women's bottom!
No rest, we then went to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens before returning to the ship about 3:00pm
Being our second last night we had the Captains Farewell Dinner
(one didn't have to dress up but I did put on a jacket and tie)
Monday
Arrived into Dunedin about 9:00am
We were moored next to that floating city Ovation of the Seas (4900+ passengers) massive compared to our little boat.
After lunch we were bussed out to Larnoch Castle. We have been twice before but it was good to go back. It really is worth visiting many times, it was certainly busy this afternoon due to the two cruise ships in port.
We had dinner with a couple we had met coming off the plane in Auckland which we had rarely talked with as they were in the Red Group. They came from Melbourne
Tuesday
Early start since bags had to be out by 6:00am
We had to be off the ship by 7:15am!
Onto the bus to take us Queenstown for our final two nights, this was via Arrowtown,
A very interesting drive from the east coast to the middle of the Southern Alps, we went along valleys and passed a number of hydro power stations.
For the first hour or so we went south on some very flat land which we were told was lower than sea level, then at Milton we turned onto Highway 8.
A buffet lunch at very nice place at Clyde, by this time the sun was out and it was positively warm.
Had about two hours at Arrowtown, which wasn't very inspiring. Many tourists. I sat in the shade.
Finally arrived at The Rees Hotel Queenstown. This was a big establishment built on the side of Lake Whakatipu, our room had a great view of the lake.
Dinner was very noisy since all 60 of us came in at once
Wednesday
We spent the morning taking the TSS Earnslaw cruise across the lake to the Walter Peak Country to view farm activities such as a demonstration of sheep shearing, and sheep dog activities.
A buffet lunch at the farm
In the afternoon we went out to the Chantecler Garden.
Access was walking about 200 m up a steep drive so I decided to stay in the bus and talk to the driver. He had a number of modern Mustang cars which he collected also read books on political history!
Started to rain just as the group were walking back to the bus!
Our last dinner together was slightly better organized in that the two groups came in 30mins apart so at least the meals came to us quicker than the night before.
Thursday
We had a mid afternoon flight back to Sydney so didn't have to leave the hotel till midday.
We were on QF122 which was using an ancient B373-800, only 12 in business class with small screens.
I tried to watch 'The Way, My Way' but the quality was so bad that I gave up and read an ebook. We did a late lunch which filled up some time. Luckily it was only a 3 hour flight
Back home about 6:30pm
A very interesting trip but we have been very spoilt by the excellent organisation and attention to detail on a SJR trip.
Not so early start leaving the ship at 8:45am to be bussed to Welton House , which had a great garden.
then there was Hortensia House a different style even a Monet style bridge over the water feature.
Back to the ship for a late lunch.
Afternoon at sea sailing to Akaroa
Saturday
getting colder 12C overcast
Another 8:15am leaving the ship to Fishermans Bay Garden. This was a 30min drive out of town to a house on the coastal cliff, getting there the bus had to stop to let the owner? move a mob of sheep along the road to a nearby gate.
Lovely coastal garden
On the way back we spent time at the Giant's House, Not the house but the garden which was filled with mosaic sculptures.
I stayed in the bus since access was via a steep driveway.
Then back to the ship for a another late lunch
At sea while the ship sailed down to Christchurch
Sunday
Morning at sea, arriving Christchurch around midday.
Bussed to Casa Rossa a little way out of town. A spectacular house and garden
then Broadfield Garden, a beautiful garden covering 3.5 hectares. There was no house attached. The owner lived in his house 4 kms away.
The garden was divided into a number of 'rooms' delineated by Totari hedges about 4m high, with an amazing sculpture of a women's bottom!
No rest, we then went to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens before returning to the ship about 3:00pm
Being our second last night we had the Captains Farewell Dinner
(one didn't have to dress up but I did put on a jacket and tie)
Monday
Arrived into Dunedin about 9:00am
We were moored next to that floating city Ovation of the Seas (4900+ passengers) massive compared to our little boat.
After lunch we were bussed out to Larnoch Castle. We have been twice before but it was good to go back. It really is worth visiting many times, it was certainly busy this afternoon due to the two cruise ships in port.
We had dinner with a couple we had met coming off the plane in Auckland which we had rarely talked with as they were in the Red Group. They came from Melbourne
Tuesday
Early start since bags had to be out by 6:00am
We had to be off the ship by 7:15am!
Onto the bus to take us Queenstown for our final two nights, this was via Arrowtown,
A very interesting drive from the east coast to the middle of the Southern Alps, we went along valleys and passed a number of hydro power stations.
For the first hour or so we went south on some very flat land which we were told was lower than sea level, then at Milton we turned onto Highway 8.
A buffet lunch at very nice place at Clyde, by this time the sun was out and it was positively warm.
Had about two hours at Arrowtown, which wasn't very inspiring. Many tourists. I sat in the shade.
Finally arrived at The Rees Hotel Queenstown. This was a big establishment built on the side of Lake Whakatipu, our room had a great view of the lake.
Dinner was very noisy since all 60 of us came in at once
Wednesday
We spent the morning taking the TSS Earnslaw cruise across the lake to the Walter Peak Country to view farm activities such as a demonstration of sheep shearing, and sheep dog activities.
A buffet lunch at the farm
In the afternoon we went out to the Chantecler Garden.
Access was walking about 200 m up a steep drive so I decided to stay in the bus and talk to the driver. He had a number of modern Mustang cars which he collected also read books on political history!
Started to rain just as the group were walking back to the bus!
Our last dinner together was slightly better organized in that the two groups came in 30mins apart so at least the meals came to us quicker than the night before.
Thursday
We had a mid afternoon flight back to Sydney so didn't have to leave the hotel till midday.
We were on QF122 which was using an ancient B373-800, only 12 in business class with small screens.
I tried to watch 'The Way, My Way' but the quality was so bad that I gave up and read an ebook. We did a late lunch which filled up some time. Luckily it was only a 3 hour flight
Back home about 6:30pm
A very interesting trip but we have been very spoilt by the excellent organisation and attention to detail on a SJR trip.
Louise Wilson
2024-12-28
These sometimes quirky photos present an artist's paradise as much as a fascinating tour for any gardener, even if the organisational arrangements weren't the best. David, I wonder what places you'll be writing about next year?
Lorraine Clarke
2024-12-29
Almost as good as being there David. Have really enjoyed your travel logs and photos . Soon will be able to say “Spain by train” next year. Are you and Leith contemplating going?
Kwan
2024-12-30
Thank you so much David for sharing these two blogs. You will recall I have talked about these garden tours (including Botanica) before since Grace and I both love gardening. Your blog certainly gave me a good insight into the garden scene in NZ. Some magnificent photos! It also sounds like you preferred the attention to deails of the SJR tours! I will email you separtely with some questions. Thanks again, Kwan