It is now the beginning of July

 and we have been home from our hols since just before Easter - where has that time gone, and why haven't I blogged about it? About the last few weeks of the South Island sojourn and the time since we have been home, I mean.

Good question. And the only truthful answer is that I have been writing blogposts, or snippets thereof in my head but not committing them to the keyboard. And the reason for that is needing a lie down when I think about sorting and choosing and uploading the photos... How lazy is that, I ask? Answer: VERY!!

And of course, life has moved on since we were in the South Island and if I leave it any longer in doing a catch up, it'll be irrelevant, or it'll be so far out of date that it won't be worth my keeping on with blogging. And I am not yet ready to give that up.

So, a quick word snapshot of the remainder of our SI holiday, starting from our time in Wanaka:

• we took a drive over the Crown Range to Arrowtown and stayed the night in a motel there, explored the old Chinese settlement which was very moving - a part of NZ history that the government officially apologised for a few years ago because of its racism and exclusion policies.
• we had about 2 hours in Queenstown:
• the good part was having falafel burgers at FergBurgers - yummy, and they have been recreated here at home since (I make falafels, and recreated the sauces that FergBurgers had; aioli, lemon yoghurt, chipotle chilli sauce ...  Look up their menu www.fergburger.com and do your own versions without having to go to Queenstown - much cheaper!)
  
• the crap part was trying to find a park for longer than 15 minutes for the car. Even though there were only NZ tourists around, the place seemed jammed to us. Not so apparently, but not pleasant to be in. And it poured down with rain as we were leaving Fergburgers, so instead of going back to the car to get coats, we bailed and headed away and back over the Crown Range to Wanaka. Much relieved to leave ... Sad in a way, as our last trip to Queenstown was back in 1994 with my mum and my aunt Molly - and we all loved it. But now it is so much more built up and so much less attractive.
• we took a cruise across to Stephenson Island in Lake Wanaka on a lovely sunny day. That was a really good thing to do. The lake is so much larger than it looks from the town and it is not long before the boat takes you away from many signs of habitation. And the views were wonderful from the summit on Stephenson Island. I will post photos later ...
• The A&P show was on in Wanaka and we had been told it was well worth attending, so we did - interesting and huge. Nothing we wanted to buy except there was a display on water wheels that I was nostalgic about - my dad had planned to build a water wheel for us at our old house, making use of the overflow/header tank that collected the water off the roof and supplied the pressure to drive the water upwards on its path in the stormwater pipes out to the street. Dad never did build it, and I have kept it on his list of tasks for if he returns from the dead - that'll be a bit of a struggle as he was cremated...
• the highlight of the A&P show for us was a jack russell race: a regular event that some dogs are trained for apparently. The winner was clearly a well trained dog - he had won it six times before. It was hilarious as the dogs ran all over the place, some were focused on the finish line but many just enjoyed being able to bound all over the race paddock.
• I had managed to destroy the screen on my phone in Wanaka - by dropping it twice, once screen-down on to the roadway (static shock as I got out of the hire car made me drop the phone ...), and once on the cruise from the top deck of the boat to the bottom deck. The screen was munted and using the phone was an exercise in remembering where things were on the display, because the top half of it could not be seen at all - a lovely tartan pattern emerged... I did keep taking photos and surprisingly they were mostly okay, given I could really only point and shoot - with hope in my heart...
• When we left Wanaka in the afternoon after attending the A&P show, we headed towards Haast and that trip is just chock full of wonderful vistas - lakes, ranges and hills, and it was an absolutely beautiful day. It was a day to feel extremely lucky to be living in New Zealand, and a day to feel privileged to be able to travel around and enjoy it. 
• We stopped for the night at the Makarora Country Cafe, only about 55kms out of Wanaka, but we were sated with views and stopping to take photos and admire and saying goodbye to what is one of our most loved places to visit. The Country Cafe was a good stop off - a peaceful place, and a good place to be when the wind started that evening! I made dinner and then blobbed while David went for a walk down towards the lake. So the next morning we both did the walk - there is something about the peace and stillness of being in the valleys between the hills and ranges, and knowing that there is such a plethora of them - the landscape is truly awe-inspiring. 
• On our way to Haast, we stopped at the Blue Pools and did the walk there - mostly downhill, which of course means the inevitable for the return. And I conquered a fear. Well, not quite conquered it, but I did keep it under control to a large extent. On the way to the Blue Pools there was a swing bridge and I hate them, fear them, have avoided them - and in NZ that is quite hard to do when out exploring! So this one I decided I would do. David asked other walkers to wait until I was off it, so I didn't have to cope with it moving more than necessary. Brave person, aren't I? Not really, I know, but it was a bit of an achievement for me. The last one I went on was at Hokitika Gorge back in 2016, and I really struggled. Anyway, the walk and the bridge crossings were well worth it - a beautiful blue pool at the end of the track and there were even a few hardy people swimming - I love it when people take on that kind of challenge because I can experience it vicariously. I did thank them for doing it on my behalf ...
• We stopped overnight at Haast and went out for breakfast to a place Sandra of NB Are and Are had posted about - the Hard Antler. Good food, lovely people, interesting decor - a bit of a challenge to eat while being watched over by heads of deer and multiple sets of antlers!
• We headed on up the West Coast and had our first stop not very far on at Ship Creek. What a fabulous place! In spite of the heavy rain, we did the walk through the kahikatea forest. And then we started the walk out to and along the dunes. Alas, the rain was too heavy out in the exposed dune area, so it was back to the motorhome to change - what absolute bliss to be able to change in a vehicle - standing up, and to be able to hang your clothes to drip in the shower. And to put on clean dry warm ones, and then make a cup of tea to warm up your insides. Imagine having to change by undressing in a car, writhing out of clothes, struggling to dry yourself, getting dry clothes on over a still damp and cold body. WE LOVE THE MOTORHOME!!
• We intended to take a few days to get to Hokitika. However because the rain was pelting down in buckets and 40 gallon drums and monsoon buckets, and the road was looking like it would flood - and there are more than a few rivers between Haast and Hokitika and they are prone to flooding - we decided to head straight for Ross and come back down the West Coast and explore in better weather next year or later this year. So on we drove, stopping at Fox for lunch - in the motorhome: left-over soup, and home made bread - no need to go out and get wet...
• At Ross we stayed at the very rumpty Empire Hotel in their very rumpty building site grounds and went in for dinner. The food was nothing special but the service and kindness was exemplary. They made a salad and raw veg platter for David which was very kind. 
• The next day, after a peaceful night, once one of the guests managed to stop the alarm on their van from continuing to go off, we headed for Hokitika - yay!!
• We stayed at the new Kiwi Holiday Park there - what a great place it is. I went in to the DOC offices with cheese scones and lemonade scones that I made in the camp kitchen - excellent facilities. We will definitely go there again. Fiona kindly came and collected me complete with the scone mountain, butter, jam and cream. It was lovely to see the team again - I do miss that place and those people.

OK, more later... And photos will follow, I promise - once David has sent off his insurance claim, I will set him the task of finding photos to be posted. So don't hold your breath!