Motatapu marathon and New Zealand South Island, March 5-16 2013

After three years we are on our way to New Zealand South Island, this time to run Motatapu cross country marathon in Wanaka. It is also our first time we are back in Christchurch after the devastating earthquake in 2011.

We rent a small car at Jucy Rentals.

Our first night accommodation is in an old jailhouse renovated to a hostel. Before checking in we fill in census forms, since today everybody in the country has to do it --- it is the Census Day. Luckily for us foreigners, it is a very simple --- we need to do only one out of four pages that the locals have to fill in.

Rooms are rather small but comfy,

compared to the original units.

We head out to the city centre, and stop for late afternoon beers and snacks at Fiddlestick Restaurant & Bar.

Tuatara London Porter and Monteith's IPA, with today's bread and a set of cold cuts and smoked trout.

Then we tour what is left of the CC city center. There is a display of plans how to rebuild and develop the center, which is practically totally demolished.

In the city center a container mall has replaced the old office and commercial buildings. It is a complex of colorful shipping containers turned into boutiques and coffee shops.

It is not late, but we know that places close quite early in New Zealand, so we decide to have an early dinner at the Restaurant Tiffany. We start with goat cheese salad.

For the mains we have salmon and ratatouille (not pictured).

The sunset is gorgeous, and the evening is getting chilly.

On our way to the Jailhouse we stop for a round of beers at The Monday Room.

Next morning we sleep late and walk over to a co-op coffee shop for breakfast. Here is the house breakfast.

Stewed rhubarb with berries and yogurt.

The old prison block.

Then we start driving down South to Dunedin in our small Hyundai Getzya. Compared to yesterday's bright sunshine, today is grey and gloomy.

We stop in Oamaru tourist info to book an accommodation in Dunedin, just to find out that absolutely nothing is available because of the regional cricket tournament. We decide to stay in Oamaru.

The buildings in Oamaru's Historic Precinct date from the 19th century.

The downtown is peaceful and attractive.

As usual, it is not lunch time anymore and not yet dinner time either, but we are hungry. Luckily, the lovely hostess at the Criterion Hotel warms us some mushroom-bacon soup and serves it with homemade bread and delicious spreads.

Latest fashion just opposite of a badminton club.

Before dinner we drive up the Waterfront Road to the beach to watch the yellow-eyed penguin colony to come ashore.

We wait for an hour, freezing in the wind, and spot one penguin very far, and a couple of fur seals a bit closer.

Then we give up and return to the town.

For dinner we have pizzas, Italian and Chicken Brie, at Filadelfio's Pizza.

We end the night at Fat Sally following the local pub quiz. The place closes early, and we return to our accommodation at Alpine Motel in a freezing drizzle.

Next morning opens grey, but as we head more inland towards Wanaka, the sky clears up.

It also gets a lot warmer.

We stop in Kurow for coffee.

We also buy some wine at the post office.

Lake Waitaki.

The landscape around Lakes Waitaki, Aviemore, and Benmore is breathtaking, and the water as blue as the sky.

We follow the same road we rode three years ago on our bikes over the Lindis Pass from Omarama to Wanaka.

Also this time we stop in Tarras for lunch: fresh sandwich and salmon couscous salad.

At 4pm. we are in a familiar B&B in Wanaka. We need to do some carbo loading, so our hostess books us a place on the service counter in Francesca's, the town's best (and only) pasta restaurant, which is also very popular. The counter is occupied when we get there, so we have quick beers in the neighboring The Speight's Ale House.

Seated at the service counter, we meet Zack the bartender from Colorado, and Laura the server from Italy. Both are working in New Zealand for some months on their around the world tours.

Next morning we head out to a short warm-up run.

We get our gear checked for tomorrow's race in the local outdoor store. In the afternoon we are booked for a Lake Wanaka cruise with Davy.

Davy tells us all sorts of facts about Wanaka and its surroundings, while we head to the Mou Waho island.

It is another gorgeous day in Central Otago.

The water is very clean and clear.

Once in the island we climb to the top.

Motatapu Valley --- this is where we are going to run tomorrow.

There is a small lake on the top of the Mou Waho island.

We meet Weka, one of the not yet extinct flightless bird species of New Zealand.

The bird is totally oblivious of our presence.

Another great view from the top of the Mou Waho island.

TnT.

We cruise back to the city ...

and head to the Relish for dinner. We visited this place also on our bike trip in 2010. This time we start with Gorgonzola pannacotta and beetroot ...

and some squid.

For the mains we have lamb,

and goat with local Dry Gally Pinot Noir.

For the dessert we share a basil pannacotta with local fruits. The service and the food is excellent.

This is the Motatapu race day. We wake up early to catch the bus from town to the start line. The bus never comes and Caroline, our BnB hostess, takes us there. It turns out that the bus from Queenstown is late (because the driver slept in) and the whole race is delayed for 45 minutes.

So a lot of people just wait for the remaining runners to arrive. But no one seems to have problem with it. These people are so relaxed.

:)

Finally we start.

The run starts nicely downhill under still cloudy skies.

But son the trail turns uphill and we run through the grass. We can even see Lake Wanaka we cruised on yesterday.

Once we get to this little road it is easier to run.

Some long uphills and downhills and some steeper ones too.

And then we see the first river crossing.

But this one can be crossed without getting the feet wet.

But not the next one.

We have not really trained for this at all.

Just when the shoes kind of start to dry ...

We get them wet again.

First bikers who started an hour or so later catch us.

And splash the water when crossing the river.

The sky in front of us starts to clear up. It is really beautiful.

But dusty too since the bikes pass by.

Close to the summit the sky is all blue and it is getting hot. For this we have trained, though.

In the last 10km there are more river crossings,

and shorter and steeper hills.

more bikes too on the narrow trail,

thus more dust.

A couple of more crossings left.

In 7 hours we are finished. We get drink coupons and enjoy Speight's Summit Ales with some samosas, onion bahts, tandoori chicken, and lamb wraps.

The transportation back to Wanaka is equally mismanaged as the morning transportation. Despite several inquiries, we are told wrong departure times and places, and we miss the bus we booked. Some others try to desperately find better ways to get back to Wanaka.

Taxi to Wanaka would have been much more expensive but not any quicker, so we wait for the next bus, and get back to the Criffel Peak View B&B at 9pm.

After a quick shower we rush to the restaurant Cow for the dinner. We order Monteith's ale and green salad to start with, and then share Her Majesty's Pizza and a bottle of local (Central Otago) Drumsara Pinot Noir 2010.

Pizza all gone we record the day to the travel diary book and go to sleep.

This is the recuperation day. We sleep late and launder our dirty running gear before taking a leisurely stroll by Lake Wanaka.

We have lunch at Edgewater Cafe. Their antipasto platter and calamari rocket salad are awesome. Paired with local Riesling and finished with ...

cups of cafe latte with lots of cinnamon in NZ style, it's all good.

We walk back and,

study the long row of tiles by the lakeshore walk. A nice idea.

On our last night in Wanaka we have another nice dining experience at White House, again recommended by the hostesses of our B&B. This is a place run by a Greek guy who does not look like a chef or restaurant owner but a gardener. There are no printed menus but the night's food options are written on chalkboards, which are shuffled between tables.

For starters we have sardine-lemon-chili and avocado-rhubarb-chili bruscettas. For the mains we have Manuka smoked mackerel with chunky Greek salad,

and halloumi, grilled vegetables and walnut salad.

To finish the night we visit Francesca's one more time for a couple of beers. We meet Laura again, and welcome her and her husband to stay in our place in Singapore when they continue their world tour to South-East Asia.

The next day we wish farewell to our lovely hostesses at Criffel Peak View B&B, and hit the road in our small Hyundai. We plan to hike to Rob Roy Glacier before heading North along the West Coast.

We have a 40-kilometer drive from Wanaka to the glacier hike starting point, the last 30 kilometers of which is gravel, and being graded ...

This is not the glacier we are heading to but still quite impressive.

It is a very bumpy ride for our small Hyundai even if we take it slowly.

Ready for the Rob Roy hike.

The first and the only "wet" river crossing of the day.

Other crossings are easy.

The weather is nice and sunny, and not too hot.

Despite a couple of short and steep sections, the trail is not too challenging.

After couple of hours we reach the glacier.

Tei is here.

We rest for a while admiring the scenery (and consume our trail mix)

We have another chance to admire the scenery when taking back the same trail.

A spider has also been busy while we were hiking.

We start driving back to Wanaka in hope of having a late lunch before heading to the West Coast. The road has been graded. Soon we start hearing some strange sound underneath the car. Still we go on for a kilometer or two. Then we stop to check the source ... The bumpy road has taken its toll.

We have a flat. Not only a flat but a totally ruined front tire. We change to a miniature spare tire and limp back to the town. Then at the i-site we call to three numbers to find out from where to get a new tire.

The tire change itself is a blast and costs us only NZ$117. Then we are on the road again. Before heading to the west coast we get some burgers to go from Boa Boa, again recommended by our B&B host to be the best burger place in town.

We hit the west coast at an optimal hour for a gorgeous sunset.

At 9:30pm. we are at Holiday Park Top 10 in Fox Glacier. We find the key at the reception. We have no difficulty of falling asleep.

We wake up early, and return the keys at 8am. sharp.

We drive up to the Franz Joseph for breakfast. The vegetarian breakfast at Plump Pigeon is super greasy.

Once in Greymouth we stop at Monteith's Brewing Co. for lunch.

We learn something about beers.

We order a sampler of five of their beers and one cider with a tapas lunch consisting of chicken roulade, chickpea salad, and rye bread with smoked salmon. Very tasty and nicely presented.

The place is new and shiny.

After the pitstop we continue ...

to a small town of Reefton.

There we stop for coffee.

By the road there was a sign that says "Jesus is coming, ready or not." Little do they know that for us Singlish speakers the joke does not work since it translates to "Jesus is coming, are you ready?" Boring.

We continue the ride with some scenic stops along the way.

At 6pm. we reach the Nelson City Holiday Park and rent a cabin.

In the evening we walk to the city center.

We sample the beers at Sprig and Fern tavern. Their Pilsner, Pale Ale, American Amber, Best Bitter, Porter and IPA are all tasty with ABV of about 5%.

We order two heavy pizzas from When in Rome pizzeria next door. At first the server forgets to forward our order, but compensates the delay with a serving of french fries and clove flavored ketchup.

Next morning we spend some time looking for a breakfast place, and eventually find "Quite Possibly The Last Great Kiwi Cafe", and have pancakes and Eggs Benedict with Salmon.

Then we do a couple of hours of furious shopping for Icebreaker and other outdoor apparel.

Before heading to the afternoon wine tasting tour we have some great coffee at Zumo.

Our guide for the winery tour is CJ, a laid-back Kiwi guy in camouflage shorts and flip-flops. Not an attire you would expect in a wine tasting tour in the old world. His webpage: http://www.nelsontoursandtravel.co.nz/about-us/ A former paintball instructor, that explains :)

We visit four wineries: Milcrest, Brightwater, Woollen, and Moutere Hills.

This is Milcrest. CJ has to get the dog in the same picture with us. We don't have any pictures of Brightwater, the second winery we visit, but their wines are the best of this tour and the long conversation with the winemaker himself is very educational and entertaining.

And then we visit the posh partly American owned vineyard.

It has a lot of space and sunshine.

We have a quick tapas lunch in this place, consisting of cheese, sausages, olives, and some chutneys for NZ$35.

Nelson is not only known for its grapes but also hops: it provides for domestic and foreign breweries.

The last place we visit is Moutere Hills, a small family owned place, which they had just taken over this year. Nice wines.

Ruby Bay in Tasman Bay.

When back in Nelson we shower quickly and do some laundry. And then head out for dinner.

At Hopgoods we have chicken liver pate and salmon (not pictured) for starters.

For mains Tei has catch of the day (dory) and Tomi has lamb and ricotta filled agnolotti (not pictured). We skip the desserts.

After dinner we have a couple of beers at Free House, a premier craft beer destination of New Zealand. It looks like a former church building, with an Irish band playing.

Free house carries two real ales and has an impressive number local beers on tap.

We start the next day at Cafe Olive with an omelet and cinnamon porridge, OJs, and long black which is rather short.

Soon we are on the road again. Curvy road takes us up and down as we climb over the Bryant Range to Havelock.

From Havelock we take Queen Charlotte Scenic Drive to Picton.

We see quite a few bicycle tourers on this route.

We stop often to take a peak to Mahou Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Queen Charlotte Sound.

Picton.

Wellington - Picton Ferries take this sound, the major gateway between South and North Islands.

From Picton we drive to Blenheim, where we are directed to Malborough Wine Track. We have lunch at Wither Hills Winery.

We start with a selection of breads.

Tei's main is salmon and vegetables in light broth. Tomi has seafood pasta.

A variety of grapes.

Then we continue down South towards Kaikoura, which in addition to the Motatapu marathon is one of our main destinations in this trip.

Lake Grassmere Saltworks, natural salt production in this shallow and close to the sea lake.

The drive is very scenic and traffic non-existing, as in most of the South Island we have been to either on two or four wheels.

It gets only better once we reach the ocean.

We take all the time and make several stops.

Around 6pm. we reach Kaikoura.

We get a sunny room in Kaikoura YHA.

We walk to town for dinner. It is a bit hard to find a an interesting place to eat; most places smell deep fried and offer only pizza, pasta, and burgers (not to say that they are necessarily bad, but admittedly rather unimaginative)

We choose Passione which is bright and modern, and their food fresh and tasty. This is their tomato salad.

Then beef carpaccio.

Tagliata di filetto --- Pan-fried beef filet on a bed of Mediterranean vegetables (description directly from their menu)

Salmone --- Fresh pan-fried NZ-salmon fillet, served with a seasonal herb and lemon risotto (perhaps a bit too lemony risotto)

Next morning starts a bit cloudy.

We take a short walk in Fyffe Quay.

Then we pack ourselves in the car, and drive to South Bay, where we start our day hike.

Despite the cloudy day, the hike is very scenic.

The trail is not too crowded either.

A seal colony, comfortably asleep. We are asked not to go any closer, since these animals can be very aggressive.

Gems from the ocean.

Then we stumble upon this guy. He cannot care less for our presence.

He wakes up, makes a few wavy movements, and down he is again.

It was low tide when we left, but now when returning from our hike, the water has receded even more.

We have lunch at the famous Kaikoura Seafood BBQ.

Seagulls attentively watch over the diners in hope of getting some leftovers.

We order a crayfish for $58 --- the price depends on the weight.

Then we are back on the road again on our way to Christchurch.

Soon we leave the seaside.

After Cheviot we make a detour on the scenic drive to Gore Bay and Cathedral Cliffs. We almost miss this formation --- one actually needs to look behind in order to spot it from the road.

We pass Waipara Valley, another wine growing and making region, but stop at a local brewery, Brew Moon Garden Cafe & Brewery, in Amberley.

We taste their Pale Ale, Brown, IPA, and Stout.

At 7pm. we are at No. 10 B&B. Betty, the owner, a charming elderly lady, is a bit surprised about our arrival, but luckily she has a room for us.

Betty explains us the nearby dinner options, which form quite an extensive list. We choose Fox & Ferret Gastro Pub. It is Friday night and the place is packed with after-the-work partying people. The dining area upstairs has a table for us. For mains we choose venison and lamb on stone grill.

Tomorrow we fly back to Singapore.

An official race photo.

Another official race photo. The Motatapu cross country marathon certainly was an amazing experience.