March 12 - across Arthur's Pass

We set out reluctantly from Global Village (it's an energetic place) on a grey day, gassed up ($2.25/litre NZ, $1.65 CDN) and headed for Highway 73 over Arthur's Pass. I (Susan) was driving. There was a dead straight stretch of road, by way of apology for what awaited us in the mountains. We started into some easy curves, then saw the warning sign - steep grades, not recommended for towing. Unlike England, they don't tell you exactly how steep. And, happily unlike England, the roads are much wider than those in Wales, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. Not as wide as Canada.

The weather cleared beautifully before we got into the mountains, and we had spectacular views. We stopped at the village of Arthur's Pass, and had a little walkabout. They warned you not to feed the keas (parrot style bird). However much of a nuisance they are (and apparently they will take the rubber mounting out of the edges of your windshield for fun), they were not in evidence that day. We also did not stay to hear the wild kiwi that live in the area - they are only night active.

We did stop in at the little chapel, built by an interdenominational effort, with contributions by the outdoor clubs as well. It is of plain, modern style. When you go in, though, the back wall behind the altar is of glass, and you can see a small waterfall up the mountain, with the cross suspended on the glass panels in front. Very beautifully done. We had been advised by a couple we met to make sure to stop in.

We came down out of Arthur's Pass, and gave a lift to a lady backpacker who was going to a drop of point for some 'tramping' as they call it - she'd booked a hut on one of the routes for the night. She works as support staff on an Antarctic station, supplied out of Christchurch, and had just come back 'off the ice'. They do four months on, and on her way home for the 'off ice' time, she can extend her stay in NZ for as long as she likes before she goes back to West Virginia.

We took Highway 72, to cut around the Christchurch area, and stopped for a lovely lunch in Springfield, at a place called the "Yellow Shack" - it had beautiful scented yellow rose trees across the front, and a lovely garden. The food matched, venison pie and a veggie slice, with two innovative side salads, one based on red cabbage, the other on "pumpkin" (squash).

The mountains got smaller, as we followed the coastal "Alpine Route", and some sheep farms started showing up. We ended the day at Sunrise Lodge in Kaikoura. This is a BBH backpackers, but they only had a separate suite available, which we took. Neither of us liked it as well as the other places we stayed - no one to talk to, and not as well set up, to our minds.

We are booked for Blenheim the next 2 nights - Marlborough wine country.