The New Zealand Diary of Mr & Mrs Rosendale

Steve & Nicky (see blog post) have very kindly allowed us to publish their holiday diary which has lots of detail and more great photos - http://www.newzealand-indepth.co.uk/rosendale.pdf.  Happy reading!

Martin & Bernie

Paul,

Good to speak to you last week and here's the feedback I promised.................

The holiday was magnificent - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and think that your booking of flights, seats, motels, car hire, was, in the main, exactly the standard which we expected (or more probably 'needed' given the hectic schedule we set ourselves).

All in all we were delighted with the trip you planned for us - we particularly appreciated being pampered with the limo at Kerikeri, and Rose, the driver, couldn't have been more helpful.

Thanks for everything,

Regards,

Martin and Bernie Beckett

The footbridge to Haruru Falls, Bay of Islands

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula

Warm and sunny at Lake Taupo...

...and cold and grey on Fox Glacier!

Not beating the ash cloud

Unfortunately Steve and Helen were not as fortunate as Steve and Nicky and were stranded in Auckland. They arrived to check-in for their Emirates flight at Auckland having heard nothing about the Iceland eruption and its effects and were told that UK airspace was closed because of the volcanic eruption. "What volcano!" was Steve's understandably horrified response, no doubt picturing Stoke-on-Trent being devoured by basaltic lava.

As well as the great feedback below, we have some brilliant photographs which are much appreciated Steve and Helen.

Dear Paul


Just a quick not to say that Helen and I are now safely back at home and it will be interesting to see how long it takes us to re-adjust to UK time.

We would both like to say a big "thank you" to both you and Rebecca for your help, firstly with the holiday and secondly for our additional 2 weeks of volcano delay. The accomodation you arranged for us was ideal from a comfort and location point of view and allowed us plenty of freedom to do what we wanted, when we wanted. The activities that you arranged for us all went well and in addition to this we managed to add quite a few first for us as well. The weather was really kind to us and didn't stop us from doing anything. 


As an additional bit of information that you may not be aware of is that The Church in Hahe is up for sale. Also, apparently the beach level at hot water beach has changed recently and the tide doesn't go out as far as it used to. This leaves a smaller area of beach in the hot water area, but it's still a lovely beach.


Thanks again


Steve Nuthall

On the neve above Franz Josef Glacier

Fox Glacier on a typical West Coast day!

Cruising on Milford Sound

Morning mist on Lake Tekapo

Kaikoura Peninsula

Dusky dolphins off the Kaikoura coast

Sunrise over Queen Charlotte Sound

High in Tongariro National Park

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula

Auckland's Sky Tower on a bit of a grim day...

..but Russell makes up for it

A bit of All White!!

Great result for New Zealand, 1-1 against Slovakia.  As it stands, the All Whites basically have the same chance of winning the World Cup as France, Italy and England.  Most importantly though, they actually have a better chance of winning the tournament than Australia!

Beating the ash cloud

Steve and Nicky first contacted us back in April 2009 to ask us to help with their plan to travel to New Zealand to get married. We therefore had time to plan everything perfectly and, despite a Singapore Airlines schedule change in September presenting us with some challenges, all was looking good and we were set to go.  In steps Eyjafjallajökul.


Of course the volcano caused disruption to many, many people and we had some clients who were stranded In New Zealand and others who had to cancel their holidays.  For Steve and Nicky this was much more than a holiday though.


They could do nothing other than watch the crisis deepen as their departure date approached and I felt so sorry for them, especially as I could do nothing to make them feel better other than assure them that we would do everything we could to help.


Then, just as it looked as though there was no hope, the wind changed and airspace reopened.  In case of any doubt, the photos below prove that they got to the church on time!

Hi Paul

Now the dust has settled and reality has set back, being back at work etc, I thought I'd email you some wedding photos. I'll also send off the feedback form over the weekend. Also, when we got back to Christchurch we were expecting a 'normal' room, however, we ended up in a three bedroom, split level suite! A fine way to end our stay in New Zealand. We've already said we'll go back for our 5th anniversary! Time to start saving.


We had a most memorable trip, stayed in some amazing places (Maison De La Mer and Adrift deserve special mentions), done so much that we wanted to, but there is still so much left to see and do.


I know it's a cliche to say it was the holiday of a lifetime, but for us it really was. Your organasition etc certainly helped make it so and our thanks go to you.


Regards


Steve & Nicky Rosendale

More food porn

I have been accused on a number of occasions, unfairly of course, to be inordinately interested in food and wine, and in particular the consumption thereof. For the record, I would like to correct the inaccurate nature of this perception and point out that my ongoing research is solely in the interests of disseminating good advice to friends and clients alike. In an earlier life I'm quite sure I was the guy who tested the monarch's food for poison. I regard what I do now in a similar vein, albeit slightly less hazardous.

That settled, I'd like to relate a very recent experience which will be filed in my top drawer of dining experiences.

I have eaten at Meredith's in Auckland on three previous occasions and have had wonderful experiences each time, so naturally expectations were high but I had a slight nagging feeling that I was setting myself up for disappointment. That was allayed almost immediately by the warmth of the welcome and the swift appearance of the champagne I seemed to have inadvertently ordered instead of saying hello to the waitress. The restaurant, although small and with no outlook, is a very pleasant place to be with subdued decor, lighting and music and happily plush carpeting which seems to keep noise at the right level.

Our waitress was friendly without any fawning and was extremely well-informed on both the wine list and the menu. The menu is reasonably short but has a very good range of seasonal flavours, but its length served to leave both my wife and me in the happy position of wanting to order every single dish, they sounded so good. After a couple of questions, our waitress was able to steer us both in what turned out to be the correct direction. She picked my wife would enjoy subtle flavour combinations whilst she had me pegged in an instant as a sybarite and glutton. Suffice to say, the smoked eel with scallops and jamon, and the quail with peanut, enoki and paua were inspired starters and I again began to worry, how could the mains live up to such a great entree (By the way if you have the chance to taste New Zealand smoked eel, take it immediately, I think it should be established a national flagbearer dish).

Happily, if anything, the mains were another step up. I had the sous vide beef with oxtail ravioli, chlorophyll and snails , my wife the chicken breast with crayfish tail. I won't prattle on save to say that both were extraordinary dishes in their balance, depth of flavour, contrast of textures and sheer cooking expertise. But follow my advice, don't try these at home. My real measure of a restaurant, as a keen cook myself, is to have confirmed that I wouldn't have a hope of replicating what I have just been served. Meredith's is firmly in that category. Also, as a wine loser of some pretension, I have been known to try to show up the sommelier or waiter with my superior knowledge. Out of luck Palmer; I was steered in directions outside my experience and the score eneded up something like Meredith's ten, Palmer nil.

As far as my limited means permit, I am gradually trying to work my way through experiencing as many of Restaurant Magazine's Top 50 Restaurants of the World as I can manage. Whilst Meredith's does not (yet) feature on this list, take my word, it belongs there. Fabulous.

Anne & Peter Haywood part 2

Anne & Peter (http://newzealand-indepth.blogspot.com/2010/03/anne-peter-haywood.html) have sent us a big photo update with some fabulous images that deserve to be published!

From Worcestershire on the day they left...

...to arriving on the Coromandel Peninsula

Close to Kuaotunu Bay, Coromandel Peninsula

Queen Charlotte Sound

Mounts Tasman and Cook reflected in Lake Matheson

West Coast rainforest at Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki

Cabbage tree, Lake Hawea

Lake Wakatipu sunset 

Daylight fades over Lake Wakatipu

Where Doubtful Sound meets the Tasman Sea

Doubtful rainbow

Doubtful Sound at dusk

One of my favourite ever pictures of Milford Sound

Te Anau sunset

Mount Cook from Lake Pukaki

Lake Tekapo really is that colour!

First sight of Akaroa

The Giant's House in Akaroa - whacky is the word!

Eileen & Paul Varetto

Well this is the longest testimonial and trip report I have ever received. The fact that you have put so much time and thought into this says a lot Eileen and I am so grateful. We have everything here readers - fancy dress, lost luggage, G&Ts on the beach, helpful Kiwi bobbies and Jeremy Palmer saving the day, sort of like Champion the Wonder Horse but with two legs and a phone.

Paul & Eileen all dressed up in Napier,

fortunately with somewhere to go

Our second NZ trip came about as a result of an invitation from friends to visit them there whilst they were staying with their daughter who lives north of Auckland. Paul Carberry organised some cut rate flights via Singapore for a 6 week holiday and we decided to spend 3 of those weeks travelling independently with our friends exploring Auckland and the areas north and east of the city. We then followed the well trodden tourist routes round the Coromandel Peninsula to Rotorua and Lake Taupo before ending up in the Art Deco town of Napier built in this style after the original town was destroyed in the 1931. On Paul C’s advice we timed our visit there to coincide with the Festival weekend – a not so serious celebration of the Art Deco style.

Paul C managed to get us a friendly homestay cottage at a very busy time and so, as nearly everyone seems to dress the part, we decided to enter into the spirit of things as you can see. Whilst having a delicious meal at the Masonic Hotel on the front we watched the vintage cars arrive on Friday night and soaked up the atmosphere. Saturday was the big parade of cars and people with pipe bands and a flying display and in the evening there were jazz bands and dancing. On Sunday we made our salmon and cucumber sandwiches and took a few bottles of bubbly to the Gatsby picnic on the front where everyone else was doing the same thing to a lesser or greater extent. Everyone visited each others picnic and admired dresses and antiques and listened to the bands and the barbershop choir. It was such an all inclusive friendly weekend and I have to say it cost us very little as the main events were free – in fact I think it cost a feather boa and a pair of braces!

A pensive Paul at Whangamata Beach

on the Coromandel Peninsula

At this point we left our friends and for the next 3 weeks were guided by New Zealand In Depth. We had a memorable weekend in Wellington which was hosting the Arts Festival. We went to the Circa Theatre, watched dragon racing in the harbour, ate extremely well at Shed 5 (delicious oysters) and Paul managed to shake Vladimir Ashkenazy’s hand which made his weekend complete.

Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach

The next move was a flight from Wellington to Nelson in South Island from where we were driving to Golden Bay near Abel Tasman Park to stay for a week. Having checked in we discovered that I had left Paul’s hand luggage in the taxi (Yes apparently that’s the way it works – I was in charge of it whilst Paul paid the driver!). Panic ensued and that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know you’ve been a plonker! We got in touch with ID Tours (New Zealand In Depth’s partner in Auckland) since all our vouchers, flight tickets home and, most important, our medication were in the hand luggage. They assured us we could carry on without the vouchers and they would sort them out and so we took the flight and made our way to Pohara in Golden Bay where our accommodation was overlooking a spectacular beach. From our balcony we could watch the surf and the oystercatchers and also the locals sand surfing - all whilst sinking a G & T!

A phone call from Jeremy at ID Tours at about 4.30pm brightened up our day even more when he told us that the bag had been handed in by the taxi driver to the police in Lower Hutt. The police couldn’t have been more helpful and arranged for the bag to be couriered to us the next day. So we picked it up from Takaka (5km away) and inside it, absolutely everything was there – including tickets, iPod and medication. This saved us so much hassle and we were very impressed by the honesty of the driver and the speed with which the police returned the bag to us. I have to say, I did wonder if the same would happen to a tourist in the UK.

Indiana Jones still at large in Abel Tasman National Park?

A few days in Picton followed exploring the Marlborough wine region and Queen Charlotte Sound. Then we took the Interislander ferry back to Wellington – a stunning trip - and drove up the western side of the island. Not quite so touristy but I loved seeing Mount Taranaki and New Plymouth itself with its 7km coastal walkway. Our final stop at Otorohanga was really memorable. Kamahi Cottage was absolutely delightful and catered for our every need. An inspired choice Paul! Liz cooked us some wonderful meals and we left feeling we had made a friend. Sadly Auckland and the long flight home beckoned but, once again, New Zealand In Depth had delivered a memorable holiday.

Mark & Alan

Thank you Mark and Alan for your great feedback and some excellent pics selected from the 4000 you took!

Mark & Alan by the Buller River

Hi Paul

We had a fantastic time on the South Island (despite the snow and freezing accommodation on the Catlins – however Fergus and Mary’s hospitality certainly made up for that, they are really lovely people). Probably the only thing we would do differently in retrospect would have been to skip Wellington (didn’t like it there much) and probably the Cook Islands too, which although lovely and a great chill out, we would probably have enjoyed the time more in NZ.

Quite a view from Fergus and Mary's

place in the Catlins

We loved Dunedin (especially the railway journey and Olveston House stand out in my memory) and Christchurch (and would have really liked a couple more nights there), the glow worm caves Alan still mentions often as an amazing experience. We loved the accommodation at Arrowtown – an amazing place to stay, and although Queenstown didn’t blow us away, we really liked Arrowtown. The lupins on the beach at lake Tekapo were another highlight – an extraordinarily beautiful place.

Lupins, Lake Tekapo

Probably the highlights were the cruises on Milford and Doubtful Sounds which were very, very special. We managed to take over 4000 photographs over the month, which are going to take a while to sort out! All the arrangements went smoothly and we were very impressed by the quality of most of the restaurants we tried.

The last few days in Golden bay we thoroughly enjoyed – we visited a fantastic private garden, possibly the finest ‘English’ garden we’ve ever visited in private ownership and once again the accommodation was great. The Mussel Inn is fantastic – very very sociable and great food – we enjoyed both a poetry evening and an Irish folk music evening there. Sadly the very last full day was very very wet – but even so it is a lovely part of the world.

Anyway Paul, we are very grateful for your efforts in making the trip truly wonderful – the most extravagant holiday we’ve ever had! I have on my return, and out of interest, filled in the online immigration qualification form however sadly I don’t have enough points, probably too old!

Best wishes

Mark & Alan

Rarotonga

Anne & Peter Haywood

Many thanks Anne & Peter and well done with that weather in the Southern Alps!!

Hi there Paul

Well here we are returned from our epic journey. We absolutely loved NZ and its people. We had the time of our lives. The holiday not only came up to expectation but really exceeded it so thank you very much for your hard work. We certainly spread your name around in a positive way while we were there.

Anne & Peter

The Tathams

Many thanks to Judy, Peter, Amy and Jimmy for some great words and photos.

Just to let you know that we have had the most amazing time and thank you so much for all your help and for planning such a wonderful trip. Everything went very smoothly and I will send you the feedback form about the motels shortly.

You started us off magnificently at the Commodores Lodge in Russell, we loved being on the waterfront.

Sunset from Commodores Lodge

Hokianga Harbour

We enjoyed our experience in Stewart Island and the guided tour of Ulva Island with Furhana was fantastic, it makes such a difference when someone explains about the wildlife and trees amd mosses etc. we saw so much more than if we had been walking around on our own. I have to say that the boat trip over was pretty rough and I was sick, despite my vast experience of ferries and taking medication!! So I was quite relieved to be flying back.......the plane was pretty small though, but it only took 15minutes!

The Awatea Beach house was rather large for us, but I think that was because it was late booking....we did find it a bit cold though as there was no heating, but we managed to get the stove going in the living room. I think we are not as tough as the Stewart Islanders!!

Amy and Jimmy also thoroughly enjoyed their week away with us and the cruise on Doubtful Sound was so good, they went out in the kayaks and even went swimming in the rather chilly water afterwards, mind you they had brought their wet suits! The cruise was really worth doing, the staff were so friendly and helpful and the food was amazing. We met all sorts of people (including another set of your clients from Beaconsfield!). We saw dolphins and seals and Amy and Jimmy even got to drive the Navigator on the way back!!

Amy & Jimmy kayaking on Doubtful Sound

We followed the itinerary, except we did a couple of hikes and didn't do the glowworm caves at Te Anau as Amy doesn't like caves!

The internal flights with Air New Zealand were so easy, and we had a great stopover in Singapore with Singapore Airlines (talking to people, it seems to be the best way to get out there).

Lake Marian, Fiordland

All in all we've had some amazing experiences and it will take us a while to come back down to earth and to sort out our hundreds of photos!

Thanks again Paul

New Zealand Family Harrison 2

And here are Sue's very kind words to go with the photos. Thank you Sue, it is such a nice feeling to know that we have played our part in creating some wonderful memories.

New Zealand was everything we had hoped it would be and so much more. We had an unbelievably good time and much of the credit for that lies with Paul at New Zealand In Depth.

Paul took the time to listen carefully to what it was we wanted out of our holiday, he presented a number of options and over the months that preceded our holiday helped us refine the details. It was his attention to detail and local knowledge that ensured this holiday exceeded all our expectations... although I guess the fabulous weather helped.

It is difficult to pick favourites but we have a few. We loved the adventure Queenstown provided, our most memorable experience being body surfing down the Kawarau River. Phil and I are still feeling pretty impressed we did not balk from launching ourselves into the river and remain grateful to the ‘Hand of God’ and his colleagues for rescuing us on many occasions! Swimming with Dolphins was truly special and will stay with us forever. Phil’s favourite place was Doubtful sound whilst mine was the Bay of Islands, although Kaikoura with its glorious scenery is a close rival.

In terms of accommodation Paul got everything just right, particularly Commonage Villas and Hapuku Lodge for Christmas and New Year but we also loved the tranquillity, incredible hospitality and personal attention shown to us by Mark and Pam at The Hollows in Te Anau.

The whole holiday came to an end on Phil' s 50th birthday, New Zealand In Depth liaised with Air NZ to make the day really special, there were treats all the way home...

Thanks for all your help Paul…

New Zealand Family Harrison

A photo testimonial here from Sue, Phil, James and Eleanor. We did get some words as well including "great holiday", "fabulous time" and "time to save for the next trip to NZ because we loved it there so much" but the pictures tell their story pretty well.