O is for Old St Paul's: a fine timber Gothic Revival church

My ambling around Thorndon found me spending quiet time in the fine timber church, Old St Paul's, built in 1866.

I wonder if Katherine Mansfield's family would have walked down the hill to attend services here?

The interior is warm and inviting, the woodwork simple and masterful using native timber, the stained glass windows reflecting beautifully in the late afternoon sun.

A special atmosphere.

I particularly liked the exterior wood finishes, the angles, lines and circular details were very pleasing as was the magnificent spire against the deep blue of the sky today.

It also has a wonderful Christmas Shop, I will let Shawni know so she can collect more ornaments over the years.

K is for KM: Katherine Mansfield, so famous here, the green figure on pedestrian traffic lights

Katherine Mansfield's Birthplace in Thorndon and her figure on traffic lights in Wellington.

A quiet Sunday to myself with the gang at the HSBC Rugby 7's, so I wandered around historic Thorndon starting at the house in Tinakori Road where Katherine Mansfield was born in 1888. She of the short story genre, wrote beautifully of New Zealand and Wellington later in her life when she could appreciate her home country from afar.

The house has been carefully restored and showcases life in the late 19th C here in Wellington and also presents her story which makes for interesting reading, particularly that she interacted with Virginia Woolf of Bloomsbury Group fame in London and also with D H Lawrence.

Interesting details in the home.

W is for 'wee': a big little word here in New Zealand

Inside and outside!

Craig brought to my attention that the Kiwi's use the word 'wee' a lot and ever since I have been noticing how common it really is.

• wee (adjective) 1) a short time, a little bit, as in "my chicken was a wee bit overcooked." 2) small, little, as in "he was a wee boy." 

Today, coming back on the Interislander Ferry from Picton to Wellington, there it is was again, this time in a Top 10 advert on the cup. Ah, that was Fred and I having tea with a wee scone, strawberry jam and cream.

W is for Wharariki Beach: a remote paradise

A beach with soul.
Remote Wharariki Beach.
The access is a kilometre of walking through farm lands, through forest and then over an impressive stretch of the fine white sand. Once at the beach we breathed deeply, strolled along the firm sand, wandered in and out of caves and took in the quiet peace, the sun was fierce, the sea was warm and the waves gentle.
As Inel recently wrote  - so good to be alive....

A is for Archway Islands: marvellous rocky outcrops of the North West of South Island, New Zealand

We were treated to magnificent views of the Archway Islands while walking the paths around Wharariki Beach located just below Cape Farewell here at the top of South Island in New Zealand.

The weather cleared and we had a hot and sunny afternoon enjoying these rocky islands that dominate the local scenery and create a magnet for tourism.

The wave cut action of the monumental rocky outcrops are wonderful to experience as it the interplay of light and wave action, Fred was having a joyous time with his camera.

F is for Farewell Spit: views across Inner and Outer Beach

Inner Beach of Farewell Spit from Farewell Cafe 

Cliff scenery of the North West coastline of South Island.

Our exploring of the far north west  corner of South Island started with grey skies and strong easterlies so we sheltered in a cafe with coffee and took in the vastness of the views across Farewell Spit.

The coastline is rugged and verdant green and we enjoyed the walk up to the lookout point at Pillar Lighthouse.

The story of the Asian - Australian bird migration is so interesting, with many thousands of godwits and knots feeding here having migrated from Alaska and Siberia.

We did see plenty of the Bar-tailed Godwits, also thousands of South Island Pied Oystercatchers and rather surprisingly plenty of Black Swans too.

Outer Beach of Farewell Spit from the cliff walk.

South Island Pied Oystercatchers along Golden Bay

G is for Golden Bay: road tripping South Island

The next phase of our road trip here on the South Island finds us staying at Pohana Beach on Golden Bay. We transitioned from Picton and headed west, the road follows the Queen Charlotte Sound, and then heads across to delightful Nelson where we found good coffee and pastries before venturing into new territory - Tasman Bay and Golden Bay. We drove impressive mountain passes as we passed the Abel Tasman National Park on our way north west.

Every now and again our accommodation totally delights and today was such a day. We have an ensuite cabin that is right on the beach with a magnificent seascape which stretches kilometres. We have landed well, took a gentle walk along the beach noticing the shells and sea lettuce, the Oystercatchers and Godwits and as always the ever changing colour of the sea.

View from our cabin across Pohana Beach out to Golden Bay.

Pohana Beach, Golden Bay,

Q is for Queen Charlotte Track: tramping day 4, Portage to Anakiwa

Veranda of Portage Hotel on Kenepuru Sound.

Having done the long day 3 of the QCT we then looked at the profile for day 4 and we all looked at each other, just a little afraid!

From Torea Bay and our hotel, Portage, the 20 km walk starts with a brutal climb, the highest point of the QCT - Shamrock Ridge at 407m. Goodness me, my legs ached, my chest was tight and we all grimly tramped to the top.

Final day, 71 km done!

Even though day 4 of the QCT was the toughest and by the time we walked into Anakiwa to meet our water taxi, we were very tired, the views seemed even more spectacular. The colours of the mountains and hills and sea are endlessly variable. The sea was pea green at times, or a crystal turquoise, or a cool blue and or even a steely grey.

We are all thrilled and proud to have challenged ourselves to this tramp in this most beautiful part of the Marlborough Sounds. Well done Shawni and Craig. And Fred as always, your help in carry our pack and steadying me on those crazy downhills is much appreciated.

"There is something about the pace of walking and the pace of thinking that goes together. Walking requires a certain amount of attention but it leaves great parts of the time open to thinking. I do believe once you get the blood flowing through the brain it does start working more creatively," says Geoff Nicholson, author of The Lost Art of Walking.

B is for Backpackers: giving it a try

Backpackers cabin with a view!

Neither Fred nor I backpacked as youngsters, so it is rather ironical for us to check into our single 'cells' at Punga Cove! It was a night that frustrated the gang but also made for lots of laughter after the fact. And my room had the most wonderful view.

Q is for Queen Charlotte Track: tramping day 3, Punga Cove to Portage Resort

Early morning along the Queen Charlotte Sound

Kenepuru Sound

This is the day everyone talks about, day 3, the long day, a day of walking the ridge between the Kerepuru and Queen Charlotte Sounds. Our destination was the Portage Resort.

But we had all day to walk the 25km. It was a magnificent day of walking, as my friend Natalie says, a day when you 'fall into your legs', and you love being on the path.

I had such a day, most probably my best ever one day of walking. Being with Fred, Shawni and Craig in such a beautiful place, with a warm and slightly overcast day, was very special. We took regular breaks, nibbled on all our trail snacks and took in the majesty of it all.

 I loved it.

Day 3 of 4, 52 km of 71km

Q is for Queen Charlotte Track: tramping day 2, Furneaux Lodge to Punga Cove

A gentle day, weather so good to us too, 12 km following the sweep of Endeavour Inlet.

We started the day slow, made sure our bags were ready for collection at 9am - the best way to walk the 4 days of the QCT is to organise a water taxi to fetch and then drop your bags each day at the next stop.

Marvelous! After enjoying a leisurely breakfast we ambled off, enjoying the ease of the walk and also mindful of the big days of tramping that come next. The green and yellow signboards mark your progress along the way and we would look out for the simple post, counting down the kilometres and today we passed the 51 kilometres to go...

Punga Cove, our second overnighter, was social, we had time for a swim and spa and then down to the Boatshed Bar right on the waters edge, yachties at the bar, a group of guys having their bachelor bash, and we chilled over a barbecue and a memorable huge serving of my first Kiwi Pavlova, which was absolutely delicious.

Day 2 of 4, 27km of 71km.

W is for Weka: cheeky birds along the QCT

Fred prepared sandwiches each day and at our lunch stops we would be entertained and/or harassed by the New Zealand South Island 'chicken', the Weka.
The birds are so used to people along the QCT that they live and breed around the rest stops. We saw some chicks too and the mother called them with a low hissing sound once she had foraged some food.

Q is for Queen Charlotte Track: tramping day 1, Ship Cove to Furneaux Lodge

The Queen Charlotte Track map - Ship Cove to Anakiwa.

The day started with a boat ride from Picton, South Island, along the Sound to Ship Cove, where Captain Cook had landed centuries ago. He made note of the bird calls and I immediately was struck by the loud cicadas and the clarity of the bell notes of the endemic Bellbird.

A beautiful place to start day 1 of our tramping along the Queen Charlotte Track. Months of anticipation and at last we had our feet on the path- a fierce uphill, the walk had started! It is a well formed track but you still need to pay attention to each step as the path winds up and over hills, along steep switchbacks and along stretches of contour, sometimes rocky other times leaf litter, through endemic forests and fern trees, along the water level and all the the time sweeping, majestic views of the Queen Charlotte Sound.

The first 15km was a joy to tramp and we checked into historic Furneaux Lodge, a remote, water only access resort. Drinks and wonderful burgers on the veranda with a special view and day 1 was under the belt.

We start - day 1 of 4, 15km of 71km.

K is for Kaikoura: seabird heaven

Out to sea from Kaikoura

The meds worked! I managed just fine for the few hours out to sea, the jet boat was fast and felt safe too, Tracy a fine skipper and bird guide. I did not need the binocs, even the birds on the wing were close enough to get a good sighting, like the Buller's Shearwater.

Much excitement for a new species on my world list, a Fairy Prion and for catching a glimpse of a Hutton's Shearwater, an endemic whose breeding is restricted to the mountains around Kaikoura, the Seaward's, and an increasingly endangered bird.

White-capped Mollymawk

S is for Salvin's: a mollymawk lifer

The great albatrosses tend to get all the attention, but I love the Lesser Albatrosses, called Mollymawks here in New Zealand. 

A lifer for me this morning was the Salvin's Mollymawk with the most beautiful grey head and neck and the most captivating eyes. What a bird!

N is for Nelly: the name for Giant Petrels in New Zealand.

Our pelagic trip with Albatross Encounters out of Kaikoura today was a birding fest, we had 19 species and these Northern Giant Petrels were numerous. They were quick to follow the boat and also quick to get onto the chum cage. They postured, tails fanned and held at 90 degrees, wings spread wide open, trying to make themselves look bigger and more aggressive. 

These birds are fierce!