A grand adventure in the scenic south _{by Madelaine Empson}

Top of the South (Winter 2019)

On a brisk but remarkably windless winter evening in Wellington, my partner Dean and I drove to the Interislander ferry terminal and boarded Kaitaki to Picton. We made good time and arrived at a quaint Airbnb in the heart of the town centre close to midnight. Crashing into bed, we slept straight through till morning and awoke bright and early for a day of new discoveries.

I’m unashamed to say that the first discovery we made was a ginormous big breakfast at Café Cortado, which we scoffed enthusiastically before tottering to the foreshore playground. Because I’m a three-year-old at heart, we just had to go on the swings in this impressive rainbow wonderland, a great drawcard for the pretty little town.

The next discovery was The Edwin Fox Museum. Here, you can learn about and even board a berthed ship with a fascinating history. The Edwin Fox is the last surviving ship that took convicts to Australia, the oldest surviving wooden ship that brought immigrants to New Zealand, and so much more. We loved meeting the friendly and passionate Karen, who I could have chatted to for hours about that amazing ship. Alas, we had another amazing ship to get to!

The family-owned Beachcomber Cruises runs a great little tour called the Mail Run Cruise, the only official, licensed New Zealand Post rural delivery service by water in the Queen Charlotte Sound (Tōtaranui). After meeting Beachcomber’s wonderful marketing manager Jess, we hopped aboard the sleek boat with no idea we were in for such a holiday highlight.

Our skipper Steve was super fun, and even elicited the best safety briefing I’ve ever heard. His crewmate looked us dead in the eye and declared: “The further you sit from Steve, the better.”

We learnt a huge amount from Steve’s engaging commentary and had a blast exploring The Sounds on the mail boat. We delivered the mail to a number of Tōtaranui’s permanent residents, meeting their furry companions along the way. The dogs of Queen Charlotte Sound know what to expect when the boat pulls up (treats, treats, and more treats), and so come running down to the dock yapping and yelping, bouncing and barking to the delight of all onboard.

When we arrived at our final destination – joy! Another dog was waiting for us on the dock. The wee Kina jumped straight onto the boat (to be hastily removed), while Dean and I met our Arapawa Homestead host, Antonia Radon.

Located in the Marlborough Sounds, the 18,500-acre Arapawa Island offers panoramic sea views and a glimpse of old-world New Zealand. There are four accommodation options on the Radon family farm, which includes a pāua raising and pāua pearl business. Dean and I had booked into Gunyah, a beautiful home on the top of the hill. After dropping our luggage off and taking us back down, Antonia decided to move us to the Little Colonsay Beach House; other guests wanted to swap accommodation. Because we’d seen Gunyah and even had a fire built for us, we couldn’t help but feel we were missing out on a special experience staying there.

Antonia’s kindly French WWOOFer Arnaud then took us on a motorbike to the Perano Whaling Station. With severe drops along the way, this was a steep and scary drive – we both felt very uncomfortable without safety gear. Arriving at the otherworldly historic site in one piece was a relief. Surveying old abandoned oil vats and rusted whaling paraphernalia, we imagined everything that had happened there as whispers of the past spluttered onshore in the froth of the waves.

Our pāua farm tour began by entering a wet environment that we weren’t given gear for – so yes, we got a tad wet! With interruptions throughout, we found it hard to follow. Antonia’s husband Mike was away and she had lots of guests to deal with on her own, so we understand why the experience was a little haphazard.

As Antonia had told us, Arapawa Island is “a special part of New Zealand that we like to share with people”, and we felt this sentiment deeply that evening in her home. We shared stories over a hearty homecooked meal (locally raised lamb chops, with a divine homemade lemon meringue pie to cap off the evening). The next morning, we awoke to eggs from the chooks on the farm – a nice touch – and were treated to the grand finale: eel feeding. There must have been at least 12 of those huge slimy fellas all fighting for attention, some jumping out of the water to nibble at pāua guts. Antonia petted some of the eels, which made me giggle and squeal to no end. Both of my hands remained firmly planted in my pockets.

Then it was onto our private charter back with Picton Water Taxis and straight into the car to Kaikōura. Because of the 2016 earthquake, there are still infinite roadworks on the way. But the delays are made bearable – and even fun – by the fact that every single roadworker waves. By the end of the drive, I felt like the Queen, palm raised in constant salutation. We saw hundreds of seals dotted about the coast. Hint: if you have kids, play “spot the New Zealand fur seal” instead of “spot the yellow car”. We played both games anyway, because, you know, three-year-old here.

In Kaikōura, we enjoyed a seafood lunch at The Pier (with one garlic-butter crayfish to die for) before heading to the Point Kean Seal Colony. While Dean got some fantastic shots of the seals, we didn’t risk getting too close. One of them still waddled after us for a fair distance, which was equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

That night, we checked into Lavendyl Farm for a relaxing evening in cosy Mahoe Cottage. One three-hour Scrabble game later (I won), we conked out and arose to a freshly baked loaf of bread from our generous and warm host Myra.

Our tour of the gorgeous and fragrant four-and-a-half acre gardens was made all the more delightful with Bonnie, Myra’s golden retriever, in tow. Myra has a wicked sense of humour – when we walked into the shop and tried to take our muddy shoes off, she chortled: “don’t worry about your feet; the dog doesn’t.”

We loved learning about all the different products Myra creates out of the 50+ varieties of lavender onsite (honey, hand cream, and more). Come time to say goodbye, Bonnie nearly gave me her favourite leaf as a parting gift, but thought better of it and scampered off with it between her teeth.

Our time with Whale Watch Kaikōura was our next trip highlight. The charismatic emcee Hadlee chatted amiably throughout the two-and-a-half hour cruise on Paikea the catamaran, passing on curious titbits of information. Did you know that the sperm whale dives nearly 3000 feet below the surface? It would be easier for a human to exist in space than to explore the ocean at those depths.

In the words of the lovely chief whale-spotter Amelia, someone onboard must have been wearing their lucky socks; we had not one, not two, not even three, but four whale encounters. With an average of one or two sightings per cruise, we all felt blessed by the presence of Matimati, Ngā Whetū, and a mysterious, unidentified sperm whale. Dean got some killer tail shots and just when we thought it was all over, we were greeted by a pod of dusky dolphins, who somersaulted and trilled within an arm’s length of us. Bouncing off the boat, all grins, we hopped straight into our car to make the two-hour drive to Hanmer Springs.

Checking into the well-appointed Heritage Hanmer Springs gave us a taste of the luxury we were in for over the next 12 hours or so. Our first stop? MK Restaurant, a dumpling-lover’s paradise.

We ordered Japanese pork gyoza and – wait for it – potato, cheese, and bacon pierogies, Eastern European dumplings. I should have listened to the hilarious chef and maître d’ Mirek, who warned I might not be able to fit dessert in after the pierogies. In stubborn defiance of my now uncomfortably tight pants, I ordered a dessert simply entitled ‘banana cinnamon’. Oh. My. Goodness. I would drive for hours just for another taste of this beautifully handcrafted dish.

Then it was time to waddle (just like that fur seal) to Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa. On a cold night, the hot pools are heaven. I can picture how magical they would be with snow dusting the distant mountains in the daylight, too. This would be a great place to take the kids, with a thrilling hydroslide that we were too nervous to ride due to our recent excessive dumpling consumption.

Suffice to say, we had one of the best sleeps ever at the hotel and after enjoying a brilliant buffet breakfast, headed to the thermal pool’s spa complex for a pampering session fit for royalty. Our massage therapists Helen and Karen checked in with us regularly to make sure we were comfortable at all times during our couple’s massage. This was total indulgence, as was soaking in a private pool with a handsome view.

It was a struggle to make the four-hour drive back to Picton when we were that blissed out, but make it, we did. Our time in Hanmer Springs was the perfect conclusion to our scenically stunning stint in the Top of the South.