November 2022 Travel Update

Welcome to November! Where has the year gone?!!

Our six-day trip South, including Wanaka, Cromwell, Te Anau, Bluff, Invercargill, Dunedin and Oamaru.

Day 1 Saturday 24 September, 45 travel members left Hornby Club at 9am to head South on our big trip that had been planned for most of the year. We were originally going to the Bluff Oyster festival last year but as that event was cancelled, we needed to do something. So, hours of planning and finally the day arrived. After a comfort stop for 10 minutes at Ashburton, our first real stop was at the Kurow Hotel for finger food lunch. They did a fabulous job in setting this up for us with a most enjoyable finger food lunch brought to our tables. After approximately a two-hour stopover we headed off to Wanaka for our first night’s accommodation. We stayed at Edgewater Hotel, this hotel was fabulous, and the rooms were splendid. Most of us dined there that evening, the meals were delicious.

Day 2, we departed Wanaka at 9am and after a quick look about, we headed to Cromwell, where a surprise was sprung. Our driver Geoff had talked to me about the Highlands racetrack asking if we would have time to visit. Of course, it sounded a fabulous idea and so Geoff set it in place. He arranged with their staff to have someone board our coach and we drove around the racetrack, this was enjoyed by all, and then of course they visited the loo with the view. You have to experience this if you have the opportunity. We then went on to Five Rivers Café for lunch before heading off to Te Anau for two nights. Time to relax on arrival, then we had the coach drive us to the club for drinks, and dinner. The staff did a magnificent job in bringing out our pre-ordered meals, considering the manager had departed suddenly prior to our arrival they were excellent. The coach driver came back to pick us up although some decided to stay on and walk back to the hotel.

Day 3, this was a very early start departing Te Anau Village Inn at 7.30am. We stopped to pick up our pre-ordered and packed lunches which were all named and boxed up for our journey
on Milford Sound. We had a private chartered boat for this trip and this family-owned business were wonderful, so friendly and oh so organised. This was a very good trip. We then made our way back to Te Anau for our second night there. We all went different ways, some back to the club, and others found restaurants and bars to enjoy themselves in.

Day 4, we departed our hotel in Te Anau at 9.30am and made our way to the Oyster Cove at Bluff. As Diane Heath came from Bluff and knows the region very well, we are very grateful to her for coming up the front and speaking on the microphone to keep us all informed about the town. A fabulous place with such an amazing view. Time to sit back enjoy the view and a scrumptious lunch. Some had oysters and although frozen they were so delicious. There was a variety of choices that were all pre-ordered, blue cod, lamb shanks, salmon, burgers. On completion of our long lunch break we moved on to Invercargill and had a night at Kelvin Hotel. We went our separate ways once checked in, but all seemed to enjoy their evening

Day 5, we checked out of Kelvin at 9.30am and made our way to Glenfalloch Gardens in Dunedin. We had lunch arranged here. This was such a lovely spot and due to so many enjoying the relaxing time and beautiful sunny weather we extended our stay by an extra hour. We finally left there about 3.30pm to make our way to Brydone Hotel in Oamaru.

Day 6, we departed Brydone at 9.30am and made our way to Dot’s castle at Riverside. Quite a few had a look over the castle which they enjoyed while others browsed the shop and coffee lounge at Riverside. The time went quickly. We made our way to Geraldine and stopped for lunch at the Farmhouse and store café at Geraldine. They put on a very nice lunch for us all before we then made our way back to Hornby Club.