When we researched our trip we discovered that getting from Dunedin to Queenstown wasn’t easy as there are no direct flights or trains running between the two cities. We could have taken the Intercity bus – 5 hrs plus getting to and from both bus stations or hired a car – 3.5 hrs plus a […]
“The Scots were on their way to heaven and when they stopped off in Dunedin, they thought they’d arrived.” Mark Twain, 1895 In the taxi from the airport we passed a sign for “Corstorphine” which made us both laugh as that is the part of Edinburgh where both our Mum’s live. The city centre is […]
Despite all our good intentions, I have to admit we threw in the towel and didn’t do anything new during our second visit to Christchurch – other than getting lots of sleep, much needed down time and all our washing done. We did re-vist our favourite haunts – had another pizza in the Re:Start city […]
I have learnt some interesting facts about Merino wool! Did you know that wool quality is measured in microns? Carpet is the coarsest and is 40 microns and the finest is 16. Icebreaker garments require their suppliers to provide wool between 18 and 22 microns. Why Merino is so special is that it can absorb […]
There are 11 of us on this 14 day trip around the South Island with Active Adventures. Thankfully this time I’m not the youngest – that title goes to a young lady from Tennessee who is 26 although in this group the oldest is a chap who lives in the US, but was originally from […]
At 11.01 pm we were woken by our bathroom door rattling violently and the coat hangers in the wardrobe jangling against each other. We had been sleeping for about an hour so it took a while for us to realise what was happening and then David said “I think it’s an earthquake”. It didn’t last […]
They say the ferry crossing from the North Island (Wellington) to the South Island (Picton) is one of the most beautiful journeys in the world and they are right. The weather could not have been more perfect for our crossing with clear blue skies and calm seas. We had treated ourselves to a Premier Plus […]
Sitting on the horizon, a 30 minutes ferry ride from Auckland, is a green volcano shaped island. This is Rangitoto and only appeared 600 years ago and took 200 years to be created. It erupted from the sea and is made up of layers and layers of lava and is the last and largest volcano […]
Damp tramping sums up our first day. It chucked it down all the way out of Auckland. The clouds were so low there was no point in doing the planned hike up Mount Te Aroha as we wouldn’t see anything so instead we did two hikes. We stopped in the historic spa town of Te […]
We got back to Auckland late afternoon on Saturday. As our legs were still aching from our walk and our room at the Crowne Plaza had a bath – its always a treat to see a bath and not just a shower – we decided to just hibernate. Sunday was grey, wet and thundery. The […]
I never thought I would give a tree a Maori kiss but I did on the first evening of our tour placing my nose, forehead and both hands on the bark. After a full day of driving north out of Auckland, stopping for a picnic lunch on the banks of the tea coloured Wairoa River, […]
We didn’t get to our room until 5pm on Sunday night as our flight was delayed, so we had a quick turnaround for dinner. We were treating ourselves and staying at the luxury boutique Hotel de Brett, in the High Street. The hotel stands on the site of one of Auckland’s first hotels built in […]
Two words sum up Wellington – Wild and Windy. From the moment our plane made its approach, across the sea, to the runway I realised that this would be no ordinary capital city. There was absolutely no sign of civilisation and it looked as if we were landing on a wild, rugged island with clusters […]
I couldn’t believe that the Art Deco capital of the world was in New Zealand! A side trip to the town of Napier was therefore instantly included in our “Big Down Under” itinerary as its my favourite era. The reason that it is the Art Deco capital is that on Tuesday 3 February 1931 at […]
Kia Ora from New Zealand! Kia Ora in the Maori language literally means “be well/healthy” but now a part of the English language and means “hi” but can also mean farewell and thanks. It has nothing to do with Kia-Ora the concentrated soft drink! As we will be in Auckland on 3 separate occasions over […]
2 months in NZ - 9 February to 14 April 2016
