Up a winding road from Granity on NZ’s west coast is the old coal mining town of Millerton. Like its much more famous neighbour Denniston, it had an incline which allowed wagons of coal to be lowered down to the railway along the coast.
Continue reading Millerton
Blog
Six Mile Hydro Matakitaki
About ten kilometres south of Murchison is the site of New Zealand’s oldest hydro power station. We had stopped in town to do some shopping and visit the information centre and it sounded like an interesting place to visit.
Continue reading Six Mile Hydro Matakitaki
Wairoa River
We only had a couple of kilometres to drive from our camp-site to the bridge over the Wairoa River. This is not to be confused with the river with the same name that we walked along at the end of our Richmond Range tramp a week ago; this one empties into the Whanganui Inlet out on the west coast past Collingwood.
Continue reading Wairoa River
Lake Otuhie
After a stop in Takaka to stock up on food and diesel, and for me to do a couple of urgent web update jobs for clients, we drove out past Collingwood to the west coast.
Continue reading Lake Otuhie
Totaranui
My last visit to Totaranui was almost three decades ago when Felicity and I tramped the Able Tasman Track. That time we just passed through this huge camping area, so it has been nice to spend a bit more time here.
Continue reading Totaranui
Takaka
With our stowaway rat on board we drove over the hill from Nelson to Golden Bay. Ms Rat was obviously rather hostile about us killing her babies, because she had destroyed a brand new packet of coffee overnight.
Continue reading Takaka
Wairoa River
The alpine section of our trip is over, and we spent the morning descending steadily to the Wairoa River.
Continue reading Wairoa River
Tarn Hut
Today was a rather short day, because we reached Tarn Hut soon after lunch.
Continue reading Tarn Hut
Mt Rintoul Hut
The weather had improved by morning, but the whole area was under a blanket of white snow. There was more rain forecast for the afternoon so again we decided to make an early start. Continue reading Mt Rintoul Hut
Old Man Hut
About six in the morning, Felicity started making tea as usual, and suggested that we get going early to avoid rain forcast for later in the day. It turned out to be a good call. Continue reading Old Man Hut
Starveall Hut
Our voyage across Cook Strait turned out to be very pleasant, with the sea so calm I could almost have kayaked.
Wellington waterfront
Wellington on a fine afternoon is a very pleasant place to be. We are parked on Waterloo Quay for the night, waiting to catch a ferry to the mainland tomorrow morning.
Continue reading Wellington waterfront
Kaniwhaniwha and Pukemokemoke
We were sorry to have missed the last Indian Ink Theatre Company production, so we decided to attend the opening night of their new play, The Elephant Thief. This meant an overnight trip to the Waikato, because the Meteor Theater is in Hamilton.
Continue reading Kaniwhaniwha and Pukemokemoke
Riccarton Christchurch
Since we are attending the NZ Skeptics conference in Christchurch this weekend, we decided to fly down a day early and spend some time checking out how the earthquake recovery is going. Last time I was here the central city was intact, so I was interested to see how much things have changed.
Continue reading Riccarton Christchurch
Goldie’s Bush
In December we are planning a five-day tramp in the Richmond Range with a couple of friends who have recently been trekking in South America, carrying full packs up over 5000 metres, so Felicity and I feel like we need to increase our fitness level significantly. Today seemed like a good opportunity to head into the bush out near the west coast for a hike.
Continue reading Goldie’s Bush
Waiwera River
After a long walk around Omaha Beach yesterday, we decided that we would rest our legs and exercise our arms today by kayaking up the Waiwera river.
Continue reading Waiwera River
Saul’s Naming Day in Noosa
My latest grandson Saul is almost five months old, but getting his extended family together in one place has taken a bit of time to organise. Felicity, Judith and I flew over to Brisbane on Friday morning, at the civilised time of 9.30am.
Continue reading Saul’s Naming Day in Noosa
Apia
Felicity is not normally a person who responds to on-line adverts, but the when a message appeared on her tablet one cold grey morning at breakfast offering a very cheap five night package holiday in Samoa, she checked her diary and discovered a mostly free week. We had hoped to enjoy some summer weather during our recent Scotland trip, but it just didn’t happen, so I think she felt a bit deprived.
Continue reading Apia
Shanghai
I had planned to spend two days and a night in Shanghai on my way back from the UK, but Typhoon Chan-hom’s 125 MPH winds on Friday caused my flight to be cancelled.
Continue reading Shanghai
Gloucester
On our way back to Oxford we stopped off to visit Gloucester Cathedral, which people have told us is one of the best examples in the country.