If you turn off State Highway 1 at the point where it vears away from the Waikato River and heads west to Tirau you will find yourself on the Horahora Road. This follows the eastern bank down towards Arapuni. About half way along is a large reserve on the edge of the river, with a nice launching ramp, so that’s where we headed.
Continue reading Little Waipa Reserve
Tag: river
Shrewsbury
On our way to Ludlow a couple of weeks ago, we passed through the town of Shrewsbury on the train, and thought it looked interesting. When we learned that it has over 660 listed historic buildings we decided it would be a good destination for our final adventure before we head back to London tomorrow.
Continue reading Shrewsbury
Royal Leamington Spa
Although the Romans knew about the spring at Lamintone (meaning farm on the River Leam), it was lost again until 1784 when William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell, inhabitants of the village by then known as Leamington Priors re-discovered the medicinal qualities of the water in a well outside the local church.
Continue reading Royal Leamington Spa
Warwick
Another town we were told we shouldn’t miss is Warwick, on the banks of the Avon River about 15 km upstream of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is about a 30 minute train ride from Birmingham so we arrived by mid-morning yesterday. Continue reading Warwick
Stratford-upon-Avon
Since it is only half an hour’s train ride from Birmingham, we went to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare today. The photo above is his actual childhood bedroom. As there is a £5 per person walking tour we decided to start with that and learn a bit about the town.
Continue reading Stratford-upon-Avon
Ludlow
When we heard that the medieval town of Ludlow on the edge of the Shropshire Hills is one of the most attractive in the country, it shot to the top of our list for a day’s outing. We had to change trains at Shrewsbury, so it was nearly lunchtime by the time we arrived. Continue reading Ludlow
Vitozza
Vitozza was one of the largest cave settlements in central Italy, and has over 200 dwellings excavated from the volcanic tuff stone. It was inhabited from Etruscan times (around 800 BC) until the end of the 18th century.
Continue reading Vitozza
Warsaw
The capital of Poland is a very different scale to any of the other cities in the country, all of which are under a million people. The population of “Varsharva”, as the locals pronounce it, is over 3 million. This makes it the 8th biggest city in the European Union, and it has one of the highest numbers of sky-scrapers.
Continue reading Warsaw
Biking around Krakow
I’ve spent the last couple of days exploring the area around Krakow on a hired mountain-bike while Felicity has been at the WONCA conference. Many Poles ride bikes, and there are bike trails all over the place.
Continue reading Biking around Krakow
Kazimierz – Krakow’s Jewish Quarter
On our first day in Krakow we set off from our apartment at Stradomska 5 (marked on the map below), and walked into the old town which is very close. The surrounding green park is just outside the city wall. When we arrived at Rynek Glowny (the main market square), the first thing we spotted was a group of tourists about to depart on a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, so we decided to tag along. Continue reading Kazimierz – Krakow’s Jewish Quarter
Pinders Pond and Waihao Box
Because I wanted to visit my aunt in Alexandra we decided to stay for the night at a place just south of Roxburgh called Pinders Pond. To our astonishment there were already two Explorer Navigator motorhomes parked there side-by-side so we joined them. Continue reading Pinders Pond and Waihao Box
Horseshoe Bend
A few kilometers down the Clutha River from Millers Flat there is an old ghost town named Horseshoe Bend. At the height of the gold rush in 1863 it had a population of several hundred people. Today there are only a few signboards to mark its existance. Continue reading Horseshoe Bend
Catlins Coast to Owaka
Because the weather was forecast to be wet, we planned to head out for a day trip and return to Curio Bay, but we changed our minds about mid-afternoon and ended up at Pounawea instead. The motor camp is on the edge of the Catlins River surrounded by mature bush, and there is more bird song than we have heard anywhere on our trip so far. Continue reading Catlins Coast to Owaka
Albert Town and Rob Roy Glacier
At the top of the Matukituki River, which runs into Lake Wanaka, there is a track up to a lookout where visitors can admire the Rob Roy Glacier. The local tourist information center claims it is “one of the best half-day walks in NZ”, and I reckon they are probably right.
Continue reading Albert Town and Rob Roy Glacier
Auckland to Christchurch
As Felicity managed to have her two weeks annual leave scheduled just before Easter, we took the opportunity to head for the South Island with our kayaks on the roof of the motorhome.
Continue reading Auckland to Christchurch
Omahuta Forest
On Boxing Day our daughter and her boyfriend flew up from Wellington to join us for a week exploring the Far North. As the weather looked pretty good we decided to take them on an overnight tramp along part of the Te Araroa Trail from near Mangamuka Bridge into the Omahuta Forest. Continue reading Omahuta Forest
A visit to the doctors in Coromandel
Part of Felicity’s job is to recruit and encourage doctors to help train medical students by giving them real world experience. We’ve spent the last week touring around Coromandel in the motorhome visiting many of the region’s general practitioners. Continue reading A visit to the doctors in Coromandel
Horahora River
In between Pataua and Ngunguru is a river called the Horahora, on the NZ topographical map anyway. On Google Maps it is confusingly named Waitangi, despite the fact that there is much better known river with the same name in the Bay of Islands a bit further north. Continue reading Horahora River
Dunham Reserve and Blue Lake
Despite the fact that heavy rain was forecast for Saturday night we decided to spend the weekend kayaking, and the Rotorua area seemed the obvious choice. We left home on Friday morning, and made it as far as Karapiro by lunchtime. Continue reading Dunham Reserve and Blue Lake
Karapiro and Matamata
For the first time since our return from Europe we’ve spent a weekend in the motorhome down in the Waikato. Felicity had an appointment at midday Saturday in Hamilton, but we hit the road early on Friday morning, and as usual she worked with her Surface Pro on her lap all the way down the motorway.
Continue reading Karapiro and Matamata