Iain D
Love travelling. Unfortunately my job restricts this to about two or three times a year.Blackheart
Have a huge mental list of "must-see" places to go. Hope I live long enough to complete it :o)
Travel Blog Posts
NZ Trip 2006. Part 4 - Queenstown & Fjordland
Published: December 14th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown
April 23rd 2006
Sunday 23rd April. After a very sleepless night (torrential rain and high winds) we awoke to a sunny morning in Fox, ready for our journey through the Mount Aspiring National Park - destination Queenstown. After about 60 miles we arrived at Haast, the last town before the climb up through the National Park, a trip of about 50 miles to the next town Makarora. Unfortunately all the previous nights rain led to a mudslide on the road about 30 miles ahead and we were forced to spend 2 hours in Haast while waiting on news of the situation. It was pointless turning around as the only other way to Queenstown was via a 500 mile (?) detour back the way we came ! To kill some time we decided to head down to a little fishing ... read more
NZ Trip 2006 . Part 3 - South to Christchurch & Westland
Published: December 14th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch
April 19th 2006
Wednesday 19th April Today would take us on the 2 hour drive down to Auckland airport for our flight to South Island and the city of Christchurch. Decided to take the 'alternative route' from Wellsford down the West coast overlooking the Kaipara Harbour and in to Auckland. We had set off quite early as we wanted to visit the Villa Maria winery near Auckand airport. Spent a couple of hours at the estate sampling half a dozen V.M varieties and nibbles. ( Needless to say a few bottles were purchased and smuggled onto our flight for later refreshments) . After returning the hire car we checked in for our short flight down to south island. Flight went very smooth, landed in evening sunshine at Christchurch, taxied to the Camelot Hotel in centre of town which has ... read more
NZ Trip 2006. Part 2 - Northland (Mangawhai)
Published: February 25th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Northland
April 16th 2006
Sunday 16th April Another pleasant sunny day when we awoke after a much needed kip. Today would see us head back into Auckland (by bus this time Mum !) to see some more of the city and pick up our hire car. We travelled around the outer city centre by bus and decided to head down to the harbourside for lunch. The harbour area is right in the central business district and is therefore dwarfed by the high office buildings but the quaint old Ferry terminal buildings still remain and are a welcome sight amongst the glass and concrete towers. So after a spot of lunch and a shandy we picked up our Toyota Previa and headed back to Bavaria to collect our luggage. After loading up, we took a trip up to the top Mount ... read more
NZ Trip 2006. Part 1 - Auckland
Published: February 25th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland
April 15th 2006
Arrived in NZ - Finally ! After a marathon 24 hours travelling from Edinburgh via Heathrow and a 3 hour "rest" in Hong Kong airport we finally made it to the other side of the planet and our first port of call, Auckland. For those of you who have not attempted 2 x 12 hour flights more or less back to back, let me tell you it is NOT to be recommended. Torture ! My name is Iain, my travelling companions were my wife Jane and my mum Dorothy. This was to be the first leg of our 4 week tour of NZ. As I was approaching the ripe old age of 40, Jane and I decided to have a holiday a bit different to lazing on a Meditteranean beach for 2 weeks. Mum had been ... read more
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