Matilda

Woke to a pretty good morning and after a hearty breakfast, had a look around Te Anau. Bought a beautiful Paua Shell and a Green Jade Pounamu ring, two of the natural treasures New Zealand is famous for. Our destination today - Curio Bay on the South Coast Stopped on the way at the most southerly lighthouse at Waipapa Point and came across to huge Fur Seals on the beach. They were beasts and kept a healthy distance. Arrived at the very quirky Curio Bay Camping Ground. If you are looking for luxury, this certainly isnt it. The washing up area and toilets were in strange little round concrete buildings as was the shower that needed coins, but the water was hot and it all worked. But, if you can cope with much less it was ... read more

Thurs 10th- Well, that night we had a thunder storm soooo loud Josh thought it was an earthquake at which point we wondered if a camper van might be a tad too conductive to electricity. Mmmm. Anyway, by the morning the skies brightened and, whilst Julian decided to stay smelly, Josh & I got round a shower with a quick, very refreshing dip in the lake, joined only by a few not too impressed ducks. After breakfast and our little mug of sunshine as Josh called it, we set off for Mount Cook. The drive was beautiful with 55kms being alongside the equally stunning opaque-blue Lake Pukaki. The view of Mount Cook from the Lookout information centre on the way was beyond description, but Josh will remember it as the place where we lost one of ... read more

Ok, this is the last of this weeks uploads and hope you're all not getting too fed up of the blogs but trying to share as much as possible with family and friends:) It is a bit heavier than normal days out but hopefully still worth a read. As the title suggests, Sydney holds this event every other year. This year its running from 27th June -16 September and is titled 'all our relations'. From one write up I saw, the works aim to 'directly address current local and global issues, such as migration, contamination, corruption and coercion' presented 'in a way related to our senses, rather than in the negative and critical way we have become accustomed to'. 100 artists are exhibiting overall with the event being spread over different venues: The Art Gallery of ... read more

Julian & I have recently decided that we need to explore more of Sydney to get to know it better. So the Saturday before last, we purchased a day pass from our local newsagents for $21 (about £14) each which allows unlimited trips on Sydney's buses, trains and ferries so brilliant value and a great opportunity to explore. The first part of our journey was a 45min very easy bus ride into the city. These are regular, pretty much on time and always really well used by ALL ages (in sharp contrast to my recent bus trips in the UK that only seemed to be used by those with free bus passes, probably due to the fact they're so blinking expensive). We got off at the nearest stop to Circular Quay which was just a short ... read more

Tuesday 17th June - So back 2 stops towards Nadi on the Yasawa Flyer to Octopus Island where transferred to smaller fishing boat for Viwa Island Resort as off the main ferry track. The captain handed over to youngest member while he and his mate had smoko break and it was a fun, VERY bumpy ride. Arrived to the now normal greeting of musicians and scented frangipan garlands. Only 11 bure’s here that accommodate 28 maximum guests, but learnt only 2 other couples at the moment so pretty much have the resort to ourselves and the poshest one yet. All bures on the waters edge complete with sunbeds, hammock, white softest sand ever then straight into the sea. Mmmmm. Viwa Island is a very low lying coral atoll that was once below sea level and no ... read more