Thursday, 12th March 2009 After arriving in Albany we stopped at the tourist bureau where we were given a list of caravan parks. We decided to try the Kalgan River Caravan Park just out of town because it was on a river and looked peaceful. We were right! It was lovely and we were given a river bank site which would have been perfect for a longer stay. We wandered through the Albany shops before going to Rags ex brother and sister in law, Jeff and Fran who have recently retired to Albany as 2 of their 3 children live here. [View Full Entry]

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Friday 13th March 2009 A drive around the inlet and Bremer Bay beaches was enjoyed after we’d found Fran and Jeff’s and unhitched the van. We saw on a sign that the Sportsmen’s Club was having a $15 Friday night roast chicken or steak night so decided that was the way to go for the evening. When we arrived just after 6pm we were among the first so we bought a drink and joined a few of the locals at a table outside. We had a very enjoyable night and the porterhouse steaks were fantastic but as good was the terrific [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 11 March 2009 We left Manjimup soon after breakfast and went into town where we refuelled and shopped before heading toward Mt Barker on the Muir Highway. Our first stop was Muir Lake, a vast salt lake, very dry at this time of the year and little bird life. Not far down the road we found a lovely camping spot at the Frankland River crossing. Here we spent a relaxing afternoon, walking down to the river and Rags trying out his fishing rod only to find nothing jumped on the line! [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 8th - Wednesday 11th March 2009 Approaching Manjimup near noon we felt it rude to arrive right on lunch time so instead went into Manjimup where we enjoyed an all day breakfast at the little cafeteria in the main street with old fashioned lace curtains in the window. We weren’t alone - there were lots of (other?) grey nomads enjoying a variety of food. Arriving at Julie and Rupert’s property we found them almost finished lunch so we joined them in a cup of coffee. The rest of the afternoon was spent on little jobs. In the early evening the [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 14th October After a good night's sleep we were awake by about 0700, Judy going for a walk along the beach whilst Rags prepared to go. We left before having any breakfast, having this at a roadside stop next to a lake before the town of Ward. We continued down to Ohau Point, a seal colony reserve. We had been made aware of this stop through a travel blog by somebody else and they also mentioned the Ohau Falls. This was the highlight of the day, these falls being just a short distance inland from the seal colony. There were [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 11th October We were at the building from where the water taxi was to leave at 0900 by 0830. After booking our tickets we had enough time to pack a lunch and our things in a backpack before being loaded onto the boat with 15 others and then driven by tractor to the launching ramp. As the tide was in we were actually launched from the ramp, later the water recedes about 2-300m out and it becomes a beach launch. The boat is an aluminium craft made the same as a rubber dinghy with pontoons as the sides. Makes for [View Full Entry]

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Thursday 9th October After an early start we were in Hokitika just as the shops were opening. Before we went into town we stopped at the river entrance and looked back over the ranges to the east. The cloud had lifted a little and we could see some snow-capped mountains. On a clear day apparently you can see all the alps including Mt Cook. Just doesn't seem that we are going to see this icon on this trip! Hokitika is known for its NZ jade, originally called greenstone by the Maoris, and there are many shops selling the end product. After [View Full Entry]

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Monday 6th October Beautiful morning at Glendhu Bay, near Wanaka, and we spent the first few hours doing mundane things such as washing and preparing the van. Then on the road to the Rob Roy Glacier, termed the jewel of the Mt Aspiring National Park. We travelled about 50km from where we campedat Lake Glendhu, the last 30km on a good gravel road through farm country and very scenic. About 6km from the end cars were parked at the side of a shallow stream. As the bottom looked hard and the water wasn't too deep we continued through, this occurring several [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 8th October It rained heavily from about 0400 and both of us had a fitful night. On our way and first stop was just up the road, Fox Glacier. A short walk got us to the observation area but when we saw others in the distance near the foot of the glacier we ducked under the marker tape and moved quickly along a rockfall area, keeping our eyes peeled. On our return this section was open so it couldn't have been too bad. After a bit of fun trying to get across streams of gushing cold water we managed to [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 4th October It was still raining when we awoke so we set off headed for Queenstown about 150kms away. As the rain didn't abate we didn't stop at Lumsden where we were going to do some shopping and refuel. Instead we continued on and until 10kms before Kingston we saw the Kingston Flyer, a vintage steam train, just about to leave on its journey back. This gave us enough time to take a few photos of this fine old machine. Queenstown, set on Lake Wakatipu, is what you would expect for a tourist town on the snowfields and in the [View Full Entry]

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