Day 3: 21.5km, 6 hours, James Mackay - Heaphy Hut Today was almost completely down hill. Heaven. We were back in the forest again but as we descended during the day towards the coast and mouth of the Heaphy River there was a noticeable change in the types of trees and vegetation that we saw, moving from predominately beech at the start of the day towards and increasing number of nikau palms at the end of the day. A few of the girls were starting to get some quite evil blistering and rashes but we still made steady progress. Poor Aileen took a wee tumble at one point which, with a few juicy embellishments, made for a good story later. We crossed lots more swingbridges, stopped for lunch at the Lewis Hut and eventually got ... read more

As usual I'm running behind with my blogs again!! Here's the update on our xmas adventures!! This Christmas was the first one that I have spent abroad and in the sunshine - and it was fab! The trip didn't start too well for Aileen, Helen and I who got thoroughly ripped off with the taxi ride to Welly airport (two english and a scot obviously sounded more like tourists than locals!), but that was more than made up for by the lovely taxi driver we had when we arrived in Nelson - he took us the scenic route to our hostel and gave us a running commentary on local sights and history as we drove along!! As the seven of us were all arriving at different times we'd decided that Ails, Helen and I would be ... read more

It's been a little while since I've updated my journal!! I'm currently sitting in a cybercafe (they don't call them internet cafe's here) in Hong Kong.... but more on that later. Here's the quick round up of my last few months in Wellington!! I've been doing quite well on the cultural front lately. Helen and I went to see the Buena Vista Social Club, a group of 80 plus Cuban musicians and singers that played in Havana in the 1940's and 50's. I'd seen them 8 years ago when I was living in Cambridge, and whilst there were a few less of them this time (the singer Ibrahim Ferrer and the amazing Ruben Gonzalez and Compay Segundo have all died since I saw them last), the show was excellent. This time the show was based around ... read more

I'm now in Welly but for the last month I've been living in the most beautiful place. I didn't really want to leave but it's time I moved on to the next stage of my travels.... more of that in my next journal entry but in the mean time here are the highlights of my last month...... I've been 'woofing' in a hostel and generally looking after the place whilst the owner went on holiday - essentially in exhange for a bed, food, vino and use of a car I've been doing a few hours work each day making beds, cleaning bathrooms, feeding chickens, walking the dog and chatting to the guests. Oh and driving people to the start of the Heaphy track in the 4 wheel drive. That was soooo much fun - especially the ... read more

I wasn't quite sure where to go after my overnight stop in Murchinson. The initial plan had been the Nelson Lakes, which I’d been told were lovely and where I could do some good day walks, but then there was the alternative option of the making use of the car and clocking up some miles!! In the end it came down to a spur of the moment decision when I got up in the morning......... After Abel Tasman another favourite from our trip last year was the West Coast - I remember Sam and I were driving from Motueka down to Franz Joseph, we’d spent several hours going through lots of lovely green valleys and then we turned a corner and suddenly there was this huge wave that looked like it was going to crash straight ... read more