MALTA Strictly speaking, this isn’t our first trip of 2012 as we were lucky enough to have 3 weeks in Spain in February. The weather there was glorious and we met up with friends and spent a lot of the time walking in the mountains and socialising. We had hired a car as well so were able to go to the lakes and El Chorro and at last did a Field Club walk where we found the Arab Steps – an old set of steps cut into a mountain, which was built as an escape route for the Moors when they conquered Andalucia. Fantastic views, as there is on most of the walks we do in Spain...... Anyway, our first glimpse of Malta from the plane was very clear and we were able to pick out ... read more

Monday 12th December Chris’ 65th Birthday! A cloudy day which was very disappointing as we wanted to go on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which was 10 minutes away from the motel. This is a 2 1/2mile cable car ride from 2643ft to 8516ft up onto Mt San Jacinto State Park, with many walking trails at the top. We spoke to the guides at the bottom, who confirmed that it was in cloud and currently snowing at the top, with more bad weather forecast in the next few hours – part of the first winter storn affecting Southern California . A definite must for next time I think! Instead we had a walk up the Tahquitz Canyon, part of Agua Caliente Indian Reservation – This was a 2 mile way-marked path that follows the creek up ... read more

Monday 5th December Out to the airport by 9.30am to pick up a car and say fond farewells to Wendy and Peter before driving off on Highway 17 towards snowy Flagstaff! We were hoping the roads wouldn’t be too bad as there were reports on the TV of 4” of snow at Flagstaff! It soon turned into a beautiful sunny day, if somewhat cold and we soon climbed up another 2000ft to 4000ft and onto a high plateau! Quite a lot of snow in the shade and where the sun hadn’t melted it but the roads were very clear! Our first stop was Montezuma Castle, which is a high cave dwelling up in the rocks dating back to the Aztecs in 1100 AD. Had a wander around the short trail (the sky was soooo blue!) and ... read more

Sunday 27th November We left NZ at 15.15pm on Sunday 27th Nov and arrived in LA at 6.30am on Sunday 27th November!! We had allowed 5hrs ( as per internet advice!) to get through customs, collect baggage and get to the next terminal to check in again for our flight to San Francisco. I suppose it took about 2hrs so we had a 3hr wait in Terminal 5 for our 11.15am flight to Oakland. We all boarded the plane (50 seater!) and 15mins later we all disembarked due to mechanical problems! They were unsure at first whether the plane would be fixed and/or if another flight would be put on, but eventually they announced there would be a flight leaving at 13.30. Arrived in San Francisco about 15.00 ish and then took the bus to the ... read more

20th November 2011 We saved the best until last! A beautiful sunny morning and by 10.00 we were at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village (thats the short name!!) The long name is Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao which means – All the people that live in this village are direct descendents of Chief Wahiao! Took the guided tour of the village where it was explained that this was still a village where Maori people live and they do their cooking in the hot pools, bathe in the hot water, and the culture of the Maori people. We then had a half hour show of dancing, singing and the hakka before we were then allowed to wander freely in the village, exploring the streets and the churches with its graveyard of the chiefs and guides. We did the hours nature walk which gave ... read more