sylviain

Sylvia writing... Home at last! We have had a lovely holiday, especially in New Zealand which we loved and I would like to thank Iain for the time and effort he put into organising it all. Everything went to plan apart from the few changes due to weather. We'd like to especially thank Nigel & his parents in Perth for their brilliant hospitality, to Sue & Martin in Sydney for theirs and to Stephen in Sydney and Helen & Rich in Auckland for taking the time to meet up with us. We would also like to thank everyone who took the time to read the blog and look at the photos and we hope you didn't get too bored. Oh, but it's nice to be home! Love, Sylvia & Iain xx... read more

Thu 12 Apr ------------ So to Hong Kong for our last 3 days before coming home. We are both looking forward to getting home now and we are missing friends and family. Up at 3:30am for flight to Melbourne. Flies about 6:15am and is a 3+ hour flight. Arrived in Melbourne at 8:00am (adjusting clocks back 2 hours). Flight to Hong Kong not until 14:15 so we have 6 hours in the airport! Flew to Hong Kong and after a 9 1/2 hour flight and a 1 1/2 hour transfer to our hotel, we arrived at 00:30am (having adjusted clocks back another 2 hours). We have now been up with no sleep for 25 hours and have to be up for a City Tour trip at 8:25am in the morning (a little bad planning here, thanks ... read more

Tue 10 Apr ----------- Christchurch for 2 days. An uneventful journey, not too much to look at on the way. This coast has no lakes & mountains but it has lots of fields and it is still pretty. Weather is overcast when we left but drove into sunshine and it wasn't a bad day but the weather does seem to be changing now. Christchurch is still suffering badly from the Feb 2011 earthquake which devastated the city. There are so many places you just can't enter because it is too dangerous. We went for a walk in the botanical gardens and that's pretty much all we did in the afternoon. Wed 11 Apr ------------ Ourt last day today in New Zealand. It's raining. We suppose the good weather couldn't last forever. We were supposed to be ... read more

Sun 8 Apr ---------- Off to Dunedin today, the Scottish part of NZ. Quite a decent sized city with a university and lots of Victorian & Edwardian architecture. We have crossed from the West coast of South Island to the East Coast and are as far south as we're going to get. We're pretty much oas far from home as we can be - really on the opposite side of the world. The climate should be similar to home but it is a lovely autumn here after what was apparently a disappointing summar. On the way here we passed deer farms. Venison is always on the dinner menu and there are more sheep here than on the North Island. However, there are only 30 million sheep left now as opposed to the 80 million they used ... read more

Fri 6 Apr --------- Happy Easter everybody! Off to Te Anau today for two nights and to Fiordland. The usual lovely journey with beautiful weather. Upon arriving about 12:30pm we got ourselves booked on a trip to the Glowworm Caves (apparently a "must do"). So before this we went to the local cinema (52 seats) to watch a 30 minute film which had also been recommended by the hotel reception. The film was taken by a local helicopter pilot of all the scenery and wildlife and it was very good. Next there was a little bird sanctuary nearby in which they had a very rare New Zealand bird called a Takahe. There are only about 200 left and at the sanctuary they have managed to raise a chick which is doing well. They were thought to ... read more

Wed 4 Apr ----------- To Queenstown today and Lake Wakatipu. These places just get better & better. Another Mercure hotel so it is a good standard. A room with two double beds and, yes, you guessed, we had one each. Unfortunately here we have no balcony but then none of the rooms here have one. The swimming pool, although it looks gorgeous, is freezing cold but there is a lovely jacuzzi hot tub to relax in. On the way here we took our time with the relatively short drive and stopped off at various points along the way, including a falls called Roaring Meg Falls which apparently was named after a voluptuous barmaid who worked in the area back in the early days. We also crossed the 45th parallel so are now in the bottom quarter ... read more

Mon 2 Apr --------- Off to Franz Josef today and the glacier. A few beautiful sights along the way, lakes, waterfalls etc. It's a beautiful day and quite warm for a town at the bottom of a glacier. So here we are with jumpers and fleeces at the ready. We left our fleeces in the tour office as it really was very warm. We had booked a half day trip to go up to and on the glacier, having been assured that the walk was easy to moderate. OK, so we set off about 1pm having been issued with rain jacket, boots, socks and crampons. Feeling somewhat anxious as all the rest of the party were much younger and looked a lot fitter than us. Bus to car park took about 10 mins then a walk ... read more

Sat 31 Mar ----------- Sitting outside our room on a lovely balcony in the warm sunshine, overlooking a nice river with a glass of wine, while we write this (are you sick yet?). We are in Nelson now, yes, named after Lord Nelson. Lots of street names such as Trafalgar St, Hardy St, Nile St, Victory Square etc. It's a lovely town. We just love NZ. We can't begin to explain how beautiful the scenery in here on the South Island. We thought that North Island was really prtetty but this place is absolutely stunning. We drove for 30 mins off the beaten track on the way to Nelson to a place called Okiwi Bay. Was well worth it cos it was lovely (although somewhat inundated with little sand flies). It also helps that the sun ... read more

Wed 28/Thu 29 Mar -------------------- Two days in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. A little longer drive of about 4 hours, but partly due to a detour because the main road through a gorge was closed so we had to go a longer way round. Stunning scenery along the route. Staying in an Ibis hotel and room is a little smaller than we have been used to but it's OK. Think we have been spoiled a bit. A bit quiet for a capital city although lots of students here. Very nice place with lovely buildings. On Wed evening we went to the cinema to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". It was very good and we both enjoyed it even though there was a guy sat next to us who must be the Wellington town ... read more

Tue 27 Mar ----------- Woke up this morning to another clear blue sky. On our way today to Napier which is called the "Art Deco" capital of New Zealnd (if not the world). Well, we were giving Rotorua 10/10 but need to demote it now as we need to give Napier 10/10. What a lovely place this is and we have a lovely room overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The drive to Napier was about 3 hours brokjen up with various stops and for a visit to Huka Falls which were amazing (and were also free for a change!). The journey was lovely because of the stunning scenery which was a bit like a cross between the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District, with its rolling hills, mountains & valleys. One of the prettiest journeys we have ... read more