Karilyn, Neil, Corrine, Dougal, Anne, Joce, Lindsay and I left Richmond at 1pm and headed south stopping first at Maruia for a coffee and then on to Hanmer Springs for dinner before continuing south to Hurunui where we turned inland towards the Alps. We travelled 20 kms on the Amuri Plain alongside the Balmoral Forest before turning north from the Hurunui River along the Dove River through steep sided valleys with steeply dipping greywacke cuttings until we arrived at the Hurunui High Country Track start at the Island Hills Station. Here we were met by Mandy Shand and shown our quarters for the first night at the old Cook House. The building is split into several rooms consisting of a shower, large kitchen and lounge, four double bedrooms, a bunkroom and two outside toilets (flushing). Since ... read more

And so, the 3 month odyssey comes to an end. The day dawned clear, sunny and warm. A great day for holiday makers and many people were seen heading for the hills in their hiking gear or cycling gear. There were also many sunburnt bodies from yesterday's summery weather. It seems that summer has well and truly kicked in and whilst this may appear to be bad for us, it has saved us from getting too steamed up while hiking up mountains. Cooler is better and September is a far more sensible time to be in Europe. It was hard farewelling the house which may be sold by the next time we visit (if it happens again). It has been a home for us for 10 visits so we feel quite attached to it. A farewell ... read more

We spent this morning getting food, doing washing and bringing this Blog site up to date since we did not access to wifi internet while away in France. We have both chosen where we want to have our last two days in Switzerland with our favourite spots. Lindsay chose First and a walk to the Bacalpsee. We knew it was going to be teeming with tourists but we are tourists too so today we did the touristy thing. First is fantastic for it's views directly at the mountains across the Grindelwald valley. The journey up in the chairlift is the best that we have experienced in this country. It is idyllic. You look out over the valley with it's farms and town, but below as you journey up are the cows and their bells, goats, families ... read more

Lindsay and I started the day with a walk up the hill to St Martin de Castellan and back. By 8am the cafe was already frequented by some regular custom. From the main road nearby it is only 3km up to the village. We spent the rest of the morning relaxing by the swimming pool reading, and having an early lunch also by the pool. It was a lovely morning – warm and sunny with a light breeze. This was really like being on holiday. We were not off and about somewhere and lying in the sun is not something we ever do. In the afternoon, our last, we headed towards the east where we haven’t been before. We wanted to visit the Observatory at St Michel but at first could not find it from the ... read more

Lindsay and I headed up the road behind Le Boisset before breakfast to find the walking track that we couldn’t find yesterday. Some way up the road we found signs and headed up on what appeared to be a farm track but didn’t appear to have any destination. Eventually, Ray came running up behind us and we continued on to the top of a ridge and came across a road, and also the hiking signs we were looking for. After one and a quarter hours we arrived back at the Gite for breakfast. Then the rain arrived. And lightening. And thunder. We spent the rest of the morning holed up inside until lunch and we then headed out regardless. It’s one of the joys of having a car and not a train to catch for a ... read more