Blogs from Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Well after a 3 hour flight we arrived in Christchurch and the quaintist little Victorian B & B just outside the centre of town. We decided to head off and meet up with our friend Roger who had flown in a few days earlier and was joining a tour group the following week. There the shock began. Most of Christchurch had been either demolished or had been condemned and was awaiting demolition. It was as though the whole city had been bombed. We had known about the earthquake a year ago but nothing prepared us for the complete devastation we saw. It was heart rending. The people that were still living there were desperately trying to be optimistic and where the shopping mall had once stood a few of the shops had re-opened in shipping containers. ... read more

Well, so much has happened since we started that it's difficult to keep it all in perspective. After dropping of our excess and unwanted items (too much baggage again!) at our friends place we set out south from Christchurch to Akaroa. Having read so much about this place we were still thrilled by the spectacular scenery on the way up the mountains and down the other side into the large volcanic waterway with Akaroa and other little villages perched on it's waterfront. Akaroa is a pretty little scenic town which had been settled by the French in 1840 and still is supposed to have descendents from that time living there. They were a tad slow in taking "possession" as trhe Brits beat them to it! The town earns it's tourist reputation from it's "French flavour" which ... read more

Med over 120 besøg på vores sidste blog opslag, føler vi os efterhånden et pres for at levere gode nyheder fra downunder J I dag, var turens første ”rigtige dag” i New Zealand, og vi lagde hårdt ud fra start. Klokken 04.00 ringede vækkeuret, og selvom det er tidligt var det ikke noget problem at komme op, da vi dels stadigvæk er på dansk tid, samt glædede os meget til det der skulle ske… Med bus blev vi kørt 35 km væk fra Christchurch, og med vores skipper Nigel og co-pilot Jeff, var vi klar til noget vi havde set frem til længe. At opleve solen stå op fra en luftballon. En del af oplevelsen var, udover selve flyveturen, også det at hjælpe med at folde den store luftballon ud, som når det er fyldt med ... read more

Lake Tekapo is the most astonishing blue colour I have ever seen! The glacial flour from the rocks make it look so clean and inviting. We explored the tiny church with the best views in the world, wandered up to the statue of a dog - (a tribute to the collie breed without which the land could not be used for grazing and reminding us that we were in true farming country). We gazed in awe at the huge hills and snowy peaks surrounding the lake. With the hot thermal pools next door and lake views from our tent this was the perfect campsite for tonight. After pitching our tents we grabbed our mountain bikes and headed for the hills - it was an awesome off road ride around the lake, round a small section of ... read more

A slightly shorter week between games for us, with only 6 days to tour some more of this amazing country. We set off for Twizel (pronouced Twyzel), hoping to see some Maori cave art, but unfortunately erosion had caused the area of rock to collapse, which is a dreadful shame. We are planning on visiting another area when we visit Roturua on the north island though. We had planned to stay in Twizel until we met up with a lovely welsh couple whilst viewing Mount Cook and they said that we should visit Lake Tekapo a few kilometres north as there was an observatory which was worth a visit and the area was amazing. So we changed our plans and shot off there instead.......and boy were we glad we did, as we finished up going on ... read more

New Zealand day 3 Aaaahhhh the serenity- how’s your serenity? Ours is great thanks- on the shore of LakeTekapo...bit bloody cold, but in a park again (electricity for the heater & Rays breathing machine). Keep saying we will venture out into the ‘camping’ but have yet to find a place that is suitable.....and warm. Funny that- it is autumn after all. And speaking of autumn- damn it is beautiful- yes the weather/temperature is ‘fresh’, but the colours of the tres as they change & drop their leaves is beautiful...stunning really. This morning we woke to.....no rain- bugger me.......that was a new one! It was a bit misty/overcast, but nothing that a few hours of shopping couldn’t fix. Went to a craft shop or two, tried on some merino wool products- price tag to match. Had a ... read more