Blogs from Picton, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 4

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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton June 5th 2012

Monday 7th May How many more glorious sunny mornings will there be? Down on the waterfront in Picton harbour for some last minute photos and watching the inter-island ferry from Wellington appear in the distance thru some lifting fog. Just beautiful. We haven't done the ferry crossing, yet, however can only imagine what a stunning sight the passengers on this one must be experiencing! We will do it for sure next time. We then spent a bit of time walking around the main street in Picton and as usual discover some nice looking shops that we wished we had time to look thru. Early is a nice time to "discover' a town. Just before the shops open and people are going to work and the coffee shops are brewing their fresh aromas and there is always ... read more
 Picton
Ferry coming in, Picton
Ferry coming in, Picton

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton May 14th 2012

George (with commentary by Al): On Monday we leave Devonport and go to Whitianga (pronounced Vitianga) (Actually pronounced Fitianga, Ed!). We arrive at the campsite 3 hours after we left. The campsite has a trampoline. The following day we go to a beach that has hot water in the sand. We dig a hole and then lie down in the hot water. On Wednesday we go to Coromandel Town. We go up the hill to an old Maori settlement but there are no tepees. Ruby runs off and we don’t know which direction she goes down. The next day we drive to a town called Rotorua which is over hot springs. The campsite is right by the lake and the geothermal activity in the area is apparent everywhere. The radiators in the mobile home are heated ... read more
Hot Water Beach (3)
Hot Water Beach (6)
Hot Water Beach (8)

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton April 18th 2012

18-19th April ’12 Picton The drive wasn’t too long today so we stopped at a small town called Blenheim to have a look around. There’s not a lot to say about it, it was nice enough but had quite a lot of empty shops and a war memorial which was fenced of due to earthquake damage. We arrived at Picton about 2ish and easily found our hostel for the next 2 nights –The Sequoia Lodge. It was a small place with tiny private rooms and dorm accommodation. There was also an outdoor spa pool (which we didn’t try out) and its claim to fame…….free chocolate pudding and ice cream every night at 8pm. We walked into the town for a look around, it is a very small place with the usual one main street but we ... read more
Blenheim
Picton
Picton

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton February 14th 2012

I haven't been posting anything of late because I haven't been anywhere since the last trip to Asia. Well, I have been somewhere - I moved to the busy metropolis of Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island, so I figured that until I go do some "real" travelling again I may as well post short blogs whenever I go on nearby birding trips. This blog is about Picton where I went to see a king shag. If you're not from New Zealand (or are not a birder, in which case why are you even reading this?) "shag" is what we call cormorants. The king shag is a particularly rare endemic species, found only in the Marlborough Sounds. The total population is about 650 birds. I took the Dolphin Watch Eco-tours' boat which includes ... read more
Yellow-crowned Kakariki (Cyanoramphus auriceps)
Yellow-crowned Kakariki (Cyanoramphus auriceps)
South Island Robin (Petroica australis australis)

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton February 10th 2012

Hopefully enclosed are some pictures from week 4 of our travels. They are taken in Hamner Springs, Kakoura Penninsula and Blenheim . The two pics of saddles is a referance to the pain inflicted on me by my saddle compared to the out and out luxury of Sue's saddle. I think its something to do with the genetic make up of the female backside, large! Blog 5 will hopefully be published on Sunday/ Monday depending on how long we are on the inter Island ferry. All the best, J and S... read more
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Photo 20

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton February 10th 2012

New Zealand – Wk 5 Monday 6th Feb A bright and sunny start to the day. Every intention today to go Salmon fishing so we are up and organised early and set off. On the way i detour along to Tata Beach to view the multiple landslides that have occurred along the route. These slips happened the week we arrived in NZ and were the result of torrential rain in the NW area of the Island that lasted for over a week. It’s no surprise really that these took place as the ground is made up of 90% sand. Apparently the road will not be repaired due to the many millions of Dollars it would cost so it is likely future access will have to be on foot or by boat. A real blow to the ... read more
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Photo 25

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton February 9th 2012

Efter 3 dage med afslapning, strandturer, og en masse sol, var det nu blevet tid til at komme videre. Pohara var et rigtigt dejligt sted, som i de dage, vi var der, viste sig fra sin absolut bedste side. I dag gik turen over bjergene (eller det hedder nok bare bakker i New Zealand) og ned langs Tasman Bay til Picton, som er bedre kendt for sine færgeruter til nord øen, og for sine fisketure, som er, hvorfor Papa har fået indlagt to overnatninger her. Vejen hertil var super flot, og vi måtte flere gange gøre stop. Dog var det sidste stop mindre frivilligt, da en politibetjent stoppede Papa, for at køre 112 km/t, hvor man måtte køre 100!!!!! Er MEGET glad for, at det ikke var mig, der blev stoppet, da jeg sikkert var blevet ... read more
Frokost :)
Picton
Picton

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton January 31st 2012

Brilliant day of sunshine to start my adventure to do part of the Queen Charlotte Track......started at Ship Cove to Resolution Bay.......about a 15km hike........ended up at Furneaux Resort.....it's about an hour by water taxi to start and then an hour or so return, depending on stops.......breathtaking regardless.......... read more
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P1010123
enjoying the best part!

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton December 25th 2011

A few photo's of New Zealand South Island: Staveley, Moeraki Boulders, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Queenstown, Wanaka/Lake Wanaka, Fox Glacier, Franz Joseph Glacier, Pancake Rocks, Picton More blog entry to follow later.... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton December 25th 2011

This year brought us thousands of miles, through storms, perfect sunsets, remote islands and to our most Southerly destination in the Marborough Sounds, South Island, New Zealand where we wish you a Merry Christmas. We hope all of you are having a beautiful time surrounded by family, friends, festivities, great food and lots of love. We are enjoying the peace and quiet of glassy bays, perfect weather (for the moment :) ) and many bird songs. We are currently exploring the sounds with the family who owns Volpaia and they are deeply moved by the beauty of this area... as we are too. Of course our thoughts and hearts are constantly drawn to all of you who make our lives so rich. We will be BBQ-ing on deck tonight at sunset and toasting to health, happiness ... read more




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