October 2 - In the morning we said goodbye to Chris and Lesley, and took a tour of Queenstown before heading off for our first ‘official tramp’ in the New Zealand bush. Now, in Canada where I’m from, a ‘tramp’ is a word not much used nowadays. But, when I was growing up, a tramp was a hobo or a bum or someone down on their luck. Here, a tramp is a trek or a hike. Before reaching this tramp, we drove through the Remarkables along Lake Wakatipu. David's photo fingers were just itching as the weather was not great -- perfect for him. Lake Sylvan is an easy, beautiful trail through the bush with plenty of beach trees and green moss. At the beginning, there is a suspension bridge that needs to be crossed. This ... read more

September 30 – Today we visited the Dunedin Botanical gardens and saw more rhododendrons than I knew existed! (and this was early spring – there are more to come!) There were numerous gardens with plants from various countries, some that I even recognized! We stopped at Signal Hill in Dunedin which offers wonderful views of the city. While the wind whipped around our heads, Brian painted a picture of the first ships coming into the harbour led by Scottish evangelists from the Free Church of Scotland standing on the ship's bow reading the bible -- they really must have thought they were creating a new Eden! We then headed off for a brief view of Baldwin Street which is considered to be the steepest road in the world! Following lunch, we did a short tour of ... read more

September 29 – Before I start this day, I should talk about how we came to be at Brian and Diane’s home. Almost three years ago, I attended the Association of Personal Historian’s conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a conference that brings together people who are interested in collecting, recording and publishing the stories we often cherish, but don’t always write down. Most of the people at the conference come from across the United States with a smaller contingent from Canada, and even a smaller number from other countries. Two of these people were Brian and Diane, and I happened to sit at their table. In the course of conversation, I mention that I had an aunt in Auckland, and someday hoped to visit New Zealand. Well, not needing any further explanation, they pulled ... read more

September 28 – After leaving Christchurch, our first stop was in the Victorian Precinct of Oamaru. This is an area filled with fabulous shops in turn-of-the-century buildings selling Victorian arts and crafts, clothing, and souvenirs. Many of the shops had people who were dressed up in Victorian costumes as well as artisans right on site, one of whom was and interesting chap (Brian had told us about) named Michael O’Brien. He operates a book binder shop – a truly unique profession in this day of print-on-demand. Of course, there was also the Whiskey Shop which David found interesting, but not nearly enough time to explore (read: he didn’t do any tasting.) We did however, do some tasting at Annie’s Tea House. I don’t usually have dessert, but it’s one of those things I love doing when ... read more

September 26 – After breakfast and a chat with our great B&B host, Vivian, we headed off for a hike. But first we had to drive around a bit. (David does like to drive these twisty roads in our brand new zippy car!) Eventually, we found the Okareka Walkway, a trail that went along a lake. It was a cool, windy day (even the birds didn’t look pleased) so we battened down the hatches and started off. Other than one other couple, we were quite alone until our way back when we met one lone man from England. David, who was further up the path, met Jeffery first. When I caught up, Jeffery broke into song, “It’s good to see you today! it’s good to see you today!" I thought he would stop after this, but ... read more