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

Sadly on Sunday evening we left Melbourne on a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. Our flight left a little late because a gentleman had arrived earlier on an Asian flight and his baggage was already on our plane and he was nowhere to be found. They had to take off his luggage before they would let the plane leave. I am glad of that safety precaution! And Ken had an empty seat beside him!! So it was close to midnight before we arrived and 2 other planes arrived near the same time. Customs was not prepared for this to happen. New Zealanders and Australians went through one customs gate and all other passengers through another. There was one agent for our line. The one official came out and looked with a “What are we going to ... read more

It had to happen sooner or later!! Just checked emails and there was one from rental company saying I had been caught on camera speeding. Only surprise is that it did not happen sooner, found keeping to low speed limits guite difficult during the 1st couple of wks, much better now. Lets hope I don't get anymore, all speed cameras in New Zealand are hidden; very sneaky. Managed to get to the seal colony at Westport earlier today and then headed south along the west coast. Given up using satnav as distances are so huge she is not needed, occasionally she reminds me to carry straight on for another 20k. Got talking to a guy who has just lost his job working on a dairy farm; he thought it was funny when I said there are ... read more

Hello from New Zealand, We continue to be fascinated by the variety of landscapes we experience as we head from the South Island's (SI) northern tip south along to the west coast of the South Island - from the expansive sand dunes that constitute Farewell Spit (the SI's most northerly section), to the high altitude pasture land where we saw sheep grazing, to the forests up to the treeline, and the changes as you move down to the coastal regions. In this country if you want to see the various corners, it involves some backtracking due to the limited number of highways that cross the moutainous terrain. We are now just beginning our trip along the South Island's west coast. Here are a few highlights of our trip since we last blogged: - Farewell Spit: 35 ... read more

2/19/2012 Got an early start on today’s travels. On the west coast, we headed south for Tauranga Bay to take in the Seal Colony .. maori name kekeno …. Male seals 200 kgs, mature after 8 years, whereas females half this weight and mature in half the time. Seals are known to travel long distances to their rookeries i.e. South Australia and the Chatham Islands. Also took in the local light house at Cape Fowlwind which was named by Captain Cook in 1772. It was so named because of the treacherous conditions. Next attraction was the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki some 70 kms south of Westport. Enroute we encountered a superman. A Taiwanese national biking New Zealand and looking for love. Not happening so far. We offered to snap his pic and ... read more

Set off from Franz Josef about 08.30 - and made our first stop within 5 mins at Lake Mapourika. Just another lake surrounded by trees! Moved on to Okaritio and wandered along the beach - some interesting rocks jutting out of the Tasman Sea. Didn't even take a pic at our next stop,Lake Ianthe.......just another lake (Francis said I was getting blase). Lake Mahinapua was more interesting (originally a coastal lagoon but now cut off from the sea) and we saw a weka (I was getting excited 'cos the weka looks a bit like a kiwi.......).Stopped off for brunch in Hokitika - quaint little place,made rich in the past from goldmining. Then on to Lake Kaniere - Rae reckons that's where the print we have in a bedroom at home was taken..........could well have been: a ... read more