Blogs from Nelson, Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Evening all, I blog today from the fine location of Nelson, top of North Island. The weather is fair but mild, and the streets are buzzing with the sound of a weirdly un-busker like opera singer singing catholic hymns on the corner. I feel like we have quite a bit to fill in on, so I apologize in advance if any part feels incomplete or lightly brushed over, I assure you it matters not to our enjoyment of such events past. We take up our story on the road to Milford Sound, a truly delightful drive through cavernous valleys and snow-topped height, complete with overly inquisitive birds and the sound of distant avalanches deep within the range. A spot of sea kayaking didn't go amiss, a leisurely 3 hours of gentle cruising inches above pristine waters ... read more

We left Grindelwald at 4pm on Tuesday, Swiss time, for the long trip home beginning with trains from Interlaken with a change at Bern and then onto Zurich airport. We flew Emirates Airlines to Dubai (6 hours flight, 3 hour wait), to Syney ( 13 hours flight, 2 hour wait), Auckland ( 3 hours flight, 3 hours wait), Nelson (1.15 flight). A total of 37.5 hours travelling. Awful! But needs must! Any one who has done these long hauls knows that you just have to endure, for better, for worse. We were met at Nelson Airport by big sister Carol and Karilyn. Lovely. It was so nice to see familiar faces and Kiwi voices. After so many weeks of foreign languages it was a real treat to hear familiar accents again. Wonderful. Lindsay drove home and ... read more

NZ day 13 & 14. Day 13 saw us leave Kaikoura, but not before going to have a look at the seal colony/ies....& they are free, unlike the whale watching! Yep- still smarting over that one. Anyway, ‘old’ Raymond has succumbed to an old knee injury- it hurts, is swollen & he can hardly walk on it......I’m thinking it is just an excuse so he doesn’t have to go on any more ‘forced marches’. So, I had to tough it out & head up to the lookout & seal colonies on my own . He sat in our home reading the paper. The view was spectacular, as is the view around nearly every corner. I didn’t bother walking down the cliff to the beach to see the seals up close & personal, as I had stopped ... read more

Um 0830h bin ich aufgestanden und hab mit Theresa, die neben uns geparkt hat und auch schon wach war, gefrühstückt. Ingrid hat noch geschlafen und Caro und Biggi sowieso, obwohl sie gestern groß gemeint haben, sie stehen jeden Tag um 7 auf Ich bin mit Theresa in die Stadt spaziert und zwar auf den Markt der heute Samstag war. Auf dem Weg sind wir am Kino vorbeigekommen, und da hab ich etwas Neues in Neuseeland gesehen. Die Kinos sind – zumindest am Samstag anscheinend – schon am Vormittag offen und auch gut besucht. Ist vor allem bei Schlechtwetter wie heute zum Beispiel natürlich eine Option. Am Markt haben wir neben Obst und Gemüse vor allem wunderschöne Handwerkskunst gefunden. Eine ganz tolle Sache waren die Tonfiguren von Maxine Waters (www.maxinewaters.co.nz) und auch ganz interessante gedrechselte Holzgefäße (http://glenwoodcraft.greencircle.co.nz). ... read more

March 5 - 8 Wellington, We headed to Wellington after the National Park and where there for 4 nights. First night was in a Backpackers that’s claim to fame is that royalty stayed there 60 years ago. Since then it has been on a downhill slide. The next couple of nights was in the YHA hostel which was much better. Wellington is the third largest city in NZ. That is changing though as people move out of Christchurch, making Wellington the second largest. This is a place that when the sun shines it is wonderful, but not so when raining. It was raining for the first 3 days we were there. However, the city has a magnificent (free) museum that took us the better part of the three days to get through. Our last day the ... read more