Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2381

Invercargill to Bluff and Stewart Island and on to Riverton Be sure to take Route One from Invercargill to Bluff (30kms) where Route One ends. Home of the world re-known Bluff Oyster and the annual Bluff Oyster Festival. This was the first European town in the country. Still just a small community of fishermen. It is where you go to catch a boat over to Stewart Island 24 kms south. We always go there during our time in the South Island but usually stay in Riverton when in this part of the country. Be sure to go on out to Stirling Point at the end of the road. This is the chance to take a boat or flight to Stewart Island. Have a look at the following websites: www.tourism.net.nz/region/southland/southland---stewart-island http://www.stewartisland.co.nz/ http://www.stewartislandflights.com/ http://www.riverton.co.nz http://www.nzbirds.com/StewartIsland.html http://www.... read more

Hi folks, I know pictures have been promised and we are working on it. Thecomputer we currently have access to is cleverly set up to only allow web browsing. This means I cannot upload our pictures from a CD. My apologies as I know you are all waiting with bated breath. I have not yet read Abby's last entry but I thought you might like to know that yesterday we went to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and it was really fantastic. I will be seeking out the books so that I can re-read them. Sorry if that was duplicate information. Today Abby and I went to Puketi Forest where we hiked to a grove of Giant Kauri tree. These trees are really impressive even (I should say especially) compared to Redwoods and ... read more

Days 51-53 We were picked up at 7 and drove north up to the Bay of Islands stopping on the way to see some Kauri trees that were big and hard and over 600 years old. We got to our hostel and had a wander down to the beach. We hired a kayak for a couple of hours and had a paddle around the bay. It is a really nice chilled out place. We then chilled on the beach for a bit and had a wander. In the evening we had a couple of drinks and had a BBQ at the hostel. It was really nice. The next day we were picked up early for our day trip to Cape Reinga (the very tip of New Zealand). It was pouring with rain and really windy while ... read more

When I first get up it is wet outside but not raining. By the time I shower and Michael gets up it is raining pretty hard. We have breakfast in our room and the rain doesn’t stop, just slows down. I am feeling better this morning. The antihistamines have settled down the sandfly bites, the blister bandage is working and we are headed for a major city for the first time in a long time. Although my toe still hurts, I am a city girl and the prospect of civilization is enough to make me feel better. By the time we have to leave to go to the bus stop it is still raining so we cover all we can and head off. We get to the bus stop without too much moisture. There are a ... read more

Christchurch We took the shuttle to the door of Mark and Elaine's house in St Albans, a part of Christchurch and made very welcome again. Next morning it was blowing a real gale but very warm. We needed a new saddle and some bits so we set off for town to find it more or less closed. We got the saddle and then set off to do the Gardens' Tour of the city. A lovely place obviously trying to be a little bit of England but pleasant all the same with rivers and parks all over the place. Next morning we caught the 7.30 bus to Lake Tekapo and got the bike to take a whole (of three) compartment of the bus. Some cyclists wanted to get on at Fairlea but could not because of space. ... read more

After a day of rest in Te Anau where it rains all the time, we took a trip to Milford Sound where it rains all the time! We stopped several times on the way for short walks to waterfalls ... it rained! We then took a boat trip on Milford Sound ... the adverse weather conditions gave the area a mysterious feel. Temporary waterfalls were cascading down every crack in the rocks, sometimes falling down sheer rock faces. We were blessed with a slight clearing of the skies and as we returned to harbour a pod of dolphins came out to play alongside the boat. ... read more