Jade country and goodbye west coast. October 10th 2008 Thursday 9th October
After an early start we were in Hokitika just as the shops were opening. Before we went into town we stopped at the river entrance and looked back over the ranges to the east. The cloud had lifted a little and we could see some snow-capped mountains. On a clear day apparently you can see all the alps including Mt Cook. Just doesn't seem that we are going to see th ... read more
Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Hokitika The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more
We first backpacked in Eastern Europe in 2001 visiting Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia & Italy. In 2002 we spent the whole 12 months backpacking around the world. This was before blogs so find details here: http://members.iinet.net.au/~weggs/weggs_world/index.htm
In 2007 we enjoyed another 6 months. This time we organised some home exchanges to help the budget, meet new people and be able to kick back and relax in a few places. Hawaii, San Francisco, Mexico, Croatia, England, Scotland, Canary Islands, Czech Republic, Austria, Netherlands, China & Tibet were all visited either briefly or fo... full info