Tag Archives: South Island
Adventures in Middle-Earth
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” Bilbo Baggins, The Felowship of the Ring My first foray into the lore of Middle Earth was in 1996. JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit was on the […]
Full Nelson
We started our journey that morning by boat – crossing back across the Kenepuru Sound to our hire car, where we left it, parked next to the Te Mahia jetty. Our drive brought us back through Havelock and along Highway 6 towards Pelorus Bridge before we took a big right turn and the road to […]
North Shore Living: Kenepuru Sounds
After a day spent in Blenheim at the wineries we headed north. We had a rendezvous to get to. “Be at the pier at 1pm…no cops!*” That last bit was made up. What was not made up was our transition from State Highway 1 to State Highway 6 (the longest single Highway in New Zealand […]
Marlborough Man (and woman!)
Easter Sunday 2019 After a 300km+ car journey and the best ‘Fish and Chips’ lunch ever in Kaikoura we had made it to Wine Country – Marlborough. Named after General John Churchill, 1st Duke Of Marlborough, its dry climate and stark contrast between hot sunny days and cool nights have turned the region into the […]
MonoChrome Monday : Kaikoura
New Zealand South Island. View from Kaikoura Beach across the waters to Kaikoura National Range beyond.
Road Trip to Blenheim
April 2019 After breakfast we took a leasurely stroll towards our Car Hire pick–up. This took us north and through the heritage Street of New Regent Street. Opened in 1932 by the Mayor of Christchurch this small street of 40 units looked very cute. Different colour buildings in a Spanish Mission Style facade provide an […]
A Canterbury Tale…
April 2019 It had been a while since we had jumped across the Tasman Sea and visited the awesome New Zealand. On Previous trips we had visited North Island and spent time around Auckland. Then we had ventured down to Queenstown and spent a week there. Looking at the map it left us a huge […]
High Road to Wanaka
Our last full day on the South Island beckoned. We decided to do one last ‘big thing’ while here. It’s always so easy to bury the last day or two by staying put – chilling at the accommodation or strolling into whatever town we were nearby – pottering – as they say back home. Our […]
ArrowTown Racing
Located on the banks of the Arrow River (where it derives its name!) and is approximately 7.5 km off the main highway (nestled away). This picturesque leafy heritage town was a great place to visit. In Maori the River is called Haihainui (big scratches) and was named by Maori who would visit the area to […]
Para-para-Paradise…
When she was just a girl She expected the world But it flew away from her reach So she ran away in her sleep And dreamed of para-para-paradise On the Eastern Bank of the Dart River, north of Mount Alfred and Diamond Lake is an area called Paradise. It’s not just a clever name. […]
Glenorchy – The Great Outdoors
Located at the head of the Dart and Rees Rivers and nestled on the north shore of Lake Wakatipu is a small settlement named after a Scottish landmark in Argyll. It is one of the last stops before entering the Mount Aspiring National Park and acts as quartermaster for legions of hungry trampers about to […]
The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Milford…
It was a bit weird to be driving back to the airport again so soon after arriving. The only solace we had was that this flight would not be going home 🙂 Break in the clouds We woke up that morning and no sooner had we rubbed the sleepy men from our eyes a phone […]
Mirror Image
Lake Hayes is a body of water that is bounded between Slope Hill to the West and State Highway 6 to the East and pretty much marks the border between Queenstown and the Gibbston Valley and Wine Country. It is called ‘the most photographed lake in New Zealand” so we just had to pay it […]
Gold Rush
One random weekend we popped over to Auckland. Explored the city, ate really great food, even did a wine tour. We had a great weekend and it was a good first taste of New Zealand. But that is all it was – a taste, a morsel. We were left hungry for more. The months went […]
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