Blenheim Palace Having passed Blenheim last autumn, on our way to Broadway, Catherine decided that we should have a 4-night stay at Bladon Chains so that we could visit the Palace. We arrived on the nicest day of the year and were allocated the sunniest pitch on the site. We sat outside until the sun went down! The palace…
We made short work of the drive to Auckland feeling grateful that they had cleared the roads as best they could of the countless landslides that had blocked them the previous fortnight. We paused to admire the bird reserves near Miranda before spending our last few hours at the impressive city seafront and parks. Auckland…
‘Quirky’ was the word I was going to use today but as time wore on it became obvious that the word was rather too small and too flippant to encompass everything that happened. I woke up with that ‘Falling Towards England’ feeling of slight melancholy – much as I was looking forward to going home – it seemed sad that our…
We must be running out of steam! That or the hot hilly walk and tumbling in the surf yesterday was more exhausting than it felt. Either way we are feeling very tired today and drove slowly up the coast pausing at Cooks Bay and the lovely Flaxmill Bay with its improbable overhang to Ferry Landing just a couple of hundred…
Another laid back seaside day. We walked the hour and a half path from the campsite to Cathedral Cove (not to be confused with Cathedral Caves which we visited in South Island four years ago!) Via Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay. We didn't see any gemstones or stingrays but the views were great and the path was strewn with…
We drove a little way up the coast to Hahei a very upmarket beach resort on the beautiful east coast of the Coromandel Peninsular and we are camped at a very upmarket (and expensive) campsite with a beach front pitch. We spent much of the day in the water, firstly on the beautiful island dotted bay next to the camp site,…
We waved a fond farewell to the Rotorua Walking club who had really been very entertaining and set off towards the Coromandel with some trepidation as we knew a week ago the roads had been closed due to major flooding (remember that 5 inches in 24 hours?). There was a huge amount of damage all over the place. It seemed…
Another excellent day - in fact Lester and I can't remember ever on any of our adventures having three consecutive days as good and varied as these have been. Today was all about Gold Mining. We headed out reasonably early and went to the far end of The Karangahake Gorge Heritage Walkway. It is incredible to think that…
Following David Klyne's comment on a story, about the ease of adding photos to the stories section I'll give it a go. Searched my phone for something good to use and found the attached, assuming they load. Taken to show my mum, who hasn't visited New Zealand, how the stock looks in one of the cheaper supermarket Pak&Save..…
I think I may actually have died and gone to heaven! how else can I explain a day of such unparalleled perfection as today? We awoke to.....a glorious sunrise and clear blue skies. It was an early start as we were booked on the 8.40 tour of The Hobbiton Film Set and we were both very excited. The early bird definitely…
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