Te Maunga Nelson

... we went into town to get some soakage and found a newly renovated pub called 'Fern Lodge' which had a special on lunches, it tasted great and it was half price yay! Bought some supplies for dinner then visited the centre of New Zealand, which is the geographical centre of NZ, you just have to walk up the steep hill and once at the summit it gave you fantastic views of Nelson and the bay. Lots more to do so we made a move and hit the road again....

... local area, telling us the history and showing us the sights. The best parts of the tour came in the afternoon when we went to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga (which was covered in mist!) but we still got to see the point where the two oceans meet which was interesting. After the lighthouse we had a lovely lunch and then went ‘sand tobogganing’ from massive sand dunes which was sooo much fun! We drove over a river to get to the ‘ninety mile beach’ (which ...

... kayak company cancelled. We were very disappointed and decided to make our way to Nelson for a two day visit. Had a couple really nice hikes the first day in Nelson. Check out the beautiful views. We hiked to the Center of NZ which is the geographic center of all the islands making up NZ. A gentleman took our picture atop the hill at the marker. The second day we visited the Wonderful World of Wearable ...

... when I realised that the rest of my dorm, primarily young year out type English, Welsh and Irish were out partying also. No need to worry about disturburbing them when I bowled in which was sometime after 3am. However most of others in my dorm went straight to the TV room and camped out for a 6am start to watch the culmination of the Six Nations with a shoot out between Wales and Ireland.

... Geselle. Hat uns auch gleich als freundliche Deutsche **kannt ;-)! Das Hostel war ab** echt cool. Mit hauseigen** Bar im Kell** und allabendlichen DVD Naechten. So schauten wir am **sten Abend Be Smart und genossen das ein od** andre leck**e Glas neuseelaendischen Weiswein. Also Marc und ich, weil die andren durften ja nicht ;-)! Am naechsten Tag stand dann d** Abel Tasman Nationalpark auf dem Programm ...

... a healthier lifestyle though (I almost got hit for pointing that out). After the walk we headed to Picton, arriving late in the evening, but with a day spare to explore this town. It turned out that Picton doesn't have a lot to do. We spent a few hours in the Edwin Fox museum, housing the remains of the ninth oldest ship in the world and the only remaining ship that transported people to New Zealand. This was a labour of love for a few dedicated amateur restorers ...

... only punctuated by birdsong, the odd lamb and the sound of growing fruit (we were on a fruit farm!). After locating our accommodation, our lovely host and his son came to chat to us for a while before we got settled in and starting dinner. The lodge was beautiful - overlooking an orchard with hills in the background, and surrounded by nothing but greenery and animals. Real rural idyll. After dinner and packing, we went to bed ready for our early morning ...

... kommt man dann an der Westkueste aus, von dort sind es dann 350km zurueck via Strasse... Die Busverbindung ist nicht so toll dort, muss wohl mal wieder hitchhiken:-) Gruss Ralf P.S. Kiwi Fun Fact Most Birds have poor sense of smell but a good eyesight, Kiwi have a well developed sense of smell but a bad eyesight.

... had no idea what they were getting into. There is no tommorrow until I am finished. I am a slave to my inspiration. All that said, it is just a painting, albeit a passionate one. Better paintings have been made, but not by me. I think it may be as close as anyone will ever get to seeing me from the inside out, but then again, why not just light up bliff and trip out on the pretty colors. Final pics will be up when they're up. For know, sketches and progress photos.

... voor het Noordereiland en de Cook Islands op te zetten.

Mijn laatste dag op het Zuidereiland en eindelijk was het online booking systeem van Air Rarotonga weer in werking! Dus ben ik nu ook de trotse bezitter van een ticket van Rarotonga naar Aitutaki, zoals ik graag wilde!! Jippie!!! 4 dagen zal ik op Aitutaki doorbrengen en ik hoef daar zelfs niet mijn kamer te delen: ik heb een single-bedroom!
De regen was eindelijk over, dus op mijn laatste dag en ook mijn laatste dag ...