404 On Trafalgar Nelson

... from Lord of the Rings have been filmed. We climbed the hill close to Mount Doom and Mordor and had great views over the Plains of Gorgoroth. Clearly the movies must have been shot during summer as we both could not remember Frodo had to climb through the snow!<br><br>For the South Island we have already picked up plenty of wine and food, so we will be free to dedicate quite a bit of time to some more sporty action, but we ...

... the least. Highlights of the trip included the mad mile, a notorius stretch of coastline that claims novice kayakers to freak whirlpool and other such extreme tidal, wave and rock conditions, so claimed our guide. Imagine our surprise then as the sea was glassy smooth when we passed through this stretch. The most strenuous the afternoon got was paddling into the beach at Kaiteriteri ...

... 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 rough, man made path through part of it, but that is it. It is supposed to house Wetas, but we had no idea what a Weta was and failed to see. We later found one, but you can wait for the description then. We took our torches and had a poke around, but there was not a huge amount to see, or we just didn't see it. We carried on driving and stopped in an odd little place called Charleston. The accommodation was cheap, but there was little else to do. We had a ...

... back. Now I have to say that although you probably think I did very little, my muscles became pretty pumped and I was contributing greatly to the success of our journey. Admittedly I had more breaks than Steve, but I was not as lazy or bad as I thought I might be! It was a perfect finish to a perfect day, and after giving back all our lovely equipment we headed back to tree dimensions for a relaxing dinner, (and a lot of laundry!) before our big drive to Franz Josef.

... which is a massive boulder that the Maori believe was split in half when two legendary warriors had a fight and hit it inadvertantly with an axe. Now the Maori are pretty big blokes, and I wouldn't start a fight with them, but I really doubt if they could inflict this kind of damage to a big boulder. We cruised all the way up the coast to the most northerly point, passing by a ...

... hostel that evening. Blenheim - getting a break from the rain I ventured off to explore the wine region and you guessed it New Zealand does have some yummy wines Kaikoura - I was so looking forward to getting here to see the resident sperm whales but disappointedly the seas where too rough and I lost my chance. I did however go on a 3 and a half hour walk around the coast and visited the local seals instead - not the same but at least something.

... Epic! Toady we are headed to Abel Tasman to kayak. Tomorrow we head South towards the glaciers. We hope to get to Wanaka, and time permitting Milford Sound before we have to leave. We will drop the rental car off in Queenstown and fly back to Auckland. It will all be over soon. SO sad. It is definately like the third trip now that Tiff has arrived. Still feeling very fortunate and giving many thanks!!!! Cheers, T

... hostel it was on then for a wander about town and dinner and a drink out. Nelson is in the middle of a huge wine region so it is famous for all these vineyards and brewery's and it is also supposed to be the sunniest spot in the country but sunday it ****** rain and was all overcast. screw it went about the town anyway and went to the cinema ...

... drinking, and sometimes crying. I could dissapear in the wall, my work as my camoflauge, interjecting occasionally, but always listening. I was on display as much as my work, progress being measured each day by the guests and residents passing through. I would estimate that over sixty people have commented on my work, and with some I have sought outside perspective and advice, others offer it anyway. Even as I near completion, I struggle to seperate the space ...