Quality Hotel Wellington

... a phone! But, I'll mention about that later!) We claimed him as our only friend and he has a pretty good sense of humor so we enjoy his company. He's from Oxford, England and claims his accent is nothing like the kiwis', however, we beg to disagree. They all seem to sound the same to us. Anyway, our new friend Alex showed us around the harbor yesterday and showed us the public beach, something we will definitely have to hit up on a really nice day ...

... land and all the great beaches and villages/town in between. Exciting (&amp; expensive!)<br><br>There is a bank holiday Monday (26th Oct - Labour Day), so I have a long weekend off. We might stay here &amp; do some more local walks around Eastbourne (!) and surrounding areas, which are supposed to be great. We do need to save money for the travels, so will try our best to abstain from spending too much...<br><br>Hope you are all well ...

... were comprised of spinach, sauteed mushrooms and onions, tomatoes, cheese, beets, and ketchup (and, of course, the burger!). The addition of the beets gave it a somewhat earthier flavor than usual, and they were just regular sliced, canned beets. Not pickled. It was interesting and definitely something worth exploring ...

... war am Ende sehr gespannt. Ich will nicht weiter in Details gehen, wir haben uns jedenfalls entschieden auszuziehen und uns was eigenes zu suchen. Und wir haben auch was huebsches gefunden. Wir wohnen jetzt auf der anderen Seite der Stadt. Wieder an steiler Berglage ganz nah am Botanischen Garten.Es ist ein altes Holzhaus was in 2 Wohnungen geteilt ist.Es ist herrlich auf einmal ganz allein zu wohnen und keine Mitbewohner mehr zu haben. Dave kann immernoch mit dem Rad auf ...

... cookies for desert, then we watched the stars for a while because it was sooo dark! It was a great day and I bet my Dad wishes he could have been here! Sorry Dad! Also, I interview Evelyn, since she lives in New Zealand right now. Here is her interview: INTERVIEW WITH EVELYN MANDEL, Age 8 Kapiti Island, New Zealand Where do you live? Christchurch, New Zealand right now but usually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Who do you live with? My parents ...

... gardens are with all of the flowers we'd see at home, which seem to thrive here. We took the Southern Scenic route down to the Catlins and it lived up to its name - what a beautiful country. Mountains, valleys, forests and then sandy beaches with rocks and cliffs and huge breakers crashing in from the blue, blue sea. We stopped and had a picnic lunch overlooking one of these lovely bays and then climbed up a small island that was accessible as it was low tide ...

... if it gets a bit crammed and I have shotgunned a bed space for such an event. Talking of beds and sleeping, Emma has developed a loud snore which has left me sleep deprived for the last week. Bless her, she bought me some earplugs which drown her out (just about) so I am finally catching up on those lost hours. It's a cruel world isn't it mother?! As I can't work out how or where to put photos on here, here is ...

... further south to Bluff where we catch the ferry to Stewart's Island. There we will spend about 10 to 11 days backpacking the perimeter of the island, hopefully seeing lots of sea birds, penguins, and possibly hearing some late night kiwis. After that we head back to Invercargill to catch a bus up to Te Anau near Fiordsland. We'll spend about a week hiking there, NOT taking the ...