I took the Overlander train from Auckland to Wellington today.  The ride was very scenic, passing through hilly and mountainous terrain.  The fields were full of grazing sheep and cattle in dozens of small towns along the route.  As this is a mainly tourist train, we made a 45 minute "stretching" stop in the National Park so peopl...

In Wellington we met up with Rex (Margaret's son) and Catherine (Rex's wife). They gave us a tour of the city. Brought us up to the main viewing pt. on a hill overlooking the city and showed us the parliamentary buildings etc.. Then we'd drinks and some food. Fair play to them. The international rugby 7's meant town was packed, and everyone (exc...

The idea seemed extraordinary on the brochure in my mind. 14 luxurious, sun-drenched days, cruising the islands of New Zealand. Top down on my rental convertible. Wind waving through my shimmering hair. Going where I want to go. Doing what I want to do. I would be like a European oceanic explorer from the 1500's, mapping previously uncharted ter...

Well today has been all about art. Now as you may or may not know I am not the most gifted in this department, however that does not restrict me from appreciating (or just looking quizzically at) art.....in all its forms! After a lazy morning, my aunt and I headed off into town. We stopped in a popular little place called Astoria for lunch in th...

Kia Ora to the New Zealand landscapes! People asked me if I was going to one of the sites where they filmed the Lord of the Rings, but in fact, all of the North Island looks like the Hobbits Shyre itself... "Green" is probably the best word to describe it. Green and hilly, with loads of sheep and cows :-)  Well, no wonder it's so green, it'...

We stayed in the capital of Aoteroa (Maori Original name for New Zealand), Wellington for 2 nights and we went out for Griff and Tommys birthdays To get to Wellington we had to walk onto the ferry from Picton in the South Island and take the 3/4 hour Journey to the capital. The second day we went to the National Museum which was good, especially...

Kia ora This blog is to let you all know that after a brief sojourn in Wellington and up north (mostly on the beautiful Waiheke Island), I am heading back to seek my fortune, so to speak, in China. I leave this Thursday. I hope to keep up with some reasonably regular updates of what I'm doing - if you are interested, my new blog a...

On Friday I made my way from Lake Taupo to Wellington. The drive takes about 4 to 5 hours. Of course it was pouring per usual. I filled up the car with gas and headed on my way. Gas is VERY expensive. The meter just kept going and going. It cost me about 80NZD to fill the tank and I'm not even sure if I did. I had to stop at some point because I...

I made my way out late in the morning and spent a few hours uploading some photos on to the travelogue. After that I headed onto Te Papa, which is the National museum. There was some interesting stuff there, including an exhibition of NZ art work and an exhibition about immigration. You could probably spend an afternoon there having a wander aro...

This was the 2nd round of Maori rugby. After the rugby and rolls and the evening meal they made the selection on the central represenative players. We travelled to Wellington to play the southern region team. We stopped in a Marae which is a Maori meeting place. Where we all helped make the food for the players and got to meet a lot of people fr...