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Tasmania & New Zealand
  • Lucy M
  • Colin Martin

Tasmania & New Zealand

with side dishes of Tokyo, Sydney & Dubai
A record for us - if anyone else is reading, hope you enjoy 😊 Read more
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  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Sheila looking her best
    Tamed luggageLast cheesy picBye Sheila ☹️

    Last morning….

    March 8, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The camp site at Port Arthur was lovely, we saw potoroos* at dusk, there were lovely colourful tweeties around, but with the packing malarkey we didn’t have time to fully enjoy it all.

    Anyway, the packing battle (part 1) has sort of been won. Part 2 will commence tomorrow, as we have our flight to Auckland on Sunday, so all bits and bobs currently in extra bags have to be accommodated in proper luggage, somehow!

    Not sure how that’s going to go - I look forward to the challenge (not) 😳

    Edit: Saying ‘bye to Sheila was sad, she’s been a great, if not very rattly companion! We drove 2000.6km - the .6 was prob the trip to fill up the diesel before dropping her off!

    * website pic below    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Snug beach
    ScamanderBoat HarbourWayatinahPort Arthur

    Camp sites

    March 8, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Our ⭐️ ratings………

    Snug Beach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    First site stay of our trip, the luggage wrestle, getting back into the camper vibe again. Lovely little shady, sandy cove. Very hot one day, cold the next.

    Scamander ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Arrived late, the host texted us our arrival info. Lovely self contained bathrooms, spent our stay slightly sloping to one side, felt like we were onboard a ship.

    Launceston ⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Right next to a noisy main road, tedious electrical issues. Pademelons or potoroos at night time. Had a ‘night out’ to see the penguins.

    Boat Harbour Beach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Lovely site with a sea view. Slightly smug, off beat host. Kept us talking (about himself) for too long so avoidance needed after that. Pretty much let us choose our site, water heater went wrong, resulting in a freezing cold shower! Windy site.

    Strahan ⭐️⭐️
    High trees, above us, swishing in the ferocious wind. Very rutted track, Sheila didn’t like that one bit. Prob the site we liked the least.

    Wayatinah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Pretty much in the centre of Tassie, and in the middle of nowhere! Empty, quiet, friendly welcome, restful. Lots of little poos on the grass in the morning, but who left them?

    Port Arthur ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Last site, lovely woodland setting, had an en-suite bathroom next to our pitch. Lots of potoroos loping about at dusk/night fell. Parked on a slant, so had to swop my sleeping position, so the blood didn’t rush to my head 😂    Read more

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    Hobart part II

    March 9, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Our Hobart hotel is lovely. We were due to stay somewhere else, but there was a fire there before Christmas, so alternative accommodation was found for us. We’ve ended up with breakfast included, which wasn’t on our original package! Had dinner at the Hog’s Breath restaurant - we’ve been to a few in Aus - so seemed right to go here as it’s next to our hotel. No more cooking on a bbq for us!

    So the news this morning said temps here would be in excess of 34 degrees. That’s hot for Tassie and for us, especially as we’ve encountered such variable temps up to now. It ramps up from low to high then down again without any warning!

    We’ve been looking forward to today, as we’d arranged to meet Mel & Shaun. Mel is one of my lovely friend, Anna’s daughters. Anna isn’t here anymore but we catch up with Mel when either of us is in each other’s hemisphere!

    We started by walking around Salamanca Market, Aussie’s most famous. It was fab, food, drink and nice things to buy. At the same time, HMAS Hobart has docked here, so the city was celebrating this too. There was a naval parade, and crew from the ship around town. A great vibe.

    In the afternoon we’d booked to go to Mona - a completely indescribable art gallery! You get there on a party boat, and the fun continues - the installations are a mix of intriguing, controversial, beautiful, baffling, thought provoking. Brilliant.

    We ended up at the oldest pub in Australia, which was mins away from our hotel. A fab day but oh boy, completely knackered from the heat and all the walking 🤪

    Had a final wrangle with the packing - lets call this round a draw!

    Tomorrow we’re off to NZ….. Chapter two of our trip 😁    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand

    Close encounters of the unexpected kind

    March 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We’ve chatted to some great folk on our travels around Tassie….

    The shared experience chat, with a Brummie couple on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, who’d been on the same Gordon River cruise as us the day before.

    The connection in the laundry, with a Tassie lady going round her home island for 4 weeks, chatting whilst emptying and folding washing.

    The site host award 1:
    goes to Darren at of Boat Harbour - talking about himself and critiquing his competitors!

    The site host award 2:
    Madam Coral gave us a lovely warm welcome at Wayatinah, and she wandered around being hospitable and friendly.

    The neighbours chat 1: a guy from Byron Bay, chatting about life, the universe and everything (including the pain of having elderly parental responsibilities).

    The neighbours chat 2: meeting a guy from Dubbo (NSW), and reminiscing about our time (last trip) in the Warrumbungles and Coonabarabran.

    The motorhome drop off encounter, the lady was born in Catford, but had been here forever and her kids were all Aussies. Sharing their ‘free camping’ experience, waiting for a hire car to arrive. When the car arrived all her kids were in the car! Her hubby and fam had properly stitched her up! She was speechless!

    The flight companion - Col sat next to a lady en route to Hobart, who was a font of Tassie info. She worked one month on, one off on the ferry that sails to and from mainland Aus. She told us about The Wall artwork, the film The Castle (same production co as The Dish), and other Tassie hints tips.

    The airport encounter 1: meeting the same lady as above going through security! She’d had a fab time with her fam.

    The airport encounter 2: having said bye to Mel & Shaun yesterday, met them in general departures as their flight was delayed!

    To name but a few!    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Excuse the loo roll 😂

    Bye Tassie, its been fab….

    March 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    …….and hello NZ

    Having called the packing war a draw last night, this morning I noticed things still needing a space 🫤. I was sure there was no more room, but some small gaps had materialised as the bags settled over night, and the errant items were duly shoved in without ceremony.

    The taxi to the airport was quick, and we arrived before the check in opened (a first). Hobart airport is tiny, and everyone goes through security into the domestic area first. The international lounge is opened 90 mins before a flight is due to depart, and you have to go through another round of security shenanigans.

    We bumped into a familiar face from a couple of days ago, from the motor home drop off, which was cool (the one who’d been surprised by her family).

    Whilst we were waiting in domestics Col spied Mel & Shaun, whose flight had been delayed, so we had a good ol’ catch up with them too!

    The Air NZ flight was just over 3 hours, but we found ourselves in the ‘have nots’ camp. Seems you had to pre order meals, but as our flights were booked by Trailfinders, no meals were ordered for us. The smell of wafting food trays is always appetising when you’re in a plane, regardless of the actual meal, so it was torture to sit amongst the ‘haves’ as they merrily chomped through their Thai red curry etc!

    The online security and visa system (which we’d completed beforehand) worked really well and we were through security pretty fast, with our bags following quickly too.

    We sorted our NZ phone sims at the airport (with far less hassle than in Aus with Telstra) and emerged blinking in the late pm sun. Despite the flight being fairly short, we’d been in transit one way or another all day. I guess it gave us a chance to rest which was much needed.

    Our accom in Akl is very nice, great view from our room, I’m not sure how much it cost, as our whole trip is a package, but I suspect it was more pricy than we’d have normally gone for!    Read more

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    Auckland day

    March 11, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Lovely day pootling around the shops* in Auckland. Leisurely brekkie, then a short ferry ride to Devonport, where we were blown about by a brisk wind. Had hoped we’d escaped the wind when we left Tassie, but sadly not!

    * Third Lush pic of the trip!!

    We then met Orly, a friend from back in the day (about 30 years!) for drinks and a catch up chat. It was great to meet up again after over half a lifetime!

    Oh and it was our 15th wedding anniversary - how lucky are we to have spent it here ♥️

    We set off on our meander down to the south of the north island (?!) tomorrow, so all change once again…..    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Where's the tower?
    221

    🌵 Cacti cabin 🌵

    March 12, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Sad to leave our swish, one bed apartment, but leave we did, after another scrummy breakfast in a local cafe. It’s a grey mizzle/rain day today, actually the first prolonged rain we’ve had the whole trip, so we can’t moan too much.

    After picking up our hire car (a Corolla), we make our way out of town bound for Hamilton, then Tauranga, near our next accom.

    Made a pit stop in Woolies. (Didn’t know they were in NZ too) but noticed it was defo more costly than Oz. We then motored on to Waitao.

    Our cabin is at the end of a gravel hill, surrounded by lovely scenery and the most amazing and enormous cacti - heaven 😊

    Kerry, our host, came to say hello and showed us around round her cacti garden and nursery. She’s cacti mad (I know the feeling) with everything in the cabin 🌵 themed.

    Sitting out on the front porch, with a cuppa, the scene was silent. Apart from the deafening cicadas chirping and the bouncing birds tweeting - bliss!    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    3A bench with no view!1The Mount3A bench with a view

    Mount Maunganui

    March 13, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    It’s so peaceful at the cabin, which made for a relaxing start to the day.

    After a necessary laundrette stop (🥱), we headed off for Mount Maunganui and arrived in a lovely town, which had a Byron Bay/Airlie Beach vibe. There are beaches on two sides, as the Mount is at the end of a peninsula. Two cruise ships were docked, so the place was pretty busy. The Virgin ship looked huge in comparison to the other, but both would be tiddlers in a cruise ship size comp!

    After some threatening rain drops, the sky cleared and it ended up being hot and sunny. We walked around the base of the Mount, winding around its nooks and crannies and admiring the beautiful coastline, all the time serenaded by cicadas in full chirrup. It seems they have a preference for a particular tree, as some are full of chirping and others totally silent 🤔

    After a recovery cuppa, we drove through Tauranga on the way back to our cacti haven. Tauranga is a big town and not a seaside place, so we didn’t miss too much by passing through.

    We sampled the delights of Pak’n’Save for our shop this time. It’s more warehouse than trad supermarket, great for a weekly family shop, but a lot for us with our small basket and modest shopping list!

    Beautiful sunset tonight, and some stars peeped out later to say hello.    Read more

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    2242

    Geothermal day

    March 14, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It rained in the night and we could hear the pitter patter on the veranda roof and trickling down a pipe at the back of the cabin. One of the reasons the cacti do so well here is the slopey-ness of the gardens. They get just enough rain, which then drains away fairly quickly.

    Got out a bit more briskly, as off to Rotorua, geothermal land. Arrived at Whakarewarewa Village, and started with a tour around a traditional Māori village, where traditions and customs are still upheld. Our guide was great, an ‘old timer’, wise, funny, personable.

    There were geothermal vents all round, piping out hot steam, like a kettle. The villagers use the heat and steam of the pools to cook, bathe etc. I’m not sure how much the youngsters embrace the older ways, but it was really interesting to hear about them.

    As we were walking up the hill in the village, we passed police, ambulance and fire brigade parked up. Turns out something tragic had happened to someone, and we were all ushered out the village. You could see shock and disbelief on the villagers faces. It was obviously a horrible thing.

    On a normal day, I’m imagining some folk must find their village being on the tourist map intrusive, but today, it must have been unbearable for them.

    We decided to go to Wai-o-tapu, for our geothermal walk. We’d been there before and it’s possible it had diminished in some parts, but it was still amazing. The pools bubble and burble away, a mix of noxious elements, and they’re boiling too, so it’s strictly look but don’t touch!

    Being a dampish day, there was lots of steam, which gave it a mystical air….. and last but not least, there was the wonderful sulphurous smell swirling in the air as we walked round. It doesn’t sound great (akin to a hard boiled egg smell!) but after a while it’s part of the landscape and really appealing and desirable!    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Massive cacti flower!!
    Lots of logging around here, we see these every few minsWellie fence!Only straight road of the day (almost!)Massive sofa6Microwave misery!3

    Tauranga to Gisborne

    March 15, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Travel day. Very sad to leave the haven of the Cacti Cabin, but our next stop awaits.

    It’s raining quite comprehensively today, so having a day on the road isn’t the worst thing. It’s a longish drive to Gisborne, so off we go.

    We motor along for a bit until we see a stopping area. As we drive past we see it’s a wellington boot fence. Clearly this requires a U-turn which we do and park up. NZ likes its themed fences! We saw the shoe fence on our first trip here in 1999 ish and we’re hoping to see the bra fence on this visit (south), where I will leave a ‘deposit’.

    So the wellies (loads of them) are pinned to the fence. Some are old, new, little, large and some have messages. It’s so quirky - who started this one and the craze generally?!

    As we’re hanging around taking pics, a car pulls up with an older lady and her older rescue dog. Col starts chatting with her as I emerge from behind a convenient shrub (insert your own euphemism).

    Lovely kiwi lady, and as often happens once we say where we’re from, she’s been to Poole, has toured the UK etc. She even remembered Poole Pottery!

    Off we set again, with her words of caution ringing in our ears ‘the road to Gisborne is twisty….’
    Oh joy, music to my ears (not). It sure was twisty and I felt distinctly 🤢 when we emerged into Gisborne.

    We stopped for a late eggs Benedict lunch, then again to briefly take in the sight of a burnt out car - gulp - is Gisborne that rough 😳

    One of the other things our boot fence friend said - there’d been a terrible cyclone in the region in early 2023 and the area was still in recovery, over a year down the line. We’d be likely to see the remnants even now.

    After most of the day in the car, we finally arrived at our beach front apartment. It literally couldn’t have been more different from the cabin! By the ocean, spacious, modern - very polished - but a blank canvas in terms of personality compared to the cabin. The L shaped sofa is probably bigger than our lounge at home though 😁

    Another microwave faut pas was revealed- we reckon this was even higher than the one in Sheila!!

    As we cosied in for the night, the wind and rain howled outside, welcome to the East Coast!    Read more

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    Loved the retro feel to this shop front22Are these prints sticking up or indents in the sand?12

    Gisborne, Bay of Plenty

    March 16, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Weather still throwing a spanner in the works, raining and quite breezy, so a relaxed morning without anything much on the agenda. When we did venture out, we found Gisborne a bit down looking. Maybe the results of the 2023 cyclone or maybe not.

    Anyway after we’d had a bit of a walk up and down the high street, we found a lovely cafe for brunch and on the way back to the car we saw a nail bar, so I treated myself to a pedicure!

    Very different from my usual at home, I sat in a big chair which the nail tech switched on and I was duly pummelled, punched and pushed in all sorts of places on my back and shoulders. Didn’t like it much, so put up with it for a bit then asked her to switch it off! She used an electric fine file thing to get the varnish off which was a bit alarming at first, hoping I’d still have some nails for her to paint! After a leg and foot massage I opted for purple varnish and after the tension of getting my flip flops back on without smudging, I was done.

    We then went into Bunnings (B&Q) to escape the rain, then got a few foodie bits. We know how to have a good time 😁

    The weather had cleared (apart from the brisk wind) by late pm so we had a wander on the beach literally right opposite our accom.

    Dinner and reruns of Mrs Maisel whilst sitting on the enormous sofa, and that was our Saturday in Gisborne. If there was something special we should have done here, we missed it!    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Gisborne sunrise

    Napier, Hawkes Bay

    March 17, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Moving on day again, further down the East coast to Napier, known for its Art Deco buildings.

    It was a long day of twisty turny driving, with stop offs for random views and lunch at a lovely cafe called Gammells, in a small town (Wairoa) you could easily have driven straight through!

    It’s was also the warmest day for a while and we were stuck in a hot car. Expect it’ll be raining tomorrow, when we want to be out and about…..

    We’ve gone from the cavernous apartment and enormous sofa in Gisborne, to a compact and beautifully furnished cabin in a place called Ahuriri (which I have no idea how to pronounce). It was lovely to sit in the little courtyard, in the sun, sipping a cuppa after all the travelling.    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand

    Art Deco

    March 18, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Lovely warm day today and after exploring Ahuriri (still can’t say it), we drive 10 mins down the road to Napier.

    Napier is known as the Art Deco capital of the world. After a devastating earthquake in 1931, the rebuilding of the town was influenced by the European architectural style of the time, Art Deco.

    https://www.hawkesbaynz.com/see-and-do/art-desi….

    Many of the buildings have Art Deco designs built into their facades, and it’s a lovely sight, especially when the flourishes have been authentically painted etc. The main downside, is the appearance of modern day life, signage, lamp posts, cars, getting in the way of each photo!

    Napier has a lovely, chilled vibe which we really enjoyed. We’ll be back tomorrow to see more, visit the aquarium and (hopefully) the museum if there’s time.    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand

    Napier day two

    March 19, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Fab day today, ticked off all the things we wanted to do and only got wet once!

    Started with the museum (free entry!) which was great. The basement narrated the 1931 earthquake event which has defined this region for one reason or another ever since. It was well explained, with human interest stories and family memorabilia plus a moving memorial book detailing the people who sadly lost their lives. Most of the region was affected by the 7.3 quake and subsequent fire but the harsh truth is this area is never that far from its next quake. The east coast is right in a subduction zone where the Pacific tectonic plate slides under the Oceanic plate, which NZ is situated on. This means there is often movement, some you feel most you don’t, but the ‘big’ one could always round the corner. There are clear instructions about tsunamis and what to do inc a prescribed ‘grab bag’ should an extreme event occur, and you need to vamoose - fast. Sobering stuff.

    It’s pretty normal to monitor seismic activity on a regular basis:
    https://www.geonet.org.nz/

    The rest of the museum was good too, an eclectic mix of Māori history and modern art works, with a live piano accompaniment. Great morning of culture.

    After another tour of some art deco photo ops, we have lunch (or I should say brekkie, as many Kiwi caffs offer a very civilised ‘all day breakfast’). We got wet in a sharp shower on the way to the aquarium but soon dry off as we walk through the tanks and inmates.

    A lovely modest sized aquarium with the addition of some reptiles, little penguins and native tuatara (lizards) and a lone kiwi trudging back and forth in its dimly lit enclosure. Wasn’t sure about the latter - it seemed lonely and stressed.

    Got back to our cabin for a much needed afternoon cuppa and a preliminary pack, to set off to the central plateau tomorrow.    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Public loo!

    Street art

    March 19, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Seen some fab murals over last few days ……

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Mount Ruapehu
    Lake TaupoMount NgauruhoeMount Taranaki

    Volcanos

    March 20, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We drove round Lake Taupo (outrageously large volcano that blew it's top leaving the lake), passing by Mount Ngauruhoe (had a major fizz in one of the Lord of the Rings movies) to reach Ohakune at the foot of another volcano, Ruapehu (last went pop in 2007). From 4600ft up Ruapehu, we watched the sun setting over yet another volcano, Taranaki (last dummy spit in 1854, about lunchtime). An air raid style siren just went off in Ohakune. I'm starting to feel a bit uneasy!Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Ruapehu morning shot
    Love this ♥️

    South of the North Island

    March 21, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Been on a southward trajectory these last few days and we’re now at the bottom of the North Island, in the capital, Wellington.

    Yesterday’s overnight in the small town of Ohakune was an ‘en route’ pit stop with the bonus of the most stunning views of Ruapehu. Sometimes the places you least expect offer the best moments.

    Tonight’s stay has ‘city’ noise, hustle & bustle, and parking restrictions. We needed a quick drop off point outside our hotel, and circled a few times in the hope of bagging the only available space. A courier was stubbornly parked there, so we had to opt for a 12 min paid time space across the road.

    We were like a speeded up movie, unloading a myriad of bags, crossing a busy road with said bags, dumping stuff in reception, checking in, then offloading everything in our room. Col then hot footed it back to the car so we could return it to Avis - all in 12 mins! After that frenzy, we kept seeing different cars effortlessly pulling in and out of the elusive parking space which should have been ours!

    Turns out we’re near the cable car which takes you up the hill, offering views of the city and Cook Strait, which on a bright day like today looks great. We had a stroll around the botanical gardens which was lovely but incredibly hilly. I don’t think I’ve ever been at such an acute angle whilst struggling up a particularly steep path. My knees were not happy!

    The advantage of a city stay is easy food, and we bag a Chinese takeaway to take back to our room.

    Interislander tomorrow - and hello South Island.    Read more

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    Planty things

    March 21, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Some shrubs what we have seen

  • Tasmania & New Zealand

    Bin shenanigans

    March 22, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    When staying in Airbnbs, we haven’t wanted to leave our stinky food rubbish in the kitchen bin, for both ours and the host’s sakes. So we’ve bagged up little packages such as salmon skins, takeaway curry boxes etc and secreted them nonchalantly in to public waste bins. Does anyone else do this, I wondered….?

    The outdoor bins usually have a small opening to deter this deplorable behaviour, so it’s become a newly developed skill to make the rubbish compact and easily droppable!

    The other day we witnessed a like minded individual. We parked up, close to a target bin. Just as I was getting out the car with a beautifully packaged bag of discarded prawn tails (!), a guy strolled casually past the bin. He lingered for a moment, dropped his rubbish bag in cool as anything, loitered a bit more as if taking in the view, then wandered off again. I’m sure we’re the only ones who noticed this, as he’d beaten us at our own game. I felt I could learn a thing or two from him too!

    A few mins later, I did the exact same thing. I then wondered if there was someone else observing me, about to do the same thing, waiting in the wings, and the thought made me chuckle 😊    Read more

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    Interislander

    March 22, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Had a bit of time in Wellington, prior to our cab pick up, so had a bit of a wander.

    Found our 4th (or 5th?) Lush, just round the corner from our hotel, I’m still in awe that littl’ ol’ Poole is the root of such a global phenomenon!

    Most of the day was taken up either waiting for the ferry, being on the ferry (about 3.5hrs), or driving to Kaikoura (about 2hrs) so not a lot of steps today.

    It was a beautiful crossing, and by chance we’d bagged some great seats right at the front of the viewing lounge, so could pretend to steer the ferry 🤭

    We saw dolphins riding the bow wave (too quick for a pic sadly) and a seal lolling ahead (grainy pic attached). Lovely.

    The Cook Strait can be rough but thankfully not today. On a trip many moons ago, all ferries were cancelled due to the weather, so instead we boarded a little plane for a hair raising flight across the strait battling the strong wind. Thinking back, that seemed as inadvisable as a ferry!

    Arrived at Picton, picked up a new car (Hyundai hybrid) and set off towards Kaikoura, our stop for the night. We’ve done two whale watching trips here in the past, so whilst it would be good to stay longer, our main focus is getting to Little River, our bed for the next four nights.

    This will be a relief after a series of single night stops. Apart from the constant packing/unpacking, going to the loo in the night has been interesting. Trying to remember where the bathroom is, was there a little step, where’s the loo paper etc 😬    Read more

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    4CCC (Christchurch Crew)

    Kaikoura and beyond

    March 23, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Before setting off, we took a few pics of the Kaikōura coastline, which showed the effects of the 2016 earthquake, which changed their landscape forever. There are vast tracts of sea bed now several metres above sea level. Having not seen the coast before its hard to make a before/after comparison, but we were told the main road running through town was comprehensively trashed and it took many months to sort it, so the town was virtually cut off.

    We made our way through the Canterbury area skirting Christchurch and eventually arrived at our accommodation for the next few nights.

    The advantage of booking Airbnbs is you end up with off the beaten track and off beat places and this place is no exception:
    https://www.silostay.kiwi.nz/

    We briefly settled in with a cuppa before we were picked up for a meal out with the Christchurch crew.

    So great to catch up - I think we both appreciated having a night off from speaking to each other 😂😂    Read more

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    Bug eyed truck
    2Unhappy bagBuck-toothed faceLaughing dishwasherAnxious hook2Goofy telescopeCan you see me?2Big nose, moi?Stoned ventNice to meet you

    Faces in things (FiT)

    March 24, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    I have the questionable skill of seeing faces in inanimate objects 🤷‍♀️

    Turns out there’s a word for it: Pareidolia…..

    Or perhaps I’m just 🤪😵‍💫🥴

  • Tasmania & New Zealand
    Little River market
    210 of us here13 of us!Library arty shot!It was weak, but we felt it!

    Christchurch gather

    March 24, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Drove into central Christchurch today, to meet up with everyone and to see how the place had changed after the 2011 quake. I could remember some areas, cathedral square and the strip, but not much else.

    The cathedral didn’t do well in the quake, but is now in the process of being rebuilt, after the usual lengthy ‘will/won’t we’ debate which lasted years. Had a good view of the works from the library, which was a great place in itself.

    The rebuilding has given the city a chance to rethink the location and layout of some buildings, and the place looked great, apart from some still derelict shells which have been left and are now graffiti’d!

    It was a busy Sunday, especially Riverside Market, where we ate lunch. A great concept with lots (I mean lots!) of different kiosks, eateries etc, so we could all choose what we wanted and then eat together. Similar to a food court in a mall, but way better.

    Every time I looked around, someone else had joined - I think at one point there was about 13 of us. Everyone had grown up a tad since we’d seen them 16 yrs ago! Fab day.

    Footnote: felt our first tremor!    Read more

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