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  • Carole Hennessy

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    Carole HennessyBucket list starts hereTraveler

    Luggage arrived

    March 4, 2019 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Luggage finally arrived after yesterday's delay due to snow! What a change from last week . Now to get on with adding more photos and proof reading

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    Luggage what luggage!!!!

    February 28, 2019 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    The trip home has begun and mixed feelings. Sorry to be leaving such a wonderful place but glad to be seeing my boys again!! Chris and I have had a great time. 5 weeks in a camper van could test anyone but we managed to survive without an argument. The trip from Aukland to Singapore was uneventful, sleeping ,eating, drinking, watching films.....A star is born, Mary Queen of Scots, Mama Mia 2.We had a few hours stopover before our next leg to Paris. On we got and I fell asleep straight away , which is unusual for me as I rarely sleep on planes. I woke to find we had landed??? No we hadn't even taken off !! Due to Pakistan shooting down two Indian planes all flights had to be rerouted away from northern Indian/Pakistan border .😠This resulted in nearly a 90 minute delay . We eventually landed in Paris with no time to transfer to our flight to Manchester. As we got off the plane we were met by an airport worker who took us and two others through the maze that is Charles De Gaulle airport jumping all the queues to get to our flight which was already boarding😱We eventually arrived in Manchester and went to collect our luggage ...what luggage?? It wasn't there...It was still in Paris 😬😬We filled out our forms.....we ll courier it to you when it arrives....Chris was ok she was going to York..I still had a flight to Dublin to catch🙁Yes we ll get it to Ireland don,t worry . So I got my flight to Dublin, waited 90 mins in the cold for a bus , my coat was in my suitcase😖 2 1/2 hours after I arrived in Kilkenny and was met by my nephew who drove me to my sister's .I arrived back after 44 hours travelling happy to see everyone and ready for bed😴😴😴Chris got her luggage at 10pm that night ..mine is still travelling🌍🌎🌏Read more

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    1

    Goodbye, goodbye, we,re leaving .

    February 27, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We got up this morning and had breakfast with our hosts .As we didn't have to leave till 12md they suggested we walked up Mount Eden . There are 50+ dormant volcanoes in Aukland and Mount Eden is one of them .We were dropped at the bottom and proceeded to climb up along the path which goes up and around it. A daunting task for me at the best of times, hills finish me. Whether it was the breakfast fabulous !, the flight socks💥or just a good day I managed it. What a view, all 360 degrees around Aukland. The harbour bridge, skytower and bay were amazing and the number of other volcanoes you could see. I did not realise how far it spread out. We walked back to The Grange to say good-bye to our hosts. I can't recommend them highly enough 👍👍👍I am now sitting with Chris in Aukland airport waiting for our flight to Singapore, then on to Paris and then Manchester. There we will part and I will carry in to Dublin and Kilkenny getting home about 8pm on Thursday night.🤗😔happy to be home but sad to leave such a great place. I would love to come back .I.l finish this blog when I get home as I have photos to download from my I pad and some proof reading to doRead more

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    Goobye Doris, hello Aukland

    February 26, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    .Chris went for a last swim after we had packed and cleaned Doris😥and headed to Aukland. We were going to go direct to Sunrise holiday at the airport but decided to drop our cases off at the bed and breakfast first. What an amazing place, can't wait to stay there . At Sunrise holidays we handed Doris over and she got a complete bill if health. Not bad after 5 weeks and 5893kms😱the staff who were doing the cleaning were great fun telling us of their exploits delivering vans between the islands.We got a cab back to Mount Eden where we were staying at The Grange. A beautiful 1870,s colonial style house which the owners had completely restored over 20 years . Hilary and Roy Lyall were amazing hosts it was like being with family.Beautuful rooms full of Victorian charm and Hilary's amazing eye for details. They design and make the most amazing original teddy bears and sell all over the world. We had free run of their house and garden. We were going out in the evening to eat but in the end all four of us sat down to an Indian take away and copious wines🍷🍷🍷it was like being with old friends. We ended the evening watching two hedgehogs chase each other around the garden. And so to bed.After all the time we had Chris was glad not to be sleeping on the child's bed so I let her have the biggest room ..am I kind of not?💤💤💤Read more

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    Goat Island and beyond

    February 25, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Packed up from Leigh and headed off to Goat Island Marine Sanctuary .🦀🦀🐬🐡🐙We nearly had a passenger as the site cat crept in to sleep on the chair. Went to the research centre and had really good chat with a marine biologist and look around, then off to beach to swim. Most people were snorkeling as the water is very clear and you can see the fish in the reef.🐬🐬🐬We stayed for a few hours then headed of South towards Owera Beach where we were spending the night. We stopped off in Puhoi which is one of the first places settled in 1870,s by Germans. There is a ovely old church and museum Also the old pub started in 1876 which is filled with oddities where we had to have a coffee and cider.☕🍺🍺☕Guess who was driving😱 We arrived at Orewa Beach camp and got a site right on the beach Amazing beach and when the tide goes out it stretches out for miles. We now have to start packing up as Doris goes back tomorrow in Aukland and we get ready to fly home😭😭😭🌏🌏🌏🌏Read more

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    Homeward bound

    February 24, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Well the jigsaw got finished at 0030!! Never give up. It's now been donated to the Top 10 site at Pihia.We set off in drizzle but as we got further south it got better. We had made no definite plans except we had to get the van, Doris, back to Aukland by 4pm Tuesday.Eventually we decided to head to the Goat Island Marine Reserve just north of Aukland. On the way we stopped at Whangarei as we,d passed through on the way up. Lovely marina and restaurants around it. Old Victorian houses . As usual we hadn't booked anywhere but using the trusty Rankins web site we headed to Leigh. What a well kept secret❤we found Ian and Heather's Leigh Central Motel and Caravan Park .Unfortunatly we couldn't get hold of them as our telephone contract for NZ had run out.😱😱😱.We found s really nice young man who was staying there and lent us his phone .unfortunatly we couldn't get an answer so decided to look at the spaces available.Ian and Heather found us .What a find , self contained,free wi fi,electricity, for a donation or extra if you wanted kitchens, hot showers etc . Lovely view over Mathieson Bay. First stop the bay for a swim, second the shop for wine,third and best Italian food cooked to order at the local stall that had just set up😍in for the night.Read more

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    Dolphin swim

    February 23, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    It rained all night and still didn't get to finish Jigsaw 😱brighter this morning with light showers. Amazing how the tides are here. Last night water was up to top of wall by our camper. This morning it has gone out and it's like mud flats.Full of birds looking for food. 12md picked up by tour operator and taken to the boat. After safety talk and info about swimming with dolphins, if you can,t swim you can,t go in!! we headed off.👙👙 Very overcast and humid and quite smooth till we got into the bay. The area of Bay if Islands has 144 islands if varying sizes and occupation .After about 30 mins a dolphin was spotted and then they appeared in groups of about 3 or 4🐬🐬🐬🌏. Included in these were babies. Due to DOC regulations we were not allowed to swim with babies as it disturbs their feeding. We spent about 45 minutes's watching them. The sea was quite strong so I.m not sure I would have gone in if we could. I.m ok in a pool but not used to deep water swimming . When we left we sailed around for a couple of hours but didn't see anymore. The rain really started to come down but suddenly cleared and we made it to a beautiful sandy cove where we went for a swim before heading back. A really enjoyable day. Clutching a bottle of red wine🍷🍷🍷🍷 we got back to the camp to settle down to the jigsaw for another night.We,ll have to finish it as we,re off tomorrow and need the table 🌏Read more

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    Bay of Islands

    February 22, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Awoke to a rainy overcast day but very warm. Decided to go for an early morning swim .The water was warm probably due to the shallowness of the bay, but really refreshing .We set off to news that a cyclone was due to hit the Area. As we drove to Pihia the rain got worse😭😭😭We stopped at Kawakawa a really arty town. It has a steam train that drives down the main street. All over the street are pieces of art and the main attraction are the public toilets designed by an Austrian artist called Friedensreich Hundertwasser! He lived and worked in the town If you know Gaudi it's similar but I don't think as good. From there we continued in the rain to Pihia to find out about our dolphin swim.Its now been put off till tomorrow afternoon so will have to wait and see,😱We,ve booked in to Top 10 in the town. A lovely site direct onto the bay and we are facing it. Unfortunatly the rain has,not stopped. Books and jigsaws and wine are the order of the day Luckily the wi fi is working so I ve caught up with penguins🤗4 more days to go😭Read more

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    Whangari and Wellington Beach

    February 21, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We decided to leave Coromandel. The scenery was beautiful as were the beaches but time is getting short and we need to be in Pihia for Saturday to swim with the dolphins. It's a long drive up through Aukland. All that traffic, had forgotten what it's like to see so many cars and people. I managed to get some photos of the big bridge in Aukland which my sister wanted. It's raining now, doesn't bode well !! Arrived in Whangarei and after lunch we were advised to go to Wellington Beach at Tutukaka to stay. Eventually found it. Lovely location on the beach very good for swimming.The tide was out and you can walk out a long way. We were with a Swiss and an Argentinian couple and were later joined by a German couple .Read more

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    Start of Coramandel visit.

    February 20, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    From Whangamata we drove to Taiura.We stopped at Pauanui a town on the estuary. Beautiful location but mainly very expensive holiday homes with their own boat dock😱 We then went into Taiura a similar place. Set on an inlet, fabulous setting and expensive houses again .They feel a bit like ghost towns as there are so many empty holiday homes. We drove to Hot water Beach for lunch. What a strange place. Due to the geography you can dig a hole on the beach and it fills with boiling water from underneath and then the sea water comes in and cools it down. Then you sit in it🤔🤔A very strange sight to see hundreds of people with hired spades at 10 dollars ago digging holes in the sand. Not a sand castle in sight !! We then went to Cathedral Cove but decided not to take the boat trip as it was 95 dollars for an hour's ride. We went to stay at Cooks Beach where we met a couple of English girls who had just arrived on their way to Australia for a year.Read more

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    Coramandel here we come.

    February 19, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Drove up to Whangamata and stopped. Trying to save time to get to Bay of Islands sun bathing .weather is good but overcast .Not a lot to see there. Found a camp place on the road at the side of a sports field!! Very glamorous..a nice couple from Australia parked next to us for the night .wouldn't go back.Read more

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    Healthy baths

    February 18, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Went back to Rotarua from Paul's .We went to the Maori cultural centre at the thermal springs. Absolutely fascinating like being in prehistoric landscape.🤔 Boiling mud,sulpher lakes and geysers.Also saw a Kiwi bird, not person, which are nocturnal but these are in rescue programme . Fabulous Maori sculptures. Then we headed off to see blue and green lakes, so called because of their colours and on to the Redwoods which is a forest planted years ago with hundreds of different trees including these massive Californian Redwood trees .There is a tree walk through them about 12 m from ground.😱we left Rotorua and headed north towards the CoromandalRead more

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    Rotorua or bust

    February 17, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Heading east went to New Plymouth to see Len Lye museum which Chris wanted to see, not my cup of tea and Maori Museum where we met fascinating Maori lady who explained a lot .Then off to Rotarua We made arrangements to meet Paul who I worked with 30+ years who offered to meet us that night. We got to Rotorua about 2pm boy does the smell of sulphur hit you,😱😱after lunch we went to the Polynesian Spa on Sulphur Bay🤗🤗We spent the afternoon in the hot spring mineral baths, all of which vary in temperature up to 41c.After we drove to meet Paul and his wife about 45 mins north. We had a great time catching up on old faces and places they very kindly took us to dinner and then we did a night time tour of the bay .We stayed the night in the van even though they had offered us beds for the night.Read more

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    Taranaki here we come

    February 16, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Having left Shelley and Baden we headed to Petone in Lower Hutt. They had a street fair there and one of Chris s friends James was running a stall there so we went to visit him He comes to UK regularly working the game fairs .Having left him we came across a Hindu group selling food. It was amazing Street food. There is a large Hindu community there . It seems we seem to be eating ethnic food wherever we go. I ll have to try some NZ lamb before going home!!The rain has stopped and it's warmer,about 22c not like the heatwave in the south .We set off north again towards Taranaki where Chris,s friend Nina lives. The country is so different here in the north. Far less mountains and more dairy,sheep and fruit and vines especially in the Hutt Valley .Some of it reminds me of the Wolds in Yorkshire .I think I prefer the south. It is about 300 k to Nina's and were watching for Mount Taranaki to guage where we were ...it can't be covered like Mount Cook😱.Eventually it appeared above the clouds .We arrived in Kaponga and another great night was had along with dinner and wine.Nina really made us welcome especially as I didn't know her. The Kiwis really are a friendly lot.😍😍😍Read more

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    Leaving the south island

    February 15, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We headed to the north island today. Woke up to a wet dull day ..what's happened to the weather...I m going home if it stays like this. 😱😱😱it rained all the time on the ferry and was the same when we landed at Wellington ..16,c!!! I m off😭😭We are headed to Upper Hutt where friends of my brother live. I have never met Shelley and Baden so I hope a couple of bottles of wine will help😁😁😁We managed to work our way through Wellington's motorway traffic jams, it s so long since we ve seen such traffic!!We had a fabulous day and night with them. They were like old friends. Bills ears must be burning. We spent the night parked on their drive...do,nt know what the neighbours thought😱Read more

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    Picton

    February 14, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Arrived at Picton along the Queen Charlotte Drive which follows the Marlborough Sounds. Very good views of the boats going around the Sounds as we came to Picton. We had already booked our ferry trip to the north island for tomorrow. We wandered around the harbour area and saw a few millionaire yatchs ....no millionaires wanting to whisk us away 😭We travelled out along the coast road to the end then back to the camp site at Waikawa.another hot day No Valentine's for us!!Read more

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    Heading East towards Picton

    February 13, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We spent the morning walking the beaches at Goat Bay around the campsite and swimming and generally slowing down. No selps in the water, crystal clear. We headed off back to Takaka. It's a real hippy town like Carnaby Street in the 60,s.All ages bare feet dreadlocks tie die shirts and fire eaters😍😍the only thing spoiling it for me was big signs painted by the council on the pavements....no dogs between 9 and 5.....Shan t be going back there😭😭😭.on through Nelson till we stopped at Havelock for coffee.Real Devonshire tea,scones, cream, jam and China cups😍😍 From there we ended up at a campsite in Cable 😱Bay for the night. We sure are clocking up the miles.Read more

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    Abel Tasman and Salps

    February 12, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We headed off from Don's site fully laden with organic vegetables and a request to come back the next day and stay again. Tempting as it was free and Don sorted out the fridge and key problems .Head north to AbelTasman and head to Takaka it's over the hill , about 2 1/2 hrs . What he neglected to say it was 800meters high and twisted and turned like a snake.about a third way up part of the road had fallen away and traffic was restricted to alternate single file😱😱😱very interesting!!Eventually we got to Takaka and headed to the campground. It's mainly Kiwis on holiday says Don. It's a DOC site up a track.Tortanaui was 10 k up a dirt track but so worth it. Overlooking the Tasman Sea rich blue. right in the middle of the Abel Tasman National Park. Well worth it😍😍.33c heatwave still on .we left it till afternoon and went for simple trek in jungle/bush!!! They lie about times, distances type of walks😱😱Eventually got back to camp like Livingstone . Later it was still very hot so went to beach for a swim .Watch out for the selps??? They are harmless amoeba like organisms that eat plankton. They form strings. Going in the water was like swimming in spaghetti, keep your mouth shut!!!..out for a drink what does tomorrow bring?Read more

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    Wine tasting in Blenheim.

    February 11, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Having left Kaikoura we travelled north looking for somewhere to camp We came across Marfells Bay which had awful reviews but it was getting late so we chanced it. Whoever did the review was either in the wrong place or was used to 5 star living!! 🤔🤔There were plenty of sites clean toilets cold showers and a beautiful beach..what's to complain about .We set off to Blenheim passing acres of vineyards.What a change from mountains and lakes .In Blenheim we got a list of vineyards that you can visit. The railway station is still operating but the station house is a wine bar /cafe with the biggest collection of wines . We went to the Lost Valley vineyard and had an interesting time there. We tried a few wines but it was a shame to spit it out😱😱😱😱.We then drove on to stay in Motueka the main town in the Abel Tasman area .We stayed with Don who is part of the Sunrise campervan family. He runs a site alongside the river with an organic vegetable garden.He has done just about everything and has a huge knowledge of travel in NZ .After a long info session and a few wines our plans for tomorrow we're setRead more

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    Dolphins and whales

    February 10, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Early start 7am to get out on first boat. Really professional group run by Maoiri people.We saw our first whale after 10 mins just the back above the water then it dived and we had fantastic view of its tail.🐋🐋 These sperm whales dive to eat for between 45 and 60 mins then resurface. We sailed around for an hour then it came up again. We were lucky to see it dive again . On the way back we were surrounded by Hector's dolphins 🐬🐬🐬.These are rare. They are very small and playful. They followed us back to shore all around the boat. I managed to get some good video .after lunch we went to the headland to see the fur seals.We decided to head north as the town itself was too touristy.Read more

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    Whales and Irish Roots

    February 9, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    On way to Kaikura stopped at small town of Rotherham for tea and cake!! Met the owner Moira from Glasgow who recommended staying at Donegal Hotel outside Kaikura. The family home to the Boyd's from Donegal since 1860,s It was a farm now a hotel and campsite.typical white Irish cottage 6 acres of beautiful gardens and non stop Dubliners etc.Had a drink with the owners partner after signing in then off to discover Kaikoura. Not very interesting place touristy. Had been hit by an earthquake 2 years ago but didn't see any signs. Had dinner in local pub trying to find wi fi that worked. Returned to campsite and after having a large cider even though there was draught Guinness on tap and listened to non stop pogues decided to go to bed as early startRead more

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    Hanmer Springs

    February 8, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Had a walk round Reefton before leaving for Hammer Springs campsite .....need a shower and to do washing!!! Reefton the first town in NZ to have electricity. it's part of the NZ Goldfields and the largest nugget ever found in NZ came from there. It ended up in England in a tea set for King George🤔the town centre itself looks like an old cow boy town from the film's.Wide street,boardwalk and verandas .The people are really welcoming and we had a good time in the hunting shop discussing gun laws and then in the art gallery. We then set off until we got to Lake Daniel for coffee and cake ( again!!).we met a lovely couple from East Anglia who bought a motorhome and now spend 6 months in UK and 6 months driving round NZ in mobile home ..what a way to lessen electricity bills!!eventually reached the top ten site in Hammer Springs.First job get the washing do e then a hot shower ..bliss😁😁😁the site is quite small and we probably let the side down hanging washing over fences and hedges to dry. To be fair it was so hot it dried in an hour . Had Dutch neighbours who we spent some time with and an English man travelling on his own since last November so he was good for I formation .Hammer Springs has lots of thermal baths etc seems like a trendy place and in the winter they ski there. We're off to Kaikura tomorrow to whale watch on Sunday. Still worried about the forest fires further north ,may have to change plansRead more

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    Foxs and Franz Josef glaciers

    February 6, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We set off heading g north up through My Aspiring National Park and the Haast Pass. Again the scenery is stunning and only small communities not big enough at times even to call them villages.The temperatures are remaining high trying to remember to drink and cover yourself in Deet for the sandflies is hard😭😭😭We are both eaten alive with them .We were warned about them They must be related to Scottish midges. Having left the trees of the national park we went along the coast road having seen our first view of the Tasman Sea. A very different type to the Pacific much bigger waves too rough to swim 🤔Bruce Bay was lovely .Eventually we reached Fox Glacier Chris had been there 20 years ago when she walked on it .Now you can get to 450 meters of it after a 1 1/2km walk.but you see. Hardly anything. I couldn't make the whole walk as it was too tough so went back for the and .y book! Very disappointed.when you see where it was in 1935 and 1750 you realize climate change is real. Onwards t m lo Franz Josef glacier. There is again a long uphill track which I can't do. But slightly more to see.From a track leading g to Gillespies beach we looked back and saw a far better view of Fox glacier and it looked like one.😃we headed on up the coast to Greymouth.after lunch at the beach, not the nicest one, we re used to, and carried on north to Pancake Rocks. Well worth the long drive.strange rock formations and weird caves caused by the sea..A well earned ice cream was eaten while watching the world go by. Onwards again,I feel like i.ve been on the road for days and made it to Redfin for the night. Our 4th freedom camp in a row.Roll on a Top Ten site for hot shower and so.e Washing😆😆
    L    Read more

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    Does Mt. Cook exist?

    February 5, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Off we tracked to Mt Cook through the centre of NZ. From grassland to mountains, forests to lakes the most incredible turquoise blue surely someone has put a huge pot of dye in them .As we headed we realised there was cloud.....not only cloud but Mt. Cook had gone!!! As we arrived....rain!!!! We sat around went to the Edmund Hilary I formation centre, which is fantastic . Eventually gave up and took the long road to Wannaka. We found a lovely campsite and settled down with the rest of the wine whilst the river flowed past the site.Read more

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    Queenstown and boats

    February 4, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Travelled to Queenstown for some tourist time. Very busy beautiful setting. Met a nice Belfast lad who organised Shotover jet ski ride absolutely great fun but got soaked as sitting in outside!! Of course had to get photo, video etc at the end!!. Great Icecream here can recommend Patagonia on the harbour . Headed if as we're aiming for Mt Cook so got past Cromwell and found a camping stop. Just settled down for night when car and security arrived to check us. Didn't open doors but spike through blinds; he was satisfied we were ok as we have a self contained van so can park up anywhere .Forgot to mention sandflies😱😱😱😱😱😱worse than mossies you don't hear them!!!!only thing wrong with NZ😱😱😱Read more

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