Napier
There is a saying ‘be careful what you wish for – it might come true’. The people of Napier, New Zealand wished for more land between the sea and town, and started to build up the land level. Nature took a hand though in 1931 in the form on an earthquake. The good news was […]…
Auckland
Our cruise round New Zealand ended on Aukland. We had a day there before a late evening flight back to the UK. The visit was somewhat twinged with sadness as it was the end of our holiday. We had a coach trip round the city, to see the sights, the waterfront and a park were […]…
Sydney
Australia is so far away, that by the time we got there we had lost track of which day and what time it was! A couple of days in Sydney was insufficient to do it justice. The first afternoon was lost with a little nap to recover from jet lag, which lasted rather a long […]…
Dunedin
The first port of call on our New Zealand cruise was Dunedin. This is the countries oldest city, being settled by Maoris four centuries ago. In 1848 Scottish migrants established a settlement here and gave it the Celtic name for Edinburgh, which was Dunedin. In 1861 gold was discovered, bringing wealth to the city, which […]…
Akaroa
Now that we had reached New Zealand, the port calls came every day. Today it was Akaroa, a small township with a tranquil harbour which was evolved from an ancient volcano. It was the site of an early French attempt to colonise New Zealand, and it retains a charming French flavour. The cruise ship could […]…
Perth
We visited Perth for the first time to visit our sons family after they emigrated last year and we were not disappointed. They live just outside of Perth, about 30 minutes away and you get into town by bus and train which you pay for in one go. Perth is a very clean and beautiful […]…
Queenstown
Queenstown is a small town but full of young people doing ridiculously athletic things, from bungee jumping to skiing. However it’s a nice town to wander around, lots of coffee shops, lots of nice restaurants, lots of hotels and apartments. It’s flat so easy to walk round. You can take a steamboat ride on the […]…
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is miles from anywhere. You have to access by coach as the roads are (very) hairy and sometimes inaccessible by car. When we went in April, the road had been shut due to snow the day before and only reopened to coaches the next day. You can board the coach at Te Anau […]…
The Coromandel
A really pretty drive to this fairly remote part of the North Island. And the drive there is fairly hairy, hairpin bends up the side of steep mountains, encountering logging lorries at inappropriate times, although they do move over when possible to let you pass. Coromandel town is small with only a couple of places […]…
Wellington
A lovely, compact city with a mess of a one-way system! It’s worth driving up to Mount Victoria for the spectacular views. Also worth doing the Cable Car, both for the novelty value and the views from the top. You can walk down but it is very steep and my husband (with his stick) couldn’t […]…
Manly
We have visited Manly before,mainly because my daughter and her husband are living there. It’s a wonderful place for the young, wall to wall activities. But also a nice place to relax and take in the sunshine (but be careful it does get incredibly hot and the sun is really dangerous, best to buy suncream […]…
Sydney
Have visited Sydney before and just loved it. The airport is teeny-tiny, you’re out really quickly and car hire is a couple of hundred yards’ walk away. So much to see and do. Best approached via the ferry from Manly, as the boat turns the corner you get this wonderful view of the Opera House […]…