We’re about halfway through our stay in Rapahoe, about 10 minutes north of Greymouth. The weather has been typical west coast summer, cool, some rain, but not much wind and there’s a lot to see and do. Wednesday, after getting the grocery shopping out of the way, we
We left Castlepoint early to make sure we had plenty of time to get to Wellington to catch our ferry to the South Island. We did find out what at least one of the emergency sirens we heard was for. Along the road from Castlepoint to Masterton, a power line
It’s Sunday January 11th, just after 10:00 am and the wind is gusting 40+ knots (80 kph). The AirBnB we’re in, is at the top of the hill and the back is exposed directly to the SW winds that have been blowing hard for the past few
We said goodbye to Palmerston North on January 3rd and headed to Wellington, about 2 hours south. First stop was to visit with friends we used to sail with. It’s been awhile since we got together and re-uniting was welcome. We’re looking forward to seeing them again when
We’ve spent a bit of time travelling out from Palmerston North as we wind down the year. Sunday, we went with our friends over to the Wairapa to visit a couple of wineries, have a nice lunch and enjoy the scenery. I’s about a 2 hour drive, made
Merry Christmas from Palmerston North! The weather today is sunny and 22. Lovely day, not too hot, perfect for a traditional Christmas lamb BBQ. When we first came to NZ in 1996, we spent our first Christmas tenting in Penny Spencer’s back yard in Palmerston North. They have a
There are a couple of routes south from Lake Taupo, but the most scenic is on State Highway 1 across the Desert Rd. This is an alpine desert and when the weather is clear the views are stunning. This is one of our all time favourite drives. Leaving Lake Taupo,
We said goodbye to Waiheke Island on Friday morning. It really is beautiful and if you’re ever in NZ it’s worth a day trip to see the sights, or if you have the time, a longer stay to explore the beaches. Be warned, the car ferry isn’t
We took the car ferry over to Waiheke Island on Sunday to spend some time with one of our adopted whanau. Whanau is a Maori concept that encompasses not only the nuclear family but also extends to close friends and we are part of our friends Pip and John‘s
Landed in Auckland on Dec 2 more or less on time and got to experience a new process to actually enter the country. Passport control was first, easy, and all electronic. We breezed through. Next is the choice of line about anything declare or not. We chose nothing to declare,
We spent our last full day in Australia with a goal to see some of the iconic sights of Sydney like the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and of course Manley Beach. We walked down to Circular Quay to catch the ferry to Manley. The ferry was packed with mostly
We took the train from East Gosford to Sydney, a nice 1 1/2 hour ride that brought us to the heart of Sydney. A short walk and we dropped our bags off at the hotel and went off to get some lunch and do a bit of exploring. After
Started the day with a walk to the Japanese Gardens near we’re staying in East Gosford. Very peaceful spot with lots of ducks and koi in the ponds looking for handouts. There is a cafe onsite, a perfect spot for brunch. Sitting outside, looking over the gardens, and enjoying
With only a couple of days left in Gosford, we wanted to find somewhere locally to got for a walk. We started at Brisbane Water National Park for a 2 km bush walk. The trail had a number of lookouts over a couple of waterfalls and views of the forest.
After 10 days travelling around New South Wales using ChatGPT to figure out the best things to see with limited time, it was time to head back to our Aussie home base. Driving around this small corner of Australia really gives you a feel for just how large this country
We had a slightly longer drive planned to get to Coffs Harbour on the coast so we planned, again with ChatGPT, for several shorter stops along the way. The route from Tamworth to Coffs Harbour includes the scenic drive called the Waterfall Way, and for good reason! Our first stop
From Dubbo, we set out for Tamworth with a few planned stops for silo art and one viewpoint that ChatGPT recommended as a must see. We stopped in Dunedoo for a mid morning coffee and the first of the silo art. Cathy and I had to go to the Dinky
We’re staying in another NRMA Holiday Park in Dubbo. This is a great way to travel and keep costs reasonable. We have a 2 bedroom cabin with a kitchen, full bath, and a nice covered deck with BBQ, for just over $150 AUD per night. Nice and clean and
We started the day with another visit to the lookout in Katoomba for the “3 Sisters”. The weather had cleared and the sun was shining so we hoped to get a view out over the valley. Still some low cloud in the valley, but we did see the 3 Sisters
Had a nice breakfast at the hotel then Marilyn came and picked us up to head off to hike in the mist. We went to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains National Park and set out to see what we would through the clouds and mist. We headed down the
Packed up and left Canberra at around 08:30 with overcast skies. The idea was to head for the Tarlo River National Park just south of Taralga and go for a hike, this was on our direct route. Unfortunately Marilyn (who is driving us around this trip) put a slightly
We narrowed down the ChatGPT list of things to do in Canberra before heading out for the day. There is a lot to do and see in this area, but again, we are picking and choosing. Our first stop was the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. First established as a reserve in
The day started with a short drive to Bega to visit the Bega Heritage Centre. Bega is known for its dairy industry and cheese. The heritage centre has a small historical display showcasing the dairy industry and a cafe where you can sample a few of their cheeses, grab a
We left Gerroa around 09:30, headed south along the coast. Once again, we planned a few outings and a lunch stop with the help of ChatGPT. So far, this tool has been a great help. There are so many things to see and do that we have to slim