Tongariro National Park
Day 190 – National Park, New Zealand Edit: I updated the article. Yes, National Park is the name of a village. It’s strange, but at least easy to remember. I picked up my rental car in Wellington under rain and wind, because hey, why should I be lucky with the weather all the time? But…
Kaikoura
Day 188 – Kaikoura, New Zealand I woke up full of enthusiasm for my plans of the day. Well, after lingering on my morning cup of tea, that is. The thing to do in Kaikoura is to walk on the peninsula, there is a track at the bottom of the cliff (which may depend on…
Christchurch
Day 187 – Kaikoura, New Zealand I started the day with a leisurely walk to the Art Gallery. In the way, I too a few pictures that struck my fancy -ruined buildings, murals, other strange things… I think my favorite was a series of stonework on a footpath along the river that reproduced woven mats.…
Bus, bus, bus
Day 186 – Christchurch, New Zealand I’m getting a bit tired of buses. Bus all day from Franz Josef Glacier to Queenstown, a day of rest, bus all day to Milford Sound, a day of rest, bus all day to Christchurch… You see how it is. So yesterday I pottered around Queenstown, I finished treating…
Milford Sound
Day 184 – Queenstown, New Zealand Milford Sound! The name evokes vistas, paintings, famous hiking trails… So it seems a little tame to take a bus all the way to the boat that will take tourists on the sound and then back on the bus… but unless walking there is you life dream, that’s the…
Queenstown
Day 183 – Queenstown, New Zealand Yesterday was the long, long bus day. 8 hours is a long time. That said, we weren’t cramped as we were few enough passengers that I could claim two seats for me. We went through stunning scenery, and the bus company stops often and offer short stops at notable…
Franz Josef Glacier
Day 181 – Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand Yesterday was spent getting here, from Punakaiki to Franz Josef Glacier. It is the name of the town, and the name of its main attraction. Today, a shuttle took me to the car park from which many trails go to and around the glacier. I started with…
Pancake Rocks
Day 179 – Punakaiki, New Zealand Today’s bus was early, like 7:15 am early. Fortunately, I had my trusty travel pillow with me. The bus driver, from his accent, was Canadian, and I must have been the last one to arrive because he called me by name. (Everybody knows me!) He kindly gave us the…
Last day at Abel Tasman
Day 178 – Nelson, New Zealand The day began with my alarm not ringing. Fortunately, I woke up -and checked the time- and had still half the time I had scheduled for the morning. So instead of leisurely packing up my stuff -check-out day- and having a quiet breakfast with lots of time over my…
Abel Tasman National Park – 2
Day 176-177 – Marahau, New Zealand I didn’t write last night because I started nodding off over my 6-o’clock cup of tea, and I decided that shower, preparing next day’s lunch and diner were a priority. The morning boat took me to Tonga Quarry, where I had ended last day’s walk. I went for a…