Eeling down the stream
Day 196 – Matamata, New Zealand We started the day by going to a blueberry farm. Our visit wasn’t exactly planned, by which I mean that the person in the farm who extended the invitation told our guide roughly 5 min before we arrived. That translated by telling us a lot of history about the…
A taste of Christmas
Day 193 -Matamata, New Zealand Since I’m spending my last week in New Zealand with a family, I’m fortunate to be able to participate in Christmas preparation. Sunday started with a carol service at the local church. I knew only one of the hymns, but with a stuffed nose and a strong French accent, I…
Waiting for the bus
Day 192 – Matamata, New Zealand I’ve finally uploaded the Tongariro pictures! My day started at quarter to three in the night, when some clumsy lout came to find his bed in my dormitory. Light, noise, everything. Fortunately I went back to sleep quickly. I dropped the behemoth to the rental agency at the airport,…
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Day 191 – Manukau, New Zealand I was awoken before 6 am by a creaking door. Or maybe the wind, or the people getting up, but the door creaking next room over kept me from crashing back to sleep. So I ended up getting up way earlier than I had planned to. My plans, after…
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…