Shardlows Highs

Featured

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 5 Christchurch

the city is recovering from the devastating earthquakes

Continuing on from our trip round Banks Peninsula, we checked into our motel not far from Christchurch centre, then wandered down into town for a quick look around. The weather was still very warm, so when the motel offered us a choice of free breakfast or air-con, guess which we opted for.

On Sunday we walked into the city, and came across the first of the Elmer Elephants on the trail, for which I’ve done a separate blog.

We were interested to see how the city is recovering from the devastating earthquakes, and were pleased to see it looking bright and stunning.

There are lots of murals around the city, which of course I had to snap.

The central shopping areas are pedestrians and trams only, which made for a nice wander.

We stopped for lunch in what, at first, we thought was a small cafe, but turned out to be a large food market, The Riverside Market, serving any nationality food you could wish for. As it was still hot and sunny, we enjoyed our food sat outside.

Then we took a visit to the Quake City Museum, which has great interactive exhibits showing how the earthquake happened, and what progress has been made to recover.

Many building are either repaired, or shored up awaiting repair. The first image is the Cathedral.

There are also stunning new builds around.

One new build I particularly wanted to visit was the Cardboard Cathedral.

This building was originally planned as a transitional structure while the old cathedral is rebuilt.

However, planning etc has meant that it was eventually made a more permanent structure that will be given to St Johns Parish, who donated the land, when it is no longer required.

Its construction is based on huge cardboard tubes.

Hot and tired, we decided to visit the gondola next.

On our way back to the motel we came across the incredible Margaret Mahy Playground, built on land left derelict by the earthquake. On a glorious Sunday, it was full of very happy children enjoying the huge complex of climbs, slides, fountains etc. The playground cost over $40m but is certainly one of the best features of the city.

That afternoon we drove over to the Christchurch Gondola.

The cable car travels 1,000m up Mount Cavendish and offers panoramic views of the city and Banks Peninsula.

There was a refreshing breeze up at the top, and we enjoyed an ice cream.

That evening we drove around the surrounding area looking for more elephants. This took us to places we would not have ventured to otherwise.

We came across this sculpture, which we decided were of Higgs and Fern, the Swedish Valhunds, waiting at a tram stop.

After another hot night, and with our flight later that afternoon, we opted to visit Orana Wildlife Park on our last day.

It is situated on the outskirts of Christchurch, and is an open-range zoo.

It has a very different feel to most zoos we have visited, with wide open, roughly landscaped areas to stroll through.

We had a friendly Fantail dance around us for a while.

And more animals

Sadly, that took us to time to return our hire car and catch our flights home.

We were very sad to leave this incredible country again, and hope it wont be too long before we can return. From 30degree sunshine, we returned to -1 degree UK.

I hope you have enjoyed our journey.

Featured

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 4 Banks Peninsula

Just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea in the sunshine

After a brief break while my laptop was repaired, I’m back with part 4. On a foggy frosty morning in the UK, this seems so far away and so long ago.

I left you in Timaru in Part 3. On Saturday we drove up to the Banks Peninsula, created from 2 volcanos. Our first stop was at the White Rabbit café, that I remembered from our previous visit. we had some mouth watering cake and a drink and then set onwards to Akaroa, a harbour created by the volcano.

Our first stop was at a marvellous place on the edge of town that we only found through tourist guides. It is a private house and gardens called The Giants House, ‘the happiest garden on earth’.

WOW, what a place.

Climbing up a steep drive, your first glimpse of the wonders inside are mosaic sculptures at the entrance.

These continue into every corner of this incredible garden, nestled into the hillside.

I’ll just put the photos up, as words cannot fully express the glory.

I am very jealous of the wonderful black Aeoniums.

a grand piano, covered in bright mosaics, set in a lawn

Everywhere you look, there are more crazy figures, or steps, or pools, all covered in a spectrum of mosaics.

Lots more…

Assorted creatures rising out of the foliage.

You could never be lonely here.

Tempted to break a few plates yet?

Ian had trouble dragging me out of here, but as it was very hot and sunny, we needed to cool down and get refreshments.

If you are ever in the vicinity, go and visit.

We got an ice cream and browsed around Akaroa, a pleasant sea side town, for a while.

Some shade from the sun at last.

A very English Cottage garden so far from home.

As I think the crazy garden has probably wowed you enough, I’ll leave Christchurch for my last post.

Featured

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 3 Dunedin

This town has 70 heritage buildings and has capitalised on the Victorian theme

We followed on from Clyde by driving down Highway 8, taking the route alongside the Clutha river for most of the route.

The end wall of our room in the Stables

We checked into our room in Dunedin, The Stables, which was even better than expected. Describes as a quiet, off-street boutique establishment, it didn’t disappoint. Our room on the first floor had vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and many exposed features from the original building.

Even better, downstairs we found a wonderful kitchen for everyone’s use, which was great as we were staying 2 nights.

Once we had settled in we wandered down the (steep) hill into town. Dunedin is named after Edinburgh and has many similarities. There are also lots of wall arts to find.

Rather than find then that evening we opted to have a Turkish meal at Sila. They were doing some renovations, and looked almost shut and empty, but we risked it, and had the most delicious meal of the trip. If you are even in Dunedin, check them out.

On Thursday we set off to check out the Otago peninsular. All along the route are cute seaside villages and harbours.

After a very windy drive we reached the end of the peninsular where the only mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses exists. we last visited 19 years ago and it was foggy and calm. This time the sun was shining, so we paid our entrance fee and walked up to the viewpoint, and saw the magnificent birds sitting o their eggs.

Not albatrosses (red beaked gulls).

Not albatross, a seal.

An albatross.

There were 4 nests visible from the hide. None of the birds flew off as they share nesting duties, so one bird flies off to catch food for a few days, then they swap over.

There were lots of other sea birds around too, and we had an educational film and talk while there.

The albatross sitting on their nests.

There is also a beach at the centre where little blue penguins nest, but it was only open in the evening, which would mean driving the long windy road in the dark, so we decided agaist that.

We stopped at a beach for a break on the way back. This is the changing rooms.

Next we tried to find the Mt Cargill view point, but got totally lost, so made do with views from the road we ended up on.

I’m so glad I have a wide angles lens to capture the incredible scenery.

Driving back into town I was puzzled by a photo opportunity showing up on my map, while were were going through housing estates. This turned out to be Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world.

I wouldn’t want to live here!

We needed something for dinner, so we walked through the lovely Botanic Gardens to the supermarket.

Dunedin botanic gardens.

On Friday, before we set off north, we drove down into town and parked up, then I quickly walked around finding some street art. I love these bright displays of talent cheering up blank walls.

Wall art in Dunedin.

Next stop was to see the Moaraki boulders.

These huge spherical boulders look alien and unnatural sat on an ordinary beach.

After a coffee in the visitor centre we travelled up Highway 1 to Oamaru, the steampunk capital. This town has 70 heritage buildings and has capitalised on the Victorian theme, with Steampunk HQ well worth a visit.

Along the road from there is a row of warehouse shops selling all you need to capture your steampunk image, and the children’s playground continues the theme.

Oamaru playground. We stopped for ice cream, but the wind was bitterly cold so we didn’t linger too long.

Our hotel for that night was the Grosvenor. Timaru is a strange town, sat alongside the port, and this hotel is not far from the sea. The corridors are decorated with Mondrian and other art styles, and it has a hip vibe about it.

We took a walk around town, but it was deserted and most places were shut, so after a pleasant meal in the hotel restaurant, we walked down to the beach.

Most evenings, near the road between the port and the beach, you can watch little blue penguins waddle up to their nests.

This one even stood and did a little dance and sang his song for us. This was far better than the long drive and entrance fee to see the Dunedin penguins.

Our next day sees us travel to Christchurch, so I’ll leave that for the next post.

Featured

Greece 2021 – On Holiday At Last

They make a spectacular sight against a blue sky.

We first booked a trip to Greece, to sail the Faraway Islands, north of Corfu, for spring 2020.

Of course, Covid-19 scuppered those plans, so we rearranged the trip for spring 2021. Then we realised a May holiday could clash with my sons’ rearranged wedding, leaving us no time to isolate if that was the current rules, so we moved it forward a couple of weeks.

Then COVID came back with a vengeance and we asked Sailing Holidays to just find us a sailing trip in Greece for October. We had to avoid the 13th as that was Barbara’s 90th birthday party, so we booked the delivery trip from Nidri to Gouvie for the following weekend.

As the pandemic is still very much with us, we had to be tested, and fill in lots of forms.

Eventually it was time, and off we flew, after an early departure from Pete’s on Sunday, we arrived mid afternoon at the Hotel Iris and were shown our yacht, Elara, a Beneteau 331.

After welcomes, and more testing and forms, we settled on the boat and dined in the restaurant. The weather was a bit glum, but we had a rainbow to give us hope.

The following day, after briefing and shopping, we left Nidri for Spartakhori.

We were delighted to get our sails up, and as we headed into a bay for a swim, we spotted a few dolphins a short distance away.

We have visited Spartakhori a few times before, and as it was a team meal, I forgot to take any new photos.

Next day we set off for Kamalos. the sun was shining but not much wind. We had hoped to meet up with Mary-Ann and Colin, as they were also sailing in the area, but our plans didn’t match up, so we motored down the Meganissi chanel and stopped in Port Leone for a swim.

We anchored just outside the old windmill, before setting off up to Kalamos.

Goerge, who owns the tavern on the quay, is renown for getting any boats into his harbour, even if it seems full. Luckily it was fairly quiet as this was approaching the end of season.

Wednesday we set off to Sivota, with a bit of early wind, and we were delighted to see 3 dolphins swim past our yacht. We kept sailing all the way across the top of Meganissi and downto Sivota.

There is a beach near to the marina so todays swim was sorted on arrival. We also had a punch party on the beach as dusk set.

Sailing this late in the year means we were up before dawn most mornings, and we had some spectacular sunrises.

Thursday started with little wind so we motored most of the way to Little Vathi on Meganissi, only getting the sails up after a stop in Abeliki bay, where a flash new house was being built. This was a feature of the holiday we had not seen before, lots of modern buildings arising everywhere.

We did mange a short stretch sailing Goose wing, which is always a delight.

After an evening briefing, we slept ready for an early start.

The next trip was through the Lefkas Canal, all the way to Gaios, so we had to set off at 07:30.

Another sunrise rose behind us as we set off north to Lefkas.

The morning had a surreal feel to it, as it was so calm and still, with only our 2 flotillas out on the water.

A bit of chaos ensued at the canal, as first one boat had rushed across under full speed and had overheated their engine, then another boat ran aground in the mud in the canal. Then a third yacht had its anchor drop mid canal, meaning the lead crews had to haul it back up while we dodged the obstruction.

So when the horn blasted for the bridge to open, for 5 minutes, it was a crazy dash to get through, and the horn to signal its closing blasted as we motored past. Our lead crew failed to get past and had to wait an hour for the next opening.

We motor sailed part of the way, then dropped the sails and carried on under engine. It’s a long trip, with Paxos only becoming visible after a couple of hours, but luckily the weather was good and not too much swell, as this is my least favourite part of the trip.

After that long trip, we only had to get to Lakka the next day. The wind was stronger and we reefed our sails and had a good play, with more goosewinging.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at NioNios of Pork Hock, then we wandered round the town, finding a children’s clothes shop that had to be visited. That’s 2 Christmas presents sorted.

Next we returned to the mainland, to Sivota Mourtos, stopping on the pontoon in the next bay. Our yacht was moored nearest to the land, and I had my best swim yet along the rocky shore, with many different types of fish.

There is a fancy new taverna in the bay, but other people weren’t impressed, so we dined on board, then as dusk started we walked into town, which is a steep 1. We do werer arround 5km walk. we treated ourselves to a great ice-cream and walked back in the dark.

Monday we sailed up to Plataria, having a good tack with reefed sails before mooring uplowed them orarouhalfnd h on the town quay.

We dined in Olgas fish restaurant and I shared the fish platter with Phil, yum.

A new port for us the next day, Sayiadha. It sits behind mud flats which are very shallow, and we were lucky to spot a turtle just before it disappeared, then some dolphins came swimming nearby, with one of them coming within a couple of meters of us. We were able to follow them for about half an hour.

The tavernas here specialise in local caught prawn, which I had with spaghetti.

A few pelicans were floating just outside the harbour the next morning, and another turtle passed us on our way out.

We finally reach Corfu on Wednesday, stopping in Petitri.

Due to a river entering behind the marina, this bay is very atmospheric.

On a previous trip here I had photographed the dawn, and this year we had a similar experience, with thick mist rolling out from the bay.

Thursday was a trip up the coast, stopping in a bay enroute for a lovely swim, and into Corfu Yacht Club. We were lucky to get a spot on the quay side, but it proved a rocky night.

We walked into town late afternoon, and smelt a great curry cooking in the Yacht Club taverna, so rather than return to town, we dined there.

I found this amazing fruit on the quay.

We still had a couple of days before returning to base, so we now venture to a new area, visiting Kassiopi, which is very close to the Albanian shores.

We had a lot of spare time today, so had a swim and sat and read for a while.

Our last day was a gentle trip back round to Gouvia, with a bay stop for my last swim.

We had a team cocktail party and prize giving, we got the ‘David Attenborough’ award for our wildlife spotting.

The following day we didn’t have to leave the marina until 16:00. The staff had already started work on readying the yachts for winter, opening up the genoas to dry.

They make a spectacular sight against a blue sky.

That sadly is the end of a wonderful trip, lots of sunshine, wildlife, swimming, great food and company, but short of good wind.

Featured

Dystopian Beauty

‘the sea had just scattered the remains across the beach’

2020 has been a very strange year, and sometimes we just needed to escape, and for me that means the seaside.

Our campervan has not been used much this year, so we decided on a few days trip mid September. Our normal breaks take us westward, so for a change we opted to go North Easterly to the Yorkshire coast, to places we had not been to before.

As we were booking late, and due to Coronavirus, many more people were holidaying in the UK, we couldn’t get the first night where we wanted, and opted to stop in Snaith, on the way there. The site was small, and we were the only guests when we arrived, sharing the field with some chickens who soon departed once the dogs were let out.

The site had caught my eye as the pillars from an old bridge remained in the river behind the site. So we went to have a look, but as the banks were overgrown and fenced off, we only got distant views.

This used to be a toll bridge, charging an awful lot of money to cross when it was built. The 2 small church like building across the river are the toll booths.

We carried on our walk with a visit to Snaith town. To get to the town we passed underneath the road bridge, and a Barn Owl flew out, too quick for a photo.

We found a wonderful cake shop, so took a couple of huge yummy cakes back with us for afternoon tea.

The next morning we continued on to Spurn Head, and the Yorkshire coast.

Our campsite was a small tidy site with around 8 other vans. We quickly realised that Spurn Head is a great venue for Bird Watching, as everyone else there seemed to be in Camouflaged clothing carrying huge binoculars and cameras.

A quick check of Google told us that a rare sighting of a Rosy Starling was todays excitement, but as we only had small binoculars with us, we left that to the twitchers.

If you don’t know the area, Spurn Head is the long strip of sand and dunes the curves around the end of the Humber estuary, and is one of the most easterly points on this part of the coast, which is why random birds appear here, having been blown across the North Sea.

As we had arrived early, we set of for a stroll by the sea, after all, that’s why we were here. Dogs are not allowed on the main Headland as it is a nature reserve, but we stopped at the cafe for a quick drink, no ice-creams! Then we set off along the beach.

The sea is constantly eroding this part of the coast, moving it ever Westwards. As a result, the beach is now scattered with the ruins of war time lookout building, and the static caravan park is slowly being reclaimed by the sea.

The dogs were glad to be free on the beach, with Rita making sure she collected lots of sand to take back to the van.

Lookin gout to sea there is a large Wind farm, gently spinning turbines making pretty patterns as they lined up.

I never imaged lumps of old brickwork could be so beautiful, eroded by sea and sand.

The large concrete blocks are part of the sea defenses. Further along we came to the ruins of WW2 gun turrets.

The first sight of them has a shape that resembles a huge bird, until you venture closer.

These make for a very dystopian lands scape, and truly show the power of the sea. They were very solidly built to withstand bombing, but the sea had just scattered the remains across the beach, at crazy angles.

It is an almost alien scene, with crooked staircases going nowhere, and weird round shapes like UFOs.

Eventually I was dragged away to continue our walk, knowing we would return the next day for more photo opportunities.

We booked ourselves a meal at the nearby pub, which overlooks the Estuary, facing West, towards Grimsby .

The meal was delicious, and we were treated to their ‘cabaret’ – the sun setting into the water. As I have usually visited the west coast, this feel right – I’m never comfortable with the sun sinking behind me as I look out to sea.

The next day, still hot and sunny, we set off from where we left off along the beach.

There is a Sound mirror inland a short way, but we didnt find the footpath to it, so only got a distant shot.

The signs of erosion are everywhere, the caravan site had lost a row of plots, and the road hangs over the edge.

On the dunes we found a ‘sculpture’ of several lobster pots and some rubbish, with a poem written on.

At one point the dogs started barking when they were close to the sea defenses, and I soon realized they had come across a young seal.

It wasn’t too concerned by them, as I called them away, and it flopped back into the sea.

I grabbed a shot of the starlings on the telegraph wires, one of them might be a rosy Starling, but I doubt it.

After another good night, despite me finding a wasp in my cider, and getting stung on my lip, we set off to our next stay. I was for once glad to wear a mask, as my lip and cheek swelled from the sting.

First we called in at Bridlington, a very typical seaside town, all rocks shops, arcades and tacky souvernirs.

We just had to stop on the prom for fish’n’chips, and took a stroll around town. It was busy due to the lovely weather, but the breeze was a bit brisk.

Our final site was on Flamborough Head, just round the coast.

The next day we walked from our site to the lighthouse on the Head, passing the old Chalk tower, which was the first lighthouse here. But the charges for this service were voluntary, so it quickly fell into disrepair.

The Greenwich Meridian crosses the head and is marked by a plaque. This can be confusing, as many maps of Britain are tilted, so you would imagine it passed further inland than this.

The modern lighthouse is now a popular destination for more bird watchers and has a small cafe. It also has a shop where I found a souvenir pencil for my collection and a badge for my camera bag – result.

From here we set off round the Southern side of the head, where we could sea bird strewn cliffs.

Part of the route passed through a Sculpture park, but is seems most of the sculptures have gone, leaving only a totem pole and a wonderful Whale Bone bridge

The final part of the walk we dropped down to the beach below the chalk cliffs, and then back to the campsite, warmed by the sun, and tired from our great walks.

We were so glad we decided on tis trip, adding new locations to our travels.

Can’t wait for our next trip.

Featured

Scotland NC500 and more, Week 2

We went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place

I trust you have read the first part of this blog Scotland NC500 and more, week 1, and you pick up our trip as we leave Inverewe gardens.

Our Saturday night was spent at Ullapool. where the site is right next to the town, on the shoreline. There is a walk down to the shore where the Puils had a great time running through the dunes.

The views from the site are spectacular, especially under the clear blue skies.

We ate fish and chips on the shore in the sunshine.

Ullapool Broomfield Camp site

Loch Broom

The road from here goes inland, and is more moors, but when you reach Loch Assynt you find Ardvreck Castle.

Can there be a more typical ruin? And with a waterfall across the road for added interest.

The coast road then follows a B road around the next part, and rejoins the A road near Unapool. For the past few days we had been kept company by drivers following the ‘Knights of the Islands 2019’ road trip, with their vehicles all over 20 years old.

We met some on various site and view points.

Finally we reached the North Coast, and stayed at Sango Sands, again, right on the coast, with a walk down to the beach.

This had to be my favourite beach, with wild waves crashing on looming rock, and 2 crazy beasts dashing around like loons.

No wonder the van is full of sand! But I declared this our Happy Place and would happily have stayed all day/week.

After a morning bacon buttie, and another visit to the beach, we took the short trip to a nearby beach where enterprising souls had set up a Zip wire across the bay.

We had to have a go!

A girl zipping across before us

The landing site

It was a peaceful glide, enjoying the views across the bay.

Adrenaline fix over, we continued along the top of Scotland, with wilder scenery but still many great beaches.

Our site for the night was Thurso, but as we had made good time, we headed first for John O’Groats, a tacky touristy place with a quaint harbour, for ice cream, and Signpost selfies.

Then we continued to the real top of Scotland, to Duncansby head, with its lighthouse, and true end of the country feel.

There were many people looking out for Dolphins and whales, but we didn’t see any. However, 2 Orca were spotted from the ferry here the very next day.

Thurso Bay site was yet another shore site, this time with steep cliffs down to the beach, and a short walk into town. We also found that the nearby Lidl was open on a Sunday evening, so restocked our cupboards.

From here, everything goes downhill, or South anyway.

The coastline down the east of Scotland Highlands is more about the fishing industry, with Herring harbours and fish farms.

One delight was Dunrobin Castle, this one is not a ruin, but a fairytale castle.

The road crosses some spectacular bridges, and the scenery changes constantly. However, drizzle was starting to arrive after a quick visit to Inverness.

Our next 2 nights were in Glenmore near Aviemore. I was expecting a small quiet site in the Forest, as this is run by Camping in the Forest, a joint venture between Forestry Commision and the Camping and Caravanning Club, but this was the largest site we visited,and we were close to a shop and bar. It was also raining, and our pitch was a puddle. The site was quiet and the staff very friendly and helpful.

To cheer us up, we spotted a red squirrel a few feet from the van, but he scuttered off before I could grab my camera.

Determined not to let this weather stop us, we cooked a hearty meal onboard Connie, and the next morning the rain stopped for long enough for us to walk around the Loch, and after lunch at the non-dog friendly visitor centre, we walked up to the green loch, An Lochan Uaine, despite the shower that turned into rain.

A quick visit into Aviemore before we set off, and the weather brightened as we headed south.

We crossed the new Forth bridge, but panels along the bridge prevented any reasonable photos.

In bright warm sunlight we reached Dunbar. The site is high on hills past the town, with great views across. We quickly emptied the wet awning and dogs beds, towels etc. out onto the bank and with a stiff breeze, soon had everything dry again, while a skylark sang away just above our heads.

The site has its own small castle

and a walk from the back of the site takes you to the lighthouse.

As the site was not in town, we went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place.

It has a great little castle, very cleverly upgraded with information and gardens, and a small amphitheater where they hold concerts, a working harbour, and other interesting shops and buildings.

Next stop was St Abbs, with the intention of another lighthouse visit, but we decided against the walk round, and just visited the harbour and shops instead.

2 Puli waiting for us outside the visitor centre

Lunch at the cafe near the car park, and off on the road again.

We followed the coast road down past the wonderful Northumberland castle of Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Alnwick, and views across to the Farne Islands and Holy island. A leg stretch and run on Seahouses beach refreshed us all.

view across to the farne Islands

Our last night was at a small working farm site in Gibside, Rowlands Gill, with views across the green farmland, and horses and sheep in the nearby fields.

From there it was a walk on Seaham beach, where I had stiff competition for my sea glass collecting, but still managed a few very pretty items. Ian said most people on the beach had their heads down.

Further research says this is one of the worlds best sea glass beaches, as a glass factory used to sit at the top of the cliff and multicoloured waste scraps were thrown away into the sea. I didn’t find any of these wonderful, prices, but I will return to this beach whenever I can.

And then through the Yorkshire moors and home. Two happy sunwashed humans and 2 sandy happy tired Pulik, with loads of great memories and many photos.

One thing I failed to mention is that at almost every site and pit stop we heard cuckoos calling, and skylarks were everywhere.

But we must start planning our next trip with Connie already, once we have removed the sand from inside Connie and the dead flies from the windscreen.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 2 South Island

A few stops to capture great views

After a week on the North island with Andy and Kelsey, we ferried across to Picton, which is a small town whose main purpose is to provide an overnight stay to ferry passengers.

I can recommend the Green-lipped mussels.

We picked up our hire car the next morning, had a quick look round the shops, then stocked up with supplies for breakfasts in Blenheim.

A quick pit stop in St Arnauld for some lunch, we spotted this huge sculpture. Andy had warned us of the mosqitoes along the west coast, and the tiny garage come cafe come general store had 3 whole shelves devoted to insect repelents, so we headed the warnings and sprayed up.

A few stops to capture great views which abound in New Zealand, then on to Punikaiki.

We stayed in The Treehouse, set right in the rainforest.

view out of patio doors onto balcony surrounded by rain forest ferns and trees

Our balcony, overlapped with tree ferns and palms.

A short walk through the forest brought us to a delightful beach.

The only downside to this beach was that it was entirely tiny little gritty pebbles, so a pain to walk on.

Monday we drove the short distance to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.

walk through a forest of Phormium plants

A 10 minute walk through these Phormiums took us to the views.

The tide was not high enough for the blowholes, but the wonderful rock formations , created by a process called stylobedding, were magical. The walkway took us round the headland and over rock bridges with the waves crashing below.

Back on the main road we stopped in the cafe, and I succumbed to buying a gorgeous outdoor Scribbler coat.

The coffee shop had a tame Weka quietly plodding between the tables.

After a leg stretch and lunch in Greymouth we continued on to Hokitika, where Kelsey had recommended the pie shop. When we got there the shelf was almost empty, but another batch was just about to come out of the ovens, so we purchased 2 for dinner to check their quality. I can confirm that they are delicious.

Hokitika beach is scattered with bleached driftwood, and there is always a sign spelt out of the wood, but I think its time this had a refresh.

Next we stayed in the Rainforest Motel in Fox Glacier. The town is very small, just a couple of bars and some sports wear shops, plus helicopter rental offices galore, and due to the glacier melting, it is a long walk up to view it these days. However there is a delightful path through the rain forest just on the edge of town, that also has glow-worms if you visit in the dark.

As we did not intend on climbing up to see the glacier, we did the next best thing. By driving 10km away from the glacier, you reach a viewpoint.

The road continues down the coast with routes around river estuaries. If you’ve never travelled NZ roads before, they are a delight. Hardly any traffic, speed signs to tell you how fast you can take the bends, and passing places every few km.

We called in Haast for lunch before starting the journey inland to Lake Hawea, stopping to view waterfalls en-route.

As we arrived early we carried along to Wanaka, and visited Puzzling World, where we last called 19 years before. There are crazy rooms that distort perspectives, and make you doubt your eyes, plus a 3D maze that is almost impossible (we cheated after 45 minutes and escaped).

Looks easy, doesn’t it?

A short visit to town and then back to our hotel, which I chose because it has great views across the Lake.

Sadly, we were disappointed by the hotel. The chair on the balcony collapsed when I sat on it, the replacement chairs they brought us were covered in black soot, and then we found out that the hotel did not serve breakfast in the restaurant, and there were no facilities in the room to make our own.

Definitely not worth the extra money this hotel cost. Luckily the evening meal was good, and they gave us a free drink.

Our next drive took us across to the east coast, stopping in Clyde to capture the wonderful Karearea recycled-metal sculpture.

I will continue the trip at Dunedin, I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing this trip so far.

New Zealand Trip 2023/4 Part 1

Lunch had to be fish and chips

Just after Christmas 2023, we ventured across the planet to New Zealand to visit family.

The trip didn’t start too well as fog at Dubai airport delayed our arrival, and departure so that when we arrived in Melbourne there was no chance of catching our connecting flight to Wellington.

We were then told we were going via Queenstown, so quickly got into the long queue for security, and managed to catch the flight.

At Queenstown we were told conflicting versions of what we should do. Eventually we were instructed to complete the baggage security/lost baggage forms, even though our cases would hopefully go direct to Wellington at some point.

There were long queue for all of the gates, and no staff helping catch the next flight, but luckily it was delayed and we got on.

We arrived 4 hours late and baggage control was then shut, so we had no cases.

Our first stay was at my son and daughter-in-law’s for a few days to get over jet lag.

The following day we had to buy a few items as the cases were still ‘lost’.

On New Year’s eve we were told the bags would arrive in the evening, so we cancelled plans for a meal out, and ordered a take-away instead.

They turned up at 20:00, so I got to wear my sparkly top for the evening, playing games and seeing the New Year in.

The next day we visited Paraparaumu Beach on the west coast, for a sunny walk along the beach with their dogs in tow.

View looking across to Kapiti Island.

Of course, after a morning on the beach, lunch had to be fish and chips.

On Tuesday, after a lazy morning we set off to a cottage in Martinborough, a favourite village of ours from previous trips.

We dropped the 2 dogs off at a boarders, and drove over the steep and twisty Highway 2, and once we had settled in, we walked into town to the Brewery for beers and ciders all round.

After a gentle stroll back to the cottage, Ian agreed to cook dinner, while more beer and wine was consumed.

However, this relaxation was quickly put to a stop when the dog boarder rang to say the pups had escaped, and one of them was still loose.

With not long until it became dark, and knowing the boarder was set in bush not too far off the main highway, panic set in.

Luckily I had only had one cider, so leaving Ian to deal with dinner, I drove my son’s car back over the hills, and we spent an hour calling for her, until, at last, the other dog’s barking finally found her.

After a discussion on what to do next, it was decided the dogs should come with us, and they lent us a large crate, as the cottage was dog friendly, but not on furniture.

We finally ate dinner at 21:00, and started to relax again.

Wednesday morning Andy and Kelsey took the pups for a long walk, then, as it was so hot, we left the older dog in the cottage, and set off to Poppies for wine tasting and lunch.

A delicious charcuterie board at Poppies

Doesn’t that make your mouth water?

Our whole family are huge fans of Poppies wine, and we were not disappointed. Several bottles were purchased to take home.

Obviously, one vineyard was not enough, so we moseyed on to Moy Hall, and then to Colombo, where the smell of Pizzas cooking tempted us.

A gentle walk back to the cottage and played some board games.

To make a change, the next day we drove to Matthews and Boggy Pond Reserve. a wonderful, almost dystopian landscape, with lots of wildlife.

Jellyfish clouds against a bright blue sky

Wonderful Jellyfish Clouds

Dragonfly

Family of black swans

A goldfinch

The dystopian landscape of the Boggy Pond reserve

After lunch we wandered into Martinborough to browse the shops, but sadly, the price tags were mostly beyond our range, so a cold milkshake was about all we bought.

Our evening meal was at Karahui in the centre of town, in an old Bank.

A delicious meal, highly recommend visiting here.

Friday saw us return to Andy and Kelsey’s, where we helped them with some gardening, and played more games, and drank more beer and cider and wine.

Saturday morning, we had lunch at Janus Bakkej in Lower Hutt, then went to catch the ferry to the South Island, saying our goodbyes until we meet again.

The weather was still warm and calm, so a very pleasant trip over to Picton, which is where I shall end this part of the trip. Look out for part 2.

Credit to Kelsey for some of the photos.

Elmer and Friends, Christchurch, 2024

Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail

During our recent trip to New Zealand, we visited Christchurch, where we hadn’t been since before the devastating earthquake.

Whilst we spent a lot of time visiting the usual sight, we also noticed several large model elephants around the city.

A little investigating found they were Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail raising fund for Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust.

Having found the app showing their location, and having nothing better to do in an evening, we set out to find as many as we could.

So here goes, lots of elephants for your delight.

Elmer!

Neurographic Friend

It’s Blooming Camouflage

Sneaky Kiwi

Pasifika

Sweet Tooth

ELEELE

STARt

Elebones

3 small elephants, Faith, Paparoa Street School Elmer and Tane.

Wild Flowers

NZ Natives

The most L.F.B.I.T elephant

The Elephants Daydream

Putahi

Animalphant

World of Wonder

Be Extraordinary!

Rainbow Bloom

Kaitouna

The bench at Elmer headquarters, Tūranga.

Aidan

Reverse side of Aidan

Tiaki

Tā moko

Waggle

And finally, at the airport as we finished our holiday, Splodge.

We managed to find 41 out of the 60 elephants, not bad for a couple of days.

For the rest of our trip, go to Part 1

Glastonbury and Wells

a delight to wander around

September ’22 saw us taking a family trip to Somerset with my daughter, younger son and their families, so 6 adults, 2 young children and 5 dogs, quite an adventure!

The converted barn was very comfortable, with a large secure garden and a hot tub.

On our first day some of us decided to visit a beach, as the weather didnt look too great for the rest of the week. We chose Brean, as we’ve camped there a few times and love the expanse of beach.

The new puppy, Hugo, enjoyed running around with his doggy family.

Rainy days were spent relaxing, soaking, and playing board games.

Ian and I chose a day trip out to Glastonbury and Wells.

If you’ve never visited these, they are nearby twns, but very different in character.

Glastonbury is best known for the Tor, which has myths about its past, and the Festival, and the spritual theme continues into the town, with lots of supernatural themed shops and cafes.

There is also a large Abbey, mostly in ruins, in the town, which was a delight to wander around.

The whole city is very colourful and hippy.

Next we drove on to Wells, which in contrast is very upmarket and almost staid, and serious. The Cathedral was a pure delight, they dont charge entry, just suggest a donation, and dogs are allowed in, which is a first for us.

The building is exquisite and ornate.

As the weather was threatening rain we didn’t climb the steep hill to Glastonbury Tor, so on our return back to the Barn we stopped at Burrow Mump, a smaller hill to climb. I’m sure this ruin is very atmostpheric at night. you can just make out Glastonbury Tor in the far distance.

our only other trip out was the what I think is the best garden centre I have ever visited, Monkton Elm. I could have spent a fortune here, if only we had space in the car to get them home.

I did buy a banana plant in the reduced sales, I’ll try to keep you updated on its progress, and as Pete got one too, this is a competition. So far, about 6 weeks later, its had 3 new leaves, so is progressing well.

All in all, we had a great trip, time to spend with our grandchildren and children, and visit new places, and also a few more souvenir pencils for my collection.

Beach Hut Addiction

I could have spent all day taking photos!

I have not written any blogs for a long while as we moved house, and I’ve just not found the time, but our recent trip to Mersea, a small island on the south Essex coast, deserved a blog, so I’m back.

With moving house, most of the trips Connie the van made this year were to carry large purchases, like sheds, green houses and wardrobes. The bulk of her trips were to Ikea, so having got most of the big jobs out of the way, and with a new grandson to visit, we needed a holiday.

We wanted to combine a final campervan trip of the year with a visit to my son and family. A browse of available sites found Waldergraves on West Mersea, somewhere neither of us had previously visited.

The forecasts had been dire the previous week, but improved day by day, and in the end we had lovely weather for mid October.

Mersea has a causeway that floods at high tides, and the day we arrived was such a tide, but we got there shortly after the sea had subsided, and settled in for a G&T before checking out the beach.

It was only a short walk from our plot on the edge of the large site to the beach.

The sun was dropping as we walked towards the town of West Mersea.

If you google West Mersea you will find lots of photos of the beach huts, and they didn’t disappoint. There are around 400, and a large section are identical huts painted in soft pastel shades.

The beach has very large tidal ranges, so can be very narrow, or stretch away into the distance.

While the background was not the most scenic, with a disused Nuclear power station, and many wind turbines, the sun on the water, and the groynes and seabirds was very pleasant.

The following day we ventured further along the beach, which the Puligans enjoyed.

As we approached the town, the huts became random, many different styles and paint palets.

I could have spent all day taking photos!

A few yachts were enjoying the fine weather

As we rounded the end of the island, there were many houseboats, all appearing stranded but on closer inspection each had a channel in the shore.

A boardwalk took us into the small town, and then a slow walk back to camp.

As it was Ians birthday we later walked to a local pub with the dogs for a mid week roast.

On Thursday the weather was forecast to be rainy, so we only took a short walk then, finding the weather was actually very warm and sunny, spent the rest of the day sitting in the sun and reading and relaxing.

On Friday we decided to walk the other direction towards East Mersea, but the coastal path has eroded making it unpassable. So we took the diversion inland and found ourselves at a vinyard, which we had to visit for morning cake and drink.

Our route then took us past the back of the site and onto a neighbouring campsite, where we dined on fish and chips, our holiday tradition.

It was then time to continue on to Dartford, but we will probably return as we thoroughly enjoyed our autumn break here.

I must now catch up on my missed blogs.