Category: New Zealand

Despite the merriment of the previous evening I managed to crawl out of bed on 18th March in time to catch the bus northwards. It was comfortable but there was no geography lesson from the …

On 16th March the day looked perfect for paragliding, with barely a cloud in the sky. After a hostel breakfast I headed down to the lake for a photo and then went to the travel …

After a slow start, on 15th March I decided I would head for Wanaka – another recommended village 70 km north of Queenstown. The route I wanted to take was directly over the hills, rather …

I got up later than I’d planned on 14th March, and then regretted it as soon as I saw that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and that I should have been up earlier …

Having checked out of the hostel, I was waiting for the bus when I got talking to Brian, a flight simulator programmer from the UK. He was from Bracknell – close to Reading where I …

The first hour of 12th March was the same as the previous day – quick breakfast and walk to Kawaran Rafts office, feeling nervous about imminent risky aerial activities. This time, however, there was no …

The day started innocently enough, with a walk to buy some more sunblock. Then I checked in at the office of Kawaran Rafts where a bus was waiting to take us to the helipad. A …

The three and a half pints of Guinness that I’d drunk at the Irish Pub didn’t cause as much suffering as I’d expected. Not that I could remember too much of the latter part of …

On 8th March I managed to get up at a reasonable time, though sill long after the rest of the household was up and busy. Since arriving, I’ve been quizzing Rachel’s family about the best …