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30 May to 1 June – Cowra – We planned a 200km drive east to the town of Cowra, leaving the Riverina and entering the Western NSW District. Google Maps offered three routes, and we took the shortest, but I doubt it was the best. The road surface varied from bad to terrible, mobile connection was very sparse and things of interest were few. The only town of significance along the way was Grenfell, a former gold mining centre and having a lovely streetscape along its main road.

We set up in the Cowra Showgrounds, which supplied power and water, toilets and showers, for only $30 a night.  There were a reasonable number of people there, some semi-permanent, and some tourists like us. We were next to a friendly couple from Geelong who were heading to Queensland.

There are a few attractions in Cowra. There was a major internment camp here during WWII which housed Italian, Indonesian and Japanese internees. The Italians were very popular around the district as farm workers. However, the Japanese were mostly sailors from ships that had been sunk and were considered a security risk. In 1944, a dispute boiled over and 1000 Japanese staged a breakout, resulting in around 230 being killed, and 5 Australian guards losing their lives. For many years after the war, the incident was kept from the public, but is now the source of a significant bond between Cowra and Japan. There is a large and very beautiful Japanese Garden on the hills near where the camp stood, and a cemetery that houses all those who perished. The gardens are a lovely place to do a slow wander, admiring the beautiful blend of nature and formality that characterises Japanese gardens.

Underneath the Lachlan River Bridge, near the old crossing, the local high school students have created some wonderful aboriginal themed murals on the bridge supports. It creates a great display and keeps the graffiti down at the same time.

At the Information Centre, a wonderful display has been set up featuring a holographic young woman from 1944 who tells the story of the breakout, and how her boyfriend was interred in Singapore’s Changi prison at the time. It is incredibly realistic and moving. The show runs continuously in a loop and is free.

We drove out to the site of the internment camp to take in a bit more of the history. The incident remains an important part of what Cowra is today.

Cowra is also home to the Lachlan Valley  Heritage Railway, something that attracted us. It runs tours on the fourth weekend of the month so it was ideal. The Cowra line has been closed since 1982 but the LVHR has run various steam locos on sections of the old line. Currently, the two locos are undergoing extensive overhauls and they are hoping to eventually start up an overnight trip to Woodstock, a trip of about 25km. Currently, the trips are restricted to using some old Diesel railcars from 1927 to do a short journey down to the Lachlan River bridge and back. It was great fun, with a couple of volunteers giving terrific insight into how the rail used to run. The train used was featured in a Home and Away segment where there was a big train crash in a tunnel. The volunteers assisted with the shoot, running the train up and down the lines as needed, although the tunnel used was elsewhere.

Back at the station, we had a marvellous Devonshire tea in a beautiful 100 year old dining car that used to do the Sydney to Albury run. This was also used in the Home and Away scenes. Then it was off to the old rail depot that the heritage society uses as a museum and work are for restoration projects. A feature was an old sleeper carriage, used on the Sydney Canberra and housed many politicians of the day. The timber work and cabinetry was outstanding and even the leather work was in good condition. Each compartment had two bunks, a wash-up area and wardrobe. We inspected the two locos that are being worked on but there is obviously a long way to go. I am always in awe of the people who volunteer so much tie and work so hard on rail preservation work. It is preserving history, because it is the railways that allowed the country to open up and supported so many aspects of life up until the 1970s. Sadly, we have lost something with their decline.

2-6 June – Canowindra – We awoke to terrible conditions, strong winds and heavy rain throughout the night. The showground campground was awash, although, thankfully, our van was saved from being in a lake like some were. We had done most of the work towards moving the previous night but even so, it was so bad we went back to bed for a while until things eased.

We drove north to Canowindra, a short drive of 35km. It would not have wanted to be longer, with the wind building all the time. Our intention was to go to the campgrounds, but they were awash, like Cowra, so we headed back to the little caravan park near the bridge over the Belabula River. It only holds ten vans or so but is well laid out, clean and has large concrete pads, much better than grass when the weather is bad. We managed to get a dry time to set up. After lunch, the radar showed a lengthy dry time so we walked into the main part of town. The historic main street has some lovely old buildings, although many are in a state of disrepair. There was a good variety of shops, but the majority were closed. A local walking along the street told us that most closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Even so, we enjoyed the walk.  The fine weather did not last long, and much of the afternoon was spent huddled inside.

Canowindra has a solid history with the famous bushrangers on NSW. On several occasions in 1863, a gang which included Ben Hall and John Gilbert, held the town hostage, including the constable, in one of the hotels. The residents were free to choose refreshments of their choosing. The  troopers were unable to intervene because the Belabula River was in flood and they were on the wrong side.

A much publicized attraction in Canowindra is the Age of Fishes Museum, which displays a lot of the fossils from a nearby site which contains a huge amount of fossils from Devonian times. The museum is well done, especially for children and as an educational feature. We enjoyed an hour going through learning about the amazing fish of 360 million years ago.

Our plan was to use Canowindra as a hub to explore around the region, Forbes, Parkes, Grenfell and Eugowra, all former gold mining towns and the haunts of bushrangers such as Ben Hall and Captain Midnight. The agricultural hub of Orange would be another destination to the east.

Parkes – Parkes is famous as the site of the “Dish”, a large radio astronomy observatory which featured in the movie of the same name. It is a medium sized town of around 10,000 people and seemed to have most things one needs for life. The whole town appears to be obsessed with Elvis, because there are statues and pictures everywhere. It started back in 1992 when a couple running a restaurant held and “Elvis’ Birthday” party on January 8^th and it turned into an annual event. It now is a week of celebrations  and attracts 25,000 people, with Elvis tributes, an Elvis themed special train from Sydney and one huge party. It is one of those place you are sure to run into Elvis.

Forbes – Not far south of Parkes is Forbes, a former gold mining centre and hub of a strong agricultural industry. Around here, every second truck is carrying livestock and most vehicles seem to be utes. The architecture in Forbes is far grander than Parkes, probably because of the mining money, but the now the town has that “just hanging on” look, with lots of property for sale and empty shops. Parts of the Central West have only just emerged from a prolonged drought and that might be the reason for the appearance of a town struggling.

Eugowra – A small town between Forbes and Canowindra. It is famous as the site of a daring robbery by Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall when they heisted 77kg of gold from a Cobb and Co stagecoach from Forbes. In todays terms, that is more than $15 million. We stopped at a very popular hamburger van in the main street and treated ourselves to a rare “bad burger and chips.” It was delicious.

Orange – As a city of over 40,000, we had low expectations but were very pleasantly surprised. The drive across from Canowindra was around 65kms but much of the potentially great view was obscured by a widespread misting rain and fog. Fortunatley, all that evaporated as we reached Orange itself. The central CBD was busy and vibrant, despite the cold weather with the temperatures for the day in the 2 to 8 range. The drive into the city from Canowindra was along very beautiful tree lines streets with beautiful federation style and 1930s cottages on big urban blocks and lovely gardens. It was more like a drive into a similar sized town somewhere in England. The traffic was very heavy in the CBD, but we did manage to find parking behind the shops on the main street and spent a leisurely time strolling the streets, finding a charging cable to replace one that was misbehaving and picking up a few rolls for lunch.  We stopped at a beautiful park called Cook Park to have lunch. It had the biggest sequoia tree that I have ever seen and gives a bit of insight into what the giants must be like in their native California. The drive back was even worse conditions, with persistent rain for most of the way.

Grenfell – The King’s Birthday long weekend is the time for the annual Henry Lawson Festival in Grenfell, about 65km SW of us. By the Saturday, the weather had finally dried up, with mostly blue skies, although still very cold in the morning with 2 degrees overnight. The crowds were reported as being big so we thought the traffic might build, but we had a very easy drive and even found a good parking spot close to all the action in the main street. The first thing we encountered as we turned towards the street was a Cobb and Co stagecoach with two heavy horses. Later, we took a ride in the coach, around a block of streets. I was surprised at the fast clip that the two horses managed. The ride was reasonable comfortable, although the roads would not have been anything like those encountered in the 1860s.

Statues, pictures and caricatures of Henry Lawson were in abundance around the town, including a large head plonked in the middle of a round-about. It was a mix of honouring the past and taking the piss, which was pretty much on par for the whole festival. I don’t think anyone took things too seriously, but it was a good opportunity for a street full of stall, some good food choices, a local art competition and a photography display. The street parade was fun, with some very beautiful old cars on display. The main activity for most people was greeting others that they “hadn’t seen for ages” and having big group hugs. That means the festival was doing its job of bringing people together. We loved it.

Tomorrow, we leave the Central West Region of NSW to move north. Despite the weather, we have enjoyed our time, and have been glad we chose to set up a base camp and explore around without the caravan. We must do more this way in the future because we get to experience more.

4 May – Another early start to get somewhere to sit around and wait for some form of transport to commence. It seems like that is a big part of travel. This time it was the Cook Strait Ferry to take us from Wellington to Picton in the South Island. The ferry is a vehicular one so after check-in, we sat and watched all the vehicles load, before we were permitted to walk on. There was no shortage of comfortable sitting places onboard, but it appeared that cleaning the windows was not a priority, so any hope of admiring the view meant going outside in temperatures not far above freezing. Beyond that, the boat is very comfortable with cabins available and a big variety of seating options and food outlets.

We did stay outside for the leaving of Wellington Harbour but once clear the ship picked up speed to 17knots and the effective wind was just too much to bear. We sought the comfort of a cup of tea inside and watched the progress through the grubby windows.

The ship is never out of sight of land. Sometimes, the route took us within a hundred metres of rocky shorelines as it twisted its way out of the harbour and navigated the narrow channels of the South Island into Queen Charlotte Sound. Cruising down the sound, I was struck by how very different the landscape looked from the North Island. Huge hills of grasslands replaced the forests and lush paddocks.

The ship berthed at the town of Picton and we disembarked to be bussed on to the terminal for luggage collection. Another bus transfer took a few of us to the Intercity Bus Terminal, or rather bench seats. Fortunately, the weather was dry and warmer as we had a couple of hours to wait for the coach. We had hoped to catch the train to Christchurch but it had ceased service for the winter just the week before. We met Grant and Debbie, a couple from Adelaide, we are following a similar route to us in the South Island. After a walk to the shops for some lunch, we waited until the coach arrived, thankfully, ahead of time.

The bus ride was a good one, following the rail line for 80% of the trip, so we saw what we would have seen from the train. We had one stop at Kaikoura, a pretty little beachside town filled with surf and dive shops. It looked like a very desirable place to be in the summer. By the time we got to Wellington, it was dark. It was only 750m from the bus station to our apartment, but we were tired so we got an Uber, DiDi not being available here. The apartment was probably the best AirBnB we have had anywhere. It had all mod-cons, dishwasher, washer/dryer, luxury bidet toilet with the warm seat (necessary in this temperature), kitchen with oven and a full sized fridge. I can’t imagine why anyone would go to a hotel.

5 May – Because we have a longer spell in Christchurch at the end of our trip, we had a lazy day and did little more than walk 800m into the centre of the city to the Avon River and Bridge of Remembrance. It is a very pretty city centre, and would have been more so before the terrible earthquake of 2011, which destroyed or damaged a lot of the old stone buildings.

We were attracted by the incredible Riverside Market, with its fantastic array of food stalls. We had already had a chicken roll for lunch before coming out so couldn’t justify more food but settled for a beer and a chat with a young local guy and the barman.  We got a few hints about things to check out when we return.

6 May – Another early start. After today we have the luxury of a hire car and no set timetables to adhere to. We caught an Uber to the Christchurch Railway Station. We talked to the driver and learnt that DiDi is coming to the South Island in a week or so.

The Trans Alpine Express is consistently listed amongst the World’s Top 10 train journeys. The train itself is identical to the Northern Explorer and is very comfortable. We found the experience to be less than the Northern Explorer, the scenery being spectacular but not as varied and interesting as that on the North Island route. It is still well worth doing and marvelling at the engineering feat to build such a line in the early twentieth century. I always find it amazing that back in the day an engineer could look at the terrain and say, “We can build a railroad.” One tunnel, at 8.5 km long, took a team of 240 men 15 years to dig using hand methods. The train picked up extra locos to go through the tunnel, needed on the return journey to pull the train up a steep grade.

Arthur’s Pass was the highest stop at round 750m. It was a bleak looking place in the low cloud and drizzle conditions, but a favourite place for trekking in warmer times. The high valleys held sheep and cattle. It is hard to figure why people bother with the difficulties of farming in such country in an age when profits are often marginal but there is always someone doing it.

Once over the Alps and down onto the coastal plain, the train drew into Greymouth Station. We had looked up our booking for our Ezi Car hire car and saw with some concern that it was booked to drop off in Queenstown. We thought we had altered this to Christchurch when our flight was changed. It proved not to be an issue and we weren’t charged any more. The car was a hybrid electric Toyota Corolla, very zippy and economical. Needing lunch, we cruised down the main street of Greymouth seeking a bakery or similar. Amazingly, there was nothing other than MacDonalds, not an option. In the end, we went to Woolworths and bought a roll and some beef.

We had a 180km drive south to Franz Josef. The rain was light and visibility still good, although any hope of admiring the alpine views and snow capped Alps were dashed. By this stage, we were very concerned about the next 48 hour forecast, with extreme weather warnings and 250-300mm rain for the west coast. The warnings about flooding and land slips on alpine roads was our biggest concern, not being used to such things. We spoke to a policeman at a rest stop along the way and he confirmed our concerns.

The Alpine Glacier Motel proved excellent, with good facilities for self catering. We settled in and took the advantage of a lull in the rain to walk a short way to the 4 Square for supplies. We headed back out to the Blue Ice Restaurant and Bar for a beer and pizza tea.

7 May – We booked to stay another day. Driving on was not for us, and the radio later reported flash flooding events along the A6. It did mean we were paying for accommodation in Queenstown as well but that could not be helped. Hopefully, the rain would ease later and we could get in a walk to the Franz Josef Glacier.

We did little in the morning, heading out into the rain in the afternoon to a local wildlife centre, where they raise kiwis for release back into the wild. The idea is to locate burrows, remove eggs, hatch them and raise the chicks until they are big enough to cope with the predatory introduced stoats, which have been devastating the kiwi chicks. I was surprised to learn that there are actually 5 kiwi species. There was an enclosure that housed two kiwis, in night light situation. It took a while to adjust to the low light conditions, and longer to find the kiwis, but once seen, they were surprisingly big and very cute.

Then it was on to the penguins. The Little Blue Penguin is closely related to Australia’s Fairy Penguin, and are found all over both islands of NZ. The ones at the centre have all been rescued, some from boat prop strikes, some from dog attacks. They were mesmerising to watch and feeding time was both informative and educational.

The display also house five tuatara, an ancient species that represents the last of an evolutionary line that predates the Jurrassic period. Although they resemble lizards, they are not, with many physiological differences. They stood motionless trying to absorb heat I guess. In very cold conditions, they can slow their metabolism to 1 heartbeat every 4 or 5 minutes. They can go up to a year without eating if needed. They would be easy keep pets.

The rain started to ease in the late afternoon so we drove out to the Franz Josef Glacier as far as the carpark. From there, it is a 30 minute round trip walk to the head of the glacier. It was not an option. Visibility was so bad we would have to admire the glacier by feel. Water was cascading down the walls of the gorge at every point and the track was almost certainly awash.  We will have to Youtube it.

The Waiho River was almost frightening to look at, so great was the flow, hammering across the broad expanse of rocks and gravel beds. It had gone well beyond what would normally be called rapids. Hopefully, things ease enough to catch some glimpses of the mountains tomorrow.

8 May – The rain had definitely eased overnight and was more of a drizzle and low cloud with fog. We headed off early, conscious of the relatively tight weather window we had to make the 385km trip south to Queenstown. A walk to the Franz Josef Glacier was out of the question but we hoped the Fox Glacier might be clear.

It was not, the same low cloud covering the smallest of hills and the evidence of a lot of flooded creeks making a walk trail problematic for us oldies. The Waiho River had dropped dramatically from the previous day but was still flowing very swiftly.

By the time we reached Fox Glacier township, the rain was heavier and visibility the same so we skipped that. We also failed to see Mt Cook, with none of the Alps visible at all. The further south we drove, the more the rain, which was in keeping with the forecast. The hope was that when we turned inland at Haast, we would drive into clear weather. A coffee stop at Lake Paringa was beautiful, with stunning campsites set amongst lush fern filled forest. The lake was high, and covered a section of camp ground, a lone table sticking out of the water. It would be a beautiful place to camp in good weather, especially with rainbow trout, brown trout and chinook salmon all in the lake.

As we approached Haast, the rain became very heavy and the internet radar showed a large mass to the west that looked worse than yesterdays. Fortunately, we managed to outrun it in the south easterly run to Queenstown. The sky lifted steadily and the visibility increased to the point where we started to see the snow covered peaks around us.

At the town of Wanake, Google maps advised us to avoid the longer A6 route and take the shorter Cardrona Valley Road, due to road closures and big delays on the A6. We took that advice and for much of the 60km the road was fine. The last 10km or so was amazing, the biggest series of hairpin switch backs we’ve ever encountered. Some of the bends almost touched back on themselves. The snow clad mountains surrounding us were a distraction, as was the jet aircraft flying through the valley at the same level as us. Fortunately, everyone was very sensible and we could actually enjoy what could have been a nightmare drive. It was a highlight.

We located our AirBnB in Lower Shotover, about 12kms out of Queenstown, and settled in. Then we jumped back in the car to go to Queenstown itself. The town clings to the narrow ribbon of available ground along the edge of Lake Wakatipu. It might have been fine back in the gold rush days but it now is a terrible place for a town. Only one road in and out is possible and so the traffic is a nightmare. The town is packed full of tourists, and it isn’t even ski season yet. Maybe the abundance of gloriously coloured autumn trees is an attraction. We wanted to check out the pick-up place for our Milford Sound tour at the Wharf. Finding parking was near impossible, but we picked up a 60 minute spot just as I was about to give up. The girl at the counter just shrugged and said, “Parking’s hard.” When we enquired about parking for the tour. She advised coming in very early to try to secure an all day spot.

The streets were filled with tourists, and there were cafes and tourist trap shops in abundance. Traffic was constantly being held up because someone would stop and wait for a parking spot to open up. It is not the sort of place one would come to relax or lower their blood pressure. The population has doubled this century to around 55,000 but the infrastructure is not there to support it and the geography is working against improvement. Suburbs spread along any flat ground but everything ends up channelling back along the one main road.

Back towards Lower Shotover is Frankton and the Five Mile Shopping Centre. Being modern, this is much better organised and all the shops one would need are there, even a Bunnings. We stopped off at Woolworths and topped up supplies for dinner. Our accommodation only has a microwave, toaster and sandwich press so we had to be creative, but Christine managed the finest burgers on the planet.

9 May – The ultra soft bed proved too much for my back, which has been getting steadily worse on the trip. Firm flat beds are a rarity in hotels or AirBnBs, most having very soft, sink-into type things that destroy me. Last night I slept on the floor.

Our first stop was Kmart to pay the princely sum of $9 for a single blow-up bed and another $4 for the pump. A cheap solution if it works.

We set off towards Arrowtown, stopping at the old historic Shotover Bridge to take in the spectacular views. Arrowtown was the site of the first gold discovery back in 1862. At one time, 1500 miners worked the river. When the gold petered out and the population started falling, the Government encouraged Chinese to come and live, and the remains of their settlement can be seen and explored.

Much of the town as it presents today is original, not a recreation, although the buildings are modernised and used for different purposes now. It’s old world charm attracts big crowds to wander the streets and once again, parking was at a premium. We got lucky.

Probably the most impressive thing is the autumn colours. There are oaks, maples, liquid ambers, cherries, sycamores and  many other deciduous beauties. The colour is not restricted to the streets either, with vegetation spreading well up the mountain sides to create a fiery red-orange display.

We spent quite a while going through the museum, which did an excellent job of portraying the life of the 1870 and beyond. There were some beautifully displayed immersive exhibitions. We laughed at the story of how women were so outnumbered that a publican went to Dunedin to hire a barmaid, specifying he needed the ugliest woman they could find. She still ended up married within a week.

10 May – A very early rise for our Milton Sound trip today. We didn’t have to get the bus until 7pm, but we had to go very early to ensure a parking spot. We scored an all day spot with only a 250m walk to the pick up point. We were soon on the bus and heading east along the shores of Lake Wakatipu, a big lake at some 80kms in length. The scenery along the way was absolutely spectacular, the lake being the product of ancient glacial action, resulting in towering walls around. The early miners arriving from Dunedin relied on boats to take them the length of the lake to Queenstown, road transport in those days being impossible.

Our coach route was a very indirect one, some 287km and around 4 hours of driving compared to the 80km direct line flight across the Alps. The commentary provided by the driver was exceptional, extremely informative and delivered in a chatty style. We stopped a few times for toilets and coffees, along with a number of photo op stops when we got into the alpine country nearing Milford Sound. The major stop was at the little town of Te Anau, on the shores of the lake with the same name. Here the owners of a fuel/café stop cash in big time for the half-hour mad rush when dozens of tour buses all arrived within minutes of each other headed for the cruise boats at Milford. There is a similar rush in the afternoon on the return journey. At other times, it is extremely quiet. It makes of major staffing issues.

It was a long drive but the time went quickly because of the interest factor. The final stage of the trip was Homers Tunnel, a 1.2km long single lane tunnel dug through the mountain by hand between 1935 and 1952.

Emerging from the tunnel reveals the awesome sight of Milford Sound. As explained by our driver, Milford in the truest sense is a fiord, not a sound, having been created by a glacier and not by a river. We were bundled onto a boat, a large modern catamaran and straight into a magnificent buffet lunch. We consumed an enormous meal as the boat left the dock and set off down the sound hugging one coast very closely the water being extremely deep right to the cliff faces.

Everywhere we looked, there were waterfalls cascading hundreds of feet from the top of the cliffs, some permanently flowing, others being the product of the recent extreme rain event. We sat enjoying our meal and watching those brave souls outside brave the 7 degree temperatures with another 5 degree chill factor. Even worse was when the boat edged right up to a waterfall and the whole bow was smothered in a fine mist.

Our stomachs full, we joined others on the open bow, rugged up with scarves, beanies, gloves, thermals, jackets and we still froze. But it was worth it. The scenery is simply staggering. No wonder Milford Sound has been one of the World’s premier tourist destinations since the 1960s. We are so grateful to have experienced it.

When the boat delivered us back to the dock we were greeted by our pilot for the flight back to Queenstown. Annabel was a young and very confident girl who took us out to the airport, where the other passengers on the 14 seater Cessna Caravan were waiting. After a briefing, we were airborne and the sensory overload began. The flight path took us out through Milford Sound, at times extremely close to the towering cliffs. As we gained height, the snow capped peaks appeared, also seemingly within touching distance. The plane did a lazy circle out over the sea to gain altitude then headed back across the Alps, a couple of clearly seen glaciers showing up below us. There were gorges, peaks, alpine lakes and huge rivers, so much to see at every turn. The forty-minute flight was over all too soon, with a very tight turn and drop into the airport at Queenstown. We have experienced quite a lot of small aircraft flying in the Kimberley but nothing compares to this flight. Even better, we avoided the four hour bus trip back with a nighttime arrival. It was a definite highlight of our trip to NZ.

11 May – Another pack up and another drive, this time relocating to the west coast and the city of Dunedin. The drive out of Queenstown was the now familiar twists and turns of heavy mountainous country, gradually easing as we progressed. The drive through heavily glaciated landscapes is very reminiscent of Scotland, but the country changed as we drove and we went through a series of huge gorges that were more like some of the Pilbara country, without the red soil. The Tussock grass that covers the gorge walls looked like spinifex from a distance. This country gave way to a more open rolling landscape like the Yorkshire Dales. It was a fantastic drive.

As we entered the little town of Alexandra, a huge snow covered ridge dominated the scenery. The whole Central Otago region is so pretty, with wineries, historic information about the gold mining days, and for cyclists, the very long Clutha Gold Cycle Track. This excellent track follows the A8 for much of the way and looks to be a very good cycle track. Everywhere we have been in NZ we have been surprised at the number of cars and vans carrying bikes on holidays. It is far too hilly for us but it remains extremely popular.

We got to Dunedin a little early for checking in to our AirBnB so we drove into town, stumbling across the Otago Museum, which killed some time for us. It was interesting and informative but seemed quite disorganised and random.

After a stop at a Woolworths, we located our accommodation and settled in. We have an entire ground floor, with two bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, bathroom and laundry. It is full on 1970s décor but comfortable and so spacious after a few bed-sits.

12 May – The day was much darker and gloomier than forecast and there had been rain overnight. Over breakfast, we watched the passing parade at the school crossing, right outside our dining room window. Fortunately, they couldn’t see in. The crossing is on a busy road and serves a high school. It appears as though it uses two senior students, one each side, and a supervising teacher. The students control metal booms with lollipop signs attached. It looked like their first time, because they were very unsure at first.

With school underway, the street returned to normal and we set out on a driving trip of the Otago Peninsula. This area is well known for wildlife reserves and preservation centres. Right at the end of the peninsula is a centre for the study of the royal albatross, this being the only known mainland breeding place of this huge magnificent bird.

Along the way, we stopped at Larnach Castle, a neo-gothic style building constructed in the 1870s by William Larnach, a wealthy businessman and politician. Although a magnificent structure, it brought little joy to him or his three wives, it being too far out of town for good socialising. It probably added to his financial woes too, he dying by his own hand at the castle. It fell into disrepair until bought by the Barker family in 1967 who set about restoring it, a huge task. Today it is an amazing museum of Victoriana and runs purely as a tourist venture with up-market accommodation in the old stables and outbuildings. An amazing feature of the original building was gas lighting, fed by methane produced through breaking down animal and human manure and hand pumped via pipes around the house. It was probably one of the less desirable servant’s tasks.

The drive to Larnach Castle had been via a very twisting narrow road, which afforded spectacular views of both sides of the long peninsula. The road beyond the castle was even worse, until it finally joined the coastal road in a small village. The coastal road was truly coastal, one verge was a rock wall drop into the water. If it wasn’t for the 20knot plus wind pushing whitecaps into us the drive would have been very pleasant.

Out at the point, we braved the howling wind and walked along a wooden structure to overlook the sea. The three attractions were albatross, fur seals and giant kelp. Only the kelp was in evidence, huge rope thick strands of the stuff four and five metres long, clinging to the rocks by some means. Of the other two, there was no sign. The swell might have been too big for the seals to land on the rocks while the breeze would have challenged any self respecting albatross. We didn’t give it long to try, it was back in the warm car.

The drive back was along the coastal road and quite fascinating. With very few sand beaches available, boat houses were common. The housing was a mixture of beach shacks and beautiful Cape Cod styled weather board houses.

13 May – Another train trip today, this time a tourist train run by the Dunedin Railway Society along the historic Taieri Gorge. The trip was 65km but took 5 hours with stops. The carriages were beautiful 1930s models with a few modern upgrades. The track was built in the 1890s and 1900s to open up the Otago Highlands to agriculture after the demise of the Otago goldfields. The Taieri River Gorge provided a way of getting over the ranges without overly steep gradients, but it required a lot of tunnels and viaducts. We stopped at Deep Stream Viaduct and the passengers got out and walked across it to get photo opportunities as the train crossed.

We stopped for 30 minutes at the tiny siding of Pukerangi for the engine to turn around. There was little more than a trestle table of handcrafts but Christine managed to find an apron to add to her already extensive collection.

We enjoyed chatting to a couple from Ipswich along the way and snapping photos of the gorge and river. If it was our first scenic train ride in NZ it would have been outstanding but after the Northern Explorer and Tranz Alpine Express it was almost lack lustre. It was, however, a very pleasant day.

15 May – We decided to dedicate some time to washing some clothes. We thought the accommodation had both a washer and a dryer, but on inspection, it proved to be two front loading washing machines. Why two? Who knows, but it meant we had to seek out a laundromat because there was no way the clothes would dry in this climate. Fortunately, we found one only a kilometre down the road.

Washing done, we set out to wander around the central part of Dunedin. Parking was interesting. Affordable parking on the street was restricted to 2 hours. We tried a Wilsons Parking but 3 hours would have cost $24. We opted for the $4 for 2 hours.

The most striking feature of the city is the railway station, a true masterpiece of Flemish Renaissance architecture by the renowned George Troup. It is said to be one of the most photographed buildings in New Zealand. That was born out by the numbers of people standing off and taking selfies. Opposite is the almost as beautiful Law Courts building in a neo gothic style. There are also a couple of very beautiful stone churches around the city. Unfortunately, the space taken up by these glorious buildings is mostly filled with very ugly featureless boxes. If they had any other value, it has often been covered over. The Law Courts Hotel looks to be a classic piece of Art Deco, but has been painted all over in black and has metal fire escape stairs installed down the facia.

The streets were quiet, and quite a few shops were empty, suggesting the city is not going through a prosperous time. We stopped at the tourist centre and purchased another apron (of course e did) and a small Kiwi flag.

We headed to the iconic “Best Café” after a recommendation from the Aussie couple on yesterday’s train. It was established in 1932 and the décor has probably changed little since then. It specializes in seafood, always guaranteed to be freshly caught on the day. Christine had a beautiful seafood chowder while I had blue cod and chips. The reputation is well deserved. We had hoped to have the famous bluff oysters but at $45 a half dozen we decided they were beyond us. The chowder was excellent and the fish equally so, the blue cod being a sweet flaky white fish.

Dunedin is an easy place to be in, especially after the traffic horrors of Queenstown. Traffic here flows smoothly and we were fortunate in having a place on the flat part of the city. Much of the housing extends up into the surrounding hills where I imagine movement is a bit more restricted.

15 May – A big drive by NZ standards today, the 375km north to Christchurch. We had plenty of time so we made a couple of stops along the way. The first, and most impressive, was the town of Oamaru, once a major port for Otago and Canterbury produce. It boasted a fine collection of Victorian white stone buildings, the area having an abundance of high quality white limestone. The historical section of the town had fallen into disrepair. Restoration took place this century and various tourist ventures mostly occupy the buildings spread over tow or three streets near the harbour. The predominant art form is “quirky junk sculptures”. There is a giant penny farthing bicycle, and old locomotive decked out in Mad Max regalia, an entire foreshore café made from rusted iron, and much more. The shops are full of craft works, with spinning and weaving much in evidence. It attracted good crowds, mostly just wandering the streets for photographs, as we did. We drove out onto the wharf and had a coffee, before pushing on, much delighted with the town as an unplanned stop.

The next major town was Timaru, which we thought would be good for a lunch break and toilet stop. We got very frustrated trying to find a place to stop and rest up, there being little in the way of small parks that we could find. We decided to push on, but were surprised when Apple Maps started showing a route to Christchurch that detoured inland by 40km. Google Maps did not show it so we were sceptical, Apple Maps having let us down before. Some hard work on the internet finally revealed a serious crash on a bridge where the A1 crosses the Rakala River, closing the bridge for an indeterminant time. The only other crossing of the Rakala was in at the Rakala River Gorge, hence the 40km detour.

We took a detour, surprised by the light traffic and wondering if we were wrong. However, how route entered Hwy 77 some 4km from the bridge and the traffic was at a standstill. The Rakala Gorge Bridge is an enormous trestle bridge, quite magnificent, but unfortunately, only one lane. This meant the police had to manage traffic flowing in both directions at 20 vehicles at a time. We were around 40 minutes crossing the bridge, and with the additional detour time, in danger of not reaching Christchurch until after dark.

The traffic was very heavy all the way, with the radio reporting that there was no indication when the A1 would reopen. We managed to make our AirBnB just on dusk. It was a flat in the back yard of the owners, who were away for a couple of days anyway. It proved to be the best appointed place in terms of supplies. It had an amazing variety of stocked groceries, which we would add to as it is our last stop before flying home.

16 May – A cold morning with prospects of a warmer day with clear skies, a rarity for us. We drove out to the airport area to visit the International Antarctic Centre, which acts both as a training centre for scientists from many nations, and as a education centre. The exhibit is very much focussed on being fully interactive. After a brief general introduction film about Antarctic conditions, we headed for the Antarctic Blast exhibit. For this, we were offered puffer jackets but had already come equipped with thermals and heavy jackets. We did put on the overshoes protection, then headed into the special environment, which sat at -7 degrees. At that temperature, it was pretty easy to handle with out beanies and mittens. A count down screen showed how long we had to wait until the bill chill hit. When it came, it was in the form of strong winds, giving a wind chill factor. It was seriously cold. The exposed face started to sting. The cold seeped through the trousers and thermal long-johns. It was only a short time but it was very obvious that we would not survive long if caught exposed to -18 degrees. There were a couple of people who did the experience with shorts on. We used the exit.

From there we went to the 4D experience. It was a movie, using 3D glasses, of Antarctic scenery, icebreaker ships, penguins, seals etc. The 4^th dimension was tactile. When the ship plunged through heavy seas, or struck ice floes, the seat rocked violently backwards. There were shrieks of laughter all round. When spray was sent over the ship, we felt it in the form of water. So too when the seal decided to spit at the camera, and even when the seagull defecated on us. It was a real hoot.

As if that was not enough, we went outside and boarded a Hagglund, a Swedish built snow tractor and trailer. These are used extensively in Antarctica. They are military grade, which means comforts are minimal. They are designed to go almost anywhere. A special track has been set up that mimics the extremely steep terrain, crevasse crossings, water crossings, and rugged ice flows that are encountered in Antarctica. We were in the trailer section, and enjoyed the experience of being thrown around violently with eight others. Once again, there was much laughter, along with a bit of screaming. An amazing experience.

After a coffee and snack, we headed back in to take in some more of the exhibits, including more little blue penguins. These were larger than the ones we had seen on the west coast, and a bit paler in colour. Once again, they were part of a rescue program.  There was a display featuring huskies, with three present along with their handler. All were sleeping, but were very appealing dogs.

All chilled out, we walked across the carpark of the airport to check on the return location of our hire car in two days time. It proved very easy and within an easy walk of the terminal, unlike some other hire cars we have had that require a packed lunch and camel to reach the terminal after drop off.

18 May – Our last full day in NZ. We had two main activities in mind. Firstly there was a Sunday Market held out at the racecourse. Second was a drive out to the town of Akaroa, an area of great scenic beauty.

The markets proved much like any other market with a fantastic array of food stall. It seemed to be the main attraction, with lots of people feeding on snacks or even big meals, despite the breakfast hour. Only a few were browsing the craft stalls. One wonderful section was called Malaysia Street, with every stall being of a Malay flavour. It was a bit early in the morning for a big helping of Kway Teow but it was very tempting. The site makes a good market location, because the horse stalls give a whole village of covered stalls. It would work in Perth for which every course is in the off season.

The drive out to Akaroa is wonderful. It is about 150km round trip and much of it flat, although mostly winding. The last 20km is very hilly as the road winds its way around the edge of the huge extinct volcano that forms the large rounded Banks Peninsula that the town is situated on. In places, there were wonderful views across the large deep inlet that the town is situated on.

The first European settlement was actually a French one, and the influence can still be seen in some of the buildings. The town is beautifully situated and quite charming.

During our visit, the town was very full, it being the date of a popular running race around the rim of the volcano. It must have been a very gruelling affair but there were a lot of runners of all ages and a big crowd in the stands at the finish line. Fortunately, the town had a large open space that had been turned into car parking so our visit was easy. It was a most worthwhile trip.

On the way out, we stopped for lunch at another charming small town called Little River, a place that used to be the end of the rail line. The train ceased running in 1962 but the station and goods sheds remain, along with some old rolling stock, creating a charming atmosphere.

We returned to the flat to start the packing process, sorting out the stuff we would keep and what we would leave behind for others to use.  We have really enjoyed our time in New Zealand. The weather has been kind to us, despite the deluge on the west coast. It has been chilly, but we knew it would be and had the clothing to suit. The roads were much better than we had been led to believe, better than Australia’s (especially Victoria’s). The cost of living is high and fuel has been expensive everywhere. Fortunately, both vehicles have been cheap to run, the Jucy van giving around 8L/100km and the Corolla Hybrid a very good 4.5 L/100km. We have found people to be very friendly and intensely proud of their country. The AirBnBs have been mostly of a high standard and the hosts very helpful. If we were to do it again, we would probably try to make it a month earlier, but then weather is always a raffle.

25 April – A wonderful day’s drive today, from Pukekohe to Rotorua. We had planned to avoid Hamilton, to avoid driving over country that we would traverse on our way back to Auckland. We got tired of the motorway driving and decided to take an exit to have a break and change drivers. The town of Cambridge came up and we selected it. Big mistake. The town was hosting a major cycling event and the whole town square was choked with bikes and parking was non-existent. As we tried to navigate the centre of the town, workers moved ahead of us blocking off roads. They literally placed barriers in front of us. We deviated, detoured and swore a lot, finally finding a ramp back onto the motorway. By this time, Apple Maps was quite confused and sent us on down the A1 to Hamilton. It decided it had done wrong by us and started finding every minor road it could to take us across to the main road to Rotorua. The upside was that we saw some very beautiful country, filled with picturesque farmlands ablaze with autumn colours and big herds of fat dairy cattle. We stopped at a rest stop for our much-needed break. As I stepped out of the van, there was a distant “bang” and I turned to see a car do a somersault further down the road. It looked like a serious accident. I started off to help but a number of cars had already stopped so we held back. Within ten minutes, police, fire brigade and ambulance were on site. It looked nasty.

We booked into the Rotorua Family Holiday Park, a neat little park on the shores of Lake Rotorua. It is actually in the little town of Ngongotaha, about 7km from Rotorua itself. It had the advantage of being removed from the thermal activity at Sulphur Point and the smell of Hydrogen Sulphide that affects most of the town.

Lake Rotorua

In the evening, we were picked up by mini bus and taken to the Mitai Maori Village, for a cultural performance and hangi based dinner. We shared a dinner table with Canadians, a couple of Chinese Americans, an Irishman and a lady from Argentina. It made for an interesting discussion comparing travel experiences. The cultural show was very well done and it was fortunate that we came prepared for cold weather because there was a lot of the show outside.  A highlight was a group of young men paddling a war canoe up the narrow river lit by flaming oil torches. It was quite spectacular in the darkness of the forest. The singing was really beautiful and the traditional weapon drills were mesmerising. We have sat through many cultural dance and music displays in our travels but this was by far the most entertaining.

The dinner was amazing, a huge range of buffet offerings, much of which came from a traditional hangi. We went back far too many times and filled up on mussels, sweet potato (kumara) and delicious sweets. Christine had the pavlova and explained to the Canadians how the Kiwis had laid false claim to the origins of Pavlova. They seemed unaware of the dish and not very interested in trying it.

26 April – We held on for a late rising due to the cold morning. We had planned on a tour of the city and some of the lakes on a 1942 vintage army duck, needing some warm clothing against the open air. The experience of the old “duck” was a lot of fun, supported by the wit and non-stop bevy of puns from the driver as she gave her commentary. We were a bit disappointed with the very small part of the tour devoted to the city itself but once out past the Redwood Forest and on to the Blue Lake we thoroughly enjoyed the concept of driving into and out of the water. Like all hybrid machines, the duck was neither a great truck nor a great boat but for a machine built over 80 years ago it was quite amazing. From the Blue Lake, we moved on to Lake Okareka, where we admired some of the beautiful houses nestled along the banks. Given that the lake has a good reputation for trout fishing, it would be a terrific place to live.

After the tour, we drove to a stop on Lake Rotorua, with a stop at Sulphur Point to take in the thermal vents that expel clouds of hydrogen sulphide and steam. The smell was bad but bearable. The lake itself away from the alkaline thermal vents is clear water and dominated by Mokoia Island in the lake’s centre, the original volcanic peak. There is a lot of birdlife on the lake but much of it is introduced, including mallard ducks, domestic geese and even black swans. New Zealand has a poor history of introduced feral species, and we have seen a lot of road kill that includes, possums, wallabies, weasels, stoats and ferrets. The western settlers felt that the country needed some game then tried introducing other species when animal populations exploded. It never works.

A visit to Kuirau Park was terrific. A lot of thermal vents of different kinds are set in pretty parklands. There was bubbling steaming water, steam fumaroles and alkaline mud patches. It was wonderful and, unlike some of the more famous attractions, completely free. We understand that places that survive on tourism need to charge for attractions but some of the things we have encountered are quite over the top price wise.

Then it was on to Okere Falls on the Kaituna River. This was the site of a hydro power station in the early 1900s. Now it is a mecca for rafting and we had fun watching large groups crash over the falls and fight the rapids. The water flow was amazing.
All in all, Rotorua has been a highlight. It is over commercialized, like many great attractions, but there are still lots of free sights and attractions.

27 April – We had a short drive today, only around 65km from Rotorua through Taupo and on to Turangi. This has to be one of the great drives on the planet, especially Rotorua to Taupo. Once into the mountains we experienced some heavy fog, which would clear and reveal incredible valleys, forest scenery and mountains with thermal vents belching steam. There were thermal power plants, mud pools and spas, river crossings and small hamlets along the way. The farms were carrying an incredible load of dairy cattle, a greater stock load than I have seen anywhere.

We stopped at a rest stop where the highway crosses the Waikato River, and did a bit of forward planning for the next couple of days. Then it was on to the Aratiatia Rapids for an amazing experience. Here the Waikato River is dammed. The road has a bridge across the dam face with walkways for the crowds that gather. Downstream of the bridge, the river forms a deep gorge, with crystal clear blue hued water at the bottom. We watched a few good-sized trout laze around. Every two hours, the dam gates open and the gorge is filled with a gushing torrent of foaming rapids. No doubt the trout have adapted to this event. We had timed our visit perfectly and had only around 15minutes to wait. The transformation was incredible.

Next stop a little further along was the Huka Falls, upstream of the dam, where the Waikato River hammers through a narrow gorge for a couple of hundred metres. It was awesome. There is a jet boat tour from the dam up to the falls that navigates the gorge, a seemingly impossible thing.

Lunch was a stop at a beautiful lookout giving an amazing view over Taupo and the lake, across to the mountains beyond, that already carried a dusting of snow in preparation for the upcoming ski season. After lunch we drove down through Taupo and along the shores of Lake Taupo to Turangi, another beautiful drive. The traffic was heavy, it being a public holiday in lieu of Anzac Day. We had selected an upmarket caravan park and resort based  on their promised restaurant and bar, seeking a bit of pampering.

We booked in, surprised that we were the first, then set off again to drive up into the mountains to the Opotaka Historic Reserve which was once the site of a Maori Village, reported to be the location of a significant battle against the British back in the 1820s and even the place that was the birthplace of the Haka. The site itself was quite disappointing, with a few plaques and signs telling a bit of a story but otherwise, not much to see. The view on the other hand, was staggering, across Lake Totoraira to the enormous forms of Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, a couple of active volcanoes.

After another stop half way down the mountain at a lookout that gave wonderful views over Lake Taupo, we stopped at the shops for a couple for groceries then back to the resort. We checked out the bar, to be greeted by an apology that it was closed, because it was a holiday and crowds were down. We were suitably unimpressed. If you have a big sign out the front advertising a bar and restaurant then you have one, not an apology. We walked across the road to the Turangi Tavern and enjoyed a beer there. I have to admit that it was pretty quiet too.

April 28 – Another late sleep due to the cold and foggy conditions. Once on the road, we travelled a short way down Hwy 41 to the Tokaanu Thermal Pools. These were really interesting, seeming to rival some of the high-charging private attractions back towards Taupo. There was a big variety of pools, mud pools, bubbling hot springs and clear running streams. The main stream, not thermal, held a healthy population of very big rainbow trout, just holding position in the current. We wandered around the thermal walk and admired the many pools, as well as the beautiful ferns and mosses that bordered the pathways. There are a couple of thermal swimming pools available, one private that is all spa water and the other a public one that has thermal water mixed with fresh water. We thought about the process of finding swimming gear, changing, getting in, getting out, drying, dealing with wet clothes etc, and drove off.

The drive from Tokaanu to Taurmarunui was extremely hilly and winding. At one point there was a sign pointing to a rest stop with lookout off to the right. We took that and immediately regretted it. The road was one car wide at best and went straight up, winding its way for 1.5km. We were terrified of the prospect of an oncoming vehicle. When one did come, it right on a speed bump, which was positioned at a slightly wider piece of road. The other driver gave more than her fair share of road and we dropped a wheel over into a hole on our side of the speed bump. She got past us and we tried to take off, but went nowhere, the wheels spinning on the damp road and the speed bump holding us in place. Eventually, I managed to reverse far enough to get a run up to the bump and get over it. The view was worth the effort, mostly being above the cloud line with a few peaks poking through. In the distance, the majestic snow capped volcano Mt Ruapehu dominated the view. Christine was unhappy during the descent. I wasn’t much better.

We had morning tea at a park in Taurmarunui before driving on, putting our faith in Apple Maps that somehow seems to much prefer mountainous winding roads to open valleys. We saved a couple of kilometres but lost part of our sanity, dealing with trucks and fast drivers on mountain roads. The upside was the view. We saw some really spectacular country and survived to pull into Waitomo to get a site in the caravan park.

After settling in, we drove a short distance down the road to the Waitomo Cave Centre. There are three caves, the most famous being the one with a river flowing through it. After a walk through the dry sections of the cave, everyone is loaded into a small boat which glides off into the darkness. The Maori guide actually pulls the boat through the cave by means of ropes which traverse the system. The highlight is the roof of the cave, covered in glow-worms, creating a milky way of tiny lights. The glow-worms themselves hang myriads of fine sticky tendrils down, using their bio-luminescent bodies to attract tiny flying insects to the tendrils. In the silence, the effect is eerie and quite mesmerising. Photography in the darkest parts is forbidden, which is good because all the flashlights would be quite off-putting. Eventually, we emerged into the daylight once again. It was a terrific experience.

29 April – This was to be our last full day in the Jucy van. Our main aim was to get back to Pukekohe, only 35km or so from the drop off, and clean up and organise our stuff. It is amazing how messy we can get in only a week.

We set off faced with three possible routes through Hamilton, requiring a decision at Otorohanga. Apple and Google Maps have been very bad to us in the past taking us over some terrible roads to save a couple of kilometres. Otorohanga was a pretty little town so we stopped at the information centre and asked the question. The Hwy 3 route was preferred, still winding and full of fast trucks like other roads but at least with regular passing lanes.

Hamilton proved to be one of the least interesting cities we have been to.  Even looking up “things to do in Hamilton” makes lots of suggestions for places out of Hamilton. We drove though the city centre to make sure then got back on a motorway for the rest of the way back to Pukekohe Showgrounds for an afternoon of organising things and relaxing.

30 April – We packed up the last few things in the van in the by far our warmest and sunniest morning yet. It probably beats packing up in rain but its still frustrating. It was an easy 45km drive back to the Jucy depot along motorways and after topping up the fuel, we dropped off our little green beast. It has been mostly positives but we did prepare a list of little issues for their attention. We were generally glowing in our interactions with the company but it was not universal. At the caravan park in Rotorua, the managers told us that in their experience, our comments were rare. There was another Jucy at Pukekohe and the young Scandinavian couple were not as happy as us, after six weeks, with quite a few issues with their van.

We caught a DiDi car back to our apartment in Auckland, once again an Indian driver, who also quizzed us about living and working conditions in Australia, just as the Indian driver on the way out to pick up the Jucy had done. He choked a bit when we told him the average housing cost in Perth. I found it interesting that the main attraction  that Perth has for Indian people is not the climate, or work prospects, but the availability of shorter flights back to India for their annual trip home.

After dropping our stuff off and starting the washing, we set out to find a bite to eat. We ended up walking all the way to the Fish Markets, a place on our list of go-tos. The whole wharf area is packed with eateries offering all kinds of food at prices similar to Perth houses, but we wanted a simple fish and chips lunch.

At the markets themselves we found just the place and had a good feed at a great price. In the markets, we saw a woman buying a whole salmon at $49/kg. The beautiful fish must have weighed 5kg. Everything was pricey, except for the Kahawai (Australian Salmon to us), which we don’t even try to sell in the market except for cray bait. We saw oysters at $28 / half dozen and scallops at $105/kg. New Zealand has a lot of seafood but it is very expensive.

Auckland Fish Market

Back at the apartment, we had a kip, the first afternoon nap for over a week.

1 May – With a day uncommitted, we looked up things to do in Auckland. The only ones we hadn’t done were go up to the top of the iconic tower for the view and tour the New Zealand Maritime Museum. The first option proved to be a crazy $42 each, so we shelved that one, and headed for the museum instead. It was very much like the Fremantle one, except larger and had, of course, a Maori perspective instead of an Aboriginal one. I was particularly interested in the Polynesian boat building techniques, which were good enough to facilitate the exploration and settlement of the entire South Pacific. The amazing use of flax to make rope and weave sails was a feature.

Another very interesting section was that displaying the history of immigration, through the 19^th and 20^th Centuries. We saw a similar thing in Genoa, Italy, which focussed on the Italian migrations of post war Europe. It was immersive and very interesting.

We used the afternoon to catch up on some badly needed rest. The bodies are hurting a bit from all the walking and we have been on the go most days since we arrived.

2 May – Our train to Wellington was set for a horribly early 6:45 check-in. Once again, a DiDi car proved the answer and we were soon settled into our seats. The seats were arranged in sets of four, across a table. Much to our delight, they remained empty when check-in closed, giving us the freedom to sit either looking forward or travelling backwards.

The Northern Explorer always features in lists of the World’s top train journeys. It proved to be the best we have taken. Scenery wise, it had everything, the rolling live-stock green fields, majestic rivers and the fantastic snow-capped Mt Ruapehu in the Tongariro National Park region. An excellent audio or written commentary was available via WiFi and an app so it was easy to keep track of progress over the eleven hours of the trip. We met a friendly couple  from Malaysia, who have yet to visit the thermal areas and were keen to get ideas.

Most of our carriage was occupied by a tour, Gold Tours, on the first leg of a train based tour travelling to Wellington and then on through the South Island, on almost the same schedule as us. There is an open air car for those wanting the perfect picture. It was very brisk in the wind but a terrific place to be when crossing the deep ravines and viaducts of the Rangiteki River. There was also quite a crush in the open carriage when the train navigated the famous Raurimu Spiral, a circular climb of 139 metres onto a plateau.

It is a trip I could highly recommend, especially having driven over a third of the route just a few days before. The train was a better way of seeing the country. We are now looking forward to a couple more train journeys in the South Island.

It was dark by the time we arrived in Wellington. A Didi car took us across the front of the city to our apartment, across the road from the Basin Reserve, one of New Zealand’s test cricket grounds. We dumped our stuff and promptly headed out to walk down the road to a Woolworths to get something for dinner and breakfast. The apartment is actually quite well stocked and the owner invited us to help ourselves so it was just the basics we needed. We got back, had dinner and watched a bit of TV before collapsing.

3 May – In the morning light, Wellington proved to be a compact city hugging one shore of an expansive harbour. Housing straggled up the steep hills that surround the city, looking very picturesque, but not somewhere I would relish living. I hate hills.

After breakfast, we headed out. We had tried to work out the bus system, but abandoned the idea because (a) it was Sunday and the service infrequent; and (b) we needed a card for payment to avoid paying $3 a trip to the driver. A DiDi was not much dearer and a lot more convenient.

Our DiDi dropped us in the main street outside the cable car station and we rode up the 1.3km ride up the hill to the lookout and Botanic Gardens. The cable car was built in 1904 to service the expansion of housing estates up the hills above the city and has remained a much-loved icon ever since. The views were excellent, the museum featuring the history of the system was fascinating and the air very, very chilly.

Back down, we joined the Sunday crowds, who mostly wandered along the harbourside area. This has been done up a lot in recent years with an entertainment precinct, up market eateries and a fabulous Sunday market area that had fresh fruit and vegetables to equal the best of the European markets. The highlight was the amazing variety of food trucks, all doing a roaring trade.

We sampled a whitebait fritter and a mussel fritter, both expensive and a bit underwhelming, but at least sampled. We had heard about whitebait as a local delicacy. Much better was a bowl of Korean Ghao, highly seasoned pork belly with crackle and a steamed bun and shredded cabbage. Wonderful.  There was a huge line-up for the Greek van so it must have been good stuff too.

We walked all the way back to the apartment to work off lunch and watched a couple of movies for the afternoon. This marks the end of the North Island trip, with the ferry to the South Island early tomorrow morning. It has surpassed expectations, the greenery and the amazing terrain keeping us enthralled. Everyone keeps saying that the South Island is better so we are really looking forward to the next part of our trip.

20 April – Our flight to New Zealand was a good one. We hadn’t actually realised when we booked through Virgin that we were on an Air New Zealand flight. We were also surprised when we were allocated exit row seats with lots of leg room and even more surprised when we had full service meals and wine, thinking that we had to purchase meals. It was good that the 3:30 hour flight was comfortable because the arrival was not good.

We had completed the electronic entry (which many others hadn’t) and so were allocated to the “Express Lane”.  That didn’t work, because so was everyone else allocated the same lane and we stood in a line with others who filled out their entry cards. When we finally got to the front of the line, the man glanced at our “express line” sticker and waved us through. A good start to New Zealand bureaucracy.

Next we had to find how to get to the train to Auckland. Christine’s AI search had yielded the information that we needed to walk to the domestic terminal, a 900m walk with our 13kg backpacks on. We did that and looked for the station. “No train here,” a worker said. “Catch the Link Bus to train station.” We found the link bus and battled with the machine to buy the AT Hop card before giving up. It is possible to use credit card but we only had 1 Wise card between us. The bus arrived and the driver just said, “That’s OK. Just get on anyway.” We were horrified when the link bus made its first stop back at the International Airport. 950m wasted.

The Link Bus dropped us at the Puhinui Station. By this time, we remembered that I had an electronic Wise card on my phone so we both tagged on to the train and settled in for the trip into Auckland. Happily, it was only a 350m walk to the apartment, after a stop off at a nearby convenience store to collect the key. The apartment proved excellent and the location was perfect, just an easy walk from the CBD, waterfront area and train station.

21 April – We started the day with a slow wander through the main shopping area of Auckland, basically a stroll up Queen St. Best find was a cheap clothing shop that had sell-out remnants of good quality brands and we bought some NZ T Shirts 3 for $39 and a light hoody for $25. This filled in a few holes in our travel wardrobe. During the walk it was obvious that Auckland has a big population of rough sleepers. Almost every bench and alcove to an unopened shop was occupied. Another thing was the fad of having an e-scooter or e-bike equipped with a boom box speaker capable of being heard across an entire city block and riding it along the footpath.

We found a supermarket and stocked up on a few basics then headed home for lunch. The afternoon was spent on a tour of Auckland Harbour with a very informative commentary. Showers were visible around us but we managed to avoid them and stay dry. The tour was a terrific way of getting an overview of the city and a bit of history along the way. Auckland Harbour is a very beautiful stretch of water and offers a lot of protection for even small craft, as evidenced by the large number of marinas and mooring areas filled with power boats and yachts. The kiwis love their sailing.

Once off the boat we enjoyed a beer at a popular wharf side hotel and took note of a couple of eateries for our return visit in a week. The cruise commentary also talked about the fish markets a bit further on that sounded worth a visit.

22 April – Today was Jucy Van pickup day, which meant packing up and getting out to an address near the airport. After the previous experience from the airport, we opted for a DiDi car and the $43 seemed like a bargain.

Once at the Jucy centre, we were booked in, given a briefing and shown where there was a “swap” larder where those coming in could leave left over stuff and those going out could stock up. The larder proved rather bare but just as we were ready to leave, a couple of vans came in and both hirers were heading straight to the airport so we scored bigtime, even some beer.

Our first sortie didn’t go well. After only less than a kilometre, Christine announced that the passenger seat was beyond bad. It had sort of collapsed on one side. We turned around and reported the issue. No problem, they swapped our van. All the vans look superb, gleaming paint, freshly painted tyres and black bar work. Neat and tidy inside. I was amazed to see ours had clocked up 440,000km. It drove well, was easy to handle and had plenty of zip in suburban streets. However, once out on the highway and faced with the huge hill climbs that New Zealand offers, we were always the slow one. Fortunately, NZ drivers seem to have more patience than those in Australia and overtaking lanes were frequent, so we coped.

We negotiated the freeway through Auckland and across the big harbour bridge before pushing north. We had initially planned to stop early at somewhere like Orewa Beach just to get our bearings. In the end, we lunched at Orewa Beach, found a Woolworths to buy the few things we still needed.

Poor Christine scored the worst of the driving as we headed north to Paihia in The Bay of Islands, the last 85k or so through very mountainous country, much of it done at less than 70km/hr. We chose a place called Seaview Campervan Camp, which had rave Google reviews. It said something about $25 a night but that proved to be per head. By that time it was getting late so we put up with the price, which seemed steep for what looked like a campervan wrecker’s yard and settled in to our new home for the next week.

Christine performed her usual brilliance with a tiny basic kitchen and we set the bed up. We were a bit head down, so I slept the other way round. Other than that, it was really comfortable and warm. Getting up for a toilet call in the middle of the night is interesting; it is possible to get jammed if you don’t do things just right, but it is all a learning curve.

The next morning we set out to the wharf area of the tiny town to purchase a ticket on a boat tour of the Bay of Islands. We wanted one with lunch provided but were told that was cancelled due to one of the boats being out of action. We suspected that the real reason was the presence of a huge cruise ship and the abundance of passengers ready to buy tickets for afternoon cruises. Whatever, the afternoon cruise looked good and it meant we had some time to kill.

We drove across a bridge over the estuary to the Treaty Grounds of Waitangi. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, ending the Māori Wars. We could have taken a three hour cultural tour (as were a few hundred cruise ship passengers) but we lacked the time and had already booked a cultural experience in Rotorua for later, so we saved ourselves the $150 and had a coffee and date scone instead. It was excellent.

After a simple lunch in the van, we boarded the big catamaran for the tour. First stop was the town of Russell, a short hop across the bay, to pick up more people. Russell was the first capital of New Zealand, a whalers town that had a reputation as the sin capital of the South Pacific. Nowadays it is more of a retirement and holiday town.

Then it was off on a cruise that highlighted the amazing piece of water called Bay of Islands. Named by Cook for the abundance of islets, it has more idyllic anchorages and smooth cruising waters than I’ve seen anywhere else. The main destination was “The Hole in the Rock” a large natural bridge formation of the northern tip. In good weather, the cruise boats will navigate through the hole, but today, the swell was just a bit much. Even so, the skipper laid the boat right into the gap, within mere metres of the rock face. It was very clever work.

Unfortunately, there was a lack of marine life on our trip, no dolphins or whales. This didn’t worry us, but I did feel a bit sorry for some of the cruise ship people who missed out. All in all, it was a highlight. I have always wanted to sail cruise the Bay of Islands, that probably won’t happen now, but I can see why I wanted to. A very beautiful place.

Back on land, we found the Waitangi Holiday Park and booked into a normal, regular caravan park at $42, better than the other strange experience.

24 April – We had expected rain over night but none eventuated. It was lying in wait for us further south. The further south we got, the heavier the rain and we started to worry about flash flooding. The north had received extreme rain just before we arrived and all the streams were flowing fast so more rain was a possible problem.

We stopped for morning tea at Whangarei Falls, a spectacular single drop fall on the Hatea River. Luckily for us, there were two excellent viewing platforms at the top of the falls so we didn’t have to take the long downhill walk track to the bottom to get a good look.

By the time we were within 50km of Auckland, the sky suddenly cleared and things brightened up. The traffic got heavy however, and progress across the harbour bridge and through Auckland to the south was mostly slow. Maybe it was the start of the Anzac Day long weekend or maybe it was just Friday afternoon.

We had booked in to a Showgrounds campground at a location called Pukekohe. We spent a bit of time trying to guess how to say it and settled on “Pokemon”. We are struggle quite a bit with the names of places. Just as in Australia, showground camps are good. They are cheap when compared to caravan parks, have all the basic needs and often have an interesting set of people to talk to.

By the time we set up and settled in, we were bushed. We had driven 276km, almost nothing back in Australia, but here the terrain is so hilly and winding that 100% concentration is needed and a day’s drive, even with good breaks, proves energy sapping. The scenery makes up for it. Rolling green pasture lands with fat cattle and full sheep or sub-tropical forest with amazing pines and tree ferns. We are loving it.