The forecast today was not a classic one – once again it was one of the 200 rain days they get down here, so we decided to go for a drive. On the recommendation of the B&B hosts, we took
Next stop Antarctica
Indubitably a Doubtful day
Fiordland is by far the largest of New Zealand’s fourteen national parks at 4,868 square miles. It is also by far the most inaccessible. It occupies the whole south western corner of New Zealand and there is just one main
Glowing in the dark
Today we went to see fungus gnats. This may not, on the face of it sound like a scintillating day, but … if I described them as glowworms, then it might sound more appealing. Actually glowworms are the larval stage
To Te Anau
Te Anau is our next destination and is often considered the walking capital of New Zealand. Many of the iconic walking tracks – the Kepler Track, the Milford Track and the Routeburn Track. However, given that these take anything between
The way to Wanaka
Our route is taking us inexorably south but to get to Fiordland in the south we have to head southeast for a while as there is a range of mountains in the way. Our next stop is therefore Wanaka –
From ice to water
We left Ross first thing carrying on our trek south. Our route takes us along the coast past the New Zealand Southern Alps. These run in a northeast to southwesterly direction for most of the length of South Island –
Golden Ross
Our stop for tonight was Ross – an old mining town. The current population of Ross is apparently around 300 people and a signifcant proportion of them seemed to be in the Empire Hotel this evening – the only pub
Pancakes all round …
We headed today from Nelson to our next stop – Greymouth. Rather than following the main road, we decided to take the coast road towards Westport and then south from there to Greymouth. The main idea was to be able
Abel Tasman National Park
Abel Tasman was a Dutch seafarer and merchant from near Groningen who is best known as the first European explorer to reach the islands of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand. He also was the first to sight
Nelson and around (2)
We started this morning with a walk to the centre of New Zealand. It is slightly debateable whether it really is the centrepoint of New Zealand and recent earthquakes may have moved it slightly, but, from the perspective of a