The day started with a few calls. Had to answer some emails. And finally, at noon, I was able to go into town. Roaming around, enjoying the vibe. Later this afternoon, I took the old steamboat across the lake to an eco-farm. About contradictions… At the farm, I learned about seedling of native bush- and […]
Honestly, I would have preferred to see the Doubtfull Sound. And, again, I couldn’t find any tour within the time I have available. Thus, Milford Sound, it was. It’s a 4 hour drive by bus to get there, and 4 hours to come back to Queenstown. Inbetween, you have two hours on the sound, which, […]
My bus to Queenstown left in the early afternoon. After check out, I brought my luggage to the iCenter (visitors information) to store for the hours I got left in Wanaka. A last walk along the other side of the lake, watched the eals under the landing stage of one of the boatservices, had a […]
Near the city, you have some nice hikes, always with views of the lake and the mountains. The mountains had some new snow along the edges. You could feel the chilly winds. Autmn is coming. The famous lonely tree in the lake … with a dry summer is stands almost on solid ground. The water […]
After my morning workout to the busstop, I expected a nice, relaxed ride to Wanaka. We had the same driver we came with here. At least, for the first part of the journey. Couldn’t have been more wrong! The trip was stunning! And kept us busy. We didn’t have many actual stops at to pick […]
To me, it just was a digital day. Rained all day, stayed in. Didn’t the hikes I had planed. Around Lake Matheson, I missed the most. Would have loved to go there. But all wet and slibbery? Don’t need that. Did quite a good deal of digital work, though. For dinner, I choose a place […]
What a wonderful day! Couldn’t have been any better. Half way to the bus station, I went into the Pathway of Pounamu, a local museum. Pounamu is the maori name for greenstone, jade. In New Zealand, it is only found in three places, one of them is the Westcoast of the southern island. The museum […]
Today, I took the train from Christchurch to the Westcoast, to Greymouth: the Trans Alpine Crossing. In the train, I shared a table with a couple from the Southlands and a guy from New York City. Next to us were Americans and a lady from the US who lives and teaches in Xian. We talked […]
After a few emails, I went to town. Along the park, the earthquake memorial. Again, I stayed there for a while. Went through to the Riverside Market, had a little lunch and looked for a stop of the historical tram. Other cities have hop-on/hop-off busses. Here, you have the old trams, you feel the historical […]
Leaving Kaikoura felt like approaching a threshold. Something changed. Couldn’t put a finger on it. Just felt the change. In the bus, I sat next to a German young woman, talked about our travels. Seemed, we made some similar choices, and some different once, of course. She told me about het experience confronted with lock […]