We had breakfast where Jo and the Navy Band was playing, then headed out to Mission Estate, a winery that is often the venue for summer concerts by famous stars.  Lionel Richie was coming to sing in a week.  But as it turned out a week from today, it became the venue’s first ever cancellation due […]

We flew down to the Art Deco Weekend in Napier today.  Napier is the (self-proclaimed?) Art Deco capital of the world because it was rebuilt in the style of that era after being levelled by an earthquake 1931.  Like Nelson, it has known for good weather and a seaside setting.  Oh, I want to move here […]

We did a circuit around the region today, heading north to Arrowtown, Cardrona and Wanaka. Arrowtown is an old mining town that has been kept in the style of the period … to the extent possible I guess.  It was home to the first Chinese in New Zealand who came to work in the gold […]

My Boeing 737 plane to Queenstown taxied towards the runway … being seated at the last row, I saw that a cabin crew member was standing outside the open loo.  Rather strange at this late stage of the taxi.  As it turned out, she was helping her chundering colleague. The plane turned back to the […]

After a leisurely wake-up and breakfast, we headed out west to Pupu springs … reputedly to have the clearest water in the world!  The clarity is explained by the filtration through layers of rock. Quite an irony considering its name, but officially its name is Te Waikoropupū Springs. This was followed by some swimming at Kaiteriteri […]