Sunday, 14 February: The drive from Jack's Point to Lake Tekapo yesterday was uneventful except for the few drivers who were navigating on the wrong side of the road. Fortunately there were no accidents. We drove through LIndis Pass, stopped at Lake Pukaki where the water was a beautiful shade of blue, and we took the scenic drive up the Tekapo Canal Road only to find it was closed about 5km from the main road, and we had to turn back and take the main road...

Sunday, 7 February: Another beautiful day. We spent some time on lovely Carter's Beach in the late afternoon yesterday and had our picnic food for dinner. This morning we set off for our drive to Franz Josef Glacier. Our first stop was Cape Foulwind to take the short walk to the Tauranga Seal Colony. The seals did not disappoint: sunning themselves on the rocks, diving into the surging sea, mothers and babies together. A lovely start to our day. Next, a walk to t...

Sunday, 7 February: Another beautiful day. We spent some time on lovely Carter's Beach in the late afternoon yesterday and had our picnic food for dinner. This morning we set off for our drive to Franz Josef Glacier. Our first stop was Cape Foulwind to take the short walk to the Tauranga Seal Colony. The seals did not disappoint: sunning themselves on the rocks, diving into the surging sea, mothers and babies together. A lovely start to our day. Next, a ...

Sunday, 31 January: We met Joe and Mary at the airport at 6:30 this morning. We took them back to our hotel for a rest before setting out on the first leg of our grand tour of NZ. In the early afternoon we drove to Miranda on the west coast of the Firth of Thames and settled in to a very comfortable two bedroom chalet at the Miranda Holiday Park. The outstanding feature of this accommodation is the thermal hot pol on the premises...delightful. Another rest hour w...

Sunday, 31 January: We met Joe and Mary at the airport at 6:30 this morning. We took them back to our hotel for a rest before setting out on the first leg of our grand tour of NZ. In the early afternoon we drove to Miranda on the west coast of the Firth of Thames and settled in to a very comfortable two bedroom chalet at the Miranda Holiday Park. The outstanding feature of this accommodation is the thermal hot pol on the premises...delightful. Another rest ho...