Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Back on the move again

Two days now till we leave to return to Greece. John and I went to the Liverpool Hospital for tropical diseases to have our jabs we both left feeling like pin cushions but agreeing that the clinic was very well run and the nurse really knew her stuff.
We are going over the M62 to Hull then over to Rotterdam  through Germany, Austria and Italy to Venice. The weather forecast is not great but it is good to think we are on our way back to the Med.
This year we are on our way out of the Med and are looking to be in the Canaries for Christmas in preparation for our trip across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. 

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

New Zealand

Both John and I loved New Zealand. Coming from an overcrowded island as we do it was so refreshing to drive our campervan around both North and South Island without so much of a hint of a traffic jam! We flew from Sydney to Christchurch where we picked up our campervan ... our home for the next three weeks. Our plan was to travel around the South Island and then catch the InterIslander ferry at Picton over to Wellington and the North Island for a while.


                                                Pancake Rocks  on the way to Picton



We were able to find some quiet,pretty areas where we were able to park up for the night and enjoy. Though here at Nelson Lakes the midges were a bit of a nuisance!




Both John and I had a go at a range of outdoor activities that were once in a life time gigs. John completed his bungee jump at Queenstown and he bought me a zip wire trip over a gorge for my birthday. I also went on a helicopter ride landing on the Franz Joseph Glacier.... wonderful! John chose not to go having worked on helicopters for years it was not a first for him as it was for me...... Up Up and Away!!









                                                 You can walk to the head of the Glacier


We also went went white water rafting in Rotorua which was great fun!




We even managed to stay in the dinghy!



We went to hot springs around Rotorua.



 We finished off our exploits with a kayak trip to Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel.... that was hard work!
Hopefully we will return to NZ in Orion ..... I can recommend it highly to others.