Blenheim – Sometimes things don’t turn out like you hope!
I was really looking forward to this trip, it had been in the pipeline for 6+ months with tickets booked for the Biennial Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka. Two days before I was due...
Category: New Zealand – South Island
Nelson
In June 2024, I drove to Nelson at the top of the South Island of New Zealand for a few days on a whim. I was first there in 1980/81 working as a seasonal...
Timaru Day Trip
I had a day with no plans for Oamaru and the surrounding area so decided to take a day trip up to Timaru, a straight-forward 1 hour drive up the coast. I was there...
Oamaru and Surrounds
If I’m honest I wasn’t expecting great things from Oamaru, however I must say I was more than pleasantly surprised. It exceeded all of my expectations. There is a lot to see in Oamaru...
Haast to Oamaru
I woke up to an ominous looking sky over the Southern Alps. It looked as though I was heading into the realm of Mordor – from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. My second...
Reefton to Haast
I travelled from Reefton to Haast in one day, however, to have a good look round you could quite easily take two or three days. A number of years ago I spent a couple...
Reefton to Oamaru via Haast
After 40+ years working in various countries and occupations it’s time to take off and do something fun. I decided to go on a road trip to celebrate my retirement. As I’m waiting for...
Punakaiki and Surrounds
Limestone underlies most of this area and is responsible for the area’s amazing landforms – high coastal cliffs, impressive river canyons, delicate cave formations and the well-known, bizarre ‘pancake stack’ coastal formations – a...
Reefton Area
Reefton is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand with a population of around 900. Reefton was a thriving gold mining town in the late 19th century, and gold mining lasted...
Karamea – Kahurangi National Park
Kōhaihai Campsite is located at the end of the road. As far North as you can drive along the West Coast. This is also either the beginning or the end of the Heaphy Track,...
