Daily updates

Hakuna Matata means no worries, it’s also a yummy cafe in Blenheim where we had breakfast. After that we walked around town, did some shopping and checked out civic art.  We spent the afternoon at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, where they have exhibits about both WWI and WWII aircraft. Peter Jackson not only donated…

Went for a walk by the river this morning, it was much cooler than yesterday which was a relief. I think I was the only person who wasn’t walking a dog (or two!) For Christmas Emmy (via her partner in crime, Annemarie) surprised me with a tasting and treats at Cloudy Bay winery, a place…

Today was a travel and take it easy day, partly because of how busy we’d been the last two days and partly because it was hot!We found a lovely art gallery with a cafe near the bus stop so had a good nosy around. I got a VERY gingery gingerbread latte and we split a…

Annemarie has been an excellent tour guide, figuring out logistics for our travels and fun places to check out. After she made us both eggs and toast for breakfast we caught the bus to Stoke where we had a tour of Pic’s Peanut Butter factory. Annemarie made peanut butter by riding a bike and we…

Today Annemarie and I got to experience some of the Abel Tasman track! The Abel Tasman is one of the Great Walks of New Zealand, and a backpacking trip I have wanted to do for decades. It’s a 4 day trip and I only got to hike 2 hours of it, but it was wonderful!…

It was an early start to Boxing Day for us. Annemarie’s friend, Taz, picked us up at 5am and dropped us off at the Interislander ferry for the first leg of our trip to the South Island. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a ferry ride – no wind or clouds, which is amazing…

Meri kirihimete! (Merry Christmas in te reo Māori) I’m sitting in Annemarie’s backyard with the sun on my back, listening to Bob Marley singing No Woman No Cry while her flatmate, Rewi, gathers plums for a crumble he is making for dessert tonight. The flat cat, Beanie, keeps coming over for cuddles. Not a bad way to…

Today is Christmas Eve! I had a lazy morning, my main effort involved walking to Shelly Bay Baker to pick up a load of seeded sourdough to have with our Christmas dinner (I may have also bought a couple of cinnamon rolls…) After that I took it easy, hanging out with Rita and packing up…

I discovered that Rita is a very early riser, at 5:30 this morning she was meowing next to the bed wanting to have a treat. Luckily, I knew this was a possibility so I got her the treat and went back to bed for a bit. I hung my clothes up to dry, first time…

Today was my last day in National Park, and I was lucky enough to be up early and enjoy a gorgeous dawn. There was the tiniest sliver of moon visible when the clouds cleared briefly. On my walk to the coffee cart I heard a helicopter flying back-and-forth, I wondered it was some kind of…