It was a rainy, windy day, and I needed a day of rest after our busy trip to the South Island. I also woke up with a slight sore throat and thought it best to take it easy. I did, of course, take a Covid test, which was negative, so hopefully this is just a…

The roosters woke us up at 5:30, so I made coffee and sat by the door to watch the light rain coming down. Annemarie made breakfast from the bread, homemade jam and eggs from the chickens that were provided, then we helped with the morning animal feeding before heading to the train station for the…

Back on the train today, this time for a one day stop in Kaikoura. We were up early for the 7 am train (another one packed to the gills but very few in the open air car). I walked around a bit before we left and saw a rainbow! It was more overcast than when…

My last morning stroll in Christchurch was wonderful. I walked next to the Avon river and saw lots of sculptures, my favorite was a huge red elephant on a bench in the playground. Annemarie and I set off for the gondola today so we could get a birds eye view of the greater Christchurch area.…

On this morning’s walk I went past the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial on the Avon River. Christchurch suffered two devastating earthquakes, one in 2010, and another one in 2011, the second one decimated the city center, so they had to rebuild, and work is still continuing. The memorial lists the names of the 187 people…

I got up early and went for a walk around town, saw gorgeous buildings, lots of great art work and a primary school that has a play area on top of the building! There was a long stairway up to it and fencing all around, what a fantastic way to give kids more space to…

Happy New Year! We had a very quiet NYE, not too different from the usual actually. Today we left Blenheim and traveled to Christchurch on the train. We have lucked out with weather on this trip and today was no exception, not too warm and variable clouds throughout the day.  The views were spectacular and…

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…