We arrived in Sri Lanka after a very long flight from Christchurch by way of Singapore. We were met at the airport by our guide and driver “Sam” Samarshinge, who was very polite at formal at first, but we got to know him a lot better over the next two weeks. We were welcomed again …
Tag Archives: Round the world
So long New Zealand and thanks for all the fish!
Only three days left in New Zealand and still so much left to see and do! Our next stop was the famous Fairlie Bakery to fuel up on pastries for a day of adventure before heading for a stroll around the rhododendron gardens down the road in Geraldine. Then we set off north along Route …
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Cromwell and Mount Cook
We had four days to get to Christchurch and two potential routes. The first option was to head south to Invercargill, before driving along the east coast road to Dunedin. The second option was to head north east through the central mountain belt to Mount Cook before meeting the coast further north. Having sought advice …
Water, water everywhere at Milford Sound
At the end of our Routeburn Track hike we were picked up at The Divide by a coach that, after it had dropped off a couple of hikers going in the opposite direction to us, was completely empty apart from the driver. He was a very friendly and knowledgeable chap and he pointed out to …
Haast Pass and Wonderful Wanaka
When we finished our trip down the west coast, we stopped briefly at the town of Haast, which one of our guidebooks described as the middle of nowhere. It definitely felt pretty remote with only a few farms along the dead end road further down the coast. We chose to avoid the detour and head …
Getting wet in the Buller River and the West Coast
After leaving Abel Tasman we drove south to the former gold mining settlement at Lyell for an overnight stop and a chance to plan our route over the next few days. We had five days before we needed to be in Queenstown and various sights and activities along our route. One adrenaline activity neither of …
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Great Walks and rides with a twist!
The Nelson region is the bread basket of New Zealand and along with world famous wineries, the area is filled with fields of vegetables, fruits and hops with local breweries almost as abundant as wineries. The other thing the Nelson region is famous for is mountain biking. These two activities can be combined in The …
Welcome to the South Island
We left Wellington via the early morning ferry. The three hour trip can be choppy as the Tasman Sea is funnelled between the two islands, but we had been advised to make sure we were on the top deck for the last hour of the journey when the sea and wind calms in the shelter …
The South of the North Island
It was that time of the week again when we don our green and white vests for a mad dash around a local park; this time it was Palmerston North it what would be our final parkrun of our round the world tour (parkrun hasn’t quite reached Sri Lanka yet!). On a flat riverside course …
Great walks and rides of the North Island
One aspect of New Zealand’s culture that has impressed us is the importance placed on sport and exercise. This of course includes the countywide support for the All Blacks and Black Caps but extends to a nationwide enjoyment of the outdoors. This has led to a vast network of walking and cycling trails across the …
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Claire and Gareth go travelling! 