Hola! Thursday April 2nd did indeed dawn bright & beautiful - just as Jackie had predicted. Up early before sunrise we set off for a suitable take-off point about 16km from Methven - in the direction of the hills. The pilot - Graham Church - is indeed from Preston with a grand Lancashire accent to match! Terrific! Graham has been in NZ since November flying for Aoraki - he goes back to the UK at the end of April to fly balloons in Lancashire for the season (...

Kia Ora from Oamaru! This is the furthest south i'll be able to make it as i'm now going back to Methven to see if i can go ballooning tomorrow morning.... Mother Nature is being capricious - but i guess that's her prerogative - and after 2 grey, wet days it has once again dawned bright & sunny....... One of the balloon pilots with Aoraki Balloons is from Preston, would you believe? Aoraki is the Maori name for what we call Mt Cook...... Anyway, i'm now o...

Kia Ora! Which - as Lauchlan has reminded me, is a Maori greeting meaning "be well" or "be healthy"... Some Kiwi-isms that you might like to know: Scroggin - a mix of fruit, nuts & grains (& sometimes chocolate) - it's meant to be a healthy, nutritious snack you take with you when you go hiking (or go for a "tramp" as the Kiwis would more than likely say) Didymo - you see signs for this all over the place - Didymo is an a...

Well - the drive from Taupo to Hastings via Highway 1 and then Highway 54 was really quite splendid - such a beautiful country - from Alpine meadows to gorges to mountains to forests to high country covered in gorse & heather to lush valleys and pastures - it's almost like someone from a design agency has put this country together - It's just as well New Zealand is tucked away in the furthest corner of the earth - all the other countries must be seething wit...

The mainland trail has come to a close, And floating on an island tide, The Continental Drift, Has finally crossed the divide........ Greetings from Auckland - this is the start of day 3 in New Zealand. You should have seen the place yesterday - anybody would think that St. Patrick was the Patron Saint; Saviour and Governor General of New Zealand all rolled into one.... Still, any excuse for a Guinness..... I missed Lauchlan & Abbie in Auckland - they l...