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 algae that is thriving in New Zealand waterways & is regarded as a pest as it clogs up river beds, lakes and waterways

1080 - again you see signs for this everywhere - now, to me, 1080 was a rubbish & unnecessary high-alcohol version of Skol lager (itself superfluous) introduced by Allied Breweries in the late 1980's to encourage alcohol abuse (why else would you drink it?) - over here, however, it is a pesticide used for the eradication of possums. In NZ they regard possums as a pest & believe that they spread bovine TB in the same way that the UK authorities believe badgers spread bovine TB....

manchester - lower-case "m" - is bed linen

Well - i'm now in Methven - which is near Christchurch - and i'm here to go ballooning - or at least i was but mother nature decided to give the blue skies & sunshine a rest today - much like she did in Hastings on the 24th... - Long White Cloud, indeed......

After a lovely meal in Masterton with Joan, James & Adam - yes and you Amber - i left the next day to drive down to Wellington - having been told that the drive was spectacular. Well, when you sit out on the deck of Joan & James' house you get fabulous views of the Tararua Range of mountains (peaking at 1571m) - in winter the peaks are dusted with snow - so a lovely backdrop and left me wondering how the drive to Wellington could improve on that. Well Highway 2 runs through the Tararua National Park and the southern end of the Tararua Range - and it is indeed spectacular as you wind up through the hills & gawp down into the ravines.....

I did indeed go up the cable car in Wellington, Emma - the cable cars are obviously Swiss - and a neat way to get to the city from the botanical gardens (and vice-versa) (clearly). I was staying in a hotel opposite the park - handy for the city & the inter-island ferry terminal. Nearby i discovered a fantastic little Japanese restaurant called Leafee on Tinakori Road - across the road from the smart Speight's Ale House....

The ferry crossing was nice - very calm & very beautiful as you come into Queen Charlotte Sound, South Island - the crossing takes 3 hours & "tin" minutes - but the ferry is well equipped with bar, cafe & lots of outside viewing space - so there's enough to keep you occupied (Buquebus please take note) - plus, of course, the scenery as you come into Picton is - er - "awesome" as Kiwis are somewhat over-fond of saying.......

From Piction i drove to Westport - which wasn't Plan A - a quiet place on a Saturday afternoon & mostly closed - gets lively from about 7, though, as the pubs fill up & everyone comes out to watch the rugby games on big screens that they probably watched earlier in the afternoon on smaller screens - it is not the place to be for an English person drinking red wine & reading a book, however - hmmm...

Anyway, after Westport i drove down to Greymouth in order to pick up highway 73 which crosses the island via Arthur's Pass - a quite spectacular - sorry, awesome - journey - really beautiful.... and ended up in Methven as i'd booked a balloon flight for the morning of the 30th.....

Now, despite the on-set of autumn in New Zealand, the weather since i've been here has been fabulous - so the beautiful scenery is enhanced by the good weather making it even more lovely - with two exceptions. The 24th & the today (30th) have both dawned grey, wet & miserable - so Aoraki Balloons couldn't fly this morning - fingers crossed for tomorrow, eh?