We didn't take any photos in Palmerston North nor on the trip to Napier because it rained the entire time. However, as soon as we checked into the Top 10 Campground, the sun came out. We were so lucky that our friend Fred (who is nice enough to look after our house while we are away) suggested that we call his cousin, Maureen, and her husband, Tom. Maureen and Tom live near Napier, and they met us at the campground. After getting acquainted over a glass of wi...

Our campground was right on the bus line, so it was “easy peasy” (as a local lady told me) to go into Wellington without driving our campervan. We weren’t sure of how to find things, so we asked the bus driver who was very helpful. In fact, he pointed out many things to us as he drove us to our first site.It was a very rainy day so it was a good day to visit the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa. It is in an impressive building by the waterfront. I...

We had a quick look at Picton this morning, because we leave today on the afternoon ferry to travel to the North Island. There is a nice park right on the water.Then we found the Interisland Ferry terminal and got in line with the other cars, trucks and campervans. They loaded the ship in a hurry and then we went to the sundeck (level 10) to view the scenery as we left the harbor. The entire journey distance is 50 nautical miles and took about 3 hours. The ship i...

The day started rainy so we decided to forgo the motorhome show at the Holiday Park. Fortunately, we saw most of the vehicles last evening and there weren't many large motorhomes. Campgrounds are plentiful in NZ, but the campsites are not equipped with "full hookups." And campervans are more suited to the narrow winding roads. Partway between Nelson and Picton, we stopped at the scenic reserve of Pelorus Bridge for lunch. The rain had almost stopped so w...

On our way to Nelson, we stopped by a recreation area called Rabbit Island. It has a wonderful sandy beach. We saw a couple baiting their “Seahorse” which is a fishing device. It has a propeller driven torpedo which takes a long fishing line with many baited hooks 2km out into the sea. After an hour they will retrieve the line and expect to catch many snapper. Some fishermen in NZ use a kite to take a similar line out to the sea.Then we stopped at the...