A change of plans this morning.... I was taking the windy road through the catlins to see the cathedral caves and waterfalls and wildlife, but the weather has gotten worse, with roaring freezing winds and rain - not good hiking weather. I will take the state highway instead through farmland, and do the faster less scenic trip. As the trip progressed I'm glad I didn't do the catkins drive as it rained the entire way. I stopped at Gore and stretched my legs by h...

The start of the road trip..... The weather has turned, the intense heat has gone and dark clouds are swarming over queenstown. I had breakfast at joes garage, famed for it's coffees - justified - and breakfasts - I had a pile of garlic field mushrooms on ciabatta and could not finish half. I was checked out of my hotel and ready to hit the road at 10. The first part of the road trip goes past the remarkables mountain range, which would be stunning in winter wh...

I woke up to another glorious day which felt a bit ironic as I was watching the morning news and saw Brisbane was getting record rains and flooding. Today is the first of many roadtrips. I stopped at arrowtown for a light breakfast at the provisions cafe and had one of their famous sticky buns and coffee - rolled brioche with currants, almonds and caramel sauce! There is a great fruit stall just down the road and I got a traveller pack of fruit made up of peache...

A very early morning start after a restless nights sleep ..... I woke up to both kittens purring very loudly and fast asleep at the end of the bed at 5am. I had close to a two hour drive to Wellington, and as I could have hit commuter traffic I needed to allow time. I had a great run and arrived with time to spare so had a mojo coffee at the airport then was on my way to queenstown. The weather is just glorious, not a cloud in the sky, warm and the mountains stil...

The family birthday celebration is finally here - we are celebrating grandmas 90th birthday at the museum cafe - a farm and museum in the levin countryside. We only have a small family but everyone has made an effort to come to share this special milestone. Grandma is wearing one of the nice outfits we picked out the last time I was here, and is full of energy and high spirits. Unfortunately Nikki is unwell and could not come, but we had me, Donna, mum, Rochelle...