We had a lazy start to the day as we didn't have to be at the office until 0845. It was a lovely sunny day and all looked good for our walk to Masons Bay hut. When Nicole arrived at he office we shared out the food between us and packed it into our rucksacks. Even though I only had a change of clothes and a few odds and ends - with the sleeping bag and the weight of the rucksack itself it was not a light pack!! Phil our leader - ex pat of 40years - now living in ...

We left the house just after 7 am - a lovely sunny clear day it was calm early on although the wind picked up later - but not to the strength of yesterday. We stopped off at the village shop - he was just opening up - to buy supplies for tonight's meal and a few snacks. We then made our way to Golden Bay wharf, parking by the police station and walking down the hill, where our bird watching trip to Ulva island would be leaving from. At 8am Furhana arrived with th...

We left Wanaka at 6.30am as we had to drive to Invercargill to catch our flight to Stewart Island. Knowing we had to get up early meant neither of us could sleep hence John was up re packing his bags at 4am and we left earlier than initially planned - the sun was up and the scenery great so why not! We stopped for coffee at Lumsden and arrived in Invercargill at 1015. As we didn't have to check in until 1230 we decided to have a look around and look for something...

Dry but overcast - today we walked the path out of Wanaka towards Albert Town; it went along the edge of the lake and then along the bank of the Clutha river. We decided to walk for two hours, have our sandwiches, and then return thus making it a good 4 hour walk. The cloud made it very atmospheric as it changed shape but shrouded the mountain tops and kept them hidden from view. Our two hours were up approximately 1km from Albert Town so we had made good progres...

Christmas Day dawned overcast and drizzly - the weather forecast said it should brighten with the chances of showers disappearing by 2pm ish so we decided to walk the Diamond Lake and Rocky Summit track after lunch. I went off to the gym while John watched the film Mama Mia, rather than the religious service, on television! After lunch we headed the half an hour up the road towards Mount Aspiring National Park and parked at the head of the Diamond Lake trail. A...