24.02.11 Murchison to Nelson Today we travelled to Nelson so that Liz and Jim could meet with Viv and George and the boys and take them out for a meal this evening. They are marooned in Nelson, luckily at a friends house. They are in a really shocked state. We found out from our friends Colin and Jana that their son and family who live in Christchurch are ok, though Mark(their son) was at work in the centre and was cut and bruised. Their house has escaped stru...

TODAY WE BECAME GRANDPARENTS TO A BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY - 9lb 2oz, baby Lewis. Congratulations Rachel and Graham and a great big well done to Rachel!!! 23.02.11 Pancake Rocks to Murchison The sun was actually shining this morning so we left early and headed up the west coast towards Cape Foulwind and Westport, stopping at Charleston on the way. We alaso made a stop at Tauranga bay and walked the boadwalk coastal path to see the fur seal colony. It was pretty ...

22.02.11 Journey to Pancake Rocks Not a lotto report really, it was still pouring with rain, made a couple of coastal stops looking for penguins(little blue penguins) drove to Hokitika for our lunch stop. This is the small town where the jade carving industry and crafts people are. We visited a factory and watched the local craftsmen. There was a fresh fish and chip shop so we succumbed!! Then, I visited the washrooms in the Jade Centre just as news broke of...

20.02.11 Wanaka Decided to stay and chill for a day, can't think why can you. Wanaka is a very pleasant ski resort type village next to the lake. Damian and I dropped Liz and Jim at the start of a 3 hour walk and returned to Wanaka village for coffee and a browse. After lunch we picked up the energetic walkers and then returned to base to relax. Some how the day passed , I caught up on the diary, downloaded photos, red my book and then did a little internet wo...

19.02.11 Milford Sound Nature Cruise and Journey to Wanaka We woke to find that the skies were clear as in it was not raining and the clouds were above the surrounding peaks. It took around 20 mins for us to get from the lodge, park the van and walk to the terminal…just in the nick of time. I was very pleased to see that we were on the old fashioned sailing/motor boat which was a lovely old iron and wooden vessel, The Milford Mariner. The scenery was as sh...