Recently I have been spending my time in libraries due to the need for research and internet. I would consider myself a reasonable authority on the wonderful libraries of NZ and am keen to share my insights regarding their inner sanctums and chambers. A library has a very eclectic and dynamic swarm of people buzzing around within it and I have managed to scientifically categorise everyone (painstakingly) into the following groups: You always get two types of li...

Blenheim is the most populous town in the Marlborough District and seems relatively small and easy going (I stopped myself saying 'dull' there but I feel that way a lot regarding first impressions with most NZ towns. I think this is to do with some subliminal association of 'fun' with compact looking areas, like Cardiff or London. With their high and jagged skylines they look full of everything you could desire. NZ towns are quite large but are built out rather t...

To state the obvious, Abel Tasman is beautiful; the place, not the Dutch explorer that first landed here - he was okay looking for a guy in a ruff necked collar I guess but he wasn't anything special. Good old Abel first discovered Tasmania before sailing over to the Northern tip of NZ's South Island, Golden Bay. It was a brief visit however as he was quickly sent on his way again by some unfriendly Maori tribes and went onto Fiji. To look at on a map Abel Tasma...

Well rested with the knowledge of sleeping in a free spot for the night we awoke to another luxury, a shower for two dollars. A classic looking old lady with blue candy floss hair sat behind the register to the showers and diligently scrutinised everyone that walked past her, any whisper of a sneaky, unpaid shower and she was on them like an alsatian. Refreshingly clean we made our way to the library and gave ourselves a quick recap of what to do in NZ's most no...

I won't bore you with the day I just received, this will be a brief one. Deciding that we were a little strapped for time in the South Island we decided to skip the somewhat boring town of Christchurch (having already spent a day there after our flight) and take the hit of driving to Nelson in one day. The drive was set to be a seven/eight hour one until we were told by a retired primary school teacher at our camp that we just HAD to go through Arthur's Pass ...