I spent most of the morning in the hairdresser's and felt like a new woman afterwards! It's always difficult going to a completely new hairdresser, but I think she did a good job. I had a quick lunch and went for a long walk, firstly to a lookout point, then past Napier port and then to the beach. It's quite a big port here, it must be all the wine being exported around the world. It was interesting to stand and watch for a while all the containers being stacke...

Today I was back on the bus to Napier. A friend had said not to bother visiting Napier unless I liked Art Deco buildings. The town had been struck by a bad earthquake in the early 1930's and been rebuilt in an Art Deco style. It was somewhere to break my coach journey so I wasn't sitting on a bus for too long. I was wondering around looking for somewhere to eat, a lady in the information site had given me an idea of a couple of restaurants to try. But I didn't r...

Amazing - WOW WOW WOW The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is billed as one of the best day walk in NZ and it certainly doesn't disappoint. The trek is 19.4km across active volcanoes which means it's gets a bit smelly at times. We started before 8am on a crisp, chilly morning. I was glad of my down jacket I'd carried for the last 2 weeks but not used so far. The 1st hour was a gentle walk followed by 2 and a half hours of hard uphill. We got to the Red Crater ridge an...

I still have a few aches and pains in my legs so today I'm taking it easier with just a couple of hours walking to Huka Falls. The falls mark the spot where NZ longest river, the Waikato is slammed into a narrow chasm, making a dramatic 10m drop into a surging pool. The Maori call the full force of torrent Hukanui, great body of spray.. The Waikato originates from Lake Taupo and finishes just south of Auckland. On the walk back from the falls I walk past a bu...

I caught the bus to Taupo this afternoon. I sat next to a nice young man of 80 and had a good conversation with him. He had been a coronary care nurse. We spent a lot of time talking about sport. In the past he had visited Lord's and Wembley. He kept saying how good the Kiwi's are at cricket and rugby and watch out for them in the World Cup in October. A nice old chap. When I reached Taupo it was very cold and windy. I walked down to the lake there was snow on t...