Three days down in New Orleans. This place is so incredibly fascinating. The houses are all in similar style yet all very individual and you can spend hours just wandering up and down the steets looking at them. The neighbourhood our hostel is in has a random mix. Five blocks away are streets full of abandoned and badly damaged houses. Two blocks away are streets where there seems to be little or no damage. Our street is in the middle of a recently rebuilt a...

Have landed in the States and managed to get through LAX Easiest option for dinner near the airport hotel was Denny´s which resulted in a disastrous attempt at choosing a healthy option off the menu. Turned out to be the healthy option...with cheese. Also had to quickly research the tipping rules on the internet to refresh my memory. Apparently you must tip taxi drivers but don´t have to tip petrol station attendants. Very excited about New Orleans tomorrow

Feeling pretty pleased with ourselves that we managed to time it so that our first day of bad weather was spent driving between Marlborough vineyards for tastings - Spy Valley, Grove Mill, Allan Scott, Wither Hills, Cloudy Bay, Hunters, Saint Clair. Watching the forecast for our Cook Strait crossing with some trepidation. I may take that seasickness pill this time......

Mike and I did one leg of the Queen Charlotte walking track from Anakiwa to Lochmara. Great weather, spectacular views, but boy were we knackered when we got there. The spa pool was very welcome. The food in the restaurant was superb and there was heaps of wildlife to meet around the lodge - dogs, birds, llamas (beware the black llama), pigs, and the pet shag who tried to join in on our game of fetch with the lodge dog.

Okay so I have only been seasick once before in my life. It was last year off the East Cape on a 4.5hour trip with reasonable swell. So maybe I shouldnt have been cocky and ignored the seasickness warnings and offers of herbal remedies - but really, what were the chances? The whale we were searching for turned out to be 13 kilometres offshore and had been on the surface for some time so it only hung around for about 3 minutes after we arrived before diving ...