As I said yesterday the weather had been misty. Overnight it had closed in as it often does in mountain areas. It had rained over night and was a blustery. We were uncertain if the walk would go ahead. As we had breakfast the mist started to lift and the drizzle eased so we became more optimistic. We had paid for a guide as although we are pretty experienced hill walkers we had no maps and no local experience of weather etc. We knew it would be a maximum 6:1 rat...

We had a sunny drive from Waitomo to Rotorua. Along the way we saw a farmer moving his cows for milking. Not the usual 50 cows you get in an English country lane. This was nearer 600 head kicking up a dust storm like you see in cowboy movies. The farmer was droving them on a trials bike. On the subject of cows we've seen thousands of them. They pack them into fields almost to the point you cant see grass. It would not be very pleasant for walkers as cows can be ...

We woke up after a restful nights sleep. The sites are proving to be very quiet. They all have a strict quiet time usually from about 10pm to 7am. Packed up and headed for Waitomo. It was only a short drive, about 15kms. We went to the isite office. They are the NZ visitor information. Very helpful and you can book camp sites , tours etc there. We spoke with the lady and decided we would do a double tour at Waitomo. The first was a 2 hour tour of the Ruakuri Cav...

It's 8pm here in New Zealand. I think it's 7am in England. So this is a bit like the morning paper. I didn't say in my last blog that NZ is so much like England. They drive on the left for a start. You order drinks at the bar and pay at the time. None of this sit down rubbish and then get a bill. No need to tip either. The expected tip in Canada and USA is 20%. Someone wrote on a toilet wall in a bar in San Diego 'Tip the wait staff you Euro trash'. So I wrote u...

It was the last day of the North American leg of our adventure. We'd driven, coached and sailed through Canada and the USA. We got up slowly as check out wasn't until noon. Our flight was at midnight and we didn't need to return the car until 8pm. After a Skype chat with Jill's mum, Bridget (she's almost got the hang of technology!!) we drove up to Griffith Park. This apparently is the best vantage point across the hills to the 'Hollywood' sign. It's a long wind...