After the excitement of Horse of the Year we had 4 days to get down to Wellington to catch the ferry back to the mainland (for non-Kiwis, that’s the South Island). We headed back to Marton for one night then down to Wellington and the usual Petone POP site, not particularly salubrious but handy to… Read more

After the excitement of WOMAD and a night at the Transport Museum camp, we headed down south again to Marton (near Palmerston North) where we spent a few days in a pleasant new NZMCA park. Newly landscaped and unlike many others it had a large communal hall where besides the usual book exchange and noticeboard there was… Read more

It was a wonderful sensuous swirling mix of music, colours, smells, smiles and sunshine. On Brooklands Hill next to the New Plymouth racecourse, the entrance was a very steep downhill then an equally steep uphill walk with some sidetracking along the way to view various art installations and an infinite array of delights along the… Read more

New Plymouth has many attractions quite apart from its extensive coastline with the usual fine black sand and Coastal Walkway. We admired Len Lye’s Wind Wand, swinging round gently against the bright blue sky. Lye’s kinetic sculptures are internationally recognised. The Wind Wand was erected posthumously to commemorate the Millennium. A tourist brochure declares “Almost… Read more

We had almost a week to wait for WOMAD (World Of Music, Arts and Dance) so settled down in the leafy new NZMHA park near Vogeltown, with its massive padlocked gates. There were similar gates at the new parks in Rotorua and Kerikeri and doubtless at several other new parks we are yet to visit.… Read more

Leaving Hamilton we drove over one of the many bridges yet again, which reminded me of Dave’s wonderful story of when he was a school Army Cadet …. When I went to Hamilton Tech we were put into the school cadets whether we wanted to be or not. Fortunately for me I was drafted into… Read more