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Christchurch to Wānaka

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It's been a long time since I made this wonderful trip to Wānaka. It'll be a long time to the next, so I've really made the most of it. What strange yet ever changing weather conditions I encountered. There was fairly thick fog for the first hour or so, then at Pukaki the clouds were ominously dark and heavy looking, but no rain. I met up with my friend Jayne at the pie shop in Fairlie, where we both enjoyed their famous pork and apple pies.   Oh how lovely to stand at the top of the Lindis Pass after a brief but heavy rain shower had passed, and to see those fabulous rolling hills with their golden tussock.             What a marvelous sight, Lake Wānaka in the early evening light, with the mountains in the distance shrouded in dark clouds.                           It's so good to be back. The evening sunlight on the water was a sharp contrast to the stormy clouds ha...
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Christchurch Street Art and NZ squash open

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What a fantastic week in Christchurch, with a street art festival around the city, plus a week of top quality squash in a unique venue. This masterpiece of street art, on the side of The Distinction hotel is the tallest street art in New Zealand! Just round the corner is an older, but still gorgeous piece of art. Opposite the tallest street art was this piece, with the artist adding the finishing touches to it. Opposite Te Pae convention center is an entire fence dedicated to numerous Christchurch street artists. It was fascinating during the week to see their work being completed. Such a lot of talent on show! One of my favorite pieces, an oldie now, has to be the Antarctic scene adorning a wall next to our wonderful library, Turanga. This young lady peeps out from one of the doors of the old Post Office. And so to the NZ squash competition. It was a dream come true for me to watch our number one man, Paul Coll, playing right in front of me! And I wasn't disappointed. This former ...
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Kaikoura - Seals galore!

Back on the road again with my dear old Mazda, Ken. I needed to have a trip to settle me down and to appreciate even more how marvellous this country is ! What more special place to visit than Kaikoura, and even more amazing, Ohau Point, just north of the town.  From the moment you descend to the coastal road, you can see seals all along the coast, in the sea amongst the waves, on the rocks and on the stoney beach.  Yet Ohau is the main breeding colony, this year far too successful for its own good. There will never be enough food for all those hungry mouths. All the little black dots on the beach are seals, basking in the sun, waiting for their parents to return from fishing. Tge beaches of Kaikoura are certainly not used by sunbathing visitors. Hey are covered in most areas by very jagged but stunningly beautiful rocks, forced up by the power of the huge earthquake in 2016. Who could have thought that such a scary and costly event would produce such beauty. The late sun catc...
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