Barbara's travels continue 2018

Leaving Kaka point we stopped at a lovely beach area with typical old 'cribs' (holiday homes) on the other side of the road. Old and derelict looking, but still inhabited. What a beautiful trip through to Wanaka, with some new territory and gorgeous scenery including this lake in the midst of swamp land. A stop at the little historical town of Milton, Mill town, meant a chance to enjoy local date scones (simply amazing) and to dream about a cup of tea this big! Wanaka- my favourite home from home. Despite the very gloomy Coronavirus news, all was as lovely as ever as I looked out over the ponds of Edgewater, with the magnificent Lake Wanaka in the background. It is idyllic here. The peace is interrupted only by the calls of the paradise ducks and the sound of the wind whistling through the poplars. Amazingly, 'that Wanaka tree', usually surrounded by tourists and cameras, was alone and as splendid in its solitude as ever! No wonder that this solitary tree in the lake h

Christchurch is bouncing back, slowly but surely. It was great to go out on the old tug boat and to see one of the recently visiting cruise ships in Lyttelton, after years of no ships after the quakes. It was so good to get into my trusty KEN911, numberplate of my little mazda, to head south. It was great to get to Oamaru, about 3 hours' drive from Christchurch. I have never stopped there before but was impressed by the friendliness of everyone who I met. I had a great stay at The Old Bones Lodge, right by the sea.  What incredible early morning light over the waves, with the sea mist hovering just over the water, with the mist enshrouding the coastal roads on and off.  Another visit to Oamaru is a must. This time I enjoyed the views of the town from the hills above, wondering what could possibly be virtually covering the jetty below. What I thought might be dozens of statues turned out to be thousands of shags, cormorants, which evidently could not read the 'keep out' sig

This post sat in my offline box and never got published, so I am rolling back my life by 6 months here! What a phenomenal trip I had south. I hd contemplated postponing because I was still feeling rather tired, and was also concerned about the repairs to my kitchen, but I could not bear waiting longer to see David, so decided to take the 430 km drive easily, with very frequent stops. And why would you not stop with such breathtaking scenery? Where I was, the sin was shining and the sky was clear. On the other side of the Alps, starting on the far side of Lake Pukaki, it was stormy and the roads were closed due to snow! Mount Cook, was shrouded in storm clouds! I had been a bit anxious  about the road conditions through the beautiful Lindis Pass, but the road was completely clear, and the hills on each side looked stunning with their dusting of fresh snow. Edgewater, paradise on earth! It was fantastic after a long, yet fabulous trip to arrive in Wanakaat Edgewater resort and to have t