On our way at 06:30 AM. Roads are icy (its -4C outside) so slow going over the passes. Ferry called to ask why we need to travel during lockdown (as 72 hour grace period has expired). We explain and are asked to get documentation. Made it to Kaikoura and re-fuelled. On the trip we talk […]

The day starts cold and damp, raining again but clearing later, they say. Time for a bit of house-keeping. We are in limbo still and won t know if we can travel tomorrow until later today. So far no cases outside Auckland or Coromandel but is it just a matter of time given the large […]

Second lockdown day in Hanmer Springs. We went for a long walk in the Dog Stream Reserve just behind the motor camp. A pleasant wooded area. We found all these little houses in the trees. A quiet afternoon, weather remains sunny and cold. On our walk we also saw these animal carvings by Andrew Lyons. […]

Getting used to our new bubble. Today we had our own personal toilet and shower allocated so that’ s nice. This Top Ten camp is really quite luxurious, the showers are clean and modern with undefloor heating, hair dryers and fold-down benches in the “staging area”. The first day of the snap lockdown didn’t go […]

We had a bad night, wind so strong the van was shaking and felt like it was drifting so after trying to sleep through the gale we decided to move it at about 00:30 AM. That was better but still pretty noisy. We headed south and over the Takaka Hill road which seems to take […]

Early start today at 05:30 to go to Farewell Spit on the eco tour. https://www.farewellspit.com/ Got there just after sunrise. We drove out along the beach stopping frequently to identify bird life. As many as 90 species of bird visit the spit though most of them in summer. Originally there were 3 keepers here but […]

Another glorious morning. Sunday breakfast eggs and bacon. Then a walk on the beach. Leisurely stroll around town then seagull photography. It was interesting that the loony lunch place was empty but the Courtyard Cafe was full. Typical RWNJs self-defeating. Obviously when the tourists come back they will all be vaccinated so won’t be welcome. […]

Google is now completely broken. I typed https://jonesnz.com as a search term and got everything but this site. Anyway today was a great day. Nice 4K walk on the beach then out to Wainui Falls. Wainui Falls. Following that we took the gravel road out to Totaranui for a picnic lunch. Bit of a disaster. […]

Another beautiful sunny day. Left Picton after stopping at The Village Bakery for French bread and Danish pastries. South then West along the Awatere Valley. We stopped at Havelock marina at The Slip Inn where we had mussels (what else). Highly recommended. The owner sold us the wine glasses we admired! A dollar each. So […]