Wellington

Last view of my beloved Wellington from the Massey Memorial.

Wanganui River

Three days of paddling with friend Jo (Yes, just a friend!) down the Wanganui. Not much to see, but sunken logs, water, and steep hillsides covered in bush.

And the Bridge to Nowhere. Built to give soldiers access to land given to them for services rendered in the aftermath of the 1st World War. Unfortunately the bridge came to late for most of the soldiers and their families. Most had left by the time the bridge was finished. The terrain just too hard.

Tararuas

Went walking in the Tararua's just north of Wellington. Climbed up to Mt. Hector (about 1500m) for great views of Kaikoura mountains on the South Island.

All the way to Ruapehu in the North.

Wanted a bush walk really, but got lost, had to camp out for the night - fortunately weather was fine, otherwise it could have been dodgy - and walk out the way I came in. Over the mountains instead of along the valley.

OK, just one...

View from Picton, getting on to the ferry back to North Island.

Hanmer Springs

Stopped off on my way north at these thermal springs. There are a few of these dotted around New Zealand wherever there is the appropriate geothermal activity. Cost? About five pounds. Sheer self indulgence at very little expense. One almost feels obliged to go.

Bank's peninsula

There is a beautiful outcrop of land to the East of Christchurch. As usual the result of volcanic activity! Rolling hills and tranquil estuaries radiating out from the middle like spokes of a wheel.

Gave me an opportunity to add to my current series of reflecting water shots. These replace the misty mountain shots of yesteryear.

William Morris

Heading north back to Wellington. Stopped in Christchurch to pick up a new/ second-hand laptop to replace the one I dropped a couple of months ago. Visited city Art Gallery for exhibitions of William Morris and Colin McCahon - New Zealand's foremost artist (deceased).

One day soon...

... all cars will be built this way. Jenny's "hybrid" car. Powered in part by electric motor and in part by internal combustion engine, you get this continuous read-out which tells you when the wheels are being powered by the batteries, or vice versa(if you are free-wheeling) and when they are being powered by the engine. Good job the scenery wasn't up to NZ's usual standards and I wasn't driving.

Rosa Boyle

Visiting Jenny Coutts in Geraldine - as I did at this time last year. We went to the church where her mother is buried, and where this sweet angel atop the font was carved in memory of her mother, Rosa Boyle, who died four months after Jenny's birth. She was 26.

Aoraki

Drove north up the Eastern flank of the Alps to Lake Pukaki. Decided to drive up to Mount Cook village for the night. Mount Cook (or Aoraki in Maori) is the highest mountain in New Zealnd at 3754m (Ben Nevis is 1344m. Just to compare.) As usual it was hidden from view by clouds rolling in from the West Coast. But I wasn't really expecting to see it. I was just drawn by the idea of a pint in The Hermitage hotel and a sauna in the YHA.

The village is also host to the Edmund Hillary mountaineering school. New Zealand's most famous son features here in bronze, but also on the $5 note and very much in the hearts and minds of Kiwis right now since his death in January this year.

Nearby the Tasman glacier spills into this berg infested lake.

Kepler track

I kind of surprised myself by deciding that this was going to be my last tramp down here in the South Island. A combination of cold weather, an excess of tourists and the realisation that it is really the rainforests further north that I am in love with.

Having said that I had a great time. Day 1 I walked out of Te Anau town and walked along the Waiau river to Lake Manapouri, where I camped in a small old hut by the lake with a Kiwi mountain man called Brian, who was practically living there full time. From there the track went up a valley to a second camp in a frost covered clearing.

And then up about 1000m to the snowline and views over Lake Te Anau of the Southern Alps. Had planned to spend another night on the track, but full of energy, opted to keep going on the last day and finished at about 6pm.