Off to NZ in a few days.

[Helen]

This coming Monday, hubby Graeme and I, head down to his Dad's for an overnight stay before flying out to New Zealand on Tuesday morning. We'll be away from home for 3½ weeks and hopefully the weather will be kind. 

We changed our original plan of heading down the east coast of the South Island about a month ago and just as well. A good portion of the road is closed between Blenheim and Christchurch because of landslips which were caused by some areas having 400mm of rain or more in two days.

Fingers crossed all goes well.

...and this is why I've been a bit scatterbrained and quiet of late. 

[admin]

Coffee beans image is down,
..and you have been a bit quiet
..................................................

Have a great trip Helen. NZ is bloody beautiful.
Pity about the east coast - very picturesque Aikaroa, particularly.
Relax, chill out and bring back a few images to share.

If you get to Queenstown, bother to take the drive out Glenorchy...WOW!
If you go out in the mid to late afternoon you will get amazing views across Lake Wakitipu - magic. Take your tripd.

Go to google earth:
Lat:  45° 1'50.12"S
Long: 168°26'22.69"E

[Helen]

Thanks Mark. This the trip of a lifetime for us having never ever been overseas.

I have to painstakingly admit that I've flown all over NZ via Google Earth, ever since my best friend came back in January. I've even trekked from Christchurch to Greymouth and back again along the train line, a journey on our must do list.

We're definitely going to Queenstown, just have to do Shotover Jet and I had wondered about Glenorchy... Lord of the Rings country I'm told... will put that on the must do list, too. Tripod and monopod are both packed in the luggage (and bubble wrapped) along with a full kit of camera gear between two bags as carry-on. I thought about leaving a lens or two home, but couldn't decide, so we're taking the lot. 

It's campervan hire all the way, so we'll be doing lots of relaxing along the way and just soaking up the scenery... just hope Cook Strait is calm when we take the ferry.

[Analog6]

Helen, it sounds heavenly!  I've never been overseas either - with the 2 money eating hobbies of horses and photography it's just never happened.

Will yesterday's earthquake (Hastings area) affect yout itinerary? 

[Ross and Cher]

...before flying out to New Zealand on Tuesday morning. We'll be away from home for 3½ weeks and hopefully the weather will be kind. 

We changed our original plan of heading down the east coast of the South Island about a month ago and just as well. A good portion of the road is closed between Blenheim and Christchurch because of landslips which were caused by some areas having 400mm of rain or more in two days.

Fingers crossed all goes well.

Helen - if you are as lucky as us there is no way that you will not enjoy it! We lost 3 days to rain and a couple more were overcast but the snow (us northerners are easily excited) and the weather and the scenery and food and everything else more than made up for it!!!

You'd also be amazed how quickly they reopen the roads after slips - have it down to a fine art with the practice they get!!!

Have a great trip Helen. NZ is bloody beautiful.
Pity about the east coast - very picturesque Aikaroa, particularly.
Relax, chill out and bring back a few images to share.

If you get to Queenstown, bother to take the drive out Glenorchy...WOW!
If you go out in the mid to late afternoon you will get amazing views across Lake Wakitipu - magic. Take your tripd.

And for a change - we have to (almost) agree with the Admin Dude - everywhere was very picturesque - although Aikoraoa and Lyttleton were clouded out when we were there (but the glimpses we got were awesome), and we pulled out of Queenstown early (but after we did the shotover) as there were too many skiers there - not our scene!!!! Seems to be around every corner there is something awesome to see,do or taste!!!!! And we are now happily hippy bus converts!!!!!

[Helen]

Thanks Odille, Ross and Cher. 

Ah, heavenly indeed Odille. The quake near Hastings, whilst a Mag 5.9 was also 30km underground. We're actually not going that way this time, but rather heading to Mt Taranaki in the west. Quakes have been a bit common of late, 17 on the North Island in the last month alone ranging in strength from 2.3 to Monday's 5.9.

Ross, we are definitely going to Glenorchy now. I spoke to Graeme about Mark's information and it didn't take too much to convince him to make a bit of a detour.

We know there'll be days where things will be clouded over, just hoping when we get to the glaciers the weather will be fine and sunny. One of our "must do" things is a heli flight over Fox, Franz Josef and Mt. Cook. They say if the weather is really good they'll take you over Tasman Glacier as well at no extra cost, with a glacier landing to boot. Fingers crossed.

Have to say, I'm really starting to pinch myself to make sure I'm awake and I'm reserving sayings like "Holy Shyte!!! Oh My God!!! and Oh WOW!!!" just for the journey, hehehe. 

[admin]

Just a disclaimer here Helen.
There is not very much to see at Glenorchy. Just a little place.
It is all about the drive, the view and the photo ops.
Take a picnic and pullover somewhere along the way, you'll have a little piece of it all to yourselves.

If does rain, just back the camper to the view, put on some music, cook up a bit of pasta and knock the top off a bottle of red. Heaven on a stick.
If you happen to be gong to the west coast from Queenstown, the Haast pass is pretty speccy too. Hell, it's all good.

[Helen]

Absolutely we're going through Haast Pass, but to Queenstown instead of, from.  We're calling into Two Paddocks Winery (the one actor Sam Neill owns) at Cromwell before heading to Q'town, so will pick up a nice red or two from there to consume on those cold nights... a bottle of Glenfiddich might not go astray either, for those really cold nights.

This trip is certainly about the views (and photo ops, naturally), the few must do's are just a sideline to being somewhere so completely different from home which, for the most part, is just flat land.

We're taking my laptop to upload the photos to and to access the net every now and then at wi-fi hotspots. If I can, I'll try and get a couple of photos up along the way... no guarantees of course. A pet project is to try and get a few panoramas of the really speccy scenery along the way.

FWOR, 3 days to go. I'm still pinching myself. 

[OZZI-BLOKE]

Enjoy yourself and have a great time.