The drive from Auckland to Tongariro National Park took us through a township called Temple View.  It looked like a new town with three Mormon churches but upon looking it up in Wikipedia, it was established in the 1950s and is still looking immaculate. After a lunch stop in Te Kuiti, we reached Howards Mountain […]

Tongariro Crossing, or officially Tongariro Alpine Crossing is often considered the most beautiful day hike in New Zealand.  So, it seems wrong that after nearly 40 years in the country, I hadn’t done the walk. We had tried going in spring before my Saudi trip but had to cancel due to bad weather.  Late spring […]

Above:  Auckland skyline during better times. My flight cancelled I woke at 0600 to learn that my flight 1105 flight to Singapore had been cancelled.  Not unsurprising as a result of the flood inside the airport terminal. I quickly shifted my booking to tomorrow before other people could do the same. As I had been […]

Above:  Auckland airport international terminal flooded. Disaster hits Auckland I’m due to fly to Singapore in two days, on a three-week trip which will include hometown Kuching and also Singkawang across the border in Kalimantan. However, a natural disaster hit Auckland tonight in the form of extreme rainfall which resulted in a state of emergency […]

I flew back from Queenstown to Auckland today after a great Kiwi vacation.  Quite unusually, I was able to use the Priority Pass lounge at Queenstown Airport.  It’s normally reserved for international travellers but as the international departure area is not in use, domestic flights have taken over the area.  It was nice to have […]

Helicopter Scenic Flight Kim’s sister Jo left us yesterday and we gained Russell and Marilyn as our guests.  After two relaxing days, it’s time for some excitement for me.  I had booked a 25 min helicopter scenic ride with an alpine landing for NZD138, discounted from the regular NZD280 (pre-Covid) and then NZD199 (while international […]

Getting to Milford Sound Today is a long day.  We start in Te Anau and head to Milford Sound for a cruise before back-tracking and finishing up in Queenstown for our stay there. Despite the country reverting to standard time (end of daylight saving), we slept in.  The sun rises late her and it was […]

Today we moved on from Miller’s Flat to Te Anau, a journey of about 2h30 driving.  We left our hosts at 1100 making for a leisurely start, stopping for lunch at Lumsden. We arrived at Te Anau around 1430, staying at the Amber Court motel.  While our room was ready, the owners suggested we wait […]