Articles from this Category
10 January 2022
We left the Lake Benmore camp site at 0930, heading for Christchurch. It had come highly recommended that we try out the pies at Fairlie along the way. That recommendation came with the advice to order from the side window rather than the front walk-in area where a queue was almost guaranteed. The smoked salmon […]
8 January 2022
We woke to a glorious day with a maximum of 28 degC. Having come from MIQ with limited fresh air, I now have all the air and space that I could wish for. It turned out to be two days of doing very little. I sat down lots to enjoy the view and the sunshine […]
7 January 2022
Above: A train of SpaceX Starlink satellites. (Image credit: Marco Langbroek via SatTrackBlog) Leaving MIQ Today is my day of freedom! I was discharged from Managed Isolation & Quarantine (MIQ) at 1530. That’s 1h10 later than expected due to my delayed flight arrival 10 days ago. I consider myself very lucky to have managed to […]
2 January 2022
Above: Our daily (or twice-daily) walks are in the carpark and this adjoining courtyard. Increasing strictness of MIQ Today, I’m halfway through my 10 day Managed Isolation & Quarantine (MIQ) stay at Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport. There have been some differences since my first MIQ stay over a year ago in 2020. New Zealand has […]
28 December 2021
Departing for Christchurch We boarded our replacement A350-900 around 0030, an hour later than its original departure time. Being Singapore, the ground staff started giving the boarding announcement inviting first the Business Class passengers, then high-status frequent flyers etc. Strictly per the manual. Then the senior staff member turned up and told all 27 passengers […]
19 October 2021
A journey born out of spite, as the world learns to live with Covid-19 I didn’t get to see Mum before she passed away a month ago and also missed her funeral. I do still want to get back to my hometown Kuching but airfares are ridiculously high. I would have paid the high price […]
27 September 2021
Ridiculously high airfares I had been wanting to go see Mum in Malaysian Borneo for a while now. But the need to do hotel quarantine there and also upon return to New Zealand was a deterrent. Apart from that, it seemed best to delay the trip until her helper finishes up in December and I’d […]
20 April 2021
Above: My new Toyota Crown Hybrid. I flew back to Auckland on the 0930 flight this morning. Kim was meant to stay an extra two days but ended up coming back only a day after me. Picking him up from the airport, we called past a car dealer and settled on a Toyota Crown Hybrid […]
19 April 2021
Roy’s Peak Jo left yesterday and were replaced by Brent and Moira as our guests at the apartment. It was a big relaxing day in preparation for today. Today’s plan (for me) was to climb up to Roy’s Peak. Brent and Moira were keen to join us for part of the hike. The hike starts […]
17 April 2021
Yesterday, Kim had found a special offer for a cruise onboard TSS Earnslaw (an old steamship) to Walter Peak on the far side of Lake Wakatipu for afternoon tea and a farm tour. The special price was NZD55 per person, which was about half the normal rate. We walked down to the steamship for the […]