Articles from this Category
7 January 2026
Going to Mt Cook National Park Today is the one of two full days we have here, that is forecast for good weather. With my desire to do some short hikes at Mt Cook National Park, this is the only feasible day. We left around 0800 with Jan in our car, stopping in Twizel for […]
6 January 2026
Today we drive down from Christchurch to the western shore of Lake Benmore to join our friends who are camping there. We left after 0800 and stopped at Rolleston to get some groceries as our contribution before continuing to Dunsandel for breakfast after 0900. The remaining stops along the way now seem to be regular […]
5 January 2026
Upon arrival, I dropped some frozen Malaysian meals to a friend’s before checking in at the Classique Lodge for some rest. We have stayed in this motel before. It is Chinese-owned and rather old but very cheap. It appears to be kept alive as a land-banking measure, pending redevelopment of the site. My cousin and […]
22 November 2025
Getting started Today, I have a day at sea on the surface, rather than underwater which was yesterday. I was picked up by a lovely Japanese guide at 0845 and dropped at their waterside office to pay, collect our snorkel gear and check my permit for being at sea in the area (which was obtained […]
21 November 2025
My dive operator “83 Palau Dive Center”, picked me up at 0810. The staff were largely mainland Chinese even thought the boss appeared Taiwanese. We picked up a few more guests before going out to the boat. Our first site Ulong Wall was a longish ride out. Here the coral was gorgeous. We saw giant […]
21 November 2025
My dive operator “83 Palau Dive Center”, picked me up at 0810. The staff were largely mainland Chinese even thought the boss appeared Taiwanese. We picked up a few more guests before going out to the boat. Our first site Ulong Wall was a longish ride out. Here the coral was gorgeous. We saw giant […]
20 November 2025
Getting started I slept for 12h, on and off, from 2100 till 0900. My sore throat seemed to have gone but I was still a little feverish, sweaty and had slight shivers. It is very fortunate that I have the day free from any activities at sea. In fact, I have nothing booked for the […]
19 November 2025
Leaving Taipei Today I will head to a new country, Palau, not that I’m on a quest to count countries. I woke a few times through the night before the 0615 alarm. Not a bad thing, as often I struggle to adapt flying from west to east and oversleep. Perhaps the fear of missing my […]
18 November 2025
Breakfast hype Even though I woke at 0630, my tummy wasn’t ready for the highly-recommended breakfast that’s nearby. I waited till about 0800 before joining the queue which snaked up the stairs into a food hall. No other stall in that food hall appeared to be open at that time, so perhaps they are all […]
17 November 2025
Despite flying in from the west, I woke at 0630. However, with the cool damp weather expected outside, and no pressing hunger or plans, I stayed indoors till 0930. I checked out a place that came highly recommended, to try get brunch, but it was closed today. Leaving my room again at 1100, it was […]