Archive for March, 2013
Our round the world trip (26): from Christchurch to San Francisco
March 31st, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 27 (Easter Sunday) and the Australia & New Zealand core of our trip is over but, just as we broke our outward journey in Bangkok, so we are breaking our return journey in San Francisco, so the holiday is not quite concluded. As other members of our NZ group departed for early morning flights, […]
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Our round the world trip (25): back to Christchurch
March 30th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
On Friday evening, Roger thought that he could fit in one more experience as he had seen a stargazing option advertised so, while Vee washed her hair (a very important ritual on all our holidays), he was out from about 8-10 pm. The exercise was located at the top of the Skyride Gondola, but the […]
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Our round the world trip (24): Skippers Canyon
March 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Just how many thrills can you experience on one holiday? The answer, in the case of this trip, was: at least one more. Day 25 (Good Friday) was free in the official itinerary, but we were offered various optional extras and most of us – including Roger & Vee – opted for the Skippers Canyon […]
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Our round the world trip (23): Milford Sound
March 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Early starts and full days are now the norm and today – Day 24 (Thursday) – was certainly no exception: we left the hotel in the dark at 7.15 am and arrived back at 6.45 pm but, in the intervening eleven and a half hours, we had a magical time. Our destination was Milford Sound […]
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Our round the world trip (22): from Franz Josef to Queenstown
March 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
One morning we might have the chance to stay in bed awhile, but not this morning: Day 23 (Wednesday). We woke at 6 am, showered & dressed, packed again, and left at 7.45 am. It was a day with a lot of travelling (almost nine hours on the road), but we stopped often, the weather […]
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Our round the world trip (21): Franz Josef Glacier
March 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
We have now been travelling for three weeks – the longest of any previous holiday together – but we still have a week or so to go on what is now Day 22 (Tuesday). In a sense, the day began sooner than we could possibly have imagined when, about 4 am, Roger was woken by […]
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Our round the world trip (20): from Rotorua to Christchurch
March 25th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Sunday evening was as full as the day, since we were entertained at a specially constructed Maori village called Tamaki (“the village among the the trees”). This is located at Tumunui which is a half hour drive out of Rotorua. Our Maori driver – a guy known as Mark – was an amazing character: irrepressively […]
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Our round the world trip (19): around Rotorua
March 24th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Another day – Day 20 (Sunday) – and another tour and another hotel. Again it was an early start: alarm at 6 am and departure at 7.45 am. Leaving behind Auckland, we drove south through the rolling green countryside and we had our first break at the “River Haven Cafe” in the town of Huntly. […]
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Our round the world trip (18): Auckland
March 23rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Day 19 (Saturday) was spent in Auckland – the morning in a group tour of the city and the afternoon free to explore as individuals. The group tour took just over three hours and our NZ tour director Mark greeted us in Maori with “Kia ora” (“Good morning”). He explained that Auckland used to be […]
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Our round the world trip (17): from Sydney to Auckland
March 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Just how early can an early start be on this amazing round the world trip of ours? On what is probably Day 18 (Friday) – the days and dates are starting to merge into one another – the hotel gave us an alarm call at 3 am for our 4 am departure to Sydney Airport. […]
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