PHOTOS - 1

I am not sure how many photos i can publish each time so here is an instalment

two views of PICTON
this is the ferry port for South Island. it is a beautiful little town that most people just drive through on the way to other destinations.   Well worth stopping off for the restaurants alone.

this is HOT WATER BEACH at Waikato on the Coromandel Peninsula (North Island).
this is where people rent spades from the locals to dig holes in the sand at low tide.  the holes fill up with luke warm water from underground springs and they then sit in the holes with a smug expression.  the competion for the best spot was intense...i did not participate

my first attempt at a selfie with my selfie stick
Cathedral Cove is in the background

HUKA falls which provides about 30% of the electricity in NZ
this photo does not really do it justice...suggest that you google Huka Falls and look at the website.

a local tin of beans note the similarity to HEINZ that is because they own the Company but never changed the name

two shots from the south bound ferry in the Queen Charlotte Sound (South Island)

i took over four hundred photos so there will be more to follow but finally in this instalment  for the animal lovers..the following  two chaps or maybe girls

MONDAY 13-APR-15
I have been back home for nearly four weeks and once more I need to apologise for the lateness in updating the blog. this is something which should be done at the time as the memory fades and some of the finer details are lost. i am having issues with the hard drive on my PC which cannot upload the photos from my cameras and phones because of lack of disk space.   working on this as i am getting complaints about the lack of photos on the blog.

BLOG UPDATE
the last four days went by very quickly
on Saturday 14th March I made my way down from Russell to Orewa a beachside campsite about 40kms North of Auckland.  Mistake...it was absolutely chock a block with refugees from the Auckland area weekending and it was Mother's day with familes converging and meeting up.   Queues for the kitchen / showers / toilets and extremely noisy.  The TV news was full of doom predicting that Tropica Cyclone (category5) "PAM" was about to flatten poor Vanuatu and would hit NZ the following day. The wind stared to get up a bit overnight.

Sunday 15th March
the TV gloom merchants had some effect on the campsite...the tenters were up at the crack of dawn getting the tents down in the stengthening winds and packing up to go home. I also packed up everthing and dumped the accumulated rubbish and stuff that was not going back to Scotland.   The drive down the final 40kms was uneventful and as i roughly knew where i was going made it back to van rental company without getting lost and in record time because of the lack of traffic. On the way i had dropped my bags off at the hotel.   The van inspection was superficial and the new crack on windscreen (caused by my deceased feathered firend) was not noticed.   Auckland was heaving with Eagles fans, who come in all shapes, sizes and guises.  It could be considered illegal to photograph some of the sights (mainly women) that i saw...full length mirrors are maybe in short supply in NZ.  Next i encountered loads of people wearing stupid looking green hats, why?  because they were celebrating St. Patrick's Day in advance and there was going to be a parade at 13:00.  as you would expect the pubs were busy and i was trying to find a pub somewhere who was going to show the Australian F1Grand Prix and although it was on Sky no pub was showing it, even the largest sports bar who had five screens preferred to show cage fighting because the clientele were betting on the various aspects.  The sports bars are really alcohol selling betting shops with some food.   i had to settle for the St. Paddy parade which was over and done with in five minutes.
When i checked into the hotel in the afternoon i was given a room on the nineteenth floor, just what you want when the Tropical Cyclone is due.   Fortunately it was the opposite side of the building from where the wind and rain were coming. 
Monday 16th March
The Cyclone was downgraded overnight after it had wreaked havoc on Vanuatu, but it was still extremely windy and wet in Auckland.  It made landfall further South and East at Gisborne (the first town in the world to see the sunrise) who had some rough seas and high waves but nothing too drastic...thank goodness. As the weather was unsettled i spent the day watching the TV and trying to get everything back into the holdall.  i needed three attempts and finally got everything contained without bursting the zips.
Tuesday 17th March
went out for the major fry up breakfast to stoke the boilers for the journey home and asked the hotel concierge to book me a shuttle bus to the airport but he offered his cousin to drive me personally for the same price.   The guy turns up wearing a chauffeur outfit in a black "suburban" luxury van and he insists i sit in the back and he pointed out all the interesting sights on the way. Best value twenty pound journey ever.  Emirates check fast and efficient and i was issued with a voucher and instructions for the hotel in Dubai.  take off on time, next stop Brisbane.   Sitting beside a small Austrian woman with limited English and she will be my travelling companion to Dubai.  On the outside was an Australian woman who regularly made the "hop" between Auckland and Brisbane.  No sooner had the seatbelt sign been switched off when she rang the bell for a gin and tonic.  This was the first of three plus wine with the meal...she must have had Scottish ancestry. missed the last seven minutes of a movie because the efficient cabin staff confiscated my headphones twenty minutes before landing.  Everyone was unloaded at Brisbane and us transit passengers were put in a holding area without access to caffiene which i had been looking forward to.  back onboard the refreshed and refuelled A380 for the long haul to Dubai.  I never slept more than half and hour during the transit to Dubai and managed to see the end of the movie plus three others and a TV mini-series. sitting behind me on this leg of the journey were two male Brummies.  The larger one was extremely loud and his conversation was unfiltered when talking to his "partner", who he addressed as "our kid".  He had the most uncomfortable journey of his life and made sure everyone knew this. this food on this leg was disgusting with goat curry which i took or Fricasseed Chicken which my neighbour chose. We both left the main course and ate the salad starter with the pudding. 

Wednesday 18th March
arrived Dubai on time (05:00) and was directed straight to the Emirates hotel desk on the concourse.  i was escorted with the six transit passengers from our flight to a minibus which took us to the hotel.  fantastic room so straight to bed with the alarm set (for five hours) although the hotel would call also.  as usual i couldn't sleep properly as frightened to sleep in so around nine o'clock got up and showered then down for the breakfast.  Got into the restaurant 15 mins before closing so it was nice and quiet with a baconless feast laid out.
again stoked up for the final leg.   Got to the airport three hours before the flight and as i did not have to check in had plenty time to wander through the duty free which i would estimate to be (in total) the length of Princes Street in Edinburgh. The flight was delayed in taking off because some woman pressed the cabin staff button during the push bach from the stand and informed the head steward that she has lost her passport.   Just before she was going to be ejected it was found on the walkway to the aircraft by the ground crew.
The final leg of the journey was a breeze compared to the Brisbane / Dubai part. More movies were watched and the food was better.  Sainted wife and daughter were there on arrival at Glasgow.. tears all round

not the plane i travelled in but the Air NZ plane has great artwork...especially appreciated by hobbits

more photos to follow...shortly...honest!

Monday 9 March onwards

all I seem to do is apologise for not keeping the blog up to date.  Some nights it is so slow and I lose everything. It is currently Friday 13 March so I will bring you up to date.
Monday 09 March
Weather again not very good so I decided to head up to WAITOMO CAVES arrived late afternoon by which time the weather had improved.  The local tourist information bureau told me there was a general store beside the campsite (36kms round trip from the nearest town) but this was not the case.
Dined on pot noodle, cheese on toast and an apple, this is living. Nice forest walk before dinner..on the flat for a change.
Tuesday 10 March
Took the three cave tour to view the underground rivers and gloworms who inhabit the ceiling of the caves.  Each of the caves was completely different...great day, even when on a boat undergoround in complete darkness and silence except for the gloworms and someone trumped. in an aluminium boat the noise was immense. Great evening cooking on the bbq with Germans and Dutch and of course beer.
Wednesday 11 March
Drove from WAITOMO to Whangerei which is north of Auckland
A largish town by NZ standards but with a bit of character and a spectacular and accessible  waterfall near the campsite.  Another nice night on the bbq with South africans and german farmers.
Thursday 12 March
Had a easy little drive of 87kms although nearly got killed by the stupidity of a Japanese/Korean/Chinese eejit.  NZ has a lot of three lane sections to allow overtaking slower vehicles so this eejit who had been toddling along at 50kph on the two lane road puts the foot down of the three lane section making it hard for everyone to overtake.  Poor ETTIE did not have the oomph so I didn,t bother to make the attempt and slowed to sit behind him when he slams on the brakes just as we return to the two lane section.  I managed to stop in time but the logger behind had no chance, fortunately for me there was nothing coming the other way and after some gear crunching he went past me instead of through me.  There are international gestures which are understood by the orientals.  There has been road  rage by the locals at foreign tourists...now I know why.
Final destination was Russell in the bay of islands area... Great site so staying on for two nights
Dined out on pizza to be served by a young girl from Portree who worked in the hotel I stayed at when attending cruise ships...even smaller world.
Friday 13 March
There is a tropical storm incoming but the weather is good today so decided to get the van in shape for handing back on Sunday and started packing (10 mins) ...a nice little forest walk to a remote beach then a ferry across the bay to a larger town...a nice chilling day.
Got my final two nights Sunday and Monday accommodation sorted though had to pay a premium as there are very few free rooms because of everything that is happening over the weekend...Eagles in concert, a wine festival on waiheke Island
That's all for now folks

Well possums...once more apologies for not updating the blog for the last two days...things have not gone as planned.  The weather has been horrendous constant heavy rain and high winds.  Schools were closed and some major roads had landslips. I drove up to glacier country to see the Fox glacier or the Franz Joseph glacier. I drove up over hill (or maybe mountain) passes ETTIE did not like these but managed by consuming immense amount of petrol.  When I got to both parking areas I was met by wardens/rangers who advised that unless you were fully geared up with hill walking foul weather gear and pokes it was not advisable and that they were restricting access to to further east viewpoint unless people were taking the expert guided tours. I reckoned the best thing to do in these conditions was to drive on so I put in a full nine hour day to the west coast highway.   Even in the hostile conditions it was a beautiful drive up to GREYMOUTH campsite which was on the beach beside a runway.  It rained all evening and night and spent a great night drinking with a couple from Shetland with whom we have a mutual acquaintance (small world).  Also Aussie nurses and husbands, good fun and conversation.
Next day Saturday, the forecast was much the same so decided to drive instead of sitting it out.  I headed for the East Coast toward wind country in the hope of leaving the wind and rain.   It partially worked as around 14:00 if cleared to sunshine.  During the route there are blow holes where the sea punches through rock...unfortunately didn't see them as again the weather was rain/wind and I pulled up behind two bus loads of oriental tourists so the queue was too long fo Mr. Impatient...back on the road.    I ended up in Blenheim (cloudy bay country to the wine aficionados) on a campsite beside a railway line and the main road to the north Island ferry...so around three hourly intervals the freight trucks passed going north or South interspersed by freight trains....not having much luck the last two days with ferries.
Having put in two hard days drivingand cut a day from Christchurch I have three days in hand so I intend to go north of Auckland for two/three days in ETTIE....this was not in the plan.
Managed to get a Sunday morning booking on the 08:00 ferry so after a 05:00 start I arrived in Wellington at noon and headed north to a place called Whanganui.....right n the coast and although there is no rain the high ends are still here.  ETTIE doesn't like wind either....she's a dancer.
So here for the night with reasonable wifi, but it is a bit remote so it is spaghetti carbonara from a jar with additional mushrooms and bacon...with a cheeky IPA beer.   Going to have an easy night and morning and have a light driving day tomorrow ...checking out the small towns along the way....mainly beach areas.
One full week left with ETTIE before the divorce...she is high maintenance fuel wise...this country has massive ranges of fuel costs highest in Wellington was 2.18/litre and lowest was here at 1.71/litre that is NZDs divided by two for pounds.   Diesel is even cheaper about half the price of UK.
The standard of driving here is good and other drivers are very courteous ....there are of the course the testosterone fuelled young guys driving the Subaru Impreza who have their own rules.   There are a lot of doughnut circles on wider roads outside the towns....the police are trying to clamp down on this.
Will hopefully be able to update tomorrow (Monday)

QUEENSTOWN

Managed to get a decent wifi connection here in Queenstown
The journey down to queenstown was "sweet as" as the say here, magnificent scenery all the way through vineyards and alpine meadows with sheep and cows. Nothing major to report nice weather all the way and great roads at the start.  Stopped of at the ajhackett bungy site (the original) to watch around forty adrenaline fuelled youngsters committing themselves to a lump of elastic.  I reckon overall the girls were braver than the boys.   I had intended to do the zip wire but it was closed for maintenance...I have photo evidence, honest.
Queenstown is fantastic full of shops trying to take your money from you in advance of committing suicide in a variety of ways.... Bungy jumping, tandem free fall parachute, tandem para gliding, white water rafting, downhill mountain biking,  to name but a few.   I opted for the jet boat and asked the receptionist at the campsite which was the best...she recommended the most expensive which gave the least time on the water but involved a run up the sides of the SHOTOVER RIVER GORGE.  this turned out to be a single track dirt road which was constructed may years ago my gold miners.  This was not for the faint hearted especially when you encounter another vehicle coming the other way hauling a trailer of white water rafts.   The actual boat ride was about fifteen mins each way in the steepest part of the river going through water only six inches deep at some point at between 75/80 mms per hour doing sliders and three sixties to show off...didn't buy the photo but being a true scot I photographed on my iPhone someone else's (twenty dollars saved).
Whether once more starts a bit cloudy but by noon develops into a blistering hot day.  Only found out that the sun is at its worst here around 14:00...the hard way.

Again because of the young backpackers the food and drink here is reasonably priced...I ate out on fillet steak plus trimmings last night for £18.25.  Not bad and beers are £2.50

Lots of observations and social comment but I reckon the wifi is dying ...to be continued

Big drive ahead tomorrow to glacier country on the west coast

PICTON to Christchurch to Lake Tekapa

The road journey from PICTON to Christchurch was easy and uneventful...just long straight road through vineyards.  On arrival at Christchurch I went straight to the town centre which was the centre of the earthquake , it is basically a building site with building being demolished and new ones in progress.  There is an area where there are shops and restaurants operating out of freight containers, very ingenious.  Got a flavour of the place so cut my planned stay from two nights to one.  I got the last slot in the campsite and even cooked the ubiquitous spaghetti and sauce (that is what most of the young backpackers live on...so why not me)...it rained all night and I felt sorry for the kids who are camping especially the one who were moving on with a soaking wet tent.

Once I eventually found my way out of Christchurch in the rush hour I took the scenic route heading south and inland towards the mountains and the alpine region.  The intention was to go to Twizel but I stopped at Lake Tekapa which is at the base of Mount John where there is an astronomical observatory. I had hoped to take the night tour but the forecast is cloud and drizzle.  I decided to walk up to the summit...there are two tracks...one takes two hours at a gentle stroll or the other is a one hour lung wrencher ...I took the one hour and when I reach the top I find that I could have driven up...probably best that I walked up as ETTIE doesn't do hills too well.
The pitch on the campsite is fantastic overlooking the lake which is turquoise blue and flat calm.
I hear it is snowing in Scotland .. It was a lovely day here with a high of 24C.
Onward to Queenstown tomorrow and I and one day ahead of schedule
Will post pics as soon as I get a decent wifi signal

More photos

More photos
Yes the lake was that colour

HUKA falls