We started the day in the Breakfast room, which is actually an auxiliary kitchen right next to the actual kitchen where the staff creates their amazing food and confections. Today was surprisingly busy as we only expected to do a half day tour of the city and then relax. Christchurch is a very walkable city …
Day 12 – April 11, 2025 – Christchurch – a city rebuildingRead More »
Today we started out early as we had to get to the marina for a cruise through the Akaroa Harbor. Akaroa is a charming French settlement on the Banks Peninsula. The name Akaroa is Kai Tahu Māori for “Long Harbor”. The drive was about an hour though farmland and breathtaking landscapes. We stopped at a …
Day 11 – April 10, 2025 – Akaroa a day on the waterRead More »
Today was an active day. We started out at 9:00AM heading toward Arthur’s Pass National Park. It was about a 2-hour drive. Along the way we stopped first at a site that is meaningful to the Mauri as a spiritual site. This area was underwater several million years ago. Uplifted by the tectonic actively. The …
Day 10 – April 9, 2025 – Walking trails at Arthur’s PassRead More »
Up early to pack for the next leg of our trip. Breakfast then meeting our driver Sue for a 5-hour drive north. It was raining as we left, but we noticed that there was snow in the mountains! You could see a line where the snow ended, and the rain began below! We stopped along …
With rain in the forecast for the afternoon, we decided to just take a walk around the area in the morning and then relax and watch the rain from our suite. We started off just before 10 AM, to trek along the river and then back over the hills. We had at first thought of …
Day 8 – April 7, 2025 – Lindis Lodge a walk aboutRead More »
After our breakfast we met Sam, our guide for our off-road trek into the mountains. We first had to get suited up as it would be cold and windy. We wore our down jackets that we had from our trip to antarctica, so we were not worried about the cold. Sam fitted us with windbreakers, …
Day 7 – April 6, 2025 – Lindis Lodge off-road adventureRead More »
After a leisurely breakfast we were picked up at the lodge for a drive to our next destination, the Lindis Lodge. This is a small boutique hotel located on Ben Avon Station, occupying over 6000 acres within the Ahuriri Valley. Basically, it is in the middle of nowhere with nothing around but beautiful views, sheep …
Today was a day at leisure. In the morning, we took a walk around the grounds. In the afternoon, Cathy had a massage. Me, there is only one person I let touch my squishy body, so I relaxed in our room and worked on our blog. Then dinner which was extraordinary as usual!
Today’s post is dedicated to Carrie, because you asked for it. Today was all about food & wine! We were met at our Lodge by our driver, John, in a fancy BMW. We were told the car had been used to drive members of parliament which was why there was a phone in the car …
Today was an adventure, to say the least. Our travel agent had assured us this was an easy, lazy trip down the river. Well, it was down the river, that much was true, although again only half true! Today we were picked up at the lodge and delivered to Dart River Adventures for an exciting …
