Time was we could make an appointment with the local GP and see her/him within a few days. And they bulk billed (meaning the Government covered the cost). That was then. Now we have long wait times to see the doctor and the vast majority of practitioners can no longer afford to bulk bill. Which…
It has been a mild summer in our part of the world. Just as we were getting comfortable, February arrived, along with mid-thirties temperatures and soaring humidity. We’ve had the air conditioner on for a couple of days, first time this year. You’d think the folks in the media have never experienced summer before. ‘Old…
All things must end, even good things. We had our final group dinner at the George, exchanged hugs and went off to get ready for the journey home. Flights leave for Australia from Christchurch at about 6am so we would be crawling out of bed at 3am to be picked up at 3:40. Not even…
Aoraki wrapped his cloak tightly around him this morning, his form not even a whisper in the mist. We had our breakfast and hit the road. But as we drove away along the shores of Lake Pukaki, the shroud lifted a little like a last farewell. Linda found a vantage spot where she could park…
Oamaru After our high tea at Lanarch Castle we set off back down to Dunedin and from there along the coast to Oamaru. Many of the town’s public buildings are built from the local Oamaru stone, a form of hard limestone mined locally. In fact, it has been used in Dunedin and even Auckland. Unlike…
The trip from Te Anau to Dunedin took us over the Canterbury plains and New Zealand’s rich pastoral country. It’s not a long drive, with a brief stop for coffee somewhere, and we arrived in Dunedin around lunch time. Dunedin is a pretty little town where you’re either going up or you’re coming down. It’s…
I loved Milford Sound in the rain last time we visited but I confess I was hoping the weather would be a little kinder to us. And it was. Mind you, at Milford Sound they measure rainfall in metres – around seven to nine meters per annum, so rainy days can be expected to be…
After breakfast in Queenstown we boarded the coach and drove the short distance to Arrowtown which is located on the Arrow River. It’s a small place that owes its existence to gold mining. Alluvial gold was found in 1862 and the miners flocked here – including the Chinese. As in Australia, the Chinese were not…
Our day off in Queenstown was vewy vewy kwiet (Elmer Fudd voice). We’d been on the road for a while by now, with mostly very full days. Peter and I had done the gondola ride up to the lookout last time we were here on one of our few good weather days, so we didn’t…
The morning dawned bright and relatively clear. Fresh snow had fallen on the mountains overnight and there was a chance the fliers would be able to go up to the glaciers. Unfortunately, the conditions have to be just right and the wind was too strong up there. However, Linda drove the bus to a place…