> We just spent two days on the Banks Peninsula, 75 km from Christchurch. The village of Akaroa is very touristy in a way – sort of like Salt Spring Island with the locals very distinct from, but dependent on, the visitors, and many artists plying their trades. Everyone is very friendly and polite –…
> We are in a really nice hostel here -very genteel and it would impress even the naysayers among you. Have just finished an excellent meal of venison hamburger, veggies and local wine (cooked elbow-to-elbow in a big communal kitchen with half a dozen other couples), and watched the full moon rise from the deck…
> In Christchurch, New Zealand.
> Here I am with a bottle of local wine and a lemon plucked off a lemon tree.
> After the Toyota dealer we drove into some lovely lake country. In the back is the Terawera volcano that blew in the late 1800s.
This is the biggest tourist attraction on the North Island – a big crater lake surrounded by steaming hotsprings, geysers and theme park activities. We are in a cheap ($55 for two) backpackers’ hostel, which is borderline even by my minimal standards. Since we are also too cheap to pay $30 to see a geyser…
> I just can't get away! This is Whakamaru Dam. It looks safe to me.
> Here is the view from our window. I think the bus is from the company that does hop-on hop-off tours of the major attractions in the country. Backpackers get passes and stay as long as they want at each place on the route. I have to get used to taking a few representative and…
Seeing Clarely 