It was about a year ago that the dreams we shared about seeing more of the world started turning into a proper plan. There we were: two empty-nesters; with four daughters between us, all of whom were capable of fending for themselves. We had the ability to work in a flexible way, and some savings … More An incredible year of travels…so what’s next?
While we were on our whizz round the world, Nigel published a daily picture on Instagram. For those of you who are not Instagrammers, we’ve reproduced the photos in 4 blog posts. This one covers New Zealand and Tonga. Day 13 and a fabulous first day in New Zealand. This pic is from #muriwaibeach on … More Round the world in pictures: Australasia
We’ve absolutely loved New Zealand and we’ve learnt a lot too. Here are 10 things that we didn’t know about the country until we travelled here. 1-In spring on the west coast of the south island, people go mad for whitebait. When we stayed in the tiny village of Haast, the owner of our accommodation … More 10 surprising facts about New Zealand
Introduction: Time of year: September 2016 Purpose of trip: This was a one night stopover on our drive up through South Island, during our round the world trip. Why we chose this place: This accommodation was actually chosen for us by the travel agent who fixed the New Zealand leg of our 57 day trip … More Review: Murchison Lodge, Murchison, New Zealand
It was tea-break time for Diane and Jeanette at the general store in Ross on New Zealand’s little Highway Six. They sat at the wooden table outside the shop; as Di lit a cigarette and Jeanette sunk her teeth into a pink fruit bun. We were on a bench nearby, enjoying the ice cream they’d … More New Zealand: Amazing, astonishing and we’ve only just arrived
Cue Earth, Wind and Fire. Start digging out the knee-high, brown suede boots. Think about ordering logs for the wood burner, and sourcing those warming, home made soup recipes.Those are the kind of things I’ve always thought about at this time of year. But I only realised the other day that, for the first time … More Another kind of autumn…
An update is probably in order. In January, when we booked our flights to go around the world, September seemed a mighty long way off. How were we going to while away the time until the adventure was due to begin? Now we are less than four weeks away and, perhaps unsurprisingly, we are left … More Less than four weeks to go …
You seem to get a mixture of furrowed brows and raised eyebrows when people ask for a rough sketch of your round the world trip. I guess that’s because everybody has their own wishlist. But say New Zealand….and they’re smiling. All of them. Maybe it’s because they were enchanted by the Lord of the Rings and … More New Zealand: who wouldn’t choose it?
2emptynesters 