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Contrasts On The Last Day Of My Central Otago Road Trip

The final day of my road trip through beautiful Central Otago was as varied as the landforms I travelled through.

(I’m reporting this somewhat post-facto because of the unfortunate necessity of having to earn a living to pay for all this fun stuff. And work has been busy now that we are out of at least some of the Covid-induced restrictions).

Took the Crown Range Road from Wanaka. Along the way is the famous Cardrona Hotel. It has been there for nigh on 160 years. Its most colourful publican was a man named Jimmy Patterson who ran it from 1926 to his death at 91 in 1961.

His hygiene routine left much to be desired. He kept a wooden barrel that was filled with rainwater from the roof. When a patron finished with his handle of beer Jimmy would swirl the glass around in the barrel and hang it up … Read more

Flying High And Falling To Earth Above Lake Wanaka

First item on today’s agenda is some flight-seeing around the region, but given that I was going to be in a light aircraft I might as well log some instruction time. I have flown a Cessna 172 before, but not in a while so my instructor from Learn To Fly NZ, kept a watchful eye.

Take off good, climb to 4500 feet then just drone around this achingly beautiful landscape. What an experience . . . not just soaking in the view but flying the plane as well.

Landing not so good. Not bad – just came in a bit low and had to wrap on a bit of power in the last few seconds. But as the old pilots say ”Any landing you walk away from is a good landing”.

Geographical Curiosity

During the flight we cruised over an island in the middle of the lake, Mou Waho … Read more

Wonderful Wanaka On A Central Otago Road Trip

Day three of my Central Otago road trip did not start well. Raining. Not exactly ideal for the first planned activity of the day, tandem paragliding.

Although the sun broke through, the winds on nearby Coronet Peak were too strong. Another day perhaps.

Instead it was off to Wanaka, a summer and winter resort town that gazes out north over the eponymous lake to a range of mountains in every shade of blue.

Compared to the Wakatipu region further south, centred on Queenstown, this region has softer, more rounded landforms. Here the ancient glaciers have done their work well, yielding a smoother, gentler landscape, contorted only occasionally where harder rocks have held out against the massive grinding forces of the ice. Iconic Mt Aspiring is a good example or this hard rock resistance.

As elsewhere in Central Otago, the poplars and willows that line the lake’s edge render autumn a … Read more

A Central Otago rail-side road trip

For much of the second day of my road trip exploring Central Otago in New Zealand, I’ll travel alongside the famous Central Otago Rail Trail and fossick around the villages along this part of its journey.

First call was in Naseby, a town which did not rejoice at the coming of the railway early last century.

Below the Ida Range, tucked away in forestry surroundings, the village of Naseby is quite a charmer. The town used to be a major gold mining centre with as many as 5000 diggers working their fingers to the bone in search of riches.

It was, at that time, the administrative centre of the region, an important place with a courthouse, banks and county offices.

The railway, however, skirted the town by some distance and Ranfurly sprang up as the new centre of attention.

Naseby slowly slumbered off into irrelevancy but over recent years it … Read more

Central Otago: A road trip through one of NZ’s most dramatic landscapes

What with lockdowns and travel restrictions road trips have been a bit thin on the ground over the past two years, but, hey!, I’m now off exploring one of the most dramatic parts of New Zealand . . . Central Otago.

Dramatic, sure. At times even brutal but beautiful too. And sometimes all three put together.

Decided to fly in to Dunedin rather than Queenstown, in part because rental car deals were cheaper there, but mainly because my first couple of days could be spent roaming the back-country roads leading to the lakes district.

Was a bit cheesed off on the flight because I had paid extra for an exit row window seat but when I got there a young Chinese couple had take seats E and F.

What the heck – I’ve flown over this route a good many times. I figured for them it’s probably all new. Let … Read more

But for this gutsy woman you’d read this in French

Nicola de la Haye . . . now there’s a woman you have probably never heard of.

Yet she is a reason you are reading this in English, not French.

It all started with Magna Carta, the great charter that limited the power of the king.

In 1215, King John, one of England’s least capable monarchs, had been forced to sign it after pressure from the English barons.

Within weeks, however, he began reneging on the promises he made, a matter that did not go down well with the nobles who divided into two camps – those that supported the king and a group of rebels. Civil war ensued.

The rebel barons invited Prince Louis, son of the French king, to take the throne. He mustered an army and arrived in Kent in May 2016, declaring himself King of England on arrival.

John died in October 1216. His successor was … Read more

What Is The Best Time Of Year To Visit Britain?

I often get asked “What is the best time of the year to Visit Britain?”

Well, right now is a great time to plan a visit to the UK. The Covid pandemic has meant that visitor numbers are way lower than usual and that means the big attractions are not crowded-out with “bloody tourists”.

But is it safe?

There has been a recent spike in infections in the UK but it is now tapering off again. Given that you aren’t likely to arrive there for several weeks if not months, the case numbers should have fallen further.

Rural Britain and Wales have much lower infection rates than the densely populated cities and rural Britain is where you would probably spend much of your time.

So, on balance, for fully vaccinated travellers it’s a good time to plan a road trip in Britain.

But what is the best time of year … Read more

Blarney Castle – all blarney for sure

Like this ancient ruin. They have the world convinced that if you hang upside down out a hole in the parapet and kiss a stone you will get the gift of the gab.

You are more likely to get Covid-19 these days.

Or am I just being a grumpy old curmudgeon.

Probably.

But you have to say it’s one of the most successful tourist gimmicks around.

I thought the grounds alone were a good enough reason to visit the site.

My wife did the whole kiss-the-stone-thing. But given that she is of 100% Irish extraction there’s no surprise there.

I demurred. If only because the last thing the world needs is to make me even more loquacious than genetics ensured.… Read more

Hook Lighthouse in Ireland – the world’s second oldest.

A monk sits in his cell at Hook Lighthouse, County Wexford, Ireland.

It’s the second oldest still-operating lighthouse in the world and you can get a guided tour, climbing the 115 steps to the top.

It marks the entrance to Waterford Harbour and has done so for nearly 900 years.

In the 13^th century the then Lord of Leinster established a harbour 30km up the River Barrow but the entrance to the river was a rocky headland, a graveyard for ships so he had a 36m high tower built.

There was a small monastery on the peninsular and the monks were given the task of keeping a beacon fire burning to warn mariners of the imminent danger.

The monks who originally manned it are long gone, though this one sits there as a reminder to visitors of its ancient days.

It has operated continuously since, though today the … Read more