3rd - 14th April

Time is going past so quickly it’s incredible.
On the 3rd we stayed at Nelson great campsite and made better with the sun beating down while we had a Barbie.

4th April We drove up to a place called Kaiteriteri just on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park. Right on the beach front just great. We took a water taxi to a secluded beach (Awaroa) and had an hour & a half before the water taxi picked us up. Really good trip with the kids loving the driver ( Eric the Maori) who was pointing all kinds of things out and letting us having a go of his Maori sea shell horn.

5th April We all went Kayaking in the bay. Callum and Struan went themselves and did very well. Gregor and Katrina were with Karen and Colin. We left Kaiteriteri and headed for Picton but took a last minute detour to Kaikoura and booked to go whale watching on a helicopter the next day.

6th April Took the helicopter trip out to whale watch. Kids thought it was great .Certainly an experience. Drove up to Picton and just parked over night at view point which concerned Callum and Struan , incase we got into trouble

7th April Caught the 8 am ferry to Wellington. Really nice going through the Malbourgh Sounds. Arrived in Wellington and headed to the Botanical Gardens for lunch. Caught the Wellington cable car into the city centre and had a look around. In the evening we met up with a friend of Karens mum and dad who used to live in the Downies village near Aberdeen, Bill and his partner Moya and daughter Kate. It was good to have a yap with them and we stayed overnight in their drive.

8th April. Stayed in Wellington and looked through the Te Papa museum which is all about New Zealand . Really well done , fantastic building. Stayed over at Lower Hutt

9th April. Left Wellington and headed north to Mt Taranaki on the West coast. You could see it approx 80KM away and was well worth the long trip. Camped over night in the car park at Dawsons Fall ( the bottom of Taranaki). Struan very concerned that as it’s a volcano, it might erupt as we slept!!!

10th April. Up early to see the sunrise over Mt Taranaki. Had a walk to the waterfalls and then headed north to Auckland, another long drive. Stopped off at Waitamo Caves to see the glow worms. During the tour, the guide was explaining how good the acoustics were and many famous had sung there. He then invited anyone to sing. Nobody was going to sing except Callum who put up his hand and gave a very good version of a “wee doch and doris”. I think the guide was just making up a story and didn’t expect any one to sing.

11th April Stayed at Orewa just north of Auckland and the camp site was right on the beachfront. The kids had great fun in the sea and soaking up the sun. Decided to head north for a few days to the Bay of Islands.

12th Landed up in Paihia. Nice place but the weather has started to turn. We went to the Treaty House and had a look around. Change of plans. We have decided to move south as with the weather changing we might as well drive rather than sit about doing nothing. At night we arrived back in Auckland on the North Shore and Colin went to Edan Park to see theAuckland Blues take on the Brumbies (from Australia) in a Super 14 rugby match.

13th Weather still not great so moved on to Waihi Beach stopping at an old railway for trip in to Waihi. Arrived at the campsite which is 100m from the beach .We walked along the beach (very blustery) and stopped for tea at a café.
14th April decided to stay put for the day and do nothing except lounge about the heated pool. The rain has been coming down in torrents. Didn’t stop us swimming though. First time since we’ve been here that we’ve taken a day out to do nothing.

17th March - 3rd April in NZ

We arrived in Christchurch on time on the 17th March. We were met by Karens friend Wendy and family, husband Nigel and kids Victoria, David and Carys at the airport. Booked into our apartment and had our first Kiwi beer and glass of wine. In all the travelling was a lot better than anticipated, with kids being great for most of it.
18th March We walked into Christchurch city centre and with sun beating down ice creams were in order followed by a city tour in the tram finished off with a dip in the local Botanical Gardens paddling pool, where we met up with Wendy and family.
19th March. Picked up the campervan and it was great. After the horror story of Karens mum and dad experience we were nervous but nae hassle it was spot on. Packed up and then headed over to meet Colins cousin Yvonne who is on a 10 week holiday. Went for lunch at this fantastic beach restaurant at a place called Sumner and Karen and Yvonne sipped the wine while the kids had great fun in the sea and climbing and exploring the caves. Headed up the gondola which we thought was good but kids thought was a bore. Stayed over night at the campsite in Christchurch. The experience of sleeping in the campervan excited the kids and Struan kept saying with a huge grin that this was “brilliant”. The 3 boys sleep up to above the front cab and lucky Katrina gets a bed to herself ( that will know doubt change).
20th March. Drove to Akaroa to, hopefully, get a boat trip to see dolphins but all booked. Again he weather is great and the kids play in the sea. After that had a long drive to Hanmer springs (hot thermal pools) the scenery is stunning.
21st March Karens friend Wendy and family met up with us and we went to the thermal pools and spent all day there. Really good, pools are 34 – 41 degrees. The smells a bit off putting and as Struan says “smells like cauliflower”
22nd .March. Had a long drive to Lake Tekapo. Just stopping long enough to let kids burn off some energy at parks enroute.
23rd March. Beautiful day so Colin, Callum and Struan booked a scenic flight over the Cook Mountains. A must for anyone going to NZ.
24th March Left Lake Tekapo and drove to Mount Cook/Aoraki stopping at Lake Pukaki which is turquoise. Continued up to Mt Cook and stayed over Hooker valley. Brilliant place and at night with a clear sky the stars were amazing.
25th March Drove to Oamaru and saw the blue penguins come at night. Interesting for adults, boring for kids.
26th March Headed for Dunedin stopping at Moeraki Boulders and then at a sandy beach where we had fun splashing around in the sea.
27th March Left for Milford Sounds early via Te Anau. Long driving day
28th March Went for a cruise around Milford Sounds and was great. Wasn’t that clear but the views stunning. The kids managed to get into the bridge of the boat. Rained a lot that day.
29th March. Left early to miss all the tour buses on the road and stopped at Te Anau for first fry up of the holiday, lovely!! Drove towards Queenstown. On the way the kids and Karen went on a steam train from Fairly to Kingston. Arrived in Queenstown and went up the gondola. At the top there is a Luge track and it was good fun with all the kids getting to go themselves bar Katrina who went down with Karen and Colin.
30th March. Took off to Arthurs Point where we did a Jet boat trip down Shotover Canyon. Everyone though it was adrenaline pumping!! Headed off to Skipper Bridge to see the bungy jumping. Callum wanted a go but was too light – thank god. Finished up in Wanaka that night.
31st March Went to Puzzleworld which is very interesting and clever . The maze had us beat and we had to give up. Headed over to the West coast to Fox Glacier where it rained most of the night.
1st April Even though it rained we headed off to Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier ,was good but not clear enough weather to really appreciate them. Landed up in Greymouth at night.
2nd April. Went t Shantytown. The sun is back and the kids panned for gold. Callum thinks he found enough to buy a house – is he in for a shock.
Continued up to Westport stopping off at Punakaki to see the pancake rocks and a seal colony enroute.
3rd April. Travelled to Nelson stopping at Bullers Gorge Bridge where we all did a fire fox ( death slide) over the gorge.

Off to New Zealand

The Morrison family left Aberdeen on 14th March 2008 straight after Karens work at 3pm. Caught the flight to London then off to Hong Kong. Kids were good as gold although Gregor and Katrina had a wee hiccup while they fell asleep. Callum & Struan thought it was great that they could watch tv, films and play games without Mum and Dad telling them to switch it off.
Arrived in Hong Kong and booked into the Golden Mile Holiday Inn. Amazing place with so many people and tall buildings. A big culture change for us all but without fail kids manage to spot a McDonalds.
Had a local cuisine meal which Karen & I thought was great but kids thought was “yuck” ended up at McDonalds!!!

Brodie Castle

We had a great weekend at Brodie Castle at the end of Jan. There was the usual group of people and it was great. Its just like it sounds . You get t live in a castle for a weekend.