We’re now in Wellington before getting the ferry to South Island. Since leaving the central mountains, we have been travelling around the west side of the country, going down to Wanganui and then along the coast of the South Taranaki Bight, getting glimpses of Mt Egmont in the cloud and rain. The weather didn’t improve in New Plymouth so we left there to travel south to Himatangi near Palmerstone North which was a nice location near a long beach and our first “Fish & Chips” at a Takeaway. Looking at the weather forecast, we decided to chase the summer on the east coast, so the next day we drove to Hastings and found a quiet campsite near Cape Kidnappers (Clifton Motor Park) where the beach and cliffs go around to the largest mainland Gannet colony in the world. Back in summer with temperatures up in the high twenties we stayed there for 6 nights enjoying the sun, walking to the Gannet colony, trips to Hastings and Napier and of course visiting vineyards and sampling the wine of the area. The climate here seemed like the south of France in August with our camper right next to the surf. So yesterday we had to leave and make our way south again passing alongside the Ranges, stopping at the Pukaha Mount Bruce, at DOC Wildlife Centre for Threatened Species. This was a great experience to see the Kaka parrots, Tuatara reptiles and a Takahe (flightless marsh type hen at one time thought extinct!). We found a small campsite nearby at Eketahuna besides a river and managed a walk around the woods before the rain set in for the night and so in the morning all the rivers were in spate, a chocolate colour. After that, a “blowy” drive got us alongside the Hut river over a 700 m pass to sunny Wellington where we are staying until Tuesday with a couple of days in the city (a short bus ride away). Photos are Mount Egmont (about the only glimpse!) and one of the colonies at Cape Kiddnappers.

Now in New Plymouth in the Taranaki Peninsula but rain and mist all day so hoping for better tomorrow. This is a photo down to the Emerald Lakes descnding from the top of Mt Tongariro. Great walk and I was lucky with the weather; it was clear all day without the winds they predicted. We've come around Highway 45 from Wanganui stopping last night in sight of Mt Egmont and next to the black sand dunes at a small recreational campsite near Manaia on the south coast. The cliffs and dunes there were quite different from what we've seen previously with layers of volcanic debris. Also we know where all the House Sparrows from England are, they're here! Everywhere they're busy nesting, chirping away and with the Yellowhammers, Skylarks and numerous Goldfinches, it is like the countryside when we were younger. We're not sure what we'll do next as we plan to canoe a stetch of the Whanganui river soon but this depends on the weather as we'll be camping at DOC sites and with rain, the river will be up. Otherwise we'll go to the east coast and south.

A Variable Oyster Catcher in the sand dunes amongst flowers. They're different from ours without the full white breasts, more like the Black Oyster Catches in South Africa. They were breeding amongst the dunes, together with New Zealand Dotterels, on the east coast of North Land.

We're now in Whanganui city till Tuesday and still hope to do some canoeing on the river for a few days. At the momet they're busy with school trips so we're keeping clear! I'll put some pics of the Tongariro alpine crossing later; it was great weather for it.

Stanley I presume? the explorer along the banks of the mighty Waikato river during our short "Tramp" from the Falls to get a view downstream. Our first Warbler sang for us near here and lots of "Pheasant Berry" growing wild. Helen made our first rope out of the NZ Flax that is everywhere, a trick we learned at the cultural centre. A little easier than nettle string but still hard work!! Anyway, the weather is changing to summer so we'll spend a few days here at L. Taupo.

Then back through Auckland to Cambridge, and further to Rotorua and the hot springs where we spent 3 days of good weather amongst the smelly steam and mud! The photo is the largest Geyser (30 foot) Pohutu that seems to erupt often. Also went to a Maori cultural event and wood carving and weaving schools. The park near the campsite and lake shore had areas steaming and mud bubbling, the whole area seemed alive. Lots of new birds on the Lake and our first large supermarkets to stock up. Really enjoying the relaxed driving (no cameras!!) and warm welcome at all the campsites. The sites are well equipped with kitchens and dining areas set aside for campers. So far they have not been very busy even though the weather is improving. The hot tubs have been nice in the evening as it doesn't get dark until about 8.30 -9.00 pm. On Sunday we did a great walk along the side of one of the volcanic lakes (Okareka, just S of Rotorua) in sunshine and each day we come across laid out walks somewhere; today it was the Waikato river near the Huka Falls.

Hello, this is the end of our journey to the north at Cape Reinga, the tip of Northland. You can just see the Puhutukawa tree where the Maori spirits leave to return home. From here we travelled down the west side of Northland to Ahipara and onto the Gannet colony at Muriwai beach first camping in the Waipoua forest amongst the giant Kaori trees. The walkway takes you right above the Gannet colony so we got great photos of the nesting birds including Terns. Our camper wasn't allowed to go down 90 mile beach!! but the scenery and waves reminded us of the Skelton coast of Namibia.

Helen relaxing and our hire camper at Pakiri Beach.

At the arch, the turning point on the Mangawhai walk.

10 th November: now at Mangawhai Heads in Northland on the east coast, north of Auckland. We've had good flights and time in Singapore. Did the usual bus tours, visited the Botanical Gardens to see their collection of Orchids, really amazing. The rest of the time we visited Changi PoW museum and the beaches nearby,
The camper is great, an older shorter version of the one we have (Fiat Ducata) so feels like home!! We've been stopping at campsites on beaches, Pakiri and Mangawhai Head and guess what, we've got a bird ID book already and the number of "new" on the list is increasing each day!! Almost spotted the really rare Fairy Tern! but have seen lots of others (won't bore you with details). Next it will be a tree book as the plants are so different from home but have seen lots of the Pohutukawa tree that will have red flowers at Christmas time and that seems to grow near the coast, even near sand dunes.
Today we did a walk along the Mangawhai Cliffs north with great views of the nearshore islands. We were supposed to return along the beach but even though it was 3 hours from high tide, the water level was up to our chests, so we decided against it.
The weather is mixed with some light showers and then sunshine, but it does change very quickly. It gets cool at night, down to 10 C and daytime up to 19 C. It should get warmer as we go north over the next week or so. Will try and post a picture of us at Mangawhai.

October, 2009. I've just finished a 100 mile stretch of the Southwest Coast Path from Barnstaple, Devon, to Padstow in Cornwall. The path between Hartland Point and Port Isaac was tough going at times with continous ups and downs. Only about 160 to 200 m each valley but several following each other in quick succession. Did a combination of camping and Bed & Breakfast. I was lucky with the weather, only 1 day of rain with mostly sunshine and cloud cover and no high winds. The route is well marked but not many supply points after Hartland quay for quite a while and had to ask villagers for water or take it from streams (treated this). The scenery is teriffic and it is hard to choose one photo from the hundreds I took. Only disappointment was the area around Clovelly which seemed to be overun with pheasants and the local gamekeepers were using the tracks to feed grain; sometimes I had 50 pheasants walking in front of me! The highlight was the cliffs at High Cliff and the path climbing up. I only met 2 other long-distance walkers, a young man who had come from Brighton and was a "pebble artist" walking the entire coast of the UK, and another chap walking the South Coast path. Of course, there were many dog-walkers particularly within a few kilometers of villagers or towns. All set now to continue through Cornwall, perhaps next spring.

Pyrenees, July 2009. GR11 in Catalonia, hot walking but a few springs still running. There were many changes to the route and some long days but great scenery with a rapid change in vegetation as I approached the coast. Only a few camp sites near the route and some camping places mentioned in the Guide (Paul Lucia) were not possible because of new National Reserves or developments.

Pyrenees, June 2009. View across the Lac du Col de Arratille at the Spanish border ridge, on route to the Ara valley and Ordesa and Refugio Goriz. Camped at Bujarelo before climbing over to Anisclo canyon. Great weather with clear skys all the way.

June 2009. Another great time in Pyrenees walking for 3 weeks, first in the high mountains around Ordesa Canyon starting from Cauterets and walking west to Bielsa. The 2 weeks on te GR11 from Setcases to the coast at Llanca. This is the route up the Marcadau valley in France.

On the way to Italy we travelled around some parts of the Pyrenees including Gavarnie and it's famous cirque where I walked earlier in the year and also Cauterets, Lac de Gaube and views of the north face of Vignemale on the border between France and Spain. We took the camper up the Tourmalet pass and saw the cyclist struggling up the steep incline. The weather was cooler at altitude in September and we did have rain in the mountains so left for warmer climes in Italy.

Here is another sunset, this time at Paestum ( Poseidoniain) Southern Italy, where we stayed for several days in October (2008) on a beach with great weather and lots of cycling in the area.

Well there has been a long interval since our last posting. We're still in Dorset and over the last few months have been busy sorting the house and gardens out. We have managed some travelling with a two month trip to France and Italy in the summer 2008, a trip touring southern India for 2 months earlier this year (February to the end of March) and 5 days walking along the South West Way from Minehead to Barnstaple in Somerset.