England 1 (Mar 28 - Apr 2)

We arrived in London early on March 28, jumped into our rental car and headed for the white cliffs of Dover. Although jetlagged, we took the 45 minute hike along the cliffs out to the lighthouse and then celebrated Dan’s birthday at the little cafe there by having a cup of tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam (it was delicious!). We continued on to Canterbury for the afternoon where we enjoyed exploring the city, walking the narrow streets, watching people and seeing the large Cathedral.

Celebrating my birthday with tea at the Lighthouse

Canterbury Cathedral

Next morning, we headed towards Stonehenge, choosing to drive along very narrow country backroads lined with thickets for fences and drinking in the English countryside. We felt like we were in a fairytale. The combination of old brick houses with thatched roofs, white and black-headed sheep grazing on the rolling hillsides, bunny rabbits hopping about, daffodils in bloom everywhere, sighting ancient castles every now and then and seeing the spires on the cathedrals in each town all contributed to this sense of wonder and enjoyment.

By noon we realized that what looked like a short distance on the map was actually going to take us all day to drive on the back roads, so we found a connecting larger road and then later a highway so that we arrived at Stonehenge in the late afternoon. Okay, so this is getting into some serious history ...  estimates are that these stones were placed there between 3,000 - 2,400 BC! We arrived at the park entrance gate just at closing time so needed to drive to another parking lot where we could see the stones but not actually walk right up to them. Amazingly, while we were walking through the field, we met up with Erin (a friend of our daughter Christina), who we also met when we were on the Africa Mercy Ship last October - small world!

What a surprise to meet Erin, Chris's friend at Stonehenge

Stonehenge, England

Next morning we drove to Salisbury and attended a Sunday morning church service in the large beautiful cathedral there. It happened to be mother's day in England so in honor of mothers, Olive received a bouquet of flowers. In the afternoon we drove to Bath where we toured the ancient Roman baths, watched the entertainers in the market squares, walked the city streets and then stayed at an old flour mill (converted to a hotel) for night.

Salisbury Cathedral

Roman Baths at Bath, England

From here we made our way to Stratford upon Avon, where you can see Shakespeare's birthplace and the homes of his wife (Anne Hathaway), mother (Mary Arden) and other places of significance related to Shakespeare. We enjoyed walking to these sites through the narrow streets and pathways.

Thatched roof house in Stratford upon Avon

In Stratford upon Avon

Next morning we drove to Warwick to see the castle there. Again, serious history here dating back to 914 AD. There was a lot to see and do at the Warwick Castle including dungeons, towers, ramparts, gardens, a trebuchet (catapult used to hurl fireballs that unfortunately was not working while we were there) and shows. It would be best to visit in summer when they have the gardens in full bloom and more live shows including jousting battles!

Warwick Castle

This bald headed eagle landed on the castle wall about 5 ft from me

River flowing by Warwick Castle

In the afternoon, we continued on to Oxford to check out the university area and the school of business where Olive and I will be attending the Skoll World Forum soon.

At Oxford University

On Apr 2 we drove out to a country farmhouse near to High Wycombe where we plan to house and pet sit for the next 11 days while the owners take a trip to Scotland.

New Zealand North Island 2 (Mar 22 - 27)

Our last week on the North Island was relaxed. After crossing the Cook Strait on Mar 22, we headed to the city of Wanganui (also spelled Whanganui) where we checked into a motel and stayed put for 3 days. The motel was right by the river and a large park so was a great place for walks. What we also enjoyed here were the feijoa (a green-skinned, egg-shaped fruit that has the consistency and taste of a guava) and some vegetables from the motel garden.

Interestingly, the beaches on the west side of the north island have black sand. On our drive up to Auckland, we stopped at a place called Parininihi where we walked along some white cliffs with deep black sandy beaches at the base.

In our travels, Olive has always looked for sunsets and since we were on the west side of the island, we finally got to see some nice sunsets.

Next up is flying to London, England and the start of our European adventure.

Crossing the Cook Strait by ferry 

Sunset at Wanganui, NZ

Cliffs at Parininhi

Deep black sandy beaches on west coast of North Island

The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa which means the home of the "Long White Cloud"

Auckland Airport - leaving "Middle Earth"

New Zealand, South Island (Mar 12 - 22)

Our visit to the South Island of New Zealand is hard to describe. We saw so much in such a short time that it was a bit crazy and not how we would normally like to explore an area of this size. Our plan was to circle the island mostly driving the coastal highways and then to stop and explore certain key points of interest along the way. We accomplished what we set out to do but also have determined that if we are fortunate enough to return we will focus our time on a couple of areas as opposed to trying to see the whole island again.

The South Island was incredibly beautiful. When we lived on the North Island years ago, people kept telling us that we needed to see the south, primarily to see the majestic mountains. We thought that because we lived in such close proximity to the Rocky Mountains it would not be that impressive. We were wrong. This island continually impressed us with its glaciers, snow-capped peaks, rich agricultural valleys, fjords, fresh water lakes, waterfalls, spectacular coastlines, great hiking and walking trails, and much more.

We are attaching a few photos to give you an idea of some of what we saw. It was hard to decide which photos to include, there was just so much variation in the landscape and we took so many photos.

Starting out on a day hike of Abel Tasman Nat. Park

Good trails, easy walking

Typical of the views from the trail

Coves and beaches along the way

Swingbridge over the Buller Gorge

Pancake rocks at Punakaiki

We were fascinated by the rock formations and blowholes

Pancake rocks

Franz Josef Glacier

Hike up to the Fox Glacier

Walking bridge over the Oahu river

View of Mount Cook

So many incredible views like this

Steep winding highways

Many lookouts to see the agriculture in the valleys below

On the way to Milford Sound

Enjoying a cruise up the Milford Sound

One of several waterfalls in the Sound

 Sandfly Point - good place to spot penguins

Round rocks found at Moeraki

One of numerous fur seal colonies on the west coast

Vast estate wineries - we have sampled a few wines

Highlights of our visit: a day hike of the Abel Tasman National Park (we hiked 12.5 km along the coast, then caught a boat back to our car), crossing the Buller Gorge Swingbridge and doing a hike there, observing the blowholes and pancake rocks at Punakaiki, staying at a backpackers hotel and visiting with all of the 'younger' travelers (this was our first backpacker stay), hiking to see 2 glaciers (Franz Josef and Fox) then driving through the slide area in the Haast pass late in the day, driving into Queenstown with a badly running rental car and exchanging it, cruising the Milford Sound (it is actually a fjord) early in the day and then driving across island to Dunedin for night, going out to Shag Point to observe the seals sunbathing on the rocks (this was one of numerous fur seal colonies along the coast), stopping to see the fascinating rock formations at Moeraki, and many short hikes off of the highway to see waterfalls and lookout points.

We crossed back over the Cook Strait on Mar 22 and plan to drive up the west coast, working our way back to Auckland.

New Zealand, North Island 1 (Mar 3 - 11)

Twelve years ago we had the opportunity to live on the North Island in NZ for a year so coming back to the country felt a bit like "coming back home"! We landed in Auckland on Mar 3 and were met at the airport by Saniya, an Airbnb host who rented us a room for a couple of nights in the city. This gave us some time to get our bearings and make arrangements for a car rental for the month.

We left Auckland on Mar 5 and headed for the Coromandel Peninsula. The road, almost all the way up the west coast portion and parts of the eastern side, was winding, narrow, and had steep drop-offs with no shoulder, so it was a slow drive but very picturesque. Every few kilometers there was a "curved road ahead" sign and after driving this road for an hour or two, we decided it might be more helpful if they would rather have posted a sign indicating an upcoming "straight stretch" of road ahead since it was all winding!

Coromandel Peninsula

The north island of NZ impressed us again with its beauty. The hills were so green, there were so many sheep dotting the hillsides and the ocean views were spectacular. We also observed again the prevalence of possums (there are estimates that NZ has between 50-70 million possums). For those old enough to remember the Beverly Hillbillies tv show, Granny Clampett's would of had a heyday in NZ making possum stew from roadkill!

On the eastern side of the peninsula, we stopped at a place called Hot Water Beach. When the tide is out, you can dig your own little pool on the sandy beach and due to the hot springs underneath, it fills with hot water allowing you to enjoy a hot soak.It is fascinating seeing people from all over the world (like us) who came here to soak in the hot pools.

Hot Water Beach

Sitting in sandy hot water pools

Further down this coast, near Tauranga, we had another opportunity to housesit, this time taking care of 2 dalmations, Jake and Kassie, for a few days. The homeowners build their own small planes and were off to a gathering with 100+ other small plane builders in NZ.

Jake and Kassie, very affectionate dalmations we took care of

While at this house, we took a day trip to hike up Mt. Maunganui and to explore the small island just at the base of the mount. My sister and nephew (who had come for a visit when we lived in NZ) and our kids will remember our last visit and the piles of sea shells that we observed; this time they had disappeared and were replaced by an expanded beach.

View from the top of Mount Maunganui

At the completion of the housesit, we spent the early afternoon in Rotorua, the geo-thermal city and were fascinated again by the bubbling mud pools, the strong aroma of sulphur, the birds on the lake and the flower gardens. We were planning to stay the night but changed our minds late afternoon and decided to drive on to Gisborne where we had lived previously. It felt good to be back and even moreso when we were able to make arrangements the next morning to meet with one of Olive's friends (Jackie) for lunch and my former boss (Chris & Mary) for an afternoon drink. We really enjoyed both of these visits and were able to catch up on changes in Gisborne and the whereabouts of many of our previous co-workers.

Beach in Gisborne looking out at Young Nick's Head, the rocky outcropping. We spent many hours playing in the water when we lived here 11 years ago

From here we made our way down the east coast to Napier, the Art Deco city where we browsed the shops along the promenade and stopped in at the Opposum Museum, probably the only museum in the world dedicated to the eradication of its subject of interest. We continued on to Wellington for the night and caught the interisland ferry to the south island the next morning.

We have not been to the South Island before so it will be a new experience. Our plan is to be on the South Island for about a week and a half and then to head up the west coast of the north island

By the way, we keep hearing that the North Island will be hit by a cyclone this Friday, Mar 14. We plan to be well out of the way down south.