From sun, sea and sand to snow, steak and snot

Who is this guy?! And why does he have hair coming out his chin?

The view from the window at the back of 'our' apartment block...the UN building

The front of the apartment block (pre major snow dump)

A bit of a difference in temperature from Fiji...central park

The local neighbourhood in snow - Grand Central

NY Public Library after 14 inches of snow...story time was cancelled :(

Napoleon...in pink...with ears and polka dots!

Bryant Park where we went for a walk after storytime was cancelled

'I'm sure I parked my car somewhere round here?!'

NYC Arnott style...crampons optional!

Rachie here! I said I was going to blog....it just took me a while to get round to it. Oz and Fiji were ace (and hot) and Andy and I have now been reunited under 14 inches of snow in NYC. We both enjoyed ridiculously long days as we crossed the date line to get here.

We are spending our time nannying my 15 month old niece, May, whilst her parents work crazy american hours. She is AWESOME! Yes, I know, I'm biased....but Andy thinks so too. Infact, she seems to have decided, now she has got used to the wierd guy with hair coming out of his chin being in her flat, that infact he is much cooler than her auntie Rach and so she is currently wanting his attention whilst playing with trains and drawing, rather than mine. Well, infact, I think he enjoys the train set more than she does!!

We have spent the week going to music class (again I think I enjoyed that more than May, although she does have some mean moves on her!), playing with trains, reading books and walking in the snow. As I said, 14 inches fell the other night, with more forecast to start any moment now. After our trip downtown this morning using the 'baby rucksack', I think Andy is feeling particularly at home - its like being in the hills except the valleys are carved out between skyscrapers, the snow drifts have cars hidden beneath them and there is a baby in his rucksack!!

As can be imagined, we have been enjoying living back in a home with family. I have not seen my sister and husband for almost 2 years and so it great to be here with them (even if her works keeps her busy for most of the time). We are looking forward to enjoying all the international cuisine NYC has to offer, starting with steak tonight and sushi very soon!

Right, must dash, Queen's 'Don't stop me now' has just come on the radio...time to teach May some new moves!

Up north in the south again / Farewell NZ

Starting our 5 day kayaking trip on a chilly morning

The sun comes out in Marlborough Sounds

Camping on the beaches

Harassing local wildlife like this Little Blue Penguin

This large seal was unfazed by our presence

Cooking our fresh, hand-picked mussels

Paddling off into the sun

Crail Bay!

A wet day on Farewell Spit

Beach walk at Farewell Spit

...!

Wharariki Beach (i think) was beautiful despite the weather

Abel Tasman beaches - just like the postcards!

More Abel Tasman beaches

J at one of the largest caves in the Southern Hemisphere -Harwood's Hole

Hello all, and goodbye NZ!

Since I last posted I have enjoyed a great 5 day sea kayaking trip in the Marlborough Sounds area. We started at Portage Bay in Kenepuru Sounds, where we hired our sea kayaks and all the accompanying paraphernalia for just $160 each - i thought this was pretty good! The first day started off a bit cold and damp, but brightened in the evening. The remaining days were mainly warm and often sunny. Over the last couple of days the wind increased (to such an extent that we saw a yacht rip it's sail catastrophically) but was never too much of a problem for us as it was rarely in our faces, and not too often on our sides. It made the final day quite fun and exciting, but the previous days we had managed to cover large distances due to the relatively sheltered coves and reaches of the Marlborough Sounds area. In total over the 5 days we covered 123km, which was quite a respectable distance. This was my first multi-day sea kayaking and I hope to do more of it in the UK. It is definitely the way to travel for multi-day trips, as you can carry twice as much stuff as you ever would want to take on a hike, but for half the effort! We luxuriated in our new weight allowance and indulged in wine and fresh vegetables -yum!

After we finished that trip we spent a couple of days in Havelock eating more mussels and doing some washing, internet, etc before meeting up with GB again (he had been sea kayaking for the weekend at the Abel Tasman park). We had planned to head to the hills at Nelson Lakes but a massive storm was forecast for the middle of our time so instead we decided to head to Golden Bay. We spent the first night camping at the DOC campsite at Canaan Downs, which is 12km down a dirt track into impressive limestone scenery. We went for a long afternoon walk and then settled down for the night. The storm came in during the night and our tents were thoroughly soaked when we took them down the next morning. As the weather was bad we decided to head out to Farewell Spit, the most northerly part of South Island and a 26km long beach. It was a very atmospheric place to be on a misty day, and the near by beach of Wharariki was beautiful too. That evening we checked into a hostel in Takaka as the rain was coming down harder than ever and we wanted to dry off.

The following morning there was not a cloud in the sky and our tents quickly dried in the car park of the hostel. We packed up and headed off to the north (quieter) end of the Abel Tasman National Park for a lovely walk along the beaches and through the forests. The place is unbelievably beautiful, just like postcards and tourism posters. It was not deserted but not too busy on the track, and was a really great way to spend my last proper day of 'outdoorsieness' in NZ. That night we stayed back at Canaan Downs again, and watched the full moon rise over the surrounding hills and forests. The next day we walked along the track from Canaan Downs to Harwood's Hole - the largest cave opening in the Southern Hemisphere. The hole is a 176m deep vertical sink hole in the limestone and is a very impressive place to visit. NZ being as they are, there are no safety barriers - survival of the fittest here!

Now I am back in Christchurch before I fly on Sunday morning (Saturday evening UK time). I have a fair few things to do, mainly based around selling the car, so will sign off now so I can get on with that. Next stop, New York, New York!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

About to start the Hollyford Track...

Bridge crossing on the first day of the H'ford track

The high point of the track - a whole 167m above sea level!

Big waterfall we passed on the first day

a bridge to nowhere...surrounded by water on all sides!

Day 2 of the Hollyford...a bit drier but much tougher track

Day 3 of the track, and the first burst of sunshine and a view out of the rain forest

Christmas stockings hanging up!

Traditional Christmas Day activity...for kiwis!

Eventually we reached the sea on Christmas Day

Christmas Dinner

Out for a wet walk on Boxing Day

Steep bit of track heading back up the Hollyford Valley on Boxing Day

Perpetual bog

At last, a beautiful view and beautiful weather for our last 24hours on the track! Hidden Falls hut.

Mount Christina (probably) from the Hollyford Valley

The Mavora Valley on 1st January

Crystal clear burn crossings on 1st of Jan

amazing landscape of massive scale

Looking down into the Greenstone Valley on 2nd Jan

Lower Greenstone Valley on 3rd Jan

Side waterfall in lower Greenstone Valley

Crossing a side stream in the lower Caples Valley on 3rd Jan

Handy tree down for a stream crossing...balance!

View of Mount Christina from the McKellar Saddle, high point on the Caples Track

Descending from the McKellar Saddle on a really rough bit of track, glad it was a dry day!

Scarborough Beach and the Christchurch suburb of Sumner

On a bike ride around the Lyttleton Harbour estuary

Waiting at Diamond Harbour for the ferry back to Lyttleton Harbour

Hi All,

Wishing you all a happy new year! This year I wanted to do something completely different from the norm. Not because of any dissatisfaction with the normal situation, but just to take the opportunity when it presented itself. So I figured that the opposite of spending the festive season with lots of people, mainly spending most days inside eating lots of yummy food, would be to head off on a big hike in the middle of nowhere. C & J were also keen for a similar style of festive season, with the one demand that we spend Christmas Day on the beach somewhere. So we chose to walk the Hollyford Track which involves 4 days walking through dense rain forest from the road end to Martin's Bay on the West Coast of South Island, and we would then turn around and walk 4 days back out. The track we had originally wanted to do was a variation on the Hollyford, but this track was flooded out due to the massive amounts of rain the area was experiencing, so we had to stick to the 'tourist track'. Given the weather, the tourist track was challenging enough, so we were happy enough to reduce our aspirations. Arriving at Martins Bay on the afternoon of the 25th we found the hut quite full with a few Kiwi families who had flown in, which wasn't really the remote wilderness experience we were after. However, the rest of the track was quite quiet and our last 24 hours were spent in sunshine (it rained pretty much the whole of the rest of the 8 days) and we got great views up to the Fiordland Peaks.

We finished this track on the 29th, booked into a nice backpackers in the nearby town of Te Anau and dried our stuff out. On the 30th we shopped for the next track and had an entertaining night at a campsite out of town chatting to a kiwi hunter and helping campervans with tight manoeuvres. M came to meet us, having driven from Christchurch.

On the 31st we arranged cars for our next track (or Tramp as they call them here). The shuttle from one end of the track to the other took over 2 hours each way, so we didn't start out on the track until after lunch (pies from the great pie shop in Te Anau). The late start did not matter however, as the Mavora Walkway is a very easy walking track which and we covered the ground quickly to our wee hut - home for Hogmanay! The evening was spent drinking whisky and cheap weak wine M had bought by accident, chatting, reminiscing and watching the amazing stars until the cold drove us back inside. Mavora Valley is a beautiful and massive landscape, but is not one of the popular hikes for some reason, so we saw nobody at all on the 1st of January, nor on the 2nd until we reached the Greenstone Valley and hit the Greenstone-Caples Track. Our days were mainly short, with long relaxing evenings spent reading in the huts (hiding from the sandflies outside!). A great way to unwind and really feel like I was on holiday. Starting to feel a bit more like myself again after all the stress of Malawi.

Now we're back in Christchurch at M & GB's in Sumner. I've been down to the beach body surfing, and out for a bike ride with M and some other brit doctors (who seem to be drawn to Sumner like moths to a beautiful seaside flame).

So what next?

Probably heading north to the Kaikoura area for some hiking, biking and sea kayaking. Some of you may have heard that I managed to lose my kayak shortly after I last updated the blog. I found a few other kayakers in Hokitika and we headed for a flooded river as the rain was still pouring down. Got on the river and quickly realised it was far more powerful than we had thought from our inspection of it. I found the first hole on the river, got played around with for a while and eventually decided that the quickest way I was going to get to breathe was to bail out and swim. The river quickly took my kayak and paddles away as I swam as hard as I could for the bank. Bit of a shame to lose the kit, but these things can easily end up a lot worse, so I'm humbled and grateful not to have come off worse.

So for my remaining 2 weeks (eek, is that all!?) in NZ I'm probably not going to get to do anymore white water but there are PLENTY other things to keep me entertained here, so definitely not the end of the world!

I hope you all had lovely Christmases, New Years, Hanukkah (sp?) and any other celebrations (Happy Birthday Li'l One!).

Later Gators!