Ross and Wyn Davies Travel Blog

Sojourn In The Sounds – Part Three to Raetihi

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Ross

From Cowshed Bay we moved on with the weather showing signs of improving. We drove to the head of Kenepuru Sound, and then continued on along the north side to Ohauparuparu Bay. Here we are allowed to park up for a couple of days on the waterfront, thanks to the generosity of the local people. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily log | Tagged Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough Sounds, Raetihi | Leave a comment

Sojourn in the Sounds – Pt 2 Cowshed Bay

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Ross

Cowshed Bay does seem to be an awful name for a beautiful bay down Kenepuru Sound. It’s a DOC camp just before the Portage Hotel. DOC in this case is the abbreviation for Department Overlooks Cleaning. (More on that shortly.) With the day worsening and the forecast for rain we headed on from Ohingaroa Bay where we’d stayed the night. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily log | Tagged Cowshed Bay, Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough Sounds, Portage | Leave a comment

On The Road Again – Sojourn In The Sounds

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Ross

We got away from work and Blenheim last week. We saddled up Suzi motorhome and headed down the Sounds. Even though going to Marlborough Sounds involves going north, it’s always terms as doing “down” the Sounds. I wonder why. The weather forecast wasn’t much good, but we went anyway. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily log | Tagged Mahau Sound, Marlborough Sounds, Ohingaroa Bay | Leave a comment

Wandom Walking in Wither Hills

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Ross

The first big break from work we had in Blenheim we hung out around Blenheim. We had a few things to catch up with, and some rest and relaxation to do. The weather was warm and spring was in the air. There was an Anna Coddington concert in Picton at Le Cafe Continue reading →

Posted in Daily log, Walks | Tagged Blenheim, Marlborough, walks, Wither Hills | Leave a comment

Work – The Continual Curse of the Retiring Types

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Ross

Yep, it’s been a while. Again…. We’ve been working, and rather a lot. It’s an excuse I know. But heck, we’ve just finished 5 weeks of working dawn to dusk, with a total of only 2 nights off (and sort-of 4 days). So not a lot of time for blogging. And definitely no time for any adventures to blog about. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff, Daily log | Tagged Marlborough Sounds, motel | Leave a comment

We Get the (Local) Government We Deserve – Some Thoughts on Voting

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Ross

It’s election time for local government and we all struggle to sort out who to vote for our local councils and boards. And we complain about how it’s hard to know who to vote for and it’s all a superficial photo contest. And then we go ahead and vote anyway, ignorantly and superficially. Then, when it’s all over, the elected go ahead and do all sorts of things we disagree with and didn’t expect. And who do we blame? Continue reading →

Posted in Rants and Raves, Soapbox | Tagged elections, Local government | 1 Comment

Photo of the Day #26 – The Big Red – My Part

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Ross

This is the last part of my 1970s nostalgia saga of dust and diesel. I’d flown north from Perth to Tom Price and been impressed by how long it took the jet to get there. It was a long way north, that was obvious. I had a job working in the Wet Mess at the Single Man’s Camp. This was a big steel shed that dispensed beer as fast as possible at the end of each day. Continue reading →

Posted in Nostalgia 1970s and 80s, Photo of the Day | Tagged Australia, Mt Tom Price | 1 Comment

Photo of the Day #25 – The Big Red Part 2

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Ross

I’ve always liked this photo. For me it somehow captures the time and place. Mid 1970s. Out back up north in West Australia. Specifically the Theiss Bros maintenance yard at Mt Tom Price, adjacent to the open-cast iron ore mine. Theiss Bros had a contract to move a large pile of ‘dirt’ to make way for something else. Continue reading →

Posted in Nostalgia 1970s and 80s, Photo of the Day, Photography | Tagged Australia, cameras, Mt Tom Price | 1 Comment

Photo of the Day #24 – Down Memory Lane – The Big Red Out Back

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Ross

In the mid-1970s I lived and worked for 6 months in the middle of not much in the north of West Australia. Mt Tom Price is the name of a hill, and the town nearby. Mt Tom Price is composed largely of iron-ore. For many decades Mt Tom Price has been loaded onto railway wagons and sent down the line to the coast to be shipped off to places that turn it into iron or steel or whatever you make with iron ore. Continue reading →

Posted in Nostalgia 1970s and 80s, Photo of the Day | Tagged Australia, Mt Tom Price | 1 Comment

Photo of the Day #23 – Snowcraft on the Tasman Glacier

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Ross

I’m still back in the 1970s – down memory lane of the old photo collection. Early in the 1970s there was the mountaineering push as the Otago Tramping Club morphed into the Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club. There were a number of training courses – lots of experience and encouragement being passed on. One snowcraft course was held at Mt Cook. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo of the Day, Tramping and Climbing in 1970s | Tagged Mt Cook, Tasman Glacier, Tramping & Mountaineering | Leave a comment

Photo of the Day #22 – Sailing Away – 1970s Style …

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Ross

Another day and another old photo. Another from my collection of 1970s tramping photos – and this one definitely showing its age. I think it was New Year’s Day 1971. Those were the days when the Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club was the Otago Tramping Club. And the Otago Tramping Club organised trips for club members over the Christmas holidays. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo of the Day, Tramping and Climbing in 1970s | Tagged Lake Wakatipu, Otago, Tramping & Mountaineering | Leave a comment

Photo of the Day #21 – Rockclimbing Day at Long Beach

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Ross

The rockclimbing place near Dunedin in the 1970s was Long Beach. That’s where the Mighty Mini (Photo of the Day #20) was seen. Beside the rock that we climbed all over. This photo was taken one busy day in the early 1970s. By the looks it would have been an organised Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club outing. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo of the Day, Tramping and Climbing in 1970s | Tagged Long Beach, Otago, rockclimbing, Tramping & Mountaineering | 6 Comments

Photo of the Day #20 – The Mighty Mini

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Ross

So here we are, blobbing out in Blenheim. Having finished our first spell of motel minding, we’re trying to catch up on a few things plus get some exercise. Some time back I had fun resurrecting some of my old scanned transparencies. (If I called them ‘slides’ anyone under about 40 years old would have no idea Continue reading →

Posted in Photo of the Day, Tramping and Climbing in 1970s | Tagged 1970s, Long Beach, Mini, Otago, Tramping & Mountaineering | 4 Comments

Fast Forward – All Over the Place

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Ross

And that was about it. We’d spent five wonderful weeks touring the northern beaches of Auckland City. And never left the city. We’d taken advantage of the wonderful chain of Auckland Regional Parks on the eastern side. And explored a bit of the Kaipara Harbour on the western side. It seems inappropriate to call Auckland the City of Sails. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily log | Tagged Auckland, Auckland Regional Park, Blenheim | Leave a comment

In Search of South Head – Kaipara Harbour

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Ross

Having passed up on one day when the weather didn’t seem as bad as was predicted, we headed off the next day in search of the sun and the South Head of Kaipara Harbour. Back in the winter of 2009 we’d made it to the northern side of the Kaipara Harbour entrance and walked to the Poutu Lighthouse. The Kaipara Harbour is huge and the Kaipara Harbour entrance is huge. Continue reading →