Ross and Wyn Davies Travel Blog

Wednesday 18 March
We woke this day with a feeling of excitement. We were back on the road, heading north, but also, heading via the Forgotten world Highway. Corrr, there’s a highway name with a bit of romance. Much better than “Pacific” or SH43, or “The Pigroot”! The Forgotten World highway goes from Stratford to Taumaranui, about 150kms of mostly corners and hills. It goes through an area of the country that is mostly forgotten, parts developed and then left behind. Continue reading →

Monday 16 March
After settling in at the camping ground with our fabulous view out over the ocean, and after lunch, we biked off into town along the walk/cycle way. It is just 1.5kms. We had a look around the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – one of the countries leading modern art gallery. Continue reading →

Wyn has always wanted to get to a WOMAD music festival, but New Plymouth always seemed so far away. Then, when we were sorting out dates to start work in the Bay of Plenty, we soon worked out that we could stop off at WOMAD on the way. The timing would not have been better if we had planned it. WOMAD stands for somethig like World Of Music Art Dance, and it’s a wonderful showcase of world music.  And it starts today….. Continue reading →

We were both up at 7am, and it was cold – below 10 degrees inside! There was some sun, but it took ages to warm up. We headed north west from Marton, towards Wanganui. On the way, we caught glimpses of Mt Ruepehu to the north, looking snowier than usual for March. We used the dump station at Waverley, and the Shell truckstop at Hawera. It took a while to realise that the pump was saying diesel was $0.989 – below a dollar. Who would have thought we’d see that again! As my old father used to say “Never confuse the impossible with the improbable”! Continue reading →

We woke to not a very good day in Marton, windy, wet, and cold. Wyn stayed in bed and finished her book. We borrowed her brother’s washing machine for a few loads, which mostly dried between showers. Her brother brought home pies for lunch, and later I washed Suzi and the car – both were looking a bit travel weary. We went up town later in the afternoon, and when Wyn’s brother came home from work, we drove over to Fielding for tea with their sister. It was starting to get colder. This day was my father’s 100th birthday. Mind you – he’s been dead for 28 years. But he always recognised birthdays of dead relatives – he didn’t seem particularly concerned that they weren’t around to celebrate them. And 100 years is a big milestone. So happy birthday Dad – I’m a lot like you 🙂

We woke to the alarm again, both feeling doubtful starters. Wyn had a bad sore throat, and I just felt crook – needing more sleep. We debated staying put – and seeing the impressionists exhibition in Te Papa, but it was going to be costly, maybe $10 per park after 8am! We debated driving north – but it was goign to take a while to clear the city and find soewhere to park up. So we headed around Oriental Parade, and found three parallel parks at Evans Bay. We both slept to after 10am. Wyn still had an awful throat, but at least I felt better, and OK to drive. Continue reading →

We actually set the alarm, and it woke us at 6:20am. It had bucketed down in the night, but cleared to another nice morning. A friend of Wyn’s called round for a cup of tea before work, and then we set to work packing up. We pulled out at 9:25am, and headed north. It was cool with no wind – perfect for travelling.  And the traffic was light going north – another bonus. We stopped at Cheviot at 11am for coffee and scones outside in the sun. After Kaikoura Wyn drove to Blenheim. We ended up stopping outside the Montana wine place, and ended up going in for a bit of a taste – well Wyn did most of the tasting. We fueled up at the Blenheim BP truckstop, and zoomed on to Picton, which took a bit less than 5 hours driving time. Continue reading →

We woke to a lovely morning at Ealing – with not a cloud in the sky. We finally got away at about 10:30am, ande arrived in Christchurch around mid-day. We stopped at the dump station at Templeton, only to find it was backed up! We reported that to their 0800 number, and headed off to the one listed near the truck stop where Sawyers Arms Road crosses Johns Road. We never found the dump station, but decided to top up at the truck stop anyway. Except the pump I pulled up beside wasn’t working! Continue reading →