14-15 May - Mountainous Glenorchy

Glenorchy Hotel - powered site

Still too cold these recent days to 'make do' with freedom camping (not brave enough)! So, we headed next to another place we hadn't visited before - the Scottish-like mountains and lakes of Glenorchy. This has got to be the most beautiful area of Otago - and the least visited because it's just too far for some tourists to venture outside of Queenstown  - down what could be viewed as a 'dead-end-road' (to 'Paradise' - ironically)! LOL! (Although Paradise is apparently named after the species of duck, not the place).

Our Campsite in the Glenorchy Hotel with the glorious mountainous backdrop

The Hotel Glenorchy where we parked for $12 with power also had backbackers' accommodation - so we could also take advantage of the laundry and bathrooms. Warm welcome, friendly staff and delicious food and wine.

Inside the Glenorchy Hotel with a centre fireplace

Lamb for dinner at the Glenorchy Hotel!

Supporting a local vineyard....

There is lots of history connected with the Otago hills in this area - where mining was an attractive financial incentive for the new Pakeha Settlers during those tough early years. 





























Whilst we were here, we took advantage of the close proximity to Queenstown, left Stan-the-Van behind and treated ourselves to lunch at another World-famous-in-New-Zealand foodie place - Fergburger. 

watching the quick work of the Fergburger kitchen staff - fast-food in style! 

...there was quite a queue for this popular place, but the result was worth it for the massive burgers and proper chips. (you won't need anything else to eat all day!) All part of the tourist-trap whilst the parking ticket ticks away the expensive minutes...;)


It had been quite some time since we were last here in Queenstown - almost 15 years ago as a tourist. The development of the area, along with the obvious failing infrastructure (by now a familiar issue) was astonishing, as we could see clearly from the top of the famous Gondola:

View overlooking Queenstown from the famous Gondola.

Pretty soon, we'd had more than enough of these crowds of people (it's amazing how we've acclimatized to this much-less populated country, and anything remotely busy makes me feel slightly anxious! How would I cope if I went back of those packed Kensington streets in London at Christmastime?! LOL!

Getting back to the serene, icy wilderness of Glenorchy was a relief - especially when there was a warm fire burning in that well-stocked bar!

Whilst there, we met up with an academic friend who lives nearby. The poisoning is never far away, as I've explained before. I always look at the Government Pesticide Summary to establish whether an area we are camping in is risky for Dizzy or not - and I knew it wasn't too far away here in Glenorchy. My friend confessed she now believed she now understood how German people must have felt during WW2, when they knew a Nazi concentration camp wasn't too far away. This may seem extreme, but to an animal-lover and an intelligent person who understands the science of suffering an inhumane death, it is almost unbearable to cope with the knowledge that so much unnecessary death and destruction is happening as a result of the aerial distribution of these terrible poisons. 

The current DoC Pesticide Summary showing one of the many areas surrounding Glenorchy which has been poisoned with Compound 1080 aerially with helicopters recently. To the North Dart and Routburn have also been covered.

The paradox of the dreadful poison - forced upon the residents who are against it in trying to protect their food chain and their environments - is shocking against the beauty of this area. Brought me to tears on the edge of the lake, looking onto these silent mountains...

J on the edge of a boardwalk which forms the walking tracks around Glenorchy - all dog friendly (unusually).

Early morning in Glenorchy

13 May: Athol Hunting Club Fundraiser

Athol Domain , Lodge & Holiday Park 

This was our first proper frost of the Southland Winter, so we were glad to get a powered site within walking distance of the world-famous-in-New Zealand Brown Trout Cafe. This was important because tonight the Athol Hunting Club were having their annual fund-raiser event here. And another world-famous-in-New Zealand  - the Graf brothers, Clyde & Steve - of  popular YouTube channel TV Wild were presenting during the evening - about hunting tips and wildlife facts, and also screened their latest film about the Makarora 1080 poison drop operation, from February this year.

It was standing-room only that evening in the spacious open-plan lodge, as Clyde and Steve talked first about how their father introduced them to life in the wild, enjoying nature and learning about birds and deer. The wood-burning stove glowed warmly in the corner, whilst the diverse audience - literally all ages and backgrounds - asked questions about hunting in the bush.  The brothers showed a selection of short clips from various adventures in the New Zealand forests - the audience were obviously enthralled to watch these insights and carefully edited situations. 

Clyde explaining about roaring in the bush. with his brother Steve on his right.

The brothers also demonstrated how best to call a stag using an old cow-horn to get their attention, which was fascinating to learn because I had no idea about the specific types of noises that could be recognised as having different meanings to the stags - for instance whether one was dominating a territory, or attracting a mate. Some of the members had a go - with mixed results!

It was clear to all in the room that Steve and Clyde's philosophy of enjoying wildlife and learning as much as possible from nature, was founded in a strong sense of respect for our environment. Now I know that some people will find it difficult to understand that killing an animal can also be about respecting it. But it's important to contextualise this within the New Zealand culture of living off the land - the Maori word for it is kai - as these hunters are all about providing for their families in some of the most poverty-stricken, rural and isolated areas of New Zealand. Although there are animal-welfare issues around pig-hunting (with dogs) (something we didn't have time to discuss) - these animals are shot as humanely as possible. It's more than food too - as this popular event showed, it's about socialising and learning and supporting each other. 

The next morning, the frost was evident all around us at the campsite! Brrrrrr!

So it was inevitable that the second-half of the evening's events would turn to more serious matters - that of the NZ Government's long-standing aerial poisoning operations  - mainly Compound 1080, but also of Brodifacoum - which were systematically and inhumanely killing the wildlife, insects and aquatic life all around the forests in New Zealand. Fore-warning the audience of what was to come, he said he wouldn't be offended if people chose to leave now. This is because 1080 poison divides communities because of the mis-information the NZ Government spread and also the emotive language often used to try to gain support. I"ll add some details of this later, but briefly, drawing on metaphors of war like 'Battle for our Birds' and so forth, ensures a cohort of 'nationalistic' supporters that genuinely believe that poison is a way to SAVE native species  - even when the evidence clearly shows how most NZ species are in decline after it's use.

Clyde showed this 30-minute film of what he and Steve discovered when tramping in Mount Aspiring National Park near Makarora (where we had parked at Christmastime). It was just after the poison operations in February which had covered thousands of hectares of land and water. Tragically, but not surprisingly (we've grown somewhat de-sensitized (if that's possible) to these horrendous deaths) there were numerous dead deer and rabbits and hares throughout the hills and baits were clearly present (as they would be after being dropped from a helicopter at some height) over a vast area. Highly toxic poison baits over our so-called "Clean, Green 100% Pure New Zealand". What an utter joke that propaganda is now.

There were many questions and lots of support from the audience. It appeared that many people simply hadn't realised what the poison was, and what it was doing to our environment. Many expressed their incredulity and anger that usual avenues of environmental help - e.g. Green Party and Greenpeace  - were actually an intrinsic part of the corruption that surrounds this poison industry. After all, the poison factories in NZ are owned by the Government 0 displaying a repeated conflict of interest in the use of these toxins that are banned in the rest of the world - for very good reasons.

The great thing about this kind of event (as well as raising loads of funds for the community) is that it gets people talking. Learning through discussion is so crucial and this terrible tragedy has been hidden away for too long. We walked home positive and pleased to have supported Clyde and Steve's initiative. These important activists give up their own time and money to help raise awareness of the risks of the poison. Often at the expense of their career in this toxic NZ workplace. This is in sharp contrast to the financial gravy-train of the pro-poisoning industry....

Dizzy investigating the rabbit tracks through the frost.

Brrrrr! Proper frost in the valley.

Our camp by the riverbanks (sadly the trout season had ended).

12 May Gore - home of trout!

A&P Grounds - central Gore.

We returned to Gore to pick-up some supplies and get a powered site c/o the warden Brendon, always a helpful guy. There was the usual Saturday morning school rugby tournament happening, and thoughtless people tried parking around us blocking us in (when there was plenty of space elsewhere). We met NZ blogger Jackie living in her camper - a typical Kiwi story of selling-up in Whangamata and travelling around the country with her dog. We had a chat about the experience of driving down the West Coast - so much poison that it was unsafe even to let your dog out of the car without being paranoid. We would later re-visit the West Coast to talk to friends about the poisoning operations there...

But meanwhile, we enjoyed our return to Gore, home of trout fishing. Before we ventured to Athol for a fund-raising event...

11 May Tokanui in the Catlins

Tokanui Tavern POP 

I love staying at these kinds of places. From a time gone by, this rural community was once a very busy hub. Now, the centre of the farming fields that surround it, as well as more 'up market' sections which stand-out from the humble villas with the sleek-lines of brand-new houses full of glass walls and roofs full with solar panels. This is deep dairy-country where drinking and driving is rife and there is often a smell of something more pungent than tobacco in a 'smoko area' outside on the deck....;)

dreadful quality photo - sorry, but you get the idea of where we were camped! :)

We stayed at the Tavern - right opposite the local recycling centre (convenient for a clear-out!) and enjoyed an evening of Southland hospitality - almost everyone made an effort to talk with us and we learned lots about the local economy, residents, schools and clubs. 

Fish  & steak and chips supper!

Delicious pub grub served here with a smile.


Next morning we could take advantage of the showers and paid our $10 for the use of their power....onwards through the countryide of Southland and Otago to Gore...

This is a interesting phenomena - among the gaming machines was this 'extreme hunting' game that was proving very popular - you can kill bears and moose  - wildlife unknown to a typical kiwi kid of course!

The far south was the first time in a while we had experienced the dreaded 1080 poison signs - the Catlins had received an aerial drop of 1080 poison some months ago (which is why we deliberately missed it out last time we were down this way. There was nowhere safe to take Dizzy for a walk and many tracks were out of bounds anyway due to the damage of the Winter's weather. I was keen to escape  - at least at Gore the lack of bush-type environment meant it was able to largely avoid the pressures from DoC. 

7 - 10 May 2017 Mosgiel near Dunedin

A & P Grounds at Mosgiel

I had wanted to spend more time in Dunedin when we were last here at Christmastime, so we camped at a recommended spot West of the city (on the bus route)  - with power for 4 days to enable us to fit everything in. This included visiting the museums, meeting with academic friends and taking in some of the history of Mosgiel. We also managed a bit of walking plus a bit of fishing at nearby Outram. Little did I know that a few weeks later DoC would announce their proposal to aerially poison with compound 1080 the Silverstream area....:(
Anyway, this wasn't something we would witness, so I'll recount what we DID see, in this beautiful little community and the nearby historic city. 


The surrounds of Dunedin are already suffering from various poisoning operations (mainly cyanide) so it paid to be aware of the geography on our walk: 

6 April 2017 Oamaru HQ of Steampunk!

North Otago A&P Ground POP

The ONLY reason to visit Oamaru - the whole of NZ will tell you enthusiastically - is to see the Steampunk museum. Well actually - that's not the ONLY reason, as we found out when we saw all the wonderful architecture of Oamaru stone (kind of a cross between sandstone and pumice), which includes the unusually ornate Railway Station (now a Chinese restaurant and art gallery).

5 May 2017 Waimate

Staying with friends

I love Waimate !  What a beautiful historic, humble little town - full of interesting architecture and quaint independent shops like this one, selling lots of very attractive local yarns.

We cheated a bit by getting a lift to the top of the hill with the famous 'White Horse' -

2, 3 & 4 May 2017 Geraldine with Grumpy

Grumpy's Holiday Camp & Retreat, Geraldine

We returned to this campsite because it is so well-managed. Tidy, clean and good value. It has by far the biggest and best-equipped kitchen and lounge areas we've seen on all our travels.

Grumpy himself (apparently, only his mother calls him Dave) is always on hand and  - contrary to his nickname, always helpful.

This was - like Parnassus - an old schoolhouse. The typical single hall-like classroom, timber-structure with many windows and a log-burning stove central in the highly polished wooden floor. makes us think how we would have loved to have our own childhood here - surrounded by books with a relatively tiny number of (mixed aged) students and the attention of a teacher who wasn't under the surveillance of any Government curriculum standards or Ofsted standards.,,

Geraldine itself (just a 5 min drive away) is a fascinating town, vibrant with independent shops like the Cheese shop, Barker's juice and marmalade and sauces...

Walking the tracks around Geraldine was one of the most marvellous walks of our trip so far (although even better were to follow soon). Being without poison and having dog-friendly walks up and down the hills ...

27 April - 2 May 2017: Christchurch city days

Weedons NZMCA @ Rolleston

Here we re-discovered the facilities at the fast-developing area of Rolleston - including the wonderful dog-park, which has loads of grassed spaces, a stream, agility jumps, trees and toilets. Just superb! 

If only Cambridge had a dog-park like this one at Rolleston!

We met friends in the city for a delicious Indian meal, met friends for dog walks, visited the Air Force Museum....Whilst there, J had to do a bit of work at Rotorua - which meant a short flight from the local airport for an overnight away. But Dizzy was quite happy to sit and let the world go by on the campsite whilst I caught up with some writing and research...




The wardens keeping the camp site tidy whilst Dizzy looks on from her dog's bed ...(with memory-foam mattress no less)!

one of the decals at the museum

I was quite impressed by the Air Force museum - which was FREE! It had a large amount of special exhibits - some of which were European in nature and familiar to us from other museums back home. We saw what looked like the largest collection of Merlin engines ever! (J was so excited)! LOL! This was in a 'behind the scenes' private tour with a veteran. We saw the beautifully restored Iriquois helicopter - widely known as Huey - which had many years to complete.

There was also a PoW exhibition, which reminded me of the story that I wanted to pick-up about the connection between my Grandfather, Cyril Hamersma and Kiwi John Borrie.

Cyril Hamersma's illustration used on the cover of Borrie's book

My Grandfather was a PoW in WW2 at Stalag VIIIb who - probably because of his nurse expertise - connected with GP John Borrie - who later went on to become a Professor at Otago University, an expert in heart surgery. Borrie's book is a tragic account of life as a PoW, trying constantly to fight against the depressing conditions and the symptoms of disease in the cramp, unhygienic conditions.

Maybe the original of this watercolour still exists somewhere in the world? The leads I've followed-up so far have reached dead-ends. 

One of the exhibitions at the museum - showing the value of dog ownership during WW2

It was interesting to be shown the history of 'top dressing' history of NZ aircraft -which talked a lot about fertilizers - but for obvious reasons doesn't include the most significant aspect of aerial distribution by helicopter - poison. One fact I have since learned, the similar to 1080 - 1081 compound poison that was originally patented as an insecticide, was made a factory in Smarden, Kent (UK) and was used aerially in liquid form over the arable crops in the UK - until, of course, they realised just how lethal this substance was when it leaked out of the factory. It was banned in the UK after that. But nearly 60 years later, can you believe NZ are still using something similar that is even more toxic, still from the air and still having lethal consequences over and over again...


Other investigations around the Christchurch area - outside the depressing building-site of the Earthquake-hit city (that I've written about earlier), included a day-trip around the Banks Peninsular.

Again (am I cursed or something?) I later discovered this area forms a part of DoC's fantasy proposal for their delusional Predator Free New Zealand. You can read the  - quite frankly laughable - 'scoping study' for it here. It clearly shows the experts struggling to explain just how impossible this PFNZ fantasy really is - the way to keep any potential threats to PFNZ out of a potentially fenced area is literally to have airport-style security gates - and how would they check every vehicle? The practical reasons why PFNZ simply cannot ever become a reality are laid out for all to see in these kinds of documents. Common sense must surely prevail?

Banks Peninsular is a fabulous old site of a volcano -  like my new town of Pirongia - which you can guess even from a map of the area. The Akatoa harbour is an old French Settlement, reminiscent of Russell in Northland in its quaint streets with pavement cafes.

And PFNZ think they can evacuate this area so they can aerial-bomb this whole peninsular with 1080 poison and Brodifacoum ? Think again. There are some things that are well -beyond the realms of reality and social acceptability - even in NZ. And the people of Nelson are currently fighting this very battle as I write. Please help support the cause here, which is totally supported by volunteers and donations. Its a Human Rights Act issue to be allowed to have access to your home and water without poisons. 

25 & 26 April 2017 Leathfield Beach and Historic Town

Leithfields Beach Campsite

Wildflowers along the beach sandy walks

This was one of those campsites where there were a lot of permanent residents. But tidy and well-managed. This is something I'll write about soon - but suffice to say there is a 'hidden' element of Kiwi populations where you can 'opt out' of engaging in citizenship and live - a little like the UK traveller communities but without the stigma - in campsites around the country, largely 'unknown' by authorities and Government agencies...

at the beach adjacent to the camp - lots of driftwood

But more on that on the following post. Here in Leithfield Beach there was a beach that was a bit littered (eeeek - doesn't happen often) and the waves were so severe, no swimming for Dizzy. It was a comfortable campsite with all the usual facilities to take advantage of. It was a luxury to have power after all that Freedome Camping! Most attractive was the walk (doggie-friendly) from the Beach township (full of empty baches) to the 'Historic' Town, further inland. It took us all afternoon after walking through the sandy reserve and along the riverbank from the Leithfield Lagoons. Wow! so much bird life & insects here - and fungi!

One of the numerous toadstools in the woodland around Leithfields...

When we got to Leithfields town, we had to stop at the historic pub - which sadly wasn't as historic as it should have been because the original 1855 coach-house burnt-down in 1911. However, even so, this is probably the closest many people will get to experiencing an 'authentic-type' English pub in New Zealand!

The campsite is located literally right on the beach....

We enjoyed a cold beer in the sunny Autumnal beer-garden (with Dizzy - highly unusual in NZ) and the staff were friendly. 

It was interesting to see the residential sub-divisions in the town, interspersed with older villas. Very rural here and so sad to think that many tourists just speed past this picturesque village - or maybe stop briefly for an expensive coffee at the Pukeko Junction Cafe on the main road, including the profit-clinic-type souvenir shop (with Chinese tat (almost) reminiscent of UK service-stations).

23 -25 April 2017 Parnassus near Cheviot

Parnassus NZMCA 

This site is located on an old school of a village now unable to support a school of its own. This was a poignant experience - Kaikoura so near and yet too far to reach easily because of the now broken road structure after the serious earthquake late mast year.

As a result of the vulnerability of the single-lane, single 'expressway' being unsupported by other road networks or rail links, there is now no realistic way for tourists like us (with a 'Big Rig') to each the township of Kaikoura. Retailers are struggling as a result and many businesses have closed. Where is the Government on this? Mmmm, well suffice to say it is too reminiscent of the Christchurch earthquake - which after 5 years, so many many people are still waiting for insurance payouts to enable them to have a habitable house once again.

21-22 April 2017 Murchison enroute to Parnassus

NZMCA Murchison

Always a delight to stay in this site - mainly because the site has all the facilities you need and is literally right in the town centre. We love the local Backpackers  - the Lazy Cow  -which  - as I've written about before - cooks THE most delicious home-made pizzas.

Delicious pizza in Murchison

The local butchers was closed - surprisingly for a Saturday morning. And bearing in mind this is now the main route North/South in South Island (after the Kaikoura earthquake recked the main SH1), we were also surprised to see the only fuel station closed at 6pm (!) New Zealand is a strange place when it comes to customer service and retailers. Will I ever get used to this?  Can you imagine Egyptians for example, missing an opportunity for profiteering like this?!

Needless to say the guy running the busy Pizza bistro around the corner from the high street - open till late when we were there and also BYO - was a POM - from Devon. Nuff said. :)

18-21 April 2017 Pohara Bay NZMCA Boat Club

Freedom Camping NZMCA $3pp p/n

View from our caravan across the peaceful bay...

Wow! 

This is a lovely, isolated camping spot, right by the beach. Only downside was the noise of the quarry trucks nearby (which started early!).


Justin caught me a Gurnard for supper from the boat-ramp -




... and we took time to travel up to Farewell Spit - tragically made famous because of the stranding of the whales recently in the news.

Farewell Spit - where the whales were stranded.

There was no fresh drinking water here (boil only) and I was concerned to see the number of people dismissing the notices and filling up their camper water tanks anyway. Not far away was the poisoned area:

boil water notice at campsite.

Our truck at the top of the bay  - great view! :)

It was so frustrating that no dogs were allowed anywhere around this area - and where they were allowed, I was reluctant to go with Dizzy because of the amount of poisons surrounding the beach.

And the DoC land was totally out of bounds: 

I hate seeing this kind of sign - so common in NZ

The cultural issue here in NZ is that authorities see dogs not as a natural companion to nature's walks, but as a pest - capable of killing wildlife. It's something I will struggle with for as long as I live here - and something that I find deeply upsetting because it goes alongside the Government authorities dismissing public concerns when their companion animals suffer an inhumane death as a result of secondary poisoning from Compound 1080 which has been indiscriminately aerially spread over thousands of hectares of land. This would unthinkable anywhere else in the world  - but here? Residents are make to feel shame for potentially even owning a dog.

the Habour entrance - out of bounds to us

The irony of pollution is the supposedly 'Clean Green 100% Pure New Zealand' is ever-present: no more so than in this symbolic signage on the road near the campsite - on opposite sides of the same road:

Pohara Bay signs to motorists and pedestrians - the conflict between wildlife and pollution....

17 April The Nelson Country Club

Park Over Property: North Nelson Country Club

Just a brief stop o/n at the (in)famous Country Club where we met the usual locals.

I met with a friend and we talked about the on-going poisoning problems around the Nelson area. He also hunts on the Kaikoura hills - the Clarence River Valley which was recently 1080'd. I did the Official Information Act request for the rationale from the Government agency TBFree (an anomoly, NZ is TBFree by International standards), which revealed (as usual) there was no logic to the poisoning of 11,000 hectares of land and water: 12 pigs over 2 years had apparently been found to be bTB positive. Hardly a convincing argument - especially when the cattle there have been seemingly located there for decades.

Current issues nearer home (to Nelson) include the City Council's proposal to poison a nature 'Sanctuary' (that word seems to have a different definition here in NZ) with 26 tonnes of a lethal, inhumane anticoagulant toxin, Brodifacoum. This is a rat poison that  - in every other part of the developed world - is used exclusively in indoor bait stations, where there has been a full risk assessment for the secondary poisonings that are likely to occur. Here in NZ? Yup, you guessed it, let's spread it from helicopters over land and into water courses. And can you believe this nature sanctuary is less than 5 kms from a highly residential area? There are various protest groups trying to prevent it, there have been numerous letters in the local newspapers - including a petition you can sign here and a forthcoming public meeting to raise awareness of the potential risks to human health and companion animals. We'll wait to see the outcome, but undoubtedly this is one of the most horrific local poisoning operations I've heard about so far. Brodifacoum is horrific. In some ways even worse that Compound 1080 - if that's possible.

Anyway, on a brighter note, we stopped at the local beach again with Dizzy and enjoyed some wonderful weather. To think that anyone in a position of power in this beautiful mini-city would even consider poisoning this environment is just totally beyond me....



Back at the club, walked nonsense for an evening and then the following morning left for the West side of Nelson and pastures new.

13 - 17 April 2017 Blenheim Air Show

One of the Spitfire flying at the Airshow

Bowling Club Blenheim - Freedom camping ($5 pp)



We were planning to stay at the nearby Vineyard during the Blenheim Airshow, but those plans went pear-shaped after the widespread flooding from the intensive rainfall nationally. But there was no problem, we found an excellent hard-standing place to park  - at the friendly local bowling club. In some ways this was way better because it was near the town and also had some facilities. 




Again we learned a lot from the local residents, over a beer or three. 

There was also an excellent dog-friendly walk by the river where the dogs could swim in the car-park which had now become a temporary pool!

Blenheim - the flooded river in the evening.

I'm no expert on the Airshow performers - so here's Justin's reflection of the event:

"Bombers, bullets, beer, bombs...& bowling: bank holiday weekend in Blenheim"

Compared to UK airshows, NZ airshows are amazing because the action happens right above you! (No worries about H&S here)! LOL

Who would have thought it was even possible? No less than 8 Fokker (Red Baron  - Baron von Richthofen) tri-planes engaged in aerial combat with RFC WW1 Sopwith Camels. Only at Blenheim Bi-annual Easter airshow!


Superb weather on the back of cyclonic floods up North - we were diverted from staying at a local winery as the river was still very high and we ended up at the bowling club car park with several other airshow goers. The great news is that they were very friendly and open most afternoons for cold beer ad bonhomie.

As for the show - we saw enacted battles with WW1 tanks engaged in land battles as well as a WW2 enactment to include a full size jet powered V1 "doodlebug" being chased by a Spitfire! YES it happened here!

Other air action included a display from a twin-tailed Venom (1947 jet fighter-bomber) and a whole squadron of Harvards plus plenty more including the famous Black Falcons - (Kiwi version of our wonderful Red Arrows - but with propellers). 

The airshow began on the  Friday evening with a fireworks display and then went on for two full days Saturday and Sunday. All weekend the skies were full of rare Warbirds. We even saw an Avro Anson doing a display.

explosions and tanks firing!

Whilst in Blenheim, our wartime theme continued when went to the local cinema (not as nice as our home venue at the Cambridge Tivoli). It was very apt to see 'Their Finest' -  although the cinema description wasn't clear it was based around Dunkirk, it was a delight to find out it was!  Spitfire trips were $4,050 for 25 minute but were fully booked (Phew - Ed)- P40 Kitthawk flights and Dc3 (Dakota) rides also available. So heartwarming to see so much support for these vintage aircraft.


One of our objectives of this trip South was to visit places we didn't get to last time - so on the 17th  - the weather was still good - we left Blenheim for the beaches southwest of Nelson.