Where now?

We headed down from Perry Saddle Hut on the Heaphy Track in good time so by 2:30pm we were sat in the glorious sunshine next to the water at Collingwood Holiday Park. When I say sat in the sun, I had the bed set up in the van with the doors open enjoying a well deserved lie down. The next morning the sun continued and we caught a glorious sunrise over the sea.  We were not far from Farewell Spit, the most northern point of the South Island, if you look at on Google maps it looks like a kiwi beak. You can only walk a bit of it but it's a loop going along one side, up over the dunes, and then back along the other. We set of in the sunshine and then headed up onto the dunes, all very pleasant.  All along the walk we saw loads of whale bones, apparently the deep ocean on one side and shallow estuary often confuses whales who then get stranded leading to bones scattered all over. As we reached the other side it was obvious we'd been extremely sheltered so far, it was blowing a gale...

My nephew and niece's school, Ryders Hayes in Pelsall, have started a Just Giving page to fund a new daily mile track around the school's parameter. The track will help those of all ages with fitness, but also with wellbeing, social interactions, and therefore long-term mental health. I'm a huge advocate that being outside gives a big lift to our wellness and am so proud that it will be named The Oscar Mile.  It will be blue and green, Oscars favourite colours, and will help keep his name and memory shining. I know the school were brilliant in supporting not only my brother,  sister-in-law, Riley, and Sophie when their worlds turned upside down last year but were also fundamental in helping Oscars classmates and the other pupils process what had happened. This track will be used by so many others in the future who, althought may never have met Osc, will hopefully have their lives positively impacted in his name.  Here is the link - The Oscar Mile, Just Giving Donate if yo...

We had two nights at Kohaihai campsite so we could spend a full day exploring the Oparara Valley. We arrived just as the sun was setting so enjoyed a stroll along the beach. The Oparara Valley is in Kahurangi National Park and contains caves, arches, and other rock formations, so we thought it was definitely worth going to have a look around. It's a little off the beaten track on a steep windy gravel track, so we were hoping to be impressed. We started with the caves, but found one was currently closed to help a rare species of spider to recover (in a chat with a Ranger later we found out the spiders were doing a lot better!). So we entered Box Canyon cave which was huge, and just went on and on. We had a look for spiders, and saw plenty of webs, but none of the eight legged creatures.  Back out in the open we did the walk to the Oparara arch, which again was huge. Created in the eroding limestone it is reputed to be the largest one in Australasia. I couldn't get a picture to s...

We headed north stopping at the Blue Pools (can confirm, very blue) and a lovely beach lookout, all very pretty of course. We had to get our timings right as there were roadworks just up from Haast where they only let traffic through on the hour,  time it wrong and you've got at 59 minute wait on your hands. We were a little early but it was lunch time so made a sandwich while we waited.  Time is flying by so we need to get shuffle on, so we drove all the way up to Fox Glacier (the town) and got a walk in around Lake Matheson. It's well known for it's views, and therefore reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. We were not disappointed, it was beautifully still. As the sun was setting we cooked some noodles in the carpark then headed off on glowworm walk near the town. To our delight there were loads, once you turned your head torch off they were everywhere, like a clear night sky.  The next day we started with a walk to Fox Glacier lookout. You can't get as close as you ...