back on the Airbus

Flying again. On the flight from Sydney, a big Airbus again. Had the getting on the plane champagne. Was a small plane from Christchurch. Sydney lounge was very busy, found some food and drink though.

Get very dry on these flights. A nice drink of water helps. A very handy cubbyhole for the bottle of water in the seat.

Christchurch Airport

Started the journey back. Relaxing in the lounge at Christchurch airport. Its comfortable and not very busy. A nice glass of champagne to prepare for the first of three flights. From here to Sydney. An hour or so wait then on to Singapore. Another break and then on to London. A long journey but at least each stop lets me get to the champagne.

Christchurch

Coming to the end of my holiday now. Spending the last day in the Christchurch suburb of Riccarton. Its handy for the airport. Quite a lot of buildings here are showing damage from the earthquake. Having a look at the bus routes here!

Larnach Castle

The weather is bad and I'm on the Otago Peninsula. This is Larnach Castle, in the rain. It is New Zealands only castle.

The entrance to Larnach Castle has a familiar looking character guarding it!

dunedin II

Second day in Dunedin and exploring the city. Out on the Otago Peninsular there is a penguin resurve. This allows me to go on another site seeing ride. A Penguin ride. He's a bit harder to sit on than the dog and moa. The penguin is wearing a tie, I don't know why. A bit like the kiwi in Queenstown, maybe its a uniform.

Dunedin

Dunedin now. My hotel overlooks one of three cathedrals in the city. It looks rather hilly here.

Dunedins train station is a very nice building. I'm trying to buy a ticket but there doesn't seem to be anybody in the ticket office. Luckily its a lovely hall here so I can spend time admiring the decoration.

Roxburgh Dam

On the way to Dunedin from Queenstown I stopped to have a snack. This is the Roxburgh Dam. Looks like somewhere Hitchcock would film.

Last Day in Queenstown

Its my last day in Queenstown and I'm walking along the waterfront again. I did think of going on the TSS Earnslaw, but it was looking very busy. I settled for a photograph standing in front of it instead. The Earnslaw is an old steam ship that does trips across lake Wakatipu, very popular.

I couldn't leave Queenstown without one last ride. I found another exclusive one for dragons, a giant kiwi ride. More comfortable than yesterdays sheep ride. I never did find out why he was wearing a sock though.

Queenstown IV

Helicopter ride! Take off from the airport and land on the Remarkables, the mountain range opposite. I got out and had a walk around. Spectacular views. This photo is me back in the helicopter before taking off for the rest of the flight, you can see Lake Wakatipu behind me. Round in a big circle over mountains and rivers before landing.

More excitement. This time a sheep ride. No comfortable seat this time though.

Queenstown III

Here's another of Lake Wakitipu, with me posing. I have been really lucky with the weather here.

Queensland has lots of things to do. I've done the jet boat, don't want to bungee jump and am going up in a helicopter later. This is a unique one available only to dragons - the Giant Moa Tour. Unlike in Napier my nice ride isn't going to get interrupted by the dog walker.

Queenstown II

Long trip back from Millford Sound. Nipped out for something to eat. Ribs, this takes me back to when we could terrorise small villages!

I'm posing in front of Lake Wakatipu. It really is beautiful here. My hotel is a short walk (or fly) along the lake from the town centre, very pleasant.

Millford Sound

Here I am on a boat on Millford Sound. It's warm and sunny, which is unusual as it rains a lot here. Its a long fjord with mountains all along its length.

The boat has stopped so we can have a look at some seals on a rock. One is having trouble getting out of the water and onto the rock.

A nice view. Included a boat to show how big the mountains are. Millford Sound is in Fjordland National Park. Lots about here

Te Anau

On the way to Millford Sound. Its a long way from Queenstown, lot's of mountains in the way. Stopping off at Te Anau. Te Anau is a town on the banks of Lake Te Anau, the second largest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo is the largest. It's a beautiful sunny day, the water looks a deep blue with clear reflections of the mountains on the far side. If I had time would be nice to fly over it.

Queenstown

Got to Queenstown fairly quickly. Drove through areas of wind and rain. Its not bad weather here though. Having a quick drop of water to help relax before wandering around rest of town. Somewhere in particular I want to go to.

I own a small call centre in Queenstown. thought I would drop in and encourage my minions in their work....

Lake Pukaki Again

driving down to Queenstown now. Mount Cook only came out from the clouds for a few seconds. Its much cloudier today. Weather forecast is bad. Long drive through twisting mountain passes in heavy rain, could be fun. Anyway, stopped to take one last look at Lake Pukaki.