Wee Jasper

Out for a weekend's exploring we headed to Wee Jasper where we went for a run in the hills - other than the nearby caves - there's not a lot else to do there! We ran a bit ofthe Hume and Hovell track, which follows the route taken by explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell on their expedition to Port Phillip in 1824.



The hills are alive...



They're going the wrong way!

Hume and Hovell (and me in the background)

"I can see the pub from here!"



Week 27: Wet walk in the bush

There are no sexual connotations to this post - we really did go for a wet walk in the bush. New Zealand bush is stunning. It is green and dense, studded with ferns and, on many occasions, dripping wet.

Whenever we go away we take it in turns to plan the trips. We have a sort of 'joke' about how this pans out. When I'm in charge this usually involves a brief stroll in the sunshine followed by food and wine. When Him Outdoors is the master planner we slog up a hill to the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain. This would be one of his tours, then. 'There's a fantastic view on a clear day, I promise!'

But at least everyone takes out whatever they took in.

Week 16: Wairarapa coastal treasures

Over on the Wairarapa coast, the beaches seem endless and the sea is all you can see. During the day the weather altered dramatically and we walked for hours under changing skies. This is my tribute to Joe Cornish:

And this one is to Craig Potton, or maybe Andy Goldsworthy...

How appropriate is this for an Easter walk at Castlepoint?

And the way through the night is lit by a less than divine light, but no less valuable for all that.

Follow the orange triangles - these mark walkways here in New Zealand and there are times when you can be tremendously pleased to see them. This is on the Honeycomb Rock Track.

Some folorn tramper appears to given up the (one-legged) ghost.

And this is one of the Honeycomb Rocks - who'd have thought that a simple rock could be so colourful?

Close-up it looks like fine filigree lace or flying buttresses.

Here are some of the things we liked but resisted buying in Greytown - a bone-handled cutlery set from an antique shop...

Kittens from the pet shop...

And a line-up of rubber ducks all in a row!