Joffems’ Journey

While in Wellington, I decided to do some laundry. I know you’re not supposed to mix whites and darks, but I only have enough clothes for one laundry run. So, everything went in to the washing machine together whites, darks, brights…. As a result, my whites are now light blue. On a positive note, all my clothes are now darks and can be washed together.

Anyways, in my new dark clothes I mangaed to see Wellington, including the beehive.

From Wellington, I was off to Paraparaumu. While the name is exciting, the town was not quite as interesting, though I did enjoy sitting on the beach and swimming in the sea.

From Paraparaumu the next destination was Palmerston North and from there it was off to Napier. Napier is pretty though the art deco buildings are starting to hurt my eyes. I guess I’ll have to sit on the beach this afteroon in order to look away from the buildings (I think that staring at art deco is like staring at the sun, not the best idea).

I hope that everyone is well.

Marc

Brad and I concluded our road trip of the south island with a scenic drive to Picton. Once in Picton we returned our rental car and then explored the town. The town was pretty and the hostel we stayed in was amazing. All the guests at the hostel were friendly and the staff were amazing. The best part of the hostel is that it is run by professiona jugglers (maybe this is why it is called The Juggler’s Rest) so as a bonus we got a free show on the second night.

From Picton, the two of us got on the ferry to Wellington. The ferry ride was 3 hours long and the scenery along the way was impressive.

Now that we are in Wellington we are both making plans for exploring the North Island.

Marc

Thanks to modern technology I can share photos and now….. (drum roll please)…… VIDEO.

The video below is a sample of what driving in the South Island is all about (this piece of road is actually tame compared to some of the roads we’ve been on).

To see the video simply single click it in the centre. If you can’t see it, wait a minute for it to load. If you still can’t see it, you probably have not installed Macromedia Flash player. To view the video you will need to install it.

Enjoy.

Marc

Now, with photos.

Many great heroes had animals as partners. Zoro had the black stallion Tempest. He-man had Cringer. Now, finally, the three travellnig Canadians have Speights the Bobble Head Sheep (yes, Speights is a local beer name).

With Speights attached to the dashboard we, the fearless threesome, have continued our travels north and east. From Franz Josef we went north to Greymouth. We then cut east through Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch.

From there we went North to Hanmer Springs where we relaxed in the hot springs and soaked up the sun. From there we went off to Kaikoura.

We are now in Blenheim and we will start heading west later this afternoon.

More news to follow soon and hopefully a video of Speights the Bobble Head Sheep. I would have posted the video today, but this internet place is not the best.

Marc