Essential Supplies

After dropping us off at the trailhead for our multi-day, 72 km hike, the boat proceeded along Queen Charlotte Sound to deliver these essential supplies to Furneaux Lodge, our home for the next two nights.

Marlborough Country

Looked out at Marlborough wine country on the final approach in a de Havilland Dash 8-300. Later, thanks to Google, learned Geoffrey de Havilland, the founder of the aircraft company, and Olivia de Havilland (now 103) are cousins, Olivia’s sister is Joan Fontaine, and … . Enough celebrity gossip!

Getting a Head Start on Spring

Summer, fall, and the first few weeks of winter in Minnesota are wonderful. Also wonderful are the percussive sounds of a glycol/water mixture being sprayed at our plane in the depths of winter as we start a journey towards the tropics or a Southern Hemisphere summer. The meteorological definition of winter spans three months: December,… Continue reading Getting a Head Start on Spring

Geodetic Marker

On our Waiheke Island hike: a geodetic marker, with Auckland visible in the distance. We’re spending our last two nights in New Zealand on this island, a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland.

Snapshots: Whanganui National Park

Today, a jet boat brought us back to a world with Internet and roads. Three days earlier I maneuvered our rental car along a narrow, winding road, avoiding recent rockfalls. At Pipiriki, New Zealand, a jet boat came to take us up the Whanganui River, through a vertiginous gorge, to the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge. Thursday… Continue reading Snapshots: Whanganui National Park

Returning to the Connected World

Today, a jet boat brought us back to a world with Internet and roads. 3 days earlier I maneuvered our rental car along a narrow, winding road, avoiding recent rockfalls. At Pipiriki, New Zealand, a jet boat came to take us up the Whanganui River to the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge.