We keep planning to take a break from doing our holiday write up but yet again it was only a week or so before we were contacted by some of our usual recipients asking when we were starting so it looks like we will have to carry on. These travelogues are written as we go. They started as a regular series of lighthearted Emails sent out as "News from The Antipodes" where the text was written on a palmtop and copied into the emails with little polishing and only a superficial spell check. This year they were written on our new MSI Wind U100 Netbook running Linux for security on the move. We were even slower starting than last year as Pauline has once more started OU teaching and had a lot to do at the start of a new course. The first one went out as an email but then on we repeated the approach we have used for the last couple of years and uplifted them as we went to our web site and limited the emails to a summary.
We keep adding pictures as we go, mainly from our Canon A720 IS cameras - we now have two as one went wrong and we got a spare whilst it was being repaired under waranty. We also try to reuse the best previous pictures from film and stills from Peter's digital video camera. All the pictures on the pages provide details of where they were taken and as we get to paces where we can get fast and free internet access they will have larger images uploaded so if you hover over them and they will clickable to open a larger version in a new pop-up Window.
The new digital pictures are in two resolutions so if you have Broadband you will be able to click here to get more detail on the new pictures and click again to revert to lower detail pictures. You can also toggle resolution by double-clicking the new images but it may take an extra click to get a change in size on some browsers.
After each visit we also try to extract more from the chronological organisation and consolidate the content into specific pages. Some background pages which may be of interest are:
New Zealand Wines, Wineries and Vineyard Restaurants - brings together our favourite vineyards to visit. Selection is not solely the on the quality of the wine but is biased towards those with good vineyard restaurants, magnificent scenery and a friendly and helpful approach.
New Zealand Goldmining - Introduction to Goldmining Techniques and Travels in various Goldfields.
Kauri, both logging and the gathering and use of it's gum forms another unique part of New Zealand history worthy of investigation.
Active Thermal Areas - New Zealand is also an area which is very active geologically and has a number of fascinating thermal areas, predominantly North Island.
Maori Culture and Heritage - One can not fully understand and appreciate New Zealand without gaining some understanding of the Maori Culture and Heritage and the interactions with the first settlers and their way of life.
Sailing in New Zealand - An Introduction to Sailing in New Zealand with an index to our own sailing in the Hauraki Gulf, The Bay of Islands and the Coastal Passage between them and on up to Whangaroa Harbour. Also covers our single experience of sailing in the Marlborough Sounds.
Taranaki and the Forgotten World - Mountain House, walks round Mount Egmont and the Forgotten World Highway (SH43) featuring the Republic of Whangamomona
Other pages of interest include:
New Zealand Books - We have built up a library of books on New Zealand during our visits and have initiated a catalogue. Our books cover many topics from Sailing and Fishing through the Goldfields and Art Deco to Maori Culture.
Interesting Web Sites: We have found a number of useful Web sites on New Zealand that you may want to have a look at.
