Category: Kayaking

Posted on

20-21 June: Two nights in beautiful Dubrovnik

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.

Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.

The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard

We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.

We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasion from around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.

Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town

Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.

Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day

It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.

Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port

A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls

Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier

For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!

For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.

After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.

It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.

Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water

A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation

We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.

Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”

We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.

Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night

Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!

*****

Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!

Posted on

20-21 June: Two nights in beautiful Dubrovnik

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.

Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.

The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard

We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.

We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasion from around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.

Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town

Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.

Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day

It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.

Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port

A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls

Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier

For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!

For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.

After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.

It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.

Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water

A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation

We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.

Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”

We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.

Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night

Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!

*****

Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!

Posted on

20-21 June: Two nights in beautiful Dubrovnik

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.

Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.

The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard

We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.

We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasion from around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.

Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town

Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.

Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day

It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.

Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port

A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls

Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier

For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!

For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.

After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.

It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.

Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water

A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation

We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.

Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”

We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.

Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night

Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!

*****

Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!

Posted on

20-21 June: Two nights in beautiful Dubrovnik

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.

Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.

The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard

We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.

We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasion from around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.

Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town

Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.

Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day

It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.

Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port

A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls

Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier

For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!

For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.

After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.

It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.

Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water

A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation

We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.

Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”

We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.

Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night

Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!

*****

Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!

Posted on

20-21 June: Two nights in beautiful Dubrovnik

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.

Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.

Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.

The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard

We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.

We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasion from around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.

Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town

Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.

Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day

It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.

Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port

A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls

Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier

For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!

For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.

After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.

It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.

Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water

A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation

We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.

Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”

We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.

Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night

Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!

*****

Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!

Posted on

5-9 March: Admiring East Gippsland

Author: Mr A

Location: Seaspray and Nungurner, Victoria, Australia

Tuesday: Mrs A woke on her birthday to another stunning morning overlooking Wilsons Prom. Sadly it was the closest we were going to get on this trip as we needed to be on our way. We had booked into a park at the small settlement of Seaspray, in Victoria’s glorious East Gippsland region. As soon as we arrived, we pretty much unhitched and headed straight off into the nearby town of Sale, as I had found out about a pub with a particularly good reputation for dinner.

Birthday girl with her new necklace from Melbourne

I had been given great advice – this place was tremendous. If you find yourself that way the Criterion Hotel deserves your patronage. As so many reviewers said before me “why isn’t my local pub like this?”. And really there’s no practical reason it couldn’t be in most of Australia that has a climate that supports the growing of local produce.

The chef was a local lad, the produce from all around the area, the funding to invest in the pub was all coming (I was told by the manager) from reinvested profits since they managed to fill the place most nights. How? By offering a very different menu to the usual unimaginative fare of chips with some combination of “parmy (chicken in breadcrumbs), steak, or meat pie. We had delicious Asian influenced starters and duck with various berries and oh so fresh veggies for main.

Happy customers outside the renovated Criterion Hotel

Wednesday: Sadly the next day it was blowing a hoolie, so we were confined to quarters most of the time, only briefly venturing down onto the sand blasting beach.

There’s drama on the horizon – 90-mile beach at Seaspray
Being sand blasted on the beach, trying to imagine what it’s like on a calm sunny day
The wind is shifting the sand dunes like snow drifts

We didn’t see much of Seaspray other than the sea spray. Sorry but couldn’t resist that!

Thursday: The next day we had been generously invited to stay with fellow Zone owners Di and Mark, who live in the small settlement of Nungerner, about a 10 minute drive out of Lakes Entrance. What a little slice of heaven their home and its surrounds has been. Every direction there seems to be miles and miles of tranquil lakes and rivers, bursting with birds, wildlife and views at every turn.

Mark and Di have a resident echidna – quite used to people by all accounts!

The Gippsland Lakes are Australia’s largest area off enclosed water at 103 kilometres long. We have really enjoyed it here and only scratched the surface after 3 days.

Our first night saw us meeting up with some more Zoners, Jo and Scott, who wanted to try out our packrafts at the nearby settlement of Metung.

Zoners catch up at the Metung Hotel
The Metung Hotel
Looking out into the lake

This bustling little village has a pub set in an idyllic lakeside location with 180 degree views up and down the channel.

Friday: We couldn’t wait to get on the water, so in the morning wandered down with our little boats in our backpacks to the jetty that is a few hundred metres from Di and Mark’s place.

The still morning water – smoke haze from the bush fires hanging over the water
Perfect reflections
There used to be a cormorant on every post!
Enjoying this a lot!
Heading off to explore a commercial fishing boat
Someone with a little imagination has built little houses on their beachfront
Mrs A looking quite relaxed
Onwards to the next little bay – you could explore here for weeks
Arriving at the Metung Yacht Club

We paddled around the edge of the lake and ended up back at the pub at Metung…again…this time resisiting a cold beer and heading back to the serenity of Mark and Di’s home and its leafy courtyard.

Mark kindly sorted out some plumbing issues on our Zone. That was his main trade before retiring but now seems to have a mastery of almost every trade there is! A useful set of skills when caravans seem to need so much ongoing maintenance. Di was a kindergarten teacher and tour guide for the local caves at Buchanan, and they both share our passion for walking and the great outdoors. Time therefore slipped away so easily chatting about our respective adventures. Memories being relived and shared, a wonderful thing.

Our fur child is equally enraptured by their home and strolls around with her flag of a tail held high in pleasure. Its brilliant for us to see her so happy, especially knowing in a few short weeks we will be bidding her goodbye for 7 months! Thank goodness we are lucky enough to have two sets of foster parents who are equally crazy about this gorgeous natured little bundle of loveliness.

Stalking skinks in the flower beds
Princess Tassie has explored every corner of Di and Mark’s garden
Investigating secret pathways
Content in the sunny courtyard
Happy cat mode with the tail held high
And relaxing in the sunshine

Saturday: On Saturday Metung held a small market which was especially bustling as it is a long weekend for Victoria.

Eggplant and tomatoes purchased…no garlic….
Plenty of choice in this little market

Fresh veggies purchased it was off to the popular tourist destination of Lakes Entrance.

Before dropping down into the town we stopped at a lookout which really explained the naming of the town!

Amazing views from the lookout
We can see the strength of the current from up here

We had a date with the best fish and chip shop in town for lunch. Sadly no mushy peas or pickled eggs on the menu, I’ll have to wait another few weeks for those in England, but still a not bad effort for Aussie friers!

The Ferryman – delicious fresh fish
More happy punters!

It was our last night here with Di and Mark, so we gathered in the courtyard for drinks and nibbles and whiled away another lovely evening planning how to turn our respective travel dreams into memories.

Final night’s drinks and nibbles with Mark and Di
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1-4 March: Wilsons Promontory National Park…almost…

Author: Mrs A

Location: Yanakie, Victoria (just outside Wilsons Promontory)

With a forecast of 39 degrees centigrade on Friday we decided to head away from Marysville and drive to the coast, Wilsons Promontory National Park our ultimate destination for some hiking amongst spectacular scenery. As we are travelling with Miss Tassie we were unable to camp in the park itself, but we checked in to a caravan park in Yanakie, just 30 minutes drive away. The temperature was much cooler beside the water, a great relief.

Saturday morning dawned clear and blue, with the mercury climbing early. We moved into a site right beside the beach with uninterrupted views over to the Prom.

Amazing sunrise over the water
A Zone with a view…

As the water was so still, we decided to take advantage and inflated our pack rafts for a paddle, planning to head for a walk in the national park in the afternoon.

Mirror-like perfection on the bay
The water is quite shallow in Corner Inlet Marine & Coastal Park

It was while we were out paddling in these serene waters that we suddenly both received messaged on our mobile phones:

Bushfire Advice from Parks Victoria. Wilsons Promontory and surrounding areas. Stay informed re park closure. Check local radio or www.emergency.vic.gov.au

I checked the website. It turned out the whole national park was being evacuated due to an out of control fire…so no walking for us. The evacuation included all campers – so it was fortunate we were not staying in there after all.

Yanakie sits on the edge of the Corner Inlet Marine National Park, part of Bass Straight, the waterway between mainland Australia and Tasmania. It’s a critical waterway for migratory birds and has been designated a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

After lunch we took a walk along the beach to see what birds were about.

Strolling along the beach, dead trees standing out like sculptures
Literally dozens of black swans and ibis fed on the sea grass at low tide
Copper grasses blowing in the afternoon breeze on the dunes
Wispy clouds crossing the sky

Black backed gulls, silver gulls, black swans, ibis, egrets and herons were the main bird life, enjoying the mudflats at low tide. It reminded us of our time in Omokoroa in New Zealand, the peace and quiet, punctuated by the occasional bird call.

Nature’s artwork

After a couple of kilometres we came across this twisted wood, standing up out of the sand like a marker for something….we had a look and behind it was a footpath. We followed it for another couple of kilometres and wound up right back at the campground. Perfect!

Heading off down the mystery path

As we turned back, we could see the bushfire smoke spreading across the hills, the afternoon wind fanning the flames and increasing its impact.

By wine-o’clock the fire was quite large and easily visible from where we were camped (at a safe distance).

Sunset starting to reflect on the smoke haze

Sunday morning’s sunrise was quite dramatic as a result, with the air quite obviously smoky. Despite the fact I am breathing quite well at the moment, my throat began to feel the effects of inhaling the ashy polluted air, burning and sore.

Sunrise provides a dramatic start to the day with the absolutely still water
A juvenile gull floats on the still water
Lake or ocean? I bet most people wouldn’t guess this was Bass Straight!

We decided to drive over to the other side of the peninsular where there was some breeze, meaning cleaner air.

We checked out Waratah Bay which looked like it had not changed in about 50 years, the main landmark on Google Maps being the Telstra Payphone! It had a lovely beginners surf beach and plenty of sand which stretched on for miles.

From there we had a look at Shallow Inlet, where the tide was going out and kite surfers enjoyed catching the breeze across the water.

We returned for another stroll around ‘our’ beach and then to enjoy the sun set as the wind changed direction and cleared all the smoke.

A little drama as the weather changed during the afternoon, bringing a few meagre drops of rain but not enough to douse the fires
The sun setting behind us reflected on the clouds over the water giving us a lovely show

We checked the Parks Victoria emergency site as soon as we woke on Monday morning, and found the fire was still raging and the park would be closed for the foreseeable future. So, as our last day here we decided to get the pack-rafts out again and explore another part of Corner Inlet.

We rolled our boats up into our backpacks, and hiked a couple of kilometres down the beach before we inflated them.

Can you believe there is a boat in here?
At not much more than 2kg our boats and paddles are easy to carry

We then paddled down further into the bay, a very picturesque area full of old boat sheds and unofficial camping sites. There were plenty of birds down here too, mostly not used to seeing people paddling. I imagine most people who visit here stick to visiting Wilsons Prom and rarely make it in to the bay here – I know we probably would not have explored it this thoroughly had the national park been open.

Inflated and ready to paddle!
Looking at some of the old boat sheds on the edge of the water
Our crafts awaiting captains
Mr A on very calm waters
Heading back to camp, not wanting the adventure to end
Nervous terns on the beach

After 7km paddling we are both aching tonight – we are definitely not paddle-fit, and the pack rafts are not as streamlined as our fibreglass double kayak we’d have loved to have brought with us. But we’re so pleased we had these little boats to give us the option to explore the water, their weight and portability giving them a unique benefit.

Our visit to Wilsons Promontory has not quite been the one we planned, but nevertheless has been surprisingly gorgeous. We have really enjoyed the peace and quiet of this location, which has probably been exacerbated by the fires, keeping other visitors away.

We definitely plan to put this area on our wish list to return to in the future (hopefully fire-free next time!), and would recommend Yanakie as a base to explore from, especially if you appreciate bird life and the serenity of the water. Off to pastures new tomorrow…

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30 January – 3 February: Exploring new areas of Sydney

Author: Mrs A

Location: Matraville, Sydney, La Perouse

After a few initial culture shocks of being back in Sydney (lots of traffic, very warm, and a lot of time spent complaining to Telstra!) we have settled back in with our generous ‘flat mates’ Jenny and David in Matraville. We have had a busy few days ticking off the usual medical appointments – a biopsy and 90 minutes in a dentist’s chair for Mr A, an airway procedure with an ENT specialist for me (with tentatively great news about how my airway is looking – nice and wide open!), plus a few nice experiences tossed in for luck – hairdressers and a catch up with friends at a new restaurant.

Saturday Mark and I decided we needed to get some fresh air and headed off a short drive from where we’re staying to the coast, just a 5 minute drive to Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

Ever wondered where Matraville and Botany Bay National Park is?

We have both lived in Sydney for more than 20 years, and could hardly believe we are still being introduced to beautiful natural areas such as this as we set off to explore somewhere new.

Dramatic skies accompany us as we walk along the cliff top

And not a breath of wind to stir the waters…

Our destination is Cape Banks, and the ‘island’ we reach via footbridge. We had no idea this existed before today and the grey humid skies only added to the mysterious atmosphere.

Mr A takes the bold step off mainland Australia onto the bridge to the island
Despite the calm winds the surf crashes over the rocks
We find a little rock shelter to watch the water from
More sculptural rocks…

Once on the island we have fabulous views over to the mouth of Botany Bay
Container ships constantly enter and leave from Botany Bay…
The Minmi – a ship wreck from 1937 – It was originally built in Glasgow, Scotland and is gradually disappearing into the sea
More of the Minmi wreck – two crew members died when it ran aground here

We continued our walk a little around the bay, driving around to Little Bay where we took to the beach and followed the soft sand around to Yarra Bay. We had never heard of Yarra Bay, but found out it is a nominee for the best beach in Australia. We called into the Skiff Club for lunch.Oysters and calamari sustaining us, we then decided to inflate our peak rafts (handily stowed in our backpacks) and paddle back to the start of the walk. Perfect!Our day concluded with a delicious barbecued roast lamb dinner with Jenny and David, simply delicious.

Sunday morning saw us joining Jenny and David for another new experience, strolling along the Hermitage Foreshore Walk from Vaucluse to Nielsen Park. Just a short 1.8km each way, it links several little bays alongside Sydney Harbour and provides some gorgeous views.

Our first view of the bridge, helping justify the high price of property in this area
Jen, David & Mark set off along the walkway

A lovely crested bird – a Shrike-Tit perhaps?

My favourite view of all, through a sculptural tree creating multiple windows…

We farewelled Jenny and David after a swim and returning to the start of the walk, and headed off to Sydney’s north shore for a catch up with two more friends, Donna and Andy.

They treated us to a couple of delicious gin and tonics – including a non-alcoholic one for Mark as he was driving. Together with a delicious platter of cheese, biscuits and pickles and a great catch-up, it was as ever, lovely to spend time with our friends.

An exotic selection of gins and tonic waters

Soon though, it was time for more farewells as we drove to our final destination for the night and the coming days, Forestville with more friends, John and Eveliene.

I’m about to head into hospital for an operation and they have kindly offered a bed for my convalescence. It’s a strange feeling being ‘homeless’ in what has been our home town for so many years, moving from destination to destination with a car full of cases and possessions. We couldn’t do this without the kindness and generosity of our friends here in Sydney, and for that we will be forever grateful.

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6-7 January: Whanganui to Taupo and back to Omokoroa

Author: Mr A

Location: Whanganui, Motuoapa, Rotorua and Omokoroa

The drive up from the west coast port of Whanganui up to Taupo gave us some fantastic scenery. Plunging waterfalls, snow capped volcanoes (that have caused two of the worlds most violent eruptions), alpine vistas, and finally a lake boasting a surface area larger than Singapore! New Zealand just keeps throwing us into a sensory overload.

Mount Ruapehu – active volcano covered in snow.
The roads are not too busy around here…

We made a small diversion for a nostalgic visit to the Chateau at Tongariro where friends of ours got married. It still had all the charm we remembered so fondly.

Chateau Tongariro – we stayed here in February 2003 for friends Jenny & David’s wedding
The grand old house decked out in 1920s decadence, and playing the music too…
When we stayed here the mountain was decked in thick fog…we didn’t see it for three days!

We had kindly been invited to stay the night with a friend’s family who own a holiday house right on the shore of Lake Taupo. We’ve both stayed with them before, but it still took our breath away sitting in the lounge looking out at this view.

Looking across Taupo

I decided to take a kayak out for an explore in the late afternoon sunshine, and took advice from our hosts and found myself immersed in this wetland separated from the main lake by a narrow channel. I had one of those “I am so privileged to see this place” moments…stopped paddling and just drifted along in the absolute silence with only water birds for company.

A hidden corner of Taupo, where the water’s less than knee deep
Looking out towards the north of the caldera
This wetland is home to a very rare species of orchid – the Swamp Orchid

A cracking dinner of fresh NZ whitebait and prawns, with such good company, had us again reflecting on the ingredients that make you want to call somewhere home. I can certainly see why so many Kiwis come back after careers offshore. Yes the North Island is changing, certainly getting busier in parts, but the contrast to where we have travelled in the north and west of Australia in particular, is just so stark. The constantly changing scenery here for instance. In one day we have travelled through all of these remarkably different landscapes. The summer climate here is also such a literally refreshing change. Although averages are creeping up, we haven’t once felt we didn’t want to be outside in them in the day and usually they dipped enough at night to give us a good sleep. We also never seem to be far from a shop that can sell us fresh produce and a quality bottle of wine! Important things…makes you think…

However, even though the grass seems greener here, literally, there’s some things that aren’t as you would hope. For instance, in NZ you are nearly twice as likely to be killed in your vehicle than in Australia. New Zealand ended 2018 with its road toll at 382 – with 3.6 million light vehicles registered. In Australia we ended the year at 1,143 fatalities with 19.2M registered. We can ponder about why the huge difference – no research I could find covers this scope, but having driven here for a month, driver behaviour leaves me feeling very nervous. For instance, almost every other vehicle that I watch come up in the mirror tailgates us. It seems second only to rugby as a national sport!

Secondly, we have decided to miss out on a number of walks/sights because of a concern about the security of our vehicle and its contents. The glass of smashed car windows was littering many of the car parks we saw at the start of walks. Car break ins are all too common in the tourist spots. Many of the reviews we read of places we wanted to go had people reporting car thieves working in the area. Not good for brand New Zealand.

Having said all of that, we both went out on the kayaks in the morning and revisited the wetlands, which looked different again in the morning light and had one of the most memorable paddles ever in this land of outsndaing natural beauty.

A very different looking Lake Taupo greeted us at 7am
Beautiful still waters reflecting moody skies
Mr A paddles towards the secret entrance into the wetlands
Paddling in the clouds
The silence and stillness is breathtaking
Mrs A is impressed…worth getting out of bed for!
Somehow the cloud cover adds to the overall atmosphere
Yes, we are having fun!

We paddled back to the house for showers and a cup of tea with our hosts, before heading off on our way. We lunched beside the Aratiatia Rapids on our way back to Omokoroa – literally just happening to turn off the road and arrive as the power station was releasing a huge amount of water . We didn’t realise it would only last 15 minutes, so failed to take any photos – it wasn’t ‘too’ bad a view once the dam was closed again though! Top tip for future travellers in this area – check out the release times and get there to have a look – it was impressive!

AratiatiaRapids with their ‘standard’ amount of water – you can see the darker areas of rock where the water had previously gushed through about 3 metres deeper and much faster!
The incredible blue-green waters down river, just past the hydro power station which controls the flow

New Zealand has so much to offer the traveller, just be careful on the roads and park your car somewhere safe, with plenty of witnesses!

 

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3-5 January: Waterfalls, forest and rapids – three days of adventuring

Author: Mrs A

Location: Tongariro National Park and Pipiriki

Thursday: After paying a visit to the local supermarket and cheese deli in Cambridge, we started to wind our way across country towards Ohakune, on the southern reaches of Tongariro National Park. It was a spectacular drive, travelling through New Zealand’s now familiar lush green farmland, with volcanic looking hills.

Fabulous view over Lake Taupo as we headed south

As we headed through Tongariro National Park the cloud descended and all hope of seeing the snow capped peaks disappeared with it. We arrived in Ohakune around 2.30pm, checking into a motel for the night. As we parked up we recognised the view from six years ago – we’ve stayed at the same place before!

We then drove up into Tongariro National Park, firstly doing a short walk to see a splendid waterfall where the Mangawhero plunges down into the valley.

The water plunging over the cliff – all snow melt, so we weren’t game for a dip!

From here we drove further down the mountain, and did a longer walk to Waitonga Falls. This hike took us through native mountain beech, climbing up high to an alpine bog. Unfortunately there was some wind up there, as on a calm day, there are some fabulous views of Mount Ruapehu reflected in the pools. We then climbed down steeply to the falls, a chance for a little water photography and a cup of tea before we headed back.

We needed all the climbing after our car journey…or so we convinced ourselves!
Walking over the alpine bog
I climb down to capture a different angle
Such a lovely river
Restricted myself to just a couple of photos
A nice cup of tea

After all that activity we headed out to a local eatery for dinner. Strangely named The Blind Finch, the restaurant calls itself a ‘hamburgeria’ selling a variety of interesting burgers (Mark had the Vietnamese – a pork mince burger with crackling and Vietnamese slaw, I had a Japanese version with Teryiaki beef) plus locally brewed beers and New Zealand wines. A great meal, and a fabulous view of the setting sun reflecting on Ruapehu’s snow capped peak as we walked back to the motel.

Mt Ruapehu glowing at sunset
Ohakhune as the sun sets

Friday: We arose early to do one more hike before we checked out, heading back into the national park, and doing a short walk through the Mangawhero Forest. We’re loving the cool lushness of the undergrowth here, every tree dripping in mosses and orchids, the ever present flutter and tweet of birds accompanying the rushing of the Mangawhero River. The track crossed a large volcanic crater on our way through, changing the fauna as we went.

Did you know Mr A is a bit of a tree hugger? Especially with a giant like this…
The river winds peacefully through the forest
More water….
Our last glimpse of the river before we head off

After showering and checking out of the motel, we were away again, heading just a short way down to Pipiriki, a tiny little village on the banks of the Whanganui River. We decided to head off for a walk along the riverside. River ‘side’ in this case, is a relative term, as the cliffs alongside the river are 50-100 metres high, offering great views, but a terrifying death if the ground gives way! We did about 7km return trip, before returning for a late lunch.

Pretty special views up the Whanganui River
Abandoned shed on a farm at the end of the trail
Amazing skies
Mr A strolling along

We had a relaxing afternoon – there was no phone or internet access, so Mark read while I practiced a little drawing on my new iPad. I love how I can pretty much duplicate what I do on paper – still learning to use it and getting used to a smaller medium, but had fun.

Our little camp site
My artists impression of the view from my green chair in the shade…later to become the helicopter landing pad!

We had some neighbours join us for dinner in the evening, given we were camped beside the picnic table. Mother and son from The Netherlands, Claudia and Fabian joined us for a lot of laughter and a glass of wine, and medical student Igor from Berlin, Germany shared our dinner, having earned it with a 40km cycle today after completing the Tongariro Crossing (an 8 hour mountain hike) yesterday.

We were just heading to bed, when the campground owner came over to tell us there was a medical emergency, and a helicopter was on its way to rush another guest to Palmerston North hospital with a suspected heart attack. We moved the car and packed away the tent, and waited in anticipation.

After about 90 minutes of waiting, the helicopter landed in the carpark alongside us, a challenging night landing, and the patient loaded up. We chatted to the pilot, who told us he had night vision goggles to help navigate and as ex-Air Force was used to challenging situations.

The calm before the excitement…the ambulance awaits the helicopter
The helicopter finally arrives…
Ready to load the patient…

Soon the excitement was all over and we put up our tent and went to sleep.

Saturday: Another fine day dawned, with early fog drifting down the river valley clearing to blue skies. Mr A rustled up a fine breakfast while I prepared some lunch to take with us – a river adventure was ahead. By 10.30am we were whizzing up the Whanganui River on a jet boat, along with our Dutch friends and a German couple, two large Canadian canoes and two small white water kayaks loaded on the back.

Heading up the river on the jet boat

It took us about three and a half hours to paddle back down the river, with about six sets of rapids, including two ‘fifty-fifties’. These are so named because one in two paddlers comes down upside down! Fortunately neither of us tipped out – possibly because we had lower centres of gravity being the only people in whitewater kayaks! Nevertheless, we felt pretty proud of ourselves as we climbed out after 15.5km and headed off for showers.

Paddling past one of many waterfalls
Fabian and Claudia attempting to paddle their canoe up a waterfall…it’s no wonder they came acropper on the rapids!
Claudia doing all the work while Fabian relaxes in the front
That little yellow dot is Mr A, dwarfed by the valley sides
Mr A again dwarfed by what is called ‘the dress circle’. The line where the foliage starts up above him is where the river flooded to in 2015
I come on through some smaller gravel races…some canoeists tipped over on here even!
A little rock scrambling took us to a waterfall in a cave at the side of the valley
As we paddle down river we try to imagine the paddle steamers making it up this way in the early 1900s…back then it was known as ‘The Rhine of the South’. The first regular steam boat service started in 1892, and they were the only real way to see this area prior to the river road opening in 1934, winched along the very shallow parts of the river, and cruising on through the deeper parts…
Made it without tipping out once! Yay team Anderson!

Our Dutch friends, Claudia and Fabian were less fortunate, tipping out on at least two occasions on their journey, and we watched several other groups having unplanned dips on their trips back too.

Once clean, Mark and I set off down the 79km Whanganui River Road towards Whanganui. The road wound alongside the river south of Pipiriki, through interesting Maori villages, each with a meeting house – we often heard singing as we travelled through.

Beautiful scenery accompanied us the whole way, culminating in a fabulous lookout from which we could see all the way to the snow capped peaks of Mt Ruapeau.

Looking all the way back up the river valley

We finally arrived at Whanganui feeling tired at about 5pm, and drove down to the windswept coast in the hope of setting up camp. The wind was incredibly strong, and we could imagine the tent canvas flapping all night long. It took us moments to change our minds and decide on alternative accomodation for the night. A quick Google and we ended up at the Riverview Motel – just fabulous. For NZ$100 we had a one bedroom apartment, with fully equipped kitchen, lounge (with lazy boy chairs – how much did we appreciate those?!) and dining area. Just perfect.

We had a relaxing evening, spaghetti bolognaise, a glass of red wine and the new series of Travellers on Netflix. Perfect. What an incredible day.

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