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John Griffiths
I work in communications and it's a bit of a hobby too!
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Day 23: the journey home
Slightly surreal that despite 22 hours in the air and a 2 hour stopover in Hong Kong we still arrived at 1.30 pm Sunday early afternoon in Heathrow to cloudless skies. We managed to sleep on the first leg but watched films after the Hong Kong stop. The skies were... Continue reading
Posted Jan 11, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 22: Endgame in Queenstown
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Saturday was glorious a cloudless sky. There seemed to be endless errands to sort out including Andrew's bus ticket round to Roxburgh to start the fruit picking. By midmorning we headed down to the Kawarau gorge so that Andrew could do a bungee jump in front of the family (what... Continue reading
Posted Jan 11, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 21: Up to the Wendonside farms
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It was a prompt start the next morning to drive 30 miles up to the farms where John had worked. Richard White has taken over the Rob Roy and run it now for 20 years. The farmhouse is now clearly a bachelor pad. Dulcie who had driven up with Ron... Continue reading
Posted Jan 11, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 20: Roxburgh to Gore
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We were treated to a breakfast at 8.30 by John and Pat. In theory the hostel should have been empty at this point but the continuing rain meant that many were laid off for the day from fruit picking though the packers still got a days work and had long... Continue reading
Posted Jan 10, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 18: Mt Cook refuses to reveal all
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The next day was overcast. We feared the worst but the cloud rolled between the peaks ante wind blew it back from time to time so we were able to see most of the tops. We found we had camped overnight in the car park for the Hooker Valley so... Continue reading
Posted Jan 8, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 19: Getting shot of the weather
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Wednesday arrived and a flight from Wanaka airfield through Fiordland to a boat trip on the Milford Sound. But it was not to be since Thursdays bad weather arrived a day early and the airfield was closed. we waited until 12 but no change so by way of compensation we... Continue reading
Posted Jan 8, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 17: Dolphin highs and high mountain territory
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We had travelled to Akaroa for a single purpose: to see and swim with Hectors dolphins in the harbour. Synchronising children, animals, camper vans and weather was always going to be a long shot. But today it worked out perfectly. The weather was sunny from the start. We trooped down... Continue reading
Posted Jan 7, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 16: over Arthurs Pass to Akeroa
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As green campervanners we adjusted slowly to the new mixed economy: fuelled up, watered up, de waste watered and de chemical toileted. One of these is always giving cause for concern. This morning it was the turn of the waste water and chemical toilet. This was where we encountered the... Continue reading
Posted Jan 4, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 15: The long goodbye and longer journey
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The next morning after some recovery time we got up and prepared to make our final farewells. Very hard after nearly 2 weeks with Maia. Having more time with Rhiannon our goddaughter in Golden Bay has been an unexpected bonus. But now we had a week of the holiday left... Continue reading
Posted Jan 2, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 14: Kayaking into the New Year
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Another early start this time to go kayaking down the coast in a combination of twin and singles. We paddled around the seaward side of the Tata islands and through a stone arch to the beach opposite the mussel beds. We passed several sells on the way. Rhiannon proved to... Continue reading
Posted Jan 2, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 13: The Boat Trip and the Beach bonfire
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Bright and early we accepted an invitation from Maia's neighbour John to go out on his power boat which we trailered to the marina. He took us on a Tiki: a tour of the sights along the coast to Tasman bay. Apart from the sheer exhilaration of planing across the... Continue reading
Posted Jan 2, 2011 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 12: Mowing and riding
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Glorious sunshine meant Maia could give the extensive garden a good hair cut before driving up the coast to Farewell Spit. Swopped four wheels for four legs. The 2 and 1/2 hour horse ride proved a heavenly way to see the stunning views of hills, sea and miles of sand... Continue reading
Posted Dec 29, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 11: After the storm
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Woke up to unusually impressive levels of rain and wind. Worst floods on record just up the road! Were we, as has happened before, going to be followed by rain wherever we went? Thankfully not. Sun came out to play by lunchtime and we took a tentative walk on beach... Continue reading
Posted Dec 29, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 10: Rainy Days and Mondays
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We woke to rain so prepared for a gentle day. Karen went out walking and found the Abel Tasman monument. Abi went out for a training run. Maia went out to hire a car. The rest of us moved between reading and napping for most of the day. By the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 9: Over Mt Doom to Golden Bay
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With Maia and Rhiannon on board we drove west towards Golden Bay. Rhiannon had terrified us with accounts of the drive over the hills ( now christened Mount Doom) to get there. But Karen proved more than competent taking the camper van around the many hairpin twists and turns as... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 9: Travelling to Nelson
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The Griffiths got up at 6 to catch the plane down to the South Island. Hoping we wouldn't forget to pack anything. The flight in the turboprop aircraft down to Nelson was in bright sunshine by the time we got to the Cook Straits giving us great views of Golden... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 8: Christmas day down under
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Christmas morning brought the Snell and Griffiths families together the first task being to negotiate the shared rituals of the day. This included a showing of a film of the last time the Griffiths and the Snells had been together. Forgotten footage from 1996 featuring Rhiannon, Sam, Rodney, Andrew and... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 7: Christmas Eve downtown Auckland
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We had plenty of Christmas shopping to do so drove to Panmure to catch the train to Britamart on the Auckland seafront. An anxious fellow traveller asked us if Good Friday was the day before Christmas since that would mean a different holiday schedule. the next couple of hours was... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 6: Rotorua and Hobbiton
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After a refreshing nights sleep and a vast cooked breakfast we set out to see as much of Rotorua as we could. We originally planned to spend a whole day here but had only half a day after the delay with luggage. We traded off geysers and mud baths with... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 5: Regroup
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Arriving in Auckland at 7am we exchanged sub zero temperatures for mid 20s and 75% humidity- very acceptable! Maia and our beloved goddaughter Rhiannon (Maia's daughter) met us at the airport. We hadn't seen Maia since 2003 and Rhiannon since 1996 so it was a joyful reunion. No luggage -... Continue reading
Posted Dec 27, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Dec 24, 2010
Day 2: stalemate
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Two attempts to fly today. Twice on hold to NZ Airlines for more than 2 hours. Only to be told that we were confirmed for Monday morning. Today we gave up on a Hong Kong stopover and resigned ourselves to just getting to Auckland. The airline had offered us a... Continue reading
Posted Dec 24, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 4: flight
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one flight 13 hours long to Hong Kong then 10.5 hour flight to Auckland after 1 hour stopover in Hong Kong. Its very warm in HK. For second leg the family get to sit together on the now half empty plane. Everyone glued to headsets and screens with umpteen movies... Continue reading
Posted Dec 24, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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Day 3: Heathrow on standby
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After being told we have confirmed tickets we go to Heathrow for 8am. By 12 we are told after queuing to check in luggage that we have no tickets but are confirmed on a flight on Dec 25th(!) We move to the standby queue where the status of having children... Continue reading
Posted Dec 24, 2010 at Griffiths NZ holiday
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