New Zealand Appendix: Some tips for travelling

These are just some things we think might be useful for folks considering travelling to New Zealand, in no particular order!  If you want to ask a specific question, go for it in the comments. Exchange rate for us when we travelled, Feb - March 2016 was approximately 2 dollars = £1

• Book well in advance, particularly if you want to see the country by motorhome.  We met several people who left it late and had to have the very large motorhomes which restrict where you can go and are heavy on fuel
• On the commercial sites we stayed on with our motorhome there were often well equipped cabins which would make another alternative way of seeing the country if you are hiring a car.  If you stay in the cabins you have access to the laundry, bathroom and kitchen facilities.
• I have noted some commercial site prices (for powered sites) in my blog, but generally they ranged from NZD19 - 25 per person per night.  All of the sites we stayed on had good facilities.
• If you are travelling by motorhome and wish to wild camp, then you need a van which is self-contained.  
• If you are hiring a motorhome, consider booking in to a nearby site to airport for at least one night before you set off on your travels.  It gives you time to 'come round' from travelling, to shop and to suss out where everything goes in the van.  Similarly book on to a commercial site the night before you hand the van back so you can pack, clean the van, fill it up etc
• If you are hiring a motorhome and intend to just use commercial sites, look at the Top 10 and Kiwi sites loyalty clubs which give discounts on a range of stuff inc some tours
• We used Wilderness Motorhomes and would highly recommend them.  They cost a little more than the 'popular' companies but their insurance package is very good and allowed us to use the gravel roads.  They have excellent reviews and responded quickly to the two concerns we had during our trip.  Not all motorhome companies allow travellers to go 'off-road'.  We were also able to hire bikes and a wi-fi router as part of our package (but we found the wi-fi expensive).  Wilderness also give you a wild campsite book and a book of places to visit close to the wild camp sites which we used a great deal.
• Talking wi-fi, I-Sites (tourist information centres) usually have free wi-fi as do many cafes, restaurants etc.  Commercial Holiday Parks also offer wi-fi, some free, others for a small charge -  we used all of these at some point or other during our holiday.
• Clothes (said these weren't in any particular order!) - we travelled mid February to the end of March.  I only used my coat to get to the airport in the UK.  We lived in shorts, capri trousers and t-shirts/shirts putting on fleeces when needed.  The trousers and jeans and jumpers did not leave the luggage.
• Take more than one travel adaptor or a multi adaptor
• Don't take suntan lotion unless you are stopping off en route to New Zealand.  Instead buy the largest bottle of 30+/50+ factor as soon as you arrive at a supermarket and apply liberally - that hole in the ozone layer catches you out straight away.  Also take a hat!
• Include sat nav in your package to locate those wild camps more easily.
• Some random examples of prices of things: posh lunch at Edgewater Resort $25; 1 litre Meadowfresh Trim Milk $3.49; 330g tim tam choccy biscuits value pack $5.49; Leggo stir thru pasta sauce 350g $4.89; Kellogs Cornflakes $3.19; 30 Twinings Tea Bags $3.79; 500g penne pasta $1.89; 2 litre Charlie's low pulp orange juice $8.39; salmon fillet $11.26
• Good supermarkets:  Countdown (do a tourist loyalty card) and New World.  Some supermarkets have links with local petrol stations for discounted fuel
• Decent evening meal, eg in Queenstown (Finz Seafood and Grill) $91 for two inc. two mains, side of vegetables, glass of wine, fruit juice, coffee and tea
• Diesel cost - ranged from $0.78 a litre to $1.24!  Prices were more expensive on South Island.
• If you are packing walking gear you must declare it and you need to scrub boots etc before you go.  New Zealanders are quite rightly very keen on protecting their eco-systems and will fine travellers who do not declare walking gear and/or charge you if your gear has any residues.

	kilometres
Auckland to Waipu Caves	131.7
Waipu Caves to Whangarei	30.4
Whangarei to Sandy Bay	29
Sandy Bay to Kawakawa	44.8
Kawakawa to Paihia	16.8
Paihia to Kerikeri	23.5
Kerikeri to Awanui	89.4
Awanui to Waipapakauri Beach	4.5
Waipapakauri Beach to Rangiora	81.2
Rawene to Dargaville	105.5
Dargaville to Auckland	175.5
Auckland to Miranda	80
Miranda to Cathedral Cove	95
Cathedral Cove to Coromandel	54.6
Coromandel to Te Ahora	106.5
Te Ahora to Hobbiton	49.2
Hobbiton to Holdens Bay	77.3
Holdens Bay to Taupo	85.2
Taupo to Te Perore	88.1
Te Perore to Ketetahi	2.4
Ketetahi to Whakapapa	37.1
Whakapapa to Wanganui	142.6
Wanganui to Foxton Beach	87.6
Foxton Beach to Lower Hutt	116.4
Lower Hutt to Wellington	16.3
	1770.6	1106.625	miles
Picton to Ward	73
Sawcut Gorge	24
Ward to Kaikoura	83.3
Kaikoura to Waikari	127.9
Waikari to Methven	160.1
Methven to Salisbury	110
Salisbury to Lake Pukaki	145
Lake Pukaki to Mt Cook Village	42.4
Mt Cook Village to Bendigo	163
Bendigo to Arrowtown	66.3
Arrowtown to Queenstown	20.5
Queenstown to Wanaka	114
Wanaka to Franz Josef	286
Franz Josef to Carters Beach	331
Carters Beach to Motueka	226
Motueka to Hira	61
Hira to Saint Arnaud	102
Saint Arnaud to Waikuku	323
Waikuku to Eyrewell	44.1
Eyrewell to Christchurch	41.3
Christchurch to Airport	7.8
	2551.7	1594.813	miles
		2701.438	miles

Day 50: Kranji

The final day of our wonderful holiday and we allowed ourselves a lie-in before walking in to Orchard and taking the MRT on our longest journey (45 minutes to Kranji, only SD1.89 return, about 90p!)

Tony wanted to pay his respects at the Kranji Memorial before we left Singapore, which was erected to honour the dead from the World War 2 conflict when Japan invaded Singapore.

We had a few problems when we came out of the MRT station at Kranji as the signage for the memorial suddenly stopped but, thanks to a bus driver, we were soon on a bus for all of two stops and then walking up the drive to the Memorial.

These large cemeteries are always sobering.  Tony and I went our separate ways and I walked the lines of gravestones reading as many names as possible and noting that the soldiers did not only come from regiments across the United Kingdom but also from across the world.  Amongst them were the gravestones of Singapore volunteers, both men and women.

Before we left we read some of the tributes left on the poppy wreaths.

Back at the MRT station we lunched on chicken rice in the cafe which cost all of SD10 for the two of us, then we returned to Orchard and walked back out to Cary and Yu-Yen's Apartment to pack our bags and relax for a few hours.  We spotted colourful birds in the trees outside the balcony.

Yu-Yen and Cary kindly offered to drive us to the airport which gave us the opportunity to share a last holiday meal with them at Paradise Dynasty Restaurant where I enjoyed Dim Sum for the first time!
It was a smashing way to relax before the very long flight and to thank Yu-Yen and Cary.....and now we are homeward bound.

Day 49: Ah the heat!

This morning we drove with Yu-Yen to Sengkang to watch Cary take part in his first Dragon Boat Race for his team the Krakens.

It was very, very hot today and tough to stand out in the sun so we found some shade until it was Cary's team's turn to race.  Sadly they came third out of four but it was still exciting, even more so because we had Cary to cheer on.

The races were part of Paddlefest 2016 and it was a big event with lots of supporting activities going on and opportunities for folks to try out kayaking and abseiling amongst other things.  Access to sporting facilities is very cheap in Singapore to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles and certainly they were out in their hundreds today.

After watching Cary race we took the LRT and then changed to the MRT to Chinatown to pick up tickets for the Gardens on the Bay.  Despite the continuing heat this was a great couple of hours.  We took the MRT to Bayfront Station and walked through the underpass and over the Dragonfly Bridge into the gardens themselves.

These are beautifully laid out with some amazing specimens of trees and plants.  The first two gardens were the Chinese and Indian gardens and we walked through areas with artwork amongst the planting reflecting those cultures.  There were trellises hanging with trailing plants such as bougainvillea.

We arrived at the two huge bio-domes.  The flower dome was refreshingly cool and dry although a high temperature must be maintained to support the planting.  It is laid out in ten geographical regions with the planting reflecting the regions:  Californian; Mediterranean; South American; South African and Australian some of those regions.

I particularly enjoyed the animal sculptures created out of baobab tree.

The Dome displays are on different levels so you can look out over the whole collection and also see great views of Singapore through the glass in the distance.  From the Flower Dome we crossed in to the Cloud Forest which is very different.  Here they have created a huge living mountain of 60 000 plants from tropical highlands.  To view the 'mountain' we were taken up six floors in a lift, climbed a floor higher and then began our descent around this beautiful, flourishing mountain on walkways which gradually took us back down several levels.

Flowing from the top of the living wall was the world's tallest indoor waterfall, helping to keep the humidity in the dome right for the health of the plants.

At 2pm the 'misting' began when hidden hoses within the planting on the 'mountain' and affixed to the walkways, began pumping out mist to ensure the tropical atmosphere - fantastic!

When we left the dome we walked through the gardens to the Avatar-like structures which are the man-made Supertrees, incredible creations which tower over the gardens and which are gradually becoming living walls themselves.

These form part of a light show in the gardens at night but we were too bushed by the heat to go back in this evening.  Instead we paid to go up on to the OCBC Skyway, a walkway around some of the Supertrees 22m above the ground.  This gave excellent views of the grove of trees as well as of the city and Marina.

Once back in the City we walked from Orchard back to the apartment, showered and rested before venturing out once more to the local Tanglin Mall food court where Tony had fish and chips and I had a Thai fish and vegetable rice dish for SD5, with a fried egg plonked on top!  We also treated ourselves to a packet of tim-tams from the very good supermarket adjacent to the food court!