Living the retirement dream

Since we were unable to make a trip to The South Island we decided to explore more of The North Island. Hawkes Bay and specifically Napier came to mind as it was a three hour drive from Greytown and a completely new area of this island for us. We found an art deco short stay…

Our initial plan for New Zealand had been to spend 3 ½ weeks with Helen and Sue and then travel to the South Island on January 2-12. Unfortunately Jim failed to book things far enough in advance for the New Zealand summer season. He was able to book the ferry from Wellington to Picton return…

On returning from the Tora Coastal Walk we had more adventures in store exploring the Wairarapa. That is pretty much of a wrap-up of Greytown as we have a couple of trips planned before we leave New Zealand on January 15.

The Tora Coastal Walk is a three-day walk which encompasses a variety of stunning and diverse landscapes: expansive farmland, native bush, river valleys and the rugged Tora coastline. Family owned and operated they promise spectacular scenery, gourmet food, and warm rural hospitality. It’s one of the longest standing private walks in New Zealand, and widely regarded…

After visiting Government House on December 8 Helen and Sue drove us over the hill to the Wairarapa which is a sparsely populated geographical region of New Zealand in the southeast corner of the North Island. Jim had volunteered to be the designated driver for this day so that Helen could have a few drinks.…

We met some new friends in New Zealand who are quite adventurous and they suggested that we try gliding as there is a large gliding club only 5K away. The process of reserving and purchasing a flight was quite complicated as first we had to apply online to purchase a voucher. Secondly they sent us…

We first met these two women in Bermuda in the late 80’s. Since then we have become the best of friends and have spent time together in Boston, London, Tuscany, Melbourne and Auckland. This is our third time visiting them in New Zealand and when we get to Greytown next week we will have seen…

Although this is our third trip to New Zealand we have never been to the capital city of Wellington. We opted to fly here as it is the closest international airport to Greytown where we will be spending most of our time at the home of Sue and Helen. We are spending two nights alone…

We are well into our ninth year of spending three months at a time in major cities around the world. Starting last summer in Copenhagen we have begun to shorten the three month stays to six to eight weeks as we find that we are now more efficient with our time and we treasure our…