June 23, 2023 . . . and don’t spare the horses. Well that was the saying in our household back in the day. And heading home it was for us yesterday, another long day on the train. I was less compelled to take photos from the train window on this trip. In fact, even though … More Home James . . .

June 21, 2023 For today, the last day of our Auckland getaway, we planned to take it easy. Sadly, I forgot how much walking is involved with shopping. So another day where we arrived back at our accommodation shuffling. Still, it was a great day, not least because it included a train trip, completing the … More In search of the perfect bag

June 20, 2023 Every night since we’ve been here, the weather forecast has not been promising. But every day bar one, we’ve had fine weather. And even the one day it rained while we were out and about, it was a short shower only, and no drop in temperature. The trend continued today. In fact, … More Island in the sun

June 19, 2023 Yes, no ferries today. Instead a walk in the park. Plus a bit of pavement pounding. We started the day with a coffee and croissant in a cafe (1920s Cafe) and finished at a bar (the Brit). In between we walked … and walked … and walked. So much so I’m exhausted. … More A walk in the park

June 19, 2023 I’ve been having photo woes on this trip. In the interests of travelling light, I decided not to bring my camera but use my phone camera instead. This has led to a new refrain of ‘Well, that would have made good photo’, to add to my usual one of ‘I just don’t … More From the train

June 18, 2023 Today’s little jaunt was to Hobsonville Point, a 30 minute ferry ride to the new suburb at the former airforce base. Not a particularly early up and away today; we were both feeling the effects of yesterday’s outing. For our first coffee of the morning, we went back to Espresso Workshop in … More Another day, another ferry

June 17, 2023 The day started out fine, and we started out with a coffee and pain au chocolat at a Britomart cafe, maybe 10 minutes walk from our accommodation. After getting our Hop cards — needed to use our gold cards for free transport — we headed for Devonport. This was as much to … More Bob and Dottie go to Devonport

June 16, 2023 The clock says it all. Checked in and on board by 7.20 am, and 12 hours later, almost to the minute, we arrived at Auckland Strand station. Long, yes, but boring, no. If it had been long distance air travel, it would have been punishing, but on the Northern Explorer — a … More Northern Explorer