Darrell Norman Kupke was born at Booleroo Centre on 13th Sept 1937 to parents Laura and Albert (Bert) Kupke; third child and brother to Laurie, Grace Noll (dec), and Coral Dutschke. He started writing his life story thus; “The first 27 years of my life was spent on the property known as Gum View at... Continue Reading →

Tired but content describes the travellers after arriving home by taxi at around 7.45 pm (i.e. 10.15 NZ time). No decisions about the next day needed to be made. Breakfast of whatever was left started the day. Pack up, gas refill and waste disposal were completed, before heading to Queenstown for Fergburger. The biggest line... Continue Reading →

After sampling the fare at Ristorante Paradiso the awareness of our journey coming to an end soon is edging into consciousness. A good night's sleep was on the cards. With the sound of rain on the roof, the campers gradually stirred. It looked to be a wet journey as the Met has forecast a change.... Continue Reading →

At a lake with a view we waited for a day on a bus. Milford Sound promised and delivered. Doing a bus tour certainly took the stress out of the trip. No discussions about where to stop. Dinner out at the local Italian hit the spot. Next stop, Arrowtown before tomorrow's flight home. (With slow... Continue Reading →

Larnach Castle and Emerson's Brewery were our stop points in Dunedin. The castle's presence and history proved captivating. The brewery's beer proved to be thirst-quenching. It was disappointing we didn't make it out to the end of Otago Peninsula where there was the promise of flourishing fauna but the 1812 Pale Ale helped to make... Continue Reading →

Overcast conditions and we were heading into the alps. Initial views indicated that we would be driving through low cloud all day. In reality, once we made it into the plateau, the cloud has lifted significantly and it was clear the lakes would be visible. Mt Cook would be another proposition however. The Lakes Tekapo... Continue Reading →

I'm not just referring to the AFL Grand Final! Friday began with a 7am departure to join a whale viewing boat cruise only to be told that it had been cancelled due to lack of numbers. The refund had to be arranged at the information office which opened at 9.00. The weather was perfect with... Continue Reading →

Waiau has become a memory - small town, great little camper park. Very clean and friendly welcome. The kind of place that you'd happily hang around in for longer but not much is going on. Research told us that whale watching charters were booked out in Kaikoura for the next two days; however, we decided... Continue Reading →

At some point over the last two days we passed the point of no return and now find ourselves in Waiau. What's in Waiau one may ask? Not sure because it was dark when we got here but thankfully there's free wifi and a camper park. The last two days has seen us nearly cross... Continue Reading →

It rained last night and most of the morning. It also snowed in the high bits. After breaking the fast we hit the frog and toad to find a kiwi at the West Coast Wildlife Centre. There were two there so we crossed that off the bucket list. It was a bit pricey there, despite... Continue Reading →