Near Queenstown is Arrowtown, an 1860's Gold Rush town still with that feeling about it - here is a reconstruction of a hut used by Chinese miners from Guandong who had a tough time working the sites the Europeans had abandoned.














After Queenstown (here is Tom doing a bungy):



Two rainy days walking around the Franz Joseph Glacier and finally abandoning the hire car at Greymouth for the tranz-Alpine train across to Christchurch. This line, which nearly folded two years ago - NZ, like UK decided to privatise its trains with predictable results - is spectacular. It climbs through the mountains then down to the Eastern coastal plain, all in 5 hours.













Spent two nights in Christchurch - very provincial English town feeling about this - relaxed and fairly cultured.





From Christchurch back on the train - the Tranz-coastal this time up to Kaikoura to see the whales - despite being held up after one of the locals didn't manage to get his truck over the the railway quickly enough!







The whales were very happy to put on a display for us - here is an orca (killer whale):






After Kaikura back on the train to Picton and then the ferry to Wellington - with much improved weather.


Have just started the Wellington 3-day workshop, organised by Dick Harker, with 27 students, all keen and mainly education and health.