Ali Clarke 
My holiday begins! Waiting at my local bus stop (Otago Peninsula) for the bus into town. This is a #NoFly #SlowTravel trip with many stages. Adding a hashtag so you can mute if not interested in my wanderings 😆
Thanks for the good wishes everyone! I’m now on my next bus - the Intercity to Ōtautahi.
Good thing - it’s very cheap.
Sad thing - it’s not a train, there aren’t any on this route 😢
Got all the essentials with me - book, phone, noise-cancelling headphones, flask of tea, snacks … it’s a long journey. Lucky to have a window seat!
We have a 40 minute break in Oamaru, which is full of grand old buildings like this. I went for a quick walk, found the Victorian part of town closed for filming. Obviously some sort of period drama!
We’ve just crossed the Waitaki River (can’t fit it into one snapshot) - I have left Otago! 😧
I’m now in Ōtautahi 🎉 Once we got to the Canterbury plains I kept nodding off - oops! I found the bus comfortable and the drive was very smooth. We stopped for 15 minutes each in Timaru and Ashburton for the driver’s break, not time for more than a quick stretch of the legs.
I’m heading north tomorrow, but will stay here a couple of days on the way home. Just waiting for my room service dinner, and then to sleep for an early start in the morning 😴
Story here about the filming I saw from a distance in Oamaru’s Victorian precinct yesterday - Netflix series of Steinbeck’s East of Eden!
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/oamaru-proving-it%E2%80%99s-streets-ahead
A highlight of my holiday today - I’m going on the Coastal Pacific train to Picton 🥰
We depart at 7am, luckily I’m an early riser!
We’re wandering along the plains of North Canterbury- lots of vineyards here.
Train is very comfortable and I have a window seat and a whole row to myself. More passengers boarding later though. We have wifi and charging plugs and an app that alerts us to points of interest, so all sorted!
Just spent 5 minutes in Kaikoura! We’ve been going along the wild coastline for a while now - it’s stunning.
Discovered I don’t have the right connection to charge my phone on the train, so have to be restrained with phone use.
Spent some time in the viewing carriage, here shown stopped at the station, but the view from my seat is fabulous too!
Now I’m in Picton. Will be sailing across Cook Strait in that boat on the left soon! My first time leaving Te Wai Pounamu in 5 years 😧
The train trip was fabulous and I will do it again on the way home in a couple of weeks. It’s frustrating that it’s so expensive- I really wish it was less luxurious and more accessible.
Here are some Marlborough photos. Battery on phone is very low so that will most likely be all from me for a while!
Found somewhere to charge my phone on board 🎉 It’s a lovely day but there’s a moderate swell. Luckily I’m not prone to sea-sickness!🤞🏼
Cruising on the Interislander, as the song goes. The sun is shining, but it’s one of those crossings where they announce that “conditions are less than favourable”, advise you to remain seated, and come around offering ice and sick bags. Lots of pale-looking people- I’m fortunate to feel fine!
Found a nice spot in the ‘quiet area’.
Greetings Te Whanganui a Tara👋🏼 Things got a lot smoother once we reached the harbour!
I’m here for a couple of days with my sister and catching up with friends. Then we head further north.
Watching planes flying in and thinking how I could have flown here in a couple of hours and for less money than this 2-day trip 🫤 This slow travel is a lot more fun though!
Wellington has put on sunshine for me - after a little rain 😆 I had a lovely time wandering into town through the Botanic Gardens and around the waterfront in good tourist fashion. Also visited the Wellington Museum.
Then my fatigue kicked in so I came back to my sister’s to rest up. Today’s transport was walking, but I caught the cable car as the most convenient way of getting home!
The waterfront is great. And I love the zero-waste and circular economy ethics of this cafe! Got my lunch there 😊
I highly recommend Wellington Museum. It’s very interesting and a lot quieter than Te Papa!
The current exhibition Fortune features this fabulous knitted yum cha, made by Bev Moon. Really impressive!
Today I’m riding the Kapiti line - heading up the coast to spend the afternoon with friends in Raumati 🥰
Wellington Railway Station isn’t quite up to the magnificence of Dunedin’s - still pretty good though!
Managed to tag on okay with my ancient Snapper card - phew 😅
Had a lovely afternoon with my friends, including some down from Auckland, at Raumati Beach. Now exhausted after talking too much 😆
Staying tonight at my sister’s place in Waikanae Beach.
Today I’m travelling with my sister and brother-in-law in their car to Rotorua - my furthest destination.
Before leaving we went walking on lovely Waikanae Beach. Saw Kapiti Island in a different direction from yesterday at Raumati. 😍
My holiday continues to be charmed by sunshine!
We stopped for a picnic lunch a little past Waiouru, at the Tangiwai disaster memorial. Hard to believe that one of Aotearoa’s biggest disasters happened at this lovely peaceful place.
For those who don’t know, late on Christmas Eve 1953 a crowded passenger express train crashed here. A lahar from nearby Ruapehu caused a flash flood which took out the railway bridge and several carriages went into the flood. 151 people died.
We made it to Rotorua and met up with some other family members. We’re celebrating a milestone birthday of one of my sisters 🎉 Just had dinner out, complete with mocktails!
We’re staying in Ngongotaha, close to Rotorua. I lived there as a child but was just 4 years old when we left, so remember very little about it - except for riding my trike along our path, as in my profile pic!
We had a lovely day in Ngongotaha 🌞 Went on a couple of walks and checked out where we used to live. We had a picnic tea beside the lake at Hamurana and some of us went for a swim. It was my first swim in ages - the lake water was lovely and not nearly as cold as I was expecting!
Did some more exploring around Rotorua today. We went to Kuirau Park and wandered around the geothermal area - fascinating to see.
Aidan@simplicitarian *waves from Rotorua*
Andrea Johnston 
@simplicitarian that's such a beautiful spot, and the memorial area is lovely.
A friend of our family had been booked on that train, but was unwell and couldn't travel.
A friend of our family had been booked on that train, but was unwell and couldn't travel.
@andreajnz A close miss! It’s so beautiful there and lots of interesting information provided. There were fresh wreaths on the memorial - presumably from the recent anniversary.
🇳🇿 Shayne Parkinson@simplicitarian Close to my heart, as my family were due to travel on that train, but got an earlier booking at the last moment. Before I was born - and perhaps I never would have been.
@ShayneParkinson That’s a powerful story ❤️
LeaD 
@simplicitarian My grandmother (maternal) was due to return to Auckland from Wellington on that train, but delayed her trip to stay with my uncle for another couple of days....
@TizaneNZ You’re the 3rd person to reply with a story like that 😧 So many people with narrow escapes from disaster!
@simplicitarian I was a little vexed to find that the current Wellington railway station is a bit too new for the main character in my WIP to have been through. I plan to make proper use of Dunedin's, though!
Well done with the ancient card! Hope you have a pleasant afternoon up the coast.
KateT@simplicitarian Bev Moon's "Fortune" is so awesome, isn't it! I was telling a work-mate about it just a few hours ago. It was at the Hocken Library a few years ago, and I was blown away with how intricate it is. I love how the knitting appears translucent on the 'rice' wat-cha-ma-call-its, so you can see the fillings inside. Exquisite!
@KateT Yes, it really is brilliant!
Deborah Makarios@simplicitarian Now I feel hungry.
@DMakarios 😆 I have a knitted slice of cake sitting on the pile of plates in my China cabinet!
Isaac Freeman@DMakarios @simplicitarian I feel hungry and impressed but also sad that I cannot eat the woollen yum cha.
NZChineseGenealogy@simplicitarian Isn't this Bev Moon exhibition lovely? Saw it for myself, in Hamilton.
@NZChineseGenealogy Yes - so interesting!
Crafty Gardener NZ@simplicitarian If you want a great place to go craft shopping, head to Made Marion Craft at 166 Cuba Street @kazash can help you out.
@craftygardennz @kazash Thanks for the tip 🙏🏼 Don’t think I will have the time or energy for shopping while I’m here though! I recently started a new knitting project.
@simplicitarian I love the waterfront. The very long building at left, behind the yacht masts, was originally the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Opened in late 1964. We sailed from there in early 1965, on our way to Scotland. Streamers thrown and 'Now is the Hour' playing. We returned there 2 and a half years later. Within another couple of years international flights had taken over from passenger sailings - for getting from here to there, rather than going round in circles!
@andreajnz It was a very different way of travelling! The waterfront was very industrial and unattractive when I lived in the Hutt/Wellington, it’s been very effectively developed for recreation since then.
@simplicitarian Yes, and yes! Putting the container terminal out at Ngauranga really opened up the waterfront. And - through a lot of hard work by a lot of people - the space was NOT given over to tall buildings!
George 🍦🚲 🥾 ✌️🌎 🌌@simplicitarian Love that!
Cachalot the Fediverse Whale@simplicitarian Wellington Museum is a gem.
@Happyfishmedia Definitely!
Paul H @simplicitarian Glad you are feeling Ok. Nice day here but a bit windy - surprise, surprise!
Tracy@simplicitarian I'm waving at you from a couple of hills over!
Zeborah@simplicitarian I'm glad you got fine weather for the views on the way up (it's such a scenic journey!), and that the ferry crossing was survivable!
@simplicitarian so much agree about the fare structure! My sisters and I went on the TranzAlpine, Greymouth to Otautahi, 4 years ago. A Great Journey indeed, great commentary, but priced for 'tourism'. Main trunk line, both islands, should be much more accessibly priced!! 🚃🚃
Raj Patel @simplicitarian Enjoy the crossing! You must be bringing the good weather with you as its been relatively clear and still here in Welly today.
exlibrarykris@simplicitarian gorgeous!
Whiskers 🇦🇺@simplicitarian There's something liberating about travelling in a train along the coast. In another life I commuted from a place called #Kalkbay every day along a coastline similar to your photo. I would smell the salty air and do yoga breathing. It was a crazy beautiful way to start the day 🥰
I like how you are enjoying your journey, not just the destinations.
#travel
I like how you are enjoying your journey, not just the destinations.
#travel
Al ⁂@simplicitarian it I s a beautiful trip on the coastal pacific. Haven’t been on it in years but used to do it multiple times a year when I lived in Christchurch. Enjoy the scenery.
@simplicitarian it's such a stunning coastline. We spent a pleasant few days in Kaikoura two years ago, and had some nice walks.
Patrick Lam @simplicitarian I still haven't been able to work out a time to take that train trip yet!
Trudie Walters @simplicitarian great day for spotting whales and dolphins!
witless@simplicitarian exciting! Are you stopping long enough for a coffee in Blenheim?
@witless If we’re on time we have a 30 minute stop there!
@simplicitarian did you see they have penguin wranglers on call? (Like the rest of town I guess.)
@exlibrarykris Cool! 🐧
@simplicitarian welcome Ali, and thank you for bringing us sunshine!! Enjoy the rest of your trip, I am loving these updates!