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 😧
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.