23. August 2023 20:08
by Rene Pallesen
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The trip in New Zealand first landed us in Christchurch where we picked up our rental car and stayed the first night.
Next day we drove through Arthurs Pass to Franz Josef (a long drive) where we stayed for three nights. This was mainly so that we had a spare day in case the weather closed in and we couldn't fly to the glacier.
From there we drove to Queenstown via Wanaka and the Crowns Range (another long drive). We were lucky that this was open and that snow chains weren't required.
Here we stayed for 5 nights whereafter we went to Twizel near Mount Cook for two night.
Lastly we drive back to Christchurch to fly out.
Queenstown is a scenic place, but lost of other scenic places along the way.
23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.
Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.
23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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At Queenstown we did 4 days of skiing at the Remarkables.
The boys did two days of lessons and were with me the other two days. Some friends of our joined us in Queenstown, so for the other days I had Tod to go with, who is a very decent snowboarder.
Aiden and Lucas are both becoming good skiers, but especially Lucas is getting really good to the point where I can bring him onto black runs.
Although Kim is still very much a beginner she still did two days of skiing sticking to the beginner slope where there is a 'magic carpet' lift. I did see some improvement to last year, but she is still too scared to go on the proper lifts.
I bought my own ski boots last year and brought them along (my feet are not compatible with rental ski boots).
2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.
The area was once a very modern part of Osaka, and worth a visit during the night.
2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts with several layers of defense.
2. April 2019 18:10
by Rene Pallesen
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In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.
This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional Japanese movies and where they have all the old houses and also some theaters.
It is also used as a bit of an entertainment and cultural area to teach the Japanese about their culture. Surprisingly we seemed to be the only foreign tourists there and it was definitely worth the visit even though we didn't understand a word of what they were saying.