(written on April 1st from notes taken previously) Wow! Foggy morning! I drove away from my camping spot about 9:30ish and headed right back toward the gorge. The fog made for some pretty cool pictures. And I hoped to get to the Gorge with fog still blanketing everything. Unfortunately, the fog cleared out before I … Continue reading 2026-03-20 (Friday) — Hokitika Double Dip

(written on the 31st from notes taken previously) I was up early again today. 🥳 Go me. 🙃 I was pretty shocked to find the sky's super duper clear and a view of the Southern Alps in the distance. I hadn't expected the clouds to go away, otherwise I might have stayed for one more … Continue reading 2026-03-19 (Thursday) — Return to the Gorge

(written on the 31st from notes taken previously) In early yesterday, out late this morning. 🙃 I think it was either just before or just after 10:30 when I finally drove away. It was rainy, and I wasn't feeling very adventurous today, so with the weather and my current attitude, I mostly spent the day … Continue reading 2026-03-18 (Wednesday) — Raining Bridges

(written on the 31st from notes taken previously) I was up and gone pretty early this morning, driving away before the condensation had even been burned off of my windshield. Where to? Down the coast to the end of the road, of course! 🙃 I honestly don't remember if Chase and I went to the … Continue reading 2026-03-17 (Tuesday) — The Last Exploration?

(written on the 31st from notes taken previously) I veged out a bit this morning before ever even getting out of my van. 🙃 And then I bid goodbye to the Welsh gentleman and began making my way toward Haast Pass. It's a beautiful drive. 😊 The mountains don't feel quite as high, or at … Continue reading 2026-03-16 (Monday) — TikTok Slots

(written on the 28th from notes taken previously) Well  today started off... early. 🙃 In fact, I didn't go to bed last night. 😅 I veged and veged and veged in front of my screen until it was almost daylight and then figured that since I needed to be up super early anyway (back in … Continue reading 2026-03-15 (Sunday) — Hawea River Boogie

(written on the 26th from notes taken previously) I'm sore. Surprise surprise. 🙃 My left Achilles tendon is especially unhappy. 😬 It was a day of goodbyes, in a way. I've spent so much time at Chinaman's Bluff, that it was starting to feel like a home base. So... goodbye Chinaman's Bluff. Goodbye gazillions of … Continue reading 2026-03-14 (Saturday) — Goodbyes

(written on the 22nd from notes taken previously) I've been dreading writing this entry because of how long I think it's going to take. 😅 [sigh] With the day having gone how it went yesterday, I ended up just veging late, having mostly given up on the possibility of making the big hike today. There … Continue reading 2026-03-13 (Friday) — Deja View

(written on the 16th) With my goal to make the crazy climb up Mount Earnslaw Burn track tomorrow, there wasn't really much on the docket to do today. I'd already driven the roads I wanted to go up. I didn't want to hike to see other beautiful vistas, because I didn't want to use up … Continue reading 2026-03-12 (Thursday) — No Planning, Poor Execution

Well... today wasn't on my radar. 🙃 I think pretty much from the time I got up until after noon, I just pounded away at my journal catch-up efforts. So crazy to have fallen a week behind in seemingly the blink of an eye! But I've clawed my way back (again 🙃) over the last … Continue reading 2026-03-11 (Wednesday) — Rescue Mission