50 NOT OUT

As we are heading to Auckland today for a brief visit we are currently in Christchurch after a week in the Lake Sumner National Park. Almost two hours down dirt tracks this remote area provided excellent walking including a night at Jollie Creek Hut to celebrate my 5oth in our sort of style.

Down at Loch Katrin we met Lem an 86 year old Latvian and his wife who have been visiting their fishing hut for 55 years - we were welcomed in and made very comfortable.

Sarah had a superb four day ride in to the high hills with Alpine Horse Safaris with some of the hardest riding she has ever done and memorable nights under the stars at musterers huts.

On our return to Christchurch in a week we hope to meet up with a friend from Wales for a week as we head south to Mount Cook and then across to the West Coast.

Our good fortune with weather has continued as autumn slowly approaches and the van has performed remarkably given the tracks we have been exploring - whilst we are away we hope to get the slight coolant leak sorted out by the local VW dealer Miles Continental in Chch and have also made enquiries regarding shipping the van over to Sydney - surprisingly not much cheaper than bringing it from the UK as much of the costs are fixed as they cover paperwork and dock handling fees with the transit element less than 20%.

Links below to 2 albums of pics - 1 horse related covering Sarah's rode and 1 more generalised. Again access may require highlighting and then clicking.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=sjarratt5&target=ALBUM&id=5444286291062428753&authkey=Gv1sRgCOiIj4ekgKrOmQE&feat=email

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=sjarratt5&target=ALBUM&id=5444342190738088945&authkey=Gv1sRgCK_Yl9ycw8CQ3gE&feat=email