Built in 1897 as his summer residence on his father’s shooting estate by the owner of one of Lancashire’s satanic textile mills, this example of grotesque late Victorian excess is positioned similarly to Kinloch, Lake Taupo – just off the beach at the head of a sweeping bay. But that’s where the similarity ends. Kinloch […]
Orkney – Nowadays the Shetland’s poorer cousin
Orkney – Nowadays the Shetland’s poorer cousin This archipelago of 70 islands, to the southwest of the Shetlands made up 5/6th of Margaret of Denmark’s dowry – largely because its fertile soils supported more farming than its northern cousin. Today that relative valuation would not hold up, thanks to the discovery of North sea oil […]
The Shetlands – Once was Viking territory
So now we’re on the Shetland Isles, ironically these are closer to Norway than they are to Scotland – and we certainly passed a surfeit of oil rigs as we sailed across from Bergen – the Norwegian footprint is quite extensive. Of course that’s been the case for far longer than the discovery of North […]
Goodbye Norway, it’s been a blast
Goodbye Norway, it’s been a blast Our six weeks touring Norway and Svalbard by bicycle and boat is over. As we head out of Bergen en route for the Shetland Islands, we can reflect on a society that has to be one of the more idyllic on earth; no huge population pressure, an abundance of […]
Play Misty for Me
Deep in the Norwegian fjords now as we wind down our six week sojourn swanning around the Scandinavian north and before we set off for the Shetlands. The weather we’ve had up here has been phenomenal, like mid-summer in NZ. But that’s now changed and we’re back to a traditional Scandinavian summer – lots of […]
Back to Svalbard – where cats are forever banned !
Time to head back to the mainland soon but one more opportunity to taste some more of Svalbard’s environment and historical locations on our return south from the ice. The capital of Longyearbyen only hosts 2,000 residents, there are more polar bears on Svalbard in winter especially. Over December and January it is in 24 […]
Into the Polar Extremities
We’re now up at almost 83 degrees north, deep into the pack ice and well north of Svalbard. It’s the home of seals, walrus, polar bears and the birds that we’ve been immersed in for a few days now. As opposed to the last occasions we’ve been anywhere near this far north, the polar bear […]
Svalbard
It’s the height of summer so there’s no pack ice near Svalbard, we will have to sail on beyond 82 degrees north to locate it this year. But the archipelago has it’s own charm anyway with its ice cap providing an abundance of glaciers that tumble down towards the sea. It’s capital Longyearbyen, provides the […]
Norwegian Wood
We’ve spent the last couple of weeks cruising the length of Norway, winding our way along fjords and getting as far north as Tromso, the springboard for our voyage around Svalbard. Norway has a similar population to New Zealand but its largest seven cities contain only 2 million – compared to New Zealand’s big seven […]
Anne Frank’s House – a reminder of what Hate Speech can lead to
The Anne Frank exhibition, “Let Me Be Myself” is touring New Zealand, I think its in Christchurch at present so try to get along with your family and experience the messages it imparts. We’ve been a sponsor of the educational work of the Anne Frank House in New Zealand for several years now but unfortunately […]