I’m dusting off the blog for our imminent trip – a brief stop in Dubai, two weeks walking in northern Sicily, a second vist to Milan, two weeks on a tour in Portugal from Lisbon to Porto, a visit to my family in Scotland and my first visit to Amsterdam (John’s last visit was when he qualified for Contiki tours!)

It’s been busy here – we had visits from four different sets of friends/family during March, and unfortunately the Wellington summer and autumn wasn’t anywhere near as good as last year.  Having visitors though did mean we did a bit of being tourists in our home town so we could provide advice on various attractions like Zealandia Ecosanctuary and the Weta Cave (for movie fans – Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor of Lord of the Rings fame have their various ventures based in Wellington).

Despite the weather I have been out and about with my camera, with Zealandia offering good opportunities for getting close to native birds.

So, a few pics to follow.