We gave this name to the blog because its Maori translation, Whakatane, is the name of a place that we passed through on our 3-day trip to the east coast. The name arises from an 800-yr old tale in which a young woman did the man’s work of steering a huge Maori canoe to shore, thereby saving everyone from great peril at sea... (N) At the start of the month, I had a company conference on nearby Waiheke Island for a couple of days. It was a mix of work and play, including a treasure hunt by car one afternoon, which was as cheesy as it sounds. We were split into teams and had to carry out odd or just generally compromising tasks, such as building a raft, getting photographed on a nudist beach and persuading ... read more

(N) We went to a carol concert in Auckland’s Town Hall, with all the usual favourites, the only twist being that instead of huddling to keep warm we were using the programmes as fans to keep cool. This time last year, in 2007, it was also a hot Christmas for us on the Thai island of Koh Lanta, but the music then was completely different, being a mix of cheesy Christmas pop and an infrequent ‘call to prayer’ from mosques, many of the island’s inhabitants being Muslim. Paula’s friend Charlotte from school was over to visit New Zealand, it was great to see her, she was with us for the carols after a quick Japanese meal out. The weather in Auckland is still great, no place for a coffee better than on the waterfront, which is ... read more

(N) Now into the final week of Auckland Heritage Festival, the most tenuously-linked event (but one of the best) that we attended was the Heritage Pub Tour. Described as a visit to some of the city’s oldest pubs, we considered it unmissable. Starting off at The Drake, the house pub of my favourite NZ beer Monteith’s, we learnt that in the old days before land reclamation, it was right on the waterfront and had a reputation for ill-repute, and is said to be haunted by a 17-year-old Maori girl. The next stop was Galbraith’s Ale House, the grand building that was formerly a library and which is now a great pub, where they brew their own beer. A roaring fire accompanies the drinkers, and the bar is made of an ancient piece of tree trunk carbon-dated ... read more

Note: We added the final version of the TV commercial aired in Sydney, in which Paula is an extra! It's within Entry #42 (P) Upon touchdown at Heathrow (thankfully not Terminal 5!), we took a deep breath of good old British air once again and hopped on the bus to West Drayton, a mere 10 minutes away round the houses of Sipson, where many a resident had displayed in their front window ‘No Third Runway’ in defiance of Heathrow’s ever-expanding development plans. Once again it made me think of my grandparents who in the 1950s were one of the first families to move from the Big Smoke (White City) to Langley ‘village’, now just five minutes away from the world’s busiest airport. My Nan would often reminisce about the days “when Heathrow was no more than ... read more

(N) This fortnight was the wettest of our time so far in NZ. Frequent gales, black skies and lashing rain made us shiver and wish we had central heating (but over here few people do, it seems). We all moved house on Saturday 21st June to just down the road, because the girls from whom we sub-let our room were fed up of the house being so chilly, as well as the mould growing on the ceiling, and the old kitchen with its sink awkwardly positioned right in a corner. It would be great in the summer but it was a draughty place so we all agreed on the move. So our local grocer is no longer the legendary Chinese enterprise that is Tai Ping, it’s now an Indian place called Khyber Spice Invader, with a ... read more