Len Lehmann
I'm 39 yo RM professional who hasn't had a holiday in over 2 years. I so need one. Therefore I'm now off for a fly/drive holiday to the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand. Here's the storyLenny_67
Travel Blog Posts
Day 16 - Sunday - Auckland to Melbourne
Published: March 18th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » South Auckland
March 18th 2007
Morning and a barbeque breakfast with the relies, thanks heaps Aunty Marg and Uncle Alan. Flight back was pretty uneventful. At home Melbourne at last. Now we loved our traveling adventure arounds NZ and we have some wonderful experiences, but its so nice to be home.... read more
Day 15 - Saturday - Paihia to Auckland
Published: March 18th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia
March 17th 2007
Updated 19 MAR 07 Today we had our last organised event. The 'Paihia Duck tour'. Yes that's right we did the duck. A tour which starts off in a bus which miraculously turns into a boat. It wasn't a bad tour but would have been more fun if there were more that 6 people on it and if they weren't all Aussies. The tour started off at the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. This was the initial treaty between the Maori chiefs and the white settelers. We then went over to Russell, by water. Russell was the first New Zealand capital city. They pointed out the winery owned by the actress Susan Serandan and various other historical places. TIP: Any water/ boat based event, no matter what the weather requires warm clothes. ... read more
March 16th 2007
Anyway, here is lessons we have learnt during our trip. Lesson 1: Buy a good A5 Road Atlas of the country you are visiting before you go touring and always go over the next day’s leg of the trip the previous night. This helps you plan where to stop and what to look for. Lesson 2 For driving in NZ even if you get only a little motion sickness then ginger tablets like travel Calm Ginger by Blackmores (these work a treat). I (Len) don’t get car sick, but even I needed one tablet, once or twice. Lesson 3 There are a lot of rail crossings without boom gates. Be aware of this and have a look before you cross. Lesson 4 Aussies allow for extra time to travel the same distance as you would normally ... read more
March 15th 2007
Updated 19 MAR 07 This is our chill out day and yet the first thing we did after breakfast was go in the EXCITOR. This is a tour and viewing boat that could do the big high speed ocean going boat races. It cruises at 40 - 45 knots and just has some awesome power. Unfortunately the seas were calm this day. (Wendy: speak for yourself!) So it was a fast yet sedate ride, very few waves to power through. But a great trip all in all. We went through the Hole in the Rock, did a 180 degree turn and came out backwards, (see pix). We then went around the whole rock. Our skipper took us into Cathedral cave on the same island. We came out and the fish, caraway, were jump and swarming ... read more
Day 13 - Thursday - Auckland to Paihia
Published: March 16th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » South Auckland
March 15th 2007
Our destination today is pronounced ‘Pie - Here” for those un-initiated amongst us. This town is in the middle of the Bay of Islands and this is pronounced “Paradise”. For surely, it must be. For game fishing or even just plain fishing this is the place. Then there is all the other things you can do here: For example, Culture North Sound and Light show about the Treaty of Waitangi (which we did), Excitor 1600 horsepower speed boat ride out to the Hole in the Rock (which we did), A slow amphibious bus, a Duck, ride around the bays (which we did), view dolphins, watch whales, para-glide from behind a speedboat, catch ferries to other islands and towns, hire your own motor boat, charter a sail boat (mono hull or cat), horse ride, catch a bus ... read more
Day 12 - Wednesday - Hamilton to Auckland
Published: March 16th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » HamiltonMarch 14th 2007
This was a very easy 2-hour drive, with an end destination of catching with more relatives. On the way we passed the entrance to the Hamilton Garden, but didn’t have time to drop in. If the entrance was anything to go by then these gardens are well worth a look. We also stopped for a bite to eat just after we left (what’s new) at the ‘5 Cross Roads Cake Kitchen’ in Hamilton. We highly recommend this place. Especially their cheese and steak pie, sausage roll’s and quiche. Their cakes looked so good Len had to drag me away. I know this is starting to sound like a food feast but we did do some walks along the way too! Really. After the drive we had a nice leisurely afternoon at Aunty Marg & Uncle Alan’s ... read more
Day 11 - Tuesday - Palmerston North to Hamilton
Published: March 16th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Palmerston NorthMarch 13th 2007
Quite a long drive but worth is as it gave us the opportunity of catching up with relatives in Hamilton. Thanks for a great night Penny, Sandy and Marshall. You too, Becca and Mark. The meal was fabulous, the company even better. Special thanks to Penny for looking after us so well especially considering she’s about to add a new member to the family. Be sure to let us know how everything goes, guys. Apart from the opportunity for Len to catch up with rellies he hasn’t seen for 20 years (yes it has been that long) is was brilliant to spend some time in a warm family environment where we didn’t need to be constantly on our guard. Thanks Heaps again guys. And Sandy, I know Len really enjoyed the catch up and is already ... read more
Day 10 - Monday - Piction via Ferry to wellington to Palmerston Nth
Published: March 12th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington
March 12th 2007
**More Details have been added at the bottom. A word of warning. There is no 10:35 ferry back to Wellington . It’s a 10am ferry. Yes, we had to run to catch it. Luckily we were there early to try to check our lugguage in. The ferry trip was quite windy and over caste. We did see a pod of dolphins, albeit briefly. Got to Wellington and picked a new hire car, a red Mitsubishi Lancer. Ooooooh! I hear you all say. Yes, now I feel at home amongst the hoons here. grin I have sent Wendy off for some retail therapy, while I sit here in a cafe with wireless internet access, listening to good jazz, sipping a shaken iced green tea, typing away happily, smelling the smells and experiencing the sights and sounds out ... read more
Day 9 - Sunday - Motueka to Kaiteriteri to Nelson to Picton
Published: March 11th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Motueka
March 11th 2007
***FIRSTLY, i have made Photo and Notes updates to previous entries, so have a look. Awoke in Motueka at the YHA. There is nothing like having your own ensuite. It was really nice to have your own shower and toilet in you room again. We stayed at Bakers Lodge, YHA here. I was quite nice. Then on the recommendation of the friendly lady at reception (at the YHA) we drove up to Kaiteriteri and booked a water taxi trip. This you have got to do. We went into the Abel Tasman National park north of there as far as Bark Bay. We had a great commentary from our driver Paul. Thanks for a great 3 hr + trip out to Bark bay and back. As there were multiple drop off points you could be dropped off ... read more
Day 8 - Saturday - Greymouth - Hokitika - Greymouth - Motueka
Published: March 10th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Hokitika
March 11th 2007
Hump Day. Yes the Middle of our journey. Checked out of the Greymouth YHA (this was pretty ok) at about 8am. I know, and we’re on holidays! But it was well worth it as the road to Hokitika was quite busy even them. Len had chatted to an American women at the YHA over the dishes (yes he can do them!) and she said that her and hubby had come to NZ just for the festival. Well I can see why too now. We got to the town a little early and decided to while away an hour or so in the Adzon Trocred café over coffee. While we were doing this 5 single prop, low winged yellow (Cesna like) aeroplanes flew over in formation and started doing aerobatics for us. Check out the pictures (to ... read more
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