Beach Life
Waiheke has to be the best holiday destination ever: swim in the sea, play a round of golf, walk unbelievably beautiful coastlines to remote, picture postcard bays, and end the day in a vineyard sipping wine as the sun sets.Mags50
Travel Blog Posts
May 25th 2012
Northland: Paihia- Maori meaning place of many pas (hill forts). Once there were many tribal wars. Every time blood was spilt, the tribes left the pa to find another. While built for defence, the main function of most pā was for the safe storage of food in pits, especially kumara, a sweet potato. They would dry out the kumara and bury it, then as they travelled they could always source food. These days Paihia is a bustling tourist town, with a ferry to Russell. the old capital of NZ, population of 2000 which rises to 70, 000 in the summer months. Paihia is the gateway to the Bay of islands and Cape Reinga, the very top of the North island. Russell, these days is a sleepy small town with around 1000 people. It has an interesting ... read more
Fiji- Captain Cook Cruise Yasawa Islands
Published: April 29th 2012Oceania » Fiji » Yasawa Islands » Naviti Island
April 29th 2012
The Cruise: All cruises are famous for the food- no less this one. Glad to say we managed to eat and drink a lot in the seven days. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food was good. Now we're back in NZ and eating much less! Each day we had an itinerary crated by the hospitality manager, Florian. Usually a visit to the beach to swim, snorkel and laze around and some sort of cultural visit as well. At night the entertainment was always singing and sometimes the Meke, singing and dancing. The first place we went to to practice snorkelling was a cay- literally a small area of gorgeous sand temporarily out of the water for a few hours before the high tide covered it up. There was quite a swell, and, not being used to ... read more
April 29th 2012
Villages: Bula! (Hello!) We went to several villages on the cruise. To attend church, visit a school and have a feast We were asked to respect the culture by dressing modestly, covering shoulders and legs (to below the knee). Every visit included lots of singing and dancing and usually a handicraft market- at which we bought some lovely shell and coconut gifts (Neiria bought a rather fetching ankle bracelet) then we worried about bringing then back through biological security in New Zealand (you simply declare it). Everywhere you go, even on the ship there was the traditional "Sevusevu" ceremony, where like the Maori culture you are welcomed to the village declaring you come in peace. The appointed Western chief presents the kava which is a root of the pepper tree or yaqona to the village chief ... read more
April 29th 2012
Fiji : The Islands Fiji is around 1331 miles from Auckland travelling North along the same timeline. The total number of islands constituting the Fiji Islands is 332 of which only 110 are inhabited. The two main islands of the Fiji Islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. We arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) 3 hours from Auckland. Fiji has just gone into it's winter period with temperatures a cool, low 30s. With the heat comes a slowing of pace, it's called 'Fiji time'! On the 3rd of April the military government declared a state of emergency due to severe flooding throughout Nadi and loca areas, 5 people died and hundreds were evacuated from their houses flooded to the rooftops. When you look at the area you can understand why. The flat plains around Nadi and ... read more
Life's a Beach
Published: April 10th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Waiheke Island
April 10th 2012
Easter has arrived in Waiheke along with it an influx of tourists. Lots of people own houses around these parts which they only use for weekends like these. And what a weekend, the temperature on the beach is ideal, around 24 degrees, a cooling zephyr and warm sea water make this the ideal beach time of year, better even than summer. The boats from Auckland line up in the bay and people pile into little dinghies to access the beach. And what a beach (see even more photoes of it!) A place to really be in the moment, full of mindfulness. Autumn's here and the cicadas have stopped singing. It's also cooler at night- around 15 degrees. The nights are fair drawing in! It's dark at half past six, just as well we've got Tunein radio ... read more
New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki
Published: March 31st 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » New Plymouth
March 31st 2012
New Plymouth:: Taranaki There's so much to do for visitors to New Plymouth and Taranaki and yet because it is a terminus, the end of a line- west coast of the North island, many tourists don't go. The weather was brilliant for the 3 days we spent here. Day one was spent on the coastal walkway that runs for 10 km stretching from the Port to Bell Block. We headed off past the port to climb Paritutu, one of the spines of lava pushed up from a volcano, then hit the sea quite literally in a lifeboat sailed by Happy Chaddy to explore the other two spines at sea : the Sugar Loaf islands dated to 1.75 million years. Paritutu proved too much for me, the stairs end and a rope guides your climb to the ... read more
March 20th 2012
We headed to Auckland on the 16th of March to join in with the fun and festivities of the Volvo Ocean Race, currently located till Sunday 18th March in Auckland, Teams from NZ, France, USA, United Arab Emirates, Spainand China are taking part in the round the world race, stopping off in the aforementioned countries along the way, and no expense has been spared to let the public join in with entertainment set up in the Rce village in the viaduct harbour. Most of it was wasted on me, but I did enjoy looking at the yachts, wow some of them must cost the earth! and the slant on teaching people about the need to clean up the seas, or as they put it, providing recycling and waste solutions. We have already noticed the huge push ... read more
Island Life
Published: March 15th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Waiheke Island
March 15th 2012
We've been having such a great time here on Waiheke. Yesterday we had the most amazing walk, starting at the Onetangi sports club on O'Brien Road, crossing the peninsula to tale us to coastal bays with a view to Auckland. We stopped for lunch at the world famous Te Whau vineyard and restaurant. Then continued our walk to Rocky bay, where we caught the bus back. This walk has unbelievable scenery. The weather was perfect, totally clear blue skies, but with a cool breeze. We had panoramic views over Rocky bay, Te Whau point, inland parts of Western Waiheke and to Auckland. This is a secluded part of the island. We had a serene excursion through mature coastal forest and vineyards. Savouring the amazing fare of Te Whau- excellent food and wine. We've explored many other ... read more
Waiheke Mailboxes
Published: March 10th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Waiheke Island
March 10th 2012
Every house in Waiheke has a long, steep driveway at the end of which there is a mailbox.... We've got a new hobby, photographing thr quirky ones. Haven't we anything better to do with our time??... read more
March 10th 2012
Wednesday 7th March we went to Hamilton to have a look at the gardens there. Okay we like gardening!! They have these gardens that they have set up at great expense.The council consulted with gardeners from around the world to design themed garden collections. They explore the history, context and meaning of gardens through 5 garden collections:Paradise gardens, productive garden, cultivar gardens, landscapgarden collection and fantasy gardens. We really liked the Paradise gardens, which were Chinese, English, Japanese, American modernist, Italian Renaissance (my favourite) and Indian Char Bagh. Enjoy!... read more
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