Blogs from Central, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 4

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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central March 7th 2015

Caught to Inter-islander ferry and this was a very pleasent journey as it meandered along the coast across Cook Strait and into Wellington in 3 hours, We thought it would be like the isle of wight ferry taking 20 minutes but how wrong can we be. It was a huge boat with 5 vehicle decks and three passenger decks with cafes, sun deck and other levels where passengers can watch TV or sleep. Fran saw a pod of dolphins swimming near the ferry. We headed for a local campsite in Wellington for the night. It was like a supermarket carpark behind a Travelodge calling itself a Motor Inn. Well, if people can make easy money from this then I will open one in UK. Hope camping can only get better. Bought tickets to see England play ... read more
Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo
water falls on route to Taupo

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central February 22nd 2015

We took a leisurely drive to Auckland via the West coast, a long way but we can say that we have seen a bit more of NZ. We found the hotel first time - the satnav was a good purchase. The room had a kitchenette and the hotel did not have a restaurant, but as we were a stone's throw from the Viaduct harbour we went in search for food. There are some really expensive yachts moored here, including two America Cup yachts that you can hire. We found Donny Doogans, an irish pub serving roast dinners and we were served by a girl from Cardiff! Roast beef and a pint for less than £10, a bargain. On Sunday we decided to walk to the Eden garden. This took much longer than anticipated and due to ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central February 16th 2015

Hello from New Zealand! We are so excited to be here! Flight was great, seats were comfortable, and we slept some - not enough, but some. I timed our flight, and it took us just over 12 hours to get here. A few bumps as we crossed the equator, but we expected that. Passport Control at AKL was so simple and we were out of the airport in no time. Since we are a bit sleep deprived, we were really struggling with the New Zealand accent at the rental car counter. The staff was incredibly patient and kind with us, and we are now proud renters of a brand new Toyota Corrolla. I hope it looks brand new when we are done with it. Whew. Getting used to driving on the left side of the road ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central January 28th 2015

Episode 5 (Wednesday, 28.01.15) With our remaining days in New Zealand becoming numbered, we progressed from Napier south towards Wellington. We stopped at a little town called Woodville for lunch. While eating in a café, I noticed a dress shop called “For Frock’s Sake.” In Wellington, we stayed at the Copthorne Hotel by the water, with sweeping views of the city around the harbour. Wellington is a charming place, and again our days were bathed in sunshine (26 degrees in Welly and not a breath of wind !). Ross particularly loved the rows of lovely (San Fran like) wooden houses both along the boulevarde and terraced up the hillsides around the city. Meanwhile, sitting in bean bags drinking beers in the late arvo sun down at the Macs BrewBar is most agreeable (as Lady Catherine De ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central January 21st 2015

Sat 17/1/15Quick stop off in Brisbane for 1.5 hours. It's been 21.5 years since we were last in Australia. Landed in Auckland in the rain and 25C. Bus and into the city and a quick 2 block walk to the hotel- street view never quite shows how steep the blocks are. Heritage Hotel, on site of or possibly renovated from a 'Farmers Trading Store' big old department store. Either way the room was big and had good view of the harbour over top of some buildings. The rooftop pool looks inviting so I've decided to have a swim every day of the holiday if possible. Obviously too late and too tired on Saturday!... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central January 21st 2015

Sunday 18/1/15Slept like proverbial logs and were up early raring to go. Walked through the city, saw bits of a cycling race and headed up to the Auckland Museum. It was big has some interesting stuff and good views, very hot walk back down. Had arranged to meet Teresa and Neil (ex Suffolk) for a meal, Neil had booked a restaurant down by the harbour and very nice it was too. Haven't seen Teresa since she moved out here about 9 years ago, the kids have grown up a lot but Teresa and Neil were just the same, was good to see them and had a good night out.... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central January 20th 2015

Kia Ora again from New Zealand. Much has changed since the last post, and with all six of us finally reaching New Zealand time to yourself to jot down some thoughts has been hard to find, especially when you are spending over 80% of your time within five feet of each other. I have therefore decided to split this leg of the trip over two blogs and make them more manageable as I am aware my incessant stories may be getting a little boring and some of you have short attention spans! We would prove to find a new enemy on this leg of the trip, and aside from bodily gases in confined spaces, it was time that kept hindering our plans and cutting short our R&R. With so much of the country to see and ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central January 1st 2015

First things first, a massive thank you to everyone who read the first blog. Aside from a few spelling and grammatical errors that were pointed faster than you could say spell check, it went down much better than I'd anticipated. Whilst my apprehension at posting a blog had subsided, I then realised that I had to write another, and the anxious cycle started over again. You always hear of musicians talking about the difficult second album, living up to the style, novelty and hype of the first, but in an original and progressive way. Admittedly, with possible delusions of grandeur, I felt I now faced a similar problem. My anxiety lasted all of about ten minutes though, as I then remembered who I was travelling with, and within my family there is absolutely no shortage of ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central December 29th 2014

Pour fêter ses ..... bougies, Astrid est partie travailler pour célébrer cet évènement avec ses collègues. Son chef lui a même préparé des muffins à la banane. Pendant ce temps, son cher et tendre est parti se sociabiliser et travailler son anglais avec les copains serveurs au restaurant: direction la plage. ^^ Profitant du temps estival et devant même décapoter la voiture pour pouvoir respirer, nous sommes retournés à Piha. Après un bon repas et quelques bières descendues, un certain remord nous a atteint. Astrid travaillait et nous bronzions, c'est pourquoi nous avons pris quelques photos à son attention. Retour à la maison, cadeau acheté (pour changer: un livre de cuisine), repas préparé avec amour et saveurs, reste plus qu'à souffler les bougies (houps j'avais zappé). Nous avons travaillé pour Noël avec la même équipe de ... read more
Joyeux anniversaire finlandais
Joyeux anniversaire Italien
Joyeux anniversaire

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central November 30th 2014

Bonne nouvelle, nous avons enfin un job !! Enfin il s'agit surtout d'un petit boulot pour nous permettre de payer les factures, parler anglais et sortir de chez nous nous socialiser un peu! Nous voilà donc "runner", comprendre assistant serveur dans un restaurant plutôt réputé d'Auckland, le Mikano. Concrètement on fait quoi ? Remplir les verres d'eau et de vin, dresser les tables, apporter les commandes et desservir. Le restaurant rassemble surtout une clientèle de professionnels le midi et de Néo-Zélandais branchés le soirs. Il est situé au bord de la mer juste à côté du port et devant l'héliport. L'ambiance y est cosi et la nourriture à l'air plutôt bonne, du poisson principalement! Malheureusement pour Romain mais heureusement pour le restaurant, ils ne proposent pas de PIZZA (mais l'Homme à quand même repéré la présence ... read more
Mikano
Mikano
Mikano




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