Blogs from Parnell, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

So on Tuesday evening Mark arrived here after over 24 hours of travelling. Yay! So glad he flew from Birmingham not Heathrow! Jamie kindly gave me a lift to the airport to pick him up & we were there with a big sign & santa hats to ensure he didn't miss us! ;) Yesterday I took him for a stroll around Auckland city centre - we saw some pretty ships at the harbour & had a tasty (& rather larger than expected) lunch by the water front. I also found out that Virgin Colada (like Pina Colada but no rum) is very tasty, especially on a hot day! We then went to see Tron: Legacy at the local cinema which wasn't bad but I don't feel it really added much more than the original - although ... read more

This morning we left Whitianga & crossed the Coromandel Peninsula via the 309 Road stopping to see (& hug) the huge Kauri trees (... read more

Leaving Australia was more stressful than I thought.... Firstly I got to bed a little late due to the fact I got chatting to guys over supper & then had to pack & use up the internet time I'd paid for! Then my alarm failed to go off at 4am - I looked at my watch & saw it was 04:15 & my taxi was due at 04:25... Argh! Up, dressed, last minute stuff into the bag, hostel sheets & card dumped in respective boxes & outside by 04:26. No taxi... 7 minutes later still no taxi... I need the hostel card (which I'd handed in) to get back in to use the free taxi phone to order another... luckily a minute or two later a taxi showed up (the driver didn't have good english so ... read more

Stardate......urm 1 "Woke up this morning feeling fine I've got something special on my mind" Okay dokay then, 5 points to those who can humm that tune. Landed Had a little moment when I tried my currency card in the ATM at the airport and the computer said NO. I'd forgotten that they use one card for all down here for current, savings and credit - I chose the wrong one Doh!. For those who already travelled I'd like to compare the NZ immigration, bio-security to the US 'homeland security'. Down here in NZ they are civilised and understanding that you might not been fully 'with it' after 30 hours in transit, compare that to my experience in the US and we obviously have two different planets. Will I be able to humm that tune after ... read more

What a pleasurable day out we had! Especially now that I have discovered another great space I can go and read my book! We spent the day close to home at the Parnell Festival of Roses. It runs over two days at the end of October. Only a short walk away from where we are staying is Parnell Rose Garden's so this was a great opportunity to go and check it out when all the roses are in bloom. There was entertainment along Parnell road and all the shops were involved. There was a farmer's market as well but unfortunately we woke up a bit too late and missed it. We went for a short walk up Parnell Road but to be honest it was not that different from most times except that the shops had ... read more