Blogs from Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

J'ai pris ce matin la route pour le North pour rejoindre Brigit et Ian les aider sur le bateau (et leur jardin) Il a d'abord fallut s'arrêter à Silverdale acheter de quoi équiper l'auto, puis direction le fil rouge de la journée, les cascades. Une première avec Piroa Falls, puis les Waipu Caves, où j'ai chaussé mes belles bottes en plastique pour observer des glowworms !! (des vers luisants) on se croirait sous une pluie d'étoile c'est magnifique. Seconde cascade avec la Whangarei falls, puis dernière avec la Rainbow falls. La voiture roule bien malgré un parallélisme elle tire toujours à gauche, tant pis. Et il continue de pleuvoir mais pas intermittence, ici les terres sont balayées par les vents ! Me voilà arrivé à Tortura North, Ian est né sur l'île de Man ! (TT) ... read more

Thursday December 31 – We woke up to a beautiful beach sunrise and then drove to the Goat Island Marine Reserve. It has amazing snorkeling, but we were there too early to even rent equipment, so we walked around for a while and then carried on north. We stopped at a couple more places as we drove and then in Paihia to get the ferry to Russell in the Bay of Islands. The weather was not great and we were not really impressed with Russell. The best part was that Charles Darwin had been there before. Once we took the ferry back to Paihai, we went to the info site for help finding a place to sleep. It’s really high season at this time and camping is often already booked out. Plus, it is New Year’s ... read more

A quieter day today. We started off by visiting the I site ( tourist information) to book a boat trip around the islands out to the 'hole in the rock', but again as it is now past the main summer season the boat was not going to run unless more people booked. That was what I call a self fulfilling outcome as who will book knowing the probable outcome is cancellation? However we went to Waitangi where the Treaty was signed between the English and Moaris giving the latter rights to land and customs. We then visited Haruru falls before travelling onto Kerikeri. We had a picnic lunch at Rainbow falls before reaching the Mission Station. This was the first European settlement in NZ, sponsored by the Anglican christian missionary service.The two original buildings where bequeathed ... read more

Thursday January 9th, 2014. Paihia, Kirikiri & Russell, Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand We breakfasted at the Youth Hostel and then loaded the stuff in the car as we are staying somewhere else in Paihia for the next two nights. We booked it and went in and paid for it yesterday afternoon. Paihia is nestled between rolling green hills and tranquil blue harbours with yellow sandy beaches in the Bay of Islands. We headed out of town and rejoined the Twin Coast Discovery Highway (TCDH) and headed north to Kerikeri. Kerikeri is known for its orchards, wineries, subtropical gardens, artisans an art and craft galleries. It was one of the first places to be settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and is the site of New Zealand's two oldest buildings. We headed straight ... read more

We gingen vanuit KawaKawa naar Keri Keri. De namen van de stadjes hier zijn soms echt hilarisch! Keri Keri is het noordelijkste stadje van het Noordereiland. Vanaf daar begint de weg naar 90 miles beach (90 mijlen strand) Cape Reinga. We besloten Cape Reinga niet te doen omdat we kort in tijd waren. We hadden afgesproken om naar Leigh (Goat Island) te gaan een paar dagen later. We reden wat rond en voor dat ik het wist stond ik met Jan in de 'Living Nature' winkel. Jan had de vlag zien wapperen waar er op stond 'Living Nature, 100% natural skincare'. En inderdaad ik kreeg een zalfje. Dat merk bestaat al 35 jaar en wordt verdeeld over de ganse wereld met een zuster afdeling in Duitsland. De verkoopster ging iemand halen en 2 seconden later stonden ... read more