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

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

So I know it's about time to write something.. Where to begin. I guess from the start. I arrived to Auckland friday the 13th, after nealy 40 hours flight. Gosh I was tired. I survived and i'm not going to fly again the next few months. Luckily I flew with another Swedish girl, same age and also going travel as me. So there were things to talk about and some nice movies as well.. Basically the first couple of days I was done. Jetlag was awfull and Auckland felt like just another big city for me. But I did go to Skytower with a Danish girl and to Auckland zoo with a Dutch girl. We got to see a kiwi, that was awesome. The hostel wasn't the best but it was alright. The first day I ... read more

Well we woke up pretty early due to jet lag...and a crazy storm going on outside. The little cottage we're in is pretty exposed, and the lashing rain and wind was causing a bit of a racket. So we were up about 4.30am working out what to do today. We decided to go to the Waipoua Forest to see the massive Kauri trees. The trees were huge - they looked like inspiration for the tree in Avatar. On the drive home in the afternoon, the sun came out and the temperature went up to 26 degrees! Dinner was eaten outside overlooking the stunning views. Nice local ale too. P... read more

Mike and I spent incredible time in New Caledonia. It was very sad to leave that beautiful island. People were very kind that they left good impression on us. I will definitely go back to New Caledonia if picking kiwis and oranges become successful business:))). Now a bit of arriving to New Zealand. It was so green and blue from the air plane when we were landing. The weather is absolutely beautiful, not hot and not cold,just an average temperature that suit everyone, I mean us:))). Mike and I arranged to buy a camper van from Buyback camper vans. We were a bit worried how that will work out at the end. Thankfully our worries were gone when we arrived. They waited for us at the airport with a camper van that we wanted. BuyBackCampervans.co.nz was ... read more

Yes I am in a kiwi zone - the little sweeties really do live up here in the Bay of Islands...but the only ones I have seen have been on the yellow road signs with a black kiwi on - warning you not to knock em down!!! I know they are elusive...but the Nature Reserve I was walking in today has 100 adults - you would think one of them would have crawled out of the undergrowth to say hello. I But as usual I am getting ahead of myself and missing out a day. A bit of a cloudy misty hot day yesteday but Patricia took me on a tour down the North Shore Coast visiting all the beaches and bays until we got to Devonport - a lovely town with some nice villas and ... read more

Sunday was our last full day up north so over breakfast we got out the map and planned a rout that would encompass as many highlights as possible. We hit up the Kauri Tree Shop and admired the craft and artistry of all the hopelessly expensive carvings and then drove to Kerikeri to see The Stone Store which is the oldest stone building in New Zealand. It really shows what a young country this is when you realize that the oldest building was built between 1832 and 1836. I had neighbors growing up who lived in houses older than that! Kerikeri was a beautiful old historic town with a river running right through the center. Across from The Stone Store kids were leaping of the wharf into the water, families were picnicking under shady trees, and ... read more

After a shortened sleep doing last minute packing the night before, and then being a little too relaxed about airport check in times, the first part of the trip was a missed flight. Note to self for future trips when taking a bike: Arrive at the airport with plenty of time to pack it into the bike box. I now have a bad perception of Air New Zealand, although with hindsight I can see how they need to stick to their check in time policy. My travel companion, Ben, who is also a work buddy, was already checked in and they had to find his bike box to get it off the plane. How that was any different to putting my bike on the plane I don't know...as we asked them repeatedly and tried to pull ... read more