Blogs from Russell, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 7

Okay so we had the whole international date thing again which meant that we arrived into Auckland late on the evening of Tuesday when we departed Samoa for our 4 hour flight on Monday. Mmmmm we're getting there now and fortunately there was no problem with our booking at the hostel. Having checked in we headed off out to get some food lazily settling for kebabs of all things (have to sort out some healthy food). It was late so after taking them back to the room and watching coronation street we got an early night to pick the van up the next day. Strolling round the corner from our hostel with a distinct feeling of Deja Vu having done this the first time we were here we were amazed to find that the van we ... read more

After leaving the caves at Waitoma, we stopped off outside of Auckland to break up our trip to the Bay of Islands (a vacation hotspot a couple of hours north of Auckland). We stayed in a Top 10 Holiday Park in Manukau. In the past this chain of parks has been a very good value, with simple, but clean accommodation with a kitchenette and laundry facilities. At this particular location we actually stayed in a trailer home. It was fine for the night, but it is hard to imagine how families live in these modest accommodations. I tried to emphasis the kids how blessed (and frankly gluttonous) we are to live in such relatively posh accommodations in North America. It was along the same lines as: “You have to finish your dinner! Don’t you know they ... read more

Day 4 Russell (Monday 2/18) We drove the back road (Coastal Road) from Wangarei to Russell. Stopped for a picnic and really enjoyed the lovely coastline. We must have gone over 30 one lane bridges. Russell is where the first whites settled. It overlooks the Bay of Islands. Personally I have mixed feeling about Russell. It is beautiful but basically your tourist town. I found the small fishing towns on the drive up much more interesting. We took the main road back to Wangarei but first had to take a Ferry to get to the main road. It was probably a 5 hour trip and I am finding that Juanita’s energy level is about 4 hours. I guess it is time to make some adjustments. We made a nice supper in the Motel room and watched ... read more

Friday 21st December Longest day of the year. Today we headed for Russell, one time capital of New Zealand, one time Hell Hole of the Pacific, now sleeply little village full of craft shops and restuarants. Reached by ferry on a really efficiently run shuttle service it has some really beautiful houses fro colonial times, that and flowers and gorgeous gardens makes it a pretty place to while away a few hours. The Morton Bay Fig Tree with its gnarled and patterned truck standing next to the police station is huge. We had lunch at a vinery restaurant near the ferry. Not bad at all. ... read more