Blogs from East Coast, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania
9/01 Gaan HelpX'en bij Joan
Published: January 20th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Opotiki
January 20th 2012
We kwamen toe op de oprit rond de middag en we dachten 'oh my god' wat is dat hier? De eerste indruk was van: we zijn verkeerd. Maar we waren blijkbaar juist. Joan kwam ons al gauw begroeten op het moment dat onze auto tussen de 4 andere wagens op de oprit geparkeerd hadden. We zagen al gauw dat de wagens overgroeid waren met planten en dus geen functie meer hadden. Ook rondom het huis krioelde het met slingerplanten en rommel. Joan gaf ons een rondleiding in het huis van John. John & Joan zijn broer en zus. Joan leefde 8 jaar in Saoudi-Arabië als vroedvrouw in verschillende ziekenhuizen. Ze reisde ook Europa door en leerde er iemand kennen uit Wales waar ze nog es 5 jaar verbleef. Ze had een huwelijk van 25 jaar achter ... read more
Gisborne, Mahia Beach and Lake Waikaremoana
Published: January 18th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Gisborne
January 17th 2012
Hi guys, finally managed to get to the internet (and lost it again for two days as the library closed for the day grrrrh). We spent nearly a week in a place called Gisborne which is on the east side of North Island. It was very sunny and we had the best sunsets. I will post a picture of one! We did some sightseeing in Gisborne, went to the Botanic Garden and read lots about Cooks landing and the first encounter with Maori people. On Friday, we decided to go and visit a local club, to be exact a RSA club where we had to be signed in and were allowed to listen to live music and play darts, snooker with the locals. We even got some plums from an old toothless man :) who claimed ... read more
January 17th 2012
Gisborne is best wel een gezellig stadje met enkele heel grote winkelstraten. Het is de moeite om rond te lopen in Muirs bookshop. De oudste boekenwinkel van de stad. Op de 2e verdieping kan je koffie drinken en brownie's eten! Na wat rondslenteren kwamen we opnieuw een boekenshop tegen, dit was misschien wel de 2e oudste van de stad...in elk geval was het een bizar winkeltje. De rekken stonden overvol met oude boeken. Ik kocht een boekje uit 1900 voor $2.00! Poëzie van Lord Byron. Dit zou je in België niet vinden! We zagen heel veel oude boeken, eerste drukwerken van bekende schrijvers (boeken die meer dan 200 jaar oud waren en in goede staat) voor slechts $2.00! Dju toch! Waarom is het zo duur om iets op te sturen naar België?? Vanuit Gisborne reden we ... read more
Lake Wakaremoana
Published: January 16th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Gisborne
January 16th 2012
Deze rit vanuit het dichtbijzijnde stadje duurt een goeie 2 uur! En je rijdt bijna volledig op ongeasfalteerde wegen – dus een 4x4 is hier niet mis -. Lake Wakaremoana is één van de mooiste meren dat we hier in dit land al gezien hebben. Het is heel groot! Je kan het meer in 3 dagen wandelen (the great walk/de grote wandeling). Wij waren ook 3 dagen rondom het meer maar hebben wat kleinere wandelingen gedaan (dagwandelingen). Een must do voor korte wandelingen zijn de watervallen, Lou's Lookout want daar heb je een prachtig zicht over het meer, the Rata walk (de grootste en oudste boom van dit district) en een bootje huren om te roeien op het hoger gelegen meertje is ook heel leuk om te doen! Je hebt rondom het meer een 3 tal ... read more
Driving rain and just more driving!
Published: May 5th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast
March 26th 2011
We finally managed to make a decision on where to go so headed to Napier. We stopped briefly in Hastings to see some of the Spanish style buildings in town. However it hadn’t stopped raining since the night before so we weren’t really in the mood for walking around. Instead we headed straight for a campsite to hanker down for the day as the rain wasn’t about to ease up! The following day we headed to Art Deco Napier. It was a bit of a grey day and overcast but at least it had stopped raining. The main town is the only place that is in the Art Deco style along with the sound shell on the seafront, so its really concentrated in one area. We walked around the town to see the beautiful styled buildings ... read more
Got my van.. Sooo Happy!!!!
Published: February 5th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Napier
February 5th 2011
Sorry been a while since i've been on here. Been on a bit of a road trip. Having left Auckland, i made my way to Mount Maunganui. I stayed there longer than i should. The weather was so nice and the beaches there were amazing! Really nice little cafes, and great walks as well. After that i was in Gisborne. The town it's self was not that impressive, but it had some nice shops, and some great beaches. Again some really good walks. The town is the first place where Captain Cook landed. They seem to be very proud of this fact as there's loads of statues. I've just arrived in Napier now, so i'll probably stay a few days here. ... read more
Napier, Hawke's Bay e Gisborne !!
Published: January 14th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Gisborne
January 5th 2011
Opa opa opa!!! Como estamos todos nós?? Como entramos nesse novo ano?? A vida sorri?? Esperamos que sim!!!!! = !!!! Sim, sim, essas últimas 3 semanas foram bem corridas e interessantes!!!!! Depois de nossas 6 semanas de vida boa em Mount Maunganui, o bolso começou a ficar mais vazio e infelizmente não era porque tinha um furo, era porque não tínhamos trampo mesmo!!!!! Demônios alados!!! Então tomamos a difícil decisão de abandonar aquela vidinha "complicada" e seguir viagem para terras distantes, com frutos e especiarias exóticas, ciclopes e unicórnios!!! E para lá fomos!! Partimos para Napier, uma cidade que fica em Hawke's Bay, costa leste da Nova Zelândia. Chegamos numa segunda e fomos para um albergue, o Toad Hall Backpackers, nos alocamos e fomos dar um rolézinho de leve para ver a cara da cidade!! Bom, ... read more
July 5th 2010
Hi thereall-----------first time so still learning so will keep news short it raining at present and going to be the same for next 3 days and is getting cold.We have been travelling Australia for last 2 years but at present home in Gisborne.Have a happy day,Jeff... read more
East coast of North island
Published: April 25th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast
February 1st 2010
Our departure from Wellington was not quite as early as we had hoped, as we have collected so much stuff in the 9 months that we lived there! We ended up piling everything into boxes and chucking them into the car, to later discover that we had about 40 knives and forks, 2 sieves, yet no saucepans or bowls! We finally hit the road at around 6 in the evening for our journey up to Hastings. We had arranged to stay with a couple who lived in a small cottage in the middle of the hills, who we had met through a website called couchsurfing. This is basically an online travellers network of people with spare rooms/couches open to travellers. We had heard that it was a really great way to meet the locals and get ... read more
