Blogs from East Coast, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

HI THERE! well the flight was very comfortable - 4 seats to myself, watched many films, played many games...and then watched more films and played more games ..... and so on! Up early this morning feeding chickens and sheep etc my usual routine at the crack of dawn??????? dont feel tired atall yet - my jetlag i think hasnt arrived yet unlike my luggage which was a shock. The farms huge - will send pics when i work out how too. just about to have a dip in the hottub, you know how it goes. seeya!... read more

Hello again! Well this being on the road sure beats working... We've had the most glorious week weather-wise and driving around NZ has been a real pleasure. One of the nice things about NZ is that the scenery is gorgeous (and we know that it gets better on the South Island), and outside of Auckland the roads are reasonably quiet, so we are able to meander about the country looking at nice views, enjoying the weather and generally taking our time about getting places. We left the Coromandel on Thursday and had a long day's driving to Rotorua. This was just a stop-over as we were aiming for Napier but it was too far for a day's drive. The drive from the Coromandel was typically stunning, along the coast for most of the way and through ... read more

Hello again Left Wellington Sunday am and drove to Napier. Weather was good and had a BBQ with Joy Trevor Sarah Lisa and 2 friends Went into Napier Mon am and did the art deco walking tour - highly recommended. Back to Joy's and out for a tour of vineyards and lunch then on to Taupo. As we arrived we saw a house coming down the road a more literal meaning to someone moving home - see photo Tuesday did a tour around Taupo in the am and saw first of our geothermal sites Took a sailing boat trip on the lake after lunch to see ancient Maori carvings - actually carved in 1979 but in the ancient style. Enjoyed the sail though with full sails up. Joan not sure about sliding around as boat tilted ... read more

The past three weeks of sailing were incredible! Veronica and I left the Alvei today and watching it sail off without us was like watching our house and family drift away. But the money has run out and it's time to work. I'll miss everything about sailing, including getting up at 4:00am for watch, eating Fritjof's "kerosene pie" (this was a veggie pie gone very wrong), the dolphins that swim along side the boat (at night they are just glowing outlines because of the bioluminescence in the water), listening to Jared (the first mate) tell stories about his tattoos and his jail time, singalongs and jamming out in the saloon. I won't miss weighing anchor actually. That's just a pain in the butt. The achor is a ton and the chain probably more than that. And ... read more

Stayed at Steve’s Beachhouse Backpackers. The Beachhouse Backpackers is about 2 miles out of the small town of Opotiki, Steve had in his time travelled the world from his home in Auckland, returned after 5 years and asked where the best climate in New Zealand could be found - the east cape. The weather for me was good, and I enjoyed a walk along the beach, a wander through the town and relaxed for the evening. The Budget Backpacker Hostels network or the BBH is a group of independent hostels that are rated and listed in a book. Holding a BBH card entitles the bearer to a guaranteed price, in my experience the hostels that are members of this group tend to be the smaller, friendlier hostels. I purchased a card and set about saving a ... read more