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Hastings Travel Blogs

Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

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By rob l jones
July 1st 2009

4th Class With Qantas and Welcome to the ED Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

"If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?" --- Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. Qantas (my courier over a couple of thousand miles) insist on starting their safety videos with an introduction from Billy Bob Thornton (or someone resembling him) wearing a pilot's uniform; and I thought, the last thing Billy Bob Thornton should be trusted with is a safety briefing to a plane full of people. And there was me, cramped into a centre aisle seat on a twenty-two hour flight from London to Sydney. On my right, Crocodile [View Full Entry]

By blondinka
April 17th 2009

In Hastings today Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

This morning we made a bacon roll for breakfast - a two foot long baguette with a whole packet of bacon! V. naughty but v. filling too. Before leaving I had a chat with the receptionist about how full their chalets get, and she said : really, really full at times. She said that during the past Easter weekend, they could have filled the centre twice over. It is particularly popular with school groups from abroad, even from Aberystwyth in Wales! Apparently it is cheaper for them to come here rather than to go to Europe. Given that there were so [View Full Entry]

By et
January 1st 2009

New Year in Hawkes Bay Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

Ocean Beach Surfer

On Monday, we got up at 5.20am to drive to Picton in order to catch the 8am BlueBridge Ferry across to North Island. Emma was driving because Tim's feet were still not quite operational. We found a Bakehouse open very early and grabbed a coffee while waiting to drive onto the ferry. Once on board we headed straight for the galley cafe for a cooked breakfast (an essential part of any sea voyage). The 3-hour crossing was very plain sailing and we were delighted to count seven penguins swimming in the water as we sailed out of the Marlborough Sounds into [View Full Entry]

By Gypsy Rovers
April 7th 2008

Apples make you smell Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

Mal On

Yo! For the past 5 weeks we have been earning a crust and honing our apple picking talents. We were advised to contact Phil and Kirsty who own an orchard on the outskirts of Hastings. Unfortunately, we missed the Royal Gala harvest but as they are so kind they sorted us out for work on a friend's organic orchard until the Jazz were ready to be picked. The organic place was well out of town and in a really peaceful area. We could park the van at the farm and use the amenities (see photo attached!) It took a few days [View Full Entry]

By Rebeccaelyse
March 28th 2008

I Heart Hastings? Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

Tove + Rotten Apple backpackers

It's surprising how much can happen in a few weeks. I'm still picking blueberries, and actually enjoying it....sometimes. I've met wonderful people, and I'm having so much fun. Me and Tove are going to Taupo on Thursday, meeting up with Natalie and Louise there, and we're going SKYDIVING! yay! Jumping out of a plane!! I'm very excited, not only because it means not working for a couple of days. After Taupo we're going to walk the Tongariro Crossing again, hopefully with better weather now. After that Tove is going to Welly, and I might go back to Hastings (again!!!) and work [View Full Entry]

By lights2012
March 26th 2008

Same old stuff Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

The date is Wednesday, March 26th, and I am continuing my theme of writing on Wednesdays. I would first like to wish happy birthday to both my parents, this is that special day of the year when my dad is 2 years older than my mom. I'm writing this from the living room/kitchen/bedroom of my flat, as we talked our kiwi neighbors into letting us scype their internet service for two weeks for $15. Its pretty convenient to say the least. Unfortunately, only hours after my Congolese roommate and I made that deal, our contractor called and said that we were [View Full Entry]

By Bobcat
March 22nd 2008

Weeks Ten, Eleven and Twelve: Apples, Losing Wallets, Getting Ill and Making Friends Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

The Work As the old adage goes, you can’t polish a turd (during some of our work days I would have preferred to do that), hence there being little glitz and glamour in picking apples. I know what you’re picturing. A sun-dappled orchard, blue sky, hazy laughter floating between the trees as we pranced majestically up and down the rows casually plucking apples from their stems as we supped cold lemonade. Yeah, I imagined a country bumpkin-style ambience, when in actuality it was a factory airlifted to a field with all of the associated incompetence and prejudice (not [View Full Entry]

By lights2012
March 19th 2008

AAAAAAHHH. Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

The title of this blog are my thoughts as I drove for the first time in NZ today. Everything is inverted, and I don't think it is so much the driving on the other side of the road that gets to you, its more the sitting on the other side of the car. That freaks you out. You are so used to puting your car space in a certain area so it doesn't hit anything, and now everything is inverted. It's wierd. But I'm here, safely. It was a long four blocks, however. And no questions about who's car I was [View Full Entry]

By Bobcat
March 16th 2008

Australia: Backpacking, Discovery and Alcohol - Our Two Month Jaunt Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

Australia: Backpacking, Discovery and Alcohol - Our Two Month Jaunt Australia will always remain to in my memory as the place where I truly understood what people meant when they referred to the following points: * Being a traveller and not a tourist; and * "Roughing it" So far going on holiday usually referred to a 2-week trip to a sunny clime a couple of hours away, full of Britons intent on ruining our reputation as a nation without competent dentistry and replacing it as a realm of boisterous yobs. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Learning how to be a [View Full Entry]

By Bobcat
March 16th 2008

Week Nine: Arriving in Auckland, Endless bus journeys, Hastings, and Apples as Far as the Eye Can See! Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Hawkes Bay » Hastings

After spending our last couple of days in Cairns wandering aimlessly, drinking a lot of coffee and trying to avoid the heat we headed to the airport on Sunday 24th February six hours early for our flight. Well, there’s usually something to do at the airport. Cairns International Terminal has about two flights per day. Ours wasn’t until 22:50 therefore nothing was open. I’d hoped to grab a coffee, scope out duty free for some cheap Jack Daniels and mooch about. The terminal was practically deserted save for a Kiwi guy who chatted amiably to us until we were allowed to [View Full Entry]

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