Blogs from Kapiti Coast, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

An absolutely beautiful, pleasant, discovering day. The weather was terrific. We began by wandering the Waikanae Beach, making comments that the driftwood, shells and volcanic stones would be an artisans mecca. The weathering by sea and sand of the pieces of driftwood and stones into all sorts of shapes and smoothness had us wanting to take many pieces home but knew that was not possible. We were present when the local ferry ‘berthed’ (see photos). Birdlife was prolific. Kapiti Island is 5km across the Rauoterangi Channel and is a popular destination for many. Waikanae, meaning ‘waters of the grey mullet’ is also home to numerous walking, running, cycling and horse trails. The Tararua Ranges which we white knuckled experienced yesterday look over Waikanae and the Kapiti Coast. Tripping further south we came across, Paraparaumu. Its beach, ... read more

One week to go before the T's and G's take off to places unknown - well to us anyway. So we've been to pick up our tickets, vouchers and itinerary all dressed up in a putrid orange pouch and that's when the excitement began to kick in. Sorry to be posting boring lead up stuff but I want to make sure that everything is working for this so that everyone can keep up with our news so that you don't all have to sit through a million photos and having us crack on about 'remember when' and 'when we were in...' when we get home. The 'real' travel blog will start next Friday when we are heading out. First stop over, Sydney. Sadly, only for 3 hours whanau before we head off to Dubai. The countdown ... read more

Tuesday April 2nd: In the morning we visited the famous NZ Kiwi birds at the kiwi house in Whangerei. We also saw the reptiles from the dinosaur age, the Tuatara. At the recovery and rehabilitation center we saw a talking Tui bird. Their calls sound a little like R2D2. We went to the Moari history museum nearby. We learned about gum trees and the many ways their resin was used: jewelry, sculpture, medicine & ship building. The flax plant was also used to make clothing and baskets and was a very important resource in that culture. Later in the day we went to a kauri forest. The Kauri is a tree native to NZ that was once all over NZ and was prized by European merchants. They grow very large and the forest was a little ... read more

No I not pulled but tell Helen Moody that I am in woodcutter country so who knows!... read more

Innoculations were the second step, then a visit to the pharmacy to collect what seems to be a veritable chest of stuff to stop trouble - trouble appears to range from malaria to a SE Asian form of Dehli Belly - plus plasters, mossie repellent, anitbiotics, asthma puffers and so on. We turned down the anti AIDS/babies' offerings - too old really. The first step saved $100 and was a visit to the Vietnamese Embassy for our visas. The travel agency was charging a cool $50 a head for the service!. So, how much fun are we going to have? And who is 'we'? Heather Waugh, Ali and John Tocker, Rick and Pip Graham and David Betteridge (my long suffering other half) and me - all from the sunny Kapiti Coast, and all members of that ... read more