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Published: February 5th 2008
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Hi everyone,
First of all we'd like to thank everyone that's left messages and comments on the blog. We really enjoy reading them, and it's great to hear your news and views. In the modern world it's all about being "interactive" so if the blog isn't really working for you, let us know: maybe you'd like us to describe places in more detail, maybe you think the writing style flows like granite, or that we should just talk about our travels rather than wasting your time with paragraphs such as this. Whatever it is, we're happy to hear from you. We could even dedicate a paragraph to you, if your comment is particularly fine.
As you can probably see we're in New Zealand. We arrived last Monday, and were met off the plane by Jaime's mum (Sue) who was already here on holiday. The flight was pretty bumpy but after a good breakfast we were ready to start the road trip that would eventually take us to Hawke's Bay, deep in Nz wine country.
The first day's driving took us to the town of Coramandel where we stayed in the hostel and enjoyed a meal at an excellent
Mission Estate Winery
Jaime: "I'm getting a hint of plum and strong chocalatey undertones, what is it?"
Sue: "Ribena" local restaurant. Jaime had mussels fresh from the sea a few hours earlier. They were huge and very tasty.
Both the drive to and from Coramandel were stunning: long sandy beaches at the side of the road, inviting bluey-green water, and in the distance, islands to one side and mountains on the other.
With me not being able to drive it meant that driving duties were shared abley between
jaime and Sue. I can tell you that it's very nice being chauffered around NZ, even if it is in a 12 year old Nissan.
After one nigh in Corumandel we were off again, this time to a town called Tauranga. On the way we stopped off in Whitianga to take a tour of some of the coast, on what looked like a large rubber dinghy with a motor. The trip took us to some stunning coastline, letting us see Mercury Bay where Captain Cook stationed himself for a while and named some of the local places. The most visited tourist spot that we saw is Cathederal cove, a huge rock archway that connects two beaches. You'll see it in the coming months if you go and watch
Taking a Break from the Road Trip
Rush hour in New Zealand was really getting to them the next Chronicles of Narnia film.
We decided to stay two nights in Tauranga, as it seemed to have a bit more going on than some of the other towns we'd dropped in on. The longer stay meant we could visit Mount Managnui which we walked round the base of (don't think this is too impressive, it's not exactly Kilimanjaro). While there we also went to the hot water pools for a dip.
After Tauranga, there was a long drive to the next point of call, Gisborne. On the way there we made a stop at Kiwiw 360, a kind of Kiwi Fruit theme park if you like. We learnt about the growing process, different varieties of kiwis and various other facts. It was very interesting and an excellent few hours. No honestly it was. After this Gisborn was really just an overnight stay before heading to Napier for the Hawkes Bay wine festival.
The festival was last Saturday. Basically there were loads of buses provided so you could visit as mant wineries as you wanted or were able to between 9am and 4pm. Now, I thought this would be quite a refined thing but by about
11am there were quite a few people literally falling off buses after their "tasting". We visited 9 wineries through the day and bought a few bottles to drink over the coming nights. Most of them don't export to the UK, selling exclusively in NZ. However, if you really want to make this an interactive experience, you can pick up the following:
Mission Estate @ www.lebonvin.co.uk (award winning Sauvignon Blanc), and
@ www.nzworldofwine.co.uk
Most of the wineries during the festival also provided musice, food etc which made for a great atmosphere.
The following day was Sue's last full day with us and after a slow get up we caught up with othger things Napier has to offer. A great Aquarium (we like aquariums - all the fun of the sea without wanting to ralph over the side of a boat) and a Marine Park with a fine collections of live seals and dolphins (the place was showing its age but the animals were obviously well cared for and wouldn't survive in the wild anyway).
I could go on, but I'm runnin low on time on the computer. Apologies for any spelling mistakes (particularly 'chocolatey' which has
Kiwi 360
Two hours learning about kiwi fruit. Sounds terrible, but very good fun. Purchased at store:
Jaime: Kiwi Face cream, kiwi wine, kiwi sweets, kiwi juice, kiwi fruits.
Martin: All Blacks Rugby mug been bugging me for days but I've not got round to changing). And thanks for taking time to read this long entry.
Best wishes,
M&J
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Serina Chander
non-member comment
Hello from Grey Blighty
Hi Martin and Jaime, Good to hear you guys are well and enjoying your travels. I love reading your blogs and the pics are fab - they bring sunshine into my living room in Leeds!!!. Your updates have certainly given me itchy feet and I can't wait to get on a plane and head for a warmer climate myself!!! Keep having fun and I'll look forward to the next update. Serina. P.S Martin I might just see you when you eventually get back to work!