Blogs from North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 23

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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua April 29th 2019

This is just a quick update to let everyone know where we are and where we are headed next just in case you should want to touch base. We always love to hear what you are all up to too so feel free to drop us a line anytime and I can then also confirm that you are not hitting the delete button as soon as you see who it is from! lol After returning from Aus in October last year we moved back into our very comfortable home and have appreciated the space if offers after so long living in a motorhome plus we had forgotten what stunning views we have of Lake Rotorua and farmland. We had hoped to then sell the house to move to a warmer area of the North Island but ... read more
Devoy 1 Decking

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Paeroa April 12th 2019

Der Panther (Rainer Maria Rilke, 6.11.1902, Paris) Im Jardin des Plantes, Paris Sein Blick ist vom Vorübergehen der Stäbe so müd geworden, dass er nichts mehr hält. Ihm ist, als ob es tausend Stäbe gäbe und hinter tausend Stäben keine Welt. Der weiche Gang geschmeidig starker Schritte, der sich im allerkleinsten Kreise dreht, ist wie ein Tanz von Kraft um eine Mitte, in der betäubt ein großer Wille steht. Nur manchmal schiebt der Vorhang der Pupille sich lautlos auf -. Dann geht ein Bild hinein, geht durch der Glieder angespannte Stille - und hört im Herzen auf zu sein. Heya meine Lieben, endlich habe ich die Kraft gefunden den finalen Teil meiner Neuseelandreise 2019 anzugehen und das ist wirklich in vielerlei Hinsicht eine sehr große Herausforderung für mich. Aus gutem Grunde hatte ich es ursprünglich ge ... read more
Emily Rice Konzert in der Refinery
IMAG3735
Gesichter des Rotweins 1

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland April 11th 2019

“It’s a dangerous business going out of your door…You set out in to the street and if you don’t keep your feet there is no knowing where you might be swept off to…’– Gandalf . It was an early(ish) start for us today as our flight from Sydney to Auckland was at 09:55. Or so we thought!! We woke up at 06:45. In the old days, Roisin would have reached for her ciggies but in this modern day the rectangular shape of a cigarette box has since been substituted for a mobile phone. She immediately tapped on the email icon. ‘You’re having a laugh’, she said to no one in particular (although there was only me and her in the room!!) The next line was directed at me, though: they’ve ... read more
Welcome to Hobbiton
Now, who lives in a hole like this
A Hobbiton butterfly

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington April 6th 2019

Autumn is certainly starting to show her colours. So with the end of the summer fast approaching we set off on a trip to enjoy the last off the summer {and the wine }. Di and I along with Annemarie and Corrado left home and spent a couple of nights in Taupo then headed to one of my favourite areas in NZ. The Coromandal peninsula has always attracted me to it's great coast line with wonderful scenery, coves, estuaries, small towns, big towns, but most of all it's beautiful beaches. Great surf beaches, gentle beaches, popular beaches and my favourite, secluded beaches. I first traveled there with my brother Nick and friend Wayne as a mid teen, enjoying the summer holidays for a few years and always working on the tan. I have returned a number ... read more
Waikato River, Taupo.
Refreshments at Whitianga.
The Lost Springs. Whtianga.

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island March 28th 2019

Es ist mal wieder Zeit für einen Blogbeitrag und diesmal geht es mir gar nicht so leicht von der Hand wie sonst und ich stelle fest, wie ich das nun doch schon 2 Tage vor mir herschiebe. Teils der Umstände halber und teils auch weil ich selber nicht genau weiß was ich diesmal berichten möchte oder auch überhaupt kann. Aber es hilft ja nichts und deshalb habe ich mich nun aufgerafft einfach mal anzufangen und zu schauen wohin die Reise geht. Zumindest was das titelgebende Kernthema angeht. Die Mission Coromandel. Aber bevor ich dazu komme möchte ich nochmal kurz auf meine Aktivitäten hier in Paeroa eingehen. Diese Malereien auf meinen Armen stammen von meiner lieben Freundin Mel und nicht nur, dass sie ganz wunderbar ausschauen es ist auch fantastisch, dass sie das kann und warum sie ... read more
Mel´s Koerpermalerei 2
Mond- und Sternennaechte 1
Mond- und Sternennaechte 2

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central March 12th 2019

Hi everyone Well, I have 3 weeks to go before I set off on my first solo MLCOE (Mid Life Crisis Overseas Experience). Checklist nearly complete: Backback - tick (my first ever backpack and my first backpacking experience...ever...) Boots and sandals - tick Ugly hiking pants and shirt - tick Medicine - tick...last rabies shot this week ...you get the idea. Lots of stuff and I haven't tried packing it all in the backback yet. Many of you are a little worried about how I'll manage and some of you have concern for my safety. I get that and I share your concerns! I probably won't be on the phone much so, here's my blog page to keep you up-to-date with my travels, and a place where you can see (most of) what I'm up to...but ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua March 9th 2019

Rotorua Thursday /Friday 7th 8th March This is the centre of the geothermal area and after yesterday's trip to Orakei Korako, today we went to Wai-O-Tapu. There is a geyser, Lady Knox geyser, and a member of staff pours some soap into the geyser, which is a surfacterant that makes the geyser shoot up in a cloud of steam and soapsuds. Apparently it was discovered at the beginning of the last century when prisoners were clearing the land for tree cultivation, found a hot spring that they used to wash in, and one of the prisoners dropped his soap in the spring. After a few minutes the hot water shot up in a fountain scattering naked prisoners in every direction. They are terraces covered in silica, and various colours from different minerals underground. There is a ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Waikato March 8th 2019

Ich mache diese Reise, um zu erkennen was ich (jetzt) schon bin Heya Ihr Lieben – es hat ein bissl gedauert aber nun ist es endlich soweit. Es gibt wieder etwas zu lesen für Euch und ich hoffe es geht Euch gut und es ist alles in Ordnung oder zumindest so, dass es sich gut damit leben lässt. Ansonsten schicke ich Euch mal eine extra Portion positive New Zealand Power. Das hilft immer – glaubt mir ich weiß genau wovon ich spreche. Zwar läuft auch hier manchmal etwas aus dem Ruder, aber das ist eben Leben, dass heißt eben Leben. Wie mit diesen Herzschlaggeräten im Krankenhaus…, wenn die Linie auf einem Level bleibt ist man einfach nur tot und wenn man lebt dann schlägt das Ding mehr oder weniger regelmäßig aus. Es sind Höhen und Tiefen ... read more
Der Krankenhausflur in Thames
Medizinisches Werkzeug für die Augen
Das berühmte Talisman Café

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua March 7th 2019

The Maoris donated the land of Tongariro National Park to the government as long it is not settled, and preserved in its natural state. It is a large natural park round three currently dormant volcanoes. The last eruption was in 2007, 12 years after the previous one, so another one is probably due about now. The large central plateau was covered in lava flow, now fertile and covered in trees and alpine plants. The whole of New Zealand is on an earthquake zone, and earthquakes often trigger a volcano eruption. Every hotel has instructions on what to do in the event (‘Get under a piece of furniture and hold on to it,’ though not many of our rooms have had furniture big enough to get under.) The Airbnb places have emergency rations that they list ... read more


North Island, reputedly less scenic than South Island, is hilly rather than mountainous, but just as wooded. It’s hard to know how much of the forest is indigenous, as a lot of trees have been introduced by settlers, but Trevor is a mine of information on a lot of them. The problem with introduced species of anything is that it will often smother what was there before. The conservation societies are trying to get rid of ‘wildings’ - so that areas can be returned to their original makeup. New Zealand's original wildlife consisted of mainly birds, most of them flightless; its only mammals were a couple of bats. The Maoris hunted the several species of moa (a large flightless bird) to extinction, hard to envisage when you see the size of some of these were over ... read more




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