Blogs from North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 7

The previous day concluded with me saying that a day staying put and reading a book would be the go. Not surprisingly, it didn’t happen … from 3pm it did as we returned to the same spot as last evening. We visited Te Rewa Rewa Bridge hoping to get a shot of Mt Taranaki/Mt Egmont through the ‘gap’, however the mountain was covered in cloud and the bridge was under repair. The coastal walk began from the bridge and headed for 12km to the beachfront of New Plymouth. We walked 15 minutes towards NP and returned to the bridge. Into NP and the beach to view the surf and sand before heading to a high spot near the aquatic centre for Jane to do a 4km walk while I ‘planned’. The ‘plan’ proved to be flexible ... read more

We were woken by the van rockin’ ‘n rollin’ as the wind gathered ferocity and buffeted the van. Outside, the sea was virtually white and had rolled in a further 100m. Jane checked the weather situation on the net while I went to the camp office to ask the situation and to have affirmation on our directions to our next destination, New Plymouth area on the Taranaki Peninsula. Yes, Auckland was code ‘Red’ and that the bridge into Auckland would be closed come 12 noon or there abouts due to the strong wind. That sealed it. We had to be across it and well on our way south. Jane called out the instructions as she navigated and I concentrated on choosing the correct lane and not running into anyone. The police and traffic controllers had reduced ... read more

We were delivered to our Motor Home by an amazing Maori gentleman who was very informative about the travel plans we communicated to him. He has worked for the Pacific Horizon Travel Home company for 15 years and was able to instruct us in detail of all of the workings of the Mercedes Benz van we had hired for the upcoming 22 days. Expertly guided by navigator Jane, we negotiated our way through early morning Auckland traffic and finally left the big city behind and certainly relaxed a lot more. Our plans changed, as we wanted to see what we had planned before the forecast heavy rain hit the areas in the far north of the North Island so instead of Piha (slightly south of Auckland), it was onto the Bay of Islands to stay the ... read more

We hadn’t planned to visit Waiheke Island today. It was a ‘considered’ spur-of-the-moment decision. We were at the waterfront to enquire about ferry tickets to Waiheke tomorrow. However, we had seen the ‘not-set-in-stone’ weather forecast that a storm front could be hitting the upper North Island, including Auckland, tomorrow, so it made sense to visit Waiheke today. After purchasing our tickets, we still had nearly an hour before boarding the ferry, so we explored the waterfront. We had the good fortune of coming across a group of Maori dancers practicing. We watched. We asked if we could take a photo or two. Not a problem. We continued our wandering and took a few snaps of the city from the wharf edges. The ferry took about 40 minutes to sail to Waiheke, a 92 sq km island ... read more

My favourite aero club (https://www.wanganuiaeroclub.co.nz/) held an open day on 22 January 2023 as part of Whanganui's Vintage Weekend. After three years of events being cancelled it was great to see a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Club. Being out in the sun is not something those us of with Sjogren's and Lupus usually do as we tend to be very sun sensitive. However, I was prepared to put up with the sun in order to see my favourite planes. The first one I drooled over was the Fox Moth. My great-grandmother had flown in a Moth with Captain Jim Hewitt at Mangawhai. There is a photo of her standing next to the plane and the cafe at the Mangawhai Museum is named after her because of this flight. The lovely owners saw how interested ... read more