Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania
So I finally have a little more time to write. The motel we're staying in has free internet on desktop computers and free laundry...so I'm writing while I'm waiting for our clothes to dry:) The computers we've tried so far don't seem to like the program that travelblog uses to upload photos, but I've been able to (very slooowly) add photos to an album on Facebook. For those of you that don't have Facebook accounts, you should still be able to see the photos if you follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101088586885037.3076664.8623642&type=1&l=f5e0e3b3c5 E-mail Briana if you can't see them for any reason and we'll try to figure something else out. I'll give a little more detail on some of our favorit... read more
A map of the marshall islands which is very rare - Del has one of very few in the world!
Kia Ora (hello in Maori), Hope you are all well! So sorry for delay in getting the New Zealand blogs to you! We arrived in Auckland on Sunday and spent a week with Liz (Anton's mum's friend from Fiji) and her two standard poodles, Richie McPaw (6 months) and Lima (2 years). Liz's husband, Hugh, was there on Sunday but left to work away in Nelson on Monday morning. On Sunday night, Liz's mum, dad, brother (Spencer) and his wife, daughter and daughter's husband came over for dinner. Liz cooked a lamb curry and a vegetable curry and Spencer brought over a chicken curry. I was so worried that they were going to be too hot and wouldn't be able to eat them, but they were fine and really tasty - Liz is a great cook! ... read more
Whakatane
Uitspraak: Fakatane. Alles met WH in een naam van een stad of dorp = F van uitspraak. De voorbije 4 dagen verbleven we bij onze vrienden in Whakatane. Hiromi & Aron. Ze zijn nu hard aan het werk , met meer dan 40 uur per week, omdat ze in mei vertrekken naar Canada voor een jaar. Dus we hebben ze niet zo veel gezien deze week. Maar het was wel heel gezellig 's avonds. Wij kookten in ruil voor bed & douche. Ideaal dus! Hier was het ook een soort vrijwilligerswerk. Binnen een 3 tal weken gaan we naar Nathan in Rotorua. Whakatane zelf heeft niet zoveel te bieden. Een stad zoals een ander maar je hebt enkele kilometers verder wel een leuk strand en een gloeiwormengrot. De laatste avond gingen we naar de haven om ... read more
KatiKati, known for his Zespri kiwi fruit/wereldbekend voor zijn kiwifruit
Mike & Jizzy zijn beiden Zuid-Afrikaans en leven ongeveer 20 jaar in NZ. Hun kinderen heten Shayni & Cam. En de kat heet Shanti. De taken zijn : maaien van het gras, de slaapkamer schilderen, wieden, plantjes planten, relaxen, mediteren, klankschaal muziek maken en zingen, ukulele leren spelen, en proberen self-sustainable te zijn. De mensen hier gaan zelden naar een supermarkt. Groenten, kruiden en fruit hebben ze uit eigen tuin of gaan ze kopen in een bio winkeltje of bioboer. In het dagelijkse leven is Jizzy , kinderjuf in een bio en eco crèche. En Mike is vertegenwoordiger van biologische producten. Alles hier draait om ecologisch en biologisch leven. Dit is wat we allebei heel erg leuk vinden. Deze namiddag zat ik op mijn knieën om kamillebloemen te plukken. Als je potje vol is , weet ... read more
Auckland
2/10/12 Traveled to center City Auckland where we boarded a local bus for a ride north to Warkworth.<span> The bus was luxurious.<span> Our friends, Carol and Bryan Taylor picked us up at the bus stop.<span> They took us on a driving tour of the local <span> historical area, Matakana. We stopped at a local winery.<span> Bryan, who is developing a small vineyard, was seeking <span> information from the owner on how to <span> best protect his developing grapes from the birds!<span> From the vineyard we drove to their local beach for a view.<span> At their home we met their pet sheep and dogs.<span> We also took in their extensive garden including more then 80 rose bushes. <span> We had dinner on the deck which overlooked a beautiful bay.... read more
Max and I have just left ChCh and are enroute to Lake Tekapo. We stayed the night near Akaro on the Banks Penisula in the Pack Horse Hut. Yesterday morning we said goodbye to Gerwin as he flew back to Germany. Coming up later this week will be climbing up to the Mueller Hut at Mt Cook National park. As per usual, videos will slowly be added. -sean... read more
DSCN4503
Today we packed a picnic and headed off the Mangawhai Heads. There were lots of road works so it was a tedious journey but we got there in the end. We started with a coffee which was delicious and then drove to the surf beach for a walk and look at the views!! After a slow drive, due to more road works, we passed Langs Beach and then ended up at Waipu Cove for lunch. We did not take any more photos but went for another walk and it was the best place to stop.... read more
Auckland Museum
Well, we arrived safely in New Zeland without any hiccups. The jet lag wasn't even that bad. We spent our first few days in Auckland, which is the biggest city in New Zealand. The weather has been beautiful- upper 70's and sunny. This is pretty typical weather this time of year, but the locals tell us they've had a terribly cold and rainy spring and summer so far. We'll give kind of a play-by-play of our trip so far, not super detailed yet and spelling may be incorrect- our internet access is limited so I'm typing quickly. Also, we're having an issue with uploading photos but we'll try to put a few up as soon as we can. We rented a little studio apartment in downtown Auckland that had everything we needed. It took us around ... read more
