http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , North Island en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:13:43 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:13:43 +0000 I had to work today but Mum and Dad came to work for morning tea biscuits tea and a lovely pearl necklace inherited from Tante Will thank you. Then Tineke came with a lovely silver necklace with a kete hanging on it from Tineke Michael and NIcola and families Thank you Then when I got home Patrick and Ashlee gave me ANOTHER present It is a lovely digital photo frame and they had put http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Whangarei/blog-463979.html Merry Christmas and a Happy New YearWe would just like to wish all our family and friends a very happy Christmas and new year and here's to a great 2010 Thanks for all your Christmas messages that we have received. We hope that all the sunshine that we have received over the last month or so will bring some welcome relief to the cold and wet conditions that we see the UK has been experiencing http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-463859.html Just to let you know that we have uploaded photographs for Sydney and New Zealand on the previous two blogs and attached to this blog are photos taken recently in Wellington. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-463856.html Rangitoto another small island a short ferry ride from downtown Auckland. It is actually the largest and youngest volcanic crater in the Auckland volcanic field and there is no doubting that once you arrive as that is what the atmosphere is about hot dry and empty. I recommend wearing at least trainers and you have to bring your own water and food. The walking is not particularly strenuous but yo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Rangitoto/blog-463786.html Falta menos de um msDar um rol de seis meses pelo mundo no apenas difcil financeiramente como d um TRABALHO do co. E ponha caixa alta na palavra trabalho. Tudo comea com a escolha dos lugares. O Nepal bacana Precisa de visto pra Eslovnia Vai chover o tempo todo em nossa estadia na Birmnia Todos esses detalhes mais outros como por exemplo se o pas no muito fora da rota car http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-463646.html Here I am again stuck in bloody Auckland for 7 frakking hours. I wouldn't mind but it's such a shithole...Anyway enough of that MERRY BLOODY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE Hope you had half as good a christmas as I did it was truly amazing I definitely made the right choice of where to be.So we woke up Christmas morning and everyone ponced about for a little while hugging and wishing each other merry chri http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-463609.html So finally we start getting a few days of sunshine We were really starting to wonder. Everyone has been a bit worried actually and talking about how bad the weather has been this year and usually it is a lot better. I hoped we had not brought some sort of British curse with us Well as the sun was shining and it was the weekend we decided it was time to start figuring Auckland out. The Viaduct ha http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-463111.html Today it was my 50th unbirthday day so after a lovely start with a sun lounger from Ben Joseph and Stacey we all set off to the beach.We went swimming kayaking fishing and played cricket. After lots of tea and yummy food I opened more presents From Jen and Paul I had a magic kitchen gadget called a madoline with a peeler grater and scissors. From Mum and Dad I had a new leather purse a she http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Whangarei/blog-462959.html So this is probably a late point to start talking about my time in New Zealand as I have already been here for a while. I will probably have to write like two or three blogs a day just to catch up with what I have been doing But for me this is an experience of a lifetime and I guess I just could not believe that I have not been recording it. My husband had a year sabbatical leave and when he told http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Parnell/blog-462921.html ldquoOh the weather outsidersquos delightful But a BBQ lunch sounds frightful Wersquove got no other place to go Let it glow let it glo let it glowrdquoWishing you all a warm festive Christmas from sunny New Plymouth hopefully the snow has melted enough for you all to see family and stagger back from the pubI know we are behind with our blog updates and they will follow once we come http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/New-Plymouth/blog-462598.html Yo yo yoWell it's Christmas Eve afternoon and I've miraculously not started drinking yet so I thought I'd take the chance to use my sobriety to do some typing...I've made it up north to Paihia and it's really beautiful here. I know you guys are having loads of snow and miserableness but there isn't a cloud in the sky here and I just chilled out down the beach with my book and having a paddle. Oh http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Paihia/blog-462380.html Here is a photo of our vehicle yes we will be cozy and won't be able to throw our toys out of the cotWe have a tent and and also an awning that can go off either the side or back of the vehicle so there you go a 3 roomed mobile house. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Northland/Cape-Reinga/blog-462376.html My first stop in New Zealand was the city of Auckland where I flew into from Australia. Several people had warned me over the previous few weeks that I shouldn't expect much from Auckland and that I should get out of there as soon as I can. Considering that a quarter of the population of New Zealand live there it is a bit of a nothing city really especially in comparison to some of the great cit http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-462174.html How are you allWell I shall spend my first Christmas away from the UK and it feels a bit strange.As summer is kicking in here in New Zealand it seems odd that the sun goes down at 9pm at Christmas time how can kids be in bed for Santa when it's still sunnyI will begin the travel part back in Sydney.Hmmm...My last entry slated Sydney but to some extent I think that coming from Manilla direct http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Plenty/Tauranga/blog-461881.html Heading East of Auckland across the flat plains to the cormandel peninsula we start by camping on the coast road to coromandel town just near the gold rush town of Thames. It v. much still has a wild west feel although strangely enough the first campsite has a butterfly house with all sort of species in. A number were imported from S.America an lo and behold the blue butterfly that we spent our http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Coromandel-Peninsula/blog-461744.html Day 625 on the road Increasing your carbon footprint. That's how my friend Steven had commented on the news that I purchased a van to drive around New Zealand with. And there is nothing really I can say to counter that argument. With the Copenhagen Climate Conference recently ending in a near disaster I had nothing better to do than to buy a car. In any case I guess travelling the world for http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Coromandel-Peninsula/blog-461691.html Este es el lugar donde estoy viviendo ahora.Les cuento la historia de lo que me paso.Cuando llegue no me gusto porque era muy tranquilo y no me hallaba y al pasar los dias le fui tomando cario hasta el punto de quererlo de conocer muy buena gente de hacer muchas cosas y de reirme mucho y estar contenta...aqui es donde empeze a probar muchas cosas como el skeite bailar hip hop etc pero lo mas http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Gisborne/blog-461580.html Hey hey so so sorry for the huuuuuge delay the last few weeks have just been a blur and have all merged into one I am in Sydney now but have yet to write about New Zealand which was just fantatsic but just went so quick with just 2 weeks in the North Island and 2 in the South Island we managed to do everything we wanted to do but didn't have a lot of time to write to youWe arrived in New Zea http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-461547.html que vida....sin palabras...solo hay que observar las fotos e imaginarse como se pasa la vida aqui http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-461326.html It's hard to believe that Christmas Day is less than a week away. The New Zealand people certainly don't put the effort into decorating like we do back home. Christmas tree lots lit up houses and decorations are few and far between. But I guess without snow around nothing looks quite as nice so they concentrate more of their time on things like 5day cricket matches and bungee jumping.Leigh An http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-461291.html