nzers

After working horrendous hours earlier in the year, Steve's boss insisted he take a couple of lieu days owing and ASAP, so we grabbed a cheap fare over the Tasman (first time on Qantas since the 2008 incident) to have a long weekend in Melbourne. As a couple, we haven't been to Melbourne before and as neither of us could remember much of it from our previous individual trips so long ago, it was like visiting for the first time. The Qantas flight was great - actually very impressive with a full meal and movies to watch for the same price as Air New Zealand (wtf?). We grabbed the last airport bus into the CBD and then a taxi to our hotel - The Mercure Melbourne on Therry Street. It was located right across from the ... read more

Over a few Pinot Gris' one Friday night in October 2014, the FND girls decided that we were well overdue for a little sojourn without the boys to a warm, tropical destination where we can shop, eat, drink and be merry for cheap. A few places were mooted and debated; Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Noosa, Bali??? Hmmmm, Bali sounded promising!!? We all agreed Bali would meet all the requirements and when an AMAZING deal came up for a week at the 5* Pullman Hotel in Legian, we were in! The deal was so good that there were a few non regular FND's very keen to make the journey with us too. As the saying goes, "the more the merrier" and with even numbers to make room sharing easy, twelve of us were off to Bali sans ... read more

DAY 1: AKL-PPT-LAX-IAD: Air Tahiti Nui / American Airlines After nearly 7 months of meticulous non-stop planning, the day of departure is finally here... The anticipation is so exciting, but it is mixed with feelings of anxiousness about leaving the kids behind to fend for themselves and them missing out on what will be the MOST amazing trip. Oh well, they can do all this themselves when they grow up... Jan from across the road picks us up to drive us to Auckland and we arrived in plenty of time - a good start. Our flight to LA via Papeete left early afternoon on time and despite my expectations of Air Tahiti Nui not being very high (their reviews were pretty mixed, with plenty of comments about their uncomfortable seats and unfriendly staff), I thought the ... read more

This year we were unable to get travel insurance for Ash, so rather than staying home we decide to hop over the ditch and visit Sydney for a long weekend and also celebrate Steve's 50th birthday at the same time. We left Auckland on Friday morning at 8:00am flying Virgin Australia with only carry on luggage (the ONLY way to travel) and were sitting in our room at the Hyde Park Inn by 10:30am having a cuppa. Brilliant! It was an absolutely stunning day weather wise so we make the most of it and walked thru Hyde Park, down thru the Botanical gardens and along the beautiful waterfront as far as "Mrs Macquaries chair". Got some brilliant photos! Then it was more walking back to Circular Quay via the Opera House and up to the Harbour ... read more

We spent our last morning in Koh Samui packing the bags, dashing down the street to get some last minute goodies and relaxing by the pool. So nice! We've all really enjoyed Samui and all it has to offer. Maybe we'll be back one day. Just a short taxi ride to the airport (albeit a rip off @ B400 considering it only takes 5 minutes) and we are checking in just as a massive thunder storm erupts around us. The rain and wind came out of nowhere and was severe enough to cut power and drive water right into the check in area. Glad we weren't just arriving! The airport is probably the cutest we've ever been to. Just a little departure lounge, complete with free refreshments and wifi. No walls again - so I'm not ... read more

Of course, nothing, and I mean nothing happens in Asia before 11am. So with no shops or attractions to visit we grab our togs and head for the hotel's pool for a swim for a couple of hours to pass the time. Fortunately The Park Royal has quite a pleasant pool area and it was lovely to just sit and enjoy the beautiful warm weather. After that, it was all shopping, shopping, shopping. Sengei Wang first, which was similar to MBK in Bangkok and bargaining was the way to go. It was great fun and the girls didn't take long to get into the swing of things. Best buys of the day were the ipod covers and some first aid supplies from Watsons. After a few hours the kids faded and just wanted to hang out ... read more