Blogs from North Shore, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Monday, August 10th When the alarm sounded this morning Ferdi just turned it off and we slept late. We spent the day indoors, trying to shake the last remnants of our colds. We researched NZ bank accounts and, being ever interested in property, house prices in the Auckland area. For a bottom of the range house you start at about R2million. To get a mortgage you have to put down a 20% deposit. That's R400,000 just for the deposit! No wonder everybody rents over here. While playing around on the internet Talita came across a pair of Dr Martens. One look at them and an obsession was born. Unfortunately they don't ship to NZ so she had to try and find another way of getting them. Where there's a will, there's a way. Today's highlights: 1. ... read more

Monday, July 27th We've started to set an alarm so we're able to wake up before 8am. Crazy thing to do when one's on holiday but hey... It's the only way to get used to the new time-zone. This morning we just couldn't get out of bed so the alarm was turned off and we stayed in our warm bed a while longer. We've found that Keira loves Ferdi. We suspect it's because he's such a softy and she can "bully" him into pretty much anything. Whenever she sees him she shouts his name and laughs. Sometimes she just walks around shouting "Ferdi! Ferdi!" over and over. She has this ritual where she pushes him into her play room, empties her jar of plastic animals, plays with her dog and doll and generally makes a mess. ... read more

Monday, July 20th Kuta really is a party town. Some people here only go to bed when the sun comes up (sounds like a couple of good guys we know and miss back home). Our last day in Bali (and South East Asia) dawned rainy and cool. Soon the cool left but the drizzle hung around for a while longer. We packed, watched a movie on TV (Wayne’s World, what a laugh!), then checked out, leaving our luggage at reception. We found a restaurant where we hoped to spend the afternoon but all too soon we were boiling and decided to walk around and try to find a way to amuse ourselves. We had eight more hours to kill and if you're not drinking, shopping or surfing there isn't much to do in Kuta. We ended ... read more

Hey everyone!! We arrived in Auckland safely! At around 9.10am. Cameron (Haydens Brother) picked us up and we went back to his flat to shower and chill out for abit. Hayden had some food, but i was to tired and jet lagged to even contemplate food!! Haha. After freshening up we went to buy hayden some shoes... because he ordered some from China and they didnt arrive on time!! After trying on about 100 pairs we finally found some decent ones. We decided to go for a little drive around North Shore - Where Haydens Grandma lives (however we didnt vistit!!) AND THEN WE GOT BACK AND FELL ASLEEP FOR 5 HOURS!! Having recovered we woke up and went to watch a volleyball match. However, i nearly fell asleep about 20 times... the only thing that ... read more

After nearly six months of Marnie being in New Zealand we find ourselves watching the weather over Australia in order to plan for departing for Fiji soon, but we can't be more specific right now. When a pressure of 1020 is developing over Sydney it suggests relatively good conditions for a 6-7 day passage north. This together with winds from the SW and we're set to go. As I type however, there is a silver lined gaping chasm where the fridge used to be located in the galley. For the past three weeks we've been patiently awaiting tradesmen to custom build a fridge/freezer unit and to date it hasn't appeared, hence the delay in leaving for warmer climes. People tend to leave for the islands between April and July, but the longer we wait the colder ... read more