Blogs from Papakura, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Hey there blog followers and friends It's been a crazy 9 weeks here and, as well as finishing off the academic year and waving goodbye to my current class and moving into my new classroom, me and Katie have ventured whenever possible (some 20,000km since August) New Zealand is just spectacular and the usual Sunday jaunt across Hauraki to either Tauranga or Coromandel is always satisfying. With my folks arriving in 4 days and a 4 week trip to South Island looming, I do have some updates though... First : I purchased a Yamaha Scorpio (225cc) motorcycle from a pal at work and remembered how much I adore motorcycling and in NZ that means GREAT rides, GREAT views and GREAT times. Even better, it was cheap and fitted in the back of Katie. Next : I ... read more

...when Spring looks like this, why would you need to! The perfect Spring lazy day : recycling, shopping, cooking and playing the guitar for the cows! I bought a tiddly little BBQ last weekend for away trips but the weather is so nice today that I broke it out and had a go. Firstly I cooked 'beef flavoured breakfast style sausages' that I picked up in the rottons and offs at Countdown last week. I was not optimistic. They cooked much better than I thought they would and although the description reeks of low quality, they tasted pretty bloody good when BBQ'd. I also bought some reduced lamp shoulder steaks so why not eh! They were delish! Made kebabs with Lebanese flatbreads and now just sat on the sofa contemplating a snooze. POTATO UPDATE : Ok ... read more

Hey you guys New Zealand is appoximately the same size as the UK although the population is less than 10% of the UK. I am living in Hunua near Papakura which is a rural suburb of Auckland and my lovely new school is about 20km (14 miles) away. I needed wheels...and I have the pleasure in introducing 'Harry' my 2006 Suzuki Swift. He's nice to drive, very economical and he was imported from Japan in 2010. Massive update from new school at the weekend. Peace and love Sid... read more

We headed back home to Hunua for the next three days. We were horrified when a lunatic overtook us on the motorway and the next day a crack appeared in the windscreen of our borrowed car... Thanks for being so understanding, Andrew and Gina! We had a great time catching up with Zach, Rachel, Paul & Heather and Michael & Holly. And the three kittens that Rachel and Zach are fostering! On Christmas day we got the whole family together for a lovely lunch and fun times in the pool. We were so pleased to have another full day to spend with Zach before it was time to fly back to Melbourne. It was sad saying goodbye to everyone, but we look forward to the next trip!... read more

Our year of travel is over and it's back to "real life", here are some reflection we wanted to share about this past year. Merry Christmas everyone and best wishes for a wonderful 2011. NICK So the trip is finished – it's hard to believe. When we set off in February it felt like we would be away forever. It's too hard to wind all the threads of our trip together in some sort of way that makes sense in a few words: People everywhere are different. People everywhere are the same. The world is large. The world is small. But a few general thoughts are below. Country we enjoyed visiting most: Not taking into account visiting friends and family, I would have to say Jordan. I found the country so fascinating right from the beginning, ... read more