Blogs from Waitakere Ranges, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

I have to appologize for the list we made! That must have been a fun post to read, right Bobbi? When we had typed it up it was in columns and A LOT easier to understand. So, we had a column for the item, then a column for NZ and a column for the USA. So in the States a "fanny" is a butt, while here it means a female reproductive organ in more slang terms. Older generations here would be offended if I were talking about fanny packs. Haha, so no more lists until we can get the formatting right. We have even more pictures to add and probably won't be able to do it until we get to Waihi. Christoffel and Alison, the owners of the Burrowing Bullie, have invited us to tea (dinner) ... read more

It wouldn't be a normal weekend for us here in Auckland if we weren't treated to a day out with our surrogate mum, Liz, and her hubby Allard. Today we took off to the Waitakere Ranges, one of Auckland's Regional Parks located in the mountains on the rugged west coast. Just a hour's drive out of the city, it is an area of lush tropical rainforest with some the greenest, most picturesque scenery we've seen since we arrived. Expertly following his nose rather than the map, Allard wound us around hairpin bends and through pretty little townships with houses hidden away at the top of driveways so steep, even 4x4 drivers were looking intimidated. Our first stop was at the Arataki Visitor Centre which may not sound very excitng but it actually has extravaganza of information ... read more

After much anticipation, Melissa's Mom FINALLY arrived for her visit. Her and Gary arrived at a very early 6 AM on a Saturday morning...but we didn't mind at all. We spent the morning catching up and having breakfast. They were very excited to see our new place and the life we have been building for ourselves. Around lunchtime we went out to take them on a tour of the city. We walked along Queen Street and showed them Melissa's bank. Then we went up the Auckland Sky Tower for some great views of the city. We got to see someone that was doing the "Sky Jump" which is sort of a cable jump from the top of the tower. It was funny to see someone falling past us at the top of the tower. Before heading ... read more

Last night we camped on the beach at Piha and watched the sunset over the sands and islands. Today we went Cayoning at Piha (Shelley says "sorry" to Anna) and get absoluletly drenched! We abseiled down four waterfalls including a 50m pitch. We had to jump into lots of deep pools and swim back out, and crawl under huge boulders, gradually working our way downstream. The water was freezing! A great day with a bunch of really friendly travellers and guides. In the evening we set off driving to Rotorau.... read more

Americans V Brits Banter I’m tracking back a bit here (to my time in Auckland) but I hope you can forgive me, as it’s one of my favourite subjects. In the company of my buddy Ken - I should say, ‘my mate Ken,’ before anyone confuses my country of allegiance, who is a perfectly well rounded New Yorker - you can imagine, the banter rolled. For those of you who hold strong political affiliations I suggest you log off now, and perhaps read my blogs on The Catlins or Milford Sound, which are nice and friendly, as my random jibber jabber here might raise your blood pressure. So, I guess that’s my PG certificate warning. So, killing time in the subtropical jungle on the north island with Ken, the conversation drifted, (more like dragged with a ... read more