Blogs from Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

It's Ok don't worry you don't have to carry on reading, I just wanted to keep this live, just in case I get round to continuing the blog ....... read more

So we have arrived in New Zealand, as far away as we will ever get from home. A real mixture of receptions here. We arrived to free coffee and tea at the airport and friendly and fast customs/baggage retrieval. Chatted to a lovely, although completely mad woman at the airport, before aiming to hire a camper van. Unfortunately, the high season has been extended as campers are still in high demand, so not only did we have to phone 20 companies to find one, but they are also more expensive than we thought. We do however now have one that works (just), after Alex's minimal mechanical expertise did earn us an upgrade to a newer model after running rings around the manager who it seemed had never driven car let alone seen a van before in ... read more

12 Feb - Went north to Kerikeri today along Hwy 1 - did a bit of a detour to take in part of the scenic route along the ocean. Arrived about 4:00PM to meet the Ferguson's - Trevor and Cath - Wonderful folks and very welcoming! 13 Feb - Trevor took us out sightseeing north of Kerikeri today. We went through to see Maori settlements, beautiful beaches and the Rainbow Warrior Memorial. The actual wreck of the Rainbow Warrior was re-sunk north of the penninsula which is a favoured dive spot. We saw places we never would have found on our own! Thanks Trevor !! 14 Feb - Happy Valentines Day! We visited the museums in Kerikeri this morning. The Kerikeri Mission Station. This included the oldest timber building in NZ "Mission House" and the "Stone ... read more

New Year in the North Well as I had 4 days off for the New Year break I thought I would head up to the far North. This also worked out as my friend Ros was arriving into Auckland on the 30th. The Friday at work was fun as we headed out for lunch at the pub and then I got to leave early as I was catching a plane up to Auckland. I took the airport flyer bus and headed off round the bay. The bus takes forever to get to the airport as it visits most of Wellington but as I wasn't in a rush I was happy to just sit there and think about the 4 days when I wouldn't have to be in the office. Even got a bit of Lonely Planet ... read more

Bleurgh. Yesterday was horrible. Actually the morning was nice enough. I just about managed to pack all of my belongings into my two backpacks. When i got to the air port they were more than the allowance though! Have to do some pruning. I spent the morning relaxing, painting my toe nails, spending time with nana and Sophie and playing with their two gorgeously cute kittens. Liz took me to the airport for a 3pm flight to Auckland. It was on another little plane. I still got RSI from the engines under me. Once at Auckland I got a hire car (which was lucky I think, as the first two places I went in to were all hired out and I was getting a bit worried). It took me ages to get over the Bay Bridge. ... read more