Blogs from Paihia, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

after a 10 day stay in North Shore, Auckland we picked up our crazy little campervan and headed to Northland and the beautiful bay of Paihia. From our campsite base we spent Saturday up at Cape Reinga - see separate posting about that. On Sunday we took the ferry to the quaint little town of Russell and saw Neil Oliver filming for an episode of Coast. We even ate in the same place for lunch but thankfully he didn't pester us while we were eating! Lesley had green lipped muscles! Yes, they have green rims on their shells and the wobbly bit in the mid flexible, whatever it is called, was huge. I stuck to simple 'man food' an Angus beef & chorizo burger with beer battered chips ? ... read more

Finished up the Oz leg of the trip back in Perth. Took a boat trip to Fremantle. Met Maggie at Melbourne airport. Auckland airport very hot on bio security-long queues to check I had no plant products or soil and insects on my walking boots!! I didn't! But I still got stopped because I had a mysterious shape in my bag.Turned out to be a jar of tiger balm!! To Auckland. Lots of tourists. It was Auckland's 175th birthday so lots of street activities. Went on a harbour cruise for the afternoon. Saw a mad man bungee jumping from the bridge!! This morning went to the Tepid Baths! Such a great name as the spa pool was boiling. It was opened in the early 90s for the residents as a salt pool. There were 2 pools-one ... read more

Tuesday 20/1/15The Bay of Islands is exactly what it says and most of the tourism is based on or in the water. Lots of boat trips around the islands, diving and dolphin spotting. On the other hand we headed inland and when for a walk up to a look out spot. It was quite a climb and we only met another 3 people. The view from the lookout was lovely and with the sun out the water was turquoise rather than the grey of yesterday. So instead of coming back down to the town we decided to take the route traversing a ridge and ending up at the ferry terminal in Opua, from there we could pick up the coastal walk back to Paihia........ 5 hours later with feet threatening to spontaneously combust we arrived. If ... read more

Evening all/ Kia Ora ( mouri for hello/welcome) So its back on the road for me now and to get myself used to long road journeys a week ago I went wine tasting in hunter valley whilst still in Sydney. The minibus took us to around 5 different wineries each of who giving a little taster of the various wines they have. Drinking so early in the morning had left me a little rosie cheeked by lunchtime, and even at lunch we were treated to more wine! I bought a bottle of pinot noir which was reduced. Drinking goon and cheap ' reserve bin' at uni had made me prefer the cheaper wines over more expensive ones- the 80 dollar bottle didn't taste as nice as the 20 :D My flight from Sydney to Auckland was ... read more

Poor Don was quite poorly during the night. He spent half of the night with his head either down the toilet or over the sink. No further information needed. After another delicious breakfast for Lesley, Caroline and Gwenlli. the rain had stopped enough to brave the elements. The girls wanted a walk, Don wanted to keep close to a loo and I wanted to stay dry. So we decided to visit Waitangi Treaty Grounds. In 1840 a treaty was signed between the British and the Maoris. The British government representative was James Busby who drew up the treaty which was translated into Maori. The British consul who signed the treaty on behalf of the government was captain William Hobson. There were days of discussion until on 6 February 1840, with much pomp and splendour the treaty ... read more