Blogs from Katikati, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We arrived in Auckland on the night of 16 December and were glad it wasn't far to the hotel. Rain poured; wind howled. Vile. The next day we drove to Thames, then to Katikati in our lime green hired car, staring out of the window at the rain and mist and wishing it would all stop. The rain slowed to a drizzle in Katikati and I went for a walk in my Goretex waterproofs. Katikati is cool. There are colourful murals depicting the history of the town, fun-looking restaurants and signs informing visitors of the many things to do. I opted for the haiku walk and ambled through a lovely riverside park reading poetry on large rocks interspersed among the grass and trees. I saw tuis and kingfishers that posed for me as they knew I ... read more

Try this one! http://www.travelblog.org/ then put my name in; Lynnie or vaughan and you should be able to find me....I am learning to do this so I can keep you all informed....if you want to be...whilst on my travels. Ta Luv Lynnie... read more

Intrepid say to take only 10kgs of belongings with you, so this is my list so far: one head light ( for reading and going to the toilet at night time). one microfibre towel large mosquito net ( it has mosquito repellent on it) a cotton sleeping bag inner ( my friend said i shouldnt have been so mean and got myself a silk one instead) one small bag for dirty laundry and a travelling clothesline. malaria tablets (enough for three months) I hope I remember to take them sleeping pills ( when I absolutely have to). ear plugs (when I absolutely have to). togs a long sleeved white shirt (impregnated with insect repellent.) two sets of underwear. a light gortex raincoat and small umbrella a set of shorty pyjamas ( for modesty's sake) a pashmina ... read more

Mike & Jizzy zijn beiden Zuid-Afrikaans en leven ongeveer 20 jaar in NZ. Hun kinderen heten Shayni & Cam. En de kat heet Shanti. De taken zijn : maaien van het gras, de slaapkamer schilderen, wieden, plantjes planten, relaxen, mediteren, klankschaal muziek maken en zingen, ukulele leren spelen, en proberen self-sustainable te zijn. De mensen hier gaan zelden naar een supermarkt. Groenten, kruiden en fruit hebben ze uit eigen tuin of gaan ze kopen in een bio winkeltje of bioboer. In het dagelijkse leven is Jizzy , kinderjuf in een bio en eco crèche. En Mike is vertegenwoordiger van biologische producten. Alles hier draait om ecologisch en biologisch leven. Dit is wat we allebei heel erg leuk vinden. Deze namiddag zat ik op mijn knieën om kamillebloemen te plukken. Als je potje vol is , weet ... read more

Hello everyone from sunny Katikati!! Well most of you will already know that I'm back from my travels and have been for a while now....I seem to have lost interest in updating this blog when the trip came to an end! After my 5 weeks in Thailand and Cambodia I returned to Sydney but didn't hang around very long, I instead flew on to Adelaide to catch up with Tory before I head back to NZ. We spent the whole time I was there down at Victor Harbour which for those of you who don't know is about 1 hour from Adelaide on the coast, it's a lovely little holiday town with a fabulous beach and the best hot dogs in the world! Tory and I went for a few bike rides....with a lovely lunch at ... read more