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

Traveled down to Opotiki from Glenfield just outside of Auckland, it was a 5 hour drive down, the secenery is the best and the most diverse you will ever see. Stopping at Tina's brothers house in Opotiki, had a pot luck dinner in true Mori style. ... read more

heyhey noch ein paar photographie nachzuegler... also ich bin jetzt seit geraumer zeit ca. eine woche, wieder auf der farm...anfang naechsten monats gehts dann wohl endlich auf zur suedinsel, erst einmal vier wochen rundreise mit der sarah und danach spiel ich mit dem gedanken mir mal nen bezahlten job zu besorgen...schaun wir mal wie es laeuft...momentan schuettet es wie aus kuebeln hier und an arbeiten im freien ist heut erst mal nicht zu denken...da wird lieber schach oder rummy gespielt, mein buch gelesen oder ein filmchen geschaut... naechste woche wird das strandhaus schicklich gemacht...soll bald verkauft werden und danach muss ich hier auf der farm fuer ein paar tage allein die stellung halten! das wars dann erstmal von mir...... read more

The Flight We've survived the rather tedious and at times gruelling journey. Lucy fared the best, Catherine came off the worst. We had thought that an evening flight would mean we all slept initially, but when you are served a hot meal of lamb at 11.30pm it is hard to sleep afterwards. Having got to Hong Kong I thought this isn't too bad, I can manage this, but the second part seemed to drag more as we all got more and more tired. But that seems a distant memory now as we are now settled into Dean and Sue's place, and discovering the delights of the country. It seems a good idea to record your first impressions of a new place soon after you arrive, otherwise what strikes you as different initialy vcery soon becomes ... read more

New Zealand. Our next destination lies some two thousand kilometres away across the Tasman Sea. Australia seems far enough from home already, but this three hour flight emphasises quite how isolated New Zealand is from the rest of the world. It really is a long, long way away. We arrive in Auckland - New Zealand's biggest city by far, and home to a quarter of the entire country's population - in the mid afternoon, and once again first impressions are not entirely overwhelming. Many, if not most, of New Zealand's visitors come here for the country's extraordinary landscapes. Having watched Peter Jackson's masterpieces (not in a nerdy way, mind) goggle-eyed many a time, we are no different. At first sight, however, Auckland seems pretty unprepossessing, a mixture of nondescript buildings, bad traffic and a slightly dodgy ... read more

Uncle Joe and Barbara drove us 5 hours down from Auckland to arrive at the tiny village of Opotiki,where I FINALLY MET MY EMAIL CONTACT COUSIN, STeve Winder, and his mother Kathleen, sister of my father. It was a grand time, STeve and Jane put on a big spread and we stuffed ourselves, then stayed up late telling stories of our childhood. Opotiki is a village of 8 or 9 thousand, 9201 to be exact ( on a pamphlet) including the surrounding area. The main employment is Kiwi Fruit and forestry, soon to be a Marine mussel farm. Main attraction in fishing, hunting, nearby beaches Waiotahi and Hukuwai. The Kiwis (people) are in shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops otherwise known as Jandals, while we continue to bundle up in fleece jackets and long pants in the ... read more