Blogs from Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 18

18th - 20th December 2008 Coromandel Town Coromandel Town is a pretty little place. It doesn't take long to walk around at all. I tried to get Rob to eat mussels from their famous smoked mussel shop, but he was having none of it! There are some lovely little colonial houses here - I took some photos - I wouldn't mind having a house in this style, they are so pretty. We spent a morning on the fun Driving Creek Railway, which takes you on an hour trip through the forest and hills. It's a miniature railway and quite a feat of engineering by the guy who built it, first as a hobby, but now it is an important environmental achievement because of all the trees they have replanted there. The chap in the booking office ... read more

While staying in Coromandel Town, we drove across the mountains to a place called Whangapoua where we had heard about a walk to an isolated and very beautiful beach called New Chums Beach. It was about a 40 minute walk over rocks and along a bit of a dodgy path through the trees on the headland, but it was very worthwhile. The beach is lovely and there was hardly anyone there. The surf was really rough and looked like fun to mess around in, but it's amazing how strong the sea can be. We didn't go in deep, but we both got knocked right over and 'washing-machined' - not the best experience! Actually it was good fun so long as you stayed near the shore. Rob loved it. We spent the day playing in the surf ... read more

14th - 18th December 2008 Hahei Hahei is a cracking little seaside village. The beach is great and there is lots to do and visit nearby. We swam and relaxed on the beach. Rob thought he was David Beckham and put my sarong on - why does he always look better in my stuff than I do? Still, it's a worrying habit - my bikini top in Thailand, a girls' thong (brand new!) in Turkey and my sarong in NZ, not to mention a dress in the UK! Who knows what Oz will bring! We also visited Hotwater Beach which was amazing. We had never seen or felt anything like it. Part of the beach is thermal so that if you did a hole in the sand it fills with hot water. Some places are so ... read more

So after our short break in England we're back out continuing our travels. Thanks to everyone for everything whilst we where back it was lovely to see and spend time with all. On January 11th it was time to bring on New Zealand (NZ) WHOORAAA except the journey to get there DOH!!! We left England a super quick trip down the trusty M1 and round the M25 to Heathrow's brand new Terminal. After coffee and goodbye's with Mum & Dad Hamer at the airport we were officially on our way. We had a good look around Terminal 5 as it was our first and last time we would be using it because British Airways no longer carry Surfboards...What a Bummer Matty will not be able to carry on his new sport. We took off from Heathrow ... read more

Heya zusammen, und noch einmal Ich an diesem Wochenende, aber dann habe ich endlich wieder alles auf dem aktuellen Stand und hänge nicht mehr hinterher, und versuche es dann auch nicht mehr so schleifen zu lassen. Ist doch ganz schön anstrengend so viel auf einmal "weg zu Bügeln" :) Der Titel dieses Berichts ist eigentlich New Zealand 17 hat aber die 97 in Klammern , weil es genauso gut 1977 heißen könnte, denn ich habe hier in New Zealand am 26ten Januar meinen 32ten Geburtstag feiern dürfen. Aber zuerst einmal möchte ich mich ganz herzlich nochmal für die Glückwünsche bedanken, denn nicht nur die Bericht Schreiberei hat etwas gelitten, nein auch die Mailschreiberei und somit lassen auch noch einige Mails auf sich warten. Nun ja, einen Geburtstag in New Zealand zu haben bzw. zu feiern ist ... read more