Blogs from Dargaville, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

The adventure within the adventure has started. 17 december hebben we 's ochtends vroeg onze fietsen opgehaald bij de Giantshop en de fietstassen volgepropt met het kleine beetje bagage wat we bij ons hadden (de rest staat opgeslagen in het hostel). Nadat onze fietsen waren afgesteld, voorzichtig onze eerste fietsende meters gemaakt in Auckland. Niet al te ver...ongeveer 500 meter. Want daar stond onze eerste afspraak al klaar: de Maincoachline (maincoachline.co.nz). Het enige busbedrijf dat vanuit Auckland richting Dargaville rijdt. Er is eigenlijk maar 1 manier om Auckland uit te komen: via de snelweg. Niet de meest rustgevende manier, noch de veiligste. Vandaar dat we ervoor gekozen hebben om de bus te nemen. Funfact: de oprichter en nog steeds bestuurder( Pieter) is een aangespoelde Rotterdammer die reeds lang de gepensioneerde leeftijd heeft bereikt maar nog altijd ... read more

Early start but daqm sore body. My arse kills and a very tender hamstring. Im gunna have to get a new bike seat ASAP. Ive desided on a short day today to try and recover. i got about 50k then got to Dargaville then had to stop at backpacks were sore as. I got the whole backpackers to me self and it was a nice place as well. The owner told me of a german couple who went up the west coast then cam back 2 days later. They just couldnt do all the hills and they were a fit couple. They waited at a train station for 4 hours then worked out that the train station no longer works. But the bottom line, they couldnt do it. This coast is gunna be interestiong. Im gunna ... read more

Dargaville Dear Lance (not his real name), Afer a few days on the road, I figured perhaps it was time to drop you a line to update you about my travels and let you know how I am getting on - and in particular that part of my anatomy that we discussed a few weeks ago. I'm sure you remember the conversation but if you've forgotten, it took place it the newsroom when you took me aside and explained how, many years ago, you cycled from Invercargill to Dunedin. Glancing over your shoulder to check that no-one could overhear, you said that during the ride you'd got the usual aches and pains, especially a sore backside. You dropped your voice to a conspiratorial whisper and went on. Excuse my language but I'm only repeating you here, ... read more

Somewhere North of Dargaville in Trounson Kauri Park December 11, 2008 We were up early but had to hang around Coromandel town until the Coromandel Smoking Company opened so we could buy smoked mussels (incredibly delicious and addicting) for me and three different kinds of smoked fish for the both of us. It was inexpensive and now we wish we had bought more. The numerous pohutukawa trees on Coromandel Peninsula are starting to bloom and the deep red blossoms are beautiful to see. The pohutukawa is called the NZ Christmas tree for obvious reasons. We stopped again near Miranda at the Shore Bird Center (this time the guy greeted us with our names) to see if there were any new migrants lurking around. There were none, but Joe bought a hat and we chatted a bit. ... read more

Hiya Guys my mad attempt to catch up on my travel diary is not going so well, hence this quick update. I am still in NZ, in Dargaville to be precise, found a job as "Care Giver" (that is my job title, ) in rest home, however after working there for two weeks, I have made decision to leave as I was not happy there, for many reason. So your question is what is next, well I am not entirely sure myself, I think I will come home soon, I have one more option to try - job wise, otherwise I'll be home for Xmas. Just for those who wonder how is Renata, she is doing fine, She is in Russel, working as waitress. I have met up with her few days ago, and she is ... read more