Blogs from Napier, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Greetings blog watchers: I boarded an Air New Zealand prop plane in chilly drizzle last night and landed in the sunny and warm Hawke's Bay region of the North Island. Once again, I feel like I've landed in the travellers' version of hog heaven. The small seaside town ringed by hills filled with homes that perch dramatically all the way up, was all but flattened in a 1931 earthquake. When it was rebuild, art deco was all the rage and so the town is predominately in that style. I'd say 75 per cent of the place is tropical deco - think South Beach on a smaller scale - very little over 2 storeys. And you know me and art deco, people. As they say on Corrie, I'm gobsmacked. My hotel, The Masonic, is a bit of ... read more

Daheimgebliebene! Wie im letzten Eintrag angekuendigt, haben wir uns in Hastings den lukullischen Genuessen hingegeben. Sehr positiv anzumerken ist, dass hier alle Weinverkostungen gratis sind!!! Insgesamt haben wir 4 Wine-Tastings geschafft, wo jeweils ca. 6-8 Weinproben verkostet werden - nicht so schlecht, oder???? Unsere Favoriten sind: beim Rotwein "Syrah" (Shiraz) und beim Weisswein "Sauvignon Blanc" - sehr zu empfehlen!!! Dann ging's weiter ins Mount Bruce Wildlife Center in Masterton, wo wir vom Aussterben bedrohte, heimische Vogelarten bewundern durften. Endlich haben wir auch unseren ersten lebenden Kiwi zu Gesicht bekommen - sehr puztig! Naechste Station war dann Wellington, die Hauptstadt von Neuseeland, sehr schoen, ein bisschen verrueckt aber sehr windig (fast wie in Wien!). Da unsere Reise ja auch Weiterbildungscharakter haben soll, haben wir als erste gute Tat gle... read more

Hi there bloggos If you read my most recent blog, you'll know that I left the story in a true cliffhanger situation. I was in a raft with my English pal Nick and a bunch of Danes about to drop down a 20 foot waterfall. There was no guarantee that the raft wouldn't flip over when we got to the bottom. Further up the river, we had practised the drill. When the guide shouted , we had to leap into our "waterfall" positions. This invovled clinging hold of various ropes and trying not to let go of your oar. We passed the final point where people who were really freaking out and couldn't face it could take the final exit path. This path is known as the Aussie Run. The guide instructed us to row with ... read more

*Edit* I just added some pictures that Cat sent me. All titled Waikaremoana Lake.* So Cat and I took off on a road trip for eight nights. Our first night we spent on Blacks Beach on the Mahia Peninsula which is a surf beach so we woke up with surfers arriving. There weren't as many there that day as there were the first time I slept there. The second day we went to Gisborne and stayed so long we wound up trying to find a place to sleep in the dark. As we were sleeping in her car we were just trying to find a good place to park. We missed a couple of the places we were recommended to go to because the signs were not clear. We wound up sleeping next to a ... read more

I've been trying to get on the internet for the past week or two but it just never happens. Now I'm finally here and I still barely have any time because I'm leaving again for who knows how long to who knows where. So... Two weeks ago on Tuesday the 30th of March I met Catherine at the i-site in Taupo. We went for a swim in the river, then a swim in the lake before heading off to Napier. That evening I checked into my hostel in Napier and asked at the front desk if they knew of any available jobs. The lady said she'd introduce me to Aussie Paul, Aussie Paul handed me an application to work in a packhouse, the next morning I was waking up at 5am to go to work at ... read more