Blogs from Napier, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 7

To break the journey up to Wellington, we decided to stay at Napier for the night, as we'd heard other people say it was a really nice place. We got there just in time for lunch and tickled our tastebuds with some organic food at Manna Soul Food Cafe, which did the job nicely. We had a walk round to look at the art deco buildings (Napier was flattened by an earthquake in the 1930's and had to be totally rebuilt). We also walked along the promenade, which was pleasant enough. We decided that we would find our accommodation, which was on the outskirts of Napier - Portside Lodge. However, when we got there, we just took one look at it and decided it wasn't a place that we wanted to stay (especially after our ... read more

I am very slowly creeping nearer to the bottom of the North Island. I am very, very quickly hurtling to the bottom of my bank account. Auckland I was planning to leave Auckland about 2 days after I got there, but a long weekend was coming up and it was a chance to spend time with Sharlene - because it could be years before I see her again. So whilst she and Jodi slaved away at work, I lounged about the city and continued to bludge off them. I walked to Auckland Domain which is a very pleasant park area. When I got there I was planning to walk to the museum, but after the effort of walking a whole kilometre I lay down under a tree for about an hour staring at the blue, blue ... read more

Hi all, Sorry for lack of updates. In all honesty Caroline has been working most of the time so we havent really been upto much worth reporting. Over the next few days I'll rack my brain and think back if I've missed anything you should know about. For the moment, we are in Napier, having driven 250kms here from Rotorua where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Napier is a very nice Art Deco styled city, the main city of which was re-built in the 1930's following a devastating earthquake which levelled most of the town. This therefore explains why the city and many of it's principal buildings are all now art deco in style as that was the era of the rebuild. It looks good for it too. Very kitsch. Pictures to follow. Mike ... read more

Well I didn't get a welcome home this time at passport control in Auckland, but was still lovely to be back! Was not so lovely to spend 6 hourrs at Auckland domestic airport, which was like an oversize shed. (Ok slight exaggeration!) But sat pretending to use one of those back massage chairs that you pay for and that got me through! My Uncle and Mum picked me up from Napier Airport where the baggage claim was a trailor! Stayed with Mum at my Aunty and Uncle's house in Napier. Was so nice to have some proper food and be in a nice family home again! The day after I got there was my Uncle's 60th birthday celebrations (& Mum's on the same day) and family from NZ, Oz, England and USA was there, was so ... read more

Windy Welly True to stereotype, the strong winds that blew during our ferry crossing out of Marlborough Sounds en route to the North Island got even stronger as we travelled through the Cook Strait and arrived in Wellington: the World’s most southerly capital city. To be honest, the most consistent thing about the weather all over NZ has been the strong winds, so we’re not quite sure why Wellington gets singled out! Wellington is the first place we’ve visited in NZ with anything even approaching the buzz that every good city should have. Unfortunately, the same compact, hilly, waterfront setting that makes it so attractive also makes it very campervan-unfriendly. There are no campsites anywhere close to the city and the nearest campsite (7km out of town) charges a premium for rubbish facilities. Since we weren’t ... read more