Blogs from Napier, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 8

yay, 50 metres above the Waikato river which is in Lake taupo, you can view the pictures online at ..... www.taupobungy.com choose 'daily photos' type in the follwing codes (stew before the jump) TBNZ611014695798 (the jump) TBNZ611014695800 (the aftermath) TBNZ611014695799 any probs search using the date which was 1.11.06 i had absolutely no desire to do this at all, so i stood at the side and held the bags (reminds me of Mum whenever we went to Alton Towers!), we're in napier at the moment which is a small town nr wellington at the bottom of the North island, it's cool here, there was a huge earthquake in 1930's so the town was rebuilt with art deco architecture and it looks great, although the locals do like to get dressed up in vintage gear and walk ... read more

Hi All, Well what a lovely place this is, the home of many wineries which is fantastic. The trip didnt start well with Amandas I pod getting stolen, but the insurance should cover and the place is too beautiful to be sad for long. Its the hottest part of nz we have been to so far, sunny most days apart from yesterday. As you can see from the pics we had our day at the races, that was a very hot day and exciting too. It wasnt like our race courses back home, very laid back and no betting slips on the floor, Steve had a winner on a coincidental horses name called Pinot Grigio, he decided to bet as we were in nz largest wine maker domain. And no he didnt buy us all a ... read more

Well - we've left the luxury and delights of Wellington. For any of you thinking of going to Wellington, you can't do better than stay with Sue Bilbie at 298 Oriental Bay - it is the B&B to die for. Never have we been so pampered. Not even in the Four Seasons in Sydney which was supposed to be the luxurious highlight of the tour. And now - from the sublime to the ridiculous (well, in any event, less sublime) back in the motorhome and staying in Napier. Napier is great - an art deco city that was built from the ruins of a 1931 earthquake. Hundreds of buildings still have art deco mouldings or furnishings. It's like walking around a museum, but with more life. Actually, not that much more life as it's winter and ... read more

North Island here we are. Well, we landed, or docked in at Wellington, the capital of NZ. We spent a couple of nights here, but to be honest were pretty glad to move on. It's amazing that we come from a city as big as Leeds, but now we just want to get away from big cities, full of people and traffic. We head up the east cost to our 1st stop....Napier. A mid size town, besides the sea. We stayed a couple nights here, and did the usual things..... including a visit to a 70's style marine park. The highlight being the rescue centre for tiny penguins. We did a bit of a tour around the penguin hospital, and had chance to feed/hold them etc. Which was quite heart warming and sad, seeing blind, one ... read more

Hello again! It’s been a while, and I have heaps to tell you about! It’s Monday here, and I just took my first test for my Maori studies class. I think it went pretty well, especially since I didn’t spend a lot of time studying this weekend… Instead, Erin and I rented a car and toured the East coast. Erin drove (of course), and did a great job staying on the left side of the road and figuring out the roundabouts. We left Friday morning and drove East to Whakatane, where we stopped and shopped a bit, then continued on the scenic highway of the East Cape. It was beautiful - the pictures don’t even begin to describe it. We stopped a couple of times to admire the view, and once went down a little trail ... read more