Blogs from Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 15

Just realised that I haven't updated this for a while, so here's what we've been upto: After our skydiving experience we headed up to Whakatane (via another geothermal valley) where we stayed with some more of my relatives for a few days. We had a great time there, got treated to BBQ's, beer and a lovely bed (made a nice change from sleeping in the van!). while we were there we made a trip back to Rotorua (where I made the most of the shops and bought some nice summery clothes) and spend a day driving up the coast which had beautiful scenery. we also got our van looked over and taught how to do some basic checks on it by my mum's cousin, which have proved to be very useful. We also experienced our 1st ... 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

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