Blogs from King Country, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

2nd December I wake up about 6.30 just as the sun is starting to rise. I pop to the loo, open the van doors and climb back under the duvet for another hour or so. I could get used to waking up to the rising Sun, the morning chorus and the sound of the water lapping on the waterfront. It is going to be SOOO hard when I have to go back to work. Eventually, my stomach tells me it us time for breakfast, so I make tea and toast and generally watch the world go by for another hour or so. I also had a stab at another painting; still not fit for public display I afraid. Time to make a decision, stay or go, given that it is almost 10 and I have to ... read more

Day 8: Timber trail Lodge to Ophango, 95km. Worries, single track trails, gravel roads and a sprinkle of asphalt The Donkey woke up this morning with lots of worries swirling through his head. He did not know why. The back of his head was on fire from the shingles and he was not hungry. He forced himself to eat breakfast and was joined by a couple of hard-out bike trackers, the first of wave six, which left two days after the Donkey’s fifth wave. He knew the pair, they were antelopes who lived somewhere in the mountains on the South Island. The Donkey had met them before at a more formal occasion. The Donkey was impressed with their progress. He studied their bikes and saw that they had all their gear perfectly balanced in small bags ... read more

I spent about 5 days in total in Raglan just surfing everyday usually twice a day for about 2-3 hours a time. It was brilliant because my hostel has a sauna and a hot tub so I just surfed, relaxed, ate and had some social beers with people the entire time. Raglan is an amazing small town with a great laid back vibe, a sleepy town where time doesn't really matter except when the high and ow tides are for the surf, and a calm get away from life in general. The days melted by and I made some great friends from a couple of Brits, a South African, and several Canadians and Australians. This all being said there really isn't much to do than just relax and surf. I have finished a couple of books ... read more

Matt Writes: Most people spend Sundays nursing hangovers, eating oversized breakfasts while reading equally large Sunday supliments, others may attend church. Our Sunday was to veer (ever so slightly) to the side of unorthadox ways to spend the day of the Sabbath. Up at 7.00 for a quick breakfast because by 8.30 because we were once again squeezing ourselves into damp wetsuits, this time with boots and hardhats with lamps. Today we were going to explore the Waitomo Caves. After a few giggles at our ridiculous costumes we drove the short distance to the cave entrance where we selected our favoured rubber ring and practiced jumping arse first into the cold water from a platform. This was because once we were in the caves we would encounter sub tennian waterfalls that would have to negotiate in ... read more

We got up at 7am this morning and made our way to Rap raft n'rock. After a short drive into the middle of no-where we arrived at a field with a hut and metal storage thingy... we donned our gear whcih consisyed of hard hat ad wet suit wellies and some very special purple trousers!! We looked so pretty! we then did another short drive . we did some practice stuff with ropes on a fence then headed off to do the real thing. we walked down a few steps which led us to the top of the caves we attached ourselves to a safety rope. Kate had taked the lead at this point so she was first to go down when he told her to bend her legs and step off the ledge she said" ... read more