Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 17

Wednesday 11 February Today I experienced some very excited Kiwi’s when they heard my accent! (“Oh, you’re Scottish”! How wonderful!”, I of course agreed wholeheartedly!). I stayed last night in Waipu Cove, a little south of Waipu. This morning I headed back up to Waipu (I was too late to visit there when I arrived yesterday). So, to explain the Kiwi excitedness: Many years ago during the Highland Clearances a devout Presbyterian by the name of Norman McLeod and some of his flock from Assynt and around emigrated to Nova Scotia, along with many other highlanders who found themselves forced from the land. They settled in a small place called Pictou in Nova Scotia and later moved to what they hoped would be a better place for their settlement called St Anns. Unfortunately, they had some ... read more

Monday 9 February This morning it started raining and I’m not sure it stopped all day until just after I pulled into my site on the Bay of Islands. I’d had breakfast and was just getting myself organised to go, when Judy from the van 2 doors up stopped by to invite me over for some fish. The people in another van had been fishing and had been very successful, and couldn’t manage everything and had passed some on to them; they in turn couldn’t manage everything either so she was looking for people to feed! It was a King fish, which is a game fish, and quite common in the waters around this area, and they are huge, and also very, very tasty. We got chatting and it turns out that John, in his younger ... read more

The Moto Adventurers have loaded their motos into the container that is heading for the port of Valparaiso, Chile, and is expected there during the first week of March, with the adventurers flying in on Monday 9th March to begin their 2009 High Andes Adventure. The route will be similar to last year, but of course there will be different dynamics. We have a smaller group than last year, with a couple of riders dropping out for various reasons, so we will be 9 in total. We have Leo Harris, from Christchurch, who will be riding a Kawasaki 650 KLR. You may recall that Leo was booked in for last year, but unfortunately fell off a log splitter and broke his back, well he is back in the saddle and ready to go !! We have ... read more

Ahipara 25th - 27th November 2008 This sweet litttle place is close to Kaitai and was to be our base for exploring Cape Reinga. It sits right at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach. We went down to the beach to swim - the surf was great fun. Our campsite had rustic charm with a log fire burning in the main room at night. Very cosy as the nights still have a chilly edge. We got chattingto a lovely Kiwi couple, Gordon and Marcia, who come from Christchurch - they have said for us to look them up when we get there. People are extremely friendly and welcoming here. ... read more

Weihnachtsferien Von 20.12.2008 bis 4.01.2009 ist Pause am Institut hier an der AUT (die Studenten sind ja schon viel früher weg, die haben von Mitte November bis Anfang März ihre Sommerferien). Diese Zeit ist auch die Hauptreisezeit der Neuseeländer, die meisten nehmen sich in der Weihnachtszeit ihren Urlaub und verbringen diesen auf einem der unzähligen Campingplätzen an der Küste ihrer beiden großen Inseln. 1. Far North mit Stefan und Marlene Der erste Teil der Bilder stammt von unserer Reise durch den Norden der Nordinsel mit Stefan und Marlene. Die Woche war wirklich super! Erstes Ziel war ein DOC Campingplatz, Tutukaka, in der Nähe von Whangarei. Weiter ging es zur Bay of Island, wo wir in der Nähe von Paihia unsere Zelte aufstellten. Wir erkundigten uns über mögliche Segelboot - Touren in der Bay doch das Wetter ... read more