Blogs from Waikato, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Huntly - a town I tend to drive right through on my way to somewhere else. But they have an i-Site. Why?? I clearly needed to stop and check it out. Thank goodness I did. Okay, my visit reinforced that there isn't a huge amount to do in Huntly but the lovely lady behind the desk was very helpful, they had pamphlets for just about everywhere else in NZ, there is lovely artwork on the fence, a picnic area with the perfect view of the power station and I was directed to an attraction I didn't know existed. Yes, Huntly has something that is really worth visiting. http://huntly.co.nz/history/ The Huntly Coal Museum is tucked away on a back street so you need to know where you are going and look for the small signs. It is ... read more

We're we packed up and off by 9.00, heading West. We stopped in Te Ahora, translates to Mountains of Love, for food and to pack up a box to send home. We have spare stuff that we just don't need eg thermals, hats, bumbag, camera case, travel towels and head rests etc. All in all it was 8 kilos and a pretty large box. The travellers adage is 'pack your bags, then take half of it out and whatever you think you'll spend, you should double it. The adage is holding out so far. We pulled up at Karangahake Gorge and took off on a 'Windows Walk'. The area has a gold mining past and it was like walking the set of Indiana Jones and Janes Bond. Several large, and wobbly, suspension bridges took us across ... read more

Drugi dan popotovanja sva izkoristila za ogled Hamiltona, mesteca južno od Aucklanda, ki leži ob reki Waikato. Mesto je sodobno in deluje nekako ameriško. Dopoldne sva si ogledala jezero Hamilton, okoli katerega so speljane številne sprehajalne poti. V bližnji kavarni sva si privoščila jutranjo kavo (kako čudno so naju gledali, ker na kapučinu nisva hotela vanilijevega, cimetovega in še kakšnega posipa). V kavarnah in manjših restavracijah se naroči in plača pri blagajni, nato pa gost k mizi odnese stojalo s številko, glede na katero nato natakar prinese naročeno. Po ogledu jezera sva v trgovini z opremo za kampiranje kupila nekaj nujnih potrebščin, nato pa sva se po poti Riverside Walk, ki poteka tik ob reki, odpravila proti znanenitim hamiltonskim vrtovom. Ker je bilo popoldne toplo in sočno, sva bila kar hvaležna za senco dreves ob reki. ... read more

If you live overseas and are planning on doing a bus tour of NZ, stop reading right now. This blog is not for you. If you live overseas and are planning on driving round NZ, you are crazy, you have no idea how windy and narrow our roads are and have you considered doing a tour?? If you live overseas and are planning on driving round NZ and are confident that this is the best way of seeing the real NZ, good on you. Well done. I hope you know which side on the windy and narrow roads we drive on. Many tourists don't. If you live in NZ and are looking for ideas of where to go round Hamilton, keep reading. My advice, if you are visiting Hamilton (or any other city in NZ), is ... read more

Par Sylvain: C’est avec un peu de peine que nous quittons Tam, Charles, Zaccary et leur confortable lodge ce samedi midi ( 3 Octobre) mais nous sommes contents de repartir vivre notre aventure nomade dans notre Eden ! Aujourd’hui c’est l’anniversaire de Bénédicte (3 octobre), et comme surprise, en plus du pot de miel artisanal acheté au bord de la route, nous aurons une vue magnifiquement incroyable du haut du « pinacle » (pic) de Tairu après notre pique-nique au soleil. Une fois en haut nous voyons la mer de tous les côtés avec des courants et des couleurs qui se croisent… Nous avons repéré sur l’application « NZ Camping » un terrain basique, dans la forêt avec toilettes et eau du ruisseau. Il se trouve au départ d’une petite randonnée qu’on veut faire le lendemain ... read more