Blogs from Wellington Region, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

10 december 2009 Napier som ligger på østkysten, midt i vindistriktet er endelig en ordentlig by. Nu har vi i dagevis kørt gennem små flækker der stort set kun består af en hovedgade. Det kan selvfølgelig være meget charmerende, men her i Napier er der endelig mulighed for at 2/3 af os kan komme til at SHOPPE. Imens kan jeg så bruge tiden på at gruble over at nogen kan bruge tre kvarter inde i en lille butik der kun sælger en ting, nemlig tøj…. Anyway, byen er ret flot; hele bykernen blev ødelagt i 30erne ved et jordskælv og genopbygget i Art Deco stil og med en rigtig flot strandpromenade så mens nogen købte livsfornødenheder, tog jeg et par billeder. Vi sluttede dagen med at gå ud og spise, Hella og jeg havde nemlig 20 ... read more

This morning we got up and went back to the wineries we wanted to buy wine from. We ended up getting the dessert wine from Villa Maria, and a 2008 Riesling "M" from Te Whare Ra. We continued north toward Picton and had some time before we needed to board the ferry. We had run out of books, so we found a bookstore (which had the second and third book of the Millenium Triology by Stieg Larsson) and found an internet cafe. We have had a lot of interest in our van, so we're happy about that. Trying to work out details about viewing the van, etc. when we get back north. Then we got on the ferry back over to Wellington. It was a bit smaller than the other one, but we had our sugared ... read more

Being the only American Spicer in NZ, I 'raced' down to Wellington via a twelve hour bus trip and stayed in the nicest hostel I have found, the YHA. Halloween out with Galen, who I hadn't seen in fifteen years was a great time. He put me up for a few days while I explored Wellington, the numerous harbours, steep 'hills', the local art museums and Te Papa - the best national mueseum I have come across - which was actually free. The City Art Gallery was chalked full of Yusama's dot works, which to say the least were bizzarely interesting. On a budget I sought out an organic farm to live on for the next few weeks. After sending out emails to a few, including (by accident) an 'Au Natural' - nudist farm, I managed ... read more

It’s been a while since we last did a blog. We haven’t got much to write about, however we though we would show you some of the eyesores around Wellington… We’re still working hard, saving the pennies for our next big adventures…Julia is still working as a nanny, enjoying the playgrounds and beaches during the weeks, and exploring Wellington at the weekends. Dan on the other hand has become a sales super star with Telecom and is earning heaps of commission. He joins Julia and the boys on his days off for picnics and walks around the clifftops. Other news from our side of the world…we have sold our beloved campervan Joey, and are going to camp our way around the North island, so will be braving tents and wild campsites for 2 months! We have ... read more

After a consideration of the alternatives, we bought an Inter City bus pass for the North Island and headed to Waitomo. It was a very different experience to the Greyhound services in Australia and it was like being looked after by a long lost Uncle - with a full explanation of the rules of the vehicle and a fascinating description of how to use a service station. Whilst I am sure there are those who would disagree, there is no reason to visit Waitomo apart from the caves. There are a host of caving options, ranging from the high adrenalin black water caving to the more sedate float along and look at the gloworms. A brief check of the insurance, suggested the former wouldn’t be such a good idea and we opted to float awhile and ... read more