Blogs from Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 115

Spent the morning waiting around for Reg's replacement brake pads and disks to be completed, but come 12 o'clock we were back on the road, Reg had stopped screaming, and Napier was soon to be in sight. The city was enjoying the sun when we arried; lying on the sweeping Hawkes Bay, showing its architectural treasures off to a large population of tourists - well, large for New Zealand standards. Having been razed to the ground in 1931 by a disasterous earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, Napier shot back up in world-astounding speed with a rebuilding programme that saw one of the worlds best examples of an Art Deco city, even in the face of its country's rock-bottom economy. Well, so says Lonely Planet. The few meager photos I've taken and attached don't really ... read more

It's taken some time, but I am feeling better about staying here for a while now. It's good to have my own space in the house at Percival Street and I'm doing more recreational activities, chilling out and soaking up the cosmopolitan lifestyle in the city and enjoying the atmosphere. There are tons of theatres and cinemas in Wellington - firstly here's a photo of the one where I'm working, which is called Circa - it's right on the harbour with a fabulous view and a lovely dining area. It's quite a laid-back and sophisticated environment in the theatre, although convincing the customers that they have plenty of time to eat before going in to the play takes some patience!! At the moment there are two plays showing, with matinee performances on weekend afternoons. Nearer Christmas ... read more

Jimi's gonna do a song called Happy Halloween. I spent alot of time getting my costume together... I ran to costume cove to get a costume. Not sure what I had in mind, something like hippie ish or jimi hendrix... I looked around for at least a half hour and found some cool shirts that would fit. I was assisted by one of the ladies working there. She found an awesome jacket/cape to wear over the shirts and some really cool tight yellow/orange pants. I jogged back to my room and found people there already on the piss by 2. Andy and I had to finish our challenge which was left at 1-1 due to the ra's. We were up 3-2 but Dan and Bluff came back to win in 7 games, crappy, but oh well. ... read more

HHi Friends! Sorry for the lack of blog entries- life in NZ has been going by so quickly! Things have been nuts lately, with hurricane Wilma hitting my hometown (everyone is OK, but without power and gasoline!!) and trying to find ways to communicate with my family in Fl, I also had to study for exams! Since my trip to Kapiti, life in Wellington was focused on studying for final exams while trying to simultaneously soak up all that Welly has to offer me before I leave. Helma and I were clever and chose to meet for study sessions at the Botanical gardens. We sat our on a sheet and enjoyed the much needed sunshine and looked over our notes. Exams ended October 21st, and my life all of a sudden came together once again. Funny ... read more

Kia Ora once again! Right now I am in Wellington, which is said to be one of the windiest cities in the world. After only being here about 12 hours I can attest to the trueness of this statement. I left Taupo on Thursday for River Valley. River Valley is not even a town, it is a lodge near a river. The logde runs whitewater rafting tours and horse backriding adventures and gives the visitor a chance to experience more of a wilderness feel. The toilets were outside as were the showers and the bunk room we were all staying in consisted of two giant bunk beds each with four mattresses on the top and four on the bottom. A bunch of people whinned about the accomidation, but from years of summer camp and the like, ... read more