Blogs from Whangamata, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Maintenant qu'on s'est un peu rempli les poches, on décide de mettre le cap sur Coromandel, officiellement pour une potentielle embauche et officieusement pour profiter des magnifiques paysages! Au départ de Te Puke nous allons d'abord dans les terres aux alentours jusqu'à la réserve de Kaiate admirer Rerekawau Falls. C'est très petit mais ça valait le détour et la route qui y mène est superbe (quoiqu'un 4x4 aurait été plus adapté). Nous continuons notre route pour dormir à Whangamata. C'est vraiment très beau, je me répète mais tantôt on traverse les prairies puis les forêts de conifères et forêts tropicales envahies par les fougères arborescentes immenses! Arrivés à destination, un type se gare à côté de notre van et inspecte les étiquettes de rego, wof et self-countained sur notre pare-brise. On a déjà observé ce genre ... read more

Hej, Saa vil jeg igen fortaelle lidt om hvad jeg gaar og laver. Tirsdag var jeg tidligt oppe, (=midt om natten) for at se solopgangen ved Cathedral Cove. Det var flot. Bortset fra nogle unge mennesker, der sov paa stranden, var det kun mig. Jeg saa i oevrigt en sjov fugl. Fuglene her er nogle helt andre arter, end dem vi har der hjemme. Fordi NZ var isoleret i saa mange aar, har det udviklet helt sin egen flora og fauna. Moa, den stoerste af de ikke-flyvende fugle, kunne blive 3,5 m hoej og veje 200 kg. Den er jeg dog kommet lidt for sent til at moede. Den uddoede, da maorierne kom. Nu hvor jeg har rejst i nogle dage, begynder jeg saa nogenlunde at faa de rigtige ting med hjemmefra om morgenen, men det ... read more

21st - 22nd December 2008 Whangamata The beach at Whangamata looked lovely as we drove in, but it was a bit cold and we didn't fancy shivering in the surf - it's okay for those who have wetsuits (pansies!). We decided to camp on the DOC site which was a few kms out of town, set in beautiful forest and hills with a river running through. We went for a walk up to a very tall waterfall and climbed to the top of it.. As usual, I'm crap with heights and couldn't look over the edge. Rob, of course, has no fear. He got me to paddle at the top, which is good for me, and then we walked back down, following the river. Near the end of the walk we found a great swimming hole ... read more

After the rain of yesterday we woke up a little despondant as it was still chucking it down!!!! Eau de egg was still hanging in the air but we had had a good nights sleep and were not going to let the weather get us down!!! We has decided that we were going to go to Te Pui first which is in Rotarua and is all about Mauri Culture. As we pulled up it seemed very touristy and the rain was really lashing down - we made it to the gate but we didn't go in and turned back to the warmth and dry of the car - we decided that today was not the day to be walking round in the yukky weather taking in culture!!! We drove to the next stop which was called ... read more

Bach on the beachAnna Caswellurl='/Videos/2593.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2593.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Crazy Although summer is officially over here, the weather is still pretty mild, so the idea of a weekend retreat to the beach (never achieved during summer) was met with a great deal of enthusiasm. The excuse? Pip's leaving get together, before she flies off to Bejing for the year. The group? Well of the 10 of us there were many familiar faces from the Whanganui trip. We were also graced with some additional people - Karena, a doctor from the UK (great conversations on the calving vs childbirth, lube pumps vs forceps etc), Aaron, a pilot for Air New Zealand (sounds flash, but so far it's only the little 12 seaters), the celebrity Erica Wood (famous for her news reports in Rotorua, and... read more