Blogs from North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 24

Wed 27th February we left the beach bach and headed north in a slight drizzle - for only the second time in two weeks. The road twists and turns between two mountain ranges through the Buller Gorge with the river on our left. There were beautiful views and rivers all the way along running off the mountains into the sea. East of Nelson on the northern coast, we stopped at Pelorus Bridge which was advertised as a good spot to swim. We didn't, it was too cold, but I did have a paddle. We drove on to Havelock at the bottom of Pelorus Sound to our Airbnb and went to the Mussel Pot restaurant, renowned worldwide for green - lipped mussels. We shared a selection cooked in different ways, and were then surprised by another pair ... read more

This March, I’m taking part in the Himalayan Trust Summit Challenge and walking 8,848 steps a day (1 step for each metre of the height of Everest - 8,848m) to raise funds for the people of Nepal. Ever since Sir Edmund Hillary built the first schools and hospitals in the Everest region in the 1960s, the Himalayan Trust has been transforming lives in remote mountain communities: opening up new opportunities for young people through quality education, providing life-saving medical care, building water systems to provide safe drinking water and increase income from farming; and rebuilding schools following the 2015 earthquakes. I’m taking part in the Summit Challenge because I have always admired Sir Ed, not just his physical achievements but his passion to help the people of Nepal. I visited Nepal many years ago and feel ... read more

After having been busy with Christmas, New Year, a bit of travel and spending all of our time with the family, we are now getting back into the routine of life at home. We have had a wonderful time right through the festive season with Chris's and Amy's families and then, during the last of the school holidays spending time in Hastings and Taupo with the odd couple of days at home in Wellington. Now back to reality. Hawkes Bay was extremely hot over the last few weeks so energy levels were not high and motivation to go fishing, nil. Long walks on Ocean Beach, wonderful, and climbs up Te Mata peak, exhausting, swimming as much as possible and keeping in the shade. As it should be in holiday time. Idilic days in Taupo with Amy, ... read more

Premier arrêt : Rotorua ! Toute première impression : grand soleil (et ça comment ça fait du bien!!) mais l'odeur d'oeuf pourri est belle et bien là ? La ville est sympa, tout peut se faire à pied, c'est rempli de parcs et comme le lac est juste à côté on arrive facilement vers des points de vue d'eau. First stop: Rotorua! First impression: big fat sunshine (and that feels sooooo good), but the rotten egg smell is a bit heavy. The city is really nice, you can walk to anywhere easily, it's full of parks and since the lake is close by, you can easily stop by the water and enjoy it ?... read more

Wen siehst du, wenn du dir im Spiegel gegenüber stehst? Wen siehst du, wenn du keinen außer deinen Wegen gehst? Wen siehst du, wenn du dich für niemand anderen hältst? Niemand anderen als dich selbst. aus „Mein Schwert“ von Thomas D. Heya guten Tag zusammen meine Lieben, es ist wieder soweit und es gibt wieder ein bisschen was von mir aus Neuseeland zu hören. Diesmal etwas alltäglicher – ja denn Alltag gibt es wie überall auch hier, aber ein bissl was Schickes ist natürlich auch dieses Mal wieder dabei. Ich bin also nach Paeroa (gesprochen Peiroh) zurückgekehrt und nun überrasche ich Mel und John und noch ein paar andere, die noch gar nicht wissen das ich wieder in Neuseeland bin. Beziehungsweise habe ich sie überrascht...gleich montags hat Erik mich in der Stadt abgesetzt und ich habe ... read more