Waimangu and Napier

You may recall a few entries ago we mentioned the problem with weather at August Bank Holiday. We now have an explanation of why things are not so good here at the moment. Today is Auckland (Bank Holi-) Day. It is a national holiday (we are not sure what it celebrates but when we get an internet connection we will Google it) and we expect it will be just as busy as our own bank holiday weekends. Rotorua is a popular place with a lot of attractions and we presume will be very crowded.

As we are still making our way down to Wellington for the ferry we decided not to spend any more time in Rotorua but to go to another geo-thermic place of interest on our way south, Waimangu Volcanic Valley (http://www.waimangu.com/) It is described as “the place where the world began” as the whole micro bio-system has been created since the volcanic eruption on 10^th June 1886. The whole valley was cleared of all vegetation, a little like the effect of the eruption at Mount St. Helens, and everything in the valley now comes from natural development without any human intervention.

It is a fantastic experience to walk down into the valley and to see steam literally coming out of the sides. There are a number of lakes, with steam rising and swirling from the surfaces. We are attaching a number of photographs which may just capture some of the wonder of the place. 

We weren't able to make it right up to Lake Rotomahana as they have suffered from the recent rainfall (they had 500mm/18” of rain in the last seven days) and were closed for 36 hours because of landslips on the road and the paths. Even when we were there some areas were still closed and the bus could not make it up to the lake. They had a digger in clearing the road and they expected it to take at least a day to clear and another day to repair culverts etc. Cyclone Wilma seems to have left quite a legacy.

This did not deter us, we walked as far as we could and caught the bus back to the visitors centre. It was a wonderful experience and it seemed that every corner we turned there was a 'Wow' or 'Look at that' moment. We had arrived at 9.30 a.m. when there were very few people there. By the time we got back to the visitors centre at 12.00 the car park was completely full and two or three coaches had arrived.

When we were at the Rotorua camp site we had seen some strange birds, rather like our native moorhens but significantly larger (see photo).

 We described them to one of the staff at Waimangu, who told us they were Swamp Hens or Pukeko. They have a lot in the valley who feed on the frogs and when they have eaten all of them, move up to Lake Rotomahana to eat the frogs there. When the swamp hens have gone, the frogs reappear in the valley. There used to be a computer game (for those of us old enough to remember the ZX Spectrum!) called foxes and rabbits which worked on the same principle! We heard a lot of frogs in the trees in the valley so presumably it's frogs 1 – swamp hens 0 at present.

We had a snack lunch in the cafe and then we got back on the road heading for Napier. The weather, which had been fine at Waimangu, dry if not sunny; deteriorated as we climbed into the mountains we had to cross to get to the east coast. In the end the windscreen wipers were working overtime and the headlights were on. However we decided to stop and make a cup of tea and purely by fluke we stopped at a scenic viewpoint from which we could see this:

That really set us up for the rest of the journey as you can appreciate, even the weather thought better of its behaviour and as we came down the mountains through the long white cloud the sun reappeared from its long exile and we rode into Napier complaining of the heat (actually that's a bit of a fib!).

For those who don't know (sorry about this for those who do) Napier is an art-deco town. The original town was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1930s and when they came to reconstruct they used the architectural style of the day, viz. Art Deco. Despite recent attempts to redevelop (in the1980s) it was realised that the art deco buildings and style of the town needed to be preserved and would make Napier a tourist and visitor attraction (and put one over Hastings their near neighbour).The result is quite unique. We had a very enjoyable walk around looking at all the buildings and down to the waterfront.

Once we were settled at the campsite we walked to the beach – yes, Sue actually managed to walk on the beach – only to discover that it will be a sandy beach one day but currently varies from large pebbles, through gravel to a fine grit all in a glorious black! So no sandcastles to be built here! The sky was quite incredible with large clouds hovering over the area being caught by the last rays of the sun. Hopefully this will bode well for tomorrow.

Rorotua

A peaceful night. We were alone on the restaurant car park once all the staff had left. This wasn't very late as the restaurant did not seem to be open in the evening – just as well we ate in the 'van! We had a walk round some of the olive trees, there seemed to be hundreds of them up the valley sides around the site of the restaurant. There were none to pick as the season is not yet – mind you we couldn't tell you when it will be as we know little about the growing requirements of olives and even less about growing them in New Zealand.

We left just after 9.30, on our way down to Rotorua which is our next stop. It is a volcanic area and we will be stopping at a site which has its own heated pools, from the volcanic hot water.

The journey was much easier and quicker than yesterday. We stopped at Countdown, another supermarket in the Woolworths chain, and restocked our larder (actually Bert only had beer and wine on his list) and bought the NZ sunday paper. The headline read “Heroes of the Flood” and there were a lot of stories about people being rescued from their homes, livestock being recovered from the floodwaters and so on. And the cause of all this devastation – Cyclone Wilma. A name that will not be forgotten in New Zealand for a while.

We stopped for our lunch at a lovely little town called Cambridge. (Not bad is it, Bombay and Cambridge in the same day.) It reminded us a little bit of Cannon Beach in Oregon, lots of eating houses and the place was packed with cars on the street but, just as in Cannon Beach, the car park behind the shops was almost empty. We had a very good lunch and then had a quick stroll up the main street looking at some of the old buildings before returning to the 'van for the rest of the journey.

Rotorua is sited to one side of the lake of the same name. The rainfall of the last few days means that it is very high. We walked along to St Faith's Church, which looked most interesting architecturally and which sits on the edge of the lake and looked over the amazing waters. 

Everywhere you walk you see clouds of steam either coming directly out of the ground or up through man-made vents. Just at the side of the holiday park, called Cosy Cottage International (although we think the Cottage has been demolished!) there is a pool and you can watch the water boiling! The pools on the site that are available to bathe in are at a very pleasant temperature and everywhere you go the hotels and motels are advertising 'hot pools'. Just along the road from where we are staying you can find Red Rock Thermal Hotel, a bit more romantic than a thermal vest!

The campsite even has a “steam oven”; a thermal hole surrounded by a slightly surreal rectangular wishing well. You borrow special cooking dishes, place your food in the hole, replace the lid and wait for dinnertime!

The weather has been great today, lots of sunshine and pretty warm so we have returned to shorts and t-shirts. We are hoping it will stay this way as we travel on down to catch the ferry to South Island on Wednesday morning. It seems quite amazing that we have nearly come to the end of the first part of our adventure, but equally we still have two more weeks to go in the motorvan. Everyone we meet keeps telling us that we will enjoy South Island more than North Island; even the cashier in Countdown was telling us that, in her opinion, it is a completely different world - albeit in the same country!

Wild but dry!

The storm continued through the evening and on into the night. Our experiences in our caravan meant that we knew what to expect with regard to noise levels and that was just as well. The rain came down in buckets, troughs, baths and torrents, with large cats and reasonably sized dogs being seen falling past the windows. We were on a hard standing pitch at a campsite close to the centre of Whangerai and sat and anxiously watched the water flowing across the ground on its way to the stream running along the edge of the site. We discovered from the site owners the following morning that parts of the site had actually been flooded.

This is the second semi-tropical storm that New Zealand has experienced in the last week (you will recall we had flown into New Zealand clutching the tail-end of the last one) and everyone we have spoken to has been taken aback by their intensity. Bert got in to conversation with the man in the caravan next to us who firmly placed the blame on climate change and who can argue with that. As he said it doesn't matter what the cause is – it is definitely happening.

We went to say our farewells at the site office to be told that there were problems on the roads to both the north and south. It sounded as if we would have not been able to get out of the Bay of Islands if we had delayed our departure until today. We were also warned that they understood that there were problems on the SH1 (the main road south to Auckland) but they had no specific details. The flood waters in the fields and spontaneous roadside waterfalls, once we had set off, were extensive so we knew we would have to be vigilant.

We passed two or three landslips and then saw a sign that said that the SH1 was actually closed and that we would have to go round by SH16, a fairly significant detour which was likely to add at least an hour on to our journey. However further time was added on when we had to queue to pass across a piece of road that had been washed out. The Araparera river was now actually flowing over the road here (as well as into all the surrounding fields) and there was only one lane passable. 

By the looks of the queues the other side we were lucky to be delayed by only 45 minutes. The other factor in slowing our progress was the high winds which, when you are driving a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick, have to be given a great deal of respect.

When we eventually got back on to the SH1 the wind was still an issue and crossing Auckland Bridge was an experience we would prefer not to repeat, apparently the views are great but not at the top of our list of priorities at the time.

We made good time south of Auckland and soon arrived at our destination in Bombay (not Mumbai). This was our first use of our membership of the Native Parks Motorhome Havens (http://www.nativeparks.co.nz/) and we are staying tonight at the Simunovich Olive Estate and Bracu Restaurant. We had a late lunch in the restaurant, listening to a live guitarist. The food was excellent, the presentation reminded us of the meal we had had at the gourmet restaurant at Chaumont Garden Festival a few years ago. Having paid the bill we decided to eat in the 'van in the evening!

The weather is still blustery but bright and sunny. Fingers crossed that's the end of it.

Bay of Islands

You may all remember, be it as a child or as an adult, the amazing effect bank/public holidays can have on the weather, or the last days of the school holidays. Think August Bank Holiday (UK readers only) and try and remember a dry one.

Well, we rather feel it is the New Zealand equivalent here today; it is the end of the school holidays and it is raining – and boy, is it raining! It started just as we left the Bay of Islands Holiday Park, our resting place for the end of our journey from the West Coast.

Sue had said she wanted to celebrate her birthday, belatedly, with a walk on the beach so here she is doing just that – although to be fair, she didn't actually get to the beach! However, what she did manage to do was buy herself a new back-pack from one of the very wet stalls on a craft market. They were there no doubt hoping to get some trade from the passengers on a cruise liner parked in the bay. When we told the stall holders we were not of that ilk, they became very chatty and warned us of impending Cyclone Number 2.

We eventually found somewhere dry to have a cup of coffee and to re-plan our day. Whilst we were drinking the coffee we found a local newspaper which indicated we could expect at least another 24 hours of rain. We watched brown, sandy waves crashing rather ominously on the shore and decided to go to Plan B.

Once we had reviewed the situation and, bearing in mind we had had an e-mail reminder about our ferry crossing to South Island, we decided that we just had to go and see the Waitangi Treaty Grounds (http://www.waitangi.net.nz/) and after that we would start our journey south. So we got back into the 'van and towelled ourselves down and drove up to the site.

Before we went in we sat in the 'van in the vain hope the weather would ease, it didn't, so we went and had lunch in the Waikokopu Cafe (http://www.waikokopu.co.nz/). The range of items available on the menu was very impressive and again made Sue's choice very straightforward. She was even able to have a slice of pecan pie.

We are very pleased we decided to make the visit. Whilst the weather was, to put it mildly, against us, to be able to visit the place that literally put New Zealand on the map was quite inspiring. It is remarkable that a Captain in the Royal Navy (Hobson) and a young family man (Busby) were able to produce a treaty, without any guidance or template from their superiors, which is honoured today. And to think that the location and the building that stands upon it could have been lost in the 1920s.

The Te Whare Runanga (Maori Meeting House) is an amazing construction with some wonderful carvings. It is regarded as a sacred place by the Maoris and visitors are asked to remove their shoes before entering, as a sign of respect.

The journey from the Bay of Islands south to Whangarai was extremely wet but uneventful so we will catch up with our adventures tomorrow.

Musing on time

Being so far round the world and working out what time it is with each of you, starts to make you contemplate time and calendars and so on (well it does for Bert and the following are his musings and Sue accepts no responsibility or liability for what follows.)

The first thing that comes to mind is that if the blog is written before midday (NZ time) I am actually writing it yesterday for all the recipients. If I send it before 9'o'clock at night (NZ time) then most of you will read it today but, again, those of you on the west coast of the USA can still read it yesterday – in effect before it has been written – which is quite scary!

Another thing is birth and death. Two babies being born at the same minute could actually have different birth-days. If a baby in NZ was born at 10'o'clock this morning then he/she would celebrate their birthday on the 28^th January whereas the baby born in the UK would have been born at 9'o'clock last night, the Oregon baby at 1'o'clock yesterday afternoon and, therefore, celebrate their birthdays on 27^th January! The NZ baby would always be considered to be a day older!

I think I am going to stop this train of thought now as I can feel a serious headache coming on and I am supposed to be on holiday!

[Sue] He has had a busy day and a long drive through torrential NZ rain (more of this later), so I think you have to bear with him.....

Waipoua Forest

We left Matakohe first thing in the morning after doing the motorvan chores, filling up with fresh water and emptying out the waste, another first on our journey. Another gloriously sunny and warm day (had to say that, as we have just looked up the temperatures back in Market Drayton - some 20C less than where we are!).

We drove initially to Dargaville to do some shopping in Woolworths and The Warehouse. It would appear that in New Zealand supermarkets sell food and if you want anything else you go to another store - a novel idea we know but we don't think it will ever catch on in the U.K. We also put diesel into the motorvan, very expensive too, 1.35 a litre (sorry forgot to put the $ sign in there so the equivalent price in £ is £0.67).

We then drove on to the Waipoua Forest and saw some of the still-standing Kauri trees. They are magnificent! We didn't get to see some of the oldest which were an hour's round trip on foot, nor Tane Mahuta as there was no space to park the 'van. However we did walk to see the Four Sisters and we attach photos which really do not do justice to the incredible size of them.

It is quite disconcerting when you look at the maps which detail the extent of the Kauri forests at the beginning of the nineteenth century and then the current situation. Whilst efforts are being made to plant a new forest of Kauri they will never be such an important element of the flora and fauna of NZ again. It is a pity that we have not learnt the lessons of the past and continue to destroy vast tracts of the Amazonian and other jungles. (This could be seen as rather a 'dog in the manger' attitude I know, as without the logging in New Zealand – and other parts of the world, we would possibly not have the affluent economies we have and other countries, who continue to remove forests on a massive scale, aspire to.)

We are acquiring more confidence as to where we can take the 'van and actually drove to the Waipoua Forest Visitor's Centre. Sadly, most of the information we saw there we had acquired at the Kauri Museum but we had a cup of coffee and sat and looked out in to the forest and listened to the bird calls, the only sound!

We wanted to get on then, to the Bay of Islands and left the forest to drive down to Hokianka Harbour. We turned the corner to start the descent to be greeted with the following view!

Fortunately there was a view point and car park just there so we stopped to take the photos and ate our lunch looking at the beautiful scenery. The rest of the journey was, as you can appreciate, a little bit of an anti-climax!

We have caught up now!

The blog is up to date except for details of our day today. This will be posted shortly, I hope.

Sorry about the photos but we will have to investigate how to do it. It would appear that uploading them is a very slow process.

Matakohe Meal

Thursday (1)

The first thing we have to say is, in fact, about our meal last night. We had this at Matakohe House (www.matakohehouse.co.nz/) which is just down the road from the Kauri Museum. We had booked but when we arrived we turned out to be their only guests. The only thing we can say to those people who weren't there is that you missed a superb meal with customer service that was excellent.

Sue is absolutely revelling in the food, gluten free appears to be a given in every eating establishment we have been in so far. And that ranges from a hotel restaurant, to the cafe yesterday lunchtime and then, again, last night. We won't bore you with the menu but suffice it to say Sue's steak and Bert's venison were a delight and everything was cooked while we waited!

We had long conversations with the waitress about her self-sufficiency lifestyle (goats, sheep, chickens and, her latest acquisition, a Clydesdale horse!). She grows all her own vegetables and fruit which she freezes and bottles. She also makes her own cheese, which she can no longer sell to the public as she cannot afford to bring her cheese making facilities up to 'government approved' standards (now doesn't that sound familiar!) She is a firm believer that barter will come back in a big way to overcome these problems as you can give things away but not sell them. No doubt the government will find a way to stop that!

The proprietor also came in to talk to us, an Australian lady, and we talked about England, Australia and New Zealand. Another very interesting lady who is a qualified nurse (unbelievably she told us she had qualified 52 years ago!) who at one time had worked in a children's hospital as the 'dietary sister' and had quite determined views about gluten etc. She is looking to sell the establishment, it also includes a B&B, and retire. The trip she is looking to do with some of the proceeds is to the U.K. to trace her ancestors – I wonder what she will make of the food when she gets there.

Matakohe

Wednesday

What a difference a day makes!

We woke up to glorious sunshine, looked out on some wonderful scenery, had breakfast sitting outside in shorts and t-shirts and decided that Maui were not going to spoil our holiday. (Bert is working on his letter of complaint that may spoil their day after we get back!)

As we had near enough lost a day with all the issues yesterday we re-vamped our plans and decided that we would stay in Matakohe, visit the Kauri museum and stay another night on the campsite. The site managers are very good and were even able to provide the missing piece of equipment we required!

The Kauri museum (http://www.kaurimuseum.com/) was within walking distance of the site so we strolled down mid-morning and spent most of the rest of the day enthralled by the history of the local area and, more particularly, the logging that brought so many people to this part of North Island. Some of the timber from the Kauri trees was absolutely magnificent. The trees were anything up to 3000 years old and more; they have actually carbon dated some that were older. Unfortunately there are now only two of these trees left alive, we are hoping to see one or both of them tomorrow. They are now looking to reforest some of the area with the Kauri tree, this will be done to create a millenium forest.

One of the products of these trees was gum, a bit like amber, which was collected for many industrial purposes but was also used for carving. There is a separate room in the museum displaying a number of collections created by local people.

We really feel that our holiday has now started and we are going to celebrate with a meal out at the local restaurant. Sue has decided to have steak, despite there being salmon on the menu! We had lunch at a cafe across the road from the museum and when Sue asked what gluten free items they had was greeted with the response - “What would you like – we can make anything for you.”

Picking up the motorvan

Tuesday

This was a day we would rather forget! Having had such a good reception at the hotel we went along to Maui to collect our motorvan with a spring in our step. The initial reception was good, other than an item we had ordered before leaving the U.K. could not be provided as they had 'run out'!

And it went downhill from there! We were told that as the 'van we were hiring was so new they had not had time to produce a DVD about it – presumably with all the instructions as to how things work. A young lady then took us out to our vehicle which she had brought from storage without noticing it had been damaged! Also all the locks were stiff (we won't mention about the number of keys), there was a problem with the cassette toilet and so on.

In the end they gave us a hire car so we could go back to the hotel to collect our bags and check out and then go off to do our shopping. The shopping was very interesting as we ended up at a Pack and Save (see photo) which Bert described as LIDL on steroids. We had a very educational walk up and down the aisles and in the end came out with a substantial trolley full but feeling we had at least made some progress with the day.

Maui had fixed the problems on the 'van and had replaced the two missing wine glasses (essential pieces of equipment when touring New Zealand) but could not provide us with the GPS we had been promised as the 'van was not prepared for it' so we had a lower grade model – it was not a real issue as we both know how a map made of paper works (and, sadly, old enough to have done 'proper' geography at school) – but it was the principle. Sue managed to restrain Bert but he got his revenge by ostentatiously walking round the 'van taking photographs, much to the Maui employee's concern.

Finally we left the depot and set off to work our way through Auckland's outskirts to find the motorway heading north. We were happily motoring along when we saw a sign advising of a new toll road which required us to pull off at the services and buy a ticket. We decided that we would stay there and have some lunch.

And then the next problem arose. The 'van would not start when we were ready to leave; the immobiliser light came on and would not go off. Bert called Maui and they promised to send someone out to us. Bert gave very careful details of where we were and the man at Maui seemed to understand. Two hours later no one had appeared so Bert rang again, perhaps with just a little edge to his voice, to be told that someone had come out but couldn't find us! Bert made it clear he had no wish to spend his first night in a Maui motorvan on the motorway services and was reassured that someone would be there within an hour.

We had assumed that this would be the man from Volkswagen promised at the first call but in the end it was a very nice man from the AA (New Zealand branch). He went through everything and eventually got the 'van started. He said he couldn't really understand what had happened but thought it may have something to do with VW keys being 'tuned' to a frequency very close to the NZ mobile 'phone network.

We were at last on our way again and made our way to our first campsite (we had rung ahead to explain the delay) but by this time the local eateries had closed and the lovely local meal we had promised ourselves ended up as pasta and sauce bought that morning in Pack and Save.

Oh and it had been cloudy all day!

Arrival in New Zealand

Monday (2)

The long flight had taken its toll and we were very tired by the time we reached our hotel. However we received a very warm welcome from the hotel staff and took advantage of the bath (Sue) and shower (Bert) in our very comfortable room.

We went and had a meal in the hotel restaurant which was excellent, enlivened by a very enthusiastic waitress, Victoria, who promised to come and wake us if we fell asleep with our faces in our meals. Sue finally had a meal that did not include salmon and said she could have wept with pleasure at the sight of the food on her plate. Emirates had been very solicitous in providing gluten free meals but unfortunately on both flights it had been salmon that had arrived for every meal – including a gluten free sandwich for one of the snacks, with a salmon paste filling!!

We fell in to bed and both of us were asleep in a matter of seconds, looking forward to the start of our adventure and revelling in the great welcome we had received.

Dubai to Brisbane

Monday

The flight from Dubai to Brisbane was some thirteen hours long. We both tried to sleep but only managed it fitfully. We did use the entertainment system to its full potential but also read quite a bit. Surprisingly the time seemed to pass quite quickly.

We saw the sun rising over the Indian Ocean which was quite a spectacular sight and was our second dawn in less than twenty four hours.

We were delayed in Brisbane as, sadly, there had been a medical emergency on board and a passenger had died. You will appreciate it was very much a dampener to our spirits and our thoughts were very much with the husband. All the passengers had to stay in their seats when we landed to wait for the Australian police and medical staff. The cabin crew dealt with it all very professionally, I think in many ways it was fortunate that there was a changeover at Brisbane.

The flight had been a little bumpy and it didn't change much en route to Auckland. We discovered on landing that a severe storm had passed over North Island at the weekend and assume that the turbulence was the tail end of that storm.

Dubai

Sunday

We are now in Dubai Airport, an incredible building and another shoppers paradise. They accept 14 currencies here, Manchester Airport eat your heart out! I managed one photo (of the inside) which is attached (no it isn't as can't get it to upload - oh yes I can!). 

The flight from Manchester was very straightforward, took off a few minutes late but, thanks to a following wind, arrived in Dubai before the due time. Neither of us managed a great deal of sleep but despite this we still seem to be operating close to normal.

The one incredible feature of the flight was the entertainment. It ranged from watching pictures from the external cameras, (a fantastic experience when coming in to land, not so exciting leaving Manchester in the dark), a selection of films that LoveFilm would have difficulty competing with, TV programmes, radio programmes and a wide range of music, Bert actually listened to the first two scenes from The Marriage of Figaro! Hopefully the same programmes will be available on the way to Auckland so that Sue can finish watching 'Eat, Pray, Love' and Bert can get the last two scenes from the opera.

Sue says she has just seen a real, live Sheik in traditional garb, being transported on an electric cart with his wife, also in traditional dress, draped across the back seat busily catching up with her friends on her mobile 'phone. A bit different from Market Drayton!

Our next leg of the journey starts in two hours time. I would tell you the time of departure and the time of arrival but with the time differences neither of us are really sure what day it is/will be.

On our way!

Saturday

Well, here we are at last, sitting in the lounge at Manchester Airport (and it wasn't easy to find it amongst all the shops, there must be so many as they have a captive audience – once you are in you can't get out!!)

Managed to get through security O.K. - well Sue did! Bert had to open his bag and remove his laptop and they then put the tray through again and it still came down the 'suspicious' channel! It was his mini aerosol sanitising hand gel! Serves him right I can hear you all say! He was allowed to keep it as it was in a clear plastic bag.

All we have to do now is sit in the lounge for three hours!

Almost ready! (2)

Well, we have less than 24 hours until the taxi arrives to whisk us off to Manchester Airport.

The lists have been written, checked, re-written and slowly ticked off. We are now debating what to wear on the plane, actually we know what we are going to wear but questioning what it will be like when we land in Auckland! Have just checked the temperatures forecast for our arrival - 24C, 25C on Tuesday and 26C on Wednesday! A slight difference to the 3C the BBC are telling me was the temperature in Market Drayton at 3.00 p.m. today.

Today's modern technology means that we have already gone through the check in procedures for the motor-van and we will be able to do the same with Emirates Airlines after 8.10 p.m. tonight! Just glad the holiday itself is not in cyber-space!

What we won't have in NZ is the spectacular display every night by the starlings coming in to roost in the Tern Valley. It is the first year we have seen them here, we have seen them in years gone by on the other side of town. I had hoped to put in a video here but did not succeed as it was taking so long to load we would have been back from our holiday by the time it was finished.

Well, this is likely to be the last entry before we depart. I have discovered how I can keep recording entries even when I am not on line. All this is very new to me but I see it could become rather addictive. With a bit of luck the next time you get a "New Post" e-mail from me we will be able to stop talking about going to New Zealand and actually be there.

Itinerary - what itinerary!

A number of our friends have been asking where we are going to go in New Zealand and what we are planning to see. Our response at the moment is that we only have four 'fixed' items on our list. These are:
1. a night in a hotel on arrival in Auckland;
2. a campsite booked for the following night (so we can plan that day without having to worry about where we are staying) on the way to the Bay of Islands;
3. a ferry booking to take us across from North Island to South Island roughly half way through our trip (see below); and
4. a night in a hotel in Christchurch before we fly home the following day.

The rest of the time will be dependent upon what we see and where we are recommended by the locals to visit. We have an outline schedule (thank you Anne H for all your advice) but we expect this to alter as circumstances dictate. There will be a lot to see and, from what we can gather talking to people who have already done the trip, the one thing we are guaranteed to bring back is a list of places to see the next time we go!

We had an e-mail this week to confirm that the final instalment of the ferry fare had been paid, this was sent to us by Cruisey Pay(!), and we can now look forward to a three hour 'cruise' from Wellington to Picton.

We leave on Saturday, the taxi comes to collect us at 3.00 p.m., and will be away until 16th February. Keep an eye on this page as the entries will be a little more regular (hopefully)!

Problems in Australia

Having looked at the news about the floods in Australia it suddenly reminded us that we are due a refuelling stop (for kerosene and not water) at Brisbane on our flight out. Having checked the situation of the airport it would appear we don't have too many worries - unlike the poor people who have lost their houses, cars and, in some cases, their lives.

Preparing for the trip has taken a little bit of  back seat this week as I have been trying to get my father's new computer up and running and we have Heather, Matt, Harry and Alex arriving tonight for a few days!


It doesn't seem that long ago that we had plenty of time before we left, now it is 10 days, 9 tomorrow and 8 on Friday. I really ought to start making lists, not my strongest point I have to say but I am not going to get too stressed about as I am going on holiday soon!

Almost ready!

The planning has all been done, lots of advice from friends and relatives as to what to see, where to go, what to pack - and, more importantly, what not to pack.

The departure day is coming much closer, we leave on 22nd January, Sue's birthday. This was brought home today by the arrival of the tickets from Trailfinders (thank you Ali for all your efforts).

This is our trip to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary (21st December 2010) and this blog is to try and keep a record of everything we get up to on the other side of the world or at least the things we want you to know about. There is one thing you will not be hearing about - bungee jumping - neither of us have any desire to separate our legs from the rest of our bodies.

How often we will be able to make entries is not something we can judge at the moment. I am taking my trusty laptop so it will depend on finding the relevant WiFi hotspots but I have the impression that should not be too much of a problem. Finding the time to write may be another issue!!