We are on our Way
May 26, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Leaving Camperdown Castle this afternoon for New Zealand to visit Melissa and Luke in Auckland and travel around the North Island.
Melissa and Luke's Apartment
May 26, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Unpacked and settled into Melissa and Luke's lovely apartment which is an Art Deco building and overlooks Mission Bay. Friday night dinner tradition for the Wilson's is Nachos at their favouriteRead more
Out and About
May 27, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Saturday morning in Mission Bay, it is a lovely area to walk around with great cafes and some lovely homes.
After our walk a short drive to One Tree Hill. Incredible views and a lovely parkRead more
Piha Beach
May 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Today Luke and Melissa drove us to a black sandy beach called Piha Beach which is the most famous beach in New Zealand. The black sand is caused by a volcanic eruption at Taupo a long time ago whichRead more
Driving to Matamata
May 29, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
We are leaving Melissa and Luke's today and sightseeing different area's of the North Island.
It is very easy driving around in NZ, the scenery is lovely and some very cool cafe's.
We are now atRead more
Matamata and Morrinsville
May 30, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 14 °C
In the morning we looked around Matamata and drove to Morrinsville where they have collection of life-size cow sculptures throughout the town showcasing the history and heritage of Morrinsville. TheRead more
Hobbiton for the Day
May 30, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Late afternoon we drove to Hobbiton where the hobbits live from the movie "Lord of the rings". Hobbition is incredible, very pretty and very well maintained.
The tour took 5 hours which includedRead more
Hobbiton Night Walk
May 30, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 11 °C
We then headed to the Green Lantern for drinks by the fire, followed by an amazing dinner. The tables were loaded with quite a feast followed by dessert.
The evening finished with a night timeRead more
Otorohanga Kiwi House
May 31, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Leaving Matamata this morning off to our next stop, Waitomo Caves. On the way we visited Otorohanga which is a little quaint township, we walked around and come across the Edmund Hillary Walk and thenRead more
Waitomo Caves
June 1, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We have been quite adventurous and went Black Water tubing in the glow worm caves. The tour took 2 hours of climbing over rocks in the dark and floating in inner tubes in the cold water through theRead more
Mangapohue
June 1, 2017 in New Zealand
In the afternoon we drove to Mangapohue and walked along a wooden pathway to a Natural Bridge.
"Kaimanawa Lodge" Turangi
June 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 16 °C
Arrived in Turangi for a week, we will be doing day trips using Turangi as our base. We are staying at Kaimanawa Lodge which is one of Classic Holidays Resorts. Not a bad place to stay, the mangersRead more
Trout Hatchery and Thermal Springs
June 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Today we visited the Trout Hatchery and walked along the river and watched a few people trout fishing. We also found a trail which had Natural Thermal hot springs.
Flight over the Volcano's
June 4, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ -2 °C
Today was incredible, we took a 40 min flight over the 3 local Volcano's. They are stunning.
Hight Tea at Chateau Tongariro
June 4, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 6 °C
We then drove up to the snow fields not much snow but still interesting and finished the day with a High Tea at Boutique Hotel called Chateau Tongariro.
At home in Turangi
June 5, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Today was wet so we stayed in and watched TV and edited photo's and planned the sightseeing for the next couple of days.
Huka Falls
June 6, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 9 °C
Today we drove to Taupo, it is bigger than Turangi but has all the usual shops. After walking around for a while we visited Huka Falls and Honey.
Huka Falls are the largest falls on the WaikatoRead more
Cruise on Lake Taupo
June 6, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
After lunch we went on a 2 hour cruise on Lake Taupo to view the most important tourist attraction in the area, The Maori Rock Carving (it was only carved 40 years ago). It was interesting and theRead more
Tongariro River Walk
June 7, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C
Today we went for what the locals call tramping. We walked along the street and then passed over a suspension bridge and continued hiking north along the riverside until we finally reached the top ofRead more
Tokaanu Wharf
June 8, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Today was a little cold and windy so we did not do much. We went for a short drive to see a local historical landmark,Tokaanu Wharf.
Aratiatia Rapids
June 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 10 °C
Today we left Turangi for Auckland. We drove via Taupo and Hamilton. In Taupo we visited The Aratiatia Rapids. The flood gates are opened a few times a day to release the water upstream.
Hamilton Gardens
June 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 11 °C
We then drove to Hamilton Gardens. The gardens are incredible with themed feature gardens covering many different cultures over the ages.
Let's have a Party
June 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
In the morning we went for a short walk along the waterfront and the remainder of the day was spent preparing for Melissa's Birthday Party. In the evening we had a Mexican Fiesta Birthday party andRead more
Matakana
June 11, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Today Luke and Melissa drove us to Matakana and Warkworth which are only a few hours out of Auckland. They are little historical townships and they both had very nice river walks.
Auckland War Memorial Museum
June 12, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
We visited the museum in the morning and saw a cultural show which was quite good. We then walked through the museum for 3 hours looking at many different exhibitions. After lunch at the museum weRead more