nov. – dec. 2018

Saunders’ Down Under

Australia and New Zealand 2018 Meer informatie

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Dag 27
maandag 10 december 2018
☀️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 23 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Napier City -39.496803, 176.91873239°29’48” S 176°55’7” E
North to Napier
10 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We left Wellington at 8am this morning to head to Napier in the Hawke’s Bay Area of New Zealand’s North Island. We drove through rolling hills with lots of sheep and cattle and the views were stunning. Our first stop was about 2 hours out of Wellington at a place called Palmerston North. This is a beautiful town, home to Massey University, renowned for its agriculture research, as well as being recognized in Australia, the US, Canada and Britain for its veterinary medicine program. The town is centred around a beautiful square with thousands of flowers, lovely buildings, and a great shopping area. Even the ducks like it here - we saw Mama and her babies taking a stroll through the square! We stopped for a photo opp at a town called Dannevirke, which was founded in the late 1800’s by Danish, Norwegian and Swedish settlers.

We continued on through farmland - lots of corn and squash, and eventually vineyards, before arriving in Napier around 1pm. We stocked up on a few groceries, checked into our hotel then went to explore the town. In 1931, Napier and nearby Hastings were hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that destroyed the downtown areas, killed 256 people and injured thousands. Napier came back from the earthquake with a clean slate and fresh land to build on. One hundred and eleven new buildings were constructed in the downtown area between 1931 and 1933. The vast majority took their cues from Art Deco, the era’s cutting-edge architectural trend which today gives the town its quirky, fun vibe. Every February, there is an Art Deco Festival in Napier, and many stores sell vintage clothes from the Great Gatsby era so that locals and visitors can participate in the festivities! There is a lovely waterfront flower garden, a pavilion used for shows during the summer months, and a black sand/gravel beach - so unlike the beaches we’ve seen along the New Zealand coastline so far! After a long walk and a bite to eat, we came back the hotel to do some research on the famous Hawke’s Bay Wineries we plan to visit tomorrow!Meer informatie
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Dag 28
dinsdag 11 december 2018
⛅ 18 °C
Hoogte: 23 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Napier City -39.496805, 176.91872939°29’48” S 176°55’7” E
A Tasting we will go!
11 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Got up to another overcast day today but we don’t let that stop us! We drove up to a lookout point called Bluff Hill with a great view over the other side of Napier - a town called Ahuriri - the log dry land sort and container port. There was a small cruise ship approaching shore while we were there. We then drove down to Perfume Point where there is a cool little lighthouse, then walked into the town of Ahuriri to have a quick look around. From there, we headed south to a town called Hastings - another place that suffered lots of damage from the 1931 earthquake and has been rebuilt. We walked around the town - saw Santa on his “sleigh” driving around, the Christmas decorations and some cool little stores on the Main Street - they actually still have K-Mart here, but forgot to get a pic! We grabbed some lunch then set off to find some of the famous Hawke’s Bay wineries!

The first winery we stopped at was called Pask, and the lovely manager, Mel, was very informative and gave us some very nice wines to sample. We started talking to her about the Kelowna wineries we’ve visited, and it turned out she knew a friend of Jeff’s from Beaumont winery, who has been here and travels all over trying new wines and visiting wineries! Small world! I picked up a bottle of Chardonnay at Pask - looking forward to trying that! Our next stop was Te Awa winery which is on the Gimblett Gravels - this is an area where an earthquake diverted the river leaving behind gravel type soil, which creates perfect drainage for growing grapes. We each got to taste 6 different varieties of wine here (hic) - good thing they’re small samples! We crossed over half a block down the road to Trinity Hill Winery, also part of the Gimblett Gravels, and I have to say, some of the best wine we have tasted in the area! In all 3 places, I tried the whites and Dave the reds, and we both agreed at Trinity Hill, all of the samples we had were amazing! Dave bought a bottle of their Syrah, which he really enjoyed in the tasting. As I said, it’s a good thing the samples are small, as we had a 40 minute drive back to Napier after all these shenanigans!!

We decided to go back over to Ahuriri for dinner to a place we’d found in a brochure called The Jandal, which looked to have some pretty good menu items. As you can see from the photo below, it’s a good thing we got there early..... ha ha!! When we first walked in, there wasn’t even a greeter, server or bartender, and we had to cough a few times before anyone realized we were there! Nevertheless, we had a pretty good dinner, and by the time we left, one other couple had arrived to eat - must be the weather, or maybe cos it’s only Tuesday here 🤷‍♀️. Back to our hotel now for a rest and to plan tomorrow’s adventures!Meer informatie
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Dag 29
woensdag 12 december 2018
🌧 19 °C
Hoogte: 28 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Napier City -39.496809, 176.91870539°29’49” S 176°55’7” E
Found Penguins ..... and more Wineries!
12 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Woke up to another cloudy day, but had already made plans to go to the National New Zealand Aquarium, and got there when it opened at 9am - what an awesome place, and yes, they had penguins!! We walked around for the first half hour looking at the fabulous displays, reptiles, stingrays, and one of which actually has two Kiwi birds who were chasing each other and having a great time! It was very dark in their display as they are nocturnal birds, so getting a photo was a challenge! Got one dark one, but also got one of a stuffed Kiwi and her large egg! At 9:30, it was penguin feeding time - what cuties these are! They are actually blue (or “little”) penguins, native to New Zealand and are so sweet and quite tame. One in particular is named Dora, and she has been raised in the aquarium since she was very small and loves human interaction - what a fun little penguin she is! They all have names and their own personalities, as noted by the “naughty” and “good” sign posted in their pool area. At 10am, it was fish feeding time in the “reef” and a diver actually comes and hand feeds the fish in that area which was really cool! We stayed for about another hour, seeing a huge sea turtle, sharks, a moray eel, piranas , beautifully coloured tropical fish and more stingrays.

Next stop was downtown as Dave wanted to get a haircut - he found a barber shop on the Main Street and had a great time chatting with the two kiwi barbers - one was an Everton fan, the other a die hard Liverpool fan, with lots of memorabilia at his workstation - had to get a pic of that! We stopped for a quick lunch, then headed off to check out a few more wineries. Went to Urban Winery first, about 10 minutes from where we are staying. So nice to talk to the people serving at these places - they are all very knowledgeable about the products, and also love hearing about BC and our wine districts. Next stop was Mission Estate - a former church and now a lovely winery which still has a chapel and beautiful gardens in addition to the vineyards. Our last stop was a Church Road Winery, just down the road, and after our tasting, we sat outside to have a glass of wine, and the sun actually came out - yay! As we were sitting outside, we both commented on how similar the Hawke’s Bay wine area is very similar to the Okanagan wine district.

After another busy day, we had a Mexican dinner and are now preparing to hit the road again tomorrow to our next destination - Rotorua!Meer informatie
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ReizigerAnother fun day ❤
12-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 30
donderdag 13 december 2018
🌧 18 °C
Hoogte: 270 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Rotorua -38.138201, 176.25692238°8’18” S 176°15’25” E
Rotorua - mountain biking Mecca?
13 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
Well, according to what Dave’s heard it is! We left Napier around 9am to head for this “Mecca” 😜! Stopped along the way at Lake Taupo - a lake created by a volcanic eruption over 26,000 years ago, which is about the size of Singapore and actually more of an inland sea than a lake! We continued on to Rotorua, in an area known as the Bay of Plenty, but before making it to town, stopped at Mountain Biking Rotorua so Dave could check out the trails and get some information for the ride he’s booked tomorrow. Chatted for a while with a very helpful local named Zac, who passed on lots of his knowledge and pointed out some of the best tracks (trails) for Dave to ride! We then drove into town and found the city centre and tourist info to get some maps. Walked around the pretty downtown area for a while, had a quick lunch and by the it was time to check into our hotel. We have a lovely view of Lake a Rotorua from our room.

After settling in, we took off on foot to explore the nearby park and lakefront area. Rotorua is a town created by another volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, and is known for its major geothermal activity, including geysers and hot mud pools. Walking along the lake, we witnessed bubbling, steaming pools and the distinct smell of sulphur, due to the hydrogen sulphide emissions. As we walked along further, the smell diminished and the lake became clearer with more bird life and lovely tree lined trails.

After a long walk, we came back to the hotel to get ready to go downtown for the weekly Rotorua night market. We got down there just after 6pm, and.... nothing!! No street market, no crowds - hmmm! We asked a lady who was just closing down the Starbucks (yes, they close at 6 here??!!), and she said the market was cancelled because of the threat of heavy rain and lightening storms! 😳. It was a little cloudy, but warm, and not a raindrop or lightening bolt in sight, but, oh well! We continued down the road to a place called Eat Street - a whole covered city block chock full of restaurants and bars - and an amazing vibe! We stopped at Macs Steakhouse for dinner, and after that, went across the road to a brew pub where Dave had a great dark beer and I had a glass of wine. Walked back through town to our hotel - Dave will be mountain biking tomorrow so wants to get a good sleep. Me - maybe some shopping and a manicure!! 😂😂😜Meer informatie
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Dag 31
vrijdag 14 december 2018
🌧 18 °C
Hoogte: 274 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Rotorua -38.13874, 176.25723938°8’19” S 176°15’26” E
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Dave's excellent adventure!
14 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
So Dave was up bright and early this morning to head for the hills and fulfill his bucket list dream of mountain biking in Rotorua, New Zealand. He drove out to MTB Rotorua, rented his bike and took to the slopes for 3 hours, riding intermediate and advanced trails and thoroughly enjoying himself. Some interesting trail names along the way (of course, the spelling snob in me picked out an error, but maybe that’s how they spell lobotomy here - 😂😂😂!). So glad he got to do this as the weather was looking iffy for today, but it turned out to be a lovely sunny morning and perfect temps for his ride!

While he was gone, I had a bit of a leisurely morning - cup of coffee, feet up, catch up on news, then took myself off to my 9:30 nail appointment in downtown Rotorua! After that was done, I browsed some of the stores along the many side streets, and shocker - bought NOTHING!! LOL!

I got back to the hotel around noon and Dave was back at 1, so we went for some lunch and more wandering around the stores - got Dave’s Christmas present at one of the bike shops, then back to our place for a rest.

We decided to go back to Eat Streat (again, their spelling 😜) for dinner, and when we got there, there was a brass band playing Christmas Carols, which was really nice. Such a cool place down there, and we had a really nice dinner, walked around a bit more, then back to the hotel for some well deserved rest!Meer informatie
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Looks like a great day. Bob
14-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 32
zaterdag 15 december 2018
🌧 18 °C
Hoogte: 274 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Rotorua -38.13864, 176.25730338°8’19” S 176°15’26” E
Lazy day in Rotorua!
15 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
After a good nights sleep, we took our time getting ready this morning and decided to drive around Lake Rotorua. Stopped at McDonalds (yep, they’re everywhere!) for a coffee and breakfast sandwich, then hit the road, heading for a hilltop lookout. Drove up a winding road till we reached Aorangi Peak, and were greeted on one side with sheep and deer roaming the mountainside, llamas on the other, and a large fence blocking any type of view over the valley!! The reason for this is that someone has built a large restaurant at the top of the peak, and in order to enjoy the view, you have to dine at the restaurant!! 😳. We went inside and said we were thinking of coming for dinner, but were told the whole place was booked for tonight for a private function! We asked if we could take a look around anyway in case we could come back tomorrow, took a few pics, then scooted out of there! Bummer that the amazing view has been obliterated for the sake of $$$!

We drove back down the hill and our next stop was Skyline Rotorua on Mount Ngongotaha, where gondolas take people up the side of the mountain and once at the top, you can mountain bike, luge or zip line down. There is also a bungee type “sky swing” at the top, as well as wine tasting and a Jelly Belly Gallery! We proceeded to the town of Hamurana on our trip around the lake, the next town was Mourea, then we turned down the road to check out Hells Gate, which is a geothermal village with mud baths, a spa and more bubbling ponds - but again, a big fence around the whole area and not much to see from our vantage!

After a lovely drive around the lake, we were back in the downtown Rotorua area and headed to the local mall to pick up a few groceries, wine and snacks, then headed downtown on foot for a beer and cider at a local brew pub. Back to the hotel, where Dave had a rest and I went down to the pool to read my book for an hour! Went back to Eat Streat for dinner - yes, we really like it there - and had a nice meal before turning in for the night! Off to Tauranga tomorrow!Meer informatie
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Dag 33
zondag 16 december 2018
☀️ 24 °C
Hoogte: 13 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Pilot Bay -37.633332, 176.17720837°37’60” S 176°10’38” E
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Back to the Beach!
16 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We left a Rotorua at around 8:30 this morning, bound for a Tauranga, a lovely beach town only 85 twisty, winding kilometres away! We stopped about halfway to take a look at Mangorewa Kaharoa Gorge - interesting that during WW2, the New Zealanders placed tank road blocks along the road in this area as they feared the Japanese would send tanks over to NZ and wanted to be prepared to stop them from getting through. We continued on to the town of Tauranga and parked in the city centre to have a look around. Very pretty waterfront area so we walked along the boardwalk in the beautiful sunshine. It appeared there were going to be events going on today as we saw clowns on stilts walking the streets, and an interesting fellow with an old tv over his head and a microphone, singing the praises of NZ rugby? Check him out in the pic - looks like Michael Moore!

We drove across the bridge to the peninsula on the other side of Tauranga, which is where our apartment is, and since we were too early to check in, walked along the beautiful beaches for an hour or so. We got to a place called Moturiki Recreation Reserve - from a distance, this looks like an island, but is accessible from the beach and has a hiking trail, so we hiked out to the end for some amazing views of the ocean and the nearby Mount Maunganui. In the 60’s, there used to be a Marineland on this reserve, and then in the 80’s, natural swimming pools were built into what used to be a quarry. Unfortunately, both of these attractions are no more, but it was interesting to read about and see old photos of them! There are lots of lovely trees here with red blooms that flower around this time of year, and they are known as New Zealand Christmas trees - quite a few of them on the reserve with an amazing ocean backdrop!

We checked into our apartment around 1:30, then went back to the Main Street on the beach to have lunch. Got back, put on some laundry, then headed to the pool for a couple of hours of r & r!! We had decided to eat in tonight, so picked up some veggies, cheese, crackers, fruit and quiche, and had a nice dinner on our deck! Because we are on a peninsula, there was the opportunity to see the sun set from Pilot Bay, so we grabbed a towel (and maybe some wine 😜) and sat on the beach to watch the sun go down. Sadly the clouds came in, but we still had a pretty nice view from our vantage point. Getting up early tomorrow to hike up Mount Maunganui!Meer informatie
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Those NZ Christmas trees are beautiful!
17-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 34
maandag 17 december 2018
⛅ 22 °C
Hoogte: 13 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Pilot Bay -37.633343, 176.17713937°38’0” S 176°10’38” E
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Ain't no Mountain High Enough!
17 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
This morning we had our coffee and a bite to eat, and set off to climb Mount Maunganui, the base of which is only a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. There are two routes up, both are steep, but one is a gravel road, the other a gazillion stairs! We decided to take the road up, along with many others - there was a cruise ship in today and I’m pretty sure this was a selling feature to a lot of the passengers! The road is very well laid out, but as I said, steep incline pretty much all the way - like climbing the beginning hill at Westwood about 25 times - 😂😂. The scenery is gorgeous on the way up with amazing views over the inner Tauranga harbour and delta, as well as out over the ocean on the other side - and of course - sheep! 🐑. We made it up to the summit in about 45 minutes and of course, there were more fantastic views. We decided to take the stairs down - man, there’s a lot of them! There were lots of runners whizzing by us on their way down, and how they don’t fall is beyond me!

Came back for a shower and lunch then headed to the downtown area of Mount Manganui, which is a few streets of shops and restaurants, and hundreds of cruise ship passengers! We decided to head back and have a couple of hours in the sun by the pool. At around 4pm, we heard what sounded like a ships horn playing music, so walked down to the harbour side of the beach to see the Majestic Princess cruise ship leaving port. The “music” we had heard really was the ships horn - playing the theme song to the old TV show “Love Boat” no less - pretty cheesy but also hilarious!

Went back downtown to have some dinner, then to the beach for sunset, but it was cloudy again by that time, so not much to see. What is really cool is that lots of people gather on these beach areas for picnics, barbecues, etc., in the evening - there are even really nice stainless steel bbq’s set up along the waterfront for public use which is really nice! So tomorrow is a long driving day up north to Paihia, so we’ll be up early to get on the road for that!Meer informatie
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ReizigerLooks like a great hike!
17-12-2018Reageren
What an amazing trip you have had. Am soooo looking forward to doing this. Blog and pics are fantastic
17-12-2018Reageren
Wow! That IS a lot of stairs!
17-12-2018Reageren
The scenery is spectacular, and the sky is so blue! Looks like you both are having a blast..
17-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 35
dinsdag 18 december 2018
⛅ 22 °C
Hoogte: 8 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Motumaire Island -35.280758, 174.09075935°16’51” S 174°5’27” E
Have you been to Paihia, Donald?
18 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Sorry about the title - inside family joke, but couldn’t resist! 😜. So today was a long driving day - we left Tauranga at 7am to head north to the Bay of Islands on the north east coast of New Zealand - specifically, a lovely little town named Paihia. All was well for the first couple of hours, then we hit road construction about half an hour before Auckland, and we’re stuck in traffic for a good half hour. Got through that and continued on our way for another 4 hours, with a couple of rest breaks along the way to stretch our legs and take a few photos. We arrived in Paihia at 1:30, went to the visitor info centre to get a few maps (although there was probably no need as it’s a tiny town!), then checked into our hotel, which has amazing views from the balcony!

We got settled in, then went for a walk around the downtown area, checked out some stores and restaurants, went for a quick beverage, then found the place where we are to meet for our boat cruise on Thursday! Got in an hour of suntanning at the pool, then back to our place to get ready to go out for dinner. Not a ton of restaurants in this town, but we found a cute little place on the waterfront and had a nice dinner there.

We are both pretty tired after the long drive, but from here on in, we are on the “relaxation” part of the vacation, so chilling out on the balcony, and planning a slow, easy day for tomorrow!Meer informatie
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Dag 36
woensdag 19 december 2018
☁️ 22 °C
Hoogte: 8 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Motumaire Island -35.280754, 174.09077435°16’51” S 174°5’27” E
A Quick Hustle to Russell!
19 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Put the Christmas tree up this morning (thanks Tricia Grey! 😜), then went for a short walk down our street to the site where the first ever cricket match was played in New Zealand! Also saw Paihia’s cutest little free library - an old telephone booth converted into a book exchange! Walked a few hundred yards from there to the ferry dock and caught the little fast ferry over to Russell, a famed historic town in these parts! The ferry ride is only about 10 minutes across the turquoise waters from Paihia. Apparently, Russell was New Zealand’s very first capital (interesting considering its size!) and in the past, temporary home to seafaring whalers, who came here after months at sea for drinking, carousing and letting off steam! It became known as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific” in the 1800’s as a result of this!

We poked our heads into the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, which was the first hotel, beginning its life in 1827, opened by a former convict who was the first European to own freehold property in New Zealand after learning to communicate with the Māori people and negotiate the purchase. The hotel has actually been burnt down and rebuilt a couple of times, the most recent being around 1931. I don’t believe these are the original stocks outside the hotel, but had to get a pic of Dave imprisoned in them!!

We walked through town along the Main Street and some of the residential areas, saw an original whaling boat at the back of the museum, which was donated to the museum in 1940, as well as a tiny church with a lovely cemetery and of course, a sign outlining fishing regulations in the area! After spending a few hours, we decided to head back to Paihia, pick up some lunch and dinner provisions, then head for a relaxing afternoon in the sun! Had dinner on our lovely balcony, overlooking the islands and Russell, then went for a stroll afterwards to end another great New Zealand day!Meer informatie
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Dag 37
donderdag 20 december 2018
☀️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 10 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Motumaire Island -35.280621, 174.09071435°16’50” S 174°5’27” E
Beautiful Bay of Islands boat cruise
20 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Quite a while before we left on our trip, we researched some tours we were interested in taking. This particular one was on the Sea Shuttle through the Bay of Islands, and at the time was rated the number 2 tour in this area on Trip Advisor, so we booked it. It’s now rated #1, and for good reason!! We met our Captain, Adam, and his lovely first mate, Gwen at around 9:45 to leave for 10am with 16 other passengers. We got on our way, cruising past Russell, then out through the islands till we got to Roberton Island, which was one of Captain Cook’s landing sites, but was not originally discovered by him. We disembarked and took a short hike up the hill to a lookout with amazing views of the surrounding islands and bays. When we got back down to the beach, Adam and Gwen had tea, coffee and cookies waiting for us, which was a nice touch. There was a lagoon at one end of the beach, and walking out to it, we saw two black birds with long red beaks - the birds are called Oyster Catchers - Mama was in her nest, looking after her eggs, while Dad kept watch close by on the beach, taking care of her. We got back on the boat and started out to our second island, when we were treated to a school of dolphins swimming not far ahead of us - tried to get some photos, but didn’t really capture the beauty of what we saw.

We arrived at our second island, a remote sheltered beach where there were more trails to hike, as well as snorkelling and paddle board equipment available to anyone who wanted to use it. We had brought some lunch, so ate that on the beach, then I soaked up some sun while Dave went on a short hike up the hill. He then grabbed some snorkel equipment and went for a swim around - saw a stingray and some pretty coloured fish. We both tried the paddle boards - I just stayed on my knees as I’m still concerned about my balance after my hip surgery, but Dave went for a nice little paddle in the harbour. Lay in the sun for a while longer until it was time to get back on the boat to head back.

There was one couple on the boat who received a surprise Christmas present from their kids of a helicopter tour over the Bay of Islands, so our boat dropped them at a helicopter landing raft not far from our last island and off they went in style! Very cool! We then headed back through the islands, returning to Paihia around 3pm after a fantastic day!

Headed down to the pool for about an hour after we got back, then out for a nice dinner to finish off another great day!Meer informatie
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ReizigerYour pictures are awesome!
23-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 38
vrijdag 21 december 2018
☀️ 20 °C
Hoogte: 8 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Motumaire Island -35.280766, 174.09074135°16’51” S 174°5’27” E
Kerikeri - the town so nice....
21 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
.... they named it twice! This was our destination today - a pretty little town about 20km up the road from Paihia, and actually the biggest town in the far north area of the North Island. On our way there we stopped at a couple of places, the first being the Waitangi Mountain Bike Park, where Dave checked out their trails and the bike rental shop. No plans to ride here though - just wanted to have a look! From there, we drove a few kms to Haruru Falls, a lovely waterfall in a small park with chickens and roosters roaming free! Not sure where they belonged, but there were baby chicks 🐤 there too in the bushes!

We left there and drove up to Kerikeri, first driving through the town, then making our way out to the historical Stone Store, a heritage building built in 1832 as a missionary warehouse, and then took on other roles as a trading post, library, barracks and boys school. It now serves as a museum and gift store in a beautiful area reminiscent of an English country garden. Just above the store is St. James Anglican Church, an historic church from the 1819, with the current building being finished in 1878, again on lovely grounds with lots of flowers.

We went back to the downtown area for a walk around and some lunch (one of those delicious pies), picked up a few groceries, then headed out to a Rainbow Falls, about 8km down the road. This is another beautiful waterfall, with trails all around and viewing areas, so we hiked down to the bottom of the falls for some nice photos, as well as getting some from the viewing area up top.

We headed back to a Paihia for an hour or so by the pool then made a nice dinner at our apartment, which we ate on the deck overlooking the beautiful ocean view of Paihia, and Russell, across the bay. Short walk into town after dinner, then back to get ready for tomorrow’s big adventure - stay tuned!! 😊Meer informatie
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Dag 39
zaterdag 22 december 2018
⛅ 21 °C
Hoogte: 8 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Motumaire Island -35.280773, 174.09074435°16’51” S 174°5’27” E
90 Mile Beach - and a Surfin' Safari!
22 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Up early this morning to drive up to a town called Kaitaia to meet the bus to take us to Cape Reigna and 90 mile Beach at the top of the North Island! A couple of stops on the way, one to take a pic of this cute hotel in Ohaeawai, not far from where we’re staying. Also a photo of the “State Highway”, which is one lane each way, and in some parts, has the same one lane bridges we encountered on the South Island! We arrived in Kaitaia, which was originally populated with settlers from Poland (hence the Polish welcome sign), and took a shuttle bus from the information centre to meet our big bus to take us on the rest of our journey. Really cool store at the meeting place with lots of local Kauri wood tables and furnishings for sale, and in the middle of the room, a staircase carved into the trunk of one of these trees!

We were soon on the big bus off to Cape Reigna at the northern tip if the island, a spiritual ground to the Māori people, and home of the Cape Reigna Lighthouse. The original lighthouse in this area was on an island offshore named Cape Maria van Diemen, after Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman’s wife, but it was too difficult for lighthouse keepers to access and maintain, so a new on was built on shore. Cool signpost to remind us just how far we are from home! It was a little misty when we arrived but we were still able to see the point where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific Ocean, and how the churning of the sand underneath makes both waters appear to have different colours. By the time we left, it was fogged in and pouring rain, so we were lucky to get there when we did!

From there, we headed back down the highway and had lunch at a little restaurant (all included in the tour), then set off for the beach. We entered through a stream and to our right were huge sand dunes - perfect for dune surfing! The tour provided boards for everyone who wanted to trek up the hill to sand surf back down - so of course, Dave grabbed one and after instruction from our guide, was the first of our group on his way up! Very cool experience, which I had hoped to try, but after seeing how some people were wiping out at the bottom, decided to stay put and take photos! 😜. Dave surfed down twice, and loved it!

We got back on the bus, and proceeded to drive on the beach, right beside the ocean, for 70 kilometres (at the beach speed limit of 100 kmh!). The driver stopped so we could walk a little bit of the beach to see the waves and take photos. It’s recommended vehicles on the beach have 4 wheel drive (which our bus did, but didn’t use), however, we saw a few private vehicles that were lucky to make it back to one of the 3 exit points along the stretch of beach! We also saw quite a few backpackers hiking the beach in the pouring rain, a wild horse, and lots of people fishing! It was an amazing experience, and would probably have been more so on a sunny day, but great nonetheless!

We exited the beach, drove back to our original meeting place where the shuttle met us and took us back to the car so we could make the 1.5 hour drive back to Paihia. After another great day, went out for a bite to eat, and are packing up to head to our next destination of Whitianga tomorrow morning.Meer informatie
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Trip of a lifetime. Look forward to reading your blog every morning. Norm & Judie
22-12-2018Reageren
ReizigerLooks like a great town!
22-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 40
zondag 23 december 2018
☁️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 6 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837654, 175.70434336°50’16” S 175°42’16” E
Whitianga - with an F!
23 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We found out that when a place name in NZ starts with the letters Wh, you drop those letters and replace them with an F, so, here we are tonight in Fitianga (or Fiddy, as its known in these parts!! 😳). Long driving day today, we left rainy Paihia around 8am and the drive south to Auckland was awesome - we even saw some sun! Just south of Auckland, we hit road construction so that was slow going, then after about 3.5 hours, turned onto state highway 25 (a very winding, hilly road) to take us out to the Coromandel Peninsula and this lovely, but very rainy today, little town, arriving around 2pm.

We had booked a nice 1 bedroom suite for the last 6 nights of our trip, and it’s really lovely. After checking in, we went for a walk around town to check out if anything was going to be open for a Christmas Dinner. There are only 2 places open, and as in England, Christmas dinner is at lunchtime, with the last sitting of a set menu being at 2pm. The first place was asking $149 per person, (no drinks included), and still had space available (wonder why!), and the second was only $80 per person, but was fully booked! So we decided we would do our own Christmas dinner and headed off the the Countdown grocery store (interestingly a Woolworths owned venture, and very big in both Australia and NZ), and stocked up on supplies for breakfast and dinner for the 25th. Came back to unpack groceries and our suitcases then went out for another walk before going for an awesome dinner at Frankies Sports Bar!

Wifi at this place is spotty, no modem in the apartment, but an antenna attached to the stairs outside (😳) so Dave has been going on the outside deck to download and send me photos for today’s entry! The rain is supposed to stick around for the next couple of days, so I guess we’ll be doing lots of reading and relaxing, which is actually not a bad thing considering our schedule of the past six weeks! Not too many photos today, but hopefully more when the weather clears! 😊Meer informatie
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Dag 41
maandag 24 december 2018
🌧 19 °C
Hoogte: 6 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837669, 175.70446836°50’16” S 175°42’16” E
Christmas Eve - the Coromandel Peninsula
24 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Well, it’s Christmas Eve here today on the east coast of New Zealand and the Coromandel Peninsula is the name of the area we are spending it - in the pouring rain! Yes, it’s going to be a Wet Christmas! In spite of that, we decided to go exploring today, and headed out to Hahei Beach, about 40 minutes by road from where we are staying. The beach itself is beautiful, and I’m sure on a sunny day, even more so! Oh well, not going to let a few raindrops stop us - we walked along the beach for a while and it really is lovely. We then looked around a few gift shops in the small town of Hahei, and ended up for lunch at a brew pub called the Pour House for lunch and a few samplings. This is the place where Jeff’s good friend, Chelsea worked for almost a year as a bartender, and we met Neil, the owner and brewmaster ( who incidentally is from Widnes, near Liverpool and emigrated to NZ in 2004). Had some amazing NZ Green Lipped mussels for lunch.

We drove up the hill to a trail which is the start of a hike out to Cathederal Cove, where we plan to visit once the weather is better - it’s about a 40 minute hike in, but apparently well worth it! From there we drove out to Hot Water Beach, a few kms down the road. In a small area just down the beach were scores of people sitting in holes they had dug, enjoying the hot water which is underground at the edge of the waterline. The photo below explains this natural phenomenon, and it was very cool to see - and the water was very hot!

We drove back to our place, and being inspired by Hot Water Beach, Dave decided to go for a swim in the pool - not quite as hot as the water at the beach, but pretty warm! We came back to relax for a while, then went out for a nice Christmas Eve dinner on the waterfront overlooking the harbour and fishing boats. We had picked up a couple of Christmas movies this afternoon, so just finished watching one, and are now listening to the rain pounding on the windows and waiting for Santa!! 😉. Merry Christmas everyone!Meer informatie
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ReizigerMerry Xmas ❤
24-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 42
dinsdag 25 december 2018
☀️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 6 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837662, 175.70446836°50’16” S 175°42’16” E
Christmas Down Under!
25 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We were happy to wake up on a Christmas morning to sunny skies - especially after last nights torrential downpour! We opened our presents over coffee and Baileys and were thrilled with this lovely Christmas ornament from Tammy and Dave (and the Starbucks cards of course!!). After calling family back home with Christmas greetings, we went for a walk in the sunshine along the Mercury Bay waterfront. We went by a house that we recognized as the Airbnb our friends Anne and Glen had stayed in, and the owner happened to be in his yard, so I introduced myself and sent him Christmas greetings from Canada! He was thrilled, and even invited us back for a visit while we’re here - such friendly people these Kiwis!

We came back and had a great Christmas breakfast, then decided to go for a drive out to Coromandel Town, about 45km from here. Made our way along more twisty, windy roads, stopping at lookouts along the way for photos and some great scenery. Had a look around Coromandel - some neat old buildings - then headed back to a Whitianga for some pool time!

We had picked up all the fixings for a nice steak dinner, so got everything prepped and went for a stroll around town - getting back just before the rain started again! 😳. Had a delicious dinner then watched more Christmas movies before turning in for the night! Supposed to be hot and sunny tomorrow so fingers crossed! Merry Christmas everyone!Meer informatie
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Merry Christmas Viv and Dave
26-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 43
woensdag 26 december 2018
☀️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 7 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837624, 175.70448336°50’15” S 175°42’16” E
Boxing Day at the Beach!
26 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We woke up to a few clouds this morning, but the forecast was for sun, so we took off for the beach! Our Boxing Day destination was Cathedral Cove, a 40 minute hike in from Hahei beach. We arrived at Hahei parking lot just before 10am and bought our tickets for the shuttle bus to take us way up the hill and the start of the trail to the cove. The hike is along an awesome paved track, with lots of up and down hill areas, and a ton of stairs (146 to be exact) at the end to get down to the beach. We arrived just before 11 am, and already there were lots of other people who had either taken the same trail as us, or ridden over on the water taxi. By the time we got there, it was hot and sunny, and perfect weather to spend a few hours basking in the sun (with lots of sunscreen, of course). The cove is beautiful, with a huge rock formation making an arch between two beaches, and gorgeous turquoise waters on either side. We had brought a picnic lunch and lots of water so relaxed there for a couple of hours.

We contemplated taking the water taxi back, but there were about 60 people on the beach lined up for a boat that accommodates 16, so rather than wait, we started the hike back up to meet our shuttle bus at the top of the hill. We passed soooo many people heading down the trail, so I’m sure by this afternoon, Cathedral Cove beach would be similar to Woodgrove mall with Boxing Day shoppers! 😂😂. We got off the bus in Hahei, and decided to go back to the Pour House for refreshments. We talked to some of the servers there, who had worked with a Chelsea when she was there, so took a group bar staff photo to send to her!

We walked back to the parking lot to pick up the car and back to Whitianga to hang out at our pool for an hour or so before washing off the days sand, and heading to Grace O’Malleys Irish pub for a nice dinner. The forecast is good for the next 2 days, so I think I see more beaches in our future! 😊Meer informatie
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ReizigerBeautiful!
26-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 44
donderdag 27 december 2018
☀️ 22 °C
Hoogte: 12 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837259, 175.70452936°50’14” S 175°42’16” E
All those Beaches!
27 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Another beautiful sunny day here on the coast! We had decided to drive out to Cooks Beach, which is actually only 4km from Whitianga if you take the foot ferry and walk in, but a lot further by car! We wanted to go to a few other places, so took the car and drove first to the ferry landing on the other side of a Whitianga - a short 5 minute cruise! Watched the ferry come and go, as well as a few tour boats picking up passengers - the tide was really running today and some of the boats were having a little trouble staying on course!

We drove back to Cooks Beach and had a walk around, drove through the town centre, then headed to our next destination - Hot Water Beach. We had only seen this place in the rain, so it was nice to see the sun shining on the beach and the lovely water. Unfortunately because the tide was high, there was no opportunity to dig a hole and build our very own hot water spa! No big deal, we set ourselves up for some suntanning and had a picnic lunch on the sand!

After a couple of hours, we decided to go back to Hahei beach so we could see it in the sunshine - absolutely stunning! We walked a ways on the beach, then decided to have a refreshment at the Pour House, where we sat in the beautiful garden and enjoyed the sunshine and a couple of beverages! Got back to our place around 4 and I headed for the pool while Dave had a snooze.

We went back to Frankie’s Sports Bar for dinner - great food and super nice staff, then went for a walk around the waterfront and town before heading in for the night. Another lovely day in New Zealand!Meer informatie
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Dag 45
vrijdag 28 december 2018
☀️ 21 °C
Hoogte: 7 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Whitianga -36.837611, 175.7043636°50’15” S 175°42’16” E
Fitianga Finale!
28 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
So I missed all the excitement in the middle of the night last night, where there was a medical emergency in our building complex, with ERTs, and a helicopter landing on the rugby pitch behind us - Dave said it sounded like an earthquake when the chopper was coming in! I slept through it all! 😳

Our last day in Whitianga (with an F) today! We decided to have a quiet relaxing day, so after coffee and brekky, went for a walk around town on this gorgeous sunny morning. There was a big event going on down at the ferry landing, which we found out was a kids fishing derby, sponsored by lots of local businesses for kids under 12 years of age. We hung around for a while, and it was so sweet to see the kids run in with their small perch, or other tiny catchings, to have them weighed and recorded for the contest! Walked along the beach for a few more photos, the into the downtown shopping area, where we saw this funny sign (one of many) and even though we’re not in Aus anymore, didgeridoos for sale 😳😂!

Got back to our place around 11, and down to the pool for a few hours to catch what will be the last rays of sunshine for a while. After catching up on some reading and tanning, we showered up and got ready to go visit Brian (from the Christmas Day post) and his wife Belinda, at their lovely beachfront home, which is only about a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. They run an Airbnb from their home, so we also met their tenants and shared some wine and cheese with all of them and had a really nice visit.

Went for our last dinner in New Zealand at Saby’s kitchen, had a lovely meal, then headed back to pack and get a good nights sleep - tomorrow will be a looooong day, heading back to Auckland for our 14 hour flight back home! Last post tomorrow - stay tuned! 😊Meer informatie
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ReizigerGreat trip! Lovely photos! Envious! Back to reality!
28-12-2018Reageren
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Dag 46
zaterdag 29 december 2018
⛅ 20 °C
Hoogte: 51 m
Nieuw-Zeeland Freemans Bay -36.848499, 174.76350436°50’55” S 174°45’49” E
Homeward Bound!
29 december 2018, Nieuw-Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
So here we sit at Auckland airport having a last glass of wine in New Zealand before boarding our flight home! We leave Dec.29 at 8:05 pm Auckland time, then travel back in time to arrive in Vancouver the same day at 12 noon!

Our last morning in Whitianga was pretty amazing. We went to the farmers market to say bye to Belinda, who was selling her beautiful cards there - she’s an artist and makes lovely cards depicting her artwork. While we were chatting with her, Brian showed up and offered to take us for a flight on his private plane!! Yes please! We said our goodbyes to Belinda and followed Brian out to the airstrip where he keeps his little 2 seater plane. Dave went for his flight first, while I had a cup of tea with Brian’s friends, Ken and Jan, and also met other friends, Ace (a former Air NZ pilot and small plane owner), and his wife Jeannie, who is a flight attendant for Air NZ. We watched Dave and Brian take off, then return about 20 minutes later - the look on Dave’s face after was priceless, and made the decision for me to get in this tiny plane a lot easier! Brian flew us over all the beaches we have been to this past week - Cooks, Cathedral Cove, Hahei and Hot Water beaches! It was amazing to see them from the air, and see how fast it was to get there when you didn’t have to drive the winding, hilly roads! We flew over all the little towns, the apartment where we stayed and Brian and Belinda’s house, before touching backdown on the grass airstrip! This generous “gift” on Brian’s part was truly the cherry on top of this amazing vacation!

We set off for Auckland at around 11:30, and after a few stops along the way, arrived at Auckland airport at 4pm, dropped off the rental car, and settled in for our 4 hour wait before boarding our flight home.

We touched down in Vancouver just before noon, and are now waiting at the Harbour Air terminal to the last leg of our journey and the float plane back to Nanaimo.

What an amazing trip this has been! We’ve been through 8 different airports and stayed in 14 different cities or towns, as well as driving through and seeing lots more. We’ve flown a total of 29,450 kms (including float planes, and Brian’s plane). Dave drove 3,916 kms through Australia and New Zealand - on the wrong side of the road to boot (and only turned the windshield wipers on instead of the turn signal about 3 times!). We walked 429.1 kms, took the train to Brisbane for another 180 kms, and Dave mountain biked 17 kms. All this for a grand total of 33,992.1 kms! 😳. We met some lovely people. We found penguins - and koalas, and Kangaroos, and kiwis, and lots of other interesting wildlife. This truly was the trip of a lifetime, but as the song says - it’s very nice to go travelling, but it’s so much nicer coming home! 😊Meer informatie
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Welcome home!🙃♥️
29-12-2018Reageren
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Het einde van de reis
29 december 2018