Hi everybody for the last time for a few days.
We've spent the morning in Auckland, after finally packing up our worldly possessions in our 2 suitcases and 2 carry on bags. Tom reckons if we've managed to live out of 2 cases and a few carrier bags for 6 weeks, we can throw out all the stuff from our wardrobes at home - I think NOT!!
Our first stop was to an Esquires coffee shop where, for the price of a couple of drinks, you get free internet access for an hour. Tom used up the hour posting the last 3 blogs and putting in all the photographs for them. I went off to send off some postcards - some of you will be lucky enough not to get one! - and finally send home the copy dvd's of the photos we've taken so far in New Zealand. When I rejoined him, we started to check the mail and that's when the computer dumped us out because we'd run out of battery power!!
As they don't like you having another hour free, we trudged up the road to the next Esquires and had another drink. Tom was able to plug into the mains and set up the computer again so we could read the latest mails. I did reply to a few but ran out of time and then it was time anyway to catch the Airport shuttle bus. Auckland airport, and I would guess, all the NZ a'ports are very strict about carrying no more than 100ml of any cream, lotion or liquid through their security. Although there had been a guard giving this information at the check-in desk, there were no further signs that we noticed about this. As a result, no end of people were caught out having bought perfumes and booze in the shops before going through departure security. Amazingly, they had duty-free shops selling this stuff before the security check. This was because you could buy for collection on your return, but there were many people who bought to take with them. While we were going through, one poor guy was having a 150ml bottle of very expensive looking perfume confiscated, having just bought it a few minutes earlier. If you remember, this was also the case at Singapore, so I just thought I'd warn you all again to be very careful if you're flying anywhere soon.
Toms Note. What she doesn't mention is that one particular person happened to have a couple of large bottles of soft drink in her hand luggage, which she hadn't said anything about until we were standing in the queue to check in. I managed to drink the coke before security, but someone had to throw her bottle of water away. You have to put everything liquid or gel into a single plastic bag, and no individual container can be bigger than 100ml. So someone who hadn't done this then had to go through her carry on bag and handbag, decanting gels, smellies, lip salve etc, from the pockets into the plastic bag. I said that the 150gm yoghurt wouldn't get through security, but someone had a go anyway, so we reported to the security officer after x-ray, for a short lecture on liquids, and had the yoghurt confiscated and binned.
OK, back to the travel news. Our flight set off on time and was very full. We had heard good reports of Emirates but I'm afraid this flight did not live up to expectations. There was no drink or nibbles offered, and when the meals eventually came, one of the main dishes had already all gone. Only one drink was offered with the meal and we waited ages for the tea/coffee. Tom called one of the crew because we decided to buy a couple of duty free items. No-one appeared and eventually he went to find someone.We were told that the crew was busy with business and first class and would deal with us when they could! In the end, we couldn't get anything as it was going to take them 25 minutes to do all the paperwork (??) and we only had 30 minutes to landing!
The captain then told us that because of bad weather at Sydney airport (!! sound familiar??)) we were in a holding pattern and would be 30 minutes delayed in landing. True to that, we did land exactly 30 mins late, having had a little glimpse of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House against a very black sky on the way down. The lightning was flashing in the distance and it started to really pour as we came to a halt. We disembarked OK and made our way to Baggage Reclaim where the bags started to come through - then it all stopped! There was a tremendous storm going on overhead the airport and nothing was being moved at all. We were the last flight allowed to land before the storm really set in. Everyone stood around for ages, with regular apologies over the tannoy for the delay in unloading the bags - you can imagine some of the comments! It was well over an hour before the luggage started to come through again- poor Cheryl and Matt who had come to meet us were waiting in the arrivals hall with Verity (14months old) for 2 hours in the end!
Anyway, we did get out by which time the rain had almost stopped and it was quite warm and humid. We called in at a local store for some supper food and arrived at the house at 9.30pm local time, 11,30pm NZ time. Poor little Verity was so overtired, she was really grumpy but at last settled to sleep, we had a snack then all went to bed.
Thursday.
We woke early, or late, depending on whether you work in Oz or NZ time, to grey skies - but within an hour of getting up, another storm hit - and how!! We thought we'd seen rain in NZ, but this was something else - I imagine it must have been like momsoon rain as we couldn't see much past the end of the house. Talking of which, Matt and Cheryl's house is lovely, only a few months old and small by Oz standards we're told, but enormous by UK. We're going to be spending about a week here, but the first few days will be R&R to recover from the NZ part of our holiday. Cheryl is the niece of Tom's sister-in-law, Liz, and has lived in Oz for nearly 7 years, marrying Matt, an Aussie, in December 2004.
These storms that are currently affecting the country are the worst they've had in 40 years according to the news/weather people - so it's not just us, as they started before we got here!
Once we start doing the touristy bit again, we'll reopen the blog, which, by the way is famous - if you put "tom and maggie on tour" into Google, we're the first entry and if you then click "more results from tomandmaggie.blogspot.com ", we fill 4 pages!! This weather is meant to last another few days, but that will be quite nice, as it gives us a real chance to catch our breath. I've just realised I'm missing out on Pimms o'clock so I'm off. Love to you all and enjoy the break!! Speak to you again soon.
PS. Our mobile number in Australia (amended by Tom) will now be 0061 424 341174, if you have the urgent need to call us! otherwise e-mails are very welcome from the home front!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday 26th February
Well, here we are – our last full day in New Zealand. It’s bright but not as sunny as yesterday, so I think we chose the right day to go up the SkyTower.
Today we’re off to the Zoo. It’ll be two bus rides there as it’s way across the city and all for $7.50 each. It’d be more expensive to pay for 2 return trips to Bedford from Shortstown!
There was a “bit of a do” outside our motel room this morning between the owner and a guest. We don’t know what it was about, but it got very nasty and we stayed well away. When it had all cooled down and the guest had finally gone, we ventured out and caught the first of our buses from just across the road. We got to the Zoo just before 12noon and had a coffee before we started. It’s a huge zoo and the first port of call was to the Kiwi House. It’s much bigger than Te Puia but they are running a breeding programme and have a pair of birds. We saw them both and Tom got some good footage using the infrared facility on the video. We also saw a very quick glimpse of a Ruru, a small owl but he was very shy and kept out of the way. Just outside the Kiwi House was the Tuatara compound, and there was a pair of them too, so that was a really good start.
Don’t worry – I’m not going to take you on an animal by animal tour of the zoo – just mention a few of the best ones!
We caught a glimpse of a tiger lying in the shade but it disappeared inside before we got many photos, so we thought we’d go back later. We saw 3 Serval cats, 2 cheetah, a pride of lions,
lots of hippos, a giraffe, zebras, emu, ostrich, lots of lovely birds, and a pair of orang-utan. (I had walked on from the cheetah enclosure as they were both lying down, but Tom stayed and got a lovely shot of them both).
We watched the sea lions and penguins being fed; a whole host of different monkeys from a Siamang, the largest of the gibbon family – who was sulking and kept its back turned all the time, to an extended family of Bonnet Macaques, lovely small golden haired creatures, and a Golden Lion Tamarin, a really cute tiny long haired monkey.
There were meercats and a shy porcupine; gentle, dainty springbok and 2 elephants, but they were in their hut and we could only see them through the bars. Then we went back to see if the tiger was around, and the shutters were down on their compound. We thought they might be shut away for the night, but one of the keepers told us there was another enclosure just a little further on, but there was still no sign – then, just as Tom had walked away, this magnificent Sumatran tiger strolled out from his doorway, posed for about 30 seconds and disappeared back inside – just for us!!
He was beautiful and quite added the finishing touch to our visit. Altogether, we were there for over 5 hours – we’ve definitely walked more than our 10,000 steps today.
As we were waiting for the bus back to town, we had a seat in the bus shelter – well, I had a seat. Tom missed the seat and sat on the ground!!!!! (The seat only went halfway along the shelter and he sat on the half that wasn’t. He says it’s a stupid design for a seat). It was hysterical, or at least it was, once I made sure he was OK. Before I helped him up, I just had to take a photo – well, you do, don’t you?
I couldn’t speak for laughing and even now, while I’m writing this, I’m chuckling at the memory. Tom says I’m not chuckling, more chortling – and occasionally, snorting with laughter – the memory is so vivid and so funny! Another high spot of the holiday.
Then it was back to town for a Valentino’s ice cream – the best around – and a walk around the marinas enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. There are some fantastic yachts in their berths – power driven and sailing – and the Spirit of New Zealand,
the sail training ship for youngsters, which was obviously getting ready to set off on a trip as crew were embarking, but not quite ready to leave.
So it was then back on the bus to the motel where we had our last dinner, using up all the bits we had left. I’ve packed everything and it’s all gone into the 2 original suitcases and carry on bags, so our suitcases live to travel another day!!
While we were at the zoo, Tom was bitten by a little fly. He put on some Anthisan cream straightaway, but by the time we got back to the motel, the whole of the back of his hand had swollen up and was very hot and red. He’s taken some more antihistamine tablets and put on more cream, but if it hasn’t improved by the morning he’ll have to go and see a pharmacist.
We’ll post the last blogs tomorrow and catch up on the e-mails from an Internet café we’ve found in town before we have to go to the airport, so you’ll have lots to read and lots of photos to drool over. Our next blogs will be from Sydney and we’ll let you know our Australian phone number too. Keep sending the e-mails. Love to you all and Night, Night for now.
Today we’re off to the Zoo. It’ll be two bus rides there as it’s way across the city and all for $7.50 each. It’d be more expensive to pay for 2 return trips to Bedford from Shortstown!
There was a “bit of a do” outside our motel room this morning between the owner and a guest. We don’t know what it was about, but it got very nasty and we stayed well away. When it had all cooled down and the guest had finally gone, we ventured out and caught the first of our buses from just across the road. We got to the Zoo just before 12noon and had a coffee before we started. It’s a huge zoo and the first port of call was to the Kiwi House. It’s much bigger than Te Puia but they are running a breeding programme and have a pair of birds. We saw them both and Tom got some good footage using the infrared facility on the video. We also saw a very quick glimpse of a Ruru, a small owl but he was very shy and kept out of the way. Just outside the Kiwi House was the Tuatara compound, and there was a pair of them too, so that was a really good start.
Don’t worry – I’m not going to take you on an animal by animal tour of the zoo – just mention a few of the best ones!
We caught a glimpse of a tiger lying in the shade but it disappeared inside before we got many photos, so we thought we’d go back later. We saw 3 Serval cats, 2 cheetah, a pride of lions,
lots of hippos, a giraffe, zebras, emu, ostrich, lots of lovely birds, and a pair of orang-utan. (I had walked on from the cheetah enclosure as they were both lying down, but Tom stayed and got a lovely shot of them both). We watched the sea lions and penguins being fed; a whole host of different monkeys from a Siamang, the largest of the gibbon family – who was sulking and kept its back turned all the time, to an extended family of Bonnet Macaques, lovely small golden haired creatures, and a Golden Lion Tamarin, a really cute tiny long haired monkey. There were meercats and a shy porcupine; gentle, dainty springbok and 2 elephants, but they were in their hut and we could only see them through the bars. Then we went back to see if the tiger was around, and the shutters were down on their compound. We thought they might be shut away for the night, but one of the keepers told us there was another enclosure just a little further on, but there was still no sign – then, just as Tom had walked away, this magnificent Sumatran tiger strolled out from his doorway, posed for about 30 seconds and disappeared back inside – just for us!! He was beautiful and quite added the finishing touch to our visit. Altogether, we were there for over 5 hours – we’ve definitely walked more than our 10,000 steps today.As we were waiting for the bus back to town, we had a seat in the bus shelter – well, I had a seat. Tom missed the seat and sat on the ground!!!!! (The seat only went halfway along the shelter and he sat on the half that wasn’t. He says it’s a stupid design for a seat). It was hysterical, or at least it was, once I made sure he was OK. Before I helped him up, I just had to take a photo – well, you do, don’t you?
I couldn’t speak for laughing and even now, while I’m writing this, I’m chuckling at the memory. Tom says I’m not chuckling, more chortling – and occasionally, snorting with laughter – the memory is so vivid and so funny! Another high spot of the holiday.Then it was back to town for a Valentino’s ice cream – the best around – and a walk around the marinas enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. There are some fantastic yachts in their berths – power driven and sailing – and the Spirit of New Zealand,
the sail training ship for youngsters, which was obviously getting ready to set off on a trip as crew were embarking, but not quite ready to leave.So it was then back on the bus to the motel where we had our last dinner, using up all the bits we had left. I’ve packed everything and it’s all gone into the 2 original suitcases and carry on bags, so our suitcases live to travel another day!!
While we were at the zoo, Tom was bitten by a little fly. He put on some Anthisan cream straightaway, but by the time we got back to the motel, the whole of the back of his hand had swollen up and was very hot and red. He’s taken some more antihistamine tablets and put on more cream, but if it hasn’t improved by the morning he’ll have to go and see a pharmacist.
We’ll post the last blogs tomorrow and catch up on the e-mails from an Internet café we’ve found in town before we have to go to the airport, so you’ll have lots to read and lots of photos to drool over. Our next blogs will be from Sydney and we’ll let you know our Australian phone number too. Keep sending the e-mails. Love to you all and Night, Night for now.
Monday 25th February
We woke to beautiful sunshine today! What a change from the last few days. While I did the usual morning things, Tom went and got a box – a HUGE box – and we packed up all the NZ holiday bits and pieces. As I said yesterday, there’s rather a lot, but they all went into it. We still had the car, so drove down to the PO, had it weighed (16kg – not as bad as we thought), filled in all the requisite paperwork, paid $204 to send it economy and watched it being sealed for its journey. We’ve sent it c/o Bruce and Carole, so be on the lookout you two. It’ll probably take 2 weeks or so, and we hope it survives intact.
Having dropped that off, we carried on into town to return the car to Apex (total distance driven 6192km, then walked down to the ferry terminal to meet up with Jenness and hand back all the bits she’d lent us. She wasn’t on the ferry from Waiheke that she’d said, which caused us a bit of concern, especially when we phoned her home, and Al said she should have been on it. However, about 10 minutes later, she turned up, having caught the earlier ferry! We had lunch in a Tex-Mex place just along the dockside – far too much food, but we tried our best to eat it! We’re not used to lunch. There was a cruise ship in harbour – Pacific Star, very nice, and it looked huge.
Jenn went back on the 1.00pm ferry and we set off to go to the Sky Tower
– yes, I was going to subject myself to more heights and dizzying experiences! – a sucker for punishment!
Sky Tower is the highest tower in the southern hemisphere, 328m, although it’s a bit of a con really, as it’s only the transmitting mast that can claim that fame. The observation deck is quite a bit below that, lower than the top viewing platform on the Eifel tower in Paris.
The lift is fast – 18kph they say - but the views are spectacular, especially as the weather was perfect, total blue sky and sunshine with just a few little clouds.
The only thing that caused me a few trembles were the glass panels in the floors of the lift and in the floor around the outer part of the viewing area. I did steel myself to look down through one of them, and Tom has the photos to prove it – and yes, I did have my eyes open!!
I really enjoyed being there and even said I’d like to stay longer when Tom wanted to go down to the café for a drink. I think the difference is that we were enclosed in glass so I didn’t feel exposed to the winds – and there was at least one lady who was even more terrified than I am at heights – she got out of the lift and wouldn’t move from the wall. There are panoramic guides all along the inner handrail, pointing out what you can see from that particular window. We took some photos of the cruise ship from above – she looked much smaller from there!
You can Sky Jump from higher up the tower, and several mad people were doing so while we watched. It’s not a bungy but a controlled descent onto a landing platform beside the base of the tower. One girl did it twice while we were there – and was going back for more! They jump off and are then held at Observation Deck level for a few seconds for watchers to take pics then plummet to the ground at 85kph – eeeek!
On our controlled descent in the lift, I couldn’t look down through the glass floor – one glance and I immediately felt queasy. Your ears pop on the way up and down, it’s so fast.
After that, we had a walk about the city but it was so hot, so we went to the bus station to find out how to get back here and how to get to the Zoo tomorrow. We caught our bus and had a hair-raising ride – all fast acceleration and sudden braking – to the nearest supermarket for dinner bits and pieces and arrived back here at 6.30pm. We spent the evening relaxing and watched Superman Returns on Sky TV, ready for another busy day tomorrow – our last full day in NZ. Bye for now.
Having dropped that off, we carried on into town to return the car to Apex (total distance driven 6192km, then walked down to the ferry terminal to meet up with Jenness and hand back all the bits she’d lent us. She wasn’t on the ferry from Waiheke that she’d said, which caused us a bit of concern, especially when we phoned her home, and Al said she should have been on it. However, about 10 minutes later, she turned up, having caught the earlier ferry! We had lunch in a Tex-Mex place just along the dockside – far too much food, but we tried our best to eat it! We’re not used to lunch. There was a cruise ship in harbour – Pacific Star, very nice, and it looked huge.
Jenn went back on the 1.00pm ferry and we set off to go to the Sky Tower – yes, I was going to subject myself to more heights and dizzying experiences! – a sucker for punishment!Sky Tower is the highest tower in the southern hemisphere, 328m, although it’s a bit of a con really, as it’s only the transmitting mast that can claim that fame. The observation deck is quite a bit below that, lower than the top viewing platform on the Eifel tower in Paris.
The lift is fast – 18kph they say - but the views are spectacular, especially as the weather was perfect, total blue sky and sunshine with just a few little clouds. The only thing that caused me a few trembles were the glass panels in the floors of the lift and in the floor around the outer part of the viewing area. I did steel myself to look down through one of them, and Tom has the photos to prove it – and yes, I did have my eyes open!! I really enjoyed being there and even said I’d like to stay longer when Tom wanted to go down to the café for a drink. I think the difference is that we were enclosed in glass so I didn’t feel exposed to the winds – and there was at least one lady who was even more terrified than I am at heights – she got out of the lift and wouldn’t move from the wall. There are panoramic guides all along the inner handrail, pointing out what you can see from that particular window. We took some photos of the cruise ship from above – she looked much smaller from there!You can Sky Jump from higher up the tower, and several mad people were doing so while we watched. It’s not a bungy but a controlled descent onto a landing platform beside the base of the tower. One girl did it twice while we were there – and was going back for more! They jump off and are then held at Observation Deck level for a few seconds for watchers to take pics then plummet to the ground at 85kph – eeeek!
On our controlled descent in the lift, I couldn’t look down through the glass floor – one glance and I immediately felt queasy. Your ears pop on the way up and down, it’s so fast.
After that, we had a walk about the city but it was so hot, so we went to the bus station to find out how to get back here and how to get to the Zoo tomorrow. We caught our bus and had a hair-raising ride – all fast acceleration and sudden braking – to the nearest supermarket for dinner bits and pieces and arrived back here at 6.30pm. We spent the evening relaxing and watched Superman Returns on Sky TV, ready for another busy day tomorrow – our last full day in NZ. Bye for now.
Sunday 24th February
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY IZZY!! Sorry we’re not there to share it with you but we’ll make up for it when we get back.
It was still raining when we woke this morning, though not as hard. I did what I hope will be the last lot of laundry here so everything we have, apart from what we’re wearing, is now clean. Next wash will be in Sydney!
We had a sort out of everything we’ve bought since we got here so that we can send some bits home rather than carry them around with us in Oz – I think it’ll have to be in 2 boxes!! I didn’t think we’d bought a lot but when it’s all put together, it’s quite a pile. Mostly books and a few small gifts but also ticket stubs and visitor info – all to be put in a scrapbook (or books!) when I’m home. I think everything else will now go into the 2 original suitcases, but I’ll have to do a trial run tomorrow in case we need to buy a bigger case – if that’s not too many “cases” in one sentence!
This afternoon, we’ve been to the Auckland Museum, which is another museum that puts Te Papa in the shade.
I realise it’s been around for a lot longer than Te Papa, but it is fantastic. We spent 4 hours there and could easily have been there longer but our feet had had enough. There’s just so much there to describe and I’d hate to have you go all crosseyed with boredom, so I’ll just mention a few things. The section called Weird and Wonderful, which isn’t just for children,
has the biggest collections of all kinds of living things (except that they’re dead!), all mounted on boards and in drawers for them to study and admire. There are also living displays of locusts, roaches, stick insects and other creepy bugs and lots of stuffed animals and birds. The Pacific Peoples displays are very good, with some ancient bits of carvings and ornaments and they have Maori cultural performances every day. The entire top floor is given over to Scars on the Heart – a history of warfare which has played a major role in shaping New Zealand’s identity – very moving, with some actual footage of some of the conflicts that NZers have been involved in and servicemen’s own reminiscences.
There’s a small section on Asian Arts, which has some superb hand embroidered garments
– I was so jealous of the skills shown. The building itself is beautiful on the inside
– the outside is grand but not spectacular.
The only complaint we had was the cost of car parking - $20 for 4 hours.
One of the reasons for coming to Auckland on Saturday was to go to the concert on the Domain with Kiri Te Kanawa, but with the weather as it was, it was cancelled. Tonight, however, the weather has completely changed, and it’s warm but humid. Perhaps we’ll have some good days in NZ before we leave. The car has to go back tomorrow so we’ll be dependant on public transport and feet for 2 days, which I’m sure we’ll manage.
We have no access to wireless internet in the motel, but we’ll try to send a few e-mails from town in the next few days. Tom found a motel just down the road to post the blogs but was accosted by the owner as he was sitting outside with the laptop!
On a completely different note, I’m so disappointed – we’ve found a booklet that’s entitled “Margaret’s Memories” (from the Buried Village). SHE’S A FAKE! The letters are imaginary, made up to make the story of the eruption more personal and interesting. What a swizz! There’s no indication at the village that they’re fake although I suppose if we’d said how we’d enjoyed them, the staff might have told us the truth.
This evening we’ve walked down the road from the motel and found a Nando’s for dinner and had a very pleasant meal. There was hardly anyone else in there. Afterwards we went into the coffee shop cum bookshop that is next door to it, and spent half an hour in there, but, as I think I’ve said before, books are very expensive here so we didn’t buy anything, just looked. We’re now back in the motel room having a pre-bed drink and a nice relaxing read. On the way to dinner, we found the nearest Post Office just down the road, so we won’t have to carry the box(es) far – or at least, Tom won’t! So I shall leave you all again for another night and hope Tom can get this posted tomorrow. Goodnight all.
It was still raining when we woke this morning, though not as hard. I did what I hope will be the last lot of laundry here so everything we have, apart from what we’re wearing, is now clean. Next wash will be in Sydney!
We had a sort out of everything we’ve bought since we got here so that we can send some bits home rather than carry them around with us in Oz – I think it’ll have to be in 2 boxes!! I didn’t think we’d bought a lot but when it’s all put together, it’s quite a pile. Mostly books and a few small gifts but also ticket stubs and visitor info – all to be put in a scrapbook (or books!) when I’m home. I think everything else will now go into the 2 original suitcases, but I’ll have to do a trial run tomorrow in case we need to buy a bigger case – if that’s not too many “cases” in one sentence!
This afternoon, we’ve been to the Auckland Museum, which is another museum that puts Te Papa in the shade.
I realise it’s been around for a lot longer than Te Papa, but it is fantastic. We spent 4 hours there and could easily have been there longer but our feet had had enough. There’s just so much there to describe and I’d hate to have you go all crosseyed with boredom, so I’ll just mention a few things. The section called Weird and Wonderful, which isn’t just for children, has the biggest collections of all kinds of living things (except that they’re dead!), all mounted on boards and in drawers for them to study and admire. There are also living displays of locusts, roaches, stick insects and other creepy bugs and lots of stuffed animals and birds. The Pacific Peoples displays are very good, with some ancient bits of carvings and ornaments and they have Maori cultural performances every day. The entire top floor is given over to Scars on the Heart – a history of warfare which has played a major role in shaping New Zealand’s identity – very moving, with some actual footage of some of the conflicts that NZers have been involved in and servicemen’s own reminiscences. There’s a small section on Asian Arts, which has some superb hand embroidered garments – I was so jealous of the skills shown. The building itself is beautiful on the inside – the outside is grand but not spectacular.The only complaint we had was the cost of car parking - $20 for 4 hours.
One of the reasons for coming to Auckland on Saturday was to go to the concert on the Domain with Kiri Te Kanawa, but with the weather as it was, it was cancelled. Tonight, however, the weather has completely changed, and it’s warm but humid. Perhaps we’ll have some good days in NZ before we leave. The car has to go back tomorrow so we’ll be dependant on public transport and feet for 2 days, which I’m sure we’ll manage.
We have no access to wireless internet in the motel, but we’ll try to send a few e-mails from town in the next few days. Tom found a motel just down the road to post the blogs but was accosted by the owner as he was sitting outside with the laptop!
On a completely different note, I’m so disappointed – we’ve found a booklet that’s entitled “Margaret’s Memories” (from the Buried Village). SHE’S A FAKE! The letters are imaginary, made up to make the story of the eruption more personal and interesting. What a swizz! There’s no indication at the village that they’re fake although I suppose if we’d said how we’d enjoyed them, the staff might have told us the truth.
This evening we’ve walked down the road from the motel and found a Nando’s for dinner and had a very pleasant meal. There was hardly anyone else in there. Afterwards we went into the coffee shop cum bookshop that is next door to it, and spent half an hour in there, but, as I think I’ve said before, books are very expensive here so we didn’t buy anything, just looked. We’re now back in the motel room having a pre-bed drink and a nice relaxing read. On the way to dinner, we found the nearest Post Office just down the road, so we won’t have to carry the box(es) far – or at least, Tom won’t! So I shall leave you all again for another night and hope Tom can get this posted tomorrow. Goodnight all.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday 23rd February
Well, what can I say? Not only are we the rainmakers supreme, but we even bring cyclones to the islands. If any of you have been looking at the weather here, you will have seen that N Island has been suffering high winds and severe flooding, especially in Northland for the last 2 days. It was so cold in the motel room last night that we had to put a towel under the door to stop the draughts – we didn’t have any heating except a radiator run from a central system and that wasn’t on. I thought we were getting away from heating while we were here?!
Anyway, we got on the road about 10.00am and headed out on SH5 towards Tirau, stopping briefly to look at the Free Access Thermal Area. Apart from a couple of mud pools, it didn't seem to consist of much, which is probably why it was free.
Anyway, we got on the road about 10.00am and headed out on SH5 towards Tirau, stopping briefly to look at the Free Access Thermal Area. Apart from a couple of mud pools, it didn't seem to consist of much, which is probably why it was free.
We’d been told about a good cheese shop just north of Waharoa so thought that would make a good coffee stop. We made a short stop in the Mamaku forest to check the map and saw our first (and only) emu. He/she was in a field by the car park, and came over when he saw us come to the fence so Tom got some nice pics.
Having decided on the exact route we’d be taking (my map reading is getting better but I still get confused!) we drove on through the forest, which is very British looking, and the trees almost met over the top of the road – could be spooky at night I think.
There was no break in the weather at all and we drove all the way to Auckland in non-stop almost horizontal rain. We only stopped for the loo and a brief coffee as there was no point getting soaked. There weren’t many places to see anyway on the route we followed although it’s a main route from Tauranga to Auckland. So we arrived in Auckland by 2.30pm, and decided to go to Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World, and I think half of Auckland had the same idea!! We ended up parking in a bus lane - although it is only a bus lane Mon-Fri 0730-0930, and we weren’t the only ones to do so. And no, we didn’t get a ticket, thank goodness!
It’s been set up in disused sewage tanks on Auckland sea front and has a very good range of sea creatures – King and ?? penguins, which you see from a snowcat on a circular tour of their pool.
One of the King penguins weighs 22kg – he’s rather portly! We watched different types of fish and short finned rays being fed,
then had a walk through the underwater tunnel with sharks, rays and a variety of fish swimming overhead. There were other tanks with eels, crayfish, piranha, catfish and clown fish, among others, and a display of corals. There is also a historical section about the Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton expeditions to the South Pole in the years 1908 – 1914, and reconstructions of their living and working environments. A small cinema has a film of a NZ journalist taking a trip to the South Pole to visit Scott’s quarters. (I think the same film is shown at the Antarctic Experience in Christchurch). Amazingly, the buildings are still in place at the South Pole after all this time although they are in extreme danger of rotting away. They have to dig them out every year after the winter.
We got talking to a local couple in the café and they gave us some suggestions of what to do while we’re here, depending on the weather. The café has huge windows looking out into the harbour and they told us that at high tide, the windows are half under water – that must be quite unnerving! I’m very glad that we weren’t on the Cook Strait ferry today, seeing all the boats in the harbour heaving up and down. As we left, we saw one boat that had broken away from its moorings and was being bashed against the harbour wall. No doubt the owner will be wishing he’d tied it up a bit better!
We successfully navigated to our last motel in NZ and it’s very nice, better than the last one, which was OK but a bit grubby. The sheets and towels were absolutely fine but the whole place could have done with a jolly good spring clean. Still, it was cheap and centrally placed for walking to town and the museum, etc. We had a laugh to ourselves when we arrived – you remember we’d been to Te Puia when we first got to Rotorua? (Pay attention, there’s a test at the end!!) We’d been plagued by a group of Chinese tourists, talking loudly wherever we went (they just can’t talk quietly), and we’d joked that we hoped there weren’t any at the motel – well, it’s run by a Chinese family!!! Ooops!
I keep meaning to mention that the I-pod that Amy and Andrew bought us for Christmas has been an absolute boon here. All the time that Tom spent loading it with hours and hours of music have certainly been worthwhile. It has helped pass the time when we’ve been driving through the wet, and has meant we haven’t had to talk to each other to pass the time! (only joking! We’re still getting on all right – a little bit of friction when it comes to map-reading, but nothing major).
Anyway, I’ve been adding to this on Sunday morning and we’re now going out to the Museum so I’ll be telling you all about that this evening. Bye for now.
Having decided on the exact route we’d be taking (my map reading is getting better but I still get confused!) we drove on through the forest, which is very British looking, and the trees almost met over the top of the road – could be spooky at night I think. There was no break in the weather at all and we drove all the way to Auckland in non-stop almost horizontal rain. We only stopped for the loo and a brief coffee as there was no point getting soaked. There weren’t many places to see anyway on the route we followed although it’s a main route from Tauranga to Auckland. So we arrived in Auckland by 2.30pm, and decided to go to Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World, and I think half of Auckland had the same idea!! We ended up parking in a bus lane - although it is only a bus lane Mon-Fri 0730-0930, and we weren’t the only ones to do so. And no, we didn’t get a ticket, thank goodness!It’s been set up in disused sewage tanks on Auckland sea front and has a very good range of sea creatures – King and ?? penguins, which you see from a snowcat on a circular tour of their pool.
One of the King penguins weighs 22kg – he’s rather portly! We watched different types of fish and short finned rays being fed, then had a walk through the underwater tunnel with sharks, rays and a variety of fish swimming overhead. There were other tanks with eels, crayfish, piranha, catfish and clown fish, among others, and a display of corals. There is also a historical section about the Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton expeditions to the South Pole in the years 1908 – 1914, and reconstructions of their living and working environments. A small cinema has a film of a NZ journalist taking a trip to the South Pole to visit Scott’s quarters. (I think the same film is shown at the Antarctic Experience in Christchurch). Amazingly, the buildings are still in place at the South Pole after all this time although they are in extreme danger of rotting away. They have to dig them out every year after the winter.We got talking to a local couple in the café and they gave us some suggestions of what to do while we’re here, depending on the weather. The café has huge windows looking out into the harbour and they told us that at high tide, the windows are half under water – that must be quite unnerving! I’m very glad that we weren’t on the Cook Strait ferry today, seeing all the boats in the harbour heaving up and down. As we left, we saw one boat that had broken away from its moorings and was being bashed against the harbour wall. No doubt the owner will be wishing he’d tied it up a bit better!
We successfully navigated to our last motel in NZ and it’s very nice, better than the last one, which was OK but a bit grubby. The sheets and towels were absolutely fine but the whole place could have done with a jolly good spring clean. Still, it was cheap and centrally placed for walking to town and the museum, etc. We had a laugh to ourselves when we arrived – you remember we’d been to Te Puia when we first got to Rotorua? (Pay attention, there’s a test at the end!!) We’d been plagued by a group of Chinese tourists, talking loudly wherever we went (they just can’t talk quietly), and we’d joked that we hoped there weren’t any at the motel – well, it’s run by a Chinese family!!! Ooops!
I keep meaning to mention that the I-pod that Amy and Andrew bought us for Christmas has been an absolute boon here. All the time that Tom spent loading it with hours and hours of music have certainly been worthwhile. It has helped pass the time when we’ve been driving through the wet, and has meant we haven’t had to talk to each other to pass the time! (only joking! We’re still getting on all right – a little bit of friction when it comes to map-reading, but nothing major).
Anyway, I’ve been adding to this on Sunday morning and we’re now going out to the Museum so I’ll be telling you all about that this evening. Bye for now.
Friday 22nd February
We were woken in the night by the rain beating against the roof – not a good sign although I’m sure the farmers were clapping their hands. It was still raining a little when we got up and for the first time, it really felt cold. We got the fleeces ready and the waterproofs and while I washed up from breakfast, Tom drove to where he can pick up a signal and posted yesterday’s blog. It’s only about 1km from here so doesn’t take long. They must be wondering what the funny man is doing parking up and sitting in the car outside their motel – but he hasn’t been detained for loitering yet! It’s a good job it’s not a school.
We set off, still in rain, at 9.30am, to Matamata, northwest of here, to visit Hobbiton. Since most of the LOTR sites no longer have any of the film sets in situ, this is the only one where there is anything recognisable to see. There are LOTR tours (at great expense) to some of the off-road sites but all the scenery has been removed. The drive was uneventful except for the rain (!!) until we were on the approach road to the farm. The council are doing improvements to the road and in their usual way, just left it in the state they’d reached the night before! Being a farm road, there’s lots of mud around – and it was all on the roadway. It certainly makes for unpredictable driving conditions, you have to keep your wits about you. However we arrived at 10.40am, bought our tickets, had a coffee and waited for the bus that would take us on the tour. On time, it arrived with just enough room for us to climb aboard. The others had been picked up at the Tourist Office in Matamata itself.
We enjoyed the tour very much, and for those of you LOTR fans, I’ve written a separate section describing what we saw. For those others, just carry on reading and ignore that section.
It had stopped raining except for the odd little flurry while we were on the tour, but was so windy we almost got blown away, although it wasn’t really cold. As we were going on to Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty afterwards, we hoped this was a good sign, but as we are the rain makers, we drove towards the coast in increasingly wet weather – in fact, it positively poured!! Tauranga town centre is at the end of a long spit of land reaching out into the Bay and as we approached, all we could see was driving rain. Tom said we’d drive to the Tourist Info then decide whether it was worth having a walk about the town – which we did, and lo and behold, as we got to the car park, it cleared up! However, visibility was still very poor so we couldn’t see much and walking along the sea front was a fight against the wind, so we gave up, found a secondhand bookshop and bought ourselves some reading matter. We couldn’t even see Mt Manganui which is stuck on the end of the other spit of land that is part of Tauranga.
So we drove back to Rotorua down what started off as an unexceptional road (SH36) then became somewhat exciting for a short stretch, getting very narrow and dropping down through a gorge between Mangorewa Forest and Te Matai Forest before straightening out again as if nothing had happened and leading us into Rotorua. We drove past a very steamy area which is marked on the map as Free Access Thermal Area, so if the weather is OK, we’ll pay it a visit in the morning on our way out to Auckland.
It’s now 11.00pm and it has stopped raining but we’ve had an evening of high winds and pouring rain again. I just hope that we don’t have that all the way tomorrow on our last stint of driving in NZ, but we shall have to wait and see. Night, night again.
We set off, still in rain, at 9.30am, to Matamata, northwest of here, to visit Hobbiton. Since most of the LOTR sites no longer have any of the film sets in situ, this is the only one where there is anything recognisable to see. There are LOTR tours (at great expense) to some of the off-road sites but all the scenery has been removed. The drive was uneventful except for the rain (!!) until we were on the approach road to the farm. The council are doing improvements to the road and in their usual way, just left it in the state they’d reached the night before! Being a farm road, there’s lots of mud around – and it was all on the roadway. It certainly makes for unpredictable driving conditions, you have to keep your wits about you. However we arrived at 10.40am, bought our tickets, had a coffee and waited for the bus that would take us on the tour. On time, it arrived with just enough room for us to climb aboard. The others had been picked up at the Tourist Office in Matamata itself.
We enjoyed the tour very much, and for those of you LOTR fans, I’ve written a separate section describing what we saw. For those others, just carry on reading and ignore that section.
It had stopped raining except for the odd little flurry while we were on the tour, but was so windy we almost got blown away, although it wasn’t really cold. As we were going on to Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty afterwards, we hoped this was a good sign, but as we are the rain makers, we drove towards the coast in increasingly wet weather – in fact, it positively poured!! Tauranga town centre is at the end of a long spit of land reaching out into the Bay and as we approached, all we could see was driving rain. Tom said we’d drive to the Tourist Info then decide whether it was worth having a walk about the town – which we did, and lo and behold, as we got to the car park, it cleared up! However, visibility was still very poor so we couldn’t see much and walking along the sea front was a fight against the wind, so we gave up, found a secondhand bookshop and bought ourselves some reading matter. We couldn’t even see Mt Manganui which is stuck on the end of the other spit of land that is part of Tauranga.
So we drove back to Rotorua down what started off as an unexceptional road (SH36) then became somewhat exciting for a short stretch, getting very narrow and dropping down through a gorge between Mangorewa Forest and Te Matai Forest before straightening out again as if nothing had happened and leading us into Rotorua. We drove past a very steamy area which is marked on the map as Free Access Thermal Area, so if the weather is OK, we’ll pay it a visit in the morning on our way out to Auckland.
It’s now 11.00pm and it has stopped raining but we’ve had an evening of high winds and pouring rain again. I just hope that we don’t have that all the way tomorrow on our last stint of driving in NZ, but we shall have to wait and see. Night, night again.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday 21st February
Today’s been a bit of a lost day really, or rather a lost half day. I woke with a headache – I think as a result of wandering around yesterday in the sun and not having enough to drink. Tom went off to where he can pick up wireless internet in order to post the last 2 days blogs, leaving me to have a shower and take some pills to get rid of the headache. I did feel a bit better when he returned, so we set off to the Buried Village, about 15km away. We went via Lake Okareka, but it wasn’t worth stopping, so carried on, passing the Blue and Green Lakes. There is a lookout between the 2 lakes, but unfortunately, the trees have grown since it was established and you now can’t see over them to the lakes!
The Blue Lake is so called because the white rhyolite and pumice on its bottom reflect the blue sky. The Maori name, Tikitapu, gets its name from the story of a chief’s daughter who lost her tiki, a greenstone (jade) treasure in the waters. The Green Lake is emerald green from the air because it has a shallower sandy bottom. In Maori it is called Rotokakahi, so named because of the abundance of shellfish (kakahi). In neither case is there any connection between the Maori and English names. The Blue Lake is a base for water sports but the Green Lake is tapu or sacred.
The Buried Village is the partly excavated village of Wairoa that was buried when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. The Smith family took it upon themselves to fund and carry out the excavation, starting in 1931 just a few days after the earthquake in Napier. The family still own the land and look after it. Some of the buildings have been reroofed to protect the interior and the original roofs now have vegetation growing in and on them.
The liquid mud that engulfed them, hardened as it cooled and has been dug away showing the depth to which they were buried.
The walk round the area is dotted with information boards and extracts from some letters written by a lady called Margaret, married to Walter. They were on their honeymoon near Wairoa when the eruption happened and she wrote to various members of her family and friends giving them her thoughts on the disaster. (One of her sisters was called Amy). She and her husband had visited the White Terraces on the banks of Lake Tarawera only a few days before. The Pink and White Terraces had been one of the first tourist attractions in NZ and were destroyed, along with two complete villages. The stories of the event and the rescue attempts are so moving. It’s hard to imagine what it was like when you walk around the area that is now so peaceful and green. There are two routes at the end of the walk – one with a superb view of the valley down to Lake Tarawera,
the other a steep descent down steps beside the Wairere stream to the bottom of the waterfall.
Then an equally steep climb back up again! Tom did the steep bit while I chickened out. When he wheezed his way back to the shop, he asked the saleslady if they sold oxygen for those that had survived the waterfall walk. The answer was No, but she gave him a certificate of achievement. (I think it’s what they give the children when they’ve done it, but she must have felt sorry for him!!)
We had planned to go on to Waimangu volcanic valley after that, but I had to call a halt and we came back to the motel. This is the first day either of us has felt under the weather so I think we’ve done very well with our activities. After taking some more painkillers, my headache finally gave up and, as there is a mineral pool here, we went and boiled our bodies in the 40deg water, but only for a very short time as it was a bit too hot! But our skin now feels all smooth – “just like a baby’s bottom” says Tom, “but without nappy rash!!”
It’s now past the time that all good people should be in bed – and me too!! Night, night.
The Blue Lake is so called because the white rhyolite and pumice on its bottom reflect the blue sky. The Maori name, Tikitapu, gets its name from the story of a chief’s daughter who lost her tiki, a greenstone (jade) treasure in the waters. The Green Lake is emerald green from the air because it has a shallower sandy bottom. In Maori it is called Rotokakahi, so named because of the abundance of shellfish (kakahi). In neither case is there any connection between the Maori and English names. The Blue Lake is a base for water sports but the Green Lake is tapu or sacred.The Buried Village is the partly excavated village of Wairoa that was buried when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. The Smith family took it upon themselves to fund and carry out the excavation, starting in 1931 just a few days after the earthquake in Napier. The family still own the land and look after it. Some of the buildings have been reroofed to protect the interior and the original roofs now have vegetation growing in and on them. The liquid mud that engulfed them, hardened as it cooled and has been dug away showing the depth to which they were buried. The walk round the area is dotted with information boards and extracts from some letters written by a lady called Margaret, married to Walter. They were on their honeymoon near Wairoa when the eruption happened and she wrote to various members of her family and friends giving them her thoughts on the disaster. (One of her sisters was called Amy). She and her husband had visited the White Terraces on the banks of Lake Tarawera only a few days before. The Pink and White Terraces had been one of the first tourist attractions in NZ and were destroyed, along with two complete villages. The stories of the event and the rescue attempts are so moving. It’s hard to imagine what it was like when you walk around the area that is now so peaceful and green. There are two routes at the end of the walk – one with a superb view of the valley down to Lake Tarawera, the other a steep descent down steps beside the Wairere stream to the bottom of the waterfall. Then an equally steep climb back up again! Tom did the steep bit while I chickened out. When he wheezed his way back to the shop, he asked the saleslady if they sold oxygen for those that had survived the waterfall walk. The answer was No, but she gave him a certificate of achievement. (I think it’s what they give the children when they’ve done it, but she must have felt sorry for him!!)We had planned to go on to Waimangu volcanic valley after that, but I had to call a halt and we came back to the motel. This is the first day either of us has felt under the weather so I think we’ve done very well with our activities. After taking some more painkillers, my headache finally gave up and, as there is a mineral pool here, we went and boiled our bodies in the 40deg water, but only for a very short time as it was a bit too hot! But our skin now feels all smooth – “just like a baby’s bottom” says Tom, “but without nappy rash!!”
It’s now past the time that all good people should be in bed – and me too!! Night, night.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday 20th February
We woke to rain, or at least to the aftermath of rain. It was very dull and quite cool, but after a morning spent writing yesterday’s blog and sorting out the washing, it had brightened up and by the time we walked downtown to the Information centre
and the Museum, it was brilliant sunshine and hot.
Rotorua Museum is sited in the Government Gardens in what was originally the Bath House.
The gardens are lovely, but suffering from the drought at present. There are 5 bowls greens, beautifully kept and they had just finished a tournament of 12 days between Australia and NZ. The original tearoom.s, where the ladies and gentlemen using the Bath House would take tea after their treatment, has been restored to its former glory and now houses a lecture room.
The building housing the Blue Baths is still in existence – it was the first public baths in the world to offer mixed bathing – and has been fully restored and reopened.
The whole area of gardens and buildings is spotless, no litter, no graffiti – a real pleasure to walk in.
We bought our tickets to go round the museum and found that the price included a fully guided tour, so had a quick drink before the next tour began. We had a rather dithery elderly English gent guiding us, but he was full of knowledge, though rather slow to impart it. There was loads of time to go back to areas of interest to us when that was finished. There was a lot of information on the volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886 which decimated the area and caused widespread death and destruction. There was a section about Kiwi music, both Maori and settled NZers and a big display on B Company of the Maori Regiment, which took part in both World Wars. The original Bath House pipework and some of the baths and treatment areas have been preserved. The basement is incredibly hot, all due to the underground thermal activity. We were able to climb up to the roof area and look out over Rotorua. Seeing the surrounding hills which encircle the town and the lake, it makes you realise how huge is the crater that must have been the original volcano whose eruption created the area many thousands of years ago.
We didn’t leave the museum until 5.30pm then had a walk round the grounds where there are two areas fenced off. They contain thermal springs, one of which is an active geyser but on a smaller scale that the ones we saw at Te Puia. It erupts every few minutes but is constantly steaming. This is the Malfroy geyser.
The other is the Rachel spring and it’s quite smelly, although it doesn’t spout like the Malfroy.
As we were nearing the bowls greens, I noticed that some Japanese tourists had walked onto one of them – a sin of gigantic proportions! They got a real b******ing from one of the ladies looking after the Bowls Clubhouse. Tom wanted to know where the culprits’ heads would be mounted in the clubhouse!
After all the culture, history and outdoor activity, we walked home via the supermarket to stock up on Tom’s cola, beer and wine – I get to share a little of these but I make up for them with my own treats, like Cadbury’s mini choc bars. As I hadn’t done the laundry this morning I had to do that while Tom downloaded todays photos onto the computer. He then went next door and bought takeaway – there’s so much of it that it will do us tomorrow night too! Very yummy!
We’re both so tired now so we’re of to zzzzzzzz before another busy day tomorrow.
and the Museum, it was brilliant sunshine and hot.Rotorua Museum is sited in the Government Gardens in what was originally the Bath House.
The gardens are lovely, but suffering from the drought at present. There are 5 bowls greens, beautifully kept and they had just finished a tournament of 12 days between Australia and NZ. The original tearoom.s, where the ladies and gentlemen using the Bath House would take tea after their treatment, has been restored to its former glory and now houses a lecture room. The building housing the Blue Baths is still in existence – it was the first public baths in the world to offer mixed bathing – and has been fully restored and reopened. The whole area of gardens and buildings is spotless, no litter, no graffiti – a real pleasure to walk in.We bought our tickets to go round the museum and found that the price included a fully guided tour, so had a quick drink before the next tour began. We had a rather dithery elderly English gent guiding us, but he was full of knowledge, though rather slow to impart it. There was loads of time to go back to areas of interest to us when that was finished. There was a lot of information on the volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886 which decimated the area and caused widespread death and destruction. There was a section about Kiwi music, both Maori and settled NZers and a big display on B Company of the Maori Regiment, which took part in both World Wars. The original Bath House pipework and some of the baths and treatment areas have been preserved. The basement is incredibly hot, all due to the underground thermal activity. We were able to climb up to the roof area and look out over Rotorua. Seeing the surrounding hills which encircle the town and the lake, it makes you realise how huge is the crater that must have been the original volcano whose eruption created the area many thousands of years ago.
We didn’t leave the museum until 5.30pm then had a walk round the grounds where there are two areas fenced off. They contain thermal springs, one of which is an active geyser but on a smaller scale that the ones we saw at Te Puia. It erupts every few minutes but is constantly steaming. This is the Malfroy geyser.
The other is the Rachel spring and it’s quite smelly, although it doesn’t spout like the Malfroy.As we were nearing the bowls greens, I noticed that some Japanese tourists had walked onto one of them – a sin of gigantic proportions! They got a real b******ing from one of the ladies looking after the Bowls Clubhouse. Tom wanted to know where the culprits’ heads would be mounted in the clubhouse!
After all the culture, history and outdoor activity, we walked home via the supermarket to stock up on Tom’s cola, beer and wine – I get to share a little of these but I make up for them with my own treats, like Cadbury’s mini choc bars. As I hadn’t done the laundry this morning I had to do that while Tom downloaded todays photos onto the computer. He then went next door and bought takeaway – there’s so much of it that it will do us tomorrow night too! Very yummy!
We’re both so tired now so we’re of to zzzzzzzz before another busy day tomorrow.
Tuesday 19th February
Leaving Clive on SH2, we set off on our way north to Rotorua. Just north of Napier, we left SH2 and joined the Thermal Explorer Highway, SH5 cutting inland towards Taupo. The weather was overcast but bright, but as we started to climb up through the Esk Forest, so the rain came – not heavy but persistent and we ended up in low cloud with very poor visibility.
Once we’d passed the highest point, the sun started to shine on us again and we stopped to take photos at the Haipunga Falls. Although we’ve been through what seems like a lot of rain while we’ve been here, the land is obviously parched, and nearly all the waterways are very low. The falls were pretty but must look much better with a bit more water in them.
As we dropped down to flatter land, round Rangitaiki, we saw a tremendous amount of reforestation going on. Dead trees are being cleared and a huge number of new trees, mostly pines of some sort, are being planted. We passed many logging lorries, laden with huge trunks going off to one of the enormous sawmills we’ve seen. The roads round here are flat and straight for miles, so Tom could have a rest from the bends and ups and downs of the hills. As you approach Taupo, the landscape is dominated by the huge bulk of Tauhara, a mountain that looks like a dormant volcanic peak covered in forest now.
Taupo itself is a fairly typical tourist town. Motels and holiday flats everywhere. We stopped for a coffee and a visit to the Information centre, but really wanted to get on to Rotorua and get settled into our next motel. The sun was blazing down by then.
We’d decided to take SH1 from Taupo as, although SH5 also goes to Rotorua, SH1 is a less bendy road and through flatter land. Leaving Taupo, we passed lots of attraction signs - Craters of the Moon, Huka Falls (where you can go on a Jetboat up to the falls), various hot pool sites and the inevitable Historic Site signs. We’ve followed some of these signs and most of the time, it’s hardly worth the effort as the destination is just a site where something happened or a building was and is no longer! No doubt, if you are an historian or simply very keen on historical facts, these places would be important, but for us “tourists” who are simply skimming the surface of the country, they don’t hold much attraction.
About halfway between Taupo and Rotorua, SH30 joins SH1 and over to the west is a small mountain that looks a bit like the mountain in the film “Close Encounters”. It just rears up out of the flat land surrounding it. This is Whakamaru Peak, 795m or approx. 2600ft high.
Then we wound our way northeast up and down to Rotorua. As we were about to turn onto SH5 to get to the town, Te Puia was just on our right so we made a stop.
Te Puia is a Maori run complex showing the arts of weaving and carving, telling the history of the tribes that still occupy the area, and introducing us to the hot springs, mud pools and geysers. The sulphur smell is all around, but I didn’t find it offensive as I have read in some books – Tom could hardly smell it at all. It is NZ$50 per person to get in, but that includes a 30 minute Maori show, a guided tour and as long as you want to wandering round the site. There is an interactive display where you can follow parts of the tribe’s history, a Maori village with audio description in different languages of how life was, a walk through the bush (but on a proper path) – as far as Tom’s concerned, a walk in the bush means he’s fly fodder, so we didn’t attempt that! – there is a weaving school and a carving school here too, and you can watch demonstrations.
We were lucky enough to get the last 2 tickets for the concert. It was explained to us what we were going to see and one member of the audience was chosen as our chief, Nigel from Australia, for the occasion. He had to accept the challenge from the Maori warrior
and lead us into the Marae (meeting house) for the concert. We all had to remove our shoes, hats and sunglasses before entering, as a mark of respect. The Marae is everything to the Maori – a meeting place, a forum to discuss problems and make decisions for the tribe, a sleeping place when families get together, really the hub of the community. (Kandi, our guide, is the youngest in her family of 9; her mother is one of 16 and her father is one of 10, so their family is huge – there are over 100 grandchildren.)
The concert was wonderful, exciting and moving (I have to admit to a few tears at the end!) Never mind that we didn’t understand the words, the sounds were enough. The warriors did a Haka and showed off their skills with long wooden sticks and shorter ones, which they passed from hand to hand in time to the music. The girls danced and sang and did a display with wooden balls on the end of strings (poi) – I know it sounds peculiar, but it was great.
They ended with a love story – a famous song which many performers have recorded over the years, including Kiri Te Kanawa and Hayley Westenra, (Pokarekare Ana). We came out to continue with a guided tour starting with the history of Te Puia and what the structure at the entrance means.
Then it was off to the kiwi house, where they have a female kiwi and her baby, so we saw a kiwi for the first time. As kiwis are nocturnal, the kiwi house has been “time shifted” so that the birds believe day is night and vice versa. You go in to the dark and have to allow a few moments to get your eyes used to it then you get the chance to see them. Unfortunately, the baby is still very shy and didn’t appear, but we saw the mum running around. We hope this isn’t our only viewing of a kiwi.
The lack of water is affecting the mudpools, so they weren’t quite as active as they could be and some had dried out into mini volcanic shapes.
You could hear it bubbling under the crust. We arrived at the geysers as they started to put on their display
– not an artificially induced spouting as some are – but our guide, Kandi, could see the first signs and knew that the full flow would be about 10mins away. It is very impressive and I found it almost disturbing that we were standing on top of such an awesome display of nature’s power.
We took some great photos and film. We then spent an hour wandering till the complex was closing.
Our motel is very basic but perfectly clean and not expensive, within walking distance of the town. I had an urge for fish and chips for dinner, so we walked for a couple of miles, passing all kinds of eating establishments and finally asking where there was a fish shop. Having been given directions, we walked about another half a mile, only to find it was closed! So we decided to walk back to the main food area and on the way come across a …..fish and chip shop……. We stood and waited while it was cooked freshly for us and, as we were now almost back at the motel, walked home to eat it. As we got to the motel, Tom noticed that , if we’d turned right instead of left when we walked into town, we’d have seen the fish and chip shop NEXT DOOR to the motel!!!! Oh well, such is life and we’ve definitely walked our 10,000 paces today! The fish and chips we did have were very nice anyway. I was too tired to do the blog before bed, so left Tom to fiddle with his gadgets and wrote this up this morning. We’re just about to set off for the afternoon and hope to find somewhere with wireless access so Tom can post the last 2 blogs for you to read. Bye for now.
Once we’d passed the highest point, the sun started to shine on us again and we stopped to take photos at the Haipunga Falls. Although we’ve been through what seems like a lot of rain while we’ve been here, the land is obviously parched, and nearly all the waterways are very low. The falls were pretty but must look much better with a bit more water in them. As we dropped down to flatter land, round Rangitaiki, we saw a tremendous amount of reforestation going on. Dead trees are being cleared and a huge number of new trees, mostly pines of some sort, are being planted. We passed many logging lorries, laden with huge trunks going off to one of the enormous sawmills we’ve seen. The roads round here are flat and straight for miles, so Tom could have a rest from the bends and ups and downs of the hills. As you approach Taupo, the landscape is dominated by the huge bulk of Tauhara, a mountain that looks like a dormant volcanic peak covered in forest now.Taupo itself is a fairly typical tourist town. Motels and holiday flats everywhere. We stopped for a coffee and a visit to the Information centre, but really wanted to get on to Rotorua and get settled into our next motel. The sun was blazing down by then.
We’d decided to take SH1 from Taupo as, although SH5 also goes to Rotorua, SH1 is a less bendy road and through flatter land. Leaving Taupo, we passed lots of attraction signs - Craters of the Moon, Huka Falls (where you can go on a Jetboat up to the falls), various hot pool sites and the inevitable Historic Site signs. We’ve followed some of these signs and most of the time, it’s hardly worth the effort as the destination is just a site where something happened or a building was and is no longer! No doubt, if you are an historian or simply very keen on historical facts, these places would be important, but for us “tourists” who are simply skimming the surface of the country, they don’t hold much attraction.
About halfway between Taupo and Rotorua, SH30 joins SH1 and over to the west is a small mountain that looks a bit like the mountain in the film “Close Encounters”. It just rears up out of the flat land surrounding it. This is Whakamaru Peak, 795m or approx. 2600ft high.
Then we wound our way northeast up and down to Rotorua. As we were about to turn onto SH5 to get to the town, Te Puia was just on our right so we made a stop. Te Puia is a Maori run complex showing the arts of weaving and carving, telling the history of the tribes that still occupy the area, and introducing us to the hot springs, mud pools and geysers. The sulphur smell is all around, but I didn’t find it offensive as I have read in some books – Tom could hardly smell it at all. It is NZ$50 per person to get in, but that includes a 30 minute Maori show, a guided tour and as long as you want to wandering round the site. There is an interactive display where you can follow parts of the tribe’s history, a Maori village with audio description in different languages of how life was, a walk through the bush (but on a proper path) – as far as Tom’s concerned, a walk in the bush means he’s fly fodder, so we didn’t attempt that! – there is a weaving school and a carving school here too, and you can watch demonstrations.We were lucky enough to get the last 2 tickets for the concert. It was explained to us what we were going to see and one member of the audience was chosen as our chief, Nigel from Australia, for the occasion. He had to accept the challenge from the Maori warrior
and lead us into the Marae (meeting house) for the concert. We all had to remove our shoes, hats and sunglasses before entering, as a mark of respect. The Marae is everything to the Maori – a meeting place, a forum to discuss problems and make decisions for the tribe, a sleeping place when families get together, really the hub of the community. (Kandi, our guide, is the youngest in her family of 9; her mother is one of 16 and her father is one of 10, so their family is huge – there are over 100 grandchildren.)The concert was wonderful, exciting and moving (I have to admit to a few tears at the end!) Never mind that we didn’t understand the words, the sounds were enough. The warriors did a Haka and showed off their skills with long wooden sticks and shorter ones, which they passed from hand to hand in time to the music. The girls danced and sang and did a display with wooden balls on the end of strings (poi) – I know it sounds peculiar, but it was great.
They ended with a love story – a famous song which many performers have recorded over the years, including Kiri Te Kanawa and Hayley Westenra, (Pokarekare Ana). We came out to continue with a guided tour starting with the history of Te Puia and what the structure at the entrance means.Then it was off to the kiwi house, where they have a female kiwi and her baby, so we saw a kiwi for the first time. As kiwis are nocturnal, the kiwi house has been “time shifted” so that the birds believe day is night and vice versa. You go in to the dark and have to allow a few moments to get your eyes used to it then you get the chance to see them. Unfortunately, the baby is still very shy and didn’t appear, but we saw the mum running around. We hope this isn’t our only viewing of a kiwi.
The lack of water is affecting the mudpools, so they weren’t quite as active as they could be and some had dried out into mini volcanic shapes.
You could hear it bubbling under the crust. We arrived at the geysers as they started to put on their display – not an artificially induced spouting as some are – but our guide, Kandi, could see the first signs and knew that the full flow would be about 10mins away. It is very impressive and I found it almost disturbing that we were standing on top of such an awesome display of nature’s power. We took some great photos and film. We then spent an hour wandering till the complex was closing.Our motel is very basic but perfectly clean and not expensive, within walking distance of the town. I had an urge for fish and chips for dinner, so we walked for a couple of miles, passing all kinds of eating establishments and finally asking where there was a fish shop. Having been given directions, we walked about another half a mile, only to find it was closed! So we decided to walk back to the main food area and on the way come across a …..fish and chip shop……. We stood and waited while it was cooked freshly for us and, as we were now almost back at the motel, walked home to eat it. As we got to the motel, Tom noticed that , if we’d turned right instead of left when we walked into town, we’d have seen the fish and chip shop NEXT DOOR to the motel!!!! Oh well, such is life and we’ve definitely walked our 10,000 paces today! The fish and chips we did have were very nice anyway. I was too tired to do the blog before bed, so left Tom to fiddle with his gadgets and wrote this up this morning. We’re just about to set off for the afternoon and hope to find somewhere with wireless access so Tom can post the last 2 blogs for you to read. Bye for now.
Monday February 18th
The king size bed is so comfortable, I’m glad we’re here for another night.
We didn’t set the alarm this morning but woke at 8.00am anyway. We’d decided last night that we’d forego the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty, and concentrate on Rotorua and getting back to Auckland in time for the concert on Saturday evening, so Tom phoned around and we have accommodation booked for both. This will take us up to our flights to Australia on 27th. We’re both starting to feel the strain of being constantly on the move, and the burden has been on Tom driving. He wouldn’t cope with being a passenger on the roads we’ve been travelling and although he’s quite happy to drive, it is quite wearisome. We have enjoyed the times when we have stayed in one place for a few days, thus our latest decision.
Today was another day in Napier and we parked all day for $3 on the Marine Parade car park. We bought the town guide for the Art Deco Walk, and followed it, taking loads more piccies of these lovely Art Deco buildings,
and some Spanish Mission ones, which we hadn’t realised were here too.
Before we started though, we went to the café we’d found yesterday that offered free internet access, and Tom was able to load the last two days blogs and check our e-mails. The motel has wireless internet, but the cost is silly - $24.95 for 24 hours. Zenbu doesn’t exist here.
The town was still busy, although nearly all traces of the festivities of the last few days had already been removed by the time we arrived at 11.00am. A cruise ship had docked in the harbour and the passengers were bussed into town in their droves. The ship wasn’t meant to be here, but the weather has been so bad in Wellington and Christchurch, where it should have docked, that it came here instead. The local traders reckon that NZ$500,000 would have been spent in the town during the visit – not bad for a few hours, especially on top of the weekend’s trade. We noticed that the Ice Cream Parlour that had only opened on Friday had a notice in the window saying they had had to close to restock and recover from the busy time they’d had!
We stopped to talk to one of the gardeners tidying up the gardens round the Veronica square, and complimented her on the flowerbeds and the general tidiness of the whole town.
She was so proud of her job and pleased that we’d taken the time to comment on it. We’ve found this attitude all over NZ. People seem genuinely to be proud of the work they do and especially proud of their country. They’re keen to hear where we’ve already been and give us information on where to go and what to see. The general absence of litter is such a pleasure. Even with all the thousands of people in town over the weekend, there were few signs of litter anywhere. Graffiti is almost non-existent but wall murals seem to be encouraged instead. Skateboard parks are common, and as we passed the Napier one, we saw the attendant cleaning up some fallen leaves with a dustpan and brush!
I don’t know how many miles we walked on our tour but, apart from a coffee stop, we were on the go for 3 hours. Our walking legs have definitely improved – we have no aching calves or sore hips tonight.
Tom stopped off at a barber’s for a haircut at the end of the afternoon while I wandered into a dress shop and talked to the owner - also full of suggestions for our route to Rotorua tomorrow! We found a second hand bookshop and got some more books, as we’ve finished all the ones we had. We’ve decided to send some of our souvenir leaflets and books home by post when we get to Auckland – we’ve collected quite a lot on the way as you can imagine! The Post Office does a range of boxes that will take as much as we can stuff into them up to 20kg. It will mean that we won’t be carting around a load of heavy paperwork – and we might even be able to get everything else into our two original suitcases!!
We’ve eaten in the motel tonight, using up all the remnants of food before we move on tomorrow. Tom had a salad and I had an omelette. It’s now time for bed so, as usual, we wish you all goodnight.
We didn’t set the alarm this morning but woke at 8.00am anyway. We’d decided last night that we’d forego the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty, and concentrate on Rotorua and getting back to Auckland in time for the concert on Saturday evening, so Tom phoned around and we have accommodation booked for both. This will take us up to our flights to Australia on 27th. We’re both starting to feel the strain of being constantly on the move, and the burden has been on Tom driving. He wouldn’t cope with being a passenger on the roads we’ve been travelling and although he’s quite happy to drive, it is quite wearisome. We have enjoyed the times when we have stayed in one place for a few days, thus our latest decision.Today was another day in Napier and we parked all day for $3 on the Marine Parade car park. We bought the town guide for the Art Deco Walk, and followed it, taking loads more piccies of these lovely Art Deco buildings,
and some Spanish Mission ones, which we hadn’t realised were here too. Before we started though, we went to the café we’d found yesterday that offered free internet access, and Tom was able to load the last two days blogs and check our e-mails. The motel has wireless internet, but the cost is silly - $24.95 for 24 hours. Zenbu doesn’t exist here.The town was still busy, although nearly all traces of the festivities of the last few days had already been removed by the time we arrived at 11.00am. A cruise ship had docked in the harbour and the passengers were bussed into town in their droves. The ship wasn’t meant to be here, but the weather has been so bad in Wellington and Christchurch, where it should have docked, that it came here instead. The local traders reckon that NZ$500,000 would have been spent in the town during the visit – not bad for a few hours, especially on top of the weekend’s trade. We noticed that the Ice Cream Parlour that had only opened on Friday had a notice in the window saying they had had to close to restock and recover from the busy time they’d had!
We stopped to talk to one of the gardeners tidying up the gardens round the Veronica square, and complimented her on the flowerbeds and the general tidiness of the whole town.
She was so proud of her job and pleased that we’d taken the time to comment on it. We’ve found this attitude all over NZ. People seem genuinely to be proud of the work they do and especially proud of their country. They’re keen to hear where we’ve already been and give us information on where to go and what to see. The general absence of litter is such a pleasure. Even with all the thousands of people in town over the weekend, there were few signs of litter anywhere. Graffiti is almost non-existent but wall murals seem to be encouraged instead. Skateboard parks are common, and as we passed the Napier one, we saw the attendant cleaning up some fallen leaves with a dustpan and brush!I don’t know how many miles we walked on our tour but, apart from a coffee stop, we were on the go for 3 hours. Our walking legs have definitely improved – we have no aching calves or sore hips tonight.
Tom stopped off at a barber’s for a haircut at the end of the afternoon while I wandered into a dress shop and talked to the owner - also full of suggestions for our route to Rotorua tomorrow! We found a second hand bookshop and got some more books, as we’ve finished all the ones we had. We’ve decided to send some of our souvenir leaflets and books home by post when we get to Auckland – we’ve collected quite a lot on the way as you can imagine! The Post Office does a range of boxes that will take as much as we can stuff into them up to 20kg. It will mean that we won’t be carting around a load of heavy paperwork – and we might even be able to get everything else into our two original suitcases!!
We’ve eaten in the motel tonight, using up all the remnants of food before we move on tomorrow. Tom had a salad and I had an omelette. It’s now time for bed so, as usual, we wish you all goodnight.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday 17th February
Another day, another motel move – we’re definitely getting quite good at this. We weren’t going to book in at the new motel until later in the day as we wanted to get back to Napier quite early. Because of this, we didn’t have time to stop at the Settlers’ Museum in Waipawa, which I was disappointed about, but we can’t do everything and Art Deco celebrations take precedence.
On the drive to Napier, there were thousands of small white butterflies around. We think it must have been hatching day for them as they certainly weren’t around yesterday. Loads got squashed on the windscreen, but, as they don’t live very long anyway, I doubt if the numbers would have made much difference
Also on the way in, we saw the best examples we’ve seen so far of the Maori description of NZ – Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. They’re long horizontal flat bottomed clouds and stretch for miles. We certainly don’t get the same formation of clouds in UK – very pretty.
We’d found a good car park yesterday (free on Saturdays) within walking distance of the festivities, and although it had said that it was closed on Sundays, we thought it was worth a try and bingo! it was open (and free again) and we got one of the last few slots. The sky was clear blue and it was already hot, so we slapped on the high factor sun cream and hats and off we went. They were running soap box derbies down the main street (Emerson),
so we watched a few then we moved on to look at even more old cars – I would never have guessed that there were so many here. There were 324 in the parade yesterday (which we missed) and I think they were all there again today – we just kept seeing more and more, all along the Marine Parade, down on the edges of the beach and driving around too.
There was even one that had survived the earthquake They were all gleaming and looking showroom fresh. I don’t think we photographed them all (!!) but so many were attractive that we did quite a lot.
Some of their number plates were great too. Even more people seemed to be dressed up today too and there were some fantastic outfits.
At 12.00, the Veronica Bell Parade began.
This is a ceremony to remember the earthquake of 1931, and to give thanks to the crew of the Veronica. She was a Royal NZ Navy ship berthed in Napier harbour at the time of the earthquake and was able to send news out via Morse code and requests for help. The crew supported the locals by ransacking the town to find usable stores and supplies, gave first aid where they could and helped them set up temporary accommodation. When she was decommissioned in 1937, the ship’s bell was gifted to the town and is rung every year to remember the tragedy but also to commemorate the rebuilding.
A recording of the Morse message was played, the band of the Royal NZ Navy played, and a squad of Sea Cadets fired a volley of shots. There was a flyover,
the Dean of the cathedral read prayers, a senior naval officer gave a short speech, the mayor rang the Veronica bell, the band played the Navy hymn, a bugler sounded the Last Post and we had a short silence. It was all very moving.
At 2.00pm, there was a 15min flying display – we’re not sure who it was by, as the programme listed 3 different units and only one actually did the display!
While it was going on, there was the Great Gatsby picnic carrying on along the seafront. People had been erecting gazebos and picnic tables since 6.00am, and there were loads of them! The effort that many of them had made was amazing.
Their areas had been decorated with wind-up gramophones, art deco tea trolleys, even a Clarence Cliff full tea service on one, tiered cake stands and all the paraphernalia of the ‘30’s. Elegant ladies and gents were parading around being photographed by everyone (us included),
there were people on stilts, a penny-farthing bicycle, several old prams and all sorts of things too numerous to mention. A jazz band played on the main stage and a barbershop group were performing around the place. It was an exceptional day which we have both enjoyed immensely – a high spot of our tour.
We left before watching the Veronica bell being marched to the cathedral as we were hot and tired and had to check into our next motel in Clive, 10km from Napier. It’s another very good motel, our unit is less than 2yr old with a king size bed and a spa bath – which Tom has already sampled! Having unpacked, we needed somewhere to have dinner. There is a restaurant which is part of the motel and hotel complex, but we had a quick look at the prices and the decision NOT to eat there was a very easy one! The fish and chip shop, which we’d been told was just around the corner, was closed, and there was nothing else in sight so we drove 8km into Hastings. We had a walk through the town, which was also damaged in the earthquake. It was rebuilt partly in Art Deco, but also in Spanish Mission style which is very hacienda-like. It hasn’t got the “oomph” or Wow factor of Napier, but is very tidy and clean, like all of the places we’ve visited. It was very quiet as it was Sunday evening but there was a choice of eating places and we had a satisfactory meal.
Tom is just sorting out today’s photos as I write this and I still have to unpack. We’re here for 2 nights so we hope the king size bed is as comfortable as it looks.
Night, night to you all.
On the drive to Napier, there were thousands of small white butterflies around. We think it must have been hatching day for them as they certainly weren’t around yesterday. Loads got squashed on the windscreen, but, as they don’t live very long anyway, I doubt if the numbers would have made much difference
Also on the way in, we saw the best examples we’ve seen so far of the Maori description of NZ – Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. They’re long horizontal flat bottomed clouds and stretch for miles. We certainly don’t get the same formation of clouds in UK – very pretty.
We’d found a good car park yesterday (free on Saturdays) within walking distance of the festivities, and although it had said that it was closed on Sundays, we thought it was worth a try and bingo! it was open (and free again) and we got one of the last few slots. The sky was clear blue and it was already hot, so we slapped on the high factor sun cream and hats and off we went. They were running soap box derbies down the main street (Emerson),
so we watched a few then we moved on to look at even more old cars – I would never have guessed that there were so many here. There were 324 in the parade yesterday (which we missed) and I think they were all there again today – we just kept seeing more and more, all along the Marine Parade, down on the edges of the beach and driving around too. There was even one that had survived the earthquake They were all gleaming and looking showroom fresh. I don’t think we photographed them all (!!) but so many were attractive that we did quite a lot. Some of their number plates were great too. Even more people seemed to be dressed up today too and there were some fantastic outfits.At 12.00, the Veronica Bell Parade began.
This is a ceremony to remember the earthquake of 1931, and to give thanks to the crew of the Veronica. She was a Royal NZ Navy ship berthed in Napier harbour at the time of the earthquake and was able to send news out via Morse code and requests for help. The crew supported the locals by ransacking the town to find usable stores and supplies, gave first aid where they could and helped them set up temporary accommodation. When she was decommissioned in 1937, the ship’s bell was gifted to the town and is rung every year to remember the tragedy but also to commemorate the rebuilding. A recording of the Morse message was played, the band of the Royal NZ Navy played, and a squad of Sea Cadets fired a volley of shots. There was a flyover, the Dean of the cathedral read prayers, a senior naval officer gave a short speech, the mayor rang the Veronica bell, the band played the Navy hymn, a bugler sounded the Last Post and we had a short silence. It was all very moving.At 2.00pm, there was a 15min flying display – we’re not sure who it was by, as the programme listed 3 different units and only one actually did the display!
While it was going on, there was the Great Gatsby picnic carrying on along the seafront. People had been erecting gazebos and picnic tables since 6.00am, and there were loads of them! The effort that many of them had made was amazing. Their areas had been decorated with wind-up gramophones, art deco tea trolleys, even a Clarence Cliff full tea service on one, tiered cake stands and all the paraphernalia of the ‘30’s. Elegant ladies and gents were parading around being photographed by everyone (us included), there were people on stilts, a penny-farthing bicycle, several old prams and all sorts of things too numerous to mention. A jazz band played on the main stage and a barbershop group were performing around the place. It was an exceptional day which we have both enjoyed immensely – a high spot of our tour.We left before watching the Veronica bell being marched to the cathedral as we were hot and tired and had to check into our next motel in Clive, 10km from Napier. It’s another very good motel, our unit is less than 2yr old with a king size bed and a spa bath – which Tom has already sampled! Having unpacked, we needed somewhere to have dinner. There is a restaurant which is part of the motel and hotel complex, but we had a quick look at the prices and the decision NOT to eat there was a very easy one! The fish and chip shop, which we’d been told was just around the corner, was closed, and there was nothing else in sight so we drove 8km into Hastings. We had a walk through the town, which was also damaged in the earthquake. It was rebuilt partly in Art Deco, but also in Spanish Mission style which is very hacienda-like. It hasn’t got the “oomph” or Wow factor of Napier, but is very tidy and clean, like all of the places we’ve visited. It was very quiet as it was Sunday evening but there was a choice of eating places and we had a satisfactory meal.
Tom is just sorting out today’s photos as I write this and I still have to unpack. We’re here for 2 nights so we hope the king size bed is as comfortable as it looks.
Night, night to you all.
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