It’s Sunday, it’s hot and sunny and it’s Sarah’s birthday - hurrah! We’ve just been down to the beach to watch the Auckland marathon runners sprint/jog/struggle past while we sat back enjoying a relaxing coffee and breakfast in the morning sunshine. A very pleasant stroll along the sandy bays and a dip of the feet into the sea later and it was obviously ice cream time.
We are now back at Andy and Sarah’s place and I am finishing off the packing of my gear, ready for the off in an hour or two. I am planning to head north to Waipu (pronounced “why pooh”) Cove or Uretiti Beach. Both have campsites, with the Uretiti Beach campsite being a Department of Conservation (DOC) site. I suspect I will be staying at quite a few DOC sites, they are basic but usually only cost NZ$6 (about 2 pounds 30) per night and they are all in conservation areas. I haven’t decided where to stay tonight yet, I’ll just see what the campsites look like.
In the next couple of weeks I’ll head up the east coast to Cape Reinga, the most northerly point in NZ and then come back down the west coast to Auckland. By that time, both Andy and Sarah’s sisters will be in town, so I’ll stop by to say hi before heading away to the Coromandel peninsula.
So there we are, a very rough plan for the next three weeks or so. I’ll be updating the blog whenever I can and posting photo’s if possible. If I can’t get photo’s on, you’ll have to wait until I get back to Auckland before you can see the sights . . . . . So take care everyone, and I’ll be in touch again soon.
October 31, 2004
October 30, 2004
October 29, 2004
Biking
Hurrah! Have transport, will travel. I'll post a photo of the steed later today, but suffice to say that my two wheeled companion is in Sarah and Andy's garage and I will be heading off to the Northland tomorrow. Not much to tell of the last few days, mostly it's been spent getting my transport sorted out. But now I can look forward to a couple of weeks mooching around the most northerly area of NZ before coming back through Auckland and heading south.
I've got my technical camping equipment, a book of NZ campsites, a book of Lord of the Rings locations (!) and a mode of transport - what more could I need?!
Oh yes, I've got a NZ mobile phone as well, so if anyone receives very odd random text messages at wierd times, it might be me holed up in a bar somewhere . . .
I've got my technical camping equipment, a book of NZ campsites, a book of Lord of the Rings locations (!) and a mode of transport - what more could I need?!
Oh yes, I've got a NZ mobile phone as well, so if anyone receives very odd random text messages at wierd times, it might be me holed up in a bar somewhere . . .
October 26, 2004
Perfect woman?
I forgot to mention that I missed the Wanaka "perfect woman" competition, which was held last weekend. To give you a flavour of how it worked, two of the categories were:
1. Opening a beer bottle without the use of a bottle opener.
2. Guy bucking - rodeo riding an untamed guy from the local rugby club.
Not quite Miss World . . . .
1. Opening a beer bottle without the use of a bottle opener.
2. Guy bucking - rodeo riding an untamed guy from the local rugby club.
Not quite Miss World . . . .
October 25, 2004
Up North (part one)
Thanks for the comments posted, I think. Not sure about the Holmes and Watson thing though. Is it masquerading as some sort of joke?
Back in Auckland after a weekend in the Northland. Sarah, Andy and myself set off on saturday morning, with camping gear and no particular plan except to head north. On the way we discovered delights such as a place called the "art of cheese". It turned out not to be a commune of the southern hemisphere's premier cheese sculptors, but just a cheese making facility and shop. I am sure you will understand my great dissapointment.
However, we continued northward, via the surf beach at Mangawhai heads, to Paihia on the Bay of Islands. The bay is a popular tourist spot in the height of summer, but wasn't too busy this early in the spring - after all, it's the equivalent of April in the UK.
Saturday night was the NZ rugby version of the FA cup, so the pubs were packed with slightly drunk but entertaining and friendly kiwi's, who suddenly became even more friendly when they found out I was a Scotland rugby supporter!
Sunday kicked off with a visit to the Treaty House and grounds at Waitangi, the place where the treaty between the UK and the Maori was signed and modern New Zealand began. An interesting place with a small one bedrooom house which belonged to the official British representative to NZ. Hardly impressively palacial.
So from there, a walk through the bush, across the mangrove swamps and past the waterfalls led us, rather conveniently, to another pub!
The Bay is a lovely spot, with clear water and sandy beaches. A ferry took us across to the quiet and colonial town of Russell, where relaxation is very much the order of the day. But if you want, you can sail up the coast to dive on the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior (the Greenpeace ship sunk by the French secret service) or head off down the coast in enormously powerful 50 person speedboats. For us, it was kicking back and enjoying the sunshine though.
Back in Auckland after a weekend in the Northland. Sarah, Andy and myself set off on saturday morning, with camping gear and no particular plan except to head north. On the way we discovered delights such as a place called the "art of cheese". It turned out not to be a commune of the southern hemisphere's premier cheese sculptors, but just a cheese making facility and shop. I am sure you will understand my great dissapointment.
However, we continued northward, via the surf beach at Mangawhai heads, to Paihia on the Bay of Islands. The bay is a popular tourist spot in the height of summer, but wasn't too busy this early in the spring - after all, it's the equivalent of April in the UK.
Saturday night was the NZ rugby version of the FA cup, so the pubs were packed with slightly drunk but entertaining and friendly kiwi's, who suddenly became even more friendly when they found out I was a Scotland rugby supporter!
Sunday kicked off with a visit to the Treaty House and grounds at Waitangi, the place where the treaty between the UK and the Maori was signed and modern New Zealand began. An interesting place with a small one bedrooom house which belonged to the official British representative to NZ. Hardly impressively palacial.
So from there, a walk through the bush, across the mangrove swamps and past the waterfalls led us, rather conveniently, to another pub!
The Bay is a lovely spot, with clear water and sandy beaches. A ferry took us across to the quiet and colonial town of Russell, where relaxation is very much the order of the day. But if you want, you can sail up the coast to dive on the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior (the Greenpeace ship sunk by the French secret service) or head off down the coast in enormously powerful 50 person speedboats. For us, it was kicking back and enjoying the sunshine though.
October 22, 2004
Getting camp
Today will be day four - so what happened to day three? Well, the last couple of days have been spent ambling around Auckland, checking out the outdoors shops (of which there are loads) and completing my camping kit. So I now have rather nice technical tent and an equally lovely technical sleeping bag! Of course, I had to visit every outdoors shop I could find before finally buying anything. So now all I need to sort out is some transport and I can be off and away, leaving Sarah and Andy in peace.
Off camping for the bank holiday weekend very shortly, so there will be more photo's and chat in a couple of days . . . .
Off camping for the bank holiday weekend very shortly, so there will be more photo's and chat in a couple of days . . . .
October 21, 2004
October 20, 2004
Here at last
It’s my second full day in Auckland, just had a cup of coffee and have almost come to terms with being awake again.
The trip over was long and bereft of sleep. Heathrow was a manic as ever, just full of bustle and a bit shabby. By contrast, Kuala Lumpur airport was clean, modern and almost empty. It’s also surrounded by fields of palm trees, stretching as far as I could see. Quite what I would have seen if I’d been on the other side of the plane I don’t know, because I presume that a large city called Kuala Lumpur can’t be too far away! I’d forgotten how large Jumbo jets are as well. It’s astounding that the things ever get airborne.
So anyway, it was lovely to arrive in the Auckland springtime. Having been in surroundings of bare trees and leaf carpeted ground only a short time before, I was now looking out of the airport bus window onto lush green hillsides and trees in the first flush of spring. The sun was shining and a big smile was on my chops.
I arrived at Sarah and Andy’s house with no mishaps – Sarah’s instructions for bus travel out from the centre of Auckland proved to be fool proof enough for even a very tired half wit. It was lovely to see Sarah and Andy again, both looking chipper and very well. I thought it a fine idea to go out to a local bar for a couple of cheeky beers . . . .
St. Heliers, where S & A live is a top place. It’s almost a self contained village, but a suburb of Auckland. The “village” runs down the hill towards a bay full of clean turquoise water with a small sandy beach. Looking out over the water, the local volcano rises out of the sea, covered in trees and looking all rather tropical. The volcano has been dormant for 800 years, so I don’t feel too threatened by its presence! When I’ve got sorted out, I’ll post photos.
Central Auckland is only 3 bays away and yesterday morning I had a nice walk into the city. It’s about 10km’s and so the walk filled a fair chunk of the morning, but it was fabulous to realise that I had nothing to rush around for and could afford to take time walking rather than having to catch a bus. The sun shone on the sea (and me) as I strolled along with joggers and cyclists dashing past me. All very dreadful. So, taking it easy seems to be the thing to do and I plan to make sure I do more of it!
Anyway, the coming weekend is a bank holiday type thing, so I will be heading north with S & A for a bit of camping. We’re not sure of a destination yet, but apparently it’s all gorgeous, so it doesn’t really matter! I’ll let you know . . . . . .
The trip over was long and bereft of sleep. Heathrow was a manic as ever, just full of bustle and a bit shabby. By contrast, Kuala Lumpur airport was clean, modern and almost empty. It’s also surrounded by fields of palm trees, stretching as far as I could see. Quite what I would have seen if I’d been on the other side of the plane I don’t know, because I presume that a large city called Kuala Lumpur can’t be too far away! I’d forgotten how large Jumbo jets are as well. It’s astounding that the things ever get airborne.
So anyway, it was lovely to arrive in the Auckland springtime. Having been in surroundings of bare trees and leaf carpeted ground only a short time before, I was now looking out of the airport bus window onto lush green hillsides and trees in the first flush of spring. The sun was shining and a big smile was on my chops.
I arrived at Sarah and Andy’s house with no mishaps – Sarah’s instructions for bus travel out from the centre of Auckland proved to be fool proof enough for even a very tired half wit. It was lovely to see Sarah and Andy again, both looking chipper and very well. I thought it a fine idea to go out to a local bar for a couple of cheeky beers . . . .
St. Heliers, where S & A live is a top place. It’s almost a self contained village, but a suburb of Auckland. The “village” runs down the hill towards a bay full of clean turquoise water with a small sandy beach. Looking out over the water, the local volcano rises out of the sea, covered in trees and looking all rather tropical. The volcano has been dormant for 800 years, so I don’t feel too threatened by its presence! When I’ve got sorted out, I’ll post photos.
Central Auckland is only 3 bays away and yesterday morning I had a nice walk into the city. It’s about 10km’s and so the walk filled a fair chunk of the morning, but it was fabulous to realise that I had nothing to rush around for and could afford to take time walking rather than having to catch a bus. The sun shone on the sea (and me) as I strolled along with joggers and cyclists dashing past me. All very dreadful. So, taking it easy seems to be the thing to do and I plan to make sure I do more of it!
Anyway, the coming weekend is a bank holiday type thing, so I will be heading north with S & A for a bit of camping. We’re not sure of a destination yet, but apparently it’s all gorgeous, so it doesn’t really matter! I’ll let you know . . . . . .
October 17, 2004
Time to go . . .
So here I am, the Heathrow bus leaves from Cambridge in about 2 hours, the flight leaves at 10 this evening and so I'll be in Auckland on Tuesday just before lunch. My rucksack is finally packed (with lots of miniaturised fold up technical gear) and will be my constant companion/nemesis for the next six months. I've just sent out a few emails asking everyone to visit this website, so hopefully there'll be a few comments posted or emails in my inbox by the time I get to hobbit land. By the time I get there I should have recovered from the alchohol abuse of the last couple of weeks, just in time to start all over again.
So take care, enjoy the winter - I'm of to the land of springtime . . . .
So take care, enjoy the winter - I'm of to the land of springtime . . . .
October 01, 2004
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