Auckland - 17 & 18 Feb 2009
The flight to Auckland was fairly pleasant... I only slept 1.5H but it's because I wanted to watch a few movies (I *loved* "The Bucket List" with Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman) and also because I wasn't really tired yet. We got to Auckland 30 mins early but the queues for passport control were endless so we soon wasted that time standing still. We got our hire car and managed to find our way to our b&b in about an hour -- not bad going really. Janet has got this amazing sense of direction, which is a blessing considering that roads here are SO badly sign posted that half of the time you are not really sure where you are (their free maps aren't that detailed). AND they never give you any indication of distances here... which is sooo annoying.
We really enjoyed the Panaroma Heights, our first b&b, the view was stupendous and it was a glorious sunny day when we checked in so we could see for miles . In fact, the sun was almost too bright for my taste, without sun glasses it was really hard to be comfortable (well, they do have a hole in the ozone layer). Our hosts were very gracious and the lounge and kitchen were seriously spacious. They had a similar, even bigger house for their own use almost next to the one they used for guests, and had another batch at the beach ('batch' as in 'batchelor pad') with 'just two bedrooms'. I mean, the lifestyle here is just something else, it has to be said. My parents could have never afforded what they had in a million years, not even once, let alone 3 times over...
They advised us to keep awake so that we'd have a proper night come bed night, so we headed to Bethells Beach, about 10 minutes away, where they filmed The Piano. It was quite quaint.. a few pretty birds, lots of mist rising from the sand, making it very atmospheric. But almost TOO hot... if you forgot to apply the sun block, you soon remembered as your skin would burn so quickly.
We managed to keep awake till 9pm and then we just had to hit the sack. I passed out the moment my head hit the pillow really. We both woke up a couple of times throughout the night, briefly, but soon went back to sleep. We woke up at 8am (they stop serving breakfast at 9am here, a bit of a flaw in the plan as I'd say that 10am would be better really if you're on holiday to relax and enjoy a lie in!). We still could have slept on & on I think....
I hooked up with my friend Robyn (whom I've known for 15 years or so as she used to live in the UK) and with her husband Paul, who is a semi professional photographer and they took us to the gannet colony. We couldn't have asked for a better, brighter day. It was really beautiful (minus the slight smell of gannet muck that lingered in the air) but I never got to take the kind of photo that Paul had managed to take over the years. His shot are so perfectly clear, you can see every feather on each bird, and mine just don't come near that kind of standard. I felt like such a novice. And his zoom lens is only 300mm too.
They took us to a vineyard for lunch with superb cuisine. They do have really nice gourmet dishes on offer here, it has to be said, but not much choice for vegetarians, as expected in 'sheep country'. On the way back we stopped at a lovely little shop called Smashing Gifts (www.smashinggifts.co.nz) in Kemeu. Highly recommended for 'value for money'.
Janet & I then had about 2.5 hours to spare until we hooked up with some other friends of mine (a kiwi couple I'd met in Peru) and so we went off to Piha Beach, about 30 mins away, but felt it wasn't really worth the effort. More of the same... I guess that after Palau very few beaches will blow me away...
I hadn't seen Gloria & Garry for 5 years so it was quite nice to hook up with them again. We went to a restaurant in Henderson and as they are intrepid travellers too, on a budget though, they had plenty of tales of woe about their last trip to China. But they mentioned zip lining off the Great Wall as an unforgettable option, and one I had not even heard of so I'll need to contact my travel agent and see if that can be arranged when I'm there over Easter. Sounded wild & fun !
We got back to our b&b by 8pm and they gave us a few tips about what to do when we venture out to the Bay of Islands as they have been there many times... but it would be a case of 'weather permitting'.
When Janet & I set off for the Bay of Islands at 10am, after another scrumptious breakfast from our host, it was really sunny but the weather got worse as the day went by. We still managed to enjoy a few walks and the Waigheri Waterfalls, but from that point upwards, it started to really drizzle and really look like England...
I must add here that my memories of NZ (from my 1993 trip) were one of being remarkably similar to the UK landscape (namely Dorset, Lake District, Cornwall, plus some Scandivinian fjords) and it certainly looked JUST like that when the drizzle set in. In fact I made a point to take a few photos in foul weather for my friends back home who have dreamt of going to NZ just to cheer them up...
Arguably, they do have some beautiful palm trees and large fern trees that you do not find very often in the UK (though, again, I think you would in Cornwall and Devon, along the coast)... they also have plenty of colourful flowers even though it's the end of their summer. So, sometimes, you can drive through a valley and it looks like the Lost World and then you turn a corner and you're back in England... it's just bizarre. Some areas also remind me of Costa Rica, and I guess it's because NZ has got a sub-tropical climate. My main regret so far is not to have had the time to get out of the car to take photos of every vibrant flower that we've encountered by the road side as we were driving along.
We are now in Paiha and in the middle of a tropical storm, hence this update. Our b&b is gorgeous and overlooks the bay but they all only seem to offer wireless internet access which makes it difficult for me to update my blog and send emails. During the day, when it's warm and sunny we want to make the most of it, and when it's dark, most shops here are already closed... so my updates will not be as frequent as I'd hoped. Besides, I'm still jet lagged so I need to be in bed by 10pm latest.
On this note, I'd better sign off and see what the weather's doing. We were hoping to go to Russell today (a lovely colonnial town with lots of history) but the sea is a bit too choppy to get on the ferry. You can't even swim with dolphins today... so disappointing.
I hope that you're having better weather in Europe... :)
The flight to Auckland was fairly pleasant... I only slept 1.5H but it's because I wanted to watch a few movies (I *loved* "The Bucket List" with Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman) and also because I wasn't really tired yet. We got to Auckland 30 mins early but the queues for passport control were endless so we soon wasted that time standing still. We got our hire car and managed to find our way to our b&b in about an hour -- not bad going really. Janet has got this amazing sense of direction, which is a blessing considering that roads here are SO badly sign posted that half of the time you are not really sure where you are (their free maps aren't that detailed). AND they never give you any indication of distances here... which is sooo annoying.
We really enjoyed the Panaroma Heights, our first b&b, the view was stupendous and it was a glorious sunny day when we checked in so we could see for miles . In fact, the sun was almost too bright for my taste, without sun glasses it was really hard to be comfortable (well, they do have a hole in the ozone layer). Our hosts were very gracious and the lounge and kitchen were seriously spacious. They had a similar, even bigger house for their own use almost next to the one they used for guests, and had another batch at the beach ('batch' as in 'batchelor pad') with 'just two bedrooms'. I mean, the lifestyle here is just something else, it has to be said. My parents could have never afforded what they had in a million years, not even once, let alone 3 times over...
They advised us to keep awake so that we'd have a proper night come bed night, so we headed to Bethells Beach, about 10 minutes away, where they filmed The Piano. It was quite quaint.. a few pretty birds, lots of mist rising from the sand, making it very atmospheric. But almost TOO hot... if you forgot to apply the sun block, you soon remembered as your skin would burn so quickly.
We managed to keep awake till 9pm and then we just had to hit the sack. I passed out the moment my head hit the pillow really. We both woke up a couple of times throughout the night, briefly, but soon went back to sleep. We woke up at 8am (they stop serving breakfast at 9am here, a bit of a flaw in the plan as I'd say that 10am would be better really if you're on holiday to relax and enjoy a lie in!). We still could have slept on & on I think....
I hooked up with my friend Robyn (whom I've known for 15 years or so as she used to live in the UK) and with her husband Paul, who is a semi professional photographer and they took us to the gannet colony. We couldn't have asked for a better, brighter day. It was really beautiful (minus the slight smell of gannet muck that lingered in the air) but I never got to take the kind of photo that Paul had managed to take over the years. His shot are so perfectly clear, you can see every feather on each bird, and mine just don't come near that kind of standard. I felt like such a novice. And his zoom lens is only 300mm too.
They took us to a vineyard for lunch with superb cuisine. They do have really nice gourmet dishes on offer here, it has to be said, but not much choice for vegetarians, as expected in 'sheep country'. On the way back we stopped at a lovely little shop called Smashing Gifts (www.smashinggifts.co.nz) in Kemeu. Highly recommended for 'value for money'.
Janet & I then had about 2.5 hours to spare until we hooked up with some other friends of mine (a kiwi couple I'd met in Peru) and so we went off to Piha Beach, about 30 mins away, but felt it wasn't really worth the effort. More of the same... I guess that after Palau very few beaches will blow me away...
I hadn't seen Gloria & Garry for 5 years so it was quite nice to hook up with them again. We went to a restaurant in Henderson and as they are intrepid travellers too, on a budget though, they had plenty of tales of woe about their last trip to China. But they mentioned zip lining off the Great Wall as an unforgettable option, and one I had not even heard of so I'll need to contact my travel agent and see if that can be arranged when I'm there over Easter. Sounded wild & fun !
We got back to our b&b by 8pm and they gave us a few tips about what to do when we venture out to the Bay of Islands as they have been there many times... but it would be a case of 'weather permitting'.
When Janet & I set off for the Bay of Islands at 10am, after another scrumptious breakfast from our host, it was really sunny but the weather got worse as the day went by. We still managed to enjoy a few walks and the Waigheri Waterfalls, but from that point upwards, it started to really drizzle and really look like England...
I must add here that my memories of NZ (from my 1993 trip) were one of being remarkably similar to the UK landscape (namely Dorset, Lake District, Cornwall, plus some Scandivinian fjords) and it certainly looked JUST like that when the drizzle set in. In fact I made a point to take a few photos in foul weather for my friends back home who have dreamt of going to NZ just to cheer them up...
Arguably, they do have some beautiful palm trees and large fern trees that you do not find very often in the UK (though, again, I think you would in Cornwall and Devon, along the coast)... they also have plenty of colourful flowers even though it's the end of their summer. So, sometimes, you can drive through a valley and it looks like the Lost World and then you turn a corner and you're back in England... it's just bizarre. Some areas also remind me of Costa Rica, and I guess it's because NZ has got a sub-tropical climate. My main regret so far is not to have had the time to get out of the car to take photos of every vibrant flower that we've encountered by the road side as we were driving along.
We are now in Paiha and in the middle of a tropical storm, hence this update. Our b&b is gorgeous and overlooks the bay but they all only seem to offer wireless internet access which makes it difficult for me to update my blog and send emails. During the day, when it's warm and sunny we want to make the most of it, and when it's dark, most shops here are already closed... so my updates will not be as frequent as I'd hoped. Besides, I'm still jet lagged so I need to be in bed by 10pm latest.
On this note, I'd better sign off and see what the weather's doing. We were hoping to go to Russell today (a lovely colonnial town with lots of history) but the sea is a bit too choppy to get on the ferry. You can't even swim with dolphins today... so disappointing.
I hope that you're having better weather in Europe... :)
posted by Sylvie at 9:26 PM
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