It's our last day in NZ, so I'll update the daily list tonight from home. I just wanted to say a big Thanks to all the funky dudes we've met, stayed with, visited and hung around with - you all rock. I'm lifting a metaphorical L&P in your direction.
Love to all, Helen
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Cocktail happy
Merry Chirstmas, everyone! I am full of Christmas cheer and Malibu!
We've been spending the last few days in Napier with Mike's family, and it's been lovely. It's nice to meet people you've only seen in pictures, and to hang out with people you've only met once or twice.
Day 11 cont.
We spent the day hanging out in Napier. We went into town, finished our shopping, visited several yarn shops (yay!), saw Anne & Graham and their loverly new house, (I was very jealous) and generally being the cool dudes that we are. We ended out the day by visiting James (one of M's geek buddies) and Ana and their menagerie. Good times. Mike went a little happy at James's model train layout, and his little-boy-excited-grin was definitely in appearance.
I only went a little crazy at the local yarn shop (JJs), and the big find for the day was a 1.3 kg of red mohair 10 ply, only $10. Now I just have to get it home...
Day 12: Wednesday in Wanganui
We drove with Joy & Vic to visit Mike's niece, Brylee. The drive was about 3 hours in the rain, and I made best use of my time by knitting and napping. Wanganui was... um... wet and cold, full of people shopping and being bothersome. We picked Brylee up from her mum's house and wentr to a local ewatery/gelato bar. Lunch was lovely, then we headed off to the local museum and checked out their collection of Maori portraits and carvings and boats - pretty cool. Brylee was a little sweetie, I'm glad we got to hang out for a bit.
The drive home was pretty uneventful, apart from the Train Chasing and stopping at the smelliest antique shop I've ever been to - it really needed some fresh air, so I went and indulged at the Cheesecake Cafe instead :)
Dinner was Wisconsin burgers, and I went to my happy burger place. I managed to get hold of all of my wollongong relatives having the annual Eat Until You Can't Move festival, and they all seemed to be having a fab time.
Day 13: Christmas Extravaganza
Today has been just lovely. Mike's relatives had a big lunch at Joy's house, and it was great to meet/meet up with everyone. There was much eating, drinking (yay!) and being merry. I had a little nanna nap this afternoon, and have just been hanging out for the rest of the day. I have ham and potato salad waiting for me in the kitchen...
We've been spending the last few days in Napier with Mike's family, and it's been lovely. It's nice to meet people you've only seen in pictures, and to hang out with people you've only met once or twice.
Day 11 cont.
We spent the day hanging out in Napier. We went into town, finished our shopping, visited several yarn shops (yay!), saw Anne & Graham and their loverly new house, (I was very jealous) and generally being the cool dudes that we are. We ended out the day by visiting James (one of M's geek buddies) and Ana and their menagerie. Good times. Mike went a little happy at James's model train layout, and his little-boy-excited-grin was definitely in appearance.
I only went a little crazy at the local yarn shop (JJs), and the big find for the day was a 1.3 kg of red mohair 10 ply, only $10. Now I just have to get it home...
Day 12: Wednesday in Wanganui
We drove with Joy & Vic to visit Mike's niece, Brylee. The drive was about 3 hours in the rain, and I made best use of my time by knitting and napping. Wanganui was... um... wet and cold, full of people shopping and being bothersome. We picked Brylee up from her mum's house and wentr to a local ewatery/gelato bar. Lunch was lovely, then we headed off to the local museum and checked out their collection of Maori portraits and carvings and boats - pretty cool. Brylee was a little sweetie, I'm glad we got to hang out for a bit.
The drive home was pretty uneventful, apart from the Train Chasing and stopping at the smelliest antique shop I've ever been to - it really needed some fresh air, so I went and indulged at the Cheesecake Cafe instead :)
Dinner was Wisconsin burgers, and I went to my happy burger place. I managed to get hold of all of my wollongong relatives having the annual Eat Until You Can't Move festival, and they all seemed to be having a fab time.
Day 13: Christmas Extravaganza
Today has been just lovely. Mike's relatives had a big lunch at Joy's house, and it was great to meet/meet up with everyone. There was much eating, drinking (yay!) and being merry. I had a little nanna nap this afternoon, and have just been hanging out for the rest of the day. I have ham and potato salad waiting for me in the kitchen...
Monday, 22 December 2008
Phew!
Good morning all. I'm sorry it's been so long - we've been at the mercy of small towns and their kiddie-protection internet filters!
Day 5 cont.
I finished checking out Paeroa and went to pick up Mike. He'd been on a geek extravaganza walk, so I had to drive out of town to pick him up. We went back to the L&P bottle, shot the obligatory photos. had the obligatory drink and left town.
Since it was still fairly early in the day, we decided to push on to Tauranga via Waihi. After about an hour or so, we found a motel just off the main drag in Tauranga, checked in and went for a wander.
We were hoping to find somewhere nice and quiet for dinner, but found that, like most places we've been visiting, the restaurant owners have gotten wise and are charching tourist proces for everything. Bummer. We did end up in a Belgian beer hall (surprise, surprise!) and had a lovely meal, some beer and saome cocktails, thereby adding tot he cocktail menu collection at home.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this... I get a serious reaction to some sun creams, they give me hivey blotchy skin. Not much fun. For the past few days I've been suffering from blotch face, and just wanting to scratch my skin off. Well, so the drama continues. I had VERY itchh face all night, and probably grossed out all the people walking by. Haha.
Day 6: Thursday
We started off by calling our respective Tauranga mates to cxatch up. Mike was meeting with his friend Dave, a train driver and fellow geek, and I was meeting up with Pixie, one of my Ravelry buddies. I made another chemist visit for some powerful anti-itch cream, then went to the Farmers for bargain shopping day! Hurrah!
Pixie and I met up at lunch time, and she took me and her two lads to some yarn shops - we had heaps of fun! Apparently Mike & Dave just spent this time at the pub. I picked up some bargain NZ Naturally yarn and some gorgeous hand-dyed 8ply that I can't wait to use. I got to check out Pixie's stash, and grabbed some funky buttons at the Emporium. This place looked like a $2 shop, but it was full of crafty funky stuff instead of crap.
We drove down to Te Puke and tried to go to the road windsurfing place - but it was shut fdor some corporate event. Corporate bastards. Mike didn''t get to have a turn, so he was a bit sad :( Fortunately, Kiwi 360 was still open, so we got some interesting shots of a big kiwifruit. Good, wholesome geeky fun.
The roadtrip to Whatatane was only slightly interrupted by Adventures in Geek Photography, i.e. Mike getting me to stop the car every few kilometres to take photos of his favourite things. Slightly dramatic, but kinda amusing too. It gets me yarn karma.
Accommodation in Whakatane was at the P&J motel, also the site of the White Island cruises. Dinner was in the local Irish pub, yummy.
Day 7: Friday - White Island Day
Another early start, grr. I had to use some sun cream on my already splotchy face - I figured that splotches would fade, but skin cnacer is the gift that just keeps on giving. Cooked breakfast, mmmmm.....
We wandered down to the pier and hopped on the boat with a group of about 6 other backpack-ish types and set off. The ride to the island took about 90 minutes, and in that time we had a chat to our compadres. It turns out that the couple from Germany had been our next-block neighbours while they lived in Sydney for 6 months! We passed on some pearls of traveling wisdom for the guys who were about to travel to the South Island. We passed through a pod of whales who had fun surfing our bow wave. There was even a few mummy and baby dolphins swimming along! Yuo could actually hear the dolphins singing to each other over the water, it was amazing.
White Island is, basically, an active volcano. We landed, and all I could think was "Yeah, great idea, good thinking 99!", thinking of the Active Volcano part! There are several hot sports and lots of sulphur smell (and some acid rain), but really it's pretty safe. We followed the guide around for a bit, saw the main craters, saw the ruins of the old mining settlement and generall checked things.
The acidic moisture on the island made my skin itch to buggery. We were wearing helmets nad gas masks, and they both itched like hell!
Back on the boat after about 2 hours, and the ride back to shore was lovely - except for the part where the gap between my hat and my shirt left a delightful 2 inch sunburn stripe on my neck :(
On the road again to Opotiki, where accommodation was a cool little motel outside town and dinner was from the choke & puke across the road.
Day 8: Saturday
We spent the morning checking out Opotiki - another small town. The info centre was supposed to have lots on local Maori culture, but the closest we saw was the guy with the Mongrel Mob insignia riding his bike.
We started the day with another chemist visit, and the uber strong skin drugs this time. Our plan was to road trip to Hicks Bay inone day. We took our time, stopped at lots of pretty places, got lots of photos, and had a generally lovely time. There were lots of marae buildings, lots of historical churches, lots of beautiful coves.
We checked into the Hicks Bay motel, where the staff were having their end of year party. Since dinner was limited, we figured we'd rough it and grab food in Te Araroa. The church at Tikitiki was on our list of things to see, and since the next day was a Sunday we travelled out and took some photos late on Saturday. (We didn't get to see Westminister Abbey becuase they had Sunday services or something!?!, so didn't want to get caught again). The church was very beautiful and serene. We roadtripped back to Te Araroa, grabbed some fush & chups and went back to the motel for dinner.
A few words about the motel. From the moment we drove in, it felt kinda weird. The Lonely Planet had said that the place took itself too seriously, and they were right. After dinner, Mike went down to the bar for a drink and everyone stopped talking when he got there. Then he was confronted with a "Who are YOU?" - from the gal who'd checked us in.
All I needed was a watermelon, and it could have been a scene from Dirty Dancing.
Day 9: Sunday
More motel dramas. One of the towels had mud on it, the other left me covered with blue fluff. The toilet was grotty. When we mentioned these things on check-out, the owner guy got REALLY aggressive and tried to tell us that no, it couldn't possibly have been like that, it was never like that, why didn't we come and ask for more towels if it was that bad? (I was nude, idiot!)
We drove down the hill to the local Manuka Oil refinery, where we learned that mister motel's name among the locals is the Troll On The Hill. The refinery was kinda cool - good coffee, good oils, good honey.
We drove out to the East Cape Lighthouse - about 20 km down a gravgel road followed by about a gazillion steps up to the point. Worth it, though - the scenery was fantastic! Then back down the gazillion steps, back to the car, back along the gravel road and to Te Araroa for lunch. We learned more appalling stories about Mr Troll - if you ever go to East Cape, don't stay at the place on the hill. It sucks.
The road down to Gisbourne was pretty uneventful. We stopped briefly in Ruatoria, which wed heard lots about - horses down the main street, don't forget tolock your car as crime is rife, etc. The place was quiet, we only saw other tourist cars.
At Tolaga Bay we walked the length of the historic wharf - it was indeed historic. And long. And raining.
We stopped in Gisbourne for the night, I re-slathered the anti-itch cream on my face, and we went out for dinner. We'd been planning on a posh night out, but, alas, all the nice restaurants seemed to be shut. We ended up in the local Irish pub where Mike's steak was: firstly, stone-cold gravy; then secondly, over-cooked steak. Thanks, microwave! The wine was very good, so we had to keep drinking.
Mike went on a late night adventure to find some yoghurt - we'de been carrying around some raspberris & strawberries since Whakatane and really needed to eat the rest up! - and I relaxed (this is, of course a euphemism for "Was rat-arsed drunk on red wine & bubbly, so fell asleep fully clothed on the bed until Mike came home and helped me get undressed" - but don't tell anyone!)
Day 10: Monday
After wandering about in Gisbourne for a while, checking out the local yarn shop, we road-tripped to Napier. We took our time, stopped for photos, had a dip in the hot springs and generall had a lovely day. We arrived at the Shaw's in the late afternoon, and chilled with Joy & Vic.
Day 11: Tuesday in Napier
I have my potatoes cooking, some shopping to do and about a gazillion messages to reply to, so love to all!
XOXO Helen.
Day 5 cont.
I finished checking out Paeroa and went to pick up Mike. He'd been on a geek extravaganza walk, so I had to drive out of town to pick him up. We went back to the L&P bottle, shot the obligatory photos. had the obligatory drink and left town.
Since it was still fairly early in the day, we decided to push on to Tauranga via Waihi. After about an hour or so, we found a motel just off the main drag in Tauranga, checked in and went for a wander.
We were hoping to find somewhere nice and quiet for dinner, but found that, like most places we've been visiting, the restaurant owners have gotten wise and are charching tourist proces for everything. Bummer. We did end up in a Belgian beer hall (surprise, surprise!) and had a lovely meal, some beer and saome cocktails, thereby adding tot he cocktail menu collection at home.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this... I get a serious reaction to some sun creams, they give me hivey blotchy skin. Not much fun. For the past few days I've been suffering from blotch face, and just wanting to scratch my skin off. Well, so the drama continues. I had VERY itchh face all night, and probably grossed out all the people walking by. Haha.
Day 6: Thursday
We started off by calling our respective Tauranga mates to cxatch up. Mike was meeting with his friend Dave, a train driver and fellow geek, and I was meeting up with Pixie, one of my Ravelry buddies. I made another chemist visit for some powerful anti-itch cream, then went to the Farmers for bargain shopping day! Hurrah!
Pixie and I met up at lunch time, and she took me and her two lads to some yarn shops - we had heaps of fun! Apparently Mike & Dave just spent this time at the pub. I picked up some bargain NZ Naturally yarn and some gorgeous hand-dyed 8ply that I can't wait to use. I got to check out Pixie's stash, and grabbed some funky buttons at the Emporium. This place looked like a $2 shop, but it was full of crafty funky stuff instead of crap.
We drove down to Te Puke and tried to go to the road windsurfing place - but it was shut fdor some corporate event. Corporate bastards. Mike didn''t get to have a turn, so he was a bit sad :( Fortunately, Kiwi 360 was still open, so we got some interesting shots of a big kiwifruit. Good, wholesome geeky fun.
The roadtrip to Whatatane was only slightly interrupted by Adventures in Geek Photography, i.e. Mike getting me to stop the car every few kilometres to take photos of his favourite things. Slightly dramatic, but kinda amusing too. It gets me yarn karma.
Accommodation in Whakatane was at the P&J motel, also the site of the White Island cruises. Dinner was in the local Irish pub, yummy.
Day 7: Friday - White Island Day
Another early start, grr. I had to use some sun cream on my already splotchy face - I figured that splotches would fade, but skin cnacer is the gift that just keeps on giving. Cooked breakfast, mmmmm.....
We wandered down to the pier and hopped on the boat with a group of about 6 other backpack-ish types and set off. The ride to the island took about 90 minutes, and in that time we had a chat to our compadres. It turns out that the couple from Germany had been our next-block neighbours while they lived in Sydney for 6 months! We passed on some pearls of traveling wisdom for the guys who were about to travel to the South Island. We passed through a pod of whales who had fun surfing our bow wave. There was even a few mummy and baby dolphins swimming along! Yuo could actually hear the dolphins singing to each other over the water, it was amazing.
White Island is, basically, an active volcano. We landed, and all I could think was "Yeah, great idea, good thinking 99!", thinking of the Active Volcano part! There are several hot sports and lots of sulphur smell (and some acid rain), but really it's pretty safe. We followed the guide around for a bit, saw the main craters, saw the ruins of the old mining settlement and generall checked things.
The acidic moisture on the island made my skin itch to buggery. We were wearing helmets nad gas masks, and they both itched like hell!
Back on the boat after about 2 hours, and the ride back to shore was lovely - except for the part where the gap between my hat and my shirt left a delightful 2 inch sunburn stripe on my neck :(
On the road again to Opotiki, where accommodation was a cool little motel outside town and dinner was from the choke & puke across the road.
Day 8: Saturday
We spent the morning checking out Opotiki - another small town. The info centre was supposed to have lots on local Maori culture, but the closest we saw was the guy with the Mongrel Mob insignia riding his bike.
We started the day with another chemist visit, and the uber strong skin drugs this time. Our plan was to road trip to Hicks Bay inone day. We took our time, stopped at lots of pretty places, got lots of photos, and had a generally lovely time. There were lots of marae buildings, lots of historical churches, lots of beautiful coves.
We checked into the Hicks Bay motel, where the staff were having their end of year party. Since dinner was limited, we figured we'd rough it and grab food in Te Araroa. The church at Tikitiki was on our list of things to see, and since the next day was a Sunday we travelled out and took some photos late on Saturday. (We didn't get to see Westminister Abbey becuase they had Sunday services or something!?!, so didn't want to get caught again). The church was very beautiful and serene. We roadtripped back to Te Araroa, grabbed some fush & chups and went back to the motel for dinner.
A few words about the motel. From the moment we drove in, it felt kinda weird. The Lonely Planet had said that the place took itself too seriously, and they were right. After dinner, Mike went down to the bar for a drink and everyone stopped talking when he got there. Then he was confronted with a "Who are YOU?" - from the gal who'd checked us in.
All I needed was a watermelon, and it could have been a scene from Dirty Dancing.
Day 9: Sunday
More motel dramas. One of the towels had mud on it, the other left me covered with blue fluff. The toilet was grotty. When we mentioned these things on check-out, the owner guy got REALLY aggressive and tried to tell us that no, it couldn't possibly have been like that, it was never like that, why didn't we come and ask for more towels if it was that bad? (I was nude, idiot!)
We drove down the hill to the local Manuka Oil refinery, where we learned that mister motel's name among the locals is the Troll On The Hill. The refinery was kinda cool - good coffee, good oils, good honey.
We drove out to the East Cape Lighthouse - about 20 km down a gravgel road followed by about a gazillion steps up to the point. Worth it, though - the scenery was fantastic! Then back down the gazillion steps, back to the car, back along the gravel road and to Te Araroa for lunch. We learned more appalling stories about Mr Troll - if you ever go to East Cape, don't stay at the place on the hill. It sucks.
The road down to Gisbourne was pretty uneventful. We stopped briefly in Ruatoria, which wed heard lots about - horses down the main street, don't forget tolock your car as crime is rife, etc. The place was quiet, we only saw other tourist cars.
At Tolaga Bay we walked the length of the historic wharf - it was indeed historic. And long. And raining.
We stopped in Gisbourne for the night, I re-slathered the anti-itch cream on my face, and we went out for dinner. We'd been planning on a posh night out, but, alas, all the nice restaurants seemed to be shut. We ended up in the local Irish pub where Mike's steak was: firstly, stone-cold gravy; then secondly, over-cooked steak. Thanks, microwave! The wine was very good, so we had to keep drinking.
Mike went on a late night adventure to find some yoghurt - we'de been carrying around some raspberris & strawberries since Whakatane and really needed to eat the rest up! - and I relaxed (this is, of course a euphemism for "Was rat-arsed drunk on red wine & bubbly, so fell asleep fully clothed on the bed until Mike came home and helped me get undressed" - but don't tell anyone!)
Day 10: Monday
After wandering about in Gisbourne for a while, checking out the local yarn shop, we road-tripped to Napier. We took our time, stopped for photos, had a dip in the hot springs and generall had a lovely day. We arrived at the Shaw's in the late afternoon, and chilled with Joy & Vic.
Day 11: Tuesday in Napier
I have my potatoes cooking, some shopping to do and about a gazillion messages to reply to, so love to all!
XOXO Helen.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Denied!
Sorry if you've commented - the library computer I'm using has filtered out my own blog! Apparently the word starting with "bug" and ending with "ger" will cause the babies to melt.
We're in Opotiki, we went to White Island this morning, is was cool. More later!
We're in Opotiki, we went to White Island this morning, is was cool. More later!
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Sweet As, Bro!
Welcome all to the further adventures of Travels With My Train Geek.
Day 5: Wednesday
We started VERY early this morning. for those of yuo that know me at all, you'll know that this involved herculean effort on my part, and no small amount of grumpiness. Damn mornings, who needs them?!?
We were out of our motel by 7am and on the road to Whitianga. At 8am we were on a glass-bottomed boat in the water. Harbour. Thingie.
The caves, cliffs & islands in Mercury Bay were gorgeous, gorgeous, I tell you! We sailed arbout for about 2 hours, nad Mike even jumped in the (very cold) water for a dip with the other tour men. Us clever womenfolk stayed on the boat and mocked their shivering!
We then drove south towards the Haihe hot water beaches. That is, you go to the beack, dig a hole, it fills up with hot thermal water, you jump in, go "my, my, hot warm!" and hop out again. On this occassion, though, we were sadly disappointed - no easy access to the hot sand, the weather was blustery and damp, so we ended up doing only a short trek across the sand and the saying, bugger it, let's go.
We drove to Tairua, Paunui and Whangamata (Fong-a-ma-TAH), then on to Waihi. Our original plan had been to put Mike on the Karanghake Gorge Railway tomorrow morning, but since we were already there/here, he's taking a ride this afternoon. I'm exploring Paeroa, and we'll come back fro a full lap this afternoon before pushing on to Tauranga tonight. Or something. We may be lost in the wilds, who can tell?
Helen's Wall of Lame
For this trip, we thought that instead of an injury count or track of clothing mishaps, the best measure of our trip could be the lameness of our varuous tour guides. If you've benn following any of our previous trips, you'll know that the sing-song hypnotism practiced by most tour guides is one of my pet peeves.
Lame Tour Guides so Far:
Driving Creek Railway. Lame jokes, but delivered in the same tone as his other prattle, so very hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Lamest Aussie joke, talking about how they are clearing pine & eucalypts and planting kauri to the property - they ring-bark a gum tree every time Australia win at the rugby. Haha, funny fucker.
Gold Stamp Battery. Dude, just because I come from Australia does not meant hat I know all the intricacies of Aussie gold mining. As if I care?!? If I knew anything about gold mining, would I be paying you to tell me about it?!? This guy was into the red zone on the lame-o-meter.
Love to Ken!
Day 5: Wednesday
We started VERY early this morning. for those of yuo that know me at all, you'll know that this involved herculean effort on my part, and no small amount of grumpiness. Damn mornings, who needs them?!?
We were out of our motel by 7am and on the road to Whitianga. At 8am we were on a glass-bottomed boat in the water. Harbour. Thingie.
The caves, cliffs & islands in Mercury Bay were gorgeous, gorgeous, I tell you! We sailed arbout for about 2 hours, nad Mike even jumped in the (very cold) water for a dip with the other tour men. Us clever womenfolk stayed on the boat and mocked their shivering!
We then drove south towards the Haihe hot water beaches. That is, you go to the beack, dig a hole, it fills up with hot thermal water, you jump in, go "my, my, hot warm!" and hop out again. On this occassion, though, we were sadly disappointed - no easy access to the hot sand, the weather was blustery and damp, so we ended up doing only a short trek across the sand and the saying, bugger it, let's go.
We drove to Tairua, Paunui and Whangamata (Fong-a-ma-TAH), then on to Waihi. Our original plan had been to put Mike on the Karanghake Gorge Railway tomorrow morning, but since we were already there/here, he's taking a ride this afternoon. I'm exploring Paeroa, and we'll come back fro a full lap this afternoon before pushing on to Tauranga tonight. Or something. We may be lost in the wilds, who can tell?
Helen's Wall of Lame
For this trip, we thought that instead of an injury count or track of clothing mishaps, the best measure of our trip could be the lameness of our varuous tour guides. If you've benn following any of our previous trips, you'll know that the sing-song hypnotism practiced by most tour guides is one of my pet peeves.
Lame Tour Guides so Far:
Driving Creek Railway. Lame jokes, but delivered in the same tone as his other prattle, so very hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Lamest Aussie joke, talking about how they are clearing pine & eucalypts and planting kauri to the property - they ring-bark a gum tree every time Australia win at the rugby. Haha, funny fucker.
Gold Stamp Battery. Dude, just because I come from Australia does not meant hat I know all the intricacies of Aussie gold mining. As if I care?!? If I knew anything about gold mining, would I be paying you to tell me about it?!? This guy was into the red zone on the lame-o-meter.
Love to Ken!
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Goodbye Coromandel
Hi all!
This is our final night in the Coromandel, but I've stocked up on $2 coins so I'm good to catch everyone up wioth our going on.
Day 2: Sunday
Mike, the wonderful, let me sleep in after my all-night knitting session, and this is only one reason why I love him so much! Breakfast was with Duncan, Bec, Al and offspring, who were pretty excited about their carols concert later in the day. They sang carols for us, and Mike had fun playing with thier Brio.
We farewelled the house of Macdonald, and drove to see Mike's old buddies Peter & Michelle. Thier little Ava is 17 months old, and what a cutie! We went for brunch & coffee to a local kid-friendly cafe, and they all had fun while I continued to knit like the wind. The main street had lots of sewing shopes, but I resisted the urge to go retail crazy!
After a while Ava needed a nap, so we went back to their house, and I finished the jersey, hurrah! It was so cute, and should still fit her next winter. (Everyone seemed to like it, I hope!)
Road Trip Time! Mike and I powered up the motorway to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, an old historic rail thingie. Alas, they weren't running their steam engine, (M was sad) but we met up with his buddy Geoff and went for a ride. Fun, fun, fun.
Afterwards we hopped back in the car and continued driving. The landscape here is so pretty, and the colours of the trees and mountains and ocean are the most vivid I think I've ever seen.
We drove to Coromander via Thames. The town here is a typical seafood/tourist town, a few pubs, lots of motels, lots of gift shops, the usual! We found our accommodation, a cute little cabin, made out\rselves comfy, and headed into town for dinner. The pub bistro had "run out of food" (!) so we ended up in the local italian restaurant for gumbo, seafood risotto (me) and Fisk o' the Day (Mike).
Day 3: Monday
Train Geek Excursion #2 - Driving Creek Railway. This mini railway was started by a local hippy/artist/potter who needed to be able to get the clay from his property for making pottery. 35 years later, it's a tourist spot. We climbed the hill, went "ooh" and "aah" at appropriate junctures, and generally had a fun time. Mike's little-boy-excited-grin was in evidence, so cute! The commentary was possibly the lamest comedy I've ever heard - more lame stories later.
Our next destination was the winding (and unsealed) 309 road. Starting just south of Coromandel town, it goes across the penninsula to the east side. We went to the Water World - lots of geeky water fountains, water-powered sculptures, water jets, water... you get the idea. More geeky fun. Further along the 309, we had to stop for some cute, CUTE little baby piggies following their mummy piggy across the road. As we watched, one of the boy piggies was trying to make more baby piggies with any of the girl piggies who would stand still for more than 10 seconds. Piggy backing! Most of the piggies were black, but there were a few spotted piggies too. We later found out that the farmer who lives there just, weel, loves pigs, and his farm is a no-hunting-no-dog farm, so the local wild piggies use it as a sanctuary when it's hunting season and hang out with the tame piggies.
Next along the road was a Kauri grove. Kauri are the mo-fo big NZ trees that were nearly felled to extinction in the early boat-making days of the colony. We wandered along the path that led to a group of about 8 massive, MASSIVE trees, about 15 metres in circumference each. There was also the Siamese kauri - two trees that have grown together. It was very quiet and calm in the grove.
We drove along the rest of the 309 road to the east of the penninsula and checked out the town of Whitianga (my slepping is probably really bad - sorry). Another basic costal tourist town. The road trip continued up and back to Coromandel.
We left the car at our motel and walked into town - only about 15 minutes down the hill. We were just trying to have a non-complicated dinner, and managed to grab some yummy fush & chups to eat at the local pub. After I had to help the bardude with our cocktail order, he ended up chatting to us for ages, and we had a nice evening. We started to walk back to our motel when the heavens opened, so we stopped intot he nearest shelter - another pub (Mum and Dad, I swear, I'm not an alcoholic! Honest!) We had a few while we waited for the rain to die down, and ended up only getting slightly damp as we trudged back up the hill.
Day 4: Tuesday
Today was North Coromandel day. We started out with a steak & cheese pie from the local bakery and drove north, through Coalville to the north of the penninsular. The coastline was exquisitely beautiful, and the colours again were really vivid. Navigating the unsealded road between Coalville and Port Charles, Stony Beach & Sandy Beach was kinda fun. (Joy, don't worry, we took really good care of your little car!) My early driving experiences, aka "Get out of the bloody armco, girl" came to my aid and we made it safe and sound back to town. The afternoon was spent at the Gold Stamp press thingie, where the not-very-good guide showed us how to avoid getting mercury poisioning. A life skill I'm sure will have many applications.
Tomorrow we'll be going on a glass-bottomed boat ride, can't wait!
Cheers, Helen
This is our final night in the Coromandel, but I've stocked up on $2 coins so I'm good to catch everyone up wioth our going on.
Day 2: Sunday
Mike, the wonderful, let me sleep in after my all-night knitting session, and this is only one reason why I love him so much! Breakfast was with Duncan, Bec, Al and offspring, who were pretty excited about their carols concert later in the day. They sang carols for us, and Mike had fun playing with thier Brio.
We farewelled the house of Macdonald, and drove to see Mike's old buddies Peter & Michelle. Thier little Ava is 17 months old, and what a cutie! We went for brunch & coffee to a local kid-friendly cafe, and they all had fun while I continued to knit like the wind. The main street had lots of sewing shopes, but I resisted the urge to go retail crazy!
After a while Ava needed a nap, so we went back to their house, and I finished the jersey, hurrah! It was so cute, and should still fit her next winter. (Everyone seemed to like it, I hope!)
Road Trip Time! Mike and I powered up the motorway to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, an old historic rail thingie. Alas, they weren't running their steam engine, (M was sad) but we met up with his buddy Geoff and went for a ride. Fun, fun, fun.
Afterwards we hopped back in the car and continued driving. The landscape here is so pretty, and the colours of the trees and mountains and ocean are the most vivid I think I've ever seen.
We drove to Coromander via Thames. The town here is a typical seafood/tourist town, a few pubs, lots of motels, lots of gift shops, the usual! We found our accommodation, a cute little cabin, made out\rselves comfy, and headed into town for dinner. The pub bistro had "run out of food" (!) so we ended up in the local italian restaurant for gumbo, seafood risotto (me) and Fisk o' the Day (Mike).
Day 3: Monday
Train Geek Excursion #2 - Driving Creek Railway. This mini railway was started by a local hippy/artist/potter who needed to be able to get the clay from his property for making pottery. 35 years later, it's a tourist spot. We climbed the hill, went "ooh" and "aah" at appropriate junctures, and generally had a fun time. Mike's little-boy-excited-grin was in evidence, so cute! The commentary was possibly the lamest comedy I've ever heard - more lame stories later.
Our next destination was the winding (and unsealed) 309 road. Starting just south of Coromandel town, it goes across the penninsula to the east side. We went to the Water World - lots of geeky water fountains, water-powered sculptures, water jets, water... you get the idea. More geeky fun. Further along the 309, we had to stop for some cute, CUTE little baby piggies following their mummy piggy across the road. As we watched, one of the boy piggies was trying to make more baby piggies with any of the girl piggies who would stand still for more than 10 seconds. Piggy backing! Most of the piggies were black, but there were a few spotted piggies too. We later found out that the farmer who lives there just, weel, loves pigs, and his farm is a no-hunting-no-dog farm, so the local wild piggies use it as a sanctuary when it's hunting season and hang out with the tame piggies.
Next along the road was a Kauri grove. Kauri are the mo-fo big NZ trees that were nearly felled to extinction in the early boat-making days of the colony. We wandered along the path that led to a group of about 8 massive, MASSIVE trees, about 15 metres in circumference each. There was also the Siamese kauri - two trees that have grown together. It was very quiet and calm in the grove.
We drove along the rest of the 309 road to the east of the penninsula and checked out the town of Whitianga (my slepping is probably really bad - sorry). Another basic costal tourist town. The road trip continued up and back to Coromandel.
We left the car at our motel and walked into town - only about 15 minutes down the hill. We were just trying to have a non-complicated dinner, and managed to grab some yummy fush & chups to eat at the local pub. After I had to help the bardude with our cocktail order, he ended up chatting to us for ages, and we had a nice evening. We started to walk back to our motel when the heavens opened, so we stopped intot he nearest shelter - another pub (Mum and Dad, I swear, I'm not an alcoholic! Honest!) We had a few while we waited for the rain to die down, and ended up only getting slightly damp as we trudged back up the hill.
Day 4: Tuesday
Today was North Coromandel day. We started out with a steak & cheese pie from the local bakery and drove north, through Coalville to the north of the penninsular. The coastline was exquisitely beautiful, and the colours again were really vivid. Navigating the unsealded road between Coalville and Port Charles, Stony Beach & Sandy Beach was kinda fun. (Joy, don't worry, we took really good care of your little car!) My early driving experiences, aka "Get out of the bloody armco, girl" came to my aid and we made it safe and sound back to town. The afternoon was spent at the Gold Stamp press thingie, where the not-very-good guide showed us how to avoid getting mercury poisioning. A life skill I'm sure will have many applications.
Tomorrow we'll be going on a glass-bottomed boat ride, can't wait!
Cheers, Helen
Monday, 15 December 2008
Daily Update
Greeting all! We're here in sunny NZ. The weather is beautiful - if not, just wait for five minutes, it'll change back. Here's what we've been up to so far:
Day 1: Saturday
The Qantas flight was delayed. Surprise, surprise. We went slightly mental stocking up on duty-free, c'est la vie! The flight was fine, we made up lots of time int he air. Arrived in Auckland, found the car and we were on our way.
First stop was to Duncan & Julie's house - parents of our friends who have always said "If you want somewhere to stay..." so this time, we did. Lovely people, we felt very welcome.
After a quick drink and bag drop-off, we scooted over to Aden & Fiona's house. A&F are old TV buddies of Mike's. Their little dude was already asleep, but we had a lovely dinner. Lots of gas-bagging about people I've never heard of :) I spent most of the night trying to keep up with the name mentioning and trying to finish the little new All Black's set.
Back to D&J's, we crept in VERY late and snuck up to our room. M fell asleep, but I got comfy and continued knitting. At 3am Mike woke up and encouraged me to come to bed.
Got to go, I've got a kiwifruit cocktail waiting for me...
Day 1: Saturday
The Qantas flight was delayed. Surprise, surprise. We went slightly mental stocking up on duty-free, c'est la vie! The flight was fine, we made up lots of time int he air. Arrived in Auckland, found the car and we were on our way.
First stop was to Duncan & Julie's house - parents of our friends who have always said "If you want somewhere to stay..." so this time, we did. Lovely people, we felt very welcome.
After a quick drink and bag drop-off, we scooted over to Aden & Fiona's house. A&F are old TV buddies of Mike's. Their little dude was already asleep, but we had a lovely dinner. Lots of gas-bagging about people I've never heard of :) I spent most of the night trying to keep up with the name mentioning and trying to finish the little new All Black's set.
Back to D&J's, we crept in VERY late and snuck up to our room. M fell asleep, but I got comfy and continued knitting. At 3am Mike woke up and encouraged me to come to bed.
Got to go, I've got a kiwifruit cocktail waiting for me...
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Coromandel
Hi guys! We're in the beautiful Coromandel peninsula, staying in (funnily enough) Cormandel town. It is breath-takingly beautiful here!
I'll do a day-by-day summary when my internet access isn't about to run out...
I'll do a day-by-day summary when my internet access isn't about to run out...
Monday, 8 December 2008
Across The Ditch, NZ Ahoy!
Greetings, gentle readers! Helen and Mike are off on another grand adventure, this time returning to New Zealand and to the bosum of Mike's family for Christmas. So to speak, anyway. It's going to be a great 2 weeks!
Here's the current plan:
13/12/08: Arrive Auckland, staying with Julie & Duncan. Dinner with M's friend Aden & family.
14/12/08: Brunch & catch-up with move of M's buddies from his NZ TV & London days. Drive to Glenbrook, train-geek it up for a while at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. Drive to Coromandel.
15/12/08: Explore Coromandel peninsula.
16/12/08: Ditto.
17/12/08: Explore some more, depart Coromandel. Check out Pauanui, Whangamata, Waihi & Paeroa - expect to see photos of me with the large L&P bottle (choice, bro!). Train Geek Adventure #2 at the Goldfields Vintage Railway. Stay somewhere local.
18/12/08: Continure road trip. Catch up with my knitting bud NZ Pixie in Tauranga. Check out the Big Kiwifruit, have some Blokart fun, drive to Whakatane.
20/12/08: White Island day. Travel on to Opotiki.
21/12/08: More driving, towards Hick's Bay.
22/12/08: Check out the East Cape Lighthouse, travel to Gisborne via Ruatoria Bay, Te Puia Hot Springs & Whangara.
23/12/08: Drive to Napier, staying with Joy & Vic.
24/12 - 27/12/08: Enjoy Christmas time in Napier with Mike's family, including a day trip to visit Briley.
27/12/08: Fly to Wellington, hopefully catch up with Multispork (another knitting buddy).
28/12/08: More Wellington stuff.
29/12/08: Fly home to Sydney.
30/12/08: Road-trip to Canberra, see Helen's family.
31/12/08: Road-trip to Pambula to see John & Amanda. NYE at their restaurant.
01/01/09: Chill in Pambula.
02/01/09: Road-trip back to Sydney, possibly going the long way around.
05/01/09: Back to work, gah!
I'm practising my NZ pronunciations, but I'm pretty bad! The accent always seems to be in a place other that what I think. This week is still really busy with Christmas stuff to organise, birthdays to celebrate, friends to catch up with, and fun to be had.
Here's the current plan:
13/12/08: Arrive Auckland, staying with Julie & Duncan. Dinner with M's friend Aden & family.
14/12/08: Brunch & catch-up with move of M's buddies from his NZ TV & London days. Drive to Glenbrook, train-geek it up for a while at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. Drive to Coromandel.
15/12/08: Explore Coromandel peninsula.
16/12/08: Ditto.
17/12/08: Explore some more, depart Coromandel. Check out Pauanui, Whangamata, Waihi & Paeroa - expect to see photos of me with the large L&P bottle (choice, bro!). Train Geek Adventure #2 at the Goldfields Vintage Railway. Stay somewhere local.
18/12/08: Continure road trip. Catch up with my knitting bud NZ Pixie in Tauranga. Check out the Big Kiwifruit, have some Blokart fun, drive to Whakatane.
20/12/08: White Island day. Travel on to Opotiki.
21/12/08: More driving, towards Hick's Bay.
22/12/08: Check out the East Cape Lighthouse, travel to Gisborne via Ruatoria Bay, Te Puia Hot Springs & Whangara.
23/12/08: Drive to Napier, staying with Joy & Vic.
24/12 - 27/12/08: Enjoy Christmas time in Napier with Mike's family, including a day trip to visit Briley.
27/12/08: Fly to Wellington, hopefully catch up with Multispork (another knitting buddy).
28/12/08: More Wellington stuff.
29/12/08: Fly home to Sydney.
30/12/08: Road-trip to Canberra, see Helen's family.
31/12/08: Road-trip to Pambula to see John & Amanda. NYE at their restaurant.
01/01/09: Chill in Pambula.
02/01/09: Road-trip back to Sydney, possibly going the long way around.
05/01/09: Back to work, gah!
I'm practising my NZ pronunciations, but I'm pretty bad! The accent always seems to be in a place other that what I think. This week is still really busy with Christmas stuff to organise, birthdays to celebrate, friends to catch up with, and fun to be had.
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