Water Water Everywhere

So it's now 7pm friday 12th. We got back from our scenic and for some eventfull tour an hour or so ago. We went South from Auckland hugging the coast around the Coromandel as far as Whakatane (remember what I said about WH sounding like F!!) then into the centre of the Island to lake Taupo and back to Auckland. Digs were on the whole pretty good and run at about $90-100 per night for a room or $130ish for a two bed apartment and at $2.50 to the pound seemed ok.

One of the reasons for going down the coast was to look up an old friend from Purton who moved out to Ohope Beach about 3-4 months ago with his wife Sue. Fergi was a flight engineer from Lyneham when we first met him as a biker many moons ago. He married Sue (an Aussy but we won't hold that against her) (especially as he now has this site address and is probably reading this as well as you) They have an apartment on Ohope beach but have done a one year house swap with Fergi's place in Purton. It's not a pleasent place to visit especially as they have a whole road and 20mtrs of grass between them and the beach, and the prospect of having two wet bathrooms to clean just filled me with horror. Town for them is just over the hill, which is busy falling into the sea and the Volcano 15 miles off shore is active !! I really do envy them their current lifestyle. What they do at the end of the year is still an unwritten chapter but will probably involve extensive European travel I suspect.

Sometime around this part of the journey Rose managed to find the only venomous creature in NZ which promptly bit her on the toe!! We think it was a Katipo which is related to the Australian Redback and the Black Widow!! so an hour or so yesterday was spent finding out how good the NZ NHS is! Rose now rattles with pills and has a vague ointment smell about her but all else seems ok again.

Taupo this morning was spent retrieving Pumice stone from the beach (better than sweets for colleagues (and free)) and trying to get a hole in one on a floating green moored in the lake. I hit the green 3 times out of ten but didn't get any prizes. Still better then the guy next to me who threw the club, probably unintentionally, into the lake instead of the ball.

Most of the area around Taupo is geo thermic and some houses have boreholes which supply all their heating needs, how strange is that? Rose wanted to see some molten lava, but we thought that wouldn't be a good thing. Loads of mud pools and hot springs, including a beach where you can dig a hole in the sand at low tide and lay back in a hot water pool as a hot spring runs out into the sea.

Also quite impressive was the Hooka falls, used for hydro electrics further up stream and flowing from lake Taupo it has channeled into a small gorge and flows at 160m3/second, whichis about 32,000 gallons, you wouldn't want to fall in there.

so that's another week done, 7 days from now we'll be approaching Singapore on the way home.

Dave's off fishing for the weekend so I'll be shopping with the ladies in Auckland, rather than drive we might take the local ferry which drops you in the town centre, what a good idea that would be for Swindon!!!

laters

M

Having a Mooch & Look see (with a suprise thrown in !!)

So it's been a while since I've had a chance to write anything, so a bit of catching up to do.

Rose and I took off with Helen's car to do some sight seeing around the area north of Auckland. Starting along the east coast and heading up toward 90 mile beach. One thing to remember over here is that WH in a name is pronounced F (next week we're going to WHakatana!!) and does that make it FSmiths instead of Wh Smiths???

There is some really beautiful scenery and lots of it, with a speed limit of 60mph (100kph) you get time to have a look around as you go. And the natives seem friendly enough. Most requested drink is a flat white (frothy coffee) at about 80p a go it seems churlish not to really. And the favourite food are pies. Every town has it's own bakery and they all fresh cook pies each day, but I still can't get my head around steak and cheese, although it doesn't taste quite as bad as it sounds.

Anyway loads more places to see with the occasional overnight at about $80 - 100 including breakfast for us both. Currently we're working on $2.50 to the pound. Best place we found was the Bay of Islands where we hopped a ferry to the tourist trap of Russell, highly appropriate since we're staying with the Russels anyway.

A quick turn round the top of the island at 90 mile beach, which is actually about 57kms but is size really that important? Rose managed to disturb a bee out for a swim and stood on it, the bee's response was predictable, but despite my offer to pee on her foot (or is that jellyfish stings?) a wade through salty water seems to have taken care of it. We took some posed photos of the speed limit sign as you go onto the beach , 100km, which seemed odd, and the rather rusty Nissan parked at the low water mark. This serves to remind people that the sand isn't as firm as it may seem.

From there back down the west coast and through the Waipoua Forest where there are some massivley impressive trees called Kauri. Tese things have to be seen to be believed. 30m+ around the trunk and almost the same distance to the first branch, dead straight. Apparently they are a type of pine but mightily impressive. So we felt we had to look into the Kauri museum on the way down. A lot of these trees were felled for the timber trade at the turn of the century but they are now protected unless it's licensed felling, so they've set up a museum based on the logging industry. The more expensive Kauri is taken from the swamps where they fell several hundred/thousand years ago. The trees are recovered, kiln dried and then used for furniture, including a 4 person hot tub built for a japanese company.

So there we are strolling across the car park 13000 miles from home when a young lady approaches us and says hello, which would normally be a tad odd, except it was Kelly who was one of Sam's bridesmaids 2 years ago!!!!. She took VR from Zurich in Swindon, sold up and has been touring the globe ever since so it is a small world after all.

So from there a steady mooch back to Auckland for Thurs evening and our main souvenier? A$40 parking ticket for parking facing the wrong way in a two-way street. (We might tell Helen about it before we leave)

Last Friday Kevin, Paul son from home who works for Sounds music shops as a director? tok me off to play a round of golf at The Grove, which is the normal home to the NZ Open. Not a long course but one you had to think about a bit, I managed to go round in 93 scoring 33 stableford points which I was very pleased with, sorry, chuffed to bits really.

The weekend spent pottering and a day out on the boat, we caught loads of small fry about 6inches long but not leagl to keep for the pot and I got one large snapper, which when lightly cooked in butter was lovely!!

Barbie and beers at Helen's sister's last night and now busy packing for a tour of the South of the North, if that makes sense, so hopefully add some more next weekend when Dave will be away for 2 days fishing the NZ National finals (some thins will never change)

laters

M
09.30 08/11/04 NZ (23C !!!!!!!!) bloody hot!!

They Speak English (ish)

So, eventually got here landed about 11.15. I think between us we managed to get about an hour's snooze, but didn't feel too bad for the effects. A quick fight with very organised and big Maori passport control, you don't want to argue with these guys !!! then off to get the cases and then have all your bags x-rayed again. This time it's the ministry of farm and fisheries looking for food and germs. I hadn't cleaned my pair of walking shoes properley so the very kind man took them away and washed them. Not too sure if it was bleach or disinfectant, but they've gone a funny colour since, then through to arrivals.

Dave and Helen haven't changed a jot in 2 years since they got here and it was really great to see them again.

About an hour's drive to their place with a running commentary from Dave on driving standards etc. After reading the book and seeing the series 'Grumpy Old Men' on BBC2 Dave definately qualifies and has done for years. By the time we got our feet back on the floor both R and I were getting dizzy spells. 12 noon and we had managed about 3 hrs sleep in the last 36.

Their place seems a lot smaller than I had imagined but Dave has been going flat out since May on a 2 storey extension to the back complete with wraparound 1st floor deck that doubles the size of the place. They look out over a small privately owned nature reserve then a road and a few houses across the bay toward Auckland. I could spend all day in a chair just looking. Parrots and Mina? birds are local and the greenfinches, kingfishers, starlings etc have the same name but they've all swapped plummage, so it's a bit confusing, especailly when the pigeons are a protected species.

WE struggle through till about 5 when Rose bailed out and went to bed. The rest of us went off to the chippie for some steak burgers (real steak) and sat down by the boat club to eat. By the time we got back to the house at eight I was experiencing spells of missed conversation so decided to call it a day as well.

Tuesday

Sun comes up about 6

we know cos we were awake at 4.45 and on our third cup of tea by then!!
trying to keep the noise down but woke Hels early as well. She works part time in Westpac(gov't bank) so disappeared about 11. so Dave took us off shopping!!!!

now for anybody that knows Dave, this is unheard of and needs recording, perhaps somethings have changed.

Pottered about and both crashed about 4.30 (dizzy spells again) for a late siesta, but got up about 6 for more tea and chat. Went to a really tacky looking but really great vietnamese reataurant for a meal. They serve complimentary tea (not recommended) but big portions and little money, first class. Home for about 10 and enough for another day.

I'll try and sort some pictures and get them posted but until then it's off for steaks and snags on the barbie (she's a small blonde lady who likes to pay for other peoples food apparentley)

M

19.22 NZ

Half WayThere

Not too sure what time it actually is, it seems to vary every time I wake up or eat !!

So far so good, Sam took us to the airport and got away without getting a parking ticket but I think she bust her cam belt on the way home and had to be rescued by the AA, so it's not just me that suffers from cars breaking down on holiday !! Last we heard was that she had been recovered and was being 'lifted' back to Swindon, still, she sounded quite happy on the phone.

Flight was ok, but who can sleep on planes for more than 10 mins at a time?

Only saw two famous faces, both were sitting a couple of rows behind us. One was Oliver Tobias, seventies drama hunk (hope he doesn't read this !! he's still a big bloke) but like the rest of us looks like S**t after a 12 hour flight. The other guy's name I can't remenber, but if anyone can remember the actor that played the part of the butler that fell for his boss in a 70s sitcom. Honor Blackman played the mother if that helps

anybody any ideas????

tried getting the moblies sorted, but got conused and went for another coffee and a fag. All the smoke rooms are outside, which is ok, but with air con it's 20 degrees warmer outside.

Rose has crashed on a lounger while I have a type.

WORD TO THE WISE

If ever you travel this way, don't bother with duty free in England, 200 fags #13pounds, here they're 6 punds for the same thing.

Managed to resist buying the $3000 dollar bottle of whisky

but we have to come back this way.

OK Local time is 17:45 = UK 11:45 Sun and our next flight boards in 2 hrs

laters

M

Getting ready to go

11:00 Friday 22/10/04
I've had a calender on my desktop since we booked this jolly, I think it started at about 166 days and now we're down to 1.

Cases are packed, hopefully e-tickets will work, friends said goodbye to and now just have to justify my existence at work for a few more hours and that's it.

Flight #139 tomorrow at 18.30 out of heathrow 3 to Singapore then a 5 hour layover and on to Auckland arriving about midnight Sunday (UK time) 11.20 in NZ.

Being a 20 a day smoker it could be an interesting trip, but what can you do? (note to self - remember patches)

A long and very interseting year so far, a birth, a wedding, two deaths and Rose's treatment and now if not THE holiday of a lifetime, certainly the TRIP, never so far south or east, but at least thay speak a version of English and drive obn the right side of the road (the Left)

No intention of writing to this every day, but hopefully keep up with what we've done and where we've been as often as possible.

Feel free to add hints and tips for getting the most out of NZ or the short space of time we have in Singapore (5hrs going, 9hrs coming back)

laters

off for more coffee