Last leg: New Brighton - Christchurch - Helensville - Auckland

We headed for Christchurch to sell the van. We stayed in New Brighton for a couple of nights at a backpackers that was also a Thai restaurant and an Internet cafe. Pretty handy, although the area is a bit ghetto.

As for the Car Market, for 85 bucks you get a parking space at the car market and wait for people to turn up and look around. After that you can pay for another three days and worse case scenario you pay the guys 250 bucks and when they sell it they wire you the money. Hmmmm. That's a large part of our South American Budget sitting there waiting to be sold.

So Sunday was the first day. After registering and filling in the forms we were told that it was best to stay close to the vehicle in case anyone had questions but not to pounce on people. Fair enough. We had books so we just waited. And waited and waited a bit more. No one came that day, despite hope of a busy afternoon. Well it was a beautiful sunny Sunday so I guess people had better things to do. Monday was quiet and then about 5 Irish lads turned up all at once to buy a car. Tuesday was looking better with people coming in and out having a nose around but not generally interested in vans.

I'd gone to buy some milk for a brew and just as I was heading back I saw Ray has taken the van out for a test drive. They took a trip around the block then parked up and had a chat. Within about 20 mins a Belgian guy called Ben had bought it, money changed hands and the car was signed over. Bish bosh lovely old job. So we headed back to New Brighton on the bus realising that we no longer had a comfy van to chuck all our guff in.

After New Brighton we stayed closer to the centre of Christchurch at a gorgeous backpackers. We had a days out in Sumner which is a beautiful little seaside town and treated ourselves to a looooovely curry :)

We managed to finish the last book in the Millennium trilogy, reading 5 pages each at a time as we got near the end...rather gripping! And then we sold them all to a second hand book seller. Went along to the Patio Latino festival to watch some dancing demos and smell the tasty food and headed off for some bargains at the Krishna cafe.

Then we flew up to Auckland and Nick came to collect us to take us up to their new gaff in Helensville. It's been great seeing them and despite Ellen working her arse off getting settled at her new school, we've had time to chill and catch up over a few glasses of wine.

Yesterday evening Ellen and Nick drove us down to Gemma and Wayne's place in Auckland and we sat in their garden drinking wine, eating pizza and having a good laugh. It's been a long time since I've spent Ellen's birthday with her so I was really chuffed. It was a shame to go to bed but of course they all had to get up for work the next day. We got up with them for a cuppa then gradually got ourselves packed and organised in time for our pick up. We'll take off at 4.30 in the afternoon and after an 11 hour flight we arrive midday the same day.

In one sense it seems a long time since we left Heathrow back in November but then it seems like the last three months have flown by. It's sad to say good bye to good friends but we'll be back to travel round the South Island...there's always more.

Part of my brain thinks I am going back to the UK today and I won't really get it until we actually arrive in Santiago. Hasta luego!

Golden Bay-Kaikoura

From Golden Bay we headed to Nelson staying close by in Richmond for a couple of nights and then staying at the coast in Cable Bay. We checked out at lively Saturday morning market in Nelson, wandered around town, popped into the museum and I ended up buying some gorgeous NZ wool and a pair of size S wooden needles. At different times during the trip I have missed knitting and looked in the odd shop but this place had beautifully soft hand-spun and hand-dyed wool. So I thought I'd make up a pair of legwarmers. After all it's just making two small scarves and then sewing up the sides. After a few goes at judging the width I was off.

The campsite at Cable Bay was cute with only 20 sites and the day before had hosted a VW Camper convention, so lots of lovely vans were parked up along the road.We took it easy, walking along the bay and up to the look out. On the following day we decided to walk up to the top of the hill with views over to Golden Bay. The private land had cattle, sheep, cows and goats all grazing together and it was a particularly steep climb to the top. The views were lovely but it was knackering. When the sun came out we headed to the stony beach, thought about going for a swim but decided against it and stayed warm and dry.

We continued south into the district of Kaikoura, through dry looking hills with occasional green expanses of vineyards and stopped for a quick look at a cob house that was built in the 1820's. Once the road hit the coastline we kept our eyes peeled for seals and stopped to take a closer look at a colony. It was lovely to see them playing in groups, or in pairs having a bit of a wrestle or just getting comfy on some rocks. The majority were sleeping and they can sleep for 20 hours a day. Hmmmm.... As we got closer to Kaikoura (meaning' food-crayfish' in Maori) the small fish/seafood shops started popping up along the road. We just had to stop at a place called Nin's Bin to check out what they had to offer. They had freshly caught and cooked crayfish on the counter with the prices written on their shells. In restaurants you can pay 80-90 bucks for a whole one. As I was the only one going to eat it I went for a smallish one. 35 Bucks, all good. The lady then guillotined the bugger in half so I could eat it out of the shell. Job done. It was delicious. We headed through town to the larger seal colony at the peninsula which is part of a Marine reserve. The area is quite special and has great diversity of sea life. This is due to the deep sea canyon where warmer waters rise which are particularly nutrient rich.

Originally the town was big on whaling but that collapsed in the 1900's and now the money is in whale watching and swimming with dolphins. And of course in crayfish.

In the three days we were there we visited a large Irish country pub called Donegal House where we supped a Kilkenny, we went to a lavender farm run by a Dutch couple, we did a wine tour and tasting, we chilled out by the pool and worked on our tans and one evening booked the spa pool. The highlight though has to be swimming with dolphins. Despite getting up at 5.00 AM to be kitted out with wetsuits and all the guff we found ourselves watching the briefing video and wanting a second cup of tea. The video gave us pointers on how to entertain the doplhins(swim in circles,sing or make noises and for the more adventurous, diving) in order to attract them so they would check us out. After the video stating that the dolphins are not trained or enticed into the area and that our experience was as much to do with our own performance I didn't know what to expect and thought they might not get that close. We were soon on the boat with 11 other people and heading into South Bay in search of a group of dolphins. ThePacific Ocean was really calm and after 25 mins we jupmed in and began entertaining the dolphins. I was amazed by how interested theyw ere and how close they all came and darted around you and looked you in the eye as they passed. A couple of times I realised I was just holding my breath in amazement as they swam around me. All the swimmers try to stay together and periodically you'd look up to check you were still with the group and to check the position of the boat. The swimming in a circle and singing songs seemd to work a treat with'Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside' proving a bit of a hit. After quite a while we called back to the boat and headed out further where a larger group had been spotted. The swimming lasted about an hour or so and the crew told us it was a pod of 200-300 dolphins that we'd been interacting with. Aftrewards we dried off and tucked into hot chocolate and ginger nut cookies while taking pictures of the dolphins. We saw plenty of gulls and albatros and a huge school of fish. Then at around 8:30 we headed back to the harbour. On the way we stopped and saw a seal having his breakfast trying to tear it. The crew told us this was particularly unusual as seals are nocturnal feeders. Then 5 minutes later we saw another one! Then we saw a Mako shark which is quite rare. We got back and had a second breakfast feeling pretty tired once the adrenaline had gone. So we headed for Christchurch ready to sell our van...


Em xx

Golden Bay

According our last wwoof hosts Golden Bay is worth staying at longer for a while, so we took their advice and headed North. On the way we went to see Harwoods Hole, the deepest (176mtr) sinkhole in the Southern hemisphere. The walk to it was beautiful. But once we got to the actual hole I was a bit disappointed because after climbing some massive rocks (vertigo!) I still couldn't have a decent look into it. I just had to assume it was there somewhere. And Emma wisely decided not even climb on to the rocks. The road to it had been 11 km long of single lane unsealed road and as it went into the Abel Tasman National Park, it was a no-exit one so we had to make our way back the same way we came...

We arrived at Collingwood, after visiting the Mussel Inn, and booked in for 2 nights. The next day we drove all the way of to Farewell Spit and took a left exit to Wharariki beach, a secluded beach with stunning views. Apart from my shorts getting ripped to pieces at one of my walks over the ridges it was a fantastic experience. We even saw a seal waggling up to the beach. On our way back we stopped at a cafe in Puponga for tea and cake. The cafe was on top of a hill with views over the Spit. Later we went into the tiny museum of Colingwood. Apparently in the early days of the Europeans arrival Collingwood had been considered to become NZ's capitol. How things can change... We also visited the local cemetery and noticed that most people buried there died at a very young age. The next day we headed back to Takaka and when we passed a holiday park we were tempted to stop there since it was said to be at one of the best spots in Golden Bay. Later that week we read in the news that this holiday had suffered from a flu virus which made nearly 500 people ill. Before we arrived in Takaka we had a look at Waikoropupu Springs or locally called Te Pupu Springs. They are natural springs and are caused by an updwelling of water from marble aquifers. The springs are sacred to the Maoris and people are not allowed to touch the water. After we booked in at the holiday park we had a look in town.

The next day we went to Tata Beach which is one of the popular beaches in the area. Nearby was Pohara Beach Top 10 Holiday Park which we thought of staying at but when we read about the size of it (Huge!) we weren't very keen. Too busy... At the beach we sat down in our comfy chairs and had a look at all the different kinds of watersports and read for a bit. We left Takaka the next day and made our way back to Marahau via Takaka Hill. It was very foggy when we drove over the range and on our way down we saw a near accident. Since people get very eager to overtake a slower vehicle, the slower vehicle usually slows down and moves over to the left so the person behind can overtake. And so did we when a big Toyota truck was so close behind us I could almost read the brand of his sunglasses. But after he overtook he missed the next curve and crashed into the rock wall. The truck bumped back on the road and the driver continued his way. But after a 100 meters he pulled over on to a parking bay and when we passed him we could hear one of his front tyres hissing. Had this happened to him on the other side of the range he would have taken a shortcut down the hill... Dumb ass...

We arrived in Marahau and booked an Abel Tasman walk for the next day. Unfortunately the next day it was raining buckets so we postponed the walk to the following day. A couple of tents were flooded and some people had to spend the night in their cars. At that moment I felt very happy we bought a van to sleep in! Since the weather was really bad we decided to drive to Motueka for an internet stint. We had a bit of a backlog on our upload of pictures and blog entries to post on our website. That evening we went to see the open Mic Night (Thirsty Thursday) at the Park Cafe again and to our surprise Rob was performing. That evening was even better than the week before. 

The Abel Tasman walk was very nice. We took a water taxi up to Tonga Bay and from there we walked back to Torrent Bay, which was about a 4 hrs walk. It took us along the coast of The Able Tasman National Park and had some amazing views over pretty beaches. It also had a swing bridge which tested my vertigo... Golden Bay has been a beautiful spot indeed...

Ciao,

Ray

Absolute must!

You probably heard of the millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. If not Google it or visit your local bookshop. We have read these while traveling NZ and we both were so absorbed by them... Absolute must for book lovers!

All jacked up and nowhere to go

On our day off we planned to pop into town have a wander around and check out the farmers market. Then we'd head back up and feed the chooks then in the evening head to Mapau to see the gig Rob was playing in. But no such luck. Our van died on us. Some friendly folk tried to help us jump start but sadly, no go. So we got the number of the only mechanic working on a Sunday who rocked up and confirm that the started motor was buggered. He jacked up the van and slowly took things apart. Once he finally removed the offending component he had to nip back to his place to clean it up. Then the heavens opened. We waited for a couple of hours and then phoned him. It was really buggered and he was busy phoning round his contacts for a second hand or new one. So he would be in touch as and when. Great. So we hung out some more and then he called with news one would arrive...tomorrow. So at 19.30 he towed the van to his workshop and drove us up the gravel road to Rob and Barbara's place. The day before we had replaced the two front tyres so now we're a grand over budget. Grrrrrrr.

Wwoofing at Mountain Apple Farm

It was easy to find Rob and Barbara's place in the hills close to Motueka town. Their 30 hectares is close to the end of a winding unsealed road so it's a really peaceful spot. Rob is originally from Manchester and Barbara is of German decent but grew up in Belgium. They have traveled, lived and worked in many countries and they even home schooled their kids for a year while they took them on a round the world trip. Their daughter lives nearby and she's been up with her boyfriend to help out and their son is in Australia.

They keep horses, cattle and chickens, they grow veggies for themselves and have orchards so they sell fruit juice to a local restaurant. They built their house 23 years ago and have been adding to it over the years. We are staying in a self-contained two story apartment which is attached to the main house. The most recent addition is a cob cottage which is being used as an art studio.

The work has been varied including landscaping the area around the newly built green house, making hummus and pesto, planting out leeks, lettuce and cabbage, harvesting beans and berries, chopping and chainsawing wood, thinning fruit trees and pruning. We start early and are finished by lunchtime. We have our mai meal at lunch all together and then make our own dinner with the food provided.

In the evenings we can chill out and read or go next door to watch a film. Last week we saw "Since Oscar Left" set in Georgia and Terry Gillingham's "Brithers Grimm" where Heath Ledger sounds a bit like Hugh Laurie from Black Adder. One evening we had a BBQ and all the people who live in the valley came along so it was good to meet the neighbors. One night we headed into town to play pool and met a group of ladies on a night out. They had a bag of little army figures and handed them out. So when they blew a whistle everyone had to take on the pose of their army man. Mel, you reckon that would catch on down the Theobald's?

On Thursday evening we went to the open mic night aka Thirsty Thursday at the Park cafe in Marahau at Abel Tasman National Park. Rob joined in the jam session that kicked off the evening and some talented guitarists followed. Rob is also in a band called the Honeyz which are pretty cool. The park cafe is a great place with an excellent vibe and we'll probably come back and stay a couple of nights later on.

On Friday we went to a small independent cinema called the Gecko to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The 'big screen' holds about 20 people in a range of couches and granny chairs. Perfect. It was interesting how they condensed the plot but still very well done. I was surprised how Swedish sounds a bit German at times. Gotta get the second book!!!!

New Plymouth - Wanganui - Paekakariki - Wellington - Picton - Motueka

On the 27th December we left New Plymouth to go to Wanganui. Our usually reliable Lonely Planet didn't mention much of our interest for the trip to Wanganui, but the scenery was beautiful.To our surprise Wanganui appeared to be quite a pleasant town. Again we stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park, this time near the river. Top 10 is good because of the quality of amenities. Showers are usually great and free. (This not always the case on other holiday parks!) Wanganui has a very wide range of interesting shops. We stayed for 2 nights before we headed towards Wellington where we would spend New Years Eve. On the way we found a tiny village named Paekakariki, situated on the coast just before you got to Wellington. This was a real tiny village... Budel-Dorplein (place where I grew up) is small but this could easily beat it in the category of the tiniest hamlets. But it had a very good holiday park! Almost straight on the beach. And staying in Wellington means that we wold have problems with parking since it was coming close to New Years Eve. We had a good walk in the dunes (about 10 KM) and had a relaxed time. We bought a interesting book called The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (from Steinar Larsson) and Emma talked me into reading it. And it is a very interesting one! (TIP!) We started discussing different plots and theories about it. We decided we had to watch it in a cinema.

On New Years Eve we arrived in Wellington, Cambridge Hotel. That turned out to be a nice treat. On suite bathroom, huge bed, tv, good breakfast, close to city centre. The only minor thing was the wind. When we arrived in Wellington it was windy... Hence the name windy Wellington! We walked around centre (Cuba Street!) and visited the Te Papa Museum. And I guess that this has been the most relaxed New Years Eve ever! We had a very good Indian dinner out and decide to grab ourselves a bottle of champers and go back to bed and watch some tv. When it got close to midnight we couldn't be asked to go out and join the masses in the bars. We stayed in bed and watched some movies...

The next day we walked up Lambton Quay towards the cable car and discovered Wellington is absolutely dead on New Years Day. All the shops were obviously closed but we expected some coffee bars or tea rooms to be open. After about 1 hour of looking around we found a bar that served lunch.

Still, it felt very weird to walk around in such a quiet city...

We took the cable car up to the botanic gardens and made our way back to the hotel via Queens Wharf and the Civil Centre. On the 3rd Januari we took the ferry over to Picton. It took about 3 hours and the trip was kind of rough. We both caught up some sleep and weren't very keen on visting the deck to have a look. First there wasn't much to see and second it was very rocky on the deck because of the weather. After we got to Picton we made our way to Nelson and Motueka where we agreed to meet our new Wwoof hosts.

Our Wwoof hosts had an apple farm with some cattle high up in Brooklyn Valley, about 30 mins drive from Motueka centre. They have cows and horses and a lovely dog named Misty (it's all in the name!). She is very cute and followed us around every morning when we started our daily projects. In total we stayed at Rob'and Barbara fro two weeks. It has been a lovely time in which we got to know these wonderful people and their farm. They both are from Europe (England and Belgium) and lived and travelled in Europe for a bit. They are very switched on and have interesting ideas. We also met their daughter Lucy and her boyfriend Benny, also very interesting people. On a Thursday (thirsty Thursday!) Rob took us to Park Cafe in Marahau, which is owned by the father of Benny. Thirsty Thursday at Park Cafe means live music. Not just live music but music performed by people that are present at the Cafe and would like to play. Kind of random jam session. Every night turns out differently of course! But it was a great experience and there was a range of very good musicians. Rob plays several instruments and had brought his set of hamonicas. He went up stage for a session and gave a really good performance. My only question was how all these musicians communicate with each other? Very special evening...

In Motueka we also found out what it means to have bought a car while travelling... On a Sunday after we visited the farmer's market the car didn't start. We called a mobile mechanic who turned out to be Graapa, known by Rob and Barbara. He had a look at our starter engine and told us it needed reconditioned. But that wouldn't be happening on that day... (Sunday!) He towed our van to his workshop and took us up the valley.  We had been waiting in the rain for 4 hours. And on the Tuesday we got our van back with a nice bill...

So long...

Ray

Pakiri Beach - Raglan - Waitomo Caves - New Plymouth

From Whatuwhiwhi we drove South out of Northland heading for Leigh and Goat Island Marine Reserve. On our way we stopped off at Brendon's place, took the 15 mins ferry to Rawene and drove along the Hokianga Harbour and then down through Waipoua Forest to see the giant Kauri trees. With a pit stop at Dargaville (Kumara capitol of NZ) for a quick bite, we cranked on to Pakiri Beach where we stayed for a couple of nights. One day we rented all the gear and went snorkelling off Goat Island. It was only my second time snorkelling but it was great just floating about and watching all the fish including snapper, blue maomao and stripy parore. Even spotted a stingray!

There was a bit of an algal bloom at first so it started a little cloudy but cleared up over the day. When we got suitably hungry we headed to the fish and chip shop in Leigh. Hmmm, it sounds like that's all we ate but the one pot pasta and rice dishes that we cook don't get a mention. They are still tasty though...

From Pakiri Beach we drove south, past Auckland and then west to Raglan in Waikato. Once you are out of Auckland and keeping west of Hamilton, you're in rolling hills which were used as the location for filming the shire scenes in Lord of the Rings. Raglan is a small surfing town so it's pretty laid back.

From there we drove a few hours south to Waitomo Caves in the King Country, which is famed for its limestone caves and karst features. There are more than 300 mapped caves in the area but the three largest and most accesible are open for public. As it was Christmas Eve we did our food shopping (lamb chops, veggies, wine, cheese and chocolate pud) which will probably be our cheapest Xmas ever. After walking around Ruakuri Reserve and the Aranui Cave we sunned ourselves by the pool, then had a dip in the hot pool that evening. On Christmas morning we packed up and got on the road early heading South to New Plymouth in Taranaki. We checked into our self-contained cabin and flicked on the tv. It had been ages ago since we'd watched tv in bed and it was certainly a first for Christmas. Well, it didn't feel much like Christmas anyway. Before getting too hypnotised we went for a walk along the black sands of Fitzroy Beach. A surprising amount of people were out, either walking, playing volleyball, football or having a paddle. We headed inland and found only one shop open where we bought an icecream for our Christmas lunch. Back at out cabin we watched The Sound of Music, the start of Mary Poppins, Polar Express and a carol concert from the Waitomo Caves and the fake doco about crufts. It's done by the same guys that did Spinal Tap, so it was pretty good. In NZ Christmas Day is the only day that there are no ads running on tv so it was a pleasure to watch so many films. At one point near the end of Polar Express I realised it was time to start chopping up the veg for roasting and thought this is the first time I've made Christmas dinner. It was tasy but not particularly Christamssy. There were no crackers, crappy hats or dire jokes. At least I remembered to buy a block of mature cheese that went down a treat with the wine. That evening when I wanted to call my family the phone card was giving me an engaged tone which led to much swearing until I called on my mobile. I couldn't help feeling a little sad being away from them of course and missing out on the traditional fry up. Mmmm, crispy bacon...

On Boxing Day we drove part the way up Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont) for a short wakl and to look at a volcano that hasn't errupted for 350 years but is overdue for another one. Then we headed into New Plymouth where we did a self guided heritage walk around the town. I was expecting it to be busier but most of the shops and some of the cafes were still shut.


Em xx

From Kerikeri to the best fish shop in the world

It was good to be on the road again and we headed to the Far North for a daytrip to Cape Reinga. The Maori consider it to be the place where souls travel to as they leave on their journey to their spiritual homeland. It was windy with low level clouds so the walk to the lighthouse at the end seemed suitably atmospheric. Here the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet breaking into high waves. Getting back in the van just before the rain hit. We headed to the Te Paki sand dunes to have a stab at sandboarding. The giant dunes look strangely out of place and are a bugger to walk up. The weather had suddenly changed from a few km from the cape so we were sweating our bits off.

Before heading back to our spot at Whatuwhiwhi Beach we stopped at the best fish shop in the world in Mangonui as promised by Ellen. I expected a lot and I wasn't disappointed. Not a typical chippie as it offers entrees including small salads (green salad, coleslaw), fresh prawns, smoked salmon, crabsticks. Apart from catch of the day they had crayfish and tubs of kina, not sure exactly what that is but it's in the good fish guide unders species that are sustainbly caught. After much uming, arhing and drooling I went for the catch of the day while Ray had a hot-dog (more of a battered sausage on a stick really) and we shared chips, coleslaw and a side salad. Top job! It was amazing and I've had a fair amount of fush and chups here. I'd like to know how these different fish shops get their awards and how I can become one of the judges, so I can go round the country sampling it all...

Em x x

You sexy mother plucker

Late afternoon after the post wedding BBQ complete with cartoon sized steaks, we rocked up to our next wwoof host only to find they had double booked us. Two other English guys were already staying so after some initial embarrassment on their part we all thought we'd stay and figure it out together. This meant staying in our van as the guys were sleeping in the wwoofing bus. Consequently our hours were reduced from 4.5 to 3 hours a day.

In the vineyard the work consisted of plucking the leaves off around the grapes so air could easily flow around the bunches reducing the risk of mildew. This was fine in itself (you kinda get into it and as the host said - it's an ipod job) but we didn't really get introduced to the site, no walk around pointing out the different grapes, no tour of the winery or restaurant. So we didn't feel it was a proper exchange as we were not learning anything about the wine making process. Granted this was the task at hand but talking to the owners more would have been helpful. We had to bear in mind that it was the run up to Christmas so of course they were busy with the two young kids plus running the wine tours and tastings.

But hey, it also gave us a base to explore the Bay of Islands. We met up with Rory, Ellen and Nick for a day out in Paihia where we took the ferry across to Russell, where the weather turned cloudy, we saw NZ's oldest church complete with bullet holes and to much disappointment was distinctly lacking in pies. Then we all drove up to Waitangi to the site of the famously contested treaty signed between Maori chiefs and the British crown establishing sovereignty (Oh, so you don't have a flag). Plus we got the chance to visit Brendan's place in Mangamuka and see how busy he has been building his place, the hydro power system and digging paths, ditches and terraces.

We had to get some work done on the van - replacing the air con and alternator belts to stop the hideous screeching sound that had gotten worse since Napier. After a week and in the lead up to Christmas, we decided it was best to move on. So after a quick chat with the hosts we left the next day heading north to Northland and started planning our route south to Wellington for the New Year. Initially I had hoped for a family Christmas in NZ but knew it would be better if we moved on.

From Lake Tarawera to a wedding in Kerikeri

We drove from Mndy's place up to Kerikeri in The Bay of Islands in 1 day. Sweating hot with no aircon the journey was pretty good and took about 8 hours. Looking forward to Ellen's wedding plus catching up with Brendon and Rory meant we didn't mind steaming ahead. plus the most amazing Mezze for dinner.

We hadn't seen Brendon for 4 years and only made contact with him whilst in Ohope. He was the handy man in The Valley. Only knowing he had bought some land in Northland and had been through the mill with his late mums battle with cancer. He sounded chipper on the phone and we were looking forward to a reunion. I bought a bottle of gin!

Two and half years ago we caught up with Rory at our wedding. Who's wedding will we meet up at next time? He's not changed a great deal since uni, but looks healthier.

We'd arrived a couple days before the wedding. I was eager to catch up with Ellen but knew that they were busy organizing everything (flowers, high tea). Can't believe I've been in NZ this long and haven't seen her! I complained as we finished our bottle of red that night.

Brendon rocked up the next day and cracked open the beers while we talked and put up his tent proving men can indeed multitask. It was great to catch up, reminise and find out about Brendon's plans. Rory turned up and joined for midday drinking in the sun which turned into a barbie in the evening. For the first time it really  felt like a holiday. Ellen and Nick joined for a swift gin to escape the prep for a wee while.

The following day Ray, Brendon and I went kayacking. Then I took pictures while the guys threw themselves in the river via the rope swing. More beers, gin and BBQ. Decided on an early night with the wedding the next day.

It's weird getting dressed up to the nines on a camp site. We had splashed cut on a cabin for 2 nightsin Kerikeri so getting ready would be easier. After having my bonnet fixed we slowly walked for about 45 mins to get to St James Church, the other side of town. Of course we were hideously early but Brendon and Rory rocked up and we could admire how good we all looked.

The ceremony went well. And the opening hymn "All things bright and beautiful" seemed so long and reminded me not only of school assembly but of the Monty Python version. (google proper All things dull and ugly/cancerous) which amused me more than the range of pitches at which people were singing. Ellen looked stunning as did her mum and sister. The boys were all well turned out too. Despite the rain the pictures were beautiful and you can see some here. Ellen and Nick then served high tea before going for their photo's. Hung around the church hall catching up and meeting people before canapes and meal. I wangled a lift (thanks Rory) in the Rolls 5 mins down the road to the resto. But as we went to check Ellen and Nick into their hotel I had time to speak to Ellen for about 20 mins. She hadn't hardly eaten a thing and couldn't believe how quick it was all going. She updated me on a few pieces to do with the preps, how much work everyone had put into it and how the pics went.

The evening was fabulous, excellent food, brilliant company (laughed my arse off with Gemma and Wayne - had heard heaps about Gemma and it was great finally meeting her), witty and touching speeches and of course dancing. There were gazz hands, sequined top hats, hot pink wigs and a sailors hat. Need I say more? Dancing bare feet as is the NZ way we had black feet by the end and slightly perturbed about the last time they mopped. Thank chuff there was afree shuttle bus to take us back to the holiday park (with the remainder of the table wine).

Ellen's mum boyfriend had everyone round for BBQ the next day with Rory, Brendon, Ray and myself arriving firts and gradually people rolled up with big shades but feeling good. Sitting, chilling and watching salads and a giant ham being brought through to the kitchen. A little later the feast began. And it was a proper BBQ that can only be compared to Mel and Neil's.

Em xx

Maori wisdom...

Two weeks in Lake Tarawera

Our first NZ Wwoof host was located 20 mins drive from Rotorua overlooking Lake Tarawera. The beautiful wooden open plan house has been on the market for a while and the owner was keen to sell and downsize. The majority of our work was to maintain the grounds which were divided up into paddocks. Animal care was limited to cleaning the troughs, moving the sheep to a different paddock and feeding the oldest of the animals called Blossom. So lots of pruning, weeding, sweeping and cleaning. Our host Mandy was really friendly and easy to talk to. She has spent many years traveling and living overseas in Europe and Africa. She told us of her husband who was German but had chosen NZ as his home. While she visited her daughter in Wellington we looked after the place and got it ready for viewing.

Working 4,5 hours a day gave us plenty of time to explore the area or just relax and enjoy the stunning hill top views. I was busy reading the doorstop that is "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" and was happy to lounge about with the most adorable Felix the cat.

In previous trips to NZ I hadn't appreciated Rotorua before and only associated it with the sulphuric stink. But I had to go to Wai-O-Tapu (meaning the Sacred Waters) thermal reserves and see the bubbling mud, mineral terraces and the Champagne pool. We visited NZ largest Kiwi recovery  programme where we got to see Kiwis and see how they are being protected from extinction. I was a bit wary of being to see really commercialized Maori concerts but Mandy suggested Mitai Maori Village. It's family run and all the performers are related. The concert was followed by a buffet which had been cooked underground in a pit called a hangi. The evening was rounded off with a glowworm bushwalk. We stayed and chatted with the host and asked him more about Maori culture.

We enjoyed many wonderful meals at Mandy's place. She had friends over that brought fresh fish and we were also invited to have breakfast on the lake with some of Mandy's friends who had a boat and had also hosted wwoofers. All in all a very enjoyable stay!

Em x x

Christmas!

We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

But if you don't mind, I will go back to the barbie!

The earth has music for those who listen...

As so often on my travels funny things happen to me. (we haven't told you the story of Hong Kong yet!)When we were in Gisborne we went to the beach to have a little read. The weather was beautiful and the waves came in nicely. At some point a guy walks up to us and gives me a piece of paper. All he says is "Hello, I'm Chelby and I have written something for you."
And this is it:

Mr & Mrs Cosy - by Chelby Wright, Gisborne 2009

They just rocked up
sat down at the spot
he's off with his shirt
she puts on the old slip slop*
Both reading books enjoying the day
There's something that they both convey
"Cozy". I am cozy being with you, your love, your convey
We don't have to be lost in words for the things we need to say
Just being with you in the warm sunshine, knowing that you're near
It conveys I'm cozy, I have no secret fear

What a wonderful world... If you listen carefully incredible messages are out there.

* slip slop means sunscreen

Christchurch - Auckland - Thames - Ohope - Gisborne - Napier - Turangi/Taupo - Rotorua

So we arrived in Christchurch and took things easy walking around town and checking out the botanical gardens and art centre. After a few days we flew to Auckland to buy a set of wheels. We stayed on K' Rd which of course is full of weirdos so we were glad to get out of there asap in our Mistubishi Delica van complete with bed and headed East to the Coromandel Peninsula and stayed a night in Thames. It was good to be back in such a familiar spot but also a little sad. We stayed in a holiday park at the start of the long gravel road which lead to Tararu Valley where we have volunteered. We decided against going up to see what what there as it had been sold off to another conservation trust over a year ago plus we didn't wanna bugger to van making some hairy corners. I like to remember it how it was.

From Thames we headed to the East coast and drove down the Bay of Plenty and stayed at Ohope which is right out on a spit so looks to a lagoon to the West and the Pacific to the East. We stayed for a couple of nights waking up to the sounds of the waves. We took a a day trip to Opotiki which was once a large Maori settlement and has been the area of much conflict in the past with the arrival of the Europeans. We spent THREE hours in the museum as we got a new guy to show us round and he was rather enthusiastic to tell us as much as possible not only about the displays but also about is own life. It was pelting with rain so it was time well spent.

We then headed south into wine country and spent a a night in Gisborne, further south, again staying in a holiday park on the beach. From there we drove to Hawkes Bay and spent the day checking out the art deco town of Napier. We headed inland to Lake Taupo, watch a few crazy people bungy with no inclination to follow them and then headed to Turangi to stay at a quiet little park with hot pools and mentally prepare for our 19km alpine crossing. Tomorrow we head to our first wwoof host just south of Rotorua. See ya x

NZ so far

We've already contacted some wwoof hosts as we'll be travelling in peak season and want to secure our placements. We reworked our original schedule to include Ellens wedding on the 12th Dec so really excited about that!! Hope we can get away with rocking up and wearing our flip flops. Will update you good people as and when xxx