What a day! I think we’ve landed in paradise. Anyway, to retract a little, it was sunny in Wellington this morning and after breakfast we took a taxi to the train station (by the parliament buildings on the curiously named Bunny Street) and then a train to Porirua and then a taxi to the floatplane. [...]
It’s grey and drizzly today. Have a few errands to do in town so stroll around and then visit the Museum of City and Sea – which is quite interesting, and then return to Te Papa. Later we go to dinner at Strawberry Fayre down the road from us. This appears to be two shops [...]
Ursula, Peter & Gill are late meeting us (they're staying at a different hotel) - so step into the cafe next door to our hotel for breakfast - which is delicious. Once they arrive we take taxis over to the Weta Cave at Miramar near to the airport. Weta created the special effects for the [...]
Up early because we're meeting the others in Wellington today. Short, but hair-raising drive along the corkscrew bends to the city and arrive around 9.30am. Hand the car back to Apex and dump our stuff at the hotel. Discover that our budget hotel room has been upgraded to their nicest lodge room complete with spectacular [...]
Alas, awake to more rain. Have breakfast in the hotel brasserie and discuss plans. Decide to call a wine tour operator on the off chance and they have a tour leaving in half an hour! Decide this is a better bet than walking in the rain or driving around the vineyards (and not drinking). Quickly [...]
Before our release(!) we go on the prison tour, which is quite informative, amusing and gruesome by turn. Wave goodbye to the other backpackers and start out back on the long road to comfort. Have an uneventful 4 hour drive down to Martinborough. We stop halfway for lunch at a very rural retreat – 1970’s [...]
Left today for Napier – a couple of hours drive away. I’m driving – usual hair-raising windey roads through beautiful countryside but then hit a traffic jam – am slowed down by a house! Yes – really! Someone is moving their house on a wide trailer. There is car traveling behind him with a sign [...]
Had another lovely day! Went riding all morning at Harakeke which is a 3,000 acre farm owned by Karen Niederer (who was a member of the 1996 NZ Olympic 3 day eventing team). Took some persuasion because they don’t really take public bookings any longer, but between us and our motel owner we eventually managed. [...]
Drive to Lake Taupo. Decide to trust Ursula’s sat nav (despite it taking us off the main highway) and drive onto smaller and smaller roads and then eventually turn onto a dirt track. The Toyota skids precariously. Where the hell are we? Feel like those idiots I normally laugh at who drive across fields and [...]
Awoken early by the departure of our neighbours (but double check they've actually gone). Take a drive into town and have a stroll around the lake and look at the local market. Rotorua is famous for bungy jumping, jetboating, that rolling down a hill in a big ball thing (can't remember what it's called) and [...]