Reflections on the North Island and more....

Christmas Day was like no other......we had a photo shoot on the beach (I think we fooled a few of you, yes Dave?) followed by a delicious breakfast of French Toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and champagne and OJ. We are finding camping very difficult......Then we went on a bike tour of the local town, Napier, tinsel, Santa hat and all! A beautiful town with lots of Art Deco buildings. Having worked up a bit of a thirst with our biking, we looked for an appropriate watering hole - found a lovely hotel in the centre of town, and also discovered a rather strange (and very stupid) NZ law. You can't just order a drink on Christmas Day, you have to eat a meal!! Well, we were still quite stuffed from our feast, so we had to trundle back to our campsite with the promise of a cold beer at the end. Then it was off to the beach where we played in the waves and had a great time. The undertow was quite strong, so we didn't go out very far. But due to that, the waves became quite big right at the shoreline, so we had a lot of fun. The beach used to be an old riverbed (hence the black pebbles) that was turned into the coast by an earthquake in 1931. The bonus - no sand in your eyes. The downfall - lots of pebbles in your swimsuit!! And that was our Christmas Day.

We went to a couple of the wineries in the region, including the Mission, which is the photo below. It is the oldest one in NZ and was started by the monks - who else? Beautiful place and we also enjoyed the wine!



We drove from Napier to Castlepoint - a delightful village at the end of the road. Another very windy road at that! Oh, and it was also very windy, as in it blew ALL the time! We climbed almost to the top of Castle Rock, seen below, but did not quite go all the way since the wind would have blown us off (we're not that heavy yet!). The only casualty was my headband blowing away. Errin, super keen eyes, spotted a seal frolicing in the waves, but no whales yet. And as you can see, cars are popular on the beach....but we felt very safe.....



And now to our reflections on the North Island (3000km later)......

• there are no hot guys on this Island
• palm trees & pine trees - who knew they would grow side by side?
• black pebble beaches to silky white sands
• no hot guys on the Island
• lots of one lane-cliff-hugging-exposed-potholed-gravel-coastal roads that require 5 km speeds (tee hee....okay, so I was being careful....precious cargo on board)
• great wine, great beer, great food, great fun, great people but
• no hot guys on this Island
• takes 5 hours to drive somewhere, in Canada it would take 2.5 hours
• Errin almost got $100....for those in the know (she knew she would win...but not yet!!)
• Kiwis have brought camping to another level.....from full sized fridges to coffee grinders, we've seen it all.....and finally...
• there are definitely no hot guys on this Island!!
  

Hopes and Dreams for the South Island........

• hmmmmm, let's think about this....HOT GUYS???
• sunny, hot weather with no wind or rain
• straight roads, no gravel
• hot guys
• whales, not the two legged type either (they have been spotted!)
• hot guys??
• more shopping (because we didn't do enough)
• even more unbelievable NZ scenery
• did we mention, hot guys??

There seems to be a bit of a theme here, but don't worry (Mum's and Nana's) we're very good girls, quite responsible.........;)

We are now in Wellington and will be crossing over tomorrow evening (fingers crossed the Southerly winds stays away for one more day). We shall then embark on a search for a beach that hosts a New Year's Party.....trouble is, we can't remember the name of it. Oh well, I'm sure we will stumble across something.

Until the next episode, have a wonderful New Year's Eve and Day!!

Much love,

Errin & Joan
xoxoxox

Oh the weather outside is frightful.....

Merry Christmas from New Zealand.......

Here we are, in "summer", the worst one for 40 years say the locals. Just our luck.

JUST KIDDING!!!

We send our love and best wishes to our family and friends....and hope that we don't get any sand in our Christmas dinner!!

Lots of love,

Errin & Joan

xoxoxox

Are You Glowing??

Wow! Today we went to the Waitomo Caves to check out the glowing maggots.....that's what they really are, not so pretty, eh? Anyway, for a landlubber like myself, who hates water in the face, it was a rather daunting experience. You want me to jump off a waterfall backwards???? Errin, bless her heart, was so supportive and told me I could do it....well, she was right. We had an absolutely fantastic time. The caves were amazing - floating down in the dark, looking at the glow worms was an amazing experience that we will never forget. Our group consisted of couples from South America, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, two Irish girls and us. A good group and we had lots of fun. And finally we met some cute Kiwi guys - our guides!

And that is about it for today. We did some shopping for the next few days - everything closes down here for the next few days....just as it should be. We have decided not to go to Gisborne, but have yet to decide where we will spend Christmas. On a beach, we hope.

Errin and I send out our love and best wishes to all our family and friends. We are thinking of you and will certainly be raising our glasses in your honour on the 25th.

Much love,

J&E

Photos.....we hope!

Have You Zorbed Lately?

WE HAVE!!!!! We are hoping to add a few images to this, not in any particular order so who knows what will happen! We are such computer geeks.....not! Continuing to see everything and anything.....have driven about 1900km so far, and have probably seen at least a million dead possums on the road as well. And then there are the Myna birds......actually described as "cocky, rowdy birds that narrowly side step vehicles on the road" And that is exactly what they do!! They are crazy and very stupid.

We spent two days - two whole days - at one place. Luxury for the driver, I can tell you. We were at Hahei - a beautful resort on the Coromandel Peninsula (our favourite bit of NZ so far). That was after one of the most exposed, scariest coastal drives I have ever done - all the way up to Fletcher's Bay at the tip of the CP, single track, gravel...... We camped there right on the beach - it was wonderful (but the weather was not). That night it bucketed down - I had a dream that we were taken away by the sea, followed by our van slipping on the mud on the drive down and I heroically tell Errin to get out the van and save herself!! However, the drive back down was uneventful and we made it back safe and sound.

Back to Hahei.....we had a very nice walk to Cathedral Cove (hopefully one of the photos to be posted) and had ourselves a bit of beach time. Very relaxing. Last night we went out for dinner to the only other restaurant in the town called The Church (there you go Mum, I've been to church!!). The food was absolutely delicious, so funny to find that in the middle of nowhere.

Today we have driven from Hahei to Tapou, through Rotorua, visiting the thermal volcanic areas and really stinky places! But the highlight - Zorbing! What a blast that was!! The ball is like a sauna when you get into it, which is good as it was a bit cool today. We did the zig-zag line, so it basically goes down a grassy track which twists and turns. You have no idea which way is up, where you are heading and when you get there - it was pure, dead brilliant! Errin got a bit of motion sickness after and then proceeded to wonder what it would have been like if she had actually barfed on board. Yuck.

We have now teamed up with Martina and will be heading out on the town tonight - finally, Errin will meet some handsome Kiwis (for my sake, I certainly hope she does!!). Not quite sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow, but we will be heading to Gisborne for Christmas. We hear it is a bit of a party town.....

Hope that everyone is well and we send our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Our love to all,

Joan & Errin
xxxx

(may try to post the photos on another one, just so that this doesn't get mixed up...or may be that's me...)

Here She Is!!

After a few days of being out and about (called a wopwop...or something) we are back into civilization, ie. Internet World!

Now, where were we? Oh yes, the catamaran sail - that was a fantastic experience. The weather was perfect for sailing - crystal clear sea, blue sky, sunshine and enough wind to sail (especially on the return journey) and to hide that fact that our feet were getting burnt!! We sailed out to some islands, had a BBQ lunch and then did some kayaking, and Errin tired her hand at knee-boarding. She did really well, stayed up first time and was hauled around the bay by our cute crew member, Vincent, from Montreal! (We have yet to find the Big Juicy Kiwis at this point....!!). Our retunr sail to the town was really fast due to the sea breeze - I had an almost snooze on the trampoline that was being lifted by the wind, it was fun. The highlight - the dolphins came out to play!! They are incredibly fast as they managed to keep pace with us as we scooted back. Very cool to see. After we got back on shore we decided to move on and stay at the next place, Kerikeri......what a snoozer! We got all showered and changed, ready to have a fun night on the town.....NOTHING! We couldn't find anything that resembled a fun, happening place, so we took our pathetic selves back to the campsite and were in bed before 10pm. How lame is that?

Next morning was the Sunday market in Kerikeri...more exciting than their Saturday night, but not by much. We moved on and headed for Cape Reinga, the most northerly tip of NZ. It was a twisty gravel road for the last 20 km, not much fun to drive, but the view was spectacular and well worth the effort. This is where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. On our way back we stopped in at Te Paki for some sand surfing (I'm still finding sand in places!!). This is also the start of the 90 Mile Beach (which is about 60 miles......another Kiwi fib...). We started on the beginner sand dune, but were such pros that we went straight to the Big One - it took about 15 mins to climb up it, and it was striaght up! A rather daunting view from the top, but off we went, screaming down the hill....well, actually, we did not scream as you would probably get a mouthful of sand as you went. It was a blast, but that meant another long climb up in the hot sun/ sand.....well worth it. This time we decided to go faster (that means keeping your feet out of the sand). Errin beat me down and just as I got to the bottom I could feel the board turning.....off I rolled at breakneck speed, hence the sand everywhere!! It was such a fun experience. That night we stayed at a beach called Te Rarawa - I had to get into the sea to replace the sand with salt. Best sleep of the trip so far that night.

Yesterday was the biggest drive day yet - we came from Te Rarawa to Thames, on the Coromandel Penninsula. 500+km, not much by Canadian standards, but when the roads are windy and hilly, it was a l-o-n-g day. Errin did a great job of navigating and keeping me awake at the wheel. We stopped off to see the Kauri trees - huge trees that are native to NZ but are dying off. Lots of quaint towns, villages on the way and I keep looking for Hobbits.....none spotted, although we have seen a few colourful characters along the way! This leg of the journey was a mixture of BC, Scotland and Hawaii.....very interesting.

And today is laundry day - how exciting is that? Errin is off for a walk as she is not feeling all that well - have to get that girl drunk, then she'll feel more like herself!! We were living on the edge last night as we just pulled over and slept on the side of the road....so, we locked the van and had a knife next to us.......

Hopefully this will publish as there seems to be a bit of a problem with the computer link. Anyway, we are still have a ton of fun, have lots of things planned to do...and we're still best buds!!

Love,

J&E

Have camper van....will be laughed at!

So, we picked up our van yesterday and were hoping for something appropriate....not so sure a naked woman on the side is quite what we had in mind!! Seems that they are quite proud of this Dali van - we have named her Venus. I suppose the upside is that we are an even bigger draw with the natives!

Driving out of Auckland was a wee bit stressful ,but once on the open raod and away from honking drivers, it was fine. We have a system - I drive, Errin is the navigator. Seems to be working so far since I tend to get car sick very easily when looking at maps.

New Zealand has got to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The views we have seen over the past 2 days are simply stunning. We are north of Auckland, heading to the very tip called Cape Reinga where the two 0ceans meet. We are currently in a place called Paihia, and will be embarking on a catamaran voyage tomorrow with the promise of seeing sealife such as dolphins. We also get a chance to kayak, snorkle and play in the sun. The beaches are incredible - long sripts of golden sand, beautiful clear blue/ green sea and hardly a soul on them. This is pure heaven.

We are going to find a place to camp and then I will slip into my other role, The Cook, and make us a diner of snapper and a kamikami......should be interesting!!

We are not missing the cold of Calgary, the snow nor the skiing because we are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!! The people are incredibly friendly - a bloke at the Smashed Pipi bar last night gave us a whole list of people to contact on our travels, including his mum! We also discovered that there is a thing called "woofing" - you go and work for someone for 4 to 6 hours a day and that pays for your bed and neals. Not bad, and a great way to travel round the country. However, we are ladies of leisure and really don't plan on doing any hard labour.

Did we mention how good the NZ wine is?? I managed to take a break from it yesterday, but have a fine sauv blanc for this evening......

Right, Errin is looking parched and needs a beer.

Until the next installment.....

Ciao,

J&E

Almost out of Auckland....

Yesterday was our day to walk, apparently. We decided to do the Coast to Coast walk, recommended by the Lonely Planet.....hmmm, not recommended! We trudged on for hours following yellow and blue arrows - the yellow was supposed to be going North, the blue South. Perhaps it is something to do with the forces down here in the Southern Hemisphere, but the arrows were VERY confusing! So, we branched out and did our own walk......the destination was an older part of Auckland called Onehunga (pronounced oney-unga, but we like One-Hunga ourselves!). Anyway, we found out later that this is the place you go if you want to steal a car, get mugged etc. Nice. We did meet a very pleasant fellow by the name of Nigel, who gave us some good information about the local area. He's a saddle maker, would you believe, and he lives just outside of Auckland. He has invited us to stop off at his farm on the way back down from the Bay of Islands for a cold beer, which was very kind of him.

Sore, tired, blistered feet meant that we had to get the bus back to Ponsonby so we rewarded ourselves by going for a wee drink - this was supposed to be an ETOH free day. Well, that didn't work! We got chatted up by some bankers (The National Bank of New Zealand partially funded our evening - thank you!) and they gave us some excellent advice about where we should go once we get our van. They left and we were joined by a couple of lawyers, who funded the rest of our evening. So nice to meet the locals! Not feeling too great this morning......

Auckland is a neat city with a million cafes and bars. It actually reminds us of Vancouver, same sort of feel. The houses are all different, so that makes is way more interesting. We actually came across a house with banana trees in the garden! The flowers are exotic, the trees are plentiful....and is has only rained once for a short time!

We are having an awesome time and are quite looking forward to packing up the van and heading north today. We will do our best to update this as often as we can.

Lots of love,

J&E

Photos...at last

Hopefully this will work...this time.......tee hee.

J&E

Too much Kiwi Wine.....

Apparently the Kiwis do actually make good white wine - who knew? I had to do the real test, so several different wines later.....Errin likes white wine! Today we did a bit of hiking around the city - old forts, cafes..that sort of thing. Tonight we made dinner for our hosts - Errin made a fab salad and we actually made dinner for a soft porn trashy journalist..okay, so he's not quite a journalist..but trashy fits.

Gruezie from Martina...she is here for 5 weeks and we will be meeting up with her soon in Taupo...biggest lake in NZ, so the trashy guy says.....'m sure the computer geek at

Mum - we are having a great time and behaving as instructed. That was for you, Nana, in Victoria.

Trying to download photos - hope it works.

Lots of love,

Joan & Errin

xxxxxxxxx

two canucks came into our life, entered the kitchen, cooked, will clean as well, and laughed, laughed, laughed at us so hard it left us a little confused. Canadian banter really hits the spot. I asked Joan for her hand in marriage, she considered it but wanted to keep her hundred dollars in a bizarre canuck bet, that once again left us a little confused - do we speak the same language? from the soft porn guy.

Nana - tell me how much wine can anyone of your offspring consume in any one gulp?

We're Here!

So I arrive in San Fran,hot off the plane from Calgary and I hear this little voice saying "Joan?". There, sitting at the gate waiting for her flight back to Calgary was Elizabeth Oldfield - what are the odds? Fresh from her spa in Mexico - now that should be mandatory for all who do the World Cup (and paid for!!). I head off to Air New Zealand'c counter to check in, and thought I would mention that a friend of mine might have checked in ahead...."oh, St Thomas?" the guy says - already she is leaving an impression!! The flight was very full and way too many small children for my liking, but it passed relatively quickly (white wine and immovane - magic!).

We are staying with Errin's friend, Ben, who met us at the airport - easy to spot the girl's from Calgary with the cowboy hats on!! Well, I had mine on......not enough hands to carry stuff. A wee nap, a great shower and we were off to sample the delights of Auckland. Saw the ship that starred in The Onedin Line (for those of us who are old and from the UK), drank more white wine, basked in the sun.....man, it is nice to sample the warmth of the sun in DECEMBER!!!! We met up with Martina and will be seeing her this week on our travels.

We stumbled across the Escape Rentals place and popped in to clarify our plans for Thursday - turns out we have the "Love & Peace"camper van, sheesh. A wee bit too hippy for me. Oh well, what can you do?

I should get going, Errin is outside waiting for me as it is very hot in this internet place...why? Because it is summer here(making you sick yet??).

We shall update as soon as we have something more than bragging to do!!

Love ya!

J & E.

We're Here!

So I arrive in San Fran,hot off the plane from Calgary and I hear this little voice saying "Joan?". There, sitting at the gate waiting for her flight back to Calgary was Elizabeth Oldfield - what are the odds? Fresh from her spa in Mexico - now that should be mandatory for all who do the World Cup (and paid for!!). I head off to Air New Zealand'c counter to check in, and thought I would mention that a friend of mine might have checked in ahead...."oh, St Thomas?" the guy says - already she is leaving an impression!! The flight was very full and way too many small children for my liking, but it passed relatively quickly (white wine and immovane - magic!).

We are staying with Errin's friend, Ben, who met us at the airport - easy to spot the girl's from Calgary with the cowboy hats on!! Well, I had mine on......not enough hands to carry stuff. A wee nap, a great shower and we were off to sample the delights of Auckland. Saw the ship that starred in The Onedin Line (for those of us who are old and from the UK), drank more white wine, basked in the sun.....man, it is nice to sample the warmth of the sun in DECEMBER!!!! We met up with Martina and will be seeing her this week on our travels.

We stumbled across the Escape Rentals place and popped in to clarify our plans for Thursday - turns out we have the "Love & Peace"camper van, sheesh. A wee bit too hippy for me. Oh well, what can you do?

I should get going, Errin is outside waiting for me as it is very hot in this internet place...why? Because it is summer here(making you sick yet??).

We shall update as soon as we have something more than bragging to do!!

Love ya!

J & E.

We're Off!!!!

Tonight we leave for our most excellent adventure.

Stay tuned for more details as we hunt for a big juciy kiwi!

-Joan