Giverny Inn Waiheke Island

... we got to Hamilton; this is one big place, lots of large office blocks and it is well spread out. Took a drive through the suburbs to have a look at the housing but we were not that impressed!! Headed out of Hamilton and within 5 minutes of driving we were again in the countryside, amazing!! The weather was very intermittent, hitting rain squalls as we drove but it was still warm. Headed back towards the Coromandel ...

... way in - "Closing down tomorrow - 40% off everything in store". Great - so basically I'd complained to someone who was about to be made unemployed about not finding a book which would tell me on which beach and tropical paradise it would be best to land my fat ass.

I took my exit promptly and bought the requisite guides in the perfectly arranged travel section of the competitor next door. **** em'.

Later on after I've packed the bag - again - I ...

... on the top of the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The restaurant also rotates, completing a full circle once every hour giving amazing panoramic views of the city as you dine. Although it is very vertigo-inducing as you move fat enough to know you're travelling, but slowly enough to occasionally forget then look up and see the whole skyline has changed - and the bathroom has disappeared round the other side ...

... the crew going through it's Hukka before setting off into the bay. Back to our apartment to get packed up for the trip down to Auckland - time for a little sketching by the pool, supper in and an early night. DAY 32 Sunday - Got away at a good time and had a very easy run down to Auckland - except for picking up a speeding ticket - glad you don't get points on your licence here. Can you believe the top speed on even their motorways is 100kph ...

... to our next objective the impressive cone of Mount Eden. Whilst it's not very high at only 600' it's the prominent landmark on the landscape. Having eventually reached the summit absolutely cream crackered I was greeted with the sight of three amazing calderas and some absolutely stunning panoramic views it was certainly well worth the effort. After that we made our way through the park to the Domain where there's the war museum and ...

... myself though. So I got back from traveling a while ago, and went to orientation. It was weird being around so many Californians. Some of them were alright some of them got annoying really fast. EAP programs is so loose down here it is mind boggling how no one ever gets seriously hurt. I met one guy who took so many different drugs he got kicked out of the bar, they wouldn't serve him anything he was too violent. This would ...

... Es war bewoelkt, aber wir sind dann an den strand. echt traumhafte Buchten hier/. Wie auf der Postkarte. Sind dann erstmal nen Strand suchen gegangen.. Das Wasser war aber noch zu kalt zum schwimmen.. Sind dann am Strand entlanggewandert, was echt total schoen war. Es war alles voll mit den ungewohenlichsten Muscheln, was echt cool war. Auch so lauter Felsen, Kliffs und sowas in der Art. Haben uns noch was zu essen gekauft und Anke und ich sind dann ins ...

Took a ferry trip over to Waiheke Island today - one of a group of islands in the gulf around Auckland. It's about a 40 minute ferry ride away, and when we arrived we got a day ticket for the island buses so we could explore a little. It's also possible to get guided tours around - the island has 19 wineries! But we decided we'd seen enough of those in Australia so just set off on our own. Weather was quite overcast today, although the sun broke through now and ...

A bus, a ferry and, due to the friendly organising of the company who run both the ferries and the Waiheke buses, we were able to get straight off the ferry and onto a local bus. Mike, our Couch Surfing host, had told us to ask the bus driver for a particular stop, and, given the lack of obvious landmarks for us to look out for, to ask the driver to let us know when we got there. This we duly did, and the driver grunted at us, presumably to let us know he had understood our request and ...

... want ondanks dat ben ik in 1 dag al een stuk bruiner. Het hostel is, afgezien van de spinnen en het ontbreken van sloten op deuren en kluisjes, oke. Een prima keuken, vriendelijke gasten en een barbeque!! (Raad eens wat ik vanavond ga doen... regen of geen regen!!). Ben zelfs al met 2 mensen een eind wezen rijden en op het strand beland! Pootje baden in de oceaan! Willem woont trouwens net om de hoek. Zijn vriendin is een onwijs aardige meid en het babietje is echt nog heel erg klein.... Ik ...