Weldon Boutique Bed & Breakfast North Island

... is in Gisborne, not only in NZ but as well as in the world. I went back after the photo shoot for breakfast and attempt to catch up on my sleep. I end up helping Sun to bake a chocolate cake for her former employer. The event today will be a trip to Cape Kidnappers and then to her boss plantation. Sam a hongkie, staying at the same place have 2 friends that will be going and are driving; Charlie from Chile, Sabina a Swiss. We were trying to finish the ...

... very loud 60s records, with JP and I singing even louder, as we have sped through the various towns, etc!!! We headed up from Wellington through Hutt Valley (where Gareth Cooper, originally from Pentwyn, Pontypool, now lives) and up through Hawkes Bay, the wine region of New Zeland (Lesa - I saluted the Kim Crawford winery as we passed by it!). We stopped at Napier for a few days and it just happened to be ...

... and temperature was dropping with each past minutes. Raining seems imminent and we fear the worst as we are outside of town. I took out my windbreaker and it was not enough to keep the cold, it seems like the locals don't seem to be affected much by the weather where I was shivering away, one of the signs of hypothermia. We catch a ride at last after 1.5 hrs and were really thankful to the couple heading the same way. We feel asleep ...

... rampaging round places and doing little screeches in the car - very off putting, not to say annoying too! We blamed some brightly coloured Skittles (the sweets not the toy/sporting equipment!) that he had eaten on the way from Masterson. Cloudy apple juice is also in the frame too! The tent fared well following D's minor adjustments to some of the elastic loops, as we had some rain and blustery wind, although we were in a sheltered spot ...

... with banana, blackberries with peach, blackberries for a snack, blackberries for... However, not all has gone to plan. We managed to get a puncture (well two socking big nails in one tyre) which when we set about changing the tyre Jon managed to wrench a bolt clean off the wheel. A sheepish call to the rental company and they agree the wheel must have been faulty, take it to a particular garage and all will be fixed. In the mean time we spent a day or two ...

... tractor tour. Jackie had seen gannets in Auckland, so I was on my own. I didn't really think anything of it, I had driven for about 5 minutes on my own once before. But I underestimated how reassuring it is to have someone else in the car with you when you are driving on the other side of the road. Especially with the tricky round abouts they have sometimes. I was so flustered that I nearly turned around and went back to the hotel. But I ...

... freighter-travel agent, met us at the gate. He very kindly took Georgina to the wool shop, giving us a chance to chat about ships, and then dropped me at the hotel. He and Georgina then went off to town, and there I was alone ashore in New Zealand. The hotel is a very new motel with good rooms, about a mile outside the town centre. I walked in and hit the internet cafe, lunch, the tourist ...

Tuesday 15th April It rained for most of the coach journey to Napier - this was much-needed as there's just been a very dry spell. Fonrtunately there was a gap in the rain while we pitched our tent, but it resumed in time for our walk to the supermarket and around town. I've been looking forward to seeing Napier, which is very 30s-inspired with lots of Art Deco architecture, but it wasn't ...

... fuhr bei erneut starkem Regen los, aber wenig spaeter bei Sonnenschein bis Napier, der Art Deco Stadt. XXXXX In Tauranga the strom was over and nice weather so I could wash and dry all stinky equipment. At 26. I drove on at sunshine to Rotura, then back to the Bay of Plenty where I was invited by friendly Johnny to stay at his place. .Going on at 27. around the East Cape I just drove into a ...

... over a narrow bridge! The other weird thing was half through, there was this little village, with a shop and petrol station, it was so remote. Imagine living there and having to drive that road if you wanted to go anywhere. Let's just say, if you ever want to test your relationship and/or your driving skills, drive that road! I feel we came out stronger though, because what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger! Eventually, we came out and it turns out ...