Blue Water Hotel Napier

We arrived at Glenfalls nature reserve late afternoon and enjoyed a stroll down the river which we were camping by. We cooked tea and settled down for the night to watch a film on the laptop - Lauren managed to fall asleep before the end again!!

The next morning we went down to the stream to wash and brush our teeth before heading to Napier. We went down to the beach then followed an art deco walk around the town from the lonely planet. It was a really pretty town ...

... nutty, Christmas pud, good length but too hot.

Ngatarawa – large, well established winery with excellent history. Italian in origin (I think) and an old stud farm as a base.

2008 Glazebrook Sauvignon Blanc – Made from Marlborough grapes. Grassy nose with a hint of Passion Fruit. Soft acidity again (seems to be a hallmark of the region’s style), good fruit.

2007 Alwyn C******nay – Recommended ...

... still life have to go on. I got to know more friends in the pack house, 4 Malaysian and a Taiwanese girl. Her name is Josephine, but she look really like a guy, short hair, mid built because she is national canoe rower. Great character and outspoken person to be around with and her hometown is the same as friends I met in my Taiwan cycling trip, Taichung. Such a coincidence Missed the Taiwanese snacks.

... to find a cure for an illness, a patient have to first know he or she is sick". "It is not in what you know, but in what you do. Use whatever knowledge you have but see its limitations. No amount of knowledge will nourish or sustain your spirit; it can never bring you ultimate happiness or peace. Life requires more than knowledge; it requires intense feeling and constant energy. Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive."

... of children running wild, as they tend too on campsites, would not be conducive to a restful time. The campsite we chose was very quiet and had reasonable facilities. The beach, another black/grey volcanic type, was only 100 metres from the site. We spent a day in Napier which Yvonne was looking forward to as many buildings were built and maintained in an Art Deco style. A lot of Napier was rebuilt in 1932, following an earthquake and ...

... Kiwi eggs) a day, all without a natural predator. And, New Zealand may be the only country in the world that has its own "Opossum World" museum/store; · Did you know you can make clothes (sweaters/shawls) out of a fabric that contains 30% possum fur; · New Zealand seems to have an inordinate number of "Fish and Chip Chinese Takeaway" stores...don't know why; · The Children's Pageant was performed at the church we went to this morning...I now know ...

... girl saw the beautiful serene lake and the quiet hostel with a roaring coal fire and decided to stay 3 days. We were more than a little peeved when an entire bus from another company turned up on their scheduled stop and took over the hostel, destroying our calm environment. Still, they left the next day leaving us to enjoy long sunlit walks, ice skating, sushi and a tour of the local observatory. The night sky above Tekapo is the clearest in the world and is the ...

... bus and went and did some karaoke with the locals. John managed to almost empty a room with his version of 'Roxanne' by The Police, though I thought it was hilarious! We all got up to do a joint rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, then I tried to do 'moondance' by Van morrison but realised I didn't know half the words or the tune for the chorus, whoops! Again, the next day it was all aboard the magic Bus as we made our way to the sulphur smelling city of Rotorua. Chris xx

... spent the next day just relaxing. We went into the aquarium and up to the city lookout point before heading off for a much needed quiet night at the cinema!! (American Gangster is a very good film by the way!) We had to head off then down to Wellington to catch the ferry, a long drive with not much to see on the way but we did have time to spend in Wellington so we didn't have to jump straight onto the ferry.

Last weekend we spent in Palmerston North again. Our reason being that every England rugby game we'd watched with Jill & Paul, we'd won. Our superstition held true as England beat France to go through to the final. The rest of the week was a fairly quiet one, apart from Thursday night when we both went out for a colleague's leaving do. It seems to be fairly common here for partners to be invited to works events. Graham has met most of my work ...