Embassy Lodge Whitianga

I've moved on from Karuna Falls, which is actually kind of sad. I felt really in tune with that place and those people. Our las day involved a little bit of brush clearing and hauling it to the burn pile. I also whipped out my old fish-cleaning skills and helped gut fish that Hugh had given to Stephanie. It was a bit strange that the one vegetarian in the group was the one cleaning the fish. Those were then smoked in an old, rusted fish smoker and enjoyed by the ...

... They are the only bird that have it's nostrils at the end of their long beak. The Kiwi<br>lays the biggest egg in proportion to its size of any bird in the world, so even though the Kiwi is about the size of a domestic chicken, it is able to lay eggs that are about six times the size of<br>a chicken's egg!<br>We spent one night in Napier. Unfortunately the rain never left us and turned into torrential rain so we didn't get to take a single photo of the place which is a pity ...

Number one problem of enjoying summer when you're on your own: it's really hard to get sunscreen all over your back! Seriously, the sun here is crazy strong, and I have to be reeeeeally careful. Anyway, just a quick update ...

We were rudely awoken at 4.00am by various scratching and pecking noises in the wall and on the roof. Orchard House was truly a back to nature experience - one set in paradise. At first we thought the noises were possums on the roof but they could have been birds as the garden was full of them, including colourful parrot like birds that had calls similar to guinea pigs. Anyway ...

... nerve-wracking. After some kilometres we turned off the main road towards Rapaura Water Gardens, which had received a number ofl plaudits from Trip Advisor. We weren't disappointed. The feeling of peace and tranquillity as we wandered along the paths that meandered through areas of wilderness, cleverly blended with planted flowers and shrubs and punctuated with occasional water features, was the perfect antidote to several hours of travelling. We'd ...

... beach was only accessible by a footpath and about a 40-minute walk. We strapped on our gear and trekked our way along the path. It was narrow and hilly, but along the way we were rewarded with more beautiful views of the other beaches and islands scattered along the coast. The last leg to Cathedral Cove was along a steep set of stairs leading down the beach that dumped us out right in front of the cathedral arch. There was a pretty beach to the ...

... a degree that the sand is too hot to walk on. People more prepared than us come with shovels and dig themselves holes in which they then gently simmer. Each to their own. It is on the backpacker circuit and as we leave at about 1800, a party is clearly warming up. Back at our base, we cook ourselves a meal. After weeks of restaurant dining, it is a welcome change to be able to eat our own food at our own pace. The wine helped, obviously.

We have been in New Zealand/Auckland now for over a month and both been working to get a bit extra cash! Its been a while since we last wrote so here goes.... I started my job in the office and Tom headed down to Waitomo. We both really enjoyed our jobs but hated being apart AGAIN, can you believe we came all this way to be apart again, so we have made an agreement that we wont be doing that again on this trip! The office job ...

... Mrs Smith. Thursday 24th April This morning was our first day of work here. We started at 8am and were weeding and mulching around some native grasses. Then at 10am we had a quick tea break, during which I was glad to be able to help myself from the home-grown fruit - including feijoas and tamarillos, another new one on me. We spent the later part of the morning moving rocks and cleaning a new section of predator-proof fencing that has just been put ...

... scenery that had provided the Lord Of The Ring film set for Mordor. R: What an eerie place! We set off amidst hills covered with little bushes and pink heather (Erika). Further uphill, it got rockier and with the low-hanging clouds, the different dark shades of rock, the little streams and sharp cliffs, the place indeed looked very much like Mordor. We reached Mt. Ngarouhoe for 2nd breakfast - had a sandwich in ...