Greytown Hotel

... further repacking as I tried to get enough stuff for three weeks into one bag at 20 kilos I left a pile of stuff behind but I suspect I will manage!<br><br>What I watched: The first two Harry Potter films on Sky. As the Kids were watching the films too we had to remember when the scary bits were coming so that they could cover their eyes; Oscar circumvented this edict by 'playing outside' so he could watch through the window. Ingenious, Non ...

... managed by DOC, completely predator free and with controlled access to visitors.It really is an amazing protected, regenerating environment for New Zealand birds. Read more about it here as I'd just be paraphrasing that anyway. What interests me often in New Zealand, as much as the natural history, is the social history and Kapiti also has plenty of that from its whaling connections and its position as a stronghold for Te ...

... Als wir dann am Ziel ankamen und das Eingangsschild mit "Nirvana Naturally" sahen und direkt darauf zuhielten wurden wir sofort in unseren Gedanken bestätigt. Wir landeten direkt in einem Nudisten Camp ;-)....hehe werdet ihr jetz denken. Dachte ich da dann au. Aber keine Angst wurden dann nicht gleich von einer Horde Nackter begrüßt, eher von 5 Pudels und einem netten Rotweiler Namens Bass. Die Frau von Gerry war auch da. Sie ist eine Art Heilpraktikerin und ...

Fine weather on Sunday motivated us to head out to the coast for aimless wanderings. First stop: finding a geocache on the shore of the Pauahatanui Arm of Porirua Harbour, at Mana. This arm of the harbour is almost completely cut off from the sea, resulting in a peaceful and attractive body of water, ringed by green hills. In Mana, the shoreline is marked by a long and densely-packed row of shacks or small houses. Built over the water and with no road ...

... food bags: good for birds and pigs and donkeys and goats and deer!) by biting through the bottom of the bag, thus spilling the contents all over the ground. The goats ate well. While those several goats feasted on the spoils, we noticed another goat with kids atop a hill. I went to investigate. While curious, the mother goat was wary of me what with her adorable young children around. We just eyed each other from a distance. As I was paying ...

... the other. The hostel was set on top of a steep hill looking out to sea with no drive and only access by foot to get to it. The owners were so friendly and made us tea in a teapot (complete with teacups and saucers!)when we arrived. All around the garden and hostel were impressive sculptures and paintings that the owners had collected. They had a dog called ...

... teenagers to be cycling. We stopped above Picton harbour for a quick break to see the huge operation that was the ferry port, the constanst rolling on and off of cars, campervan and lorries. It made us think where all there people were going, we had been on the south island for 4 weeks and hardly seen anyone most of the time. We stopped the night in Blenhiem in order to get an early start the following morning, to give us time to visit a couple of the wineries in and ...

... just carried on with what they were doing. its so much better going to see them on foot than in a car. we also saw some blessbuck and wilderbeast while we were out there. it was absolutely amazing. The cows have stopped breaking in now (after I built an amazing fence to keep them out) but because of the bad weather there is a dead one near the house which is attracting jackals so I think I'm going to help move it later :( The monkeys have accepted me as one of ...

This morning, we got ready to go from Taupo to Wellington, where Detlef and I were going to be dropped off in Paraparaumu so that Ron Dedera could pick us up at the train station. When we hadn't seen the Irish couple and it was almost time to for the bus to leave from Taupo so Detlef knocked on the door of their room after we asked the desk what room they were in. After that we got on our way, stopping around Taurangi for ...

... for Christmas dinner to a lovely restaurant in Masterton. It was like an old mansion (except not that old because nothing is very old in NZ) with a Tudor design. It was a bit of a posh do and the food was amazing! Mike and I felt a bit out of place in our scruffy clothes but after a glass of wine... who cares. It was a small place and everyone got talking to each other which was nice. We were joined by Auntie Janet's friends Robin and Robert who were very nice. I ...