Ridge Country Retreat Tauranga

... shop filled with tracel tables and cardboard boxes) that they go round and round and they look at the same stuff over and over but I suppose on the plus side at least they are getting there gov recommended 10,000 steps a day. ( some of them could do with a little more exercise others look so skinny I fear the excersion could kill them). <br> <br><br> They also buy stuff, alot of stuff, it is remarkable, truely aside from the disappointting fact taht Europe has ...

... to dig a hole which fills with naturally hot water. This has to be done around low tide and we were a little late to the party. We hired our spade and wondered out only to find that the hot area (it moves from day to day) had already been thoroughly dug and had swarms of people lying in the holes. We managed to dip a toe in some of the warm water, but that was to be our lot. The following day we were still moving and stopped for a brief visit in ...

... roll us down a hill. There were two options, get into the ball without a harness and add water or get harnessed into the ball with no water which was the one we chose to do. All I can say is man it was violent! Rolling down the hill all you could see was green/blue/green/blue and then bam you hit the bank at the bottom, seriously good fun minus the whiplash of course! Off to Hawkes Bay next to try out some famous Kiwi wines......and still stink of eggs by the way......

... getting back so had missed lunch, but there is always food to be  had, and then got some tea and sat out on the veranda overlooking the dock to see if I could see Alan and Kate return - I did.  They said the white water rafting was tame!  It was still sunny then, and sitting out there not having to worry about anything much was delightful.   Dinner tonight was great - our last - and we pulled out of Tauranga just as we were finishing. Our table companions have ...

All right, here they are, the fields with the Kiwifruits. But they're all hidden behind huge hedgerows. And the orchards look very similar to those of grapes. So I didn't see much of them as we were driving by with the Magic Bus towards our next destination: Mount Maunganui. Although this place is called 'Mount' and it also has a small mountain around, it's more about the beach there and the good and warm weather. New Zealand ...

... spuds and veg. (They even did steamed pud for afters!) Our rather eccentric driver John was a great laugh although he did repeat everything to us about three times before he was happy that we'd taken in what he was saying! We learnt about the history and how they lived and it was probably one of the best nights during the 5 months we have been away. On our final day we visited the very ...

... it like you would a hot spa pool. It was actually very very luxurious and decadent. And because it was so enclosed with high walls to protect your privacy, it could potentially be quite sexy. However, it wasn't really working for me as you had to first swish out any insect corpses down the drain and then you would likely bathe with tiny fragments of paint that had peeled off from the walls with the heat of the water! (P45 for whoever came up with this décor idea!) if that wasn't bad ...

... hard to be that good :) The rest of the day I just hung out at the house getting to know everyone. I got a tour of their 5 acre property which included some sheep chasing and later that night I learned how to play cribbage. If you don't know how to play this game I highly recommend it...its a lot of fun. Thats about it, it was good to finally have a relaxing day where I'm now constantly running all over the place. That's all folks! Chris

... for the night in this isolated position and think we have found a really peaceful spot for the night. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth! As soon as it gets dark the "visitors" begin to arrive. Cars drive up to the car park , have a look around and drive off again. This happens dozens of time. The visitors are mostly young guys in souped up cars. After a while a 4WD arrives with two guys who avoid driving on the road instead driving ...

... ever-present sulphur smell. Following the hot 45 - 60 minute walk, we had a very nice picnic lunch on their patio. On the way to Te Puia, Brian drove through Rotorua and then to the main neighborhood of the Awara tribe of Maori. Here we were able to see one of their beautiful churches (Anglican) and their meeting house. Brian showed us several places in the area where the Maori cook using the ...