Waimana Point Warkworth

... in.

Debbie and her family (Jay, Josey, Rio and Ashaiyah) met Alan and I at the airport. Thanks guys! Jay was apparently very glad to see the back of me – something to do with me trying to convince Debbie to come away with me….. And the girls were happy to pig out at McD’s!

Final boarding call, and I was off….. first stop, Singapore.

... the window here Virgin Blue'! Well thats a relief.... until i get on the plane and find out you gotta pay for all drinks and meals on board. It needn't have mattered anyway cause i didn't get offered any of the food, twice the trolley seemed to dither around 3 rows ahead of me (while everyone ****** around sorting out money and change), then slingshots 3 rows behind me. Fack! When the isle is finally clear of trolleys, I head down the back for a ****. I have to join a short que ...

... up the engine properly. The rest of the evening was spent in a practical fashion by doing a bit more laundry and packing everything up for our onwards journey the next day... We just want to thank Chrissy (and Duncan too of course) for being wonderful hosts and tour guides, as well as being exceptionally patient with Martijn's constant questions about everything from the New Zealand flag to farming practices...

... Anne Marie.
· Breakfast of bacon and (double yoke) eggs.
· Walk to Gull Point and back just before it rained.
· There was a great view from Gull Point over the channel to North Head.
· After a light lunch at was back home, on the ferry, to Half Moon Bay.

... that our trip in NZ was gonna end this way but this soon passed and the fear then set in. The site has about 50,000 cabins and tent pitches crammed into a space no bigger than half a football pitch, the cabin itself is clean but extremely basic and not the glamorous flat the internet site promised, the houses backing onto the site have what appears to be a dump in their back gardens with couches, cookers, fridges all piled up and there are a number of ...

... day!! Then the day came for the campervan and we were all so excited !!!! And it's a beauty !!! On the road!!!! Without a decent map I may add, I can't believe they don't provide one!!! First stop Orewa, a nice little town right on the beach front and had a walk along the beach where later we discovered Julie had caught the sun a tad!! Then we moved on to goat Island where a proper raod map would have been helpful!! However the beach and weather ...

Today is Auckland, New Zealand. We arrived early in Auckland as we will be here all day until 10:00PM. This is great as it is a good port. After being away from home for almost a month, we arrived in Auckland. It almost seems like we are back in San Jose in some ways. The town is modern, clean, and need I say, English speaking. Major difference is that in New Zealand, they drive on the left side of the road. You may say that is not much problem since they are not ...

... cove popular with surfers which with the benefit of hindsight would have been perfect for our our picnic lunch), and looked at Wooleys Bay before stopping at Matapouri for lunch - a few more tourists here but few facilities (a single store which does takeaways on Sundays). We made sandwiches in the car park and sat on the beach to eat them. The sun had come out now but we were pleased that there were still cloudy patches to give relief from the suns rays as ...

... suppose to be one of the toughest, with several river crossings, ankle deep mud, swarms of sand flies and downed trees obstructing the tracks. Just to reach the trailhead involves three modes of transport, which includes chartering our own boat. Sounds like fun doesn't it! Along the drive today I stopped at Orewa beach to visit the information centre to pick up some materials about the national and ...

... areas of the country. The Maoris used them for boat building and housing but it was the Europeans shipbuilding and timber felling of these giants that absolutely decimated them. They are now protected and we were glad of the chance to be able to see these fabulous trees. The kauri can live for 2000 years, grew up to 60 metres tall and have a 5 metre diameter. We had seen the American Sequoia ...