Omahu Motor Lodge Hastings

... guide that it is a 16km return walk! No wonder we were knackered!! On walking back a sealion appeared from behind the rock and ran in front of us to the sea. It scared us, but I think the sealion was more scared! After we had lunch we did abit of food shopping and chilled out. Next few days we are going to hanging around this area because there could be some fruit picking work available next week.

... we then had some photo time in front of the huge teak elephant by the front door of the restaurant. Beautiful sea views over the vines and a thought to get Jim and Dee some vouchers for dinner here as a thank you. So here we are on Sunday afternoon with the prospect of another flight ahead to Queenstown in the morning. Tonight we are going out to the local Thai restaurant for a final meal together.

... viewing point for the sunrise. The hill that we chose ended up having wooden stairs build into it which aided in our short trek. By the time we reached to top, there was an very faint light off over the water that gave the horizon a dull red glow and there was a cool breeze coming off of the ocean. At the time, Andy and I both talked about how seeing the first sunrise in the world of a new day is something definitely ...

... can't be. We were able to hold a little blue penguin. He was really cute! He did a huge poo just before he was handed to us so we narrowly avoided a disaster! We met a parrot that was excellent at talking and said some really funny things. We had a lot of fun here today! Later this afternoon we walked all along the seafront to the harbour where we had a well deserved ice cream before heading back to the hostel for dinner and movie night! All in all a very good day!

Welcome back to groundhog day, after an 18 days break, I find myself back at Kilmanagh Orc******* the outskirts of Hastings ready for another stint of apple picking. Forced back here due to a severe lack of money and a looming WOF (warranty of fitness) - new Zealand equivalent to an MOT for my vehicle prevented me leaving the Hawkes Bay region. However this time I lasted for a whole months and despite it not being a enjoyable as my initial stint it ...

hallo alle zusammen... 21/03/2008 Nach einer langen 3-tage-Arbeitswoche gings heute endlich wieder mal auf die Achse. Mit 2 total netten deutschen Maedels umrunden wir am Osterwochenende das East Cape. Heute Abend haben wir die "Mahia Peninsula" erreicht und an einem wunderschoenen Surfstrand uebernachtet. 22/03/2008 Gisborne ist die oestlichste Stadt in NZ und James Cook ist hier das erste Mal mit dem Schiff ...

... crates on fire in an attempt to burn some car tyres. Why someone would build a fire within 5 metres of the stationary mobile homes that were modified to dorm rooms is beyond comprehension. Luckily there was no wind that night and despite being woken up by the panicking girls there was no damage to the rooms other than the lingering smell of burning rubber. To cap it off, a week later I was even accused of starting the fire by the neighbouring garage, trying to goad ...

... don't ask me how to say that!..lol) This winery was an old converted horse stable. We gatherred outside for the 1st tasting which was a Savignon Blanc. Very nice..I bought a bottle of that one and a bottle of Syrah. We went inside and they let us taste any wines we wanted. They put out a very nice cheese and crackers platter. The weather was gorgeous and the countryside so pretty. It was a nice day. We were just a little dissappointed that ...

Today was our last day of holiday in the Hawkes Bay area as we return to Wellington tomorrow. We slept in and then spent a couple of hours wandering around Hastings and Havelock North. Most things were closed which we thought was strange because it was Jan 2. not New Year's Day. We visited a Te Mata Cheese factory and tasted some yummy cheese and ended up buying some cumin gouda cheese and some crackers to have for lunch. We had previously shared a tasty banana split at Rush Munro's ...

... some reason we didn't have enough time apparently. There is a museum, shop and cafe. We didn't go into the museum but we did got to the shop and buy some chocolates. You can usually watch the chocolates being made, but as Monday was a public holiday there were no chocolates being made that day. Following a quick Cajun chicken sandwich we headed back to Wellington, a long 4hr drive. Luckily, the others only had a 2hr journey back to Palmerston North.