TravelStream™ news feed for member minijexter on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/minijexter en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:27:33 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minijexter/1/1218727500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minijexter/1/1218727500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minijexter/1/1218727500/tpod.html Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:27:33 -0400 What was the 28th now the 29th

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Greymouth, South Island, New Zealand

August 1st

After our nice visit to Takaka we packed up and headed for greymouth. We didn't think we would get to Greymouth, but we hoped to get to milford which would be very close. We didn't get there ether. Audry caught a cold and can't to a lot of driving, well she can't do very long car rides and so we stopped in a little town called Milforson. I bought some Tip Top ice cream and we booked a place to stay at there local i center. On the way to the Grand's cottage we saw a field of sheep. Which was not to uncommon in New Zealand but what caught our attention were the little lambs. There were ate least four or five of them and there was one little black one. They were so cute!

Me and mom stayed in a Hostel called the Lazy Cow. We got in and discovered that the Hostel had just been bought the day before and the new owners had only moved in yesterday. They were very nice and friendly and we had a wonderful time talking to them about our travels. They were from the UK, sumersville they said, and they loved NZ. they had a son, Jason with them but he plans to find work and leave the Hostel. The couple plans on renovating the whole place and on making their home downstairs below the Hostel area. We had some nice pork for supper, very lean and we bought it from the world famous butcher that they had in town. Said to have the best meat in all New Zealand.

It was the first time me and mom talked to the other guests in the Hostel we were staying at for any extended amount of time. There was a Woman from Scotland and two old chaps that road motor cycles in The Ulysses Club. Apparently there are a lot of bikers over the age of 50 all over the world and they can be part of this prestigious club. The owners Alice, Phil and their son Jason offered us all beer and we sat down after supper and talked into the wee hours of the morning. We listened to music Jason had on his computer. I learned about 07, Air and Johny cash.

It is time for sleep
HugZ
sabine Ng
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Takaka, South Island, New Zealand

July 30th

Although there were severe storm warnings we left Nelson this morning and headed for Takaka. We reached the small town without incident and the trip was quite enjoyable. It was another short ride that took around 2 hours. It was rainy and there was lots of fog around mid day but that's what made the scenery so beautiful. I must admit though. I did sleep for a large portion of the trip. In Takaka it was very windy, which made the rain worse then when there was no wind. We booked were we were going to stay at the isite. The Grands stayed at The Golden Bay Motel and me and mom stayed at Annie's Nervana Backpackers. Both places were very nice and I enjoyed my stay. The one thing that could be improved for the backpackers would be for the receptionist to learn English. She was an Asian girl and it was very hard to understand her over the phone, and in person.

Me and mom walked around the town to discover it was very, very small...it consisted of two main roads; one of which was full of shops, the local post office and the bank. The other had a grocery store and a garage. There were many places to stay as well. I'm sorry to say that we didn't do much today because of the weather. I did walk down a beach before we left Nelson and we did look into the stores in Takaka but I mostly procrastinated and did nothing all day. We ate chicken with spuds, beets and cauliflower for super.

I watched Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets before going to bed.
Re watch some old movies for me!
HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Takaka, South Island, New Zealand

July 29th

Today was a full day. We slept in until 10- 10:30 this morning. Had a lovely breakfast of cereal, a banana, a kiwi and some awesome grape juice. We then walked over to the Icenter and planed our day. There is lots to see and do in takaka but we decided to go look up the cape towards the west side instead of going into Able Tasmin park. I wish I were staying here longer so that I could see that to, but I'm not so there we have it XD.

Today cleared up nicely. We did have some rain but it was only light showers and they didn't last long. We packed our lunches at the Grands place (Golden Bay Motel) and drove up to the largest fresh water stream. Te waikoropupu springs. It was amazing to see because it is very long and wide. The largest amount of fresh water I'll ever see, probably. We then went to a beach, Parapara beach. It was nice even though it was cloudy and we found some wonderful sea shells. Scallops were popular, we found four or five shells that were still intact and each was a different colour. We also found a couple who use the sea weed as a fertilizer in their garden, apparently it helps to keep weeds at bay. We then when to Milnthorpe but it was low tide and there wasn't much to see. We did get a good look at some wild birds that weren't too afraid of our car.

In Collingwood we went to another beach, not much to look at either for the first hundred meters but then it opens up and becomes sandy. It's beach houses many cockles and we saw many people walking along it's shores picking them up for supper. Outside of Collingwood about 20 meters is an animal farm or rather, a zoo. I got to see eels that live harmoniously with ducks, guinepigs, rabbits, at least 5 different types of birds and then there were more pens. There was a mother hen with her 10 chicks in a pen with a male and a female goat. A duck in a pen with a guinepig. A terky in a pen with some chickens. five peacocks shared a pen with a hen and a wallaby ( baby kangaroo! ). There was a pen with a whole bunch of chickens, one of which was black. Two dear were in a separate pen and the last pen before the exit held two emus!

After all of this we went on a cave exploring adventure. Only mom and grandpa came with me, Audry said she's stay in the car. It was amazing and I recommend it to everyone!! The guide was great, very friendly and talkative and the stalagmites and stalactites are well worth seeing. There were glow worms to, though they might not last long because one of their natural predators is killing them off.

Don't kill spiders, capture them and send them outside!
HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Takaka, South Island, New Zealand

July 28th

I awoke this morning to grey skys and a promise for more rain. We listened intently to the weather reports to see if either the 6 or highway 60 had been closed. Luckily neither one had been closed so we took a gamble and decided to head to Takaka today instead of tomorrow. I ran to the beach to see it before we left and I was lucky to find the sand hadn't turned into mud yet.

The drive to Takaka was much like the one to Nelson, only two hours and the scenery was fantastic even though it was raining. I thought it was anyway. There's something about a valley Forrest surrounded by mountains hidden in fog that I find wonderful. I have to admit, I did not stay awake the whole time we were traveling. I fell asleep after we had passed through the mountain pass and saw some nice fog. We arrived in Takaka at 1:15 and went to the Isite and visitors washroom. The Grands aren't as close to us as they have been previously, but they are still within walking distance and we are still able to go over to eat supper with them if needed.

There isn't much I can say about the town itself. It's a small town with friendly people and a Food Choice grocery store. The stores are not name bran and they are still local. There are no The Warehouse's / Walmarts in town and I think they should keep it that way. I watched the news and found out that the storm is hitting the North Island with grave consequences. Roofs are being torn off buildings and there are mass floods. Picton is in a state of emergency and it's not too nice over here, but we've avoided most catastrophes.

I hope the weather clears for tomorrow, there's supposed to be lots to see and do around Takaka and the Able Tasmin National Park area.

HugZ
sabine Ng
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Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand

July 27th Or maybe not?

I don't know were my dates got wrong but they did somehow. We stayed in Wellington for two nights and then left on the ferry for Picton. the day we left it was cloudy and there had been severe weather warnings. A big storm was coming so we didn't know when we would be able to leave Wellington. But we did leave on the day we had booked so that was good. We had to wait on the dock for a very long time and then we had to wait on the boat to be parked for a while as well. The boat was very nice and it was very big. There were seats everywhere and they were cushioned. At the front the chairs were leather. There was a small souvenir shop, a cinema, a cafeteria and a bar on board. As well as washrooms and an arcade. I did get sick on the ride over. On the sea it was very rough and there were many large swells. We made it to pikton after three hours and decided not to stay the night but the travel to Blenheim to seek cheaper accommodation. The backpackers in Blenheim is very nice with the nicest owners yet.

We were planning to leave Blenheim in the morning and head for Nelson right away, but mom got a migraine so we had to stay an extra day. The grands went out on a wine tour and bought a nice white wine. I went out to hunt for a purse and looked through 30 shops to find one. Along the way I bough two pairs of shoes at The Warehouse, some beads at the bead store, a pair of the longest socks I've ever seen at a store I can't remember the name of and three shirts at Farmers. I finally found a nice purse at a second hand store call Buy 4 less. I ate my lunch in the town gardens and listened to the birds. Over all today was a very nice day and I had a lot of fun.

the next day was a strange day. We left Blenheim around 10:30 and started the two hour journey to Nelson. It was like a car trip to Montreal except with two seniors and in beautiful NZ. We stopped once to have a bathroom break and I took some nice photos while it was nice out. It was really nice and warm today, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I'm staying in a hostel "Beach Hostel" to be exact and it's very nice. They are very close to the water and I've gotten to know two or three of the other people who are staying here. They are all very nice...so far XD The building itself is really nice and has many balconies and patios for it's guests. The place is run by a Canadian, a Torontonian, though he is now a converted New Zealander. The beds are comfortable though the sheets are purple and the room is larger them that in Blenheim.

We went into town to go to the I center and see if there were any cave exploring adventures need Nelson. There is one on the way to Tekaka and some more near Greymouth. I really hope I get to go to one of them. Parking in Nelson was fun because we went to pay at the parking meter and discovered it was out of order! We got to park for free. I didn't realize it at the time so I just though the coins were stuck in the parking meter and proceed to try and take them out. I got 50 cents out of it. We visited the New Zealand gift shop and bought a tea towel that was on sale. We went to the sheep skin show and didn't buy anything. We walked around downtown Nelson trying to find "The Bead Gallery" that's on farere st. but we didn't have a map so we didn't get there before it closed. We didn't even find it.

I stopped by the local McDonalds and went to the Mc Cafe and ordered a raspberry and white chocolate muffin as well as a fluffy to go. The girl serving put some chocolate syrup on top and it made it taste like chocolate milk. The muffin was scrumptious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went shopping for today's dinner and settled on fish, potatoes and broccoli with carrots. It was very good. Then I watched some television, which has become a bad habit of mine. I've seen The Lake House and The Cable Guy on t.v. I've also seen Tina Tequila and the simpsons which I would never watch at home. Today I got to see bits of spidersman II & III, mith busters and The Dead Zone.

I ate some pop corn and I need some sleep. I hope you all have been resting up,
HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Wellington, New Zealand

July 26th

Wellington it like Auckland, all hills. It is one of the most cramped cities I have ever seen. All the houses have more then one floor, which I have not seen anywhere else in New Zealand. Space is used to it's full potential here, the backpackers here only have dorms, no single or double rooms. The backpackers we are staying at is ok. Pros: free breakfasts and tea and coffee whenever you want it and Free internet and movies. Cons: Cold as hell because they only supply you with a small duvet and pillow. Plus the other room mates put their towels on the heater so that the heat generated didn't circulate the room but made their towels nice and toasty. They didn't mind because they had sleeping bags...real backpackers...while I froze.

Today we went over to the grands place and I watched some quality T.v, bionic woman! Apparently she had mechanical ears and legs...and arms? She was super strong, could jump off tall buildings without hurting herself and could hear the small clicks of safes. After the T.V viewing me & mom went back to the hostel to get my camera. We were to meet the grands back at the I center in town. It was a very nice walk to the isite, the air was crisp and the sky was blue and there was no trace of the rain from last night. There are lots of shops in down town Wellington and we stopped by an art supply store to gawk at all the stuff I want but can't have. I did however buy a special art eraser that is malleable and very handy for detailed work.

We reached the isite long before the grands and I had a good look through their suverir shop. Not too shabby but a little out of my budget. I found something really neat though. They have replacement zipper pullers in the shape of new zealand symbols like the silver fern and sheep or kiwis. I was looking to buy on but it cost 7$ so I didn't. The grands arrived and we went looking for a coffee shop. We walked past a free art gallery and it just about killed me not to go in because it was FREE. We also passed the library, the magnificent library :( We did however go over a very neat bridge to see the ocean. There were carvings of wales and birds on it and it got very cold and windy near the ocean so we turned around and went back into town. We passed another art gallery and lots of shops before getting to a small cafe called The Goblin Cafe. It's situated in a mall and it had a sea food chowder special. Sea food chowder with garlic bread for 9,50. DEAL. So we sat there and ate lunch and I ordered a late. Which was good except the foam. I looked around the malls for a purse but didn't find anything reasonable. There were no good deals on clothes ether. It was very easy to find their washrooms though.

We wanted to go see the bird sanctuary, the museum, the botanical gardens and ride the tram. We rode the tram up the mountain and it only cost us 5$ for adults 2$ for students and 3$ for seniors. it was very nice and had three stops. One at the town center, one at the university and one at the top with the botanical gardens. The museum was closed and so was the observatory and bird sanctuary. Clouds started to come in and it got colder. We took refuge at a local cafe up there and the grands enjoyed a nice dinner with a fantastic view of the town. Me and mom however split off and went to look for a more reasonable meal. We found it at a small indean restaurant. I ate some butter chicken and mom ordered masala and I got two servings while mom got three and we each paid only 18$. It was delicious and well worth it.

I only wish I remembered the name of the place, I could point it out to you on a map XD
HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

July 25th

Today we drove from Taupo to wellington. We left at 10 and arrived at 4:30 in the afternoon. The high way is very good and we were lucky it wasn't closed today. it's pritty straight and I watched as the town turned into tundra and the sheep disappeared. Then the green fields returned and we started passing small towns again. Anyway we made it to wellington and learned that it's not built for cars very quickly. The roads are very very narrow and the intersections are not marked out very well and it's very hard to park. It's much better to walk everywhere.

We are sleeping at Worldwide Backpackers and the Grands are staying in a very expensive hotel.

HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Taupo, New Zealand

July 24th

We headed out early this morning and walked to the post office to mail some letters and send off the post cards we have been collecting. The post office is very nice and the stamps were very cheap. I love the stamps here! They had one with scenes from Narnia the lion the witch and the wardrobe, any some specially made for the Olympics with pictures of athletes on them. Most of the ones I've bought have nice pictures of birds on them although these are international stamps and they take longer to mail for some reason. The ones I bought at the post office did not say international on them and they were sent much faster.
We then went to the Taupo museum but got lost along the way, it's situated behind the library. It's a very nice library with lots of windows and places to sit. Actually all of their libraries are nice, there is one in wellington that is massive, it looks like an office building all steel and glass. Anyway, the museum was well worth the visit for the art, but first we needed to watch a short film on the history of Taupo. behind this is a little room with a collection of world war fighter plane models. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that there were so many different types of planes, I think the museum has a very good collection. After the movie and the planes you enter a big room full of art. Different styles and mediums from wood to metal and oil paint. It was wonderful and I wouldn't mind spending a day just sitting in that room.

eThe museum also has a maori boat on display. It's very crooked and I don't know why they built there boat that way. Outside the museum there is a national history site. It's not very big but it still has some of the magic that comes with heritage. There a maori fountain as well as meting place and traditional carvings surround the small site. The pond itself is very unique with water dribbling down several shelves before reaching the bottom.

On the way back home we stopped by a little cafe that is past of a wine store. Scenic Cellars is it's name and it's amazing. You have to pass through the cafe to get to the wine store and upon entry you step out onto a glass floor that lets you see into one of their cellars. The store itself has a big selection with many different types of wine but they also have cellars. The stairs leading to the cellars are made from the tops of wine crates and the cellar itself is massive. There's five parts to the cellar, three smaller parts (one of which you see when you walk on the glass floor) and two that are much larger. There's a dining room with wine lining the walls and then the main cellar were there's tones of wine from all over the world. The room that has a glass roof houses the biggest wine bottles I've ever seen that cost up to 6,000$!!

We then went to a Mc Cafe before heading home, I ordered a moccachino and it was very good. But I have to say, avoid the foam/ froth that they put on top of the cofe. I find it very bitter. The cofe itself though was very nice.

In the evening after supper me and mom went to a spa. We went to the Btrets to use their hop pools. It was very nice, kind of like the hot springs in Rotoiti but much much bigger with a water slide. There were many different pools and each of them had a different temperature. The water wasn't as sulfuric as in lake Rotoiti and I liked the fact that there were plastic mats leading to every pool and change room. They weren't too hard on the feet and they did not go moldy like felt mats would. So I was very impressed with Brets spa.

HugZ
Sabine Ng
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Taupo, New Zealand

July 23rd

I did many things today. Right after breakfast we (mom, me and Audry) took the car and went up to see the Taupo waterfall. Grandpa went fishing with a local he met at the time share resort, Ikanui. We made a short stop at a look out and got a good view of Taupo from the mountain. Then we headed of the see the water fall. The actual falls itself wasn`t very high but it was wide, very wide. Not as wide as niagra falls however, but wider then any of the others I have seen so far. The water was very turquoise and ran very quickly. There were lots of places to stop and take pictures and there were many visitors. At the falls the water that has fallen looks like a big cauldron, water in constant turmoil.
Next we went to see the honey bee factory. When we arrived we found that there had been a fire and the shop had burned down. Thankfully not many of the bees were hurt, though some had died due to the heat. They were still open though, in a temporary location they had two huts, one for all their beauty products and luxuries such as hand creams and face moisturizers and licures. The other hut was were they were selling all their food products. I bought two soaps to try out and sampled their honey. They had peanut butter and honey, honey that tasted like lavender, kiwis and boysenberries and lots of other flavors.

After the honey bee farm were we didn`t get to see any honey bees we went to the volcano activity center. It was very interactive and educational. We learned a lot about New Zealand and it`s volcanic activities. There are many volcanoes in New Zealand , many of witch are still active. I saw a simulation of a giser and went into a volcano simulator. We watched two movies about the volcanoes in New Zealand and then decided to leave.

Me and mom went into town to see what the shopping was like. It`s really expensive in Taupo! Clothing is way to expensive for my taste. We didn`t see any parking meters or parking signs so we parked the car and came back 3 hours later. In that time I bought two winter hats at bargain prices because they were made for kids, but they fit my head so...YAY. When we got back to the car we found that we had a ticket. Apparently the parking was only for 60 mins and we didn`t see the sign!! It was hidden out of sight I tell you. We were fined 12$ so it wasn`t as bad as it could be, a very reasonable charge if you ask me.

That is all for now
HugZ
sabine Ng
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Taupo, North Island, New Zealand

July 22nd

We are staying at the Ikanui time share resort. Mom and I have graciously given the master bed room to Grandpa and Audry and we are sleeping on the pull out couch. The resort isn't as nice as the one on lake Roroiti, it's smaller for one and it only has one floor. The pull out couch is quite unique I've never seen anything like it, you can't just pull it out and use it, you have to assemble the blasted thing and if you can figure out how to do that...well you're a genius and I'll pay you to unfold that bed. Anyway, we all ate breakfast very late today and we ate it in silence. We decided to go to the fish hatchery not far from Taupo and if grandpa wanted to go fishing we would stay the day.

We ended up staying the day anyway because we left Ikanui at 12:30 and arrived at the fish hatchery at 1:15. When we got out of the car it started to rain but we just put on our rain coats and went to look at the hatchery anyway. We saw the fish pens were they trap spawning fish and get their eggs and sperm. There were lots of fish! Next we got to see the baby fish and learn about their hatching proses. Fish incubators look weird. After the little fishes we walked by many ponds that are connected by a stream/river. We couldn't see anything because it was raining. It took forever to get anywhere because the grands don't walk very fast. We got to see the holding pen were the little fish are placed when they are "teenagers". It simulates a stream with a current just like they would have to face in the wild. After this we went on the hunt for a washroom, we didn't find one, but we did find a little museum. We went inside and watched a little movie about fishing in Taupo and the serounding lakes and rivers, ate our lunches and walked through the museum.

we got directions from the people who work at the museum, most of which are volunteers that are trying to protect the fish. We passed a stream/ river that grandpa wanted to fish in but couldn't because the water was too murky. Then I found the fish pond and bought some fish food so I could feed the fish. Fish will do funny things for food and there's lots of competition in the pond. I saw three fish do back flips in order to catch the food pellet before anyone else. There was also a small viewing tank built into he side of the river. Here you can feed the larger adult rainbow trout and see them clearly. They were massive fish.

We left the fish hatchery around 4:00 and went into town to have some tea. Audry purchased some cakes at the local bakery because they were getting rid of today's batch and the baked goods were half price. We got a big cinnamon bun with pink icing and a custard square.

HugZ
Sabine Ng
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