Category: New Zealand – 2018

Auckland New Zealand Auckland from the water Arrived in Auckland after a rather pleasant 6 hour flight from Tahiti. The airport was fairly crowded but passport control was well staffed with little wait. The customs and immigration folks were very concerned about bringing meats or vegetables into the country. Declaring I had food with me… Continue reading 1- Auckland →

Paihia Sunset Up at early to pack up, finish breakfast and make the 7am bus. It was a chilly gray morning just right for getting on a bus for a five hour drive. Our driver, Jarod was a bright knowledgeable guy who drove the bus, made commentary's and booked tours and accommodations all the while… Continue reading 2 – North to Paihia →

 Cape Reinga It was the first day of Spring in New Zealand. One could feel the promise of new growth all around. Not that it needed it. Most everything was already pretty green...save the trees whose skeletons even now were beginning to bud. Ok, enough with the tacky poetry. As Sam Goldwyn of Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer studios… Continue reading 3 – Cape Reinga-Day Tripping →

Digging your own hot tub at the beach OK, on the move again. Yesterday our Kiwi driver, Jarrod had picked up a young fellow named Ben to drive him to Auckland with us. Ben hopped right up into the front seat. Seemed right at home. Turned out he was to be our driver for the… Continue reading 4 – Hot Water Beach →

Black Water Rafting – Waitomo Our early departure from the beach at 7:30 am meant we could appreciate the Corromandel peninsula in the morning light. We cruised for an hour before a brief bathroom break and a chance to buy some food a a local market. Picked up a date nut loaf from a hospital… Continue reading 5 – Black Water Rafting →

Entrance to Maori Village As our departure was not until 8:30am. There was time for a leisurely breakfast if one were up at 7am. The previous night discretion had been the better part of valor. Did the laundry. The hostel had a pub nearby which served food and drink. It was about a 5 minute… Continue reading 6 – Rotorua – Maori Village →

Skydive Taupo The day started out as a rather mellow with a leisurely wake up. Kind of a chill and gray morning in the low 50's. Made some breakfast, enjoyed the view. We loaded up on our magic bus and headed out from Rotorua bound for adventure. Our first stop was Whakarewarewa which is a… Continue reading 7 – Life or Death in Taupo →

We arrived in Wellington mid-afternoon. Had made the mistake of booking a room at the NYA hostel which was not where our main group was staying. Did this because of the misleading Kiwi brochure which had this as our drop off and pick up location. Was not able to use the “bedhopper” pass here. Instead,… Continue reading 8 – Wellington →

One of the many point views The morning began with the bus pick up at the hostel with only a couple of people boarding which made it easy to take the preferred front seat with the good view out the window. It was a full sized bus. Our driver was a fellow buy the name… Continue reading 9 – Kaiteriteri – Able Tasman Park →

Moving on There was time for a morning walk up to the point. The day was sunny and clear. A fine day for a road trip. Baggage loaded we hit the road. Luck would have it that the shotgun seat (the favorite as you can see out the front window) was available. Quickly settled in… Continue reading 10 – Westport, NZ →