Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

19/2/2012 Lucette and Paul took me for a drive around the coast and on up to Paekakariki Hill, about an hour outside of Wellington. We took the scenic route via Eastbourne, where we stopped at the Chocolate Dayz Café, drove past Petone and took the old road up to Paekakariki Hill and Poterua and then… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

16/2/2012 I arrived in Wellington at 5pm after an eight hour bus ride and was met by a friend of mine, Lucette, who I’d met the last time I was here. I was going to be staying with her and her family for five days and I was looking forward to it. This time my… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

2/8/2012 A 100 Day Blueprint – A Summary The blueprint for the rebuilding of Christchurch was revealed yesterday by the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU). The plan is to significantly shrink the size of the Central Business District, with “properties needing to be bought up in order to clear space for the city’s new “frame”…. Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

13/2/2012 The Department of Conservation in Whakapapa Village has a very good visitor centre, with a little museum on site and gives a lot of information about the various walks in the area. I asked the woman behind the counter what sort of walks I could do. I’m not a big hiker and just wanted… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

13/2/2012 After Rotorua I had to make a last minute decision as to where I wanted to go next. I was supposed to stay with a friend in Napier but she was sick so I had to change my plans a bit. For me, my choices were either going to Tauranga, Palmerston North or Tongariro… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

11/2/2012 I went to the Rotorua Museum and along with seeing the Nga Pumanawa O Te Arawa (The Beating Hearts of Te Arawa) Exhibition, there was also a very good photography exhibition about Brian Blake in the Rotorua Trust Gallery. He’s New Zealand’s best known photographer, celebrated for his international photojournalism and images of New… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

11/2/2012 On my way to Rotorua, I stayed in Hamilton with people I’d never met before. Scott and Ngaire and their family were very welcoming and looked after me very well. Scott is the son of Papa Tipua, a friend of mine who lives in Wellington. I wanted to see the Maori Nga Pumanawa O… Read more »

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: New Zealand.

8/2/2012 So I had arranged to meet up with the designer, Sandra Thompson, the woman who made my dress, when I got to Paihia. She lives in Russell which is only a ten minute ferry across the water from Paihia. It was a beautiful day and Sandra and I found each other on the pier… Read more »