The Coromandel and Whitianga
Pics from left to right, top to bottom: (click on pic to enlarge) 1) View from the road to Coromandel 2) No room for utility poles on road to Coromandel 3) Farm and fishery property on Coromandel peninsual 4) Participant in UK Bristol owners New Zealand tour 5) Giant Flightless Pipi Picker 6) Oyster Catcher? […]
Miramichiers settled Helensville
Click on pictures to enlarge. From left from top – Helensville from the air; The Seagull; John & Helen McLeod; Isaac & Janet McLeod; Helensville Pioneer Museum staff, Glenyss Blackshaw, Judy Lloyd, Jean Davidson Years ago, I was excited when a Miramichi man told my father, George, about coming across a New Zealand town settled […]
Paihia & Bay of Islands
Pics from left: Yacht through trees from Russell, the former notorious whaling station; Lone campers on an island beach in Bay of Islands; Maori performers at the Waitanga Treaty grounds in Paihia. Paihia on the Bay of Islands, four hours north of Auckland is an excellent place to settle in for a few days on […]
Top tip of New Zealand
Pics from beginning: 1) Cape Reinga Lighthouse. Pacific Ocean on the right. Tasman Sea on the left. The very top of New Zealand. 2) The 64-mile-long 90 Mile Beach. Tour buses race up or down the beach depending on the tide at the time of the tour. 3) An ancient, protected Kauri tree. (Pic of […]
Auckland from the water
Auckland skyline with Sky Tower Classic Auckland building engulfed by office tower Old Auckland harbour lighthouse, now automated. Some of the best views of Auckland are from the water. One of the first things we learned on our harbour tour is that one in every five New Zealanders has a boat. One in […]
Michelle’s first New Zealand beach comb
Rose Garden Park in Auckland has 5,000 different roses . . . . and a beach. That’s Michelle on her first New Zealand beach.
Onward in Auckland
On our first full day in the country, we spent the morning planning our North Island itinerary with Allyson at the iSite NZ tourism office. The offices are more like travel agencies. They recommend and book tours, accommodations, transportation and auto rentals and give advice. They take immediate payment for whatever they book and […]
New Zealand trip observations
To get to New Zealand, we embarked at Moncton and hopped across the country to Hamilton, Calgary and Vancouver. We arrived at midnight and laid over until the next evening. Our hotel was in Richmond, a suburb with a large Chinese population. We learned years ago that a restaurant full of Chinese diners, […]
On the road – random raves
On the road – random raves Michelle and I are on the road. We’re spending six weeks in New Zealand. We are wrestling with internet access, making travel plans on the fly and finding our way in a new country. One of the first things we had to do is get adjusted […]