Archive for September, 2009

Change of plans

Change of plans

We flicked on the TV whilst having breakfast this morning to see news of a tsunami heading towards NZ following the earthquake off Samoa. They were predicting that it would hit Napier later in the morning with waves of up to 1 metre. This is quite scary news when you’re from the UK and not [...]

Wine tour

Wine tour

The weather forecast wasn’t good for today but it turned out great. This morning we went for a walk around Napier and followed an art-deco tour route.

Taupo to Napier

Taupo to Napier

Today has been mostly about avoiding the rain. We were planning to spend the day on and around Lake Taupo but at times the rain was so heavy that we could barely see the lake so we changed our plans. First we went to Huka Falls which is a section of rapids on the Waikoto  [...]

Rotorua

Rotorua

First off today, a trip round Lake Rotorua with a picture stop: Then a stop at the Skyride gondola and luge for a cable car trip up the hill and a go on the luge (like a soapbox car down a winding route back down the mountain) with a chairlift back to the top. Next [...]

Waitomo caves

Waitomo caves

Yesterday we drove to Waitomo (about 3hrs South of Auckland). Along the way we drove through some pretty heavy rain but by the time we arrived late morning it was bright and warm again. There are 3 main caves at Waitomo and we went in Ruakuri and the Glow Worm cave. The caves are formed [...]