...of places I would love to live one day: Piha Beach. (First entry was La Mision, Baja). (Pictured: South Piha Beach) The rest of New Zealand (now, granted, we haven't yet visited the South Island) has been lovely, but hasn't grabbed me like this place has. Piha is heaven. It's nestled in the Waitakere Ranges, … Continue reading Second entry on my list…
Some sort of horrid sinus infection has captured me in it's phlegmy tentacles. I have discovered it is certainly not more, potentially even less, fun to be sick in a foreign country. Hostels are loud and the people are substantially less friendly in a big-city downtown hostel than at any of our previous ones - … Continue reading Quick Update – BLEARGH
We were spoiled at the Waterfront in so many ways, with the sounds of the ocean audible even from our rooms, and fantastic company. By far my favorite conversation there, though, occurred with Tem, the Maori housekeeper. She was the one who noticed us walking by the first night, after 10pm, with a “No Vacancy” … Continue reading Maori
Alas, the photographer was too tipsy to do his job last night, so you'll have to take my words for it. We walked into the Waterfront Lodge & Backpackers after ten pm. a few nights ago, and were ecstatic to find they had one room left. It's the Queen's Birthday holiday here, for all of … Continue reading Na-Pier One.
Not a lot has happened in the last few days, but it's been a while since we updated, so here goes my attempt at bringing you up to speed. As you may know, we found a FANTASTIC weekly rate at this hostel, which averaged out to less than USD $10 per day if we stayed … Continue reading Update for the sake of update
((This is our 100th post!)) Updates from Taupo - quick bites 1. Weekly Rates RULE. We are at a slightly rundown, but friendly, backpacker called Go Global. It's about a block from the lake, which incidentally is the largest lake in Australasia. It was created when a volcano went boom, apparently. Missed that, thankfully. Weekly … Continue reading Centennial
Rotorua is predominantly a tourist town, predicated on its impressive thermal areas and lovely lake, which serves as a national wildlife reserve. New Zealand has so far proven more expensive than expected, but the last day or so has underlined… well, to be blunt, what we’re doing wrong. First, lodging is an almost inescapable problem. … Continue reading Rotorua
(This is quite lengthy, but as this part of our journey is over, we wanted to share what we had. Thanks!) Day 3 - Friday, 5/1 The only reason I know what day it is is because the Chef's menu is posted in the galley, and has the days and dates. Chief (Dave) and Captain … Continue reading Freighter Ship Update – Final (Indi)
Yep, me again. Indi's blog version of part of the trip follows. Day 2 - Thursday, 4/30 We received a courtesy call at 5am from the Captain, advising us we were preparing to depart and were welcome on the bridge. Rhys rushed up - I took a few moments to get dressed and try to … Continue reading Freighter Ship Update – Part Two (Indi)
((Same situation as other post, but I'm not sure which one is going to post first. In case it's this one, here's the deal: It's 12:45 PM on Wednesday the sixth of May out here in the Pacific Ocean. The Captain of our vessel has been kind enough to allow me to send a few … Continue reading Freighter Ship Update – Part One (Indi)
Rhys' Pieces 