Kawakawa and disappointment
On our approach to the Bay of Islands I noted that we were to drive near Kawakawa.
As this was the infamous home of the Hundertwasser Toilets, I duly prodded the driver and requested (for his benefit of course) that we take a driving break in the locality of this tourist attraction.
I wish I hadn’t bothered. Read More…
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We started at Snells Beach…
Our summer trip was underway.
We had packed up the Kiwi Blog Bus with leftover Christmas goodies and collected our Trade Me buy en route (a double kayak – that’s actually a 2 person plus room for a little one).
And we arrived at our first night’s stopover – Snells Beach just past Warkworth (free camping for self-contained campervans). Read More…
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A little bit of Coromandel and lots of Christmas spirit
It doesn’t always take a long break or a visit to distant shores to recharge your batteries.
For me it took two nights away in the Kiwi Blog Bus this weekend with a little shopping, lots of food, a Santa parade and lots of doing nothing in the shade of a pohutakawa tree.
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Where does the time go?!
Hello Kiwi Blog Bus friends! Sorry to have left you half way through my weekend in the last post .
Time ticks on and I have been super busy at work with a BIG event on at Mystery Creek just recently (Equidays in case you’re interested!)
I last left you in the Western Bay of Plenty over Labour weekend (many moons ago!) and will now pick up where I left off. Read More…
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A long holiday weekend of many parts
We have a public holiday in New Zealand today; Labour day.
To be quite honest, I’m not sure what the history of it is but all I care is that it gets me a day off work and we got a long weekend to go away in the Kiwi Blog Bus!
For the first day we travelled to one of our favourite handy FREE spots: Ferguson Park, Otumoetai near Tauranga.
I relax the minute we drive into the park. Read More…
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Our weekend continued: Wairere Falls
After we’d spent an enjoyable few hours at Firth Tower Reserve we decided it was time to move on, however, the sun was still shining and it was far too early to set off home.
Hence… we ended up just another 20kms or so up the road (North of Matamata) at the beautifully stunning Wairere Falls.
Reputed to be the highest waterfall in New Zealand’s North Island, the falls plunge 153 metres (500 feet) then disappear into the depths of native bush. Read More…
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Hamilton Gardens: a collection of paradise and more
Staying local again this week, I shall take you on a trip to Hamilton Gardens – the Waikato’s most popular visitor attraction.
Indian Char Bagh Garden, Hamilton Gardens
Locals and tourists alike throng regularly through the many themed areas, gardens and collections, all open free to the public.
We are lucky enough to be able to visit the gardens on a regular basis; for dog walks, Sunday strolls, Jazz festivals, picnics and more.
In particular we enjoy Read More…
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A little bit of Kiwiana
From the Kiwi Annison Archives
Back in April this year we travelled down to Waitomo and further on to the west coast – see Magnificent meanderings to Marokopa. On our way down we went through Otorohanga , the official Kiwiana town.
So those of you not in New Zealand may now be scratching your heads and wondering what the heck is kiwiana. Read More…
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Sometimes the best things in life really are free
One of the big things we noticed when we moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2008 was the fantastic and plentiful array of kids playgrounds here.
It may seem like an insignificant thing but when you have three kids who have usually seen broken, graffiti covered, litter strewn playgrounds that normally contained a set of broken swings and nothing too adventurous that you could potentially injure yourself on – then it all came as a breath of fresh air.
Thames playground
Before I get jumped on and all the UK peeps shout at me…. yes, I agree there were SOME nice parks and playgrounds for kids. But I am speaking my opinion when I say that while we lived and travelled around the UK I can honestly say that the large majority of playgrounds were either in undesirable areas or visited by undesirables who used for undesirable purposes.
Sad but true.
Another huge difference for us here was the school grounds. Read More…
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A little place we like to go (infamous for doing it in public)
From the Kiwi Annison Archives:
In one of my strangely popular (!) posts Doing it in public, I mention briefly a wonderful little spot that we quite often like to visit.
Today I give further, deserved, attention to Fergusson Park in Tauranga.
As well as BBQs and a fantastic playground, the large waterside sports field has toilets, changing rooms, a boat ramp and is a very popular area for kiteboarding and windsurfing.
We were drawn there by this… Read More…
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Kiwi Blog Bus
Campervan tales from New Zealand
The Kiwi Blog Bus - campervan tales from New Zealand 