Tag Archive | Nature

Finally….. the beautiful Bay of Islands

Since we came to live in New Zealand, and probably even before, I heard so much about the Bay of Islands that it obviously had to go onto our Must-See list (and my personal bucket list).

So on our first trip ever up to Northland and the Far North (is that the opposite of the Deep South?!) I was eagerly anticipating our arrival in the Bay of Islands.

It did not disappoint.

Bay of Islands COPYRIGHT KIWI BLOG BUS

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Three in a boat in Patua

Strictly speaking I cannot say three men in a boat – to be accurate it would have to be three humans in a kayak.

Or perhaps, at times, one human and two dogs – but you get the idea.

Pataua copyright THE KIWI BLOG BUS

We were eager to try out Read More…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Dare I tell you about Simpsons Beach?

From the Kiwi Annisons Archives:

There is a beautiful sandy beach in a stunning Coromandel bay surrounded by rolling green hills, where you can camp just a stones throw from the water’s edge (and I do mean that literally) and the payment for this paradise…
Just $5 a night.

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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…

Home sweet home: Cambridge, New Zealand

Seeing as we haven’t been away in the Kiwi Blog Bus for a wee while I thought I would blog today about my beautiful home town of Cambridge as it’s certainly somewhere I’d like to visit if I didn’t live here!

This is not meant to be a full and comprehensive guide to the town, rather a few of my personal pictures that I have taken over the few years we’ve enjoyed living here.

If you want to learn more about this very historic New Zealand town then check out the museum website.

And for those of you that have driven through Cambridge on State Highway 1 and not bothered to stop for a look… this is what you missed:

St Andrews Anglican Church, built in 1873 this is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Cambridge

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