Wales face the last haka at the House of Pain.
Up at 05.45 for a 07.45 flight to the Dunedin. The flight was uneventful apart from the presence of half of NZ’s media. In Dunedin we checked into the Living Space hotel which perhaps could be better named ‘only just enough living space’ hotel as the room
is literally one and a half times the size of the bed and we have to orchestrate movements before executing them (but a bargain at £32 per night). Continue reading
Fun at Whangarei Heads.
A trip to Kerikeri via Whangarei is on the cards and my plan it to complete the first leg (to Whangarei) by bike as part of my training for the New Zealand Half Ironman in March. So I leave Auckland (crossing the Waitamata by ferry as, to my knowledge, there is no way of getting across by bike) to begin the 200km ride to Whangerei where the plan Continue reading
Ruth surveys Taupo from 12,000ft.
We’re staying in a cabin in Taupo with Howell and Tracey Havard and family who are on their way back to Auckland to fly home to the UK after a three week tour of New Zealand and, more importantly, their beach wedding.
What to do in Taupo on Christmas Eve ? Continue reading
Sunset at Ohope.
School finishes for Christmas today and it’s also my last day at work before the long Christmas (summer) holidays. we have a big road trip planned during the three weeks + that I am off work. Were heading south from Auckland for Queenstown with much planned on the way there and back. Continue reading
Watch your head as you approach the aircraft.
Friday came around quickly this week and with a half-day booked-off from work and schools being far more reasonable about taking children out of school during term time we knock-off at lunch time and head for Rotorua where we plan to meet up with Gillian and Hywel who are travelling up from Gisborne. Continue reading
The key ingredient of team building.
I flew down to Wellington on Thursday this week for a couple of days team building with the largely new digital team. There are 17 people in my team and most have been at Telecom less than 6 months. Continue reading
The view from Ruapehu looking north
I’ve taken a few days holiday so we packed our ski kit and head out of town to the very literally named National Park Village 15 mins from the Mt Ruapehu ski area. This is the furthest south we have been so far and after 5 hours including a stop for lunch we arrive at the ‘Adventure Lodge and Motel’ where we have a family room booked.
It is mid afternoon and in the communal living room a number of people are reading books in front of the fire as the ski area is closed due to high winds. It’s weird there are blue skies, the sun is hot and there is not a hint of a breeze at the Motel. Continue reading
It can only be Wellington – houses overlooking the sea clinging to bush-clad hills.
Having travel to Wellington several times with work it was about time we explored the place properly. So we base ourselves in a Zebra-striped 5 storey backpackers hostel on Tory Street (opposite the Telecom NZ office) and set about exploring. Continue reading
Raglan NZ, one of the stop-offs of the Endless Summer movie.
Time to get out of Auckland and with ‘free’ petrol why wouldn’t you (I have unlimited petrol and a company car for a flat fee each month). Today we decided to head down to Raglan on the West Coast of the Waikato. As a wannabe surfer I am aware of Raglan from its appearance in the 1966 classic surf film ‘Endless Summer’ so this trip is inspired as much by that as by a desire to see as many parts of New Zealand as we can while we are here. Continue reading
Early morning at Otara market
On the weekend we get up early and head to Otara, South Auckland where there is a Saturday morning market. We get a bit lost so ask a Maori women for directions. The conversation went something like this:
NewZealandly 