Whangarei/Fangarayee

I have driven south from Paihia. First before setting off I went to the Waitangi Treaty signing site just up the road from Paihia. Our guide was a young Maori man who very expertly told us about Maori history and culture without overloading us with too much information. I have been intrigued as to why Maoris seem better integrated into New Zealand society than the Aboriginals are in Australia. He went a long way to explain. The Maoris were much more war like in comparison to the shy and peaceloving aboriginals. The early traders who visiting the shores of NZ traded guns with the Maoris, who promptly turned them on their would be colonial masters when they were not happy with a situation.

Another factor was that from the beginning the Maori wanted education from the colonials and quickly became literate in English and other languages. He told us that today Maori have their own schools where their language and culture are taught.

After that I drove to Whangarei - pronounce fangarayee. Pronunication is a minefield here as not only are most maori names very difficult for me to pronouce but also there is the whole issue of pcness and Maori culture. Wh as F in Maori pronunciation and anti pc people don't/won't use this. It's like being in Catalan areas because you can bet your bottom dollar that who ever you speak to will tell you off for using the wrong pronunciation.

Anyway Whangarei initially looked a bit uninteresting. It is on a river estuary and has no beach near the centre. It had a shopping centre which could have been Wakefield with the pioneer colonial look that all small Australian and New Zealand towns seem to have. It turned out have a very attractive marina area where I managed to get a delicious supper of rack of lamb. I was lucky to be fed at all as the restaurant filled up quickly with people out to celebrate the New Year.

The YHA I stayed in is right up on the hill overlooking Fangarayee and the view is faabeewlus. Especially as New Year approached and the lights all came on then the fireworks went up. Strange to be in the New Year before everybody at home.!!

Happy New Year Everybody

We are sailing contd

The cruise then took us around the islands with a stop off at one island. I strolled on the beach and went up the hill to the magnificent view point. Some fellow excursionists went snorkelling. It was then back to the boat for more sailing. Carino cruises.

Many of the magnificent mansions on the private islands were pointed out to us, some with their own helipads. I saw Kiri's place which was a little more modest, though still very large house, on the mainland, with her own motorboat parked off shore. No sign of Kiri herself though. She is known for her game fishing skills apparently and caught the first yellow fin tuna of the season.

At the end of the cruise I was dropped off across the bay from Pahia in the picturesque town of Russell. It was the original capital of New Zealand. Originally a whaling port of great disrepute it is now a very cute town of preserved colonial style houses. A complete contrast to bustling backpacker Paihia. I visited a fascinating museum called Pompallier House where I not only learned a lot about the history of Russell but also all about the tanning and printing processes that went on there.

I finished the day by going back to a wonderful seafood restaurant called 'Only Seafood' and eating a fabulous seafood platter based on sushi and sashimi. With a glass of Seresin wine, wow.

Love to all. Judith

We are sailing

I arrived in Pahia on the evening of Tuesday 29th somewhat hot and tired. The weather had been warm but cloudy and showery on the way up, but the sun came out for the last hour and the temp was 26c. It felt like a long drive because of the early slow moving traffic. In fact it was about 4 hours without rest stops.

Pahia is small town on the Bay of Islands and centre for most of the activities in the area. There was nearly no room at the inn over this Christmas period as it is packed with holiday makers for the Christmas/ New Year break. It was lucky I booked before I came and I think I must have got one of the last rooms in a not so salubrious backpackers place, but its fine as the people here are nice and friendly and it is quiet at night.

Yesterday the 30th I went for a cruise around the Bay of Islands on a catamaran. It was faabeewlus. Early rain and cloud turned to sun and we soon had dophins swimming and frolicking around the boat.

Kia Ora - Tuesday 29th Dec 2009

Not the orange juice beloved of my childhood trips to the cinema but Maori for welcome.

I have been having a great time. I collected my hire car on Tuesday 29th and set of with some trepidation to drive myself out of Auckland. The first obstacle was that I was driving an automatic which I have done before but a long time ago. Luckily Auckland was very quiet as it is still the Christmas holiday period. (It seems really strange seeing Christmas decs every where whilst it is so warm) . In 5 mins I was on highway 1 the main road which runs north to south on the North Island. That soon changed from a two lane highway to an ordinary single lane road. The drive was very slow to start with and there were big traffic jams caused by the amount of holiday traffic and the steep slopes on some of the hills which causes vehicles to back up behind large slow moving lorries. There are a lot of passing lane but they are hair raising because as you speed past the vehicles in the slow lane you can suddenly run out of passing lane and be face with a large lorry coming the other way. Luckily speeds here are low compared to England. Top speed is 100 kph which I think is around 60mph. Still fast enough for a nasty accident if you are not careful.

I've arrived - Monday 28th Dec 2009

Well I've done it! At last after all these years I've made it to NewZealand! I am staying in Auckland for one night. The flight was good in that having splashed out for business class I travelled in some luxury. My chauffeuse Jeanie Bruce arrived at 4.00 pm on the dot. By the time we got to Manchester air port we had swapped our life stories the way women do when they first meet.

No long walk through the airport. I was dropped outside the Emirates checkin and was soon in the executive lounge. There was all the alcohol you could drink including on tap champagne and all the food you could eat. Very comfy chairs and toilets to die for. Emirates

The flight was a little late leaving due to the de-icing procedures but hey better safe than sorry. After a couple of glasses of champage and a very nice meal I slept. Loads of leg room and a comfortable reclining chair.

The arrival at Dubai brought us down to earth! Long queues for a pointless security system where the operatives chatted away whilst supposedly looking at the screens. More luxury in the Emirates lounge though and then off again on the second leg to Melbourne. 13 hours!. Very good sleep though of 4-5 hours and lovely on tap food and more champagne. I was offered access to the first class suites which were even more luxurious beds in cubicles. I decided against as I had settled into my seat in plain old business and there was nobody at all in the first class section which felt bit strange.

I came to regret my decision when I returned to my seat as the man behind me had obviously overdone it on the good food and was producing the most obnoxious, sulphurous gut gas you have ever smelt in your life! Rotorua could not have done better!! It was so bad the attendent had to come and spray airfreshener. You are never far from humanity even in business class.

After a shower in the Emirates lounge at Melbourne and a quick phone call to my friend Pauline we set off on the last leg to Auckland. I sat next to a really nice man called Eric who lived in Auckland and who gave me lots of interesting info about NZ and maori culture and language. I made a bit of a mistake though as in hindsight I probably should have forgone the long wait for the food and the chat to Eric and got some sleep as the flight was relatively short at 4 hours and by the time the food was served we were close to landing. It meant that on arrival I was very tired and my head was swimming. I've learned my lesson. Coming back I will do more eating in the lounges and more sleeping on the plane.

I'm off!!

Hi friends and family. At last I'm doing it!! I have wanted to go to New Zealand ever since I studied the country for A-Level Geography in the Sixth Form. Then it seemed to me like the perfect country. A sunnier warmer climate than England and yet not as hot and dry as somewhere like Australia and without the scary snakes, spiders and crocs of that country. It also seemed to be a crime free, uncrowded, unpolluted country with magnificent scenery. As well as my A-Level studies, I have heard from friends who have already been about the glorious Bay of Islands (Home of my favourite opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa, I wonder if I will bump into her?) and the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island. Unspoilt, sunny seaside paradises I hear. Then also on North Island there is Rotorua with its volcanic wonders and the central volcanic mountains such as Mt Ruapehu. I have always wanted to go up a volcano.

Moving to the South Island there are even more spectacular, snow capped mountains and this time another geographical feature I have never seen in real life - glaciers. I have always wanted to go on a glacier. (This link is for those in my family, who I discovered recently, do not know what a glacier is!!).

People often talk of New Zealand being like England in the 50s. This is said as if it is a good thing. As a child of the 50s I'm not too sure about that! To me the 50s were a time when orphan children were sent off to Australia, food was appalling and people could be hung for crimes they hadn't committed! However I take the point that it was also a world where there were fewer cars and people on the streets were much politer to one another.

I have other images of New Zealand mostly from films. One of my favourite films is 'The Piano' a wonderful chick flick where the scenery of NZ becomes another character. I will never forget the picture of the surf crashing onto the beach as the woman unloads her incongruous possessions. There is also 'The World's fastest Indian' the film about the eccentric motorcyclist which also evokes the picture of a country where life is low key and easy going.

Well I'm very excited about my visit. If all goes well I could fulfill three bucket list ambitions here. Visit New Zealand, get onto a volcano and a glacier.