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A series of fortunate events – Part 2
Alright. So we drank some wine, and got some tips, so what..? (Read Part 1 if you have no idea what I’m on about) Jan 16: We drove to Marahau, passing Nelson, perhaps the prettiest place on the planet. We also stopped at a few breweries (after Miranda kissed the ground), had VIP treatment at the peanut butter factory, I bought a new beer snobby hat (woot!) Jan 17: Abel Tasman Charters. Number 1 ranked thing to do in Abel Tasman – well deserved. We were 2 of 8 people on a tour of Abel Tasman national park. We saw a bird island (we heard some birds), a sea lion…
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A series of fortunate events – Part 1
It’s been a few days since our last post so I’m going to release a series of them, I say series because while I had planned our sleeps, there’s no way I could have planned the outcome. Jan 14: We leave Welling with worry in our hearts. The ferry crossing is supposed to be both magical (due to the views of the Marlborough Sounds) and terrifying (due to the waves that have been know to get 7 metres high!). So when we woke up to rain, we were both quite concerned. Turns out, the ferry is more like a cruise, restaurants, observations decks, movie theatres and a playground. I watched…
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Driving Miss Miranda
Miranda has been a trooper in sitting on the left while I keep up with local traffic and the rolling and curvy hills that is New Zealand. But today we had an incident. Driving through the mountains en route to Nelson we encountered a very windy road. Needless to say, upon arrival in Nelson we needed some down time. This included not moving, smelling salts of some kind, and eventually lying down. I hope she’ll be alright. Whatever happens, I’m here for her. And I’ll happily drive her through the rest of South Island. Note to future self, doing anything on your phone through the mountain is ill-advised. #NoOneLeftBehind #SeaSick…
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Brooklyn, the Brooklyn of New Zealand
So there’s a place named Wellington, and in that place there’s a place called Brooklyn. You might as well call the whole place Brooklyn. This place is so hip it hurts. There’s a barbershop on every corner and an espresso bar on every other corner. Every restaurant is also a brewery. Every brewery has dogs. Laundromats are bars. Everyone has the super power of individuality. Everyone has tattoos. You must cross the street as a diva. Needless to say, it’s a hip place. Breweries were visited. Streets were crossed. Art was admired. Street art was observed… It’s been a nice few days, but it’s time to hop along. Tomorrow we…
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Speed round!
Ok so we’ve been busy, and I’ve been lazy. Here’s a speed round of stuff from your present / our past (cause we live in the future now). We drove north. We had the best fruit, ever. Boysenberries. Their season is apparently a week, this week. My only previous experience with boysenberry was in yogurt form. Fresh was far superior. Earwigs like them too. #bugnoise Cambridge has a horse walk of fame, of course. Trotting down Mane Street and back in a horseshoe-like pattern with our salt-lick-like gelato kept our throats from going hoarse. But that’s enough horsing around. We saw bad local live music at a hostel / bar.…
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This is Rambo
He is a ram. We met him, and his friends (cows, chickens, a cat, and some sheep). And some of his aforementioned friends… On the subject of photography, I also took up some astral photography after being inspired at Waitomo (where the worms be)… Please note that I was lucky enough to capture a shooting star in that last one (I was still testing settings, so it’s a little grainy, but cool none the less). I may have to rent a cottage or two in Ontario upon our return… Oh and unrelated, thanks to Greg and Kim (Rambo’s parents) for tips that lead us to consume the best berries I’ve…
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We got worms!
So NZ has these things called Glow Worms. Before coming here I could only picture this toy from my youth. But now I know they are way cooler. Figuratively and actually. They live in dark, cool caves. They drop webs (like they’re hot!) to catch things that fly near the ceiling. Oh, and they glow. So cool. We took a tour with Spellbound (after much online research) and I have to admit, they were awesome. We chose a private photography tour, so there were only 6 of us plus Pete, our guide. The tour was, extensive, full of beautiful landscapes, sheep, goats and extinct animals (a random flightless bird), and…
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High school volcano project IRL
So we’ve finally left Auckland… until we drive through it in 2 days… and then again on the 9th to meet Miranda’s parents. Anyways, for now we head to Rotorua; forever known as Rotten-Rua. The town smells of Sulphur due to all the thermal activity in and around town (many people complain on TripAdvisor that they should really do something about that “egg smell” *facepalm*). We stayed at the local Rotary Club. It was filled with all sorts of “characters”, talking loudly, playing pool and darts, singing bad karaoke. It was quite the scene. Miranda nor I understood why people come here. The #2 attraction is the Cat Cafe, across…
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Awkward Auckland and the Day trips-a-plenty
It’s been a week, and we’ve seen everything Auckland has to offer. Everything. The port, and overpriced port-side food, the trendy neighbourhoods and the mostly closed shops (though it was the holidays), and the construction-filled hilly streets. Needless to say, we’ve adjusted to the Timezone and have started our post-auckland experiences. Waiheke Island (a 40 minute ferry from Auckland) was amazing. Like Toronto island x10. Beauty across the bay. We opted for the bus and used it for an awesome wine tour. Wild on Waiheke was the definite winner, with a great NZ pale ale (we’ll be going back to grab some for the road – don’t tell Miranda), and…
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New Years – FIRST
Well, sort of. We looked it up, and apparently there’s a place that has New Years 1 hour before Auckland. But either way, close enough! The Sky Tower has the largest display of fireworks in Auckland. And we had a clear view from our place, so I set up a tripod. Pretty cool. Toronto could learn a thing or two from New Zealand! Happy new year, where ever you are!
