Rotorua
Geysers, tourist buses and massively dodgy motels. That was the sneaking pre-visit suspicion, which was more or less played out, but nevertheless geo-thermal Rotorua was certainly worth a visit. Granted, the weather was no friend: we arrived as the jaws of one of the worst tropical storms in recent years clamped down onto North Island. […]
Two nights in a hut on a dairy farm in Parawera
From Piha we worked our way down State Highway 1 (in English terms, this is tantamount to a pretty mid range B road 😍) to Parawera, a fertile Hobbiton type valley given over for the most part to dairy farming. The towns we passed through on the way were frankly unremarkable: pre-fab bungalows, American style […]
2 nights in Auckland
The final leg to Auckland was nothing short of Dante’s nine sodding circles of inferno, lived at once and in sickly unison: bar Alberto, we were all sick as dogs, with now 43 degree fevers and hard core chest flu. Such was the level of death I was suffering that having spent the most part […]
8 hours in Beijing
After 10 interminable hours of an Air China economy evening flight, myself, Alegra and Cala with a flu sent from HELL, from Heathrow to Beijing, we braved the (literal) masses, in a state of near delirium, to get a 24 hour temporary visa for our short layover. Plans to show the girls the Hutong and […]
Road Schooling: almost ready to rumble
So we are at a mere 16 days to go….How best to keep the girls up to date with schoolwork while we are away? Who knows… who cares?! Surely nothing can beat road schooling: seeing the world, trying new foods, meeting people from all walks of life, living out of a back pack, getting sweaty […]