Tag Archives: Auckland

New Zealand, Travel Planning

56. Auckland – Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday, April 7: Auckland: Sunny & warm
Kuala Lumpur: Showers & warm

Couldn’t sleep much past 7:30 but by around 8:00 all five human inhabitants were up and about and I had my vitamin tablet, the last muesli bars and some coffee for breakfast, sorted out the last rubbish and the last stuff to leave behind (which would have been: Salt, sugar, rice, margarine, milk & bread for food, and the bed roll and tent in equipment) and surprisingly by not much later than 9:00 the suitcase had everything else I wanted & needed to take back in it and could be closed without any major compression. Read more…

New Zealand, Travel Planning

55. Mangawhai – Auckland (New Lynn)

Monday, April 6: Somewhat cloudy, clearing, still very warm

Marie’s (airbnb, $28)

The sun rising earlier was very noticeable this morning, but I stayed in bed until after 8:00 and then had what remained of the tramping breakfast – two muesli bars – with a toasted ham sandwich & coffee and vitamin solution for breakfast. Beki was very chatty and I was in no hurry to go (well, only insofar as I didn’t want to wait until the traffic into Auckland started piling up) and was eventually ready to go after giving her a couple of tips (sliding door in my bedroom which is off its rails, the blockage of the bathroom sink, and sticking black cardboard to the translucent bedroom doors to make them more opaque to the light coming from both the sunrise and from visitors using the living room after she had gone to bed – or vice-versa). Read more…

GPS Tracks, New Zealand, Photography, Tramping

47. Papakura – Auckland – Ruawai

Sunday, March 29: Rain at first clearing to cloudy through to sunny with a shower or two

Tramping: Tokatoka, 0.6 km (return)

Peter & Sara’s (airbnb, $50)

It was pouring when I got up, and I had my breakfast and was finished well before Michelle got up. I was in no hurry and it was raining so I leisurely packed my stuff. In time she was up and under the shower; then I gave her a copy of the book and was off to Tom’s.

Bella
Bella watching the sheep from Tokatoka
Was there pretty much on the dot of 11:00 and Cather & the boys were still collecting their stuff for the day’s programme. Charlotte was very enthusiastic and had to be taken outside. Eventually all were ready to leave and Tom & I went down to Takapuna to a very posh place with all-organic, gluten-free etc. stuff for brunch. Tom had some scrambled eggs and I opted for the chilli chicken on ciabatta, both with flat whites. Read more…

New Zealand, Travel Planning

46. Whitianga – Papakura

Saturday, March 28: Rain in the Eastern Coromandel which disappeared over the mountain range towards Thames; one or two showers with some sunny periods

Michelle’s (airbnb, $45)

There was time for a shower this morning and breakfast was over before the girls got up. Everything was packed away neatly and I was ready to go by 9:30.

For the first part it was very rainy, so perhaps the car was a bit cleaner, but the rain dematerialised very quickly on the downward approach to Thames. In Thames itself I parked the car opposite the i-site and went for a walk up and down the main street. There was some sort of charity event on and eventually found a place with a steak pie for $3.2. The library had closed at 12:00 which was pretty exactly the time I arrived there. Down the SH2 I kept a lookout for a place to stop to have lunch but only found the Café Bugger, and one picnic place where it was very difficult to drive onto it, so I continued on and was pretty quickly on the motorway. Then there was a fruit-and-veg place with an opportunity to park and I had the (by now lukewarm) pie there.Read more…

New Zealand, Travel Planning

18. Auckland – Raglan

Saturday, February 28: Clear and sunny, and very warm with a couple of clouds

Robert’s (airbnb, $50)

Couldn’t sleep much beyond 8:30, and there was not much to pack this morning, so I got some breakfast (muesli, coffee), then transported my stuff to the door, woke Chinara and said goodbye to her, then marched along the street to the bus stop. Had thought of leaving my stuff there to begin with & collecting it later, but the roads were already chock-a-block and I was glad I had all my stuff with me, and didn’t have to drive back through town.

The bus was rather full as well (one bus later than planned, and it was apparently the planned bus that had failed to turn up). The driver let me leave my suitcase up front. When we were in town I was quickly at the stop in Albert St, and the next bus that I was able to catch was the one bus earlier. So much for Auckland’s public transport timetabling. Read more…

New Zealand, Travel Planning

17. Ohakune – Auckland

Friday, February 27: Cloudy in the morning, clearing on the way north, just a bit of rain in Taumarunui, which we missed, and rain visible in the distance around Hamilton

Chinara’s

Was up before 8:00 to finish off the bread from yesterday with what remained of the ham, and a can of Watties baked beans with sausages for breakfast. Simon called over with a final loaf of bread which I saved up for the bus trip.

The rest of the morning was spent packing and transcribing another two days of the diary. Managed to transfer €500 from a savings account to the Visa card, and with a daily limit on cash withdrawals of €600, I should be able to get the $1200 for the car together in cash for tomorrow. Read more…

New Zealand, Photography, Swimming, Travel Planning

15. Ohakune

Wednesday, February 25: Changeably cloudy throughout most of the day, and still warm

Danni’s

Slept almost completely through until 8:30 when Simon knocked on the door with a fresh loaf of his bread. Breakfast had to be improvised from what else was to be found apart from the eggs & butter I have over from last week. Some wheatbix were found, some milk and sugar, so the day could start.

The butter, it must be remarked here, was rock solid out of the fridge and still maintains its buttery appearance and taste despite living for 10 days in my sealable plastic container and melting at least twice during the kayak trip. This must be the test of tests for all concerned, both butter and container. Read more…

Kayaking, New Zealand, Travel Planning

4. Auckland – Ohakune

Saturday, February 14: A little cloudy to begin with, but then sunny with some mountain clouds

Sue and Simon’s (airbnb, $90)

Early rising was no word for it. I had wanted to be up at 6:45 but was already awake at 6:30 so went and showered, then had a coffee, toasted a danish or whatever it was that Chinara had left for me on a plate on the kitchen table. Then it was time to try to get the case to close, and by 7:25 I was ready to go. Said goodbye to Chinara through the bedroom door. Have left a small cache of books behind in one of the drawers, so will have to remember to pick them up on the 27th.

Was at the bus stop in good time and could see from the timetable that there would have been a problem taking even one bus later (7:50) than envisaged (7:40) because it was delayed by a quarter of an hour, and because of the unusual intervals in the timetable, a later bus – even if it was on time – would have been touch-and-go for the long distance bus. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography, Topo Map, Tramping, Youtube Videos

3. Auckland, St Heliers: Rangitoto Sea Kayaking

Friday, February 13: Cloudy at first, clearing to light cloud with a bit of a southerly breeze

Chinara’s

Kayaking: 10.0 km
Tramping: 5.2 km

There wasn’t much sound from above, so at around 8:00 I went upstairs and the two were sleeping in. Couldn’t quite stomach breakfast and only had a coffee. Pretty soon the courier with my emergency equipment arrived which was audible because the guy had his radio playing loudly and I was able to intercept him before he had to search far. Eventually I. made an appearance and then Chinara, who busily telephoned around to organise the remainder of her day. Read more…

GPS Tracks, New Zealand, Topo Map, Tramping, Youtube Videos

2. Auckland: Coast-to-Coast

Thursday, February 12: Overcast throughout the day, clearing a little in the evening

Tramping: Coast to Coast (Te Araroa), 16.3 km

Chinara’s

Slept through to 9:30 and didn’t hear Chinara leaving at 8. I wanted to do the Coast-to-Coast Walkway today (a section of the Te Araroa Track) and had a map prepared but … First of all, couldn’t find the glasses, then couldn’t find the file, except finally on the safe page on the web. WTH. Saved it to the laptop, packed the pack with only the laptop and some water, and was eventually ready to go by 12:00. Read more…