Hope you got there safe! House is still standing although Kate and Lucy both complained that you managed to drink the house dry before they arrived so there was only half a bottle of wine for them. Willbo on his lunch time nap, so far so good x
Hello all! Now as you all know today is Waitangi Day in NZ. It's NZ's National Day. OK so now you know. There are Waitangi celebrations all over NZ and we happen to be in........Waitangi! It's where the treaty was signed between Maori and English giving them rights but getting hold of their lands. There were hundreds of Maori at the celebrations most of which sported impressive face and body tattoos on their 25 stone plus frames. The men had tattoos too. We are staying up in Bay of Islands for 3days before heading off to Rotarua.
Auckland was lovely we really enjoyed it. We had a 'seafood buffet' in the restaurant up the Skytower which was good fun and pretty good food. We seemed to be dining with most of SEAsia who scoffed all the sushi and piled their plates high with oysters (Alice you'd have loved the sushi).
We took a harbour cruise and then took the ferry over to Devonport which had an arty feel with lovely Victorian and Edwardian houses all along the shoreline.
We found Auckland laidback with the quietest and most courteous traffic of any city. It was an easy drive up to Pahia were we are now. This very small town is situated on a stunning bay and we intend to do a day cruise tomorrow.
Surprisingly ropey looking eating places but only a hotplate and microwave in motel so we'll have to try a couple of places.
Flights over were good with great seats and separate cabin on Virgin and fab food and lovely crew on AirNZ. Ridiculous transit at LA where they couldn't care less if you missed your connection if you are non US citizen. Standing in line for an hour and a half for immigration when you are NOT coming into US but just changing planes is outrageous. Does any other country have this draconian policy?
Glad to hear you've arrived safely and all is well. We're green with envy and will be following your every move! I agree with the LA transit - we've been caught there before too - they're really not interested in us especially if it's the middle of the night!
Exciting stuff! Very jealous of seafood buffet - mmmmm!! Just to let you know that Will and I slept in your bed while we were at Hillside. Apparently the cot is just NOT up to standard. Sorry, it was that or wake up Lucy and Alice - oh dear, am sure he'll get the idea of sleeping one day.......
Hope you continue to have lots of fun. SUE AMERICA FOR THE INCONVENIENCE OF LA!!!!!
Oooohhh sounds great so far - fab to be in Waitangi during celebrations - hope dad did lots of touching noses with the Maoris! Also have good and bad news for dad: 1) Good news: solid performance from England in six nations - still in running for the Grand Slam - phew. 2) Bad news: Torres did not perform £50 million pounds worth of football. And we were denied a CLEAR PENALTY BY THE REF.... In short, we lost to Liverpool 1-0! Off to bed now, look forward to hearing more... xxx
Bye Bye Mimi and Grandpa - have a super fab trip xxx
ReplyDeleteHope you got there safe! House is still standing although Kate and Lucy both complained that you managed to drink the house dry before they arrived so there was only half a bottle of wine for them. Willbo on his lunch time nap, so far so good x
ReplyDeleteHello all!
ReplyDeleteNow as you all know today is Waitangi Day in NZ. It's NZ's National Day. OK so now you know. There are Waitangi celebrations all over NZ and we happen to be in........Waitangi! It's where the treaty was signed between Maori and English giving them rights but getting hold of their lands. There were hundreds of Maori at the celebrations most of which sported impressive face and body tattoos on their 25 stone plus frames. The men had tattoos too. We are staying up in Bay of Islands for 3days before heading off to Rotarua.
Auckland was lovely we really enjoyed it. We had a 'seafood buffet' in the restaurant up the Skytower which was good fun and pretty good food. We seemed to be dining with most of SEAsia who scoffed all the sushi and piled their plates high with oysters (Alice you'd have loved the sushi).
We took a harbour cruise and then took the ferry over to Devonport which had
an arty feel with lovely Victorian and Edwardian houses all along the shoreline.
We found Auckland laidback with the quietest and most courteous traffic of any
city.
It was an easy drive up to Pahia were we are now. This very small town is
situated on a stunning bay and we intend to do a day cruise tomorrow.
Surprisingly ropey looking eating places but only a hotplate and microwave in motel so we'll have to try a couple of places.
Flights over were good with great seats and separate cabin on Virgin and fab food and lovely crew on AirNZ. Ridiculous transit at LA where they couldn't care less if you missed your connection if you are non US citizen. Standing in line for an hour and a half for immigration when you are NOT coming into US but just
changing planes is outrageous. Does any other country have this draconian policy?
So off out now and bye to you all xxx
Glad to hear you've arrived safely and all is well. We're green with envy and will be following your every move! I agree with the LA transit - we've been caught there before too - they're really not interested in us especially if it's the middle of the night!
ReplyDeleteTake care
Salandpats
PS I can assure you it wasn't 7.48 am on a Sunday morning when I posted that comment!
ReplyDeleteExciting stuff! Very jealous of seafood buffet - mmmmm!! Just to let you know that Will and I slept in your bed while we were at Hillside. Apparently the cot is just NOT up to standard. Sorry, it was that or wake up Lucy and Alice - oh dear, am sure he'll get the idea of sleeping one day.......
ReplyDeleteHope you continue to have lots of fun. SUE AMERICA FOR THE INCONVENIENCE OF LA!!!!!
Laters xxx
Oooohhh sounds great so far - fab to be in Waitangi during celebrations - hope dad did lots of touching noses with the Maoris! Also have good and bad news for dad:
ReplyDelete1) Good news: solid performance from England in six nations - still in running for the Grand Slam - phew.
2) Bad news: Torres did not perform £50 million pounds worth of football. And we were denied a CLEAR PENALTY BY THE REF.... In short, we lost to Liverpool 1-0!
Off to bed now, look forward to hearing more... xxx
ps Oli Dale is not technically Oli Dale. I can't work out how to change the name on his account - L xx
ReplyDelete