Sunday 11th:
Spent the early morning nursing a large headache, due to the the qty of wine consumed @ stoney's dad's birthday party the previous evening.
Then caught a taxi driven by a crack smoking polish weasel guy, to the race course for the sunday car sales.After pursuing 500+ wreaks in various guises, and drinking copious long blacks, we make the selection of going for a shagged 15 year old Mazda that the 25 year old is selling due to being caught d n d after a case by the cop's – sound good so far !!!
Also its only available in off white – after shoz's specific instructions of 'not in bloody white, ok! 'so, take it for a test drive, get in mechanically checked out by the independent grease monkey's on site, check its all kosher with the transport people, haggle a price and change ownership on line there and then (yep these kiwi's have got it all sorted out via the dub dub dub stuff).
Drive away with a car for a little under 700 sheets.
Its new nickname is Skippy -as thats what it will soon becomeRest of day drive around Auckland, pitch up @ deveonport to watch the QE2 leave, from the opposite side of Watimeta Harbour. I like devonport a very layed back superb by the side of the Huraki Gulf.
Monday 12th:
Check out of the backpackers in Auckland, load car, head into town.Post a pile of postcards, go to the AA and join!! , buy some 3rd party insurance online (no thats right you didn't have to have any insurance to drive on the roads here & you only have to be 15 to begin !!!!
Head outta town, and down the coast aiming for the Corromandal peninsular – soon as were off the main highway, the road map become useless and were lost. Spend nearly an hour driving around in a huge circle.
Finally get to Thames and check in to a cute some backpackers offa the main street.Its a monday evening, 6pm and everything closed, watch the tumbleweed blow past ....
Tuesday 13th:
Get up early. Head up into the national park, and spend the day walking the pinnicals route, fab view's over native forrest, some hard climbing and even river fording @ one point, makes for an ace day. Head back to Thames on 20k of grav road ( oh what has this poor car let its self in for !)
Wednesday 14th:Wake up stiff as a stiff thing called stiff. Pack Car, check mail.
Respond to Doc's piss poor excuse for not attending my' ½ way there' party and give him short shirift.
Head up the Corramandel coast to Corramandel town, check into a mad backpackers called the lion's den and head into the small township for a special St Valentines tea – fish and chups on the quay and a bottle of decent sav blanc – ahh how romantic.
This town's quite strange, its surrounded by the most beautiful coast line, its main activity rod and line fishing, shell fish growing (very warm sea, little current and very shallow) and where english gentrified folk retire to live out their last days.
Quite bonkers, recon we lowered the average age by 30% by chipping into town.Sign of the week, see on the door of the vet's. Don't use animal flea treatment on your children, it may deal with their nits, but other problems my ensue. I can just see you average kiwi mum putting frontline on the back of little jonny's neck :-) .
I'll post a photo of this in a bit.
Thursday 15th:
Head up the coast to the very tip of the peninsular. This means navigating a 40k of unsealed road, which windes through the mountains and hugs cliffs, till it reaches port jackson, were the track becomes stupidly, stupid. Wander along the fab surf beach, have a paddle, take some photties and head back and over the high pass to Whitianga. Check into another mad back packers called the cats pajama's – what is it here, are they all smoking crack !!Get their quite late, so hit a tapas bar thats about to shut @ 8.30 pm.
Friday 16th:
Head over to the world famous Hot Water Beach.Get there dig a hole, & nothing – methinks its another kiwi marketing con. But no there are the german couple frolicking in a steam pool of their making, somewhere near the size of an Olympic swimming pool – swinging anyone!!.
So get cunning an dig a pool just below thiers, so we get their run off – sweat as !!
Except that ive also inadvertently found a hot water spring ,and now are upto my knees in water thats starting to bubble, its so hot.
Quick redesign to encompass the odd cooling wave into the design and were sorted for an hour or so. Watch the beach start bubbing all around, from the boiling water, and people generally dig a patch, jump in and suffer 3rd degree burns – quite funny actually.
Wander over to Cathedral Cove, but its closed for filming of Prince Caspian, so we go for a short dip in the ocean around Whitinaga Bay, buy some fresh gurnard offa a fisherman and, cook a fab tea in the chaos that is the backpackers kitchen, seemingly overrun with young germans of all shapes and sizes, and foul smelling food. Head around the corner to a good bar chat to the locals, and drink montieths as the kiwi's smash the ozzies into the dust.
Spent the early morning nursing a large headache, due to the the qty of wine consumed @ stoney's dad's birthday party the previous evening.
Then caught a taxi driven by a crack smoking polish weasel guy, to the race course for the sunday car sales.After pursuing 500+ wreaks in various guises, and drinking copious long blacks, we make the selection of going for a shagged 15 year old Mazda that the 25 year old is selling due to being caught d n d after a case by the cop's – sound good so far !!!
Also its only available in off white – after shoz's specific instructions of 'not in bloody white, ok! 'so, take it for a test drive, get in mechanically checked out by the independent grease monkey's on site, check its all kosher with the transport people, haggle a price and change ownership on line there and then (yep these kiwi's have got it all sorted out via the dub dub dub stuff).
Drive away with a car for a little under 700 sheets.
Its new nickname is Skippy -as thats what it will soon becomeRest of day drive around Auckland, pitch up @ deveonport to watch the QE2 leave, from the opposite side of Watimeta Harbour. I like devonport a very layed back superb by the side of the Huraki Gulf.
Monday 12th:
Check out of the backpackers in Auckland, load car, head into town.Post a pile of postcards, go to the AA and join!! , buy some 3rd party insurance online (no thats right you didn't have to have any insurance to drive on the roads here & you only have to be 15 to begin !!!!
Head outta town, and down the coast aiming for the Corromandal peninsular – soon as were off the main highway, the road map become useless and were lost. Spend nearly an hour driving around in a huge circle.
Finally get to Thames and check in to a cute some backpackers offa the main street.Its a monday evening, 6pm and everything closed, watch the tumbleweed blow past ....
Tuesday 13th:
Get up early. Head up into the national park, and spend the day walking the pinnicals route, fab view's over native forrest, some hard climbing and even river fording @ one point, makes for an ace day. Head back to Thames on 20k of grav road ( oh what has this poor car let its self in for !)
Wednesday 14th:Wake up stiff as a stiff thing called stiff. Pack Car, check mail.
Respond to Doc's piss poor excuse for not attending my' ½ way there' party and give him short shirift.
Head up the Corramandel coast to Corramandel town, check into a mad backpackers called the lion's den and head into the small township for a special St Valentines tea – fish and chups on the quay and a bottle of decent sav blanc – ahh how romantic.
This town's quite strange, its surrounded by the most beautiful coast line, its main activity rod and line fishing, shell fish growing (very warm sea, little current and very shallow) and where english gentrified folk retire to live out their last days.
Quite bonkers, recon we lowered the average age by 30% by chipping into town.Sign of the week, see on the door of the vet's. Don't use animal flea treatment on your children, it may deal with their nits, but other problems my ensue. I can just see you average kiwi mum putting frontline on the back of little jonny's neck :-) .
I'll post a photo of this in a bit.
Thursday 15th:
Head up the coast to the very tip of the peninsular. This means navigating a 40k of unsealed road, which windes through the mountains and hugs cliffs, till it reaches port jackson, were the track becomes stupidly, stupid. Wander along the fab surf beach, have a paddle, take some photties and head back and over the high pass to Whitianga. Check into another mad back packers called the cats pajama's – what is it here, are they all smoking crack !!Get their quite late, so hit a tapas bar thats about to shut @ 8.30 pm.
Friday 16th:
Head over to the world famous Hot Water Beach.Get there dig a hole, & nothing – methinks its another kiwi marketing con. But no there are the german couple frolicking in a steam pool of their making, somewhere near the size of an Olympic swimming pool – swinging anyone!!.
So get cunning an dig a pool just below thiers, so we get their run off – sweat as !!
Except that ive also inadvertently found a hot water spring ,and now are upto my knees in water thats starting to bubble, its so hot.
Quick redesign to encompass the odd cooling wave into the design and were sorted for an hour or so. Watch the beach start bubbing all around, from the boiling water, and people generally dig a patch, jump in and suffer 3rd degree burns – quite funny actually.
Wander over to Cathedral Cove, but its closed for filming of Prince Caspian, so we go for a short dip in the ocean around Whitinaga Bay, buy some fresh gurnard offa a fisherman and, cook a fab tea in the chaos that is the backpackers kitchen, seemingly overrun with young germans of all shapes and sizes, and foul smelling food. Head around the corner to a good bar chat to the locals, and drink montieths as the kiwi's smash the ozzies into the dust.
Labels: on the road in NZ
posted by jonron @ 11:20 PM
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