Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Mount
Hello, well i'm back at the mount now and had an awesome birthday - thanks for all the messages! We are mid way through a rather heavy week of birthdays, I think I mentioned before there are about 5 of us all celebrating birthdays one after the other.. Well it's Victoria's today, and so we are heading out to Tauranga tonight.
On my birthday we just went out here in the Mount to a few of the bars, I didn't make it back to my bed till 8am the next day though.. It was a very good night! Anyway I am powering through the week and looking forward to Sydney next week to see Jonny! (And Oli, Pete and Pete, also a couple others - Net and Kim are going to be there, some girls from Holland who stayed at the mount a few weeks back) I had a lovely birthday, spent most of it on the beach topping up the tan :) Also had a swim forgetting I was not meant to submerge my new tattoo but hey ho, it seem's dandy.
We just back to the mount from a cool nights fishing in the Coromandel. This ex surf champion guy called Ron took us all out on his boat at night and it was amazing. I had never seen stars like it - We saw about 10 shooting stars before we stopped counting! We fished in and around Waihi Beach and we stayed in his awesome lodge in the Karangahake Gorge. We only caught the one fish between 4 of us.. A rather large Tarakihi. We also got back and Ron cooked us some fish that was so amazing. As my parents know, I won't really go within 10 feet of a fish, but this was so fresh and gorgeous. We had Snapper, Kahawai and Bluenose for those that know..
It's great to see everyone again and planning the next few months down to Queenstown. Done my application for the ski season. Sorting out ferry tickets down to the south island, looking for a flat or house to live in with Victoria, Nick, Matt and Co, which is what we are all looking forward to soo much! It works out cheaper than hostels - and to get your own room after months of dorms just seems like heaven!
Right I'll get some photos up soon.
Andy
On my birthday we just went out here in the Mount to a few of the bars, I didn't make it back to my bed till 8am the next day though.. It was a very good night! Anyway I am powering through the week and looking forward to Sydney next week to see Jonny! (And Oli, Pete and Pete, also a couple others - Net and Kim are going to be there, some girls from Holland who stayed at the mount a few weeks back) I had a lovely birthday, spent most of it on the beach topping up the tan :) Also had a swim forgetting I was not meant to submerge my new tattoo but hey ho, it seem's dandy.
We just back to the mount from a cool nights fishing in the Coromandel. This ex surf champion guy called Ron took us all out on his boat at night and it was amazing. I had never seen stars like it - We saw about 10 shooting stars before we stopped counting! We fished in and around Waihi Beach and we stayed in his awesome lodge in the Karangahake Gorge. We only caught the one fish between 4 of us.. A rather large Tarakihi. We also got back and Ron cooked us some fish that was so amazing. As my parents know, I won't really go within 10 feet of a fish, but this was so fresh and gorgeous. We had Snapper, Kahawai and Bluenose for those that know..
It's great to see everyone again and planning the next few months down to Queenstown. Done my application for the ski season. Sorting out ferry tickets down to the south island, looking for a flat or house to live in with Victoria, Nick, Matt and Co, which is what we are all looking forward to soo much! It works out cheaper than hostels - and to get your own room after months of dorms just seems like heaven!
Right I'll get some photos up soon.
Andy
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Taupo/Rotorua
Yo Yo,
Quite a bit has changed now. After picking apples for a day I applied for a job as a chef at this place below the backpackers but as I was only in Napier for 2 weeks there wasn't much point. But he offered me a job as general handyman and bed maker at the hostel which was fun. Working at 8am and then by 2pm I'm done so it was great hours. I was offered a chef job though if I ever I go back for longer than 2 weeks which is really nice of them if times get tough :)
So Napier was OK.. Not a terribly fun place or that good nightlife but it had cool art deco architecture which was interesting ..for like the first couple of days. I was with aussie Carly and the Danish Pete's which made it bearable. Although by the end of the 2 weeks we were all quite happy to leave. I'm in Rotorua now or Roto-Vegas as its known. The Pete's headed off to Wellington and Carly off to New Plymouth I think. Sad to see them go, but i'll see the Pete's again when I go to Sydney, and Oli. I arrived only a few hours ago from Taupo where I stayed overnight which was just a stop over really on the way back to the mount for my birthday! Can't wait to see some of the old gang again.
Randomly caught up with loads of people in Napier, bumped into Calvin, Ian, Doug, Julie.. OK you don't know these people but it was cool! Though I suppose we are all in NZ for the same amount of time and all roughly doing the same routes heading south we are bound to bump into each other.
A few random pics from the last couple of weeks..
A rather friendly seal at Marineland.
Mo and Craig, a couple from Glasgow. Pete and Pete had no idea what they were saying half the time.
2 Danish girls that met up with the Pete's (they went to school together and happened to be travelling at the same time, bit like Laurence and I)
Lake Taupo this morning.
Carly and the Pete's.
This was somewhere between Napier and Taupo.
Frog's at the national aquarium of NZ in Napier.
A croc.
We found Nemo!
Mr Ray.
And fish of course. Lots of fish.
Sharky. Sorry Robyn, didn't mean to scare you :)
Pete & Pete taught us this amazing Danish drinking game. There's 5 glasses of beer and one glass of vodka. Oh and a dice. I'll explain it on my return! But we managed to clear 40 bottles of beer and a bottle of vodka in one hour between the 4 of us..
All my friends know how awful I am at drinking games but this one needs no brain power what so ever so all is good.
Sorry Mum!! My new tattoo.. It's only a small sun on my shoulder..
Oh and Happy St. Paddy's Day :)
Andy
Quite a bit has changed now. After picking apples for a day I applied for a job as a chef at this place below the backpackers but as I was only in Napier for 2 weeks there wasn't much point. But he offered me a job as general handyman and bed maker at the hostel which was fun. Working at 8am and then by 2pm I'm done so it was great hours. I was offered a chef job though if I ever I go back for longer than 2 weeks which is really nice of them if times get tough :)
So Napier was OK.. Not a terribly fun place or that good nightlife but it had cool art deco architecture which was interesting ..for like the first couple of days. I was with aussie Carly and the Danish Pete's which made it bearable. Although by the end of the 2 weeks we were all quite happy to leave. I'm in Rotorua now or Roto-Vegas as its known. The Pete's headed off to Wellington and Carly off to New Plymouth I think. Sad to see them go, but i'll see the Pete's again when I go to Sydney, and Oli. I arrived only a few hours ago from Taupo where I stayed overnight which was just a stop over really on the way back to the mount for my birthday! Can't wait to see some of the old gang again.
Randomly caught up with loads of people in Napier, bumped into Calvin, Ian, Doug, Julie.. OK you don't know these people but it was cool! Though I suppose we are all in NZ for the same amount of time and all roughly doing the same routes heading south we are bound to bump into each other.
A few random pics from the last couple of weeks..
A rather friendly seal at Marineland.
Mo and Craig, a couple from Glasgow. Pete and Pete had no idea what they were saying half the time.
2 Danish girls that met up with the Pete's (they went to school together and happened to be travelling at the same time, bit like Laurence and I)
Lake Taupo this morning.
Carly and the Pete's.
This was somewhere between Napier and Taupo.
Frog's at the national aquarium of NZ in Napier.
A croc.
We found Nemo!
Mr Ray.
And fish of course. Lots of fish.
Sharky. Sorry Robyn, didn't mean to scare you :)
Pete & Pete taught us this amazing Danish drinking game. There's 5 glasses of beer and one glass of vodka. Oh and a dice. I'll explain it on my return! But we managed to clear 40 bottles of beer and a bottle of vodka in one hour between the 4 of us..
All my friends know how awful I am at drinking games but this one needs no brain power what so ever so all is good.
Sorry Mum!! My new tattoo.. It's only a small sun on my shoulder..
Oh and Happy St. Paddy's Day :)
Andy
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Napier
Quite a lot of change since the last postage.
Decided to leave the mount, it had been a while and was getting a little boring.
Laurence and I headed to Auckland last week and I dropped him off at the airport. (Hi Laurence! How's South America?) The next day I quit my job at Breakers and 4 of us decided to head down to sunny Napier in Hawkes Bay. (The 2 danish Peter's and Carly from Oz) Carly and I drove down first and the Peter's met us in the evening. We almost ran out of Petrol which got a bit hairy! (Laurence - we got 70 k's after the light came on - Sweet!) It's quite hard to tell how much petrol is in the car as the guage always points to empty.. You only know when the light comes on.. And if you are in the middle of nowhere there's not much you can do :)
Anyway we did a day of Apple Picking, One of the Peter's and Carly have gone back again to do it today whereas Me and the other Pete decided to look for something else in town.. Not my cup o tea..!
We also stayed in an old Prison the first night which was interesting.. But checked out the next day, it was a bit minging, and only stopped being a prison like 10 years ago so bit scary..
Here are some photo's. 
Decided to leave the mount, it had been a while and was getting a little boring.
Laurence and I headed to Auckland last week and I dropped him off at the airport. (Hi Laurence! How's South America?) The next day I quit my job at Breakers and 4 of us decided to head down to sunny Napier in Hawkes Bay. (The 2 danish Peter's and Carly from Oz) Carly and I drove down first and the Peter's met us in the evening. We almost ran out of Petrol which got a bit hairy! (Laurence - we got 70 k's after the light came on - Sweet!) It's quite hard to tell how much petrol is in the car as the guage always points to empty.. You only know when the light comes on.. And if you are in the middle of nowhere there's not much you can do :)
Anyway we did a day of Apple Picking, One of the Peter's and Carly have gone back again to do it today whereas Me and the other Pete decided to look for something else in town.. Not my cup o tea..!
We also stayed in an old Prison the first night which was interesting.. But checked out the next day, it was a bit minging, and only stopped being a prison like 10 years ago so bit scary..
Here are some photo's.
Last few days in the Mount enjoying the beach.
The mount in the background.. Never did climb up it, but i'll be back for my birthday.
Huka Falls on the way to Napier.
The water was so cool and blue and travelled mighty fast, Too rough to raft on though apparaently.
Bootiful.
Our first stop when we got to Napier. The beach!
Carly.
The prison..
Well One of the Pete's and Carly didn't mind it so much, we are now staying in a 4 star plus art deco backpackers in town that is amazing. Much better.
After prison, a day of hard labour apple picking. Not happy!
Gorgeous day though and we all ate about 20 apples each.
Lots more to mention but not now, i'm about to get my second car parking ticket..
Andy :)
