Saturday, 27 December 2008
tues 23rd continued again..
Well after the lake we moved East towards Dunedin. This was the most beautiful drive from Haast up a river valley with turquoise blue waters, throught the Haast pass and on to lake Wanaka..where we were overawed by the beauty around us. We found a great campsite near the lake and had a lovely fish meal in a restaurant that overlooked the lake. Great!
and on to xmas day
Tues 23rd continued...
So that morning we managed to find the lake...the sun had been in our eyes the night before and we'd simply missed it! It proved to be the most wonderful walk, with stunning views back over the mountains on another absolutely glorious morning. One thing we keep forgetting to mention about NZ is the wonderful sound of the birds every time you get out of your car. It's quite stunning and we've seen a lot of different birds..to be continued
So that morning we managed to find the lake...the sun had been in our eyes the night before and we'd simply missed it! It proved to be the most wonderful walk, with stunning views back over the mountains on another absolutely glorious morning. One thing we keep forgetting to mention about NZ is the wonderful sound of the birds every time you get out of your car. It's quite stunning and we've seen a lot of different birds..to be continued
on to south island
After Xmas now and we've finally managed to get on line to upload this blog. Hope all our readers had a great Xmas day and we wish all of you a very happy new year. Lin and Brent
Wednesday 17th Dec – Lin here
Well the Dargaville site didn't live up to expectations: described in the book as having a hot tub, which would have been very welcome after our soaking, it was a bit ropey. Still we slept ok and headed off this morning. I wasn't feelng too brill..icky tummy... so Brent did all the driving today. The scenery was once again splendid and although the traffic was heavier in Auckland, it wasn't problem. By the time we'd come through it we were really ready for a stop, but there wasn't even a lay by to stop in until just after 3.40 when we spotted a cafe. As we drew up we realised that the closed sign was being put up! 2 women in front of us poked their heads in and were given the oK to get a coffee and we swiftly followed them in. The coffee and cake were very welcome take-outs. We finally hit the east coast of the Coromandel peninsula, our destination. I'd spotted a site described as paradise, in the book ( guess this was becoming our bible.Brent was very tired, and the windy roads needed full concentration, but we managed to reach it around 7pm. The Ha Hei holiday resort was just great, although we shouldn't have
paid an extra $2each for hilltop site, as all the pitches were brilliant – except those on the far side of the dump! Anyway we got rid of our waste, filled up with water and hooked up. I rushed off to explore the beach. Right near our pitch we could cut through to where 2 rope swings had been set up, overlooking the most beautiful beach...it really was like paradise: turquoise waters, with green islands and white sands. The water was freezing though, so we only managed a paddle before dinner. Then we headed to the internet room where we uploaded the last blog entry and tried out our phone card. This proved unsuccessful and after a day of griping stomach I have to admit to going to bed feeling a bit weepy and homesick!
Thursday 18th Dec
Wow! Woke up to the most beautiful morning and no stomach pains. Hurray! Managed to phone home too and booked ourselves in for an afternoon of kayaking. Decided to have an hour on the beach relaxing...it was absolutely boiling and we enjoyed the comfort of our thermorest seats. Around midday we climbed into the van and took the ferry over to Whitianga, where there was a bank and a nice shopping area. Back at the site we grabbed a sandwich b4 joining the kayak group. We'd been getting a bit fraught with each other...guess after 3.5 months together this wasn't surprising but we'd been looking forward to some time in our own boats. Oh dear! upon arrival it turned out we were all in double kayaks. I'd quickly said I'd prefer to be in front..otherwise I wouldn't see past Brent, when our guide, Mark ( drop-dead gorgeous young man) said it was wisest for the most bossy of the pair to be in the back where the peddles were! What could we do? We're both teachers and both bossy! In the end we stuck with plan A and it turned out a great afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were able to explore caves, go through tunnels and enjoy close up views of cormorants, or shags as they're known here. The company was good too,with a very friendly German couple, who we'll contact via email, a lovely Spanish girl travelling with her Canadian boy friend and a couple of women, one Canadian and one New Zealander. We stopped off at Cathedral Cove, where we had a swim and a drink and biscuit, then we moved out to the nearby islands and Mark told stories about the history of the island... apparently a Polynesian explorer was the first to discover the Bay ..it's original name is complicated but when captain Cook 'discovered' it later on he named it Mercury Bay, (something to do with an eclipse at the time and its relationship with the planet, Mercury). .. Back to Hei.. the story goes that at that time an explorer would walk to the highest spot and claim all the land he could see. Also the island where he first landed was said to resemble a part of his body... his nose in this case! Anyway a good time was had by all and we were all very reluctant to land our boats at the end of the allotted time. However after landing we realised that we had time to catch the renowned Hot spring beach just up the road. Here at low tide only you can see natural hot springs rising from below the sand, where a larva bed is buried. It was amazingly hot and quite funny to see a crowd of people with spades busy digging holes and sitting in the hot waters! Altogether a brilliant day.
Friday 19th Dec
So this morning we decided to drive around the peninsula and then head down as far as possible towards South Island. It was a long drive, but we ended up on a very nice site on Lake Taupo. En route we passed some beautiful countryside.
Saturday 20th Dec
Got up early and tried to take the direct route to Wellington, only to find that there'd been an accident and we had to take a detour. Still once again the sights were lovely and we still arrived in plenty of time for our ferry at 6.15. The crossing was just lovely and we sat next to a lovely couple from christchurch, who gave us lots of good advice.
Sunday 21st
Drove from Picton to near Greymouth. We'd intended to visit Nelson ( as per the advice yesterday) but the first part of the drive was along windy roads and we opted out for a more direct route along the coast towards Westport. Called in at lWestport for diesel and then enjoyed the spectacular coast road to Greymouth. After a good night's sleep we headed for the local supermarket to do a quick shop, only to be accosted by the local mouth...her words! She spotted Brent and hurried over to say: Where did you learn to shop? Brent thought she was being aggressive and was somewhat taken aback! Needless to say 20 minutes later she was still chatting... and on to her rude jokes eg. why don't single women fart? Cos they haven't married and got an arsehole yet...oh dear!
Have to say we've found the New Zealanders of all ages totally unpretentious and friendly.
Monday 22nd
After shopping drove to a nearby centre for Jade, Hokitika. A lovely little town, where we found frozen yoghurt compatible, but not quite as good, as what we'd had in Italy. Moved on to find the Franz Joseph glacier. It was cloudy weather, so we couldn't see the tops of the mountains and decided against the helicopter ride..tee hee. By the time we reached the glacier the weather was improving. We were just too late to join a walk on the glacier, but did walk to the foot of it...first time Brent had seen a glacier and it is pretty special. On to Fox Glacier, where we found a lovely site with great views of the snow capped mountains...yes, the clouds had disappeared! Do we deserve this? oh yes! Got talking to a young couple who'd been waiting to sky dive all day and had rang up at 6pm when the weather was fine only to be told they'd have to wait until tomorrow. They'd been drinking all day and were well fed up...felt quite sorry for them. I'd sort of love to do a sky dive myself but their experience and the thought of doing my back / eyes in put me off and we decided to stick with eco friendly walking. Brent had commented earlier in the day about the contradiction of the beautiful scenery and the helicopter flights going over every few minutes and disturbing the tranquility of the place. Quite right. Anyway after dinner we tried to drive to lake Matheson? check while the sun was shining. Unfortunately it was so bright that we missed the sign to the lake and ended up driving several miles up a dirt track... oh dear, proved a bit stressful at the end of the day, but we did get to the viewpoint where we had quite magnificent views of the mountains.
Tuesday 23rd Dec
We got up early today so that we could do a walk before moving on.
Wednesday 17th Dec – Lin here
Well the Dargaville site didn't live up to expectations: described in the book as having a hot tub, which would have been very welcome after our soaking, it was a bit ropey. Still we slept ok and headed off this morning. I wasn't feelng too brill..icky tummy... so Brent did all the driving today. The scenery was once again splendid and although the traffic was heavier in Auckland, it wasn't problem. By the time we'd come through it we were really ready for a stop, but there wasn't even a lay by to stop in until just after 3.40 when we spotted a cafe. As we drew up we realised that the closed sign was being put up! 2 women in front of us poked their heads in and were given the oK to get a coffee and we swiftly followed them in. The coffee and cake were very welcome take-outs. We finally hit the east coast of the Coromandel peninsula, our destination. I'd spotted a site described as paradise, in the book ( guess this was becoming our bible.Brent was very tired, and the windy roads needed full concentration, but we managed to reach it around 7pm. The Ha Hei holiday resort was just great, although we shouldn't have
paid an extra $2each for hilltop site, as all the pitches were brilliant – except those on the far side of the dump! Anyway we got rid of our waste, filled up with water and hooked up. I rushed off to explore the beach. Right near our pitch we could cut through to where 2 rope swings had been set up, overlooking the most beautiful beach...it really was like paradise: turquoise waters, with green islands and white sands. The water was freezing though, so we only managed a paddle before dinner. Then we headed to the internet room where we uploaded the last blog entry and tried out our phone card. This proved unsuccessful and after a day of griping stomach I have to admit to going to bed feeling a bit weepy and homesick!
Thursday 18th Dec
Wow! Woke up to the most beautiful morning and no stomach pains. Hurray! Managed to phone home too and booked ourselves in for an afternoon of kayaking. Decided to have an hour on the beach relaxing...it was absolutely boiling and we enjoyed the comfort of our thermorest seats. Around midday we climbed into the van and took the ferry over to Whitianga, where there was a bank and a nice shopping area. Back at the site we grabbed a sandwich b4 joining the kayak group. We'd been getting a bit fraught with each other...guess after 3.5 months together this wasn't surprising but we'd been looking forward to some time in our own boats. Oh dear! upon arrival it turned out we were all in double kayaks. I'd quickly said I'd prefer to be in front..otherwise I wouldn't see past Brent, when our guide, Mark ( drop-dead gorgeous young man) said it was wisest for the most bossy of the pair to be in the back where the peddles were! What could we do? We're both teachers and both bossy! In the end we stuck with plan A and it turned out a great afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were able to explore caves, go through tunnels and enjoy close up views of cormorants, or shags as they're known here. The company was good too,with a very friendly German couple, who we'll contact via email, a lovely Spanish girl travelling with her Canadian boy friend and a couple of women, one Canadian and one New Zealander. We stopped off at Cathedral Cove, where we had a swim and a drink and biscuit, then we moved out to the nearby islands and Mark told stories about the history of the island... apparently a Polynesian explorer was the first to discover the Bay ..it's original name is complicated but when captain Cook 'discovered' it later on he named it Mercury Bay, (something to do with an eclipse at the time and its relationship with the planet, Mercury). .. Back to Hei.. the story goes that at that time an explorer would walk to the highest spot and claim all the land he could see. Also the island where he first landed was said to resemble a part of his body... his nose in this case! Anyway a good time was had by all and we were all very reluctant to land our boats at the end of the allotted time. However after landing we realised that we had time to catch the renowned Hot spring beach just up the road. Here at low tide only you can see natural hot springs rising from below the sand, where a larva bed is buried. It was amazingly hot and quite funny to see a crowd of people with spades busy digging holes and sitting in the hot waters! Altogether a brilliant day.
Friday 19th Dec
So this morning we decided to drive around the peninsula and then head down as far as possible towards South Island. It was a long drive, but we ended up on a very nice site on Lake Taupo. En route we passed some beautiful countryside.
Saturday 20th Dec
Got up early and tried to take the direct route to Wellington, only to find that there'd been an accident and we had to take a detour. Still once again the sights were lovely and we still arrived in plenty of time for our ferry at 6.15. The crossing was just lovely and we sat next to a lovely couple from christchurch, who gave us lots of good advice.
Sunday 21st
Drove from Picton to near Greymouth. We'd intended to visit Nelson ( as per the advice yesterday) but the first part of the drive was along windy roads and we opted out for a more direct route along the coast towards Westport. Called in at lWestport for diesel and then enjoyed the spectacular coast road to Greymouth. After a good night's sleep we headed for the local supermarket to do a quick shop, only to be accosted by the local mouth...her words! She spotted Brent and hurried over to say: Where did you learn to shop? Brent thought she was being aggressive and was somewhat taken aback! Needless to say 20 minutes later she was still chatting... and on to her rude jokes eg. why don't single women fart? Cos they haven't married and got an arsehole yet...oh dear!
Have to say we've found the New Zealanders of all ages totally unpretentious and friendly.
Monday 22nd
After shopping drove to a nearby centre for Jade, Hokitika. A lovely little town, where we found frozen yoghurt compatible, but not quite as good, as what we'd had in Italy. Moved on to find the Franz Joseph glacier. It was cloudy weather, so we couldn't see the tops of the mountains and decided against the helicopter ride..tee hee. By the time we reached the glacier the weather was improving. We were just too late to join a walk on the glacier, but did walk to the foot of it...first time Brent had seen a glacier and it is pretty special. On to Fox Glacier, where we found a lovely site with great views of the snow capped mountains...yes, the clouds had disappeared! Do we deserve this? oh yes! Got talking to a young couple who'd been waiting to sky dive all day and had rang up at 6pm when the weather was fine only to be told they'd have to wait until tomorrow. They'd been drinking all day and were well fed up...felt quite sorry for them. I'd sort of love to do a sky dive myself but their experience and the thought of doing my back / eyes in put me off and we decided to stick with eco friendly walking. Brent had commented earlier in the day about the contradiction of the beautiful scenery and the helicopter flights going over every few minutes and disturbing the tranquility of the place. Quite right. Anyway after dinner we tried to drive to lake Matheson? check while the sun was shining. Unfortunately it was so bright that we missed the sign to the lake and ended up driving several miles up a dirt track... oh dear, proved a bit stressful at the end of the day, but we did get to the viewpoint where we had quite magnificent views of the mountains.
Tuesday 23rd Dec
We got up early today so that we could do a walk before moving on.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Leaving Eureka and first days in NZ
Lin here... the Millers left us and we headed to Ferndale, as I wanted Brent to see this pretty Victorian town. We took lots of photos of the pretty buildings and sat outside and had a lovely sandwich. As we sat in the sunshine eating our Xmas sandwich a woman crossing the street nearby spotted a younger man: “Hi grannie” he called. “Hi junior!” she replied in a big, loud voice. We had to laugh and she was quick to respond with a quip about being the loud mouth of Ferndale. Great! We returned home to L Street and around 3.30 old friends from the high school started to arrive: Lucy Q was first and she looked just great and was ready to jazz-a-cize with Shirl after her visit. Andrea was next and it was sad to hear how the languages programme at the school was disappearing. My fingers are crossed that the German programme keeps on going. Next was Diane, also looking great in her retirement. Then came Bob, who introduced me to backpacking when I was here. He too looked great and it was a lot of fun hearing all about his travels in Europe and back to Nepal. We'd love to catch up with him and with Laura too, maybe in Asia. Tim was last to arrive, with great photos of his boys. Altogether a wonderful time. Thank you Steve and Shirl – you supplied the refreshments and made everyone so welcome. You really are stars.
Wednesday 10th December:
Today we headed back to the city. The weather began foggy but as we travelled through the redwood country it quickly cleared and left fabulous, clear sunshine. We stopped several times, took more photos of trees and enjoyed Shirl's picnic. Before entering San Fran. we stopped at Healdsberg, as recommended by the Millers. This was another community of artists, which we really enjoyed. As we hit the Golden Gate bridge the sun was just beginning to set... wow!
Thursday 11th Dec...our last day in California! Sniff, sniff!
Woke up nice and early and phoned Brent's mum on her birthday...happy birthday Doris! Then it was off to the Golden Gate park, where we loved the De Young museum of art. The building itself was superb, but we paid the $10 and really enjoyed the art inside. In fact we could have spent a lot longer there, but wanted to see the academy of science building and the Japanese gardens, both of which were spectacular.... next time we'll pay the $25 to see the academy inside and the roof, which is part of it's green approach. Off to the airport, where we got rid of the car and checked in with no problems. Now here we are waiting to be called through our gate...oh yes, in the check in queue were asked if we were doing a trail we hadn't heard of... something like able bodied! A 20 mile trek, which we must find out about. Then over a coffee we met a lovely lady on her way to her son's wedding in Queenstown. She's a real traveller and gave us some useful hints. Bye for now... wish us luck on this 13hour flight!
new entry....13thDecember
Oh dear...what a flight. We had quite a lot of turbulence and throughout the flight my ( Linda) stomach was equally turbulent, as was Brent's. Suffice it to say that I felt very sorry for the poor bloke next to us, who was off to visit friends in Dunedin. (still he had the window seat). I'd been expecting to sleep for much of this flight, but didn't manage more than a few minutes at a time, so when we landed in Auckland at 5am felt pretty knackered. Couldn't get our heads around the fact that we'd lost a day somewhere..ie: we left san fran on 11th and now it was 13th December. We had a bit of a wait til 7.30am when our lift to the camper van arrived. A very nice chap, who gave us lots of advice about travelling in NZ b4 leaving us in the capable hands of Anne: a French girl who took us thru all the admin of the van... and the New Zealand vin... (spot the play on words). Our van turned out to be a VW high top, which was brand new. Sounds good, but meant we had to run it in, which wasn't so good. We decided to stay close by on the first night and headed for a recommended site about 30 mins from Auckland, called Orewa beach. A lovely site right on the sandy beach. Parked up in a nice space and 5 minutes later a huge motorhome...looking like the bus in Summer Holiday ( the Cliff film if you remember it!)..pulled up real close, followed by a bigger Kea van. All the occupants were very friendly and the Dutch family in the Kea van were really lovely. We ended up spending a very pleasant evening with them, sharing wine, music and tales. They also gave us all their left overs as they were moving on to Fiji the next day. Really kind. We took the beach path to the town centre. It was lovely and there were lots of families playing along the way. The little town had a good supermarket and there was Irish dancing going on in a bar. Quite a lively little place.
Sunday 14th Dec (Lin writing with Brent dictating...a joint effort!)
Moved further North on Route 1...countryside reminiscent of England, with rolling hills and dotted copses of trees with grazing cattle. I drove and the driving was lovely, with little traffic and sunny weather. Took a detour off towards Waipu and came across a beautiful long beach, where we stopped and had a picnic. Used the toilets, which were impressively painted with a mural. Back on the main road with Brent driving I spotted a campsite in the book, which looked promising. It was past Whangarei, where we stopped to look at a sleepy harbour. The site was only 200 metres from the Whangarei Falls and was lovely, with a little comfy sitting room with TV and books on loan. We decided to have a look at the falls, donning our wet gear as the weather looked iffy. The trail began at the top of the waterfall in a little, almost English park, where we met up with 3 young locals. We'd spotted some pretty little birds on the bridge across the lake at the top of the falls. Brent thought they were swifts. As we followed the trail the Englishness disappeared and we found ourselves in the bush, in a rainforest like environment. After reaching the base of the falls we decided to head for the AH Reed Memorial Kauri Park. This was a fantastic walk. It began with a wonderful field of cow parsley, then followed the river as it meandered down the valley. Then we began to see huge tree ferns and here began the “canopy walk.” At this point it was pouring with rain, but this only added to the atmosphere. We reached the canopy walkway, which provided a birdseye view of the forest and brought you up close to the magnificent Kauri trees. We were above the tree ferns and amongst fantastic bird song...a real feature of the forest. It was another awesome experience, very different from the Redwoods, but equally stunning.
Monday 15th:
Today we headed back to the A1 and our first stop proved very interesting. In Kawakawa there is the most fantastic toilet block. It was designed by an Austrian called Hundertwasser, who emigrated to the area when he was about 40. His work was reminiscent of Gaudi, with colourful, large tiles and ceramic columns just like in Parc Guell, Barcelona. The building seemed even more remarkable as it was right in the middle of very ordinary single storey retail buildings. We sat in a cafe opposite and enjoyed watching others spotting the building. We headed to the steam train station, where Hundertwassers boat is on show and were sorry that the train wasn't running as it's one of the last working trains and it goes straight down the high street. On to Opua, where we got the car ferry to speed up our journey to Russell, where we spent the night. Unfortunately the weather was glum, so the pretty little town was less appealing. In the night en route to the bathroom the heavens opened on me...thank god I'd put my waterproof on. Next morning we were up with the lark to a misty start.
Tuesday 16th Dec:
Headed into Russell to post cards and lo and behold the sun came out, so we decided to head off on a walk on the nearby promontory. We passed some quite beautiful houses, with fantastic views across the bay and again birdsong all the way. We headed up the flagstaff commemorating the signing of the treaty of Waitangi. Here there was a wonderful, panoramic view of the bay. Headed back down the path and followed a trail into the bush, where we were amazed to be surrounded by fluttering little birds. A local conservation volunteer told us that they were fantails. We had quite a chat with him and he made some good recommendations. We were in kiwi country, but didn't manage to see any of these elusive creatures. We did see some lovely birds though and really enjoyed the walk.
We then headed back to route 1 in the van heading towards the west coast. The day gave us perfect driving conditions. Very pretty rolling hills at first then as we approached the west coast the wooded mountains rose up in front of us. In skirting around these we climbed over the crest of a hill to witness a stunning view. Below us was a turquoise blue sea backed by the most enormous sand dune on the opposite side of the estuary. Time to stop and soak in the view while we made our lunchtime picnic at a roadside stop.
Onward and upward to a lookout across the bay. We found a small coastal walk that went out across the headland. Huge Pacific waves created a mist along the coast. The weather had changed quickly from sun to ominous clouds.
On our way out of the car park a car cheekly cut us off at the t-junction. Another mile along the road we were flagged down by the occupants of this same car. Three swiss girls in there 20s with the most horrendous flat tyre I had seen – was totally shredded. Looking helplessly at me I had no option but to help them with changing the tyre. Fortuneately this all went smoothly and had them back on the road in no time. Followed them to the nearest garage then hooted them goodbye.
( Lin - “ Brent my hero “ )
Our next stop was in the Waipoua Forest to view some of the most enormous Kauri trees. We stopped on the roadside and made our way down a wooden walkway just above the ground. This is designed to stop the delicate roots being trodden down. In our chatting we almost walked past the first and tallest tree in New Zealand. On realising our mistake we looked to the side and our breath was taken away by the girth and height of this majestic tree. Taking its photo was difficult on our small camera. We walked further to view the widest tree – the one recommended earlier by our conservationist – again awe inspiring.
Travelled onward to find a campsite. We had been told of one down a beach road. The road proved to be one of the roughest we had encountered flicking up red gravel onto the van. At the end of the road was a beautiful beach. We both got out of the van to walk down onto the sand. There were three people on the beach taking turns to ride a quad bike. Looking out to sea I could see the rain approaching. My words to Lin “ We are going to get soaked in a minute looking at that “ Few steps further my words proved true and the rain poured down on us. We hightailed it back to the van laughing at our own stupidity and now soaked also.
Finally found a place to rest our weary heads in Dargaville.
Wednesday 10th December:
Today we headed back to the city. The weather began foggy but as we travelled through the redwood country it quickly cleared and left fabulous, clear sunshine. We stopped several times, took more photos of trees and enjoyed Shirl's picnic. Before entering San Fran. we stopped at Healdsberg, as recommended by the Millers. This was another community of artists, which we really enjoyed. As we hit the Golden Gate bridge the sun was just beginning to set... wow!
Thursday 11th Dec...our last day in California! Sniff, sniff!
Woke up nice and early and phoned Brent's mum on her birthday...happy birthday Doris! Then it was off to the Golden Gate park, where we loved the De Young museum of art. The building itself was superb, but we paid the $10 and really enjoyed the art inside. In fact we could have spent a lot longer there, but wanted to see the academy of science building and the Japanese gardens, both of which were spectacular.... next time we'll pay the $25 to see the academy inside and the roof, which is part of it's green approach. Off to the airport, where we got rid of the car and checked in with no problems. Now here we are waiting to be called through our gate...oh yes, in the check in queue were asked if we were doing a trail we hadn't heard of... something like able bodied! A 20 mile trek, which we must find out about. Then over a coffee we met a lovely lady on her way to her son's wedding in Queenstown. She's a real traveller and gave us some useful hints. Bye for now... wish us luck on this 13hour flight!
new entry....13thDecember
Oh dear...what a flight. We had quite a lot of turbulence and throughout the flight my ( Linda) stomach was equally turbulent, as was Brent's. Suffice it to say that I felt very sorry for the poor bloke next to us, who was off to visit friends in Dunedin. (still he had the window seat). I'd been expecting to sleep for much of this flight, but didn't manage more than a few minutes at a time, so when we landed in Auckland at 5am felt pretty knackered. Couldn't get our heads around the fact that we'd lost a day somewhere..ie: we left san fran on 11th and now it was 13th December. We had a bit of a wait til 7.30am when our lift to the camper van arrived. A very nice chap, who gave us lots of advice about travelling in NZ b4 leaving us in the capable hands of Anne: a French girl who took us thru all the admin of the van... and the New Zealand vin... (spot the play on words). Our van turned out to be a VW high top, which was brand new. Sounds good, but meant we had to run it in, which wasn't so good. We decided to stay close by on the first night and headed for a recommended site about 30 mins from Auckland, called Orewa beach. A lovely site right on the sandy beach. Parked up in a nice space and 5 minutes later a huge motorhome...looking like the bus in Summer Holiday ( the Cliff film if you remember it!)..pulled up real close, followed by a bigger Kea van. All the occupants were very friendly and the Dutch family in the Kea van were really lovely. We ended up spending a very pleasant evening with them, sharing wine, music and tales. They also gave us all their left overs as they were moving on to Fiji the next day. Really kind. We took the beach path to the town centre. It was lovely and there were lots of families playing along the way. The little town had a good supermarket and there was Irish dancing going on in a bar. Quite a lively little place.
Sunday 14th Dec (Lin writing with Brent dictating...a joint effort!)
Moved further North on Route 1...countryside reminiscent of England, with rolling hills and dotted copses of trees with grazing cattle. I drove and the driving was lovely, with little traffic and sunny weather. Took a detour off towards Waipu and came across a beautiful long beach, where we stopped and had a picnic. Used the toilets, which were impressively painted with a mural. Back on the main road with Brent driving I spotted a campsite in the book, which looked promising. It was past Whangarei, where we stopped to look at a sleepy harbour. The site was only 200 metres from the Whangarei Falls and was lovely, with a little comfy sitting room with TV and books on loan. We decided to have a look at the falls, donning our wet gear as the weather looked iffy. The trail began at the top of the waterfall in a little, almost English park, where we met up with 3 young locals. We'd spotted some pretty little birds on the bridge across the lake at the top of the falls. Brent thought they were swifts. As we followed the trail the Englishness disappeared and we found ourselves in the bush, in a rainforest like environment. After reaching the base of the falls we decided to head for the AH Reed Memorial Kauri Park. This was a fantastic walk. It began with a wonderful field of cow parsley, then followed the river as it meandered down the valley. Then we began to see huge tree ferns and here began the “canopy walk.” At this point it was pouring with rain, but this only added to the atmosphere. We reached the canopy walkway, which provided a birdseye view of the forest and brought you up close to the magnificent Kauri trees. We were above the tree ferns and amongst fantastic bird song...a real feature of the forest. It was another awesome experience, very different from the Redwoods, but equally stunning.
Monday 15th:
Today we headed back to the A1 and our first stop proved very interesting. In Kawakawa there is the most fantastic toilet block. It was designed by an Austrian called Hundertwasser, who emigrated to the area when he was about 40. His work was reminiscent of Gaudi, with colourful, large tiles and ceramic columns just like in Parc Guell, Barcelona. The building seemed even more remarkable as it was right in the middle of very ordinary single storey retail buildings. We sat in a cafe opposite and enjoyed watching others spotting the building. We headed to the steam train station, where Hundertwassers boat is on show and were sorry that the train wasn't running as it's one of the last working trains and it goes straight down the high street. On to Opua, where we got the car ferry to speed up our journey to Russell, where we spent the night. Unfortunately the weather was glum, so the pretty little town was less appealing. In the night en route to the bathroom the heavens opened on me...thank god I'd put my waterproof on. Next morning we were up with the lark to a misty start.
Tuesday 16th Dec:
Headed into Russell to post cards and lo and behold the sun came out, so we decided to head off on a walk on the nearby promontory. We passed some quite beautiful houses, with fantastic views across the bay and again birdsong all the way. We headed up the flagstaff commemorating the signing of the treaty of Waitangi. Here there was a wonderful, panoramic view of the bay. Headed back down the path and followed a trail into the bush, where we were amazed to be surrounded by fluttering little birds. A local conservation volunteer told us that they were fantails. We had quite a chat with him and he made some good recommendations. We were in kiwi country, but didn't manage to see any of these elusive creatures. We did see some lovely birds though and really enjoyed the walk.
We then headed back to route 1 in the van heading towards the west coast. The day gave us perfect driving conditions. Very pretty rolling hills at first then as we approached the west coast the wooded mountains rose up in front of us. In skirting around these we climbed over the crest of a hill to witness a stunning view. Below us was a turquoise blue sea backed by the most enormous sand dune on the opposite side of the estuary. Time to stop and soak in the view while we made our lunchtime picnic at a roadside stop.
Onward and upward to a lookout across the bay. We found a small coastal walk that went out across the headland. Huge Pacific waves created a mist along the coast. The weather had changed quickly from sun to ominous clouds.
On our way out of the car park a car cheekly cut us off at the t-junction. Another mile along the road we were flagged down by the occupants of this same car. Three swiss girls in there 20s with the most horrendous flat tyre I had seen – was totally shredded. Looking helplessly at me I had no option but to help them with changing the tyre. Fortuneately this all went smoothly and had them back on the road in no time. Followed them to the nearest garage then hooted them goodbye.
( Lin - “ Brent my hero “ )
Our next stop was in the Waipoua Forest to view some of the most enormous Kauri trees. We stopped on the roadside and made our way down a wooden walkway just above the ground. This is designed to stop the delicate roots being trodden down. In our chatting we almost walked past the first and tallest tree in New Zealand. On realising our mistake we looked to the side and our breath was taken away by the girth and height of this majestic tree. Taking its photo was difficult on our small camera. We walked further to view the widest tree – the one recommended earlier by our conservationist – again awe inspiring.
Travelled onward to find a campsite. We had been told of one down a beach road. The road proved to be one of the roughest we had encountered flicking up red gravel onto the van. At the end of the road was a beautiful beach. We both got out of the van to walk down onto the sand. There were three people on the beach taking turns to ride a quad bike. Looking out to sea I could see the rain approaching. My words to Lin “ We are going to get soaked in a minute looking at that “ Few steps further my words proved true and the rain poured down on us. We hightailed it back to the van laughing at our own stupidity and now soaked also.
Finally found a place to rest our weary heads in Dargaville.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
some photos of our time in CA
Here are a few photos to give a senseof the trip from Yosemite to Eureka
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
continuing travels to Eureka
5th December
Got up reasonably early to another sunny morning. Linda walked out to the lake shore. When I went out to join her she was sitting at the end of a lovely whitewashed jetty looking out over the lake. We spent a happy half hour taking in the view.
On our continuing travels around the lake we stopped at a little coffee shop called Mary Lou's. The owner was very chatty and was very liberal in his views. A little further along the lake we came to an organic vineyard that had been recommended by our hosts. It was a place to taste some organic wine. We bought a bottle as a treat for Shirl and Stephen
.
The afternoon journey took us back through windy wooded roads, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean again at Fort Bragg. The views were fantastic.
Our accommodation that night was a motel on the edge of town. We ate in a Mexican restaurant which was frequented by Mexicans always a good sign.
6th December -Fort Bragg to Garberville
After a hearty breakfast over the road from the motel – where the waitress insisted on filling our coffee cups after each sip, we headed off to do a coastal walk. Once again... and yes we deserved it... the sun was shining and there were terrific views over the Pacific Ocean. Several joggers and even a cowboy passed us by and we enjoyed a walk back along the beach to the sound of the waves. Watching the surfers was fun. On the road before midday we enjoyed the road trip along the coast and through the forests. I insisted ( that's Linda) we stopped at a redwood grove trail and it proved a good move: the sun shone through the glorious trees. Quite spectacular. Around 4pm we arrived in Garberville and had quite a giggle at some of the signs around town. We thought of staying at the Sherwood Forest motel, but after a look around it and several others we opted for the Best Western, which was very comfortable. Around 6pm we headed down from our room to experience the cheese and wine complimentary event. We were met by Muriel, who didn't let us get a word in edgeways, but was most entertaining. Next morning at 8.55 Brent announced: oh my god! We only have 5 minutes to catch breakfast! I hastily pulled on my underwear and jeans and we rushed downstairs to discover breakfast was until 10am! Oh well...we do like an early start. On the road again I felt very excited at the prospect of seeing my old friends in Eureka and visiting my old haunts. We stopped off at Founders Grove, but the views weren't great as that good old Eureka fog had come down. However by the time we reached the town it had almost cleared. Steve and Shirl opened the door of their lovely home and it felt like I'd never been away. The stove was lit and a crab sandwich on the table before we had time to say hi! Lovely. In the afternoon we walked down to Old Town with Shirley, while Stephen stayed home preparing a gourmet meal for us. I loved showing Brent around and enjoyed some of the new sights too: the murals were fabulous and the new Co-op very impressive...oh that the co-op back in Bridgford were on the same level: organic fruit and veg, cereal, nuts etc all wonderfully fresh. Back at 1204 L Street, the table was set and we just loved the razor clams, Orzo pasta with pine nuts and beans with almonds, followed by home made cherry pie!! Thank you Stephen!
Monday 8th Dec.
This morning we were invited to Ann and Duke's for coffee. Had a very warm welcome. Ann was able to catch up with Linda while I chatted with Duke. He proved to be a very well travelled man who proved invaluable in giving us some hints and tips on our future visits. After a while Ann brought out the most fantastic scone – delicious, served with butter and jam. We felt really at home.
In the afternoon we went to Arcata Marshes. Stephen and Shirley proved to be expert bird watchers. We all had binoculars and the birdlife was so plentiful with lots of birds prey and wading birds. With our knowledgeable hosts we learnt lots about the wildlife. Returned for a lovely meal of coq au vin. Retired feeling all our senses had been statiated.
Tuesday 9th December.
Went for a fantastic walk in the Humboldt bay reserve, further south along the coast. Again fantastic sunshine and lots of birdlife; great egrets, white egrets, marsh wrens, blue heron, marsh hawks, kites, canada geese , the american robin and a variety of sparrows including the savannah sparrow. We even saw a young bald eagle! Hunting was taking place next to the reserve. One of the geese was shot down on its way to landing at the reserve. The highlight was on our return to the car when we spotted some ripples in the water. After a while an otter appeared around the bend of the creek. As we stood on the bridge it calmly swam towards us occasionally diving down to show its tail before reappearing to look around. To our surprise it swam right under the bridge we were standing on. On re-appearing it had a quick look up at us before continuuing with its business up stream. First time Linda and I had seen one in the wild. Fantastic.
Got up reasonably early to another sunny morning. Linda walked out to the lake shore. When I went out to join her she was sitting at the end of a lovely whitewashed jetty looking out over the lake. We spent a happy half hour taking in the view.
On our continuing travels around the lake we stopped at a little coffee shop called Mary Lou's. The owner was very chatty and was very liberal in his views. A little further along the lake we came to an organic vineyard that had been recommended by our hosts. It was a place to taste some organic wine. We bought a bottle as a treat for Shirl and Stephen
.
The afternoon journey took us back through windy wooded roads, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean again at Fort Bragg. The views were fantastic.
Our accommodation that night was a motel on the edge of town. We ate in a Mexican restaurant which was frequented by Mexicans always a good sign.
6th December -Fort Bragg to Garberville
After a hearty breakfast over the road from the motel – where the waitress insisted on filling our coffee cups after each sip, we headed off to do a coastal walk. Once again... and yes we deserved it... the sun was shining and there were terrific views over the Pacific Ocean. Several joggers and even a cowboy passed us by and we enjoyed a walk back along the beach to the sound of the waves. Watching the surfers was fun. On the road before midday we enjoyed the road trip along the coast and through the forests. I insisted ( that's Linda) we stopped at a redwood grove trail and it proved a good move: the sun shone through the glorious trees. Quite spectacular. Around 4pm we arrived in Garberville and had quite a giggle at some of the signs around town. We thought of staying at the Sherwood Forest motel, but after a look around it and several others we opted for the Best Western, which was very comfortable. Around 6pm we headed down from our room to experience the cheese and wine complimentary event. We were met by Muriel, who didn't let us get a word in edgeways, but was most entertaining. Next morning at 8.55 Brent announced: oh my god! We only have 5 minutes to catch breakfast! I hastily pulled on my underwear and jeans and we rushed downstairs to discover breakfast was until 10am! Oh well...we do like an early start. On the road again I felt very excited at the prospect of seeing my old friends in Eureka and visiting my old haunts. We stopped off at Founders Grove, but the views weren't great as that good old Eureka fog had come down. However by the time we reached the town it had almost cleared. Steve and Shirl opened the door of their lovely home and it felt like I'd never been away. The stove was lit and a crab sandwich on the table before we had time to say hi! Lovely. In the afternoon we walked down to Old Town with Shirley, while Stephen stayed home preparing a gourmet meal for us. I loved showing Brent around and enjoyed some of the new sights too: the murals were fabulous and the new Co-op very impressive...oh that the co-op back in Bridgford were on the same level: organic fruit and veg, cereal, nuts etc all wonderfully fresh. Back at 1204 L Street, the table was set and we just loved the razor clams, Orzo pasta with pine nuts and beans with almonds, followed by home made cherry pie!! Thank you Stephen!
Monday 8th Dec.
This morning we were invited to Ann and Duke's for coffee. Had a very warm welcome. Ann was able to catch up with Linda while I chatted with Duke. He proved to be a very well travelled man who proved invaluable in giving us some hints and tips on our future visits. After a while Ann brought out the most fantastic scone – delicious, served with butter and jam. We felt really at home.
In the afternoon we went to Arcata Marshes. Stephen and Shirley proved to be expert bird watchers. We all had binoculars and the birdlife was so plentiful with lots of birds prey and wading birds. With our knowledgeable hosts we learnt lots about the wildlife. Returned for a lovely meal of coq au vin. Retired feeling all our senses had been statiated.
Tuesday 9th December.
Went for a fantastic walk in the Humboldt bay reserve, further south along the coast. Again fantastic sunshine and lots of birdlife; great egrets, white egrets, marsh wrens, blue heron, marsh hawks, kites, canada geese , the american robin and a variety of sparrows including the savannah sparrow. We even saw a young bald eagle! Hunting was taking place next to the reserve. One of the geese was shot down on its way to landing at the reserve. The highlight was on our return to the car when we spotted some ripples in the water. After a while an otter appeared around the bend of the creek. As we stood on the bridge it calmly swam towards us occasionally diving down to show its tail before reappearing to look around. To our surprise it swam right under the bridge we were standing on. On re-appearing it had a quick look up at us before continuuing with its business up stream. First time Linda and I had seen one in the wild. Fantastic.
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Into Gold Country
6th December 2008
Brent here.
Looking out of the motel window now across the Pacific Ocean. We are going to take a hike along the coast today. Desperately hoping to see whales that apparently migrate at this time of year.
After Maripose we headed out along Route 49. This is so named after the 49ers the people who came in the Californian Gold Rush. The road we took wound its way up and down the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We stopped in Jackson. The town was very sleepy and we walked into the Historic Town – the single street which could easily be imagined in wild west movies. Walked into a traditional bar with people sat at it on stools and the pool table in the back. Have discovered that the beer is good here. They do copies of the Belgian Wheat beers and they are delicious – ordered two which we drank out of bottles. Barmaid offered us some chillie she had cooked for the pool tournament players – was very tasty. Slept rather fitfully that night in a non-smoking room that was invaded by smoke from neighbouring rooms!!!
4th December
Woke up to a some smog. We have seen lots of it in the valleys on our journey. The weather cleared as we drove higher passing through such classically named towns as El Dorado. All of them were sleeply little middle American towns with only one street. Eventually we arrived in the town of Coloma. This was reputedly the place were gold was first discovered by James Wilson Marshall – it set of the Gold Rush. Visited the museum then walked down to the river to find gold. I found two small nuggets in the water Linda says they are just pieces of gravel but I know better. I used to watch lots of cowboy films when I was smaller so consider myself an expert. Put them into my wallet to be assayed at a later date!
The drive continued on through strangely named places like Cool and even one called Linda. Which we tried to stop at but the freeway didnt allow!!
Our final destination for the day was the town of Clearwater Oaks. This was on a beautiful lake and we arrived at sunset. Found a tiny little place to stop called 20 Oaks. Was essentually an RV site but had a couple of rooms. The owners had moved from the big city and were proud owners. The room was very homely with patchwork quilt on the bed. The air was very crisp and clean by the lake and we both slept a long and peaceful night.
Brent here.
Looking out of the motel window now across the Pacific Ocean. We are going to take a hike along the coast today. Desperately hoping to see whales that apparently migrate at this time of year.
After Maripose we headed out along Route 49. This is so named after the 49ers the people who came in the Californian Gold Rush. The road we took wound its way up and down the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We stopped in Jackson. The town was very sleepy and we walked into the Historic Town – the single street which could easily be imagined in wild west movies. Walked into a traditional bar with people sat at it on stools and the pool table in the back. Have discovered that the beer is good here. They do copies of the Belgian Wheat beers and they are delicious – ordered two which we drank out of bottles. Barmaid offered us some chillie she had cooked for the pool tournament players – was very tasty. Slept rather fitfully that night in a non-smoking room that was invaded by smoke from neighbouring rooms!!!
4th December
Woke up to a some smog. We have seen lots of it in the valleys on our journey. The weather cleared as we drove higher passing through such classically named towns as El Dorado. All of them were sleeply little middle American towns with only one street. Eventually we arrived in the town of Coloma. This was reputedly the place were gold was first discovered by James Wilson Marshall – it set of the Gold Rush. Visited the museum then walked down to the river to find gold. I found two small nuggets in the water Linda says they are just pieces of gravel but I know better. I used to watch lots of cowboy films when I was smaller so consider myself an expert. Put them into my wallet to be assayed at a later date!
The drive continued on through strangely named places like Cool and even one called Linda. Which we tried to stop at but the freeway didnt allow!!
Our final destination for the day was the town of Clearwater Oaks. This was on a beautiful lake and we arrived at sunset. Found a tiny little place to stop called 20 Oaks. Was essentually an RV site but had a couple of rooms. The owners had moved from the big city and were proud owners. The room was very homely with patchwork quilt on the bed. The air was very crisp and clean by the lake and we both slept a long and peaceful night.
Looking back on time in England and California
Hi again...
First of all for those of you who don't know, we are managing to upload some of our photos onto www.flickr.com You'll need to search for me: Linda Burdett and click on people in order to find them. We don't find the site as easy to navigate as we'd like but have put a few slide shows on there...if you can find them! Let us know if you manage to!! Anyway now that we've managed to show a few photos of Yosemite on this blog, I'm gonna put few more on. Some from our last stay in England and some of San Francisco. We can't believe our luck in terms of the weather. Its warm and sunny here on Dec 5th!!! WOW. Anyway enjoy the photos..if I manage to upload them. Love to all from Linda and Brent
Thursday, 4 December 2008
December in Yosemite
On Sunday 30th Nov we headed out of the city and drove into the Yosemite National Park. We decided to stop outside the entrance and found a motel where we were pleased with ourselves for negotiating the price down.
Monday 1st dawned with a beautiful blue sky and we were up and off quite early. After paying the $10 each for a week's pass we entered the park...wow! Brent was wowed well and truly by the views of El Capitaine and we stopped a few times for photos. We also had a shock when a baby deer ran in front of the car. The windy roads were as spectacular as I remembered. By 10.30 we were in Yosemite village and exploring the visitor centre and store. We'd hoped to find accommodation in the valley, but after a wait for the shuttle bus to Yosemite lodge, we were told that only the Ahwahnee hotel/lodge had vacancies starting at over $200! Oh well! Brent was very disappointed but I wasn't really surprised. All the camps were closed up for season so only the rich and famous were accommodated in the park. We decided to do a shortish walk to Mirror Lake, which I remembered from my last trip here. As we strolled along the path I felt slightly uneasy: it was very quiet an I was aware there were bears about.Anyway suddenly we heard voices and on a parallel cycle track about 100 yards away saw a couple waving frantically at us. We went over to them and they told us that 10 minutes further up our path were 2 brown bears! We'd have loved to see them, but wanted to live to see New Zealand...ha!ha! so quickly moved to the cycle track. I couldn't believe how different the lake was when we got to it: harldy any water, but still got a good photo. Walked back hoping to see bears from afar, but no such luck. We did see a koyote and lots of deer, which was lovely. We decided to head out of the park by a different route ( 140 instead of 120). After rejecting the first motel as it was over $100 dollars for a room, we shortly found a really nice motel at Incline. We registered at reception having accepted a price of $79 a night and couldn't believe the room... it had a 4 poster, ginormous bed, a spa bath for at least 2 people , a double shower, flat screened TV, comfy armchairs and to top that continental breakfast was included. We decided to stay an extra night! The only downside was the diner, where the food was pretty grotty. Next morning we headed back to the park and by 10.15 had parked up at Curry village ( weird to see all those empty tents) and were walking towards our trailhead to Vernal and Nevada falls on John Muir's Mist trail up Half Dome. What a fantastic hike. It truly was awesome and as we neared the top of the Nevada falls we found a fantastic spot for a quick tai chi session. On top of the falls we met up with a french girl who was waiting for her american boyfriend from Seattle. They were doing the hike from Glacier Point and he'd decided to explore the start of the trail up to the top of Half Dome. She was a bit worried as he wasn't back at the arranged time... that walk looked fab too but we decided to move on and explore a bit more of the state before Eureka.
The walk back down was really easy after the steep climb up and we did the round trip in around 5.5 hours. Back at base we made full use of our facilities before dinner and next morning were up quite early and off to Maripose, where we are now (Wed 3rd Dec. 12.00) njoying a latte in a typical american coffee shop... great!
On Sunday 30th Nov we headed out of the city and drove into the Yosemite National Park. We decided to stop outside the entrance and found a motel where we were pleased with ourselves for negotiating the price down.
Monday 1st dawned with a beautiful blue sky and we were up and off quite early. After paying the $10 each for a week's pass we entered the park...wow! Brent was wowed well and truly by the views of El Capitaine and we stopped a few times for photos. We also had a shock when a baby deer ran in front of the car. The windy roads were as spectacular as I remembered. By 10.30 we were in Yosemite village and exploring the visitor centre and store. We'd hoped to find accommodation in the valley, but after a wait for the shuttle bus to Yosemite lodge, we were told that only the Ahwahnee hotel/lodge had vacancies starting at over $200! Oh well! Brent was very disappointed but I wasn't really surprised. All the camps were closed up for season so only the rich and famous were accommodated in the park. We decided to do a shortish walk to Mirror Lake, which I remembered from my last trip here. As we strolled along the path I felt slightly uneasy: it was very quiet an I was aware there were bears about.Anyway suddenly we heard voices and on a parallel cycle track about 100 yards away saw a couple waving frantically at us. We went over to them and they told us that 10 minutes further up our path were 2 brown bears! We'd have loved to see them, but wanted to live to see New Zealand...ha!ha! so quickly moved to the cycle track. I couldn't believe how different the lake was when we got to it: harldy any water, but still got a good photo. Walked back hoping to see bears from afar, but no such luck. We did see a koyote and lots of deer, which was lovely. We decided to head out of the park by a different route ( 140 instead of 120). After rejecting the first motel as it was over $100 dollars for a room, we shortly found a really nice motel at Incline. We registered at reception having accepted a price of $79 a night and couldn't believe the room... it had a 4 poster, ginormous bed, a spa bath for at least 2 people , a double shower, flat screened TV, comfy armchairs and to top that continental breakfast was included. We decided to stay an extra night! The only downside was the diner, where the food was pretty grotty. Next morning we headed back to the park and by 10.15 had parked up at Curry village ( weird to see all those empty tents) and were walking towards our trailhead to Vernal and Nevada falls on John Muir's Mist trail up Half Dome. What a fantastic hike. It truly was awesome and as we neared the top of the Nevada falls we found a fantastic spot for a quick tai chi session. On top of the falls we met up with a french girl who was waiting for her american boyfriend from Seattle. They were doing the hike from Glacier Point and he'd decided to explore the start of the trail up to the top of Half Dome. She was a bit worried as he wasn't back at the arranged time... that walk looked fab too but we decided to move on and explore a bit more of the state before Eureka.
The walk back down was really easy after the steep climb up and we did the round trip in around 5.5 hours. Back at base we made full use of our facilities before dinner and next morning were up quite early and off to Maripose, where we are now (Wed 3rd Dec. 12.00) njoying a latte in a typical american coffee shop... great!
Monday, 1 December 2008
Meeting with friends and relatives and off to the US of A
Sunday 23rd November
Drove into Nottingham the next morning to see friends. Parked the car at Jenny's and walked up to The John Borelace Warren pub- if that's how you spell it. Jenny was her usual up beat cheery self and had helped organise a meet up with Barbara, Rob, Florrie and Steve. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. We all tucked into a Sunday lunch and a pint. Farewells were slightly sad knowing we would not be back before next August.
In the evening went over to Wendy and Dave's. It was a bit like coming full circle as we had left them last in September as we set out on our European leg. They once again were the perfect hosts cooking for us and providing the sort of homely comforts we had been without on our travels. Annie joined us for a good old natter. It was great to catch up.
24th November Monday
Woke up to a lovely morning. Dave and Wendy were keen to show us their new hens that had been rescued from their incarceration in the battery sheds. They were now happily producing eggs in a far more luxurious run and we enjoyed a full English breakfast with their lovely fresh eggs, before heading up to the Maze to pick up Gareth and Steph ready for the journey up north. The 4 hour drive gave me (Lin here) the chance to show off our photos and hear all the news from the Forest tavern and Maze (see:www.themazerocks.com)
We got to Carlisle around 3pm and met up with Alec. Had a fun meal together and caught up with some of Al's friends over a few pints. Before going to bed we enjoyed visiting the Bank gallery and Gary and the twins studios.
25th November Tuesday – Al's big day
Met up with Al before the ceremony in Carlisle cathedral. He looked great in the cap and gown and I was a really proud mum when he walked past in the procession of graduands. Mind you we did say what a bizarre system it all is... we'd rather have stood up for the graduates than for the Dean, or whoever he was...what a load of pomp!! After the event we enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies in the Crown and Mitre...a very -posh venue then it was off to the pub before very sad goodbyes.
Headed back to Cov and picked up Shirl and Bas so that we could all have tea together and we could hand over the car to them. Barb came over to say her goodbyes too.. shed quite a few tears today..,,,,,August seems such a long way off and I know I'll miss my boys, friends and family!!
26th November Wednesday – Brent here..
Jan gave us a lift to the bus station to start the next phase of our world trip. We were now minus the car and were carrying all our possessions. ( two large rucksacks 45 litres 9 pounds weight and 55 litres 12 pounds weight, two small rucksacks, and a little travel bag on wheels ). Today I was looking forward to meeting up with David in London. Our coach arrived at the expected time – much respect to the driver to negotiate the traffic in London and still get there on time. David met us at the coach station looking smart and cosmopolitan. He now has the assurance of a person familiar with the capital city as he negotiated the stations in the underground and we followed meekly along. Our first destination was to unburden ourselves of our bags so he kindly arranged to let us leave them at the Dune shop in Covent Garden. Unencumbered now we set off to Neales Yard and found one of the wholefood restaurants. Excellent food but London prices. I always some how think they should be cheaper but never are. After eating we wandered down to the National Portrait Gallery. Had just started looking around when the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. Walked across to St Stephens Church to see the newly renovated crypt. Found a little quiet alcove were we showed David some of our photos on the laptop. By the time we emerged darkness had descended but London was aglow with Christmas lights. We walked over to Carnaby Street where they had hung massive inflated snow men above the pavements and lit them in a way which reminded me of the Michelin man in Ghostbusters. Walked on down Regents Street to see the lights there looking like huge fishing nets hung out to dry above the traffic. By this time we were ready for food again. David took us to a fantastic chinese restaurant called Cha Cha Moon. It was down one of the backstreets. The smells on entering were very special – mixture of oriental spices and boiled vegetables. All the dishes were priced at £3.50 – my kind of place. We all had a mixture of strange sounding dishes and shared them. Delicious. The night was moving on a pace now so we had to fit in some of the hostelries around the capital. After collecting our bags we finished off our drinking at the Lamb and Flag. This was were the bartender was stopped by me in the process of ringing the bomb squad about the bags we had dumped in the corner. David kindly helped us with our bags on the underground as we caught the tube to Heathrow. A sad goodbye was said as his station came up and he departed. Thanks David for a lovely time. A proud but melancholy Dad continues his journey.
Finally found our hotel at Heathrow after almost walking in the opposite direction down the road as a result of some strange numbering system. Room was clean and tidy and allowed us to get some sleep before tomorrow's mammoth flight.
27th November Thursday.
Journey to the airport went well. Arrived in plenty of time to check in. Slightly anxious to know whether our tickets would appear out of the check in machine – but low and behold not only the San Francisco ones but also the Shanghai tickets were there. At airport security it is usually me that is stopped. This is usually because I am so anxious about what i might have left in my bag as it goes through the scanner that I look as though I am guilty of hiding something. This time though it was Linda – a pair of scissors had been left in a make up bag. Had just got to the final passport check thought I was in the clear and yes you guessed it – the contents of my bags were emptied out and I was frisked by a young security guard.
The plane journey was long but there were plentiful pauses for food and drinks and some distractions from the on board films – two of which were ones I had wanted to see at the cinema – the Iron Man and Wanted. Decided not to sleep on the ten hour flight but it went very quickly.
Arrived in San Francisco at 12.30pm. The weather was overcast. Caught a shuttle bus to the Lombard Motor Inn. Linda was very keen to show me Fishermans Wharf so we wandered down to the Piers. Had a very special atmosphere. Lots of families, a wide mix of ethnic groups, lots of sea food restaurants and coloured lights. Some parts were very commercial and reminded me of Blackpool. Went back to the hotel via the windy part of Lombard street which is always shown on the Hollywood films
Friday 28th Nov
Lin here.. well it was lovely to get back to San Francisco. It really is a favourite place of mine. Today we decided to head downtown and we managed to see North point area, China Town and the Yerba Buena park and galleries near Mission... lots of walking but it was worth is. I couldn't believe the weather... by midday we had clear blue skies and it was very warm! Do we still deserve this? We headed back to our room around 5.30 and meant to have a little nap before our evening meal...woke up at 8.45! Still managed to wander back to Fisherman's Wharf and eat a nice fishy meal. We also checked out some of the galleries down there, which are just amazing. Overheard one of the staff discussing bidding for a painting with a client... megabucks there. Stopped off at the Buena Vista Irish coffee bar....yummy!
Saturday 29th Nov
An absolutely beautiful day! Yippee. Just the day for a stroll along the sea front to the Golden Gate Bridge and a look at the Fine Arts Palace in the Presidio park. I was thrilled to bits when we spotted a pelican on one of the marshes...Brent's first one. We'd stopped off at Safeway and bought a lovely salad and some sandwiches and really enjoyed our picnic looking out to sea. This was a full day and we enjoyed looking at the Art Nouveau properties on the way back to the hotel. By this time my feet were killing me and I don't think I'd have made it back without a cup of Chai tea at Starbucks! Nevertheless after a short rest we headed off in search of the Hotel Utah, which had been recommended to us by an American guitarist I'd seen at the Maze. We took a street car to get there, which was fun and stopped at Mel's diner for a burger dinner. The place was buzzing and reminded us of the Maze in it's atmosphere... have a look at their website Gaz...www.hotelutah.com (I think). We enjoyed their weiss beer and managed to fit in another Irish coffee on the way back. Lovely! Now looking forward to Yosemite!
Drove into Nottingham the next morning to see friends. Parked the car at Jenny's and walked up to The John Borelace Warren pub- if that's how you spell it. Jenny was her usual up beat cheery self and had helped organise a meet up with Barbara, Rob, Florrie and Steve. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. We all tucked into a Sunday lunch and a pint. Farewells were slightly sad knowing we would not be back before next August.
In the evening went over to Wendy and Dave's. It was a bit like coming full circle as we had left them last in September as we set out on our European leg. They once again were the perfect hosts cooking for us and providing the sort of homely comforts we had been without on our travels. Annie joined us for a good old natter. It was great to catch up.
24th November Monday
Woke up to a lovely morning. Dave and Wendy were keen to show us their new hens that had been rescued from their incarceration in the battery sheds. They were now happily producing eggs in a far more luxurious run and we enjoyed a full English breakfast with their lovely fresh eggs, before heading up to the Maze to pick up Gareth and Steph ready for the journey up north. The 4 hour drive gave me (Lin here) the chance to show off our photos and hear all the news from the Forest tavern and Maze (see:www.themazerocks.com)
We got to Carlisle around 3pm and met up with Alec. Had a fun meal together and caught up with some of Al's friends over a few pints. Before going to bed we enjoyed visiting the Bank gallery and Gary and the twins studios.
25th November Tuesday – Al's big day
Met up with Al before the ceremony in Carlisle cathedral. He looked great in the cap and gown and I was a really proud mum when he walked past in the procession of graduands. Mind you we did say what a bizarre system it all is... we'd rather have stood up for the graduates than for the Dean, or whoever he was...what a load of pomp!! After the event we enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies in the Crown and Mitre...a very -posh venue then it was off to the pub before very sad goodbyes.
Headed back to Cov and picked up Shirl and Bas so that we could all have tea together and we could hand over the car to them. Barb came over to say her goodbyes too.. shed quite a few tears today..,,,,,August seems such a long way off and I know I'll miss my boys, friends and family!!
26th November Wednesday – Brent here..
Jan gave us a lift to the bus station to start the next phase of our world trip. We were now minus the car and were carrying all our possessions. ( two large rucksacks 45 litres 9 pounds weight and 55 litres 12 pounds weight, two small rucksacks, and a little travel bag on wheels ). Today I was looking forward to meeting up with David in London. Our coach arrived at the expected time – much respect to the driver to negotiate the traffic in London and still get there on time. David met us at the coach station looking smart and cosmopolitan. He now has the assurance of a person familiar with the capital city as he negotiated the stations in the underground and we followed meekly along. Our first destination was to unburden ourselves of our bags so he kindly arranged to let us leave them at the Dune shop in Covent Garden. Unencumbered now we set off to Neales Yard and found one of the wholefood restaurants. Excellent food but London prices. I always some how think they should be cheaper but never are. After eating we wandered down to the National Portrait Gallery. Had just started looking around when the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. Walked across to St Stephens Church to see the newly renovated crypt. Found a little quiet alcove were we showed David some of our photos on the laptop. By the time we emerged darkness had descended but London was aglow with Christmas lights. We walked over to Carnaby Street where they had hung massive inflated snow men above the pavements and lit them in a way which reminded me of the Michelin man in Ghostbusters. Walked on down Regents Street to see the lights there looking like huge fishing nets hung out to dry above the traffic. By this time we were ready for food again. David took us to a fantastic chinese restaurant called Cha Cha Moon. It was down one of the backstreets. The smells on entering were very special – mixture of oriental spices and boiled vegetables. All the dishes were priced at £3.50 – my kind of place. We all had a mixture of strange sounding dishes and shared them. Delicious. The night was moving on a pace now so we had to fit in some of the hostelries around the capital. After collecting our bags we finished off our drinking at the Lamb and Flag. This was were the bartender was stopped by me in the process of ringing the bomb squad about the bags we had dumped in the corner. David kindly helped us with our bags on the underground as we caught the tube to Heathrow. A sad goodbye was said as his station came up and he departed. Thanks David for a lovely time. A proud but melancholy Dad continues his journey.
Finally found our hotel at Heathrow after almost walking in the opposite direction down the road as a result of some strange numbering system. Room was clean and tidy and allowed us to get some sleep before tomorrow's mammoth flight.
27th November Thursday.
Journey to the airport went well. Arrived in plenty of time to check in. Slightly anxious to know whether our tickets would appear out of the check in machine – but low and behold not only the San Francisco ones but also the Shanghai tickets were there. At airport security it is usually me that is stopped. This is usually because I am so anxious about what i might have left in my bag as it goes through the scanner that I look as though I am guilty of hiding something. This time though it was Linda – a pair of scissors had been left in a make up bag. Had just got to the final passport check thought I was in the clear and yes you guessed it – the contents of my bags were emptied out and I was frisked by a young security guard.
The plane journey was long but there were plentiful pauses for food and drinks and some distractions from the on board films – two of which were ones I had wanted to see at the cinema – the Iron Man and Wanted. Decided not to sleep on the ten hour flight but it went very quickly.
Arrived in San Francisco at 12.30pm. The weather was overcast. Caught a shuttle bus to the Lombard Motor Inn. Linda was very keen to show me Fishermans Wharf so we wandered down to the Piers. Had a very special atmosphere. Lots of families, a wide mix of ethnic groups, lots of sea food restaurants and coloured lights. Some parts were very commercial and reminded me of Blackpool. Went back to the hotel via the windy part of Lombard street which is always shown on the Hollywood films
Friday 28th Nov
Lin here.. well it was lovely to get back to San Francisco. It really is a favourite place of mine. Today we decided to head downtown and we managed to see North point area, China Town and the Yerba Buena park and galleries near Mission... lots of walking but it was worth is. I couldn't believe the weather... by midday we had clear blue skies and it was very warm! Do we still deserve this? We headed back to our room around 5.30 and meant to have a little nap before our evening meal...woke up at 8.45! Still managed to wander back to Fisherman's Wharf and eat a nice fishy meal. We also checked out some of the galleries down there, which are just amazing. Overheard one of the staff discussing bidding for a painting with a client... megabucks there. Stopped off at the Buena Vista Irish coffee bar....yummy!
Saturday 29th Nov
An absolutely beautiful day! Yippee. Just the day for a stroll along the sea front to the Golden Gate Bridge and a look at the Fine Arts Palace in the Presidio park. I was thrilled to bits when we spotted a pelican on one of the marshes...Brent's first one. We'd stopped off at Safeway and bought a lovely salad and some sandwiches and really enjoyed our picnic looking out to sea. This was a full day and we enjoyed looking at the Art Nouveau properties on the way back to the hotel. By this time my feet were killing me and I don't think I'd have made it back without a cup of Chai tea at Starbucks! Nevertheless after a short rest we headed off in search of the Hotel Utah, which had been recommended to us by an American guitarist I'd seen at the Maze. We took a street car to get there, which was fun and stopped at Mel's diner for a burger dinner. The place was buzzing and reminded us of the Maze in it's atmosphere... have a look at their website Gaz...www.hotelutah.com (I think). We enjoyed their weiss beer and managed to fit in another Irish coffee on the way back. Lovely! Now looking forward to Yosemite!
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