Arriving at Paeroa we saw the aftermath of the devastating fire that destoyed 14
motorhomes last month. We are so thankful that our
'Tantalus' was stored in a different shed to the one totally
destroyed. Our friends Jan and Keven were not so lucky. The centre
pic is all that remained of their lovely American RV.
Covi, the
insurance company used by most of the motorhome owners, paid out
very quickly. Below left is the MH Jan and Kev bought to replace their
big American model. It is an identical model to our Tantalus, the smaller
'van will suit their lifestyle better now that they are not full-time on the
road..
Right; rainbow over the old shed at Paeroa.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Above; a fabulous Ford(?)
at Ray's Rest, a great overnight free camping spot. It's just a
couple of kilometers away from Kaiaua fish and chip shop. We had 3
pieces of hoki (had only asked for 2 but always seem to get 3)and chips
for $7.60. Delicious.
Sunset at Ambury Park, an Auckland Regional
Park quite close to the airport. Very good place to stay, costs
$12 pppn unless you have one of the annual passes for all the parks,
this year $123
Below; Mount Tongariro had a little rumble on
21st November, just to keep us all interested.
|
 Lots
to see at the Santa Parade.
Great make up, Chinese dragons, lots of noise,
3 pipe bands, heavy
horses.
Stilt walkers.
Cuddly tigers
Cat in a hat
Gymnasts
Paper streamers
The very wonderful
Clown Doctors
and
Santa |
Matt and Deb stake a claim
to a bit of kerbside
ready for the Santa Parade in Auckland.
Matt,
my hero, took a chair for me!
|
Several people have
asked me about prices here.
I did a small shop the other day so here are some items from my receipt;
Watties Tomato Sauce 560g $3.99
(£2)
800g Rolled oats $2.99 (£1.50)
200g Espresso Coffee (Robert Harris) $7.19
(£3.60)
1 Lt Long Life milk $2.99 (£1.50)
Beef Scotch fillet $29 per kg (£6.50 per lb)
250g fresh strawberries $2.99
1 kg mandarins $5.79 (£2.90)
25 slim sticks of asparagus $2.99
500g smoked bacon $14.35 (£7.20)
1 kg Hazelnut yogurt $5.29 (£2.65)
Medium size cooked chicken $15.49 (£7.75)
Bloomer style loaf $2.85 (£1.45)
NZ Merlot $9.99 (£5)
Aussie Shiraz $9.99
French Rhone $13.99 'La Vielle Ferme'
(£7) Costs us £6.40 in UK
Diesel, on special because I spent $200 in
store, $1.26 lt (63p) usually $1.51 (75p)
Bottled gas $2.03 lt (£1)
|
 |
Quote from the NZ Herald on 7 Dec....
"People visiting cafes, restaurants and liquor stores in the lead up to
Christmas helped lift the country's electronic spend last month,
according to latest figures.
Credit and debit card spending through the
Paymark electronic network, which processes about 75 per cent of all
transactions in New Zealand, rose 1 per cent in November compared to the
previous month.
Kiwis' total spending was 4.6 per cent higher
in terms of annual growth compared to November 2011.
Figures suggest the party season is getting
underway, with spending jumping annually at cafes and restaurants by 9.3
per cent and liquor retailers by 10 per cent.
This sharp increase could in part be
attributed to November 2012 having one more Friday than November last
year, 'and the Giblings arrival here' said Paymark's head of sales and
marketing Paul Whiston."
(NB Note the quote marks)
|
| A short visit to
Great Barrier Island |
Great Barrier Island
(Aotea Island) is the ancestral land of the Ngati Rehua hapu of Ngati
Wai. It is the southeastern outpost of the tribal rohe of the
Ngati Wai iwi |
Aotea taonga maha: Aotea the island of
many treasures |
 |
 |
 |
Motairehe overlooking Katherine Bay |
Jan and Keven made us very welcome and showed
us fabulous places |
 |
Cockles and pipis gathered one day are left in a bucket of seawater
overnight so that they spit out any residual sand. A quick steam
before deshelling and adding to a delicious cream sauce.
Below; it was a good plan to rent a 4x4! The wood is to help get
over a boggy bit. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shopping for the weekly groceries can be a bit different here.
This order (far-right) just arrived from the mainland. It's not
all Jan's of course!
Brenda, who lives at Motairehe, has a couple of baches available if
you'd like to stay. Paul might take you fishing or pig hunting if
you like. There's a trek through the bush to a little waterfall
nearby. (I'll add their link very soon)
|
 |
|
Police called to help penguin on
Wellington motorway
A little blue penguin is back where it
belongs after causing trouble on a Wellington motorway this morning. (19
Dec12)
It spent more than an hour in the middle of
State Highway 2 - between four lanes of traffic on the Ngauranga
flyover.
Police officers came to the rescue with a
rolling block to slow traffic down.
Then, as an officer approached, the penguin
calmly jumped down and tottered across the road, across the railway
tracks and into the harbour.
|
In the run up to Christmas
we are let loose with Hannah and Daniel
 |
 |
 |
 |
It's amazing what you can
find to do with the grandies; Sticks, stones, a petting aligator, a
peacock, and ... (just kidding)
 |
| |
|
on to Page 2 |
