One of the best parts for me of travel is hearing the music of different countries. One night this past week, Keith and Carol were watching “The X Factor Australia”. The X Factor is a show like American Idol. I…
Floundering Around: Flounder From Ocean To Stomach in 5 Minutes
We went out and caught flounder in Whangaroa Harbor. We did this over two days, and actually caught the flounder in nets, before gutting it, and frying it up in a pan. Catching flounder and eating it gave me a…
Ian’s Garden in Northland, New Zealand
Because we stayed at The J Taitokerau, we got the opportunity to go with Mark (the owner of the J Taitokerau) to visit Ian’s garden. Ian is a local guy, 81 years old, who has an absolutely magnificent garden. Here…
The Feeding of the Lambs
Visiting farms and feeding baby sheep in New Zealand. One of the best parts of staying here at The J Taitokerau is how much we’ve been welcomed by Mark and Nessy Jackson into their home and their lives. Our new…
Cooper Beach/Cable Bay Ice Cream Shop
Cable Bay is quite near to Mangonui, and in fact is basically the beach (Cooper’s beach) where we stopped to watch the sunset the first day we came into the Northern part of Northland. We connected to the Internet from…
Tutukaka – Ocean’s Hotel
I’ll save talking much about Tutukaka for a later post, as we plan to return to Tutukaka so that we can dive the Poor Knight’s Islands. The Poor Knight’s Islands are reportedly one of the top 10 diving spots in…
On Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand? Get Arrival magazine.
When you are arriving in Auckland New Zealand, we highly recommend you get a copy of the arrival magazine. It has great articles about what to do, and more importantly, has great coupons and deals for everything from Zorbing in…
Accommodation: Northland, New Zealand for 90 Mile Beach and Cape Reinga
90 Mile Beach and Cape Reinga Accommodation: Northland, New Zealand Our plan was to visit 90 mile beach and Cape Reinga, stay for 1 night somewhere in Northland, New Zealand, and head back to Auckland to stay with our friends…
Cape Reinga
Cape Reinga (ree-ayn-guh) is not (as I previously thought) the northern most point in New Zealand. However, because it’s the most visited north point of New Zealand, most people, at the outset of their bus tours up to the cape…
Olives Grow in North New Zealand?
Before coming through Northland, New Zealand, I would have been surprised at just how many different kinds of things grow here. Actually, after having been here 10 days, I’m still quite surprised. One of the products that grows here locally…