I have family dotted from Auckland to Wellington, pivoting at Hawkes Bay, so for a girls’ meet-up I flew one-way to the capital city and met my sister, who had driven from the farm to visit her daughter (my niece), and return via car over a few days. Lol – did you need to know [...]
Accommodation
-
Pillow time at Wellington’s Holiday Inn
-
Stay a night in the cells at Napier Prison
Pull up at the old Napier Prison these days and instead of police vans and naughty people leering through the iron bars, you’ll find the Napier Prison Tours and Entertainment vehicle parked out the front and backpackers walking through the gates. This scungy prison, built in 1858, closed only in 1993 after being deemed unfit [...]
-
A posh night at Bay of Islands Lodge
We were lucky to get in for a night at the Bay of Islands Lodge, and only managed thanks to a sudden cancellation. This fancy 5-star lodge clings to a cliff at Paihia and has stunning views over native bush to the Veronica Channel. (I have no idea who Veronica is either. Do feel free [...]
-
Touring Northland: Waipoua Lodge
Remember that ad campaign that went ‘don’t leave town till you’ve seen the country’? When I was 17 my parents took heed of the advice and off we went on a 2-week driving tour around the South Island before I headed off to the US as an exchange student. With all due respect to the [...]
-
A weekend at Milestone Cottages, Mangawhai
I am ashamed to say I’ve lived in Auckland for 15 years and I’ve never been to Mangawhai. Apalling I know. But this weekend I remedied that and headed 80 minutes north of the city – taking the fancy new toll road. (Oops, that reminds me, I’d better log on and pay my $2 each [...]
Loading ...
