hanging out in the winery

hanging out in the winery
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

here's us with some guys from church - we had a long weekend at the beginning of feb so took the opportunity to get away from hamilton and went over to enjoy the jazz festival in Hawkes bay. we spent most of the weekend chilling, eating, and playing lots of cards - got some good games to bring home!

beautiful view from Te Mata peak!

beautiful view from Te Mata peak!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

donald and rob at Craggy Range winery

donald and rob at Craggy Range winery
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we couldnt go to Hawkes bay and not visit Craggy Range winery again - with an impressive building and awesome scenery - what is there not to like!

picnicking with the guys from church

picnicking with the guys from church
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

a whole bunch of us went over to Napier for the weekend - donald and janaya, bryan and mary, and a few others we didnt know so well. it was fun hanging out!

Tower of Power - the main act!

Tower of Power - the main act!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

this american jazz/soul band were awesome! they were great to listen to and fun to watch - after 38yrs together you know theyre going to be good at getting the party going!

Hawkes bay jazz festival

Hawkes bay jazz festival
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we spent my birthday weekend in the lovely wine region of Hawkes bay where they were hosting a jazz and wine festival all weekend. we had tickets for church road winery where Tower of Power were doing their thing! it was a chilled time and reminded us both of jools holland concerts we've been to in the past.

the final leg!

the final leg!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the last leg of our canoeing trip - i was really looking forward to getting a shower, having a cold beer, and eating some fresh food! but the last bit was the best with some rapids to get through! great fun - and all in all an awesome trip!

the marae

the marae
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the last campsite we stayed at had a Marae on the grounds. its a Maori meeting house and they're all over New Zealand but it was cool to see one in this remote location.

the bridge to nowhere

the bridge to nowhere
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

this is a famous bridge built for better access into wanganui national park but other than building a bridge, no raods were built so it actually doesnt go anywhere!

parking at the campsite

parking at the campsite
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the campsite was pretty crowded one night with about 50 people sleeping there. we were lucky we arrived early on in the evening and got a good space!

no showers - just the muddy river!

no showers - just the muddy river!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the campsites were very basic - there is was tap with running water, usually a couple of long drop loos, and space to camp - thats it! no showers so washing in the river was the best we had. it was pretty cold water as it comes down from mount Ruapehu which we ski on in the winter but really refreshing after a hard days canoeing!

off exploring!

off exploring!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

no fancy restaurants in this field!

no fancy restaurants in this field!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

everything goes with you in sealed containers on the canoe - all the food, cooking gear and even your rubbish has got to be taken back out with you!!
tonights meal - chicken curry and naan bread!

captain rob

captain rob
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the river was deserted and very serene. it felt like we were the only ones on there most of the day until we got to the campsite and slowly people began to arrive and pitch up too!

3-day canoeing on Wanganui river

3-day canoeing on Wanganui river
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the next exciting adventure is a 3-day canoeing trip on the Wanganui river which we did at the end of January.
we took camping gear, cooking gear, and set off unguided following the river downstream.
there were campsite stops every 2 hrs along the stream but other than that, it was pretty remote.
there is no road access in this area at all so you either get your paddles out or get uor hiking boots on!

canadian canoe - our home for the next 3 days!

canadian canoe - our home for the next 3 days!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

pirongia summit

pirongia summit
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

To then take in the view and head back down again.

Nice to no longer see the mountain and think " we really must climb that before we leave."

pirongia 3

pirongia 3
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Some great views on the way up

pirongia 2

pirongia 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

A good three hours to walk / climb up.

pirongia

pirongia
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Pirongia, 1000m above sea level, 30km and clearly visible from Hamilton and so an obvious weekend challenge.

Driving creek railway - Dad would be proud!

Driving creek railway - Dad would be proud!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This is a little narrow gauge railway built by a local potter in the corramandel, initially used to collect clay for the pottery at the bottom of the hill. However, they have run out of clay and so now runs the tourists up and down instead.

international beach volley ball competition

international beach volley ball competition
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

who rocks the party?

new year - Long Bay, Coromandel

new year - Long Bay, Coromandel
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

new year camping with matt and mieke

new year camping with matt and mieke
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So you can travel the world over, but camping still looks the same. But you do get to eat fresh mussels plucked from the rocks daily.

rob&matt

rob&matt
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we stumbled upon an international beach volley ball competition over new year so spent almost all day watching the germans, kiwis, americans, and swiss play! (where are the beaches in Switzerland?!) it was great fun!
rob looks like he's in an ad here promoting More FM and L&P drink!

new years

new years
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

all the family left us just before new years - the place felt really empty so we set off to the beach to celebrate new years.
we camped in a big field next to the beach on the east coast of the Coromandel pennisula with Matt and Mieke and a crowd from a church in Auckland. it was pretty basic and uncrowded with loads of lovely bays close by. it was a restful 4 days away!

chilling out at home

chilling out at home
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

our house

our house
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

rosie enjoying the last bits of sun before heading home to the big freeze!

more christmas dining!

more christmas dining!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

hot tub at christmas

hot tub at christmas
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

rob and i house-sat for our friends from church so we had a couple of evenings using the fab hot tub and enjoying the extra space and comfort of their house!

christmas prep

christmas prep
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

christmas - BBQ near the beach

christmas - BBQ near the beach
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Finally, Christmas day on the beach!!

we went to our local beach, Raglan, about 40mins away and took the old BBQ. it was lovely to sit and watch the surfers doing their stuff and to be outside for christmas day. we spent the evening in Hamilton with some good food, wine, and games (thanks Riss!)

Franz Josef 2

Franz Josef 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Franz Josef

Franz Josef
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

this is a very rare site - no, i'm not talking about the glacier, i'm talking about the sun shining! apparently we were very lucky to have a beautiful, blue-sky day for our hike on the glacier.
it was awesome climbing up and over the mountain of ice with crevasses, tunnels, and undulations!
walking with crampons was a bit of an art but great fun. rob, rosie, and i spent 4 hrs on Franz Josef glacier.

Doubtful sound 2

Doubtful sound 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

tandem paragliding - sarah's next!

tandem paragliding - sarah's next!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we watched these guys jump off the mountain in wanaka and it inspired me to do the same! we had a day of adrenalin filled activities where rob, rosie, and malcolm went white water rafting and i went tandem paragliding - great fun!

the mist over Doubtful Sound

the mist over Doubtful Sound
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we did a fantastic one day trip on doubtful sound - here's some pics of it!

view over wanaka from treble cone skifield

view over wanaka from treble cone skifield
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

stopping for drinks on the way to Wanaka

stopping for drinks on the way to Wanaka
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

for those keeping up to date regularly with our blog site - we're sorry! we havent updated in a while and now very behind! so just rounding off the end of our south island tour with family. here's rosie, malcolm, camilla, and myself having drinks at the famous Cardrona hotel