Author Archives: Kiwihobos

A quick breakfast and lots of coffee before we head to the airport. We say goodbye to Christine. We get to the airport at 10am we won’t arrive in NZ till 6pm kiwi time. Rowan and I look at each other and say we need a holiday from our holiday haha. It has been a rather full on trip. Now we can have the hangover.

When we arrive back in NZ it takes 2 hours to get through bio security. We picked the wrong lane and it took forever! My poor sister Emma waited for us in the car park.

Ellery my niece refused to go to sleep until she saw me. What a cutie, we had a quick chat and I told her to go to sleep and I will come to bed soon. I sleep in her room and have a proper sleepover. Emma & Paul had done a Sunday roast. Delicious we happily ate the leftovers. We didn’t stay up late, Emma had a big day at work ahead.

Monday is here, oh I forgot to mention we brought a car. Yes on a quick hit the buy now, don’t overthink it. We got a station wagon Toyota Mark X Zio for those who know what that is. To me it is a silver station wagon and it has a very important purpose for the next few months. The guy came and picked us up and we drove him back home. It made the whole thing seamless. For the grand total of four thousand dollars we now had petrol wheels. From his place west Auckland we headed South East Auckland to Dads house. We had a good cuppa and picked up our bikes. Hello old friends. It was a race to get them to 99 bikes to get them fixed. Rowan has two missing spikes and I had a flat. We were not long gone from the shop when we had a call that the wheel on Rowans bike has had it. So we had to get all the way to Glen Innes and back with a new wheel $170 later and a fair amount of traffic. Jack gets our bikes all fixed and we are good to go. We whack the bikes back on the tow bar, we borrowed from Paul. We get back and do a quick shop to cook some dinner. What a mission of a day, but it is not over yet. We find a cheap bike rack and head out to pick it up.

Tuesday we head north and visit Nana in Whangaparāoa. Then we mooch our way north to Clare’s house. I realise a lot of our gear has mold. We need to put a bunch through the wash. We end up staying two nights with Clare & Skylar.

Thursday we head up to the cape. We make it nearly the whole way and park on the side of the road to sleep. Our first night in the car. The twin coast discovery highway will be our best bet to get back to Paihia. There has been a lot of damage to the roads and state highway 1 is still closed. We have no idea how we are going to get up there but we need to be dropped off some how.

In Moerewa we stopped at an op shop. We got talking to the ladies there, Hazel & Aunty Rosie. We chat for ages and we talk Aunty into taking a walk to the cape that she has always wanted to do. When we went to leave Aunty Rosie gave me a pair of recycled rubber earrings cut out to look like feathers and she gave Rowan a $40 koha for our waka (car)! Super kind, we exchanged numbers and we will visit on our way south. Rowan and I will give a koha back. It really felt like being welcomed into the whanau.

Friday we explore around the cape early. Then start heading back. At the Ngapae campground we ask about being dropped off. They ask around for us if any locals are willing to drop us off. Unfortunately no. We head into Kaitaia for a look around and don’t get any luck. We then head back to Kerikeri then Paihia. When we reach the Waitangi campground we see fullers does a trip up to the cape. I call intercity to see if they can do one way and we can take our bikes. They respond with ask the bus driver. So I find out what time the bus comes in the morning.

Early Saturday morning we wait for the bus. It comes on time. We chat to the driver who is happy to fit bikes on. Perfect we head back to camp and wait for the fullers office to open. When we went back the lovely lady told us she could book us one way and we paid $220. Where the full round trip tour is $165 each. So we were pleased to get it cheaper. The holiday park is keeping our car for us $5 a day. Not that there is anything precious in there I just don’t want it sitting on the street for too long. Finally feeling like we are getting somewhere! Now we just need to plan our next steps south. We will need to pick up Joanne in Christchurch on the 2nd October to go do the Alps to Ocean.

Aunty Christine wants to spend the day at home. So Rowan and I head up Kunanyi/Mt Wellington. All the Hobartians call it Kunanyi. Unfortunately it is icy so we can’t get all the way to the top!

However the view we can see is good, but a bit hazy. As we went back down the hill we thought we should do two more op shops in the northern part before going to MONA. One was a bit useless but the other one I got a $5 ring that I wasn’t sure what it was. Rowan tried to do a quick search but no luck. I tried later that night and it turns out it is 9ct white gold. Not a bad gamble that one!

MONA is pretty impressive and I can see why it is the thing to do in Hobart. It is quite interesting and for the most part I appreciated it. There was a machine that replicated the human digestive system making poo. That I was morbidly fascinated with but didn’t get too close. It took David (owner) 2 years to convince the artist to let him put it in MONA. The museum is free for all residents which is awesome. Us tourists pay $35. I think it was a good 3 hours to see it.

I loved all the Picasso collection. You get on their Wifi network and download the app. It then knows with Bluetooth where you are and you can read what the art is. You are underground for a lot of it.

From MONA we went back to Aunties house. I packed our bags for tomorrow, while Rowan sorted dinner. We have had a great time in Tasmania, we will definitely be back to see more!

Today we have a full day of op shopping ahead. No op shop shall be left behind.

Because the day is rather boring to write about I shall just share photos of our Australia Jewellery haul. Now it is missing a few bits we got and took back when we flew back for Grandpas funeral.

Below is all the solid gold jewellery

Below is rings all silver

Here are necklaces

Below are earrings

This is assorted

Last the bracelets and bangles

As you can see we got quite a lot! On our way home we headed up Mt Nelson to check out the view. Then I cooked Mexican for dinner. Christine’s friend Indigo came over for dinner. We kept calling her other colours and names, Lilac, Lavender, chamomile, flower pot, watermelon. I think watermelon has stuck. A really nice lady and a good sense of humour. It was well into the early hours of the morning before we said our goodbyes.

Rowan and I were not sure if we were going to get on our flight tomorrow as Rowan would like to be in Sydney in a few weeks for his uncle and grandads unveiling. Yes I know, a year it has nearly been. Crazy huh. We really want to complete the little part of Northland. So we are heading back in hope to do that before hand.

Swansea to Hobart

I enjoyed watching the sunrise coming up over the Freycinet Peninsula. The view from the room was stunning. I did have trouble trying to make a coffee with a strange coffee machine. I ended up giving up and making an instant coffee.

We hit the road and headed for Port Arthur. Rowan and I just wanted to take a quick look around. We know that we would like to spend a lot more time learning the convict history. This trip is really to give us an idea on what we would like to come back and do. We reach a town that is not really open yet. They take ferries out to Maria Island, which is conservation land. From there Google takes us through a dirt road and before we know it we get a 4wd only sign. We carry on a bit further but are prepared to turn around if we need to. About 10km later we find a road worker who says we can definitely get through in our little car. The scenery of the bush around us is really nice, lots of eucalyptus trees.

Once we hit tarmac again there was an echidna on the road. So I had to stop to take a photo. Look at its little face, it was sleeping.

We reached Dunalley for a spot of brunch. By this time we all were ready for food. Just as we were leaving we found a really cool op shop. It is a proper community garden cooperative and op shop in one. We headed out to Eaglehawk Neck.

We found the arch and blowhole next. The area was fairly quite but you can tell from the amount of parking that it gets manic in the summer. We got to the centre where you can enter the historic Port Arthur area. It is a two day pass which is probably necessary to take it all in.

We did a bit of a circle from there before reaching back to Eaglehawk Neck. We have more time on our hands than expected. We op shop our way back to Hobart. We find a few goodies along the way. Rowan cooks a masaman curry for dinner.

St Helens to Swansea

It was one of those morning when you fall back asleep. Not that I was up late. We had an easy day today, mooching our way down to Swansea.

First we head out to Akaroa, yes named after Akaroa in NZ. There was an immigrant came to the area in the 40s and named his house Akaroa. The name stuck for the area.

Following as close as the road can take you down the coastline. I saw a feeding frenzy with Pelicans. I made Rowan turn around so I could photograph them. The scenery is much like when you go to Europe and you see a cathedral. It just be aimed another beautiful beach. I can see why Tasmanians try to keep this island a secret.

I think people compare it with NZ because the scenery is changes fast here like home. Where a lot of Australia is the same for miles. people are also a lot friendlier.

We got to Swansea at 1pm and killed some time by taking a look around and going to an op shop. I will make sure I take a photo of our finds soon.

Along the way we saw this cool Spikey Bridge which was made by convicts.

We made it to our little cottage on the sea. The view is fantastic. Not a bad spot for our last night awa of our road trip. Tomorrow we will stay at Aunty Christine’s.

Launceston to St Helens

In the middle of the night I woke up because the rain was hitting my face haha. I got up and closed the old sash window. We had an easy morning and went out to the Cataract Gorge. It has an old chairlift that takes you over and a swimming pool. It looks like it was set up in the 60s and hasn’t changed since.

It is time to get out Launceston isn’t anything to write home about. We ended up doing a few of the op shops on our way out of town. We head towards the ocean to Low Head. There is some great history out there and I would like to stay in the old pilot station which now has accommodation. We picked the right day as the weather was a bit better than yesterdays.

Back tracking a little we head east to Little Blue Lake. The scenery along the way is mostly farms. Little Blue Lake is gorgeous, it is caused by historic mining.

Dirt road nearly all the way to St Helens. We take the road less travelled, through the bush. Eventually we hit our destination.

Our hotel is on the way into town. Atilla is new to the hotel business and he is a very lovely man. He makes lots of recommendations of where to go and what to do. It takes over half an hour to check in. He decides to upgrade us to a two bedroom place when he hears we are with Rowans Aunty. Very kind of him indeed. The place has a lot of thought out into it and is very nice.

I convince Christine and Rowan to get back into the car as we have an hour of daylight left. We head up to the Bay of Fires National Park. The views are incredible.

After our excursion we were pretty hungry so we headed back to St Helens where the wharf is and found a good takeaways. We took it back to our little room to eat. The food was delicious and more than enough for all of us. We ended up getting to bed at a reasonable time.

Black River to Launceston

The weather is pretty wet today. I start off with a coffee in the outdoor bath.

We have breakfast here before hitting the road. With the weather so crap we decide to op shop our way to Launceston. We do take a few scenic spots along the way. I am glad the weather wasn’t like this yesterday.

We hopped from town to town until we got to Ulverstone. From there we ran out of time and made a beeline to Launceston to reach our hotel. After we checked in, we went out to find food. This place is dead on a Monday. After a lot of driving around we settled on Woolworths. An easy dinner as we are all quite tired and need an early night.

Queenstown to Black River

We all woke up fairly early with plans to be on the road at 7am. There is nothing here we need to stay for. Strahan is where I should have booked. We head there and it is stunning. The river is really wide here and it is like a lake. We take a quick tour of the town and find a good spot for coffee and eggs.

I would like to come back and do the day cruise. There is one that only takes 10 people, a nice small group. We head off towards Zeehan, the scenery is lovely. At Zeehan there is an old pioneers cemetery, we spend some time looking around it gives our legs a good stretch.

From Zeehan we head to Corinna which has a barge to get you across to the area. You can go around but it is a 3 hour detour and I want to stay as close to the ocean as we can. There is a turn off for a quick 8km detour down the the water. The place is called Granville. There are a few shacks (Australia’s term for Bach). The swells are large and it is very rugged.

When you reach the river there is a button to press. A moment later a man comes out and jumps onto the barge. It has a metal rope to steer it from one side to the other. It costs a grand total of $28 to get across.

Across the river at Corinna is a sweet old settlement. I would like to stay the night here next time we are coming through. From here we see hardly anyone and the scenery is incredible. I loved it so much I want to turn around and go back through it all.

It takes us nearly 5 hours to get from Corinna to Smithton. For the first time ever we see wombats in the wild. Amazingly we see 4. Unfortunately my camera settings weren’t quite right so I ended up with a lot of blurry wombats. Rowan was annoyed but I was just so happy to see them. It was just a small stretch of the road that was obviously perfect terrain for them.

Our destination is Black River, there is a farm with a few airbnb cottages on it. It is a rather cute place. A nice fireplace and an outdoor bath. I am well happy here, a fair contrast to last night’s accommodation. From here we can see the Nut or as Rowan likes to call it the scone. Rowan cooks us a bolognaise and we chill out for the rest of the evening.

Hobart to Queenstown

I woke early to a tiny bit of light in the sky. I started taking photos of the beautiful view. Last night our upstairs neighbours were pretty rowdy. It took me a while to fall asleep. I decided a bath was the best way to start the day.

I woke early to a tiny bit of light in the sky. I started taking photos of the beautiful view. Last night our upstairs neighbours were pretty rowdy. It took me a while to fall asleep. I decided a bath was the best way to start the day.

Once I organised our bags from being even weights to now all electronics in one and clothes in the other we headed off. Aunty Christine was waiting on her porch for our arrival. We took of straight away.

Our first major stop was New Norfolk a cute town that had a market going on. We walked the market and went op shopping. I had a delicious coffee I was hanging out for one. One of the ladies in the op shop recommended an antique store down the road so we headed there. It is in one of the buildings of the old mental asylum. The prices were incredibly reasonable and it was massive so much to see.

On the road again heading west. We don’t stop in a town until Ouse for lunch.

We made it to Queenstown. It is nothing like NZ Queenstown. An old mining town that is pretty shabby. Like a lot of West Coast towns in NZ. I managed to pick the worst accommodation in the whole town, on the upside I got us two rooms for $120. Not bad for the price. I got odd looks all day in my summer dress and sandals. Most people were dressed warmer. When we arrived at the pub to book in he said Kate? Oh yes that is me. We are the only people silly enough to stay here haha. Everyone looked as I entered the room, one of those oooh a stranger in town. They must have thought I was a crazy kiwi.

Back in the car we took a tiki tour of the town. It really is quite a sad town, there is no real industry here anymore. I don’t have a clue what people do for a living. Rowan and I could stay for the rest of our lives doing up all the old buildings.

We had an early dinner at the empire hotel. Which was a grand beauty in its day. It still is grand. It is well cared for but looking a little tired now.

Rowan and I fly to Hobart on the 18th and before we go we have a list a mile long!

Talk about no rest for the wicked. I bake up a storm that can be frozen and will hopefully last Bette a while. Rowan and I have a dryer to replace and a insinkerator. We don’t have the tools we really need but luckily our neighbour has them. To put the dryer up required new holes made in the concrete walls. The insinkerator was a fairly easy bolt off and on job. We needed to take some stuff to charity. Move some furniture around in the garage. I ran out of time to upload all my photos to Dropbox properly. I will have to wait till I get to NZ to sort that all out. Getting packed and making sure we are not to heavy as we only have carry on was a mission. I did a bunch of cleaning that I still had on my to do list. I also had some social media to get underway for Eddy in Labuan Bajo as he has finally opened the cafe!

I barely had 5min to think. My mind was racing with a billion things that needed yo be organised. When we sat on the plane I took a deep breath! Can’t do anymore now.

We arrived in Hobart about 7pm, we hired a car for the time we are there. I have booked accomodation each night, unlike what we normally do. But when travelling with another person, who I am unsure how they travel it is best to be organised. We are here in Hobart seeing Rowans Aunty Christine. Once our car was all sorted we headed to her place and picked up some dinner on the way. We had a good chat and checked out her cute eclectic home. Once we made plans for tomorrow we went back to our guest house.

Well the drive went up and up. The view is amazing. I can’t wait to see it in the morning.