JD & AC

Travelling, eating, drinking, generally having fun and Blogging in New Zealand 

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Christchurch

Neither of us had seen Christchurch before the 2011 earthquake so we didn’t know what to expect, but at the same time, didn’t have anything to compare it too. It’s a shock, that’s for sure. I’ve never been to a war-ravaged country but I expect Christchurch is the closest comparison. Four years on buildings still half stand, fenced off or propped up by shipping containers. There are gaping holes…

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Going Tutaquackers as our real travels begin (with a very damp start)

Our real travels begin (with a very damp start)

A pleasant yet quiet Friday night dinner with friends, chowing down on homemade dumplings and Chinese style prawns, was followed by a morning of frantic cleaning and packing (with a short break for an early lunch of delicious tacos from a Mexican near our house, which we wished we’d visited before!) as we moved out of our rental and prepared to head north.

Several hours drive north we arrived…

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Return to Piha

The Waitakere beach of Piha was our very first trip out of Auckland when we acquired our car back in August. On that day the sky hung heavy and black over our heads, the wind whipped around our faces and the sea roared its interminable roar. Little had changed at the end of November apart from the sun streaming through the breaks in the clouds and it was warm enough to paddle in the frothing surf.

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Jandals, Jam and Ryebread Sourdough

What’s better than wondering round a bustling farmers market on a sunny Sunday morning, checking out the wide range of fresh local produce and sampling Cointreau infused minced pies?

Not much, especially, and quite conveniently, when you are looking for some delicious provisions to sustain you on a drive in the country.

Clevedon Farmers Market (approx. 30 minutes south of Auckland) came up trumps…

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Hunua Falls #nz #auckland

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Escape from Auckland

It was a beautiful sun drenched evening, the forecast for the next few days was looking great and it was shaping up to be a great weekend…, except for the fact we were stuck in the car. We had just joined the mass Friday night exodus of Aucklanders escaping the city for the weekend, heading to Baches and beachside boltholes – resulting in the main/only route out of the city turning into a car…

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Karekare me there this instant!

Because JD had to do his last shift at the bar on the Saturday of Labour weekend we decided to make the most of the time we had by camping for just one night on the Sunday and indulging in another trip to Waitakere on the Saturday.

Karekare Beach

This time we plumped for Karekare, of ‘The Piano’ fame and recommended by NZ Frenzy as having some excellent tramping tracks (as they call them in NZ).…

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Happy campers

We haven’t posted in a little while because we have been getting on with the mundaness of living – getting up early, working, making pizza, watching My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, that sort of thing.

For those interested, a post on our experiences of this everyday adventure will follow.

View through the dunes to the Whangerai Heads

Fortunately, our schedules have settled into place and the weather…

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Skylarks, Sheep and Shakespear - we could almost be at home

At the very tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, 45km north of Auckland, is Shakespear Regional Park. The park is also home to an army range and the whole area is surrounded by a predator-proof fence so that entering and exiting the park is something reminiscent to the entrance of Jurassic park as automatic electronic gates open and close behind you. The fence’s presence is due to a mammal…

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There be gold in them there hills!

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Situated on Highway 2 between the towns of Waihi and Paeroa (famous for L&P) is the Karangahake Gorge. The area, full of relics from its gold mining past is well worth a stop off to experience its many walking tracks, cycle tracks (its part of the Hauraki cycle trail), rugged scenic rock faces and cliffs and numerous pieces of rusting cast iron and masonry, which are slowly being reclaimed by…

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Auckland CBD from Mt Victoria, Devonport. #nz #auckland

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Gastro-nom-nom-nom-ony

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I can’t believe we’ve posted so many blogs already without talking about food once. When it’s usually all we can discuss it must mean our other adventures have been really distracting!

As well as the countless delicious meals we’ve had from friends, and made ourselves of course, we’ve also had some pretty tasty treats out and about. So here’s a quick run through of some of our favourite meals and…

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You've got me hook line and sinker

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The azure sea darkened to a dull dark green as the glorious sun that had kept us warm and in high spirits was obscured by a vast bank or sinister looking cloud. ‘Time to head back in’, said John as the wind chilled and the sea became noticeably choppier.

We had been invited down to Waihi Beach for a couple of days by friends of friends with the possibility of squeezing in a fishing trip. Bathed…

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Bubbling, plopping, gushing, smoking, spewing mud is one of my favourite things to see in New Zealand. I love the vulgarity of the wet slops the mud makes as the large bubbles burst on the surface,...

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