Motel Hell in Sawtell

We arrive in a little village called Sawtell yesterday afternoon. A really quaint little village with huge fig trees lining the streets and loads of little shops and restaurants. We were a little disappointed in the drive  down because we thought we would follow the ocean all the way. In fact you had to drive off the highway to the coast to see any water. Then you had to turn around and backtrack the same way to get back onto the highway. It wasted a lot of time. Anyway when we arrived here we took one look and knew that this was the place to stay. The problem is that there is only two motels in town. One is a four star (fully booked of course) and the other is maybe a two star. Reminds me of a place that we stayed in Ireland with Ruth and Vince. Ruth and I cleaned for the first two days. Needless to say I only take my shoes off to go to bed.

Apart from that we are enjoying Sawtell and it's citizens. Last night we went to a little Japanese restaurant for dinner. Great food - huge prawns - good wine. Then at about 7:30 a jazz group arrived. They were so good that we couldn't leave. During their breaks they came over to introduce themselves. Really friendly, helpful people. I got tips from every member of the band as well as some of the customers on when and where to find my elusive koalas.

So tomorrow we once again head south. Only one more sleep between here and Sydney. We are a little concerned about the fire situation. Even here we are getting a lot of smoke. I must say that at this point in time we like New Zealand better than Australia. Although the temperatures here are a lot warmer (26-32 degrees so far) we find the scenery better in New Zealand. But time will tell. Hopefully Sydney will be a treat.

Off for dinner again. Will post again soon. Could someone please let us know how Lorne is doing. We think of him and Georgina often.

We are in Ballina

Hi again! We lost contact while we were in Mooloolaba because they wanted $19.95 per day for the internet. Not going to happen. Anyway, we did have a good time there although the weather was not the best. The only rain we got came during the night but the days were mixed sun and cloud and howling winds. Didn't stop people from going in the water and sunbathing but I was not tempted. We had lunch at the surf club on the beach one day where we heard you could have a nice lunch for about $10.00. That must have been a million years ago because even a caesar salad was $16.50! So,  although Mooloolaba was beautiful to look at it was very expensive. On our last night we went to the Bowl's club and had a great time . We made some new friends again and had really cheap drinks. Too bad that it was our last night before we discovered that place. Bowls clubs are really big over here and they are great places. They are massive in size and have gambling for those that want it and the prices are really good.

Last night we arrived in Ballina and got a lovely motel right across from the R.S.L. club (returning servicemen). It too is an amazing building. It looks like a Las Vegas casino but with a huge dining room overlooking the Richmond River. Had our first drink there and then took a walk around the town which is beautiful and clean. Went for Japanese food for dinner. It's the first place we've been to where you can bring your own drinks. We weren't prepared but it's a great concept.

So today we will continue south towards Sydney. We are thinking of stopping for the night at Coff's Harbour or somewhere in the vicinity. Today will be a shorter drive and more relaxing. The scenery is a little nicer the further south we go. In Queensland the terrain is quite flat. Dry and scrubby as well. So far I have seen lots of signs warning about kangaroos and koalas on the road but have not spotted one yet. So Ian's mission for the day is to find a place to cash traveller's cheques and mine is to see a koala in the wild.

Hope all is well at home. Hopefully I can post later this evening.
P.S. Ian just got back from his walk and he found a bank that cashed his traveller's cheques. Yeah!

Last day in Auckland

Well, it is our last day in Auckland and it has been a good day. The wind has been howling but the sun is shining and the temperature is quite warm. We have spent the better part of the day driving into west Auckland where Ian tried to find his rich relative. Turns out they are not as rich as we had imagined. They live in a nice area but not as nice as Ian thought. We were so disappointed that we had to hang out with some of Linda's recent friends at the "oldest" yacht club in New Zealand. - not. In any event we had a fabulous time visiting at the welcoming Devenport Yacht Club with John and John. Characters and pictures to follow. Had dinner at the Portofino Restaurant - not Ian's choice but he did remark that the wine was GOOD. We spoke to Brenda and Basil today which was good. We plan to see their friends in Wellington at some point. Off to Australia in the morning. We arrive in Gold Coast at about 1:35 Australia time and it seems to be about a two hour drive to Mooloolaba which is a place that Dave and Christine recommended. They promised us that it was run by a couple of FAGS but it seems that a straight couple has now taken over. We will see. Hopefully things will be as good as when they were there. We said good bye to our new friend Hiromi, a very nice girl from Japan who we got to know a bit. People here seem to be a bit like how it was when we were kids - polite, respectful & concerned
Its freaking us out. Really missing the fingers, car horns and cutting you off when you try to line up.

Linda says to stop.

Bye.

 

Visit to north Auckland

Today is the 31st of October (the30th at home). They don't seem to celebrate Halloween here. Guy Fox day (Nov. 5th) is the big one so maybe Halloween is a bit close to that. Anyway, we just got back last night from the northernmost tip of New Zealand. On the 29th we drove up the east coast to the Bay of Islands. We had a beautiful, warm, sunny day for our trip. We have been really lucky with the weather so far. There always seems to be rain in the forecast but other than a few sprinkles we have had none. The Bay of Islands was worth the drive. There are several little villages that make up the Bay of Islands. All of them have lots of small shops, cafes, bars and hotels. All of which are very expensive as well. We had a delicious seafood chowder in a place called Paihia. We then continued on further up the coast to some not so touristy villages. Decided to spend the night at a seaside resort called Taipa. Immediately we found the only tavern in town and made some new best friends. The owner of the bar is Terry (pronounced Teery). He was on a trip to Vancouver with a rugby team in 1991 and just happened to have all his pictures in his office so we had a great time looking at them. So along with Teery, his partner Fran(known as Fruitcake), The bar manager Joe and his wife, also Fran ,we had so much fun that we forgot dinner time. Everything shuts down at about 6:00 except the restaurant in the resort, which closes at 8:00. We missed that deadline too, so at about 10:00 they sent us home with some lasagna and butter chicken from Fruitcake's  freezer. I'm sure they were glad to see the back of us.

The following morning we headed out early for the peninsula up to Reinge which is as far north as you can get in New Zealand. These are the Maori sacred grounds where they believe that the spirits of the dead leave the land. Ian was very careful not to get too close to the edge. It was a beautiful spot though and worth the hour and a half drive. From there we took the west coast drive back down to Auckland, stopping at the most amazing museum that was recommended by our landlady and others. We got back to our apartment around 7:00, so it was a long day.

This morning we got up and spent a leisurely few hours over coffee and breakfast and then did a walkabout around Devonport again, and then , of course wound up at our favourite pub, the Patriot. Home of the $23.50 hamburger, $19.00 sandwich, $12.50 bowl of soup. But, the people are really nice!

So tomorrow we are planning to visit the botanic gardens and the Auckland zoo. I have to see a real live kiwi! Will update tomorrow

Day Four

Well, it's Tuesday the 29th of October today and the sun is coming up in Auckland once again. Apparently we brought the sun with us from Vancouver because the forecast was for showers and cooler temperatures through this week. We have only had a few sprinkles of rain but mostly sunshine. Yesterday we had planned to go north to the bay of islands but it was their Labour Day and we were warned about heavy traffic so instead we went only as far as a small village called Orewa. It's right on the ocean, filled with lovely shops, cafes and pubs. We took a walk along the beach which is miles long and then headed back home to do laundry, have an early dinner and a quiet evening. We haven't stayed up past 10:00 yet! Although jet lag has been minimal I think our bodies still think it's four hours ahead of time.

So today is the day we will head up to the bay of islands. It's a fair drive up there with lots to see on the way so we may spend a night up there. We are hoping that we will find things a bit cheaper once we get out of the Auckland area. We already found gas two cents less in Orewa (only $2.09 a litre). So, hope everyone at home is well. I will post again soon.

Day One in Auckland

We're here!! It was a long journey but well worth it. We flew out of Vancouver at 8:30 Thursday, October the 24th and arrived in Auckland at 5:38 a.m. October the 26th.  The sun was just beginning to rise on a beautiful day. We had the Tasman Sea on our left and the lights of Auckland on our right as we landed. It took a while to clear customs and get our baggage and then to collect our rental car, but with the help of our trusty G.P.S. we arrived at our basement suite rental at about 9:30 a.m. It is in Devonport on the North Shore of Auckland. I know that basement suite conjures up images but you should see this place! The kitchen is fully equipped with fridge, gas stove and oven, microwave espresso maker, toaster, you name it. We have a big screen T.V., dining area, library, queen size bedroom suite, beautiful bathroom and an ocean view from the living room and sundeck. Craig, you would die for the garden. The walk to the village and waterfront is about 3-5 minutes. The pub is crawling distance---unfortunately we can only afford to drink there. ( the hamburger is $23.50! No, I'm not kidding) Anyway, tomorrow we are going to take the little ferry into downtown Auckland to sightsee. Apparently the tall ships arrived yesterday and will be leaving on Monday. On Monday we are planning to head north to the Bay of Islands. We are planning 7-8 days in the Auckland area and then on to the sunshine coast in Australia. Almost time for bed.(It's 2:45 P.M.) Will post again soon.

Linda and Ian

Here we go again!

October 6 2013

Well we're off again on another adventure!  This time to New Zealand and Australia. We do not leave until October 24th but I thought that I would get the blog going early.
Ian is still working on setting up car rentals, accommodations, etc. He is going to leave for Vancouver a few days early to visit family and I am going to fly down on the 21st. I have my golf windup on the 20th to attend. Still leaves a couple of days to visit. I hope this works!!

Linda