NZ2020

I could have happily stayed longer on Waiheke but it was time to move on. Suncream was liberally applied for the ferry after the sunburn on the way over. It was a long drive up to the Bay of Islands, made even longer by following traffic instructions to come off the allegedly congested motorway which led us onto a much slower but very pretty route through rolling farmland.  There were so many posh looking cows but no sheep?! There was a lot more traffic than I expected but it is peak holiday season. We stopped for a break at Waipu mainly for the giggle inducing name. Waipu’s 934 original settlers came from Scotland in the mid 19th century so the town has an annual Highland Games and McLeod’s pizza barn with unusual flavour combinations (prawn, avocado, feta and sweet chilli sauce was yummy!) and great craft beer. After a long, bum numbing journey, we finally arrived in Paihia. Our apartment overlooks the Bay of Islands with another great view from a balcony. After a trip to the sup...

This island is simply idyllic, it’s like an empty, sunny Devon and we have fallen in love with it. Dearest hubbykins declined my offers of walkies today, I can’t think why. After another yummy brekkie with a view, I wandered down the hill through McKenzie Reserve. This is a community project to replace a pine plantation with regenerating coastal broadleaf forest. The regeneration work is done by volunteer ‘working bee’ groups. Enclosure Bay is at the bottom of the hill, a good paddling spot before the plod back up the hill. After a bit of a sit down, another walkies obviously. It was a 5 mile hot and hilly walk to Onetangi Beach where we arranged to meet at a restaurant - one of us went by car! We had a late lunch at Three Seven Two, a newly opened restaurant recommended by Andy, the B & B owner.  As with everything on Waiheke, it wasn’t cheap but it was fabulous. Andy had told us to order the deep fried cabbage - sounds weird but it was similar to and better than a really good...

I woke up this morning to this view, hubby still snoring his way through the jetlag. I trotted off for a morning jog/walk, rapidly melting in the humidity and puffing my way up the hills. Definitely no urge for a red faced selfie, but some great scenery photo opportunities. After all that effort, a very yummy breakfast with a view. After breakfast we hit the tourist trail in the car, driving to the ‘Far End’ in the east of the island along an unsealed, dusty road with spectacular views. In the 18th century, Captain Cook ‘discovered’ this area and in particular the valuable timber from the Kauri trees (now protected). Man O’War Bay became the centre where giant trees were hauled out to supply masts for British Navy ships. Not many trees left here now.. Obviously we were in search of a vineyard and the Man O’War Sauvignon - grapefruit, lime and spring grass allegedly. Wooden benches have been put by the side of the road where there is an amazing view and there w...

We did our best to stay awake but both fell asleep upright watching iPads before 7pm - oops.  12 hours of snoring later, tummy was demanding brekkie and then we headed off to find the hire car. Picking up a hire car is usually one of my least favourite holiday experiences but so far, New Zealand has been very efficient and fabulously friendly.  The ferry to Waiheke island was at 2pm so we had plenty of time to get some supplies at a supermarket and drive to Musick Point. Followed by some essential planning and beer, The ferry across took 50 minutes with spectacular views of the Hauraki Gulf. Our gorgeous B & B is at Enclosure Bay with a bit of a view from the room. Today’s walkies was to Palm Beach, a horseshoe stretch of white sand with a nudist section - rather too much dangling information. Our bodies are still rather clueless about the time of day, but slurping Sauvignon with this view makes all the travelling completely worthwhile.

Our last day in Singapore was wet and a bit like walking in a slippery sauna - walking in flip flops was not my best decision. We headed towards Chinatown via the Parliament building, the brolly soon became essential. Chinatown was decorated ready for the Lunar New Year this weekend, I think it will be a bit quieter where we are going! It’s right next to the financial district so when the rain became a monsoon, we dived into a bar and spent a happy hour people watching. The men all wear a Canary Wharf style uniform of white or blue smart shirts with no tie, but the women are fabulously elegant with amazing shoes - not so great when navigating huge puddles. We said goodbye to our amazing hotel and headed off to the airport for the next part of the mammoth journey. The taxi driver was a fascinating natterer with opinions on absolutely everything! Changi airport was delightful, a word I really didn’t think I would ever use to describe an airport. Even more exciting, our plane was a newly ...

Today was all about the orangutans for me... Singapore zoo was rather fabulous with a huge variety of animals in naturalistic enclosures, although the Wild Africa section wasn’t ideal with three very stressed looking cheetah. I was eventually dragged away from orangutan watching and swerved around the numerous selfie taking species to take a few more furry photos. This tree kangaroo reminded me of Tashie’s ability to sleep anywhere.. Very swish tail action.. Chilling.. Essential meerkat photo.. And a giraffe in a jungle.. Next on the tick list of Singapore ‘top sights’ was the Botanic Gardens,  a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Particularly important was the discovery that a jug of cold beer cost the same here as half a pint at the waterfront yesterday - happy overheated hubby Suitably refreshed, we walked through a rainforest area with 314 species, half of which are now considered rare in the urban jungle of Singapore. The National Orchid Garden is the largest showcase of tropical orc...