Yesterday we went to Waitangi, the place where the treaty was signed in 1840. I won’t go into detail about this treaty because you can read all you want about it if you just use Google or check Wikipedia. Anyway, today this is the biggest collection of Maori carvings and the like, and I’ve uploaded some photo’s. We also had chocolate fondue, that’s what we’re eating on the first picture. Yum!
Archive for the 'Logbook' Category
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The Art Deco madness reached a climax this saturday, with over 250 cars from the ’20′s and ’30′s on display on the boulevard, half of the city dressed up, massive steam tractors huffing and puffing through the streets, antique stunt planes roaring above and live jazz and dixieland and what not. Well, what more to say? It’s impossible to put down the atmosphere of an event down in words, so I won’t try. Sunday was a bit more tame but still very nice. I’ve uploaded some photo’s again, but I’m on dial-up here so there’s only four, but hey, they’re free… 
Day One of the Art Deco Weekend is over. Even though there were significantly more people dressed up and there were vintage cars all over and jazz was to be heard along the boulevard, the real show hasn’t really started yet. I’ve uploaded some photo’s though, so you might want to check ‘em out. Today should be more interesting, with even more cars (there were about 25 on display yesterday), live acts in the Soundshell, almost every citizen dressed up and lots and lots more to make for a perfect timewarp.
De afgelopen twee weken hebben we in Napier doorgebracht, want naast het feit dat het volgens de Lonely Planet de “most uniform collection of small-scale Art Deco-architecture” heeft, heeft het ook een warm, zonnig, welhaast mediterraan klimaat. Na het fiasco in het National Park leek dit ons de ideale plek om te ontspannen.
Met de grond gelijk gemaakt in 1931 is Napier in twee jaar tijd weer volledig opgebouwd, vandaar alle Art Deco architectuur. Wat architectuur betreft ben ik niet echt een goede fotograaf, maar op veler verzoek (Jan sr.) heb ik toch wat foto’s van de stad online gezet. Er volgen er meer; van 13 tot 18 februari is namelijk het Art Deco Weekend (de definitie van ‘weekend’ verschilt, zoals u ziet, van streek tot streek…), dan is er nog iets anders dan de gebouwen om te fotograferen.
So we’re back at Tongariro National Park. And again, the weather is shit. This just really really really bothers me. When we were here last time, over two months ago, the weather forecast showed nothing good for the next few days, and today’s the third day in a row we’re doing absolutely nothing here because the weather’s just too bad to go out there. Two days ago; dense fog. Yesterday; drizzle and fog. Today; dense clouds starting at about 1000m (you are walking above that so it’s the same as walking in dense fog). Tomorrow; showers. The day after tomorrow; heavy rain and thunderstorms. Can you &*^@%&$&* believe that? Well, we’re off to sunny Napier once again anyway, so screw them nice crater lakes and volcanic pits and all.
The past week has been a busy one. We’ve been whale watching in Kaikoura, kayaking in the Abel Tasman, celebrated Nienke’s 19th birthday, drove a total of 800km and now took a three hour ferry ride back to the North Island. Some photo’s of our last week here have been uploaded in the gallery.
We’ve also planned ahead for the rest of this month. We’re going to follow the west coast for a bit, to take in Mt. Egmont. From there we’ll head north to Waitomo’s Glowworm caves (actually the larvae of a creature that lives only three days after it has coccooned since it has no mouth). After that we’re headed for the National Park in the centre to walk the Tongariro Crossing, and then, somewhere around the 27th, we’re off to Napier once again.
