Blingk
13th June 2006, 06:58 PM
We have spent the last 2 weeks driving from AKL-->Waitomo-->New Plymouth--->Palmy--->Welly-->Palmy-->Turangi-->Rotorua-->AKL. And we are happy to say that we totally enjoyed our trip. The temp is just right, not too cold, although on some days it drizzled the whole day. But like most of you said, the showers are light and bearable without the need for an umbrella. People are friendlier in other parts than in the cities or touristy places. We love NP and PN for its wide open spaces and slower pace of life. Welly is great too for its many public facilities and transport system but we found it too hilly. As we drove on the motorway, one interesting observation is that the cars get swankier and cleaner as we get nearer to the cities.
And indeed there are sheep, cows and horses everywhere!!! We were so amazed to see people riding horses in residential estates and some people even keep sheep as lawn mowers.
Our kids never got tired of feeding the ducks/geese and they loved playing at the parks. Great parks I must say and the best thing is : every toilet we used has toilet rolls (pls don't laugh)!
We stayed at 1 bnb and 6 motels and visited 3 private homes. None of which is centrally-heated. So I guess having good insulation is the first step one must do in order to lower the electricity bill. One thing we learn about motels is that there is no telling on the condition of the accomodation by the prices alone. Some motels we stayed at are affordable and comfy, but some are relatively expensive and yet badly maintained. The last motel we stayed at before we left NZ was the worst. I wonder if it has anything to do with the region it is in -- Manurewa, Manuakau AKL (M******* Gateway). The host required us to pay upfront (non-refundable) and the unit is in such bad shape -- peeling paints, dirty toilets, just to name a few. Only then we knew why we have to pay upfront and we had to endure it for 2 nights, and it is not exactly cheap either.
Older motels remained cold despite having all the heaters on so that is how we understood about the importance of good insulation.
It is a pity only Pak'n'Save is into the 'don't use plastic bag' thing, the rest of the supermarts are not encouraging the customers to do so. A lot more can be done to inculcate a sense of enviromental conciousness. :yes
As book lovers, we were disappointed to find the books rather costly and range of titles quite limited and outdated. They don't have many 'teach yourself this and that' books. Now.. if only they have amazon.com here....
We happened to stop at a non-commercial apple orchard and the owner is so kind to give us a tour of his private orchard and even gave us a bag of his own apples before we left. :nice1
We visited the Tongariro National Trout Centre and our kids got to fish for trouts at the children fishing pond. We cooked the fish immediately (when we check into our motels) and it tasted better than we had expected.
You guys should try the Luge rides at Rotorua, it is sooo fun!! We are 'crafty' people and we noticed there aren't many craft shops around except some major stores like knitworld and Spotlight. I am into knitting and so far I had not found a shop selling wooden double-pointed-needles.
So on the whole we love NZ for its honest simplicity and no-frills. Yes! :nice1
And indeed there are sheep, cows and horses everywhere!!! We were so amazed to see people riding horses in residential estates and some people even keep sheep as lawn mowers.
Our kids never got tired of feeding the ducks/geese and they loved playing at the parks. Great parks I must say and the best thing is : every toilet we used has toilet rolls (pls don't laugh)!
We stayed at 1 bnb and 6 motels and visited 3 private homes. None of which is centrally-heated. So I guess having good insulation is the first step one must do in order to lower the electricity bill. One thing we learn about motels is that there is no telling on the condition of the accomodation by the prices alone. Some motels we stayed at are affordable and comfy, but some are relatively expensive and yet badly maintained. The last motel we stayed at before we left NZ was the worst. I wonder if it has anything to do with the region it is in -- Manurewa, Manuakau AKL (M******* Gateway). The host required us to pay upfront (non-refundable) and the unit is in such bad shape -- peeling paints, dirty toilets, just to name a few. Only then we knew why we have to pay upfront and we had to endure it for 2 nights, and it is not exactly cheap either.
Older motels remained cold despite having all the heaters on so that is how we understood about the importance of good insulation.
It is a pity only Pak'n'Save is into the 'don't use plastic bag' thing, the rest of the supermarts are not encouraging the customers to do so. A lot more can be done to inculcate a sense of enviromental conciousness. :yes
As book lovers, we were disappointed to find the books rather costly and range of titles quite limited and outdated. They don't have many 'teach yourself this and that' books. Now.. if only they have amazon.com here....
We happened to stop at a non-commercial apple orchard and the owner is so kind to give us a tour of his private orchard and even gave us a bag of his own apples before we left. :nice1
We visited the Tongariro National Trout Centre and our kids got to fish for trouts at the children fishing pond. We cooked the fish immediately (when we check into our motels) and it tasted better than we had expected.
You guys should try the Luge rides at Rotorua, it is sooo fun!! We are 'crafty' people and we noticed there aren't many craft shops around except some major stores like knitworld and Spotlight. I am into knitting and so far I had not found a shop selling wooden double-pointed-needles.
So on the whole we love NZ for its honest simplicity and no-frills. Yes! :nice1