Touring About With Me

OK it’s winter, so time for that winter holiday. New Zealand is one great play ground for that winter holiday.Be it sitting inside looking at the slopes or getting out on them there a place for everyone.
Me a hot spa. found in places like Hanmer Springs South Island, just beautiful.A hot toddy by the fire, good friends and a great view, all found any where in New Zealand.

I came across a site that helped you create your own ski winter holiday.It’s cool, you can choose where you want to go. South Island or North Island with accommodation packages. ski-newzealand. take a look and see if gets the juices going with the idea of a great time in the snow or is that on the snow.

I’m looking up more so will post when I find other sites or deals worth a mention.
Have fun in the snow…..or in the hot pools….

OK what a thought. Exercise while on holiday now why would you want to do that, and why not. While out touringabout today or should I say looking for somewhere different to exercise than my normal walking along the beach front. I decided to go to Park Island, it has a few different walking and cycling tracks around it with the added bonus of being a beautiful area with great views. You also look down on the sports fields. Not much on today but at times all fields are packed with rugby, soccer, hockey players and I’m sure lots more.  It can be an area that’s a real hive of activity at times. It also has a very safe feeling about it. I know being a woman out walking alone you can sometimes feel unsafe. I never wear my mp4 headphones in both ears, think no matter where we are we have to be a bit aware of what is going on around us. Can’t do that when plugged in both ears.

When on holiday we are all guilty of over eating and drinking, so what a great way to see an area and exercise at the same time. If you are into cemeteries too, you are in for a treat as there are two on this hill. Park Island and Western Hills cemetery. Some great views around all of the bay. I know some might say why go up to a cemetery, well once you see the views you’ll know why. The land has to be some of the best real estate in Hawke’s Bay. There are some interesting headstones dating back too 1917 and older. Strange but kids enjoy looking around up there. It’s also hilly so working the legs and exercising at the same time.

You have a few chooses on what you want to do, or should I say what your level of fitness and ability allows. There is always families strolling around, or mum and dad strolling,  kids wearing themselves out. People just walking taking it all in, or then you have the fitter ones,  running. I wish.   As I have a back disability I walk the tracks with a close eye on the ground. But don’t worry the tracks are pretty good really, I’m sure doing just the walk around the base of the hill, someone in a wheelchair with a bit of help in just one area (muddy from past rain) could get around it easily. There is a few old tree roots but nothing to dangerous.

As you can see if you check out my photo’s on flickr there are exercises to do as you make your way around too, so do give those a go it’s a bit of added fun. I push myself around and up the hill.  This is where you get some great views. Did it twice today as it was such a beautiful sunny winters day. You can also take the bigger track which takes you from the hill right around the block, which a lot of the cyclist do. It is part of our pathway around the whole of Napier.

So exercise while on holiday isn’t a bad thing after all, your killing two birds with one stone. Seeing the sites and exercising, what more could you ask for.  OK so you can take yourself off afterward for a treat, Ahuriri is a great place to start. Enjoy your day out and about.

The seasons are changing and what a beautiful time of the year it is. I was at a friends home a few days ago and just had to take some photo’s of the views from their deck. A truely magical place to live. Over looking Eskdale Wineries, State Highway 5, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, for those that want to visit this beautiful area. More photo’s to be seen on my flickr. Enjoy

A lot of you would never have heard of couchsurfing before. Well I hadn’t either until 6 months ago. I started surfing the net looking for ways to save money on travel and accommodation.  As we all know  accommodation can really eat up your holiday money. Here in New Zealand we are lucky as we do have a lot of different options for accommodation. I don’t think we are to badly priced against that of other countries. We might even have a lot more cheaper options to offer the traveler. Will look into a few different ones for you, but for now a little about couchsurfing.

I have just had or should I say done my first hosting this week. What fun it was too. I joined couchsurfers about 6mths ago, so I could meet people from all over the world, that I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet any other way. It has become a very big organization, with people joining everyday from every country in the world.

OK so what is it you ask???…
I have a spare bedroom so I offer it to someone traveling here for free. Then when the day comes that I’m lucky enough to travel,  I’ll have made a new friend I could stay with .  But it doesn’t have to be, I have you you have me, there are so many happy to host you too.
“CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.”

A lot of the people have a couch they are happy for someone to sleep on, or like me a spare bed or two. It is a real fun way to meet people and make life long friends. The young lady I hosted is a German born girl living in the USA. She is traveling around New Zealand with her partner, (didn’t meet him sadly as he went to the West Coast). I would never have met this lovely girl if I hadn’t joined CS.  You may think what a strange way to travel and a uncertain way to get accommodation too.  It’s as easy as emailing a friend.  You can find a couchsurfing host in time for your arrival in what ever town you wish to travel too. Some only meet for a coffee or to show the traveler around their area.  Which is just as good as having your own tour guide. No-one knows their hometown better than a local.  Well I know I have a lot to learn about my hometown. It opens your eyes as to what the overseas traveler wants to see.

Take a look at the website and see for yourself how safe it is and the people you could meet.  You might even be surprised on who you know in your own hometown that are hosts or travel this way too. There are 1 million members worldwide, so think that speaks for itself.  Who can argue with free accommodation and meeting someone from a different culture. It’s not only about somewhere for a traveler to sleep, it’s an experience, an adventure into a different way of life. Theirs and yours. So dare to be the next couchsurf member and have fun.  Age is no barrier.  I know I will be happy to host again and again…

The Mission Concert is another of our great yearly events. It has slowly grown over the years. I can remember sitting on top of Campbell Drive watching the first one we had here. Which was if I remember rightly Ray Charles. And no you weren’t allowed to be up there, being a non paying listener, but did anyway. They have stopped all that now by having security all around the Mission Estate. This one would have been our 17th concert, so can forgive me for not rememering that far back.

The concert is held each year in February at the Mission Estate Winery Church Road Napier. It’s a beautiful setting.  Mission Estate has a big area next to it’s vine yards where the concert is held. It has slowly over the years become worldwide known. I know people that over the years have come from parts of Australia, just because of the amazing atmosphere that has been spoken about so much. It’s not just a concert to see someone like Loinel Richie or The Beach Boys (one I really enjoyed). It’s a day and night to remember.

Most people will spend days arranging things like. Who the big group is they’ll be going with. What food and Wine they want to take. Deciding who is going to be at the gates when they open to get in to get the best spot. How they will get there and home again. (No drink and driving here). And can’t forget what they want to be seen in. Some people it’s their one yearly event , so get dressed to the nines. Or it’s just jeans and a T Shirt. Some will do the theme thing, usually to do with who is playing at the time. It’s a long day as gates open at 2pm so the more organized you are the better. You can buy everything you’ll need for the day at the concert,Food wine and beer. But to me a lot of the fun is in arranging it all yourself.

It’s a real fun day for everyone. Different support acts from all over New Zealand to listen to before the main event, which usually by then everyone is well on their for a great night. (To much wine sometimes). The crowds are pretty well behaved, as age group is more the muture group. For some it’s a time to catch up with friends and family they don’t get a chance to see often. So as I said it’s more than just a concert.

Concert sadly for the first time was cancelled. I can’t remember the last time we had such heavy rain like yesterday. Didn’t think it was going to make for a great day for anyone, let alone going to a outdoor concert. I had friends down from Tauranga that got to the concert at 6pm to find they had decided in the public’s best interest and safety to cancell it. Good move I think. I know there would have been a lot of upset people, as they travel for miles and spend lots of money for that one event. But can’t change the weather.

We’ll all be looking forward to seeing who will be here next year. This one cancelled one won’t stop the next lot of around 20 to 25,000 people attending next year. There are always the die hard fans you can count on. So until then you can still enjoy smaller concerts coming to the Mission Estate and other vine yards around Hawke’s Bay.

This weekend would have to be one of the biggest on the Hawke’s Bay calendar each summer. So if you want to see what it was like back in the early 1900’s take a tour round town and there will be something on nearly every corner.

The line up of events are huge this year and already so many of them are sold out. Doesn’t seem like people are willing to give up having some fun. Things might be hard all over the world, but do need to still live on and enjoy some of the good things in life. So if you are heading here for the weekend here’s a list of a few things that are still not yet sold out. And of cause it’s free to just go touringabout and taking in all the sights.

Art Deco Magnum Walk.. Friday 20th, Tour the Art Deco Quarter.

Charlie’s Chow Down..     Friday 20th, A La Carte Luncheon.

Cocktail-Ender on Herschell..Sunday 22nd,Wind down Listen to Jazz,Cocktails and Nibbles.

Inner Harbour Tour.. Saturday 21st, Tour the Fringes of Ahuriri Lagoon by bus.

Oceans 9 to 11 Brunch.. Friday to Sunday, Videos of the great Proformers from the Deco Era.

Red Hot and Cole.. Friday & Saturday, Listen at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House.

Taste Hastings Tour.. Saturday, Visit Hastings, 30minute guided tour Spanish Mission Walk.

T-Party.. Henry Ford’s Model T Ford in the Street Parade Ts Leading the way.

I was in town this morning and saw we already have a ship in port and people from all over the world enjoying our fun town.

There is so so much more to enjoy. visit www.artdeconapier.com for more information.  Do enjoy your weekend.

When we live in a area that has a lot of tourist sights we rarely get to see them ourselves. I took a ride up to Bluff Hill last weekend. Napier once again turned on the most amazing weather. It got to around 30c which is very hot, as we have what is called a burning heat here. Our humidity can get up there sometimes but more a burning sun. So what better place to be than on top of the world looking down on all the lovely sights. Don’t worry once I came down the next visit was the beach.

Just taking the drive up to Bluff Hill is beautiful in itself. The roads leading up can be a little narrow and lined with fabulous old trees and homes. It’s a shame some parts of it you can’t stop and get out and have a look. Well you probably could if there were no cars behind you. You would have to pull into someones driveway to do this, but the sights could be worth it. There are a few different roads you can take but last week I went up Coote Road which leads you past the Old Prison which I’ll go visit and do a story about at a later stage. Sorry if you clicked on that link and it made you jump, which it did me. Just follow the sign posts and it’s only a few twists and turns until you come to the Big Water Pump Station. There is some lovely Art Deco fences across the road from here. One called The Hill Top catches the eye, think it’s the style and age that enables you to envision a time of Class and Glamour. It has stood the test of time with a few big earthquakes thrown in.

I stopped just at the top of the Bluff Hill car park, probably wasn’t supposed to park so close to the end of car park, but there was a lot of sight seeing that day. Usually when we have a cruise ship in, The Nuatic was in that day, I’m told the hotelier’s inform the tourist. Good to see though. I started taking photo’s from all over the place. I’ll add link to my flickr set for you to see. It is so worth the time to take yourself, friends and family up there every now and then. Napier changes pretty fast these days. There are areas around the Port of Napier which seem to change daily. It is growing very fast and luckily for us it’s allowing bigger Cruise Ships to come here. They are a sight to make you want to jump on board and go touring about the open sea’s. The views of the coast lines from Cape Kidnappers to Mahia on a beautiful clear sunny day are breath taking. Some tourist have even left their mark on our foliage which I photographed, have added them for you to see too. So start touring about a bit and see some of our great sights it’s fun.

Next time I visit Bluff Hill I’m going to take a picnic, as with the amazing views what better spot to sit and enjoy it all at your own leisure. Can get a ice cream up there at times from Mr Whippy, needed it in the heat thats for sure.

Enjoy my photo’s and let me know what you think.

just one of the beautiful views to be seen from above

Instead of putting up lots of photo’s on here, just click on the photo below and it’ll take you to some I have put up in my Flickr collection. Hope you enjoy them. Comments are welcome…

Well had a great time at bluesbrews&bbq’s. The day could not have been nicer. I think at one point we got up to 35d, very hot. So the plan of taking sun block, hat and dear I say it a umbrella (the sensible folk took one too ). It was good to see people not being dumb and sitting in the sun all day. They had put up a couple of big shade tents, which as my friend and I were lucky to be able to lay our trendy brown chequered blanket under, only because we were there nice and early. (Told you I’d be at the gates when they opened.) Good idea to get to these things early if you want a good spot. But really with an event like this all spots are great as you can walk around as much as you like. We were even brave and left our bags on our trendy blanket, thats how safe you felt.

It was great to see all the different age groups. From families with teeny tots to (sorry dad) the older generation. We watched this dear alder chap I’d say in his 70’s having a whale of a time. He had this amazing smile on his face all day and night. Really got into the groove of it all. There would have been a few love connections that day too. The oh I can drink now age groups and what that drink can do to ya. Yes lots of  sights to see. I’ll leave that to your own imagination.

Can you imagine what it’s like being in a big field with around 4000 people with the sun beating down on you, oh the thirst that builds up. Yeah right just a good reason to do a little tasting of all the different beers, ciders,wines,food and coffee can’t forget that.

The day was filled with smells, music, dancing, voices of laughter and fun, and the odd scream. That coming from the few that do over indulge (not me true).

For the food I do have to say I did expect more. Well not so much more food as there was heaps of that. But it’s called blues brews and bbq’s. We walked around the whole area before we decided what to have first and you won’t believe this but all I had was some hot chips. OK thought good to line tummy before ale tastings. But really apart from having an ice cream or a big meal, there wasn’t much else. The meat and buns were really big and pies not.  There wasn’t really that many things actually cooking on a BBQ. I wanted to watch how they cooked fancy stuff on the barbie, but a lot of it was done behind the counters of the stalls, so couldn’t really see it. I suppose if I asked they would have let me round the back of the stall to watch,you think. They did have a great Texas bbq, which cooked pork and beef and the smell from that was mouth watering. Yes we got food from there for tea. Beef with pasta salad and bun. yummy very sweet tasting beef. There was oysters, paua, whitebait fritters other seafood stuff (not me sorry) which I’m sure lots enjoyed. Over all there would have been something to tempt everyone into eating heaps, which we did. The coffee did go down well to, it was a long day.

The Ales, well every colour of gold to dark brown and more you could think of. Yes I had blonde beer from Bop Brewery (OK I know the blonde jokes) but it was nice and lite, can I say that about beer. Also tasted cider which I didn’t think I would like, but there was one from Bulmer/Harvest Cider which I did enjoy too. You had so much choose from the good old tried and true Tui to yes Blonde beer. I didn’t taste the wine as don’t like to mix but there was a good selection of that too.

The music was fab all day and all night. Hamish Pinkham missed his flight from Auckland, but they just changed acts around until he arrived a bit later. He seems very popular here in the Bay. The line up was.. Hamish Pinkham, Devils Elbow, Pulse, Tropical Downbeat Orchestra, Ian Morris & The Undefeated, The Checks and lastly Naked Gun who really had the crowd going and wanting more. Think they ended up doing 3or more songs to please everyone. Not really a blues band but enjoyed all the same. A good mix of music, lots of people up dancing. I think we all had a great time just being there amongst a neat lot of folk. I nearly forgot they had a competition for fancy dress and boy there was some sights. Even a group dressed as a boat, yes a boat (do have some pic’s to put up yet). 2 amazing looking fire girls which court a lot of attention and why not. Lots of great hats,wigs, and a police women who actually won the first prize, not your normal looking police women though..  A really fabulous days outing, something any tourist to our hometown should have on their to do list while here enjoying the Bay.

So what did I think of the day.  Fabulous

Would I go again. For sure

If you went, let us know how you enjoyed the day too.

Dressups Anyone

Beginning of a great long hot day..Hastings