After 3 weeks road tripping around NZ this summer, many long weekend escapes, a 3 week jaunt around the UK, 1 roadie from Brisbane to Cairns and 34 ish years of living and growing up in Aotearoa…. I know a thing or two about a good roadie adventure. Growing up we spent almost every school holidays, and definitely every Christmas visiting family in the Hawke Bay. For the drive from Hamilton to The Bay, Dad had pretty stringent car trip rules. Go to the toilet before we leave the house. Next toilet stop is 2+ hours away in Taupo…. Unless your dangerously close to having an “accident” on the seat. Snacks, of potato chip and lollies will be purchased at a service station before leaving town. There is to be no debate, potato chips are bog standard Salt and vinegar or Ready Salted nothing fancy, and the lollies are jubes. Once the snacks are gone, that’s it. No detours, no sidetracking unless: we’re stopping at Taupo to paddle our feet, stopping at the waterfall immediately off the Napier-Taupo road or it’s an emergency loo stop or emergency carsick incident. We leave the house at 9am sharp. You were carsick once, […]
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I found it on Pinterest after searching things to do in London… and then ended up delving into an Instagram / Google image rabbit hole of London street art pictures. I loved them all and desperately wanted to see these often temporary artworks hidden up close. The colours, the messages, the pop icons, the dark humour and political messages… this was definitely the beginning of my interest in street art. Street art essentially stems from artists wanting to share their work in a public arena without going through the whole gallery process, and the term itself often conjures up thoughts of political messages and anti-establishment vibes from the 70’s Punk Rock movement. I guess what I love the most is that lingering sticking it to the man vibe, it appeals to my love of music from the 60’s and 70’s and my appreciation for people willing to be their own weird selves. Pretty quickly I was convinced that a London Street Art tour was a must for our London itinerary, and when I read about the possibility of seeing work by renowned street artist Banksy, that was definitely the clincher. We’d already spent enough time in lengthly cues, and we’d […]
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It took us almost a year to use the vouchers I bought from Red Balloon for Christmas, that was no fault of Rotorua Canopy Tours though… that was just us simply trying to lock down a date. I’d decided rather than giving my husband more stuff and things, that I would find a fun and unique experience instead but these sort of things require planning. When I bought the tickets I wasn’t even 100% sure what the tour involved, I knew it was zip lining which is basically a flying fox right? And I could see from the picture there were platforms amongst the tree tops, so from that decided it would be fun. The tours are done in groups of up to 10 people at set times, so you can’t just rock up, pre-booking is essential. We opted for a morning session so we could head back to Auckland in plenty of time. After our traditional breakfast a Zippy’s in Central Rotorua we made our way to Rotorua Canopy Tours HQ on Fairy Springs Road, opposite the Skyline gondola. The team at Rotorua Canopy Tours were super friendly right from the start, and after the ice was broken over […]
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One of the best things about living in Maraetai is the close proximity to The Clevedon Farmers Market, and you may not think a 20 minute journey down the road qualifies as an ‘adventure‘ but I believe anything that gets you out and about … is most definitely an adventure. It’s a farmers market held at pony club, so leave your good shoes at home and remember to bring your eco bag or basket. The Clevedon Farmers Market is more of an old chucks, jandals kind of occasion rather than a chance to bust out your brand new white shoes. In fact being mostly shingle, I’d just steer away from sandals. I use the market as breakfast outing combined with a wee bit of grocery shopping, you know two birds one stone… it’s packed with ridiculously good food and produce,as well as brilliant international cuisine and sweet treats. The market runs Sundays from 8:30am until 1pm, and just to be tricky there are two markets in Clevedon. The Clevedon Village Market is located in centre of the town on North Road, and is more arts and craft based while the Farmers Market is on Monument Drive at the Showgrounds and […]
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Nothing says quintessential California like the San Fransisco pier on a sunny day, gliding around Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 33 on hired bicycles. You almost expect the gang from Full House to turn up for ice creams. Pier 33 really doesn’t feel like the departure point for the notorious Alcatraz Island but it is. As you can imagine Alcatraz is a pretty popular destination for those visiting San Fran especially over the summer, and the only way to get there is using Alcatraz Cruises – the only ferry provider with access to the island . While there are many places selling tickets, there is actually only one tour operator and your best bet for reasonably priced tickets is to get them direct from provider… and to definitely get them in advance too. Tours do sell out, and if like us and you’re on a limited timeframe in San Fran, you’ll want to book 90 days in advance to avoid disappointment. Don’t worry, despite the large tour numbers and the need to book in advance it doesn’t feel over crowded and cues for the ferry and the tours themselves work like a well oiled machine. The ferry ride to the Island is […]
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