Fairview Golf Club & Tanners Point

Friday 15th November after our arrival back from Sydney and a couple of nights staying at the Mount Camp we headed up the inner harbour again in Debussy this time stopping at Fairview Golf Club for a round of golf on the quiet course which we have only played on once before but is one of my favourites as it is where I got my best 18 hole score ever and it was playing in a tournament. I did quite well again this time too considering I am a little rusty! We especially enjoy the first 9 holes of this course with its undulations, water features and an increasing number of  houses overlooking the fairways. We do wonder who designed the back nine though as it is rather boring with not much of interest - perhaps they'll work on some improvements there at some stage.

Nick, the excellent golf pro there, who used to be at Omanu and whom I had had some lessons from way back, was happy for us to stay overnight in the car park which was handy as it was getting towards dark by the time we finished our round.

On Saturday morning we once again admired the murals in Katikati before meandering along the Yeoman Walkway, a gem of a bird walk alongside the Uretara Estuary. This is a fantastic tranquil area of river, saltmarsh and estuary so close to the town and with lots of varied bird life and interesting sculptures, the locals having put in a lot of hours developing and landscaping it. We did a circular route coming back to Debussy via the roads - from memory I think it took us nearly a couple of hours although the estuary walk itself is described as 45 minutes. It is worth taking a trip out fromTauranga, or beyond, to experience it.

We spent the night in the car park / boat launching area at Tanners Point, a pretty little spot with very vocal birdlife, where up to 3 vehicles are allowed to stay overnight though we were the only ones there. After arriving, and Len wishing he had brought some bait so he could have fished off the wharf, we walked around the picturesque estuary walking track which has been developed by some hard working locals one of whom, Heather ( a fellow NZMCA member), we got talking to in front of her house. It wasn't long before she invited us to join her for a cuppa on her deck which we graciously accepted as we had worked up a thirst by then as well as it being good to talk to one of the locals.

Coming home on the Sunday we had a brief stop at Kauri Point where there is a very very long wharf which could be good for fishing off into the channel. Then of course there was the compulsory stop for the delicious local oranges and avocados from the roadside stalls!

Sydney to Auckland

We arrived back into Auckland on an Air NZ flight about 11.30pm with the intention of picking the car straight up from the airport long term car park and driving back to the Mount where Debussy had been parked, plugged in, for just $10 a night while we were away. This was great as it meant I didn't have to empty the fridge before we left and we expected to be able to climb into bed about 2.30am which Sydney time was 12.30am so not as late as it sounds.
However we were not off to the flying start that we expected as when we got to the ticket gate where Len needed to insert the credit card that he had booked the parking space with so we could exit the car park lo and behold the said credit card which he insisted had been in his trouser pocket right through the flight, ready for a quick insert and exit was no longer there!! Had it fallen out on the plane?? in the airport toilet?? or been pickpocketted in the jostling customs queue?? Perhaps we could find out if they had found it on the plane??
Yeah, right! -- We went from the Air NZ help desk to the baggage area to the check-in area to the customs pick up area to the lost baggage area (no one home) to the help desk to another airlines lost baggage area who would arouse someone from the Air NZ lost baggage area where we waited and waited and waited - do you get the picture yet??!! The minutes were ticking by ----------

I had asked Len early on in the process if I could have the ticket folder to check if the lost card had somehow got in there but was assured that there was no way it could be as it was always in his pocket. But the wait for a person to appear was excruciatingly long and after ruminating and  pontificating on how we would need to cancel the credit card and ring for help to get out of the carpark, for something else to do, I just had to rummage in the bag to check the folder where I removed paper tickets, boarding passes and passports one at a time to see the most joyous sight of a credit card half falling out the inside of a passport. You will have no idea just how that felt!! Such a beautiful sight!

No need to wait in the open air outside that office any longer - we practically skipped and whoopeed our way back to the booth for our exit ticket trying not to even bother too much about the extra $25 we were charged because we had gone a couple of hours over our exit time!!

When Len had time to recollect his thoughts he could vaguely remember that when his bag got stuck on the runners coming out of the Xray machine he had shoved the passports quickly into his pocket while he grabbed the bag. And guess what had found it's cosy way between the passport pages!!

Anyway we had a safe and quiet drive home apart from one instance when the hoon alongside us on the motorway seemed to be itching to have a drag race with us - bit scary! It was about 4.15am before our heads hit the pillows but at least all was well!

Sydney 2

Sydney 2
Well, enough said about the Sydney transport system which we have always found great (cry your heart out Auckland!) - we just need to sort out our concession ticket confusion!
Unfortunately the ferry wharf at Cabarita, which is an easy stroll from Dave and Christines, was closed for maintenance for the first few days so we had to get the bus to the train station for our travels rather than getting into the city quickly by ferry, but it was open again by the weekend.

We had a lovely 5 days with Dave and Christine and the 3 'children' - Pants, Fanta and Peppermint, being spoilt with a couple of lunches out - Icebergs at Bondi Beach where we had joined the throngs of people walking in the incredible heat between Bondi and Bronte to view the amazing Sculptures which had been on display for the past week, and a nice restaurant close to the Museum of Contemporary Art which we visited on the western edge of Circular Quay.

On our second night there we met up with Sandy, my old friend, flatmate and bridesmaid from student days at her lovely terrace house in Bondi, wandering into the village after a few tipples for a nice Japanese meal and lots of chatter to catch up on the last couple of years since we had met up in a similar manner. Always good to catch up with young "old" friends!

We enjoyed a bit of walking at Manly, around the Botanical Gardens, Cabarita and Breakfast Point amongst other things before heading off on Sunday afternoon to my niece Debra and Danny's and family, at Gordon, Killara for the last 2 nights before flying home. Their house is in a lovely setting amongst Australian bush and trees. Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for parched Sydney with it's nearby bush fires, the very hot and sunny weather ceased and it rained for those two days but we were happy to laze about doing some local walks, puzzles, scrabble etc while everyone else was either working, at school or preparing for the school ball (Oh to be 17 again, not that I actually want to be!!) And it was so special to catch up with all the family as they landed at home again each evening.

Sydney 1

Saturday 23rd November. Our blogs have been few and far between lately with living a "more normal" life, still in the bus, but closer to home with excursions generally being more local - up the inner harbour for example - as we get closer to returning to our house on Sunday 1st December. In between times, from the 5th - 12th November, we had a lovely week in Sydney staying 5 nights with David and Christine at Cabarita and then a couple of nights with my niece, Debra, Danny and family at Killara. You can buy MyMulti 1,2 or 3 weekly travel passes for trains, ferry and buses around Sydney and after studying the map to get the most suitable one for the places we wanted to travel we bought MyMulti 2 passes, mine a concession at half price and even though the girl in the shop thought Len should have a concession one too we decided that might be pushing it, not being sure of the age for a pension pass in Aussie. Anyway we travelled happily around Sydney with our passes until we tried to go to Manly on the ferry when it said we had invalid tickets when we inserted them into the slot at the gate - it seems like you need a Multi 3 but, without elaborating any further apart from saying that there were pushing crowds behind us, we were through the gates before we even had time to think about it. Its a nice trip out there on the ferry but we decided to return to Daves via buses and trains which was probably a bit of a mistake with the whole journey taking nearly 3 hours - so much traffic! The trains and ferries in Sydney are wonderful however - so quick and easy. Our next awakening regarding the travel passes was when we arrived at the airport on departure and found that our cards wouldn't work at the airport gate. It seems you need to buy a separate gate access ticket at about $12.50 each which you can do at the nearby kiosk and is no problem except that the lady in the kiosk saw my concession ticket and asked how I had one of those. Replying that I was a Senior she told me that weekly concession tickets are only available to students and I was lucky that I hadn't been given a $200 fine! Seniors concessions are only available for day passes and then you need to show your NSW Pension Card as proof - they are not available to kiwis! You live and learn and I guess we would be wise to follow the rules next time!

Labour Weekend 3

After visiting Rachael and Antoine and hoping that we didn't hold up the process of laying the wood laminate flooring in the dining room of their new house too much (though Len did help with a couple) we headed back to our section in Whakatane where, after disrupting the car parking again, we had a late afternoon walk, along the way stumbling across a loud blues band playing in the bar / restaurant called The Office. We sat and had a beer alongside a tableful of  "old groupies" who must have been there all afternoon, one of them especially the worse for wear and hardly able to stand up. When she tried to dance I was very protective of myself and my drink being aware that I could be fallen upon at any moment!
The band was winding up for the day as we finished our beer so on the way home we bought some fish and chips for dinner from our local shop. Last time we had them they had been amazingly good with a very light herby batter but this time we were disappointed - that will cure us for a while from having them again!

Hurry through boats-there's fish to be caught!

The next morning we drove down to the Heads although they are within easy walking distance from our section. Len put his fishing line in and within an hour had 2 snapper and a kahawai so now he knows that he'll never need to go far from home to get a fish once we're living there! It was all very exciting and Len in his exuberance in reeling one in managed to hit me fair and square on the head with the hooked fish! How he did that I don't know - must have been funny to watch!

The Catch!

From there we headed back to Tauranga but stopped for the night at the motorhome park at Otamarakau right by the beach at the Tauranga end of the Matata straights. We've often seen vehicles parked here but didn't realise how orderly the area is with it's little drive and mown sites all marked. There are no facilities but a caretaker lives on site and charges only $5 a van a night. The only downside is that it is right beside the railway line and the noise is quite deafening when the freight trains go by - only a couple through the night though. Also we gather there is a bit of a security problem there with a group of Maoris always looking to target something to steal. Last week they stole a quad bike which had been sitting right beside the owner's motorhome. They must have pushed it out the gate and loaded it onto a trailer and nobody heard a thing!

Labour Weekend 2

We had a very peaceful night and it was lovely to wake to the birds chorus and the sun trying to come over the hill - this time of the year it seems to be about 8.30am before the section is filled with rays but once we've got it we've got it for the whole day.

Prime position overlooking Ohiwa harbour

Recently they have allowed 5 motorhomes to park overnight for 2 nights at the Ohope Reserve right down the end of Harbour road on the edge of the harbour so this was our destination on Saturday, hoping that there weren't already 5 there. No need to worry as we were the first - just quite a lot of cars and boat trailers as it was another nice sunny day although quite windy and difficult to find shelter. We easily found a nice spot to park right on the harbour's edge and Len immediately set off down towards the estuary entrance, about a 15 minute walk, to do a spot of fishing. After completing a few chores I joined him with my Listener magazine and towel, enjoying the sun and shelter from the wind as lots of little fish kept nibbling Len's bait away until there was no longer any more to put on his hooks. On getting back to the bus we found we had been joined, much further down the park by 2 other motorhomes with a caravan also arriving towards evening. Obviously not many people know about this park yet as it is so new and not in our Motorhome directory yet. Over summer I'm sure there will be hot competition for the 5 spaces!

Ohiwa Harbour entrance & Ohope as a backdrop!

Sunday we drove around the harbour to Ohiwa where we did the circular walk starting from the motor camp and going up and around the hill giving spectacular views out to White Island, Whale Island and Ohope although it was a little hazy. We suspect that might be because of the smoke coming over the Tasman Sea from the vast bushfires raging inland from Sydney at the moment.


We could also have walked down into Bryans Bay, probably an even better walk, but that will be for next time now!
The plan then was to try some more fishing on that side of the harbour but the wind made conditions rather unpleasant so instead we headed back to Ohope where we enjoyed catching up with our friends, Rachael and Antoine, who are just about to move into their lovely new house close to the beach.

Labour Weekend - Whakatane

Labour weekend was a good time to do another little foray to Whakatane and Ohope, theoretically missing the worst of the traffic by leaving earlyish on Friday morning and coming back on Tuesday. However we did stop at the Te Puke Golf Club for a round on the very quiet course where we only saw two other couples. They had just cored the greens so they were a bit slow but otherwise the course was in pretty good condition - much better than when we played on it earlier in the year. They only charged us $20 each because of the coring and we enjoyed the round just wishing that our scores had reflected our play on the fairways rather than the greens. A little light shower came down just before we finished but luckily the umbrellas stopped our bags from getting wet.
The golf stop meant we virtually hit the early rush hour in Whakatane which meant that we stopped briefly in the queue approaching the bridge and crawled for about 100 yards before feeling free again - probably about a 3 minute delay!
We arrived at our section in Whakatane to find 3 vehicles already parked there, a dog and the neighbours washing hanging from our tree but they moved 2 vehicles to let us park on the flattest bit. They had a big family gathering over the weekend and after living in the downstairs flat in their house for over a year they are nearly ready to move upstairs. The other vehicle which belonged to the neighbour over the road stayed there most of the weekend but we never saw them to actually talk to. No worries though as everyone around is very friendly.

Our section's over there!

After settling in we had our usual walk down to the Heads and back through the town in time to be back at the bus to meet our friends, Anne and Dave from Ohope, who also have a motorhome. They have just come back from a long camping holiday in France, needed to meet Debussy and have happy hour before we all headed down to the fairly new Spice Guru Indian Restaurant, just down the road, for dinner. A nice night catching up!

Omokoroa & Environs

The weekend of Friday 18th October we decided to explore the inner harbour, closer to home, so heading west from Tauranga we travelled just a few miles to Snodgrass Rd - a great place for buying unrefridgerated avocados from the roadside stalls for only $2 for a bag of 5-6 or a bag of beautiful NZ oranges for $3. Waitui Reserve is nestled on the edge of the harbour at the end of the road where there is a popular little boat ramp for the locals, a toilet and space in the car park for 3 motorhomes to stay overnight for no more than 2 nights. It's a beautiful, peaceful spot with just the sound of birds and the lapping water at high tide apart from the occasional fishing boat. There was just one other bus parked and we enjoyed a couple of short walks around the harbour edge and up into the little housing settlement before settling in for the night.

Posted in Waitui Reseve!

The next day which was still sunny and warm despite being rather windy we headed a little further around the harbour to Omokoroa which was originally a little harbourside holiday settlement but, being only 20 minutes from Tauranga, it has grown into a little commuter or retirement village with a population of nearly 3,000 and growing fast.

T & Flower Pot men outside an Omokoroa home!

Again, 3 vehicles are allowed to park overnight in the large boat trailer parking area next to the Domain, for a maximum of 2 nights. There were 2 vehicles already there but they actually moved on later in the afternoon being replaced by 2 others that stayed overnight. It's a lovely spot and we did the lovely walk up the steps from the Domain to Harbour View Rd and round to the harbour edge where we followed the cliff top path, past all the houses with their spectacular views, back to the Domain and bus. That evening, after dinner, we wandered over the road to the Boating Club to watch the live screening of the last of the Bledisloe Cup matches between the All Blacks and Australia, the score itself of 41- 33 (to the ABs!) reflecting what a great running game it was to watch. However with only about a dozen of us watching - in the dining room as we weren't allowed in the member's area - we were really quite a quiet bunch.
On the Sunday we played golf on the picturesque Omokoroa course which sits on the harbours edge and on other sides is fringed by nice houses some of which are magnificently huge and surrounded by vast lawns. We wonder however if some of them are overseas owned as there a little sign of life and a lot of the curtains are drawn.
After golf we drove to Pahoia Domain, another lovely little spot right on the water where 3 vans are allowed overnight. It was very tepting to stay but instead we decided to head back closer to town and down Plummer's Point Rd to the Kotuku Recreation Reserve which was a very bad move. The parking area is very small and with a caravan and small motorhome already parked there was no room to turn around, making a very long backing manoeuvre for us to return to the start of the road. We have no idea how the caravan would even have got out. We could look over the water to our Friday night park at Waitui Reserve and see that there were just 2 vehicles parked there so we made a beeline there in time to be the 3rd and last allowed to stay the night. We enjoyed Happy Hour with Ian and Alison from Waikanae and Ian and Nola from Hamilton whom we had already met at Omokoroa.
So it was a lovely little weekend, spent locally, before heading back to the Mount on the Monday morning to continue the bathroom painting and other chores.

Mount & Tauranga

We feel like we are a little in limbo now with only 5 weeks to go before we move back into our house but there seems to have been lots to do since we have been back in the Mount / Tauranga area. The TV is now working again, the new decoder that we put in exactly a year ago needing to be replaced; the satellite dish has had some stabilisers put on it to stop it blowing from side to side in the wind but we are still waiting for our new extractor fan, the current one having burnt itself out. However the bus itself is running well and we are enjoying our return to the simple life.

Len has been busy pulling the bathroom apart in our rental property at the Mount as the tenant's foot went through the bath which then needed replacing. It seemed a good time to upgrade the whole bathroom which was looking rather tired so we are rapt with the quick progress of the builder and the plumber who coordinated well together and had the shower and bath ready to use again on Sunday. Len had only started the demolition job on the Thursday so it was very speedy. He had some painting to do over the following couple of days and now we are just waiting for the new lino to go down.

We have also tidied up the front lawn and garden at our own house as it was looking rather neglected partly because over the entire last year the tenants hadn't realised they were meant to be mowing the front lawn as well as the back! The neighbour, unbeknown to them, had been kindly mowing the front until she went away in July but there had been a bit of growth since then!

It has been great to catch up with family and friends and Margaret and Tony have been especially kind by allowing us to park alongside their drive, amongst the lovely garden and trees, whenever we feel like an escape to the birdlife in the country and a decent shower. And, besides that, Margaret somehow always loves to feed us! Pay-back time will however be a pleasure.

Since the 3 nights we spent in the Mount Camp and the 2-3 nights we have had at Margaret and Tonys we have just been freedom camping around town during the week. Places we might stay are outside Colin and Carlenes where I help out at times with the after-school and Montessori pick-up, Fergusson Park, the free parking area near the airport or our quiet secret place near the Mount shorps, parallel to Maunganui Rd but on a wide verge close to the port. We have been travelling around the coast over the weekends and ....but that is for the next blog!

Here we have come!

We have now been back in New Zealand for one whole week and it seems quite a long time since we were in Cornwall and Whitehaven catching up with all of Len's family. It is always so good to see them, have a bit of time sharing their lives, be amazed, yet again, at how all the teenagers have grown and be in awe of how young Wils and Esme still are at 93 and 88! And because we went over later this year than normal it's now only 7 months before we return.

We had a good flight from Bangkok to Auckland on ThaiAir and found Debussy still snug under it's cover in the corner of Jacki and Tim's garden. No apparent dampness inside at all although the Damp-rid sachets and cans we left dotted about had all absorbed plenty of moisture.
For some reason though the TV is no longer working and we are still waiting for this to be looked at. The extractor fan also only gave out a burnt smell when I turned it on and this now needs to be replaced. We're just hoping that things don't always "come in threes"! At least the bus started first time and sounded really pleased to have us back.

Our new baby!

It was good to have a night catching up with Jacki and Tim and the children before we left the next morning on a car hunt. We were looking for either a Mazda 3 or a Ford Focus, no more than 2-3 years old and quite liked a red Mazda 3, and the price they would have reduced it to, at the Auckland Ford/Mazda dealership but wanted to look further to see if we could find a Focus as we liked our last one. There were none for sale privately on Trademe so we headed south to Hamilton and Fairview Motors where we found a silver 2011 Focus Ambiente - only 1600 ccs but very zippy and economical. We thought about it overnight, parking in the quiet cul-de-sac just down the road by the Te Rapa Racecourse, before heading back to the dealership where we used all our Thailand bartering skills and managed a $1500 reduction. Then, an hour or 2 later I was enjoying being behind the wheel of a car again as we headed, separately, back over the Kaimais to Tauranga.

We spent the first night back parked on the wide grass verge in front of Colin and Carlenes and then went to The Mount Camping Ground for 3 nights, being parked for the first 2 nights next to Sandra and Matt as they had holiday tenants in their house, not that they were there much with Sandra working and Matt helping friends move house. However their friends parents, Kay and David, were in the caravan on the other side of us and our friends, Shellie and David were parked further up the row in their 5th wheeler so we were all able to get together for "Happy Hour" before dinner!

It was so windy all the time in the camp ground, especially on our first night there. I found it hard to sleep with thinking that a gust of wind might catch up and blow us right over - however all the vehicles were still upright when we looked out in the mornings!

Trish - bin laden!

Chiang Mai 5

Our brief time in Thailand is now coming to a close as we fly back to Auckland tomorrow. Yesterday and today we have spent getting more of a feel for the Thai life doing a lot of walking around the city, visiting numerous wats, or temples as we know them, sampling food, eg a whole cooked sea bass last night in a very popular local fish market, drinking Chang beer, riding in a tuk tuk and the local red truck (like a taxi), watching people fish, swimming in the hotel pool, having an hour long, oh so painful, $8 full body Thai massage in a dark upstairs room by a young, ?19 yr old Thai boy, Len having an hour long $6 foot, leg and head massage downstairs by about a 15 year old and revisting Boys Blues Bar last night.

Delicious longan fruit - $1 per kilo!

It has all been a great experience and, apart from the stall-holders in the markets initially being so pushy (but not today for some reason ?because it's Sunday!) the people are very friendly although we are constantly warned by signs to be aware of well-dressed, seemingly nice people who will offer their services and then scam you.

Negotiating a tuk tuk fare

The main things we have had to be careful of is all the traffic and motorbikes when trying to cross the street and all the hazards on the pavements - holes, wet concrete, broken concrete, unprotected manholes, low overhead signs with sharp points. Luckily we have not seen or experienced any pickpocketing although we have often been warned about this.


We have just come back from a lovely, oh-so-cheap meal at a vegetarian cafe called The Bamboo Bee which, on trip advisor, is Number 1 in the eating places. It is run by two English speaking Thai girls who are just del

ightful. The cafe is tiny - only 5 tables seating 2 at a table - and only one menu! But there was only one other couple there at the same time so it was easy to share. They are known for their smoothies and so before our meal we shared an avocado and coconut cream (calories!!!) one which was delicious. For our mains I had spicy stirfried mushrooms and cashews dish and Len had sweet chilli mushrooms, both dishes having other nice veges as well as rice. The price of the meals including the smoothie, a bottle of water and bottomless cups of free Jasmine tea came to 225 baht which is about $9. Amazing!! On our walk back to the hotel we bought some more lovely little coconut milk pancakes for pud from the street vendor in Chinatown.

Chiang Mai 4

After lunch the group decided they would do an "add-on" to the tour on the way home and stop to see the "Longnecks" in their tribal village - the longnecks are the women who gradually add an increasing number of bands to their necks to make them "long" and "more beautiful". It was an extra 600 baht for the two of us which is approximately $24 which we didn't have with us but Su, the tour leader, was keen to lend us the money until we got back to our hotel so we did this. We think she must have made quite a commission off this as really it was very expensive for a 10 minute walk in the heat between all the stalls displaying their handicrafts - bags, scarves, pillowcovers etc and past the various girls and women with their neckbands on. Long-necked Karen was the star with the most bands but I have seen much longer necks than hers in photos so we really felt that we could have stayed in the bus but then it is probably good to observe in person, as a oncer.

Long neck Karen & her wares

When we arrived back at out hotel we talked to the receptionist about thr air conditioning waterfall problem in our room, worried that we might have another sleepless night like the previous one, and she changed us to another similar room, 2 floors higher. It meant we had to pack everything up but they compensated for this by leaving a small bowl of nice fruit in our new room.

After freshening up with a shower we wandered out into the markets and down to Chinatown where we tried to recognise some of the many different fruits on the stalls, see what they were all cooking but avoiding eating anything that might be a bit suspect! We weren't hungry after our big lunch and with the heat so a bag of little pancakes made with coconut milk and corn were delicious as was the black rice and sesame seed pancake served in a banana leaf with milk and honey. No problem with our stomachs afterwards!

Boy's band with guest blues guitar maestro

On the way back to the hotel we stumbled upon some good rhythm and blues music floating down some stairs in one of the covered markets so went up to investigate. Wow what great music and talented players here at Boys Blues Bar which sits on the rooftops - it's finds like these that make a holiday! We sat ourselves down right virtually right in front of the band next to a bunch of Americans who are in Thailand teaching English so they were able to give us the craic. A Thai, named Boy, is the owner and band leader and he has an affro hairstyle like Jimmy Hendrix with the biggest happiest smile which is so infectious. The place was humming and the music great and made even better by the arrival of a muso with a long white beard and a reputation for being the most awesome guitar player. And that he was! His guitar was an extension of his soul and the sounds he got out of it just incredible. They were joined for a couple of songs by a vivacious Aussie girl with a deep raspy voice and personality plus. Such good entertainment all for the price of a few cheap beers!

Chiang Mai 3

Afeter the elephant show it was time to do the bamboo rafting so we walked down to the brown river where we were given life jackets which were totally too big for me and which would have just risen over my head if I'd fallen off the raft but despite a rapid search I couldn't find a smaller one in time so it just had to do. As it turned out the river didn't seem too deep as the guides' poles easily reached the bottom to help steer us along. The rafts are exactly as described - made of bamboo and seating 6 people. We floated down the river for at least half an hour seeing jungle and elephants belonging to the park - they have about 150 altogether - and it was a good experience, not scary at all even when the guide would jolt the raft and pretend to fall off!

Our raft guides after putting us ashore

Following the rafting we wobbled along the muddy, rutted ground in carts behind two oxen for some time to where we could climb up to the mounting platform to get into our seats on top of the elephant - we had a very cute baby one accompanying us as well. We found we had to hang on all the time as the ground was pretty rough and we were thrown from side to side and we were pleased that they provided us with an umbrella to give us a bit of shade from the sun - it was very hot. The time we had on the elephant, maybe 20-30 minutes, was good and plenty long enough because of the jolting - I don't think it would be that great to do it for a whole day on uneven terrain!

L & the 5 girls!

By now it was lunchtime and we were provided with a buffet meal back at the Elephant Park headquarters. It was OK but nowhere near the standard of the buffet that we had at the Rosegarden on the Floating market tour in Bangkok - I think we had been spoilt.

Chiang Mai 2

It was quite late when we went to bed on Thursday night after our nice dinner at The Whole Earth on Thursday night and at 2.00am we were woken by the sound of a light waterfall. We turned on the light to see water pouring from the ceiling in the entry area close to the aircon vent. After placing the bathroom bin under it Len rang for help and 2 Thai men came with their ladder to fix it which took about half an hour. It seemed that we had just got back to sleep before we were woken again about 4.00am by the same noise so the whole process was repeated. We didn't manage to sleep again after this so were pretty tired going to breakfast the next morning which was again an early rise as we had booked in to do the elephant trekking and bamboo rafting. Plenty of choice at the continental and cooked breakfast which I think I will now call the 'new dinner'! At our Bangkok Hotel we could only have Continental unless we paid extra and of course this was much better for our waistlines!

We were picked up from our hotel for our excursion by a minibus which already had 9 mostly English speaking friendly Chinese tourists on board -lots of Chinese on holiday here at the moment as it is holiday week in China.We were driven out to the Mae Taeng Elephant Park where we were just in time to see the Elephant Show which was packed with tourists - standing room only for us in the seated viewing stands. The show was actually very impressive with the elephants displaying their dancing skills, strength, and football goaling techniques. What had us totally awed though was watching 3 of the elephants painting - it really does have to be seen to be believed! I thought they did very well to get a couple of painted lines down the sheet of paper but then these lines were added to to make tree trunks and then green bushy branches topped by red flowers and then the older elephant drew in the behinds of 2 elephants and a couple of them even signed their names! Absolutely astounding - they can paint better than me!! All their mahouts (keepers) did in the whole process was put fresh paint on the brush and then put the brush back into the elephant's trunk.

Painted & signed by Suda, the elephant!

The paintings were up for sale in the souvenir shop afterwards and there was one I would dearly have loved. They were priced at 1000 baht which is only about $40 but it was then that I discovered that the money manager had only taken about 500 baht, the trip theoretically being all inclusive and he didn't want money or cards being "lost overboard" when we did the bamboo rafting. We can't believe that the paintings hadn't already been sold when we walked through the shop so we have the feeling that they may photocopy them so you're not actually buying the original. Even so a photocopied one would have done but never mind!

Chiangmai 1

Thursday morning was another early wake-up call for us as we were being picked up at 7.00am to go to the airport for our flight to Changmai. Quite a long wait before we could board but the flight itself is only about an hour so this went quickly with lunch being served en-route.
Again we were met at the airport by the Hotel Beds rep, this one having the unfortunate name of Pong which she says means "fat" in Thai making a double insult. The airport was much quieter than Bangkok and although we had a little problem with finding our luggage it was soon personally delivered to us and didn't delay our trip to the hotel too much.
It was a more relaxing drive than the one we had in Bangkok with the roads and surrounds being quieter and less built up - suburbia itself until you reach the inner city with the population of Chiangmai city itself being only 160,000 although including the urban sprawl takes its up to nearly a million. Bangkok city is over 8 million and if you include the metropolitan area the figure rises to about 14 million.

T & TukTuk!

After settling into our room at the Royal Princess which is on the doorstep of the night markets and close to the inner city we had a walk down the closest city wall of which there are 4 making a big square. There are only bits and pieces remaining of the wall although part ot it seems to have been rebuilt recently. The roads are busy with cars, motor-bikes, tuk tuks and little red trucks that are virtually like taxis . you can hail them to go where you want if empty or share a ride if the passengers aboard are going in the same direction. Crossing roads can be very hazardous and with no-one taking any notice of pedestrian crossings you basically have to just barge out and force the cars to stop or wait for a friendly local to do this for you!

Lrelaxing with Chan (beer)!

There is a little canal flowing around the 4 walls and we spotted a few fish while we walked along it before diverting into the city centre and stopping to view a temple or two - we think there are about 120 of them in the city so they are easy to find. It's pretty hot so it was good to stop for a beer at a little cafe and take in the surroundings before heading back to the hotel for a shower and then dinner at a nice restaurant down the road and around the corner from the Hotel called The Whole Earth, which had been recommended to us. I spent my "Birthday Voucher" from David and Christine here - an appropriate place as their wedding reception was at a Thai Restaurant. Loved our meals and thankyou so much C&D!

Bangkok 3

Wednesday continued to be a busy day and after the floating market we headed to what we were told were the Rose Gardens for lunch and a Thai Village Cultural Show which is held in a pavilion within the park. There are no longer any roses there however and we found that it has subsequently been renamed the Sampran Riverside.

1st stop - Sri Lankan style Buddhist temple

The buffet lunch in the large venue overlooking a lake was superb - a lot of choice with Thai meals predominantly but also sushi, italian and chinese dishes available with lots of little Thai desserts to follow - they were little so we managed to sample several!

Then we had to rush to walk round to the Cultural show which we also enjoyed and which included Thai music, scenes depicting rice farmers, explanations of young men's initiation into monkhood, Thai dancing including a flag dance at the end where I could be proud to see the kiwi flag, traditional Thai drumming, Thai boxing showing the use of arm guards, sword fighting which looked quite ferocious a typical Thai wedding and the unique bamboo dance from the Northeast region where the dancers have to be pretty quick to jump over beating bamboo poles which are moved together and then apart quite quickly. I'm sure they must have some nasty blows to their ankles whilst practising! The audience were invited to join in the Ramwong Dance for the finale but we managed to stay stuck to our seats. The highlights for us were the boxing and bamboo dancing.

Pole dancing - Thai style!

Afterwards they put on a short but entertaining show with 3 elephants showing their skills.
Our trip back to the hotel was broken with a short stop at a Teak carving and furniture makers where we saw some nice furniture as well as some pretty ugly items such as the huge dining room tables and chairs - maybe they would look OK in a castle says she who lives in a bus!

Just one of the dining room chairs!

We were pretty tired by the time we arrived back but instead of lying down we did manage a quick swim and lounge by the pool before it got dark. Just as we were about to go down the street for dinner there was a spectacular long thunder and lightening show so we ate in the hotel restaurant and, again, enjoyed our Thai meals!

Bangkok 2

Wednesday morning we were up before the larks to have our buffet breakfast before being picked up at 6.30am by the minibus for the nearly 2 hour trip to the Damnoen Saduak floating market and "Rose" Garden. A family from Christchurch were the only others with us on this whole day excursion which passed through industrial areas, scrap yards, wet lush ountryside with salt farms, coconut palms and rather poor houses. Our first stop was at a roadside coconut processing workshop which demonstrated how the entire palm tree is used commercially in some way. We sampled coconut sugar which is made from boiling the sap of the cut flower buds of the palm over open fires unlike palm sugar which is made from the sap of the tree itself. We had a little taste of some scrapings of the coconut flesh also and these were moist and delicious rather than dry like the coconuts at home.

Heading for the floating market in our "James Bond"boat

Further on down the road we all boarded one of several long-tail boats with an outboard motor for a very interesting ride of about 20 minutes down the narrow waterways to the well-known floating market. There were lots of patched up wooden houses on stilts fringing the canal, some in better order than others and most with shrines outside being a predominantly Buddhist country accounting for 90% of Thai people. Interestingly in Thailand they consider the year to be 2556, not 2013, as they use the Buddhist Calendar.

Traffic Jam!

We really enjoyed this boat trip along the peaceful canals but once we got to the floating market it was really busy with boats everywhere. At this point we were dropped off to wander around, first sampling some tiny coconut pancakes and then wandering along with the crowds looking at the colourful fruit and wares of the boat vendors and the stalls alongside. This is actually the part that I don't enjoy at all as the minute you slow your pace or stop to look at something the shop owners or assistant just can't stop hassling you with "what size, what size, what colour, what colour" and they just keep following you around the shop pestering which means that I just walk out to get away from them! From what I could see though sizes were a problem - very little children's clothing apart from for babies and what they had was a bit tacky. Adults things were basically one size fits all which often doesn't make for the best look! So our shopping was virtually nil as it was with the rest of the group. We bought a bunch of little bananas and a coconut with a straw to drink the "milk"- again delicious and sweet and much nicer than the milk I have tried previously. Len was dead keen to sample some food from the boat vendors but I managed to keep him away which was easier once he had seen all the flies settling on the dried fish in the sun and heat of the day. Chicken would have been even more of a risk.

Bangkok 1

We had a good fast train trip down to Euston where we caught the tube to Heathrow, this time changing at Leicester Square instead of Green Park which we did on arrival. The station porter told us that there would be a much shorter walk doing the Leicester Square option although we can't verify if this is so as we've already forgotten how far the walk was at the Green Park station!
We had quite a bit of time to fill in at Heathrow so we were able to take our time wandering around the shops, having some Italian (food!) to eat and then sitting back to read or people watch. Didn't manage to see anyone we knew!
The flight to Bangkok was smooth on the whole and we were lucky to have a spare seat beside us for the first time in years so I was able to lie across 2 and actually get a couple of hours sleep while Len managed to do the same sitting up. The Thai food on this leg, yellow thai curry plus other bits, was also especially nice. Bangkok airport was busy but we were met by a rep, Lin, from Hotelbeds so it was no problem getting to the Belaire Princess where we were upgraded to a superior deluxe which meant that we had 2 kingsize beds, a large office desk and room to swing lots of cats - so different from the B&Bs in England and probably little more than half the price. The hotel was great, as was it's swimming pool, and we found it a treat to have our luggage carried everywhere for us.
On the way to the Hotel Lin had persuaded us to go to the Calypso Cabaret which she said was the best show in town and a "must see". She said she would take us to the sky train and tell us how to get there but somehow she ended up coming with us on the train and then a boat down the river to the venue, at our expense (which was very little). It turned out that she had a friend that she wanted to visit in the same area so maybe that's why she suggested the show but I have to say that we were pleased to have a guide in the steaming throngs of people - such a interesting crowded, traffic-jammed city!

Silicon Valley!?

The Show"girls"!

Prior to the show Len and I had a very cheap Thai dinner at one of the busiest little cafes close by - less than $20 in total for our meals and a beer each and it was nice food. The Cabaret was rather different, to say the least - it's totally an all-male cast with extravagantly dressed beautiful dancers who, after probably several surgical procedures, look more female than most of us authentic ones and are taller than their male counterparts in the show - maybe the high heels - but certainly much taller than the norm in Thailand. The show, whilst interesting, didn't quite do it for me with it's taped music, mimed singing, poor choreography and very weak embarrassing applause from the full-house. Maybe applause isn't big here, I don't know, but to me they did deserve a little more than what they got!

After the show who should unexpectedly be waiting for us? Answer: Lin herself as she wanted to share our taxi back to her place close to our Hotel. I guess she gets to visit her friend for free quite often with suggesting that tourists see the show!

Whitehaven 3

The last 4 days in Whitehaven have sped by, as the end of a holiday always does - we had a trip to the dump with the old carpet that we lifted from Wils and Esme's living room, visited Doug and Pam, Alice, Joan and Norman where we also had a stroll to St Bees beach, and we took Wils and Esme (in their car of course!) through to Carlisle, Brampton and then to Dobbies Garden centre on the way home. That night we joined Mark, Tracy, Kaitlin and Mia for an easy dinner at Wetherspoons - curry for us seeing it was 'Curry Night'.
And I had forgotten to say that, in our first week in Whitehaven, we had a very nice Italian meal with Joan and Norman at Casa Romana before going to the local players production of Fawlty Towers in the Civic Hall - a brave play to do with everyone already knowing the characters and script so well but they did it well. Manuel was the highlight for me as he just seemed like the same Manuel as in the TV series but Basil also did pretty well and we enjoyed watching, even though I enjoyed a 5 minute sleep half way through!

Len enjoyed his Friday night at Wetherspoons / Paul Jones with Doug and Harold, listening to the live band of Weathered Rock and catching up with old friends, this being followed by a good crack with Mark at The Sunny Hill on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night Len and I went to Zest,my favourite restaurant in Whitehaven, with its great views over the harbour, as a birthday present treat from Sandra and Matt - delicious and a very nice night, thankyou S & M!

Our favourite Whitehaven Eating place - thanks S&M!

We are now on a Virgin Pendolino tilting, high speed train heading from Carlisle to Euston where we will take the tube to Heathrow in time to get our flight to Bangkok for our 6 nights in Thailand before heading home. Apparently there is lots of flooding there, especially in the north around the Chiangmai area where we are heading after Bangkok. I guess the plane won't fly there if it is too serious!

It is sad to leave Wils and Esme and their amazing hospitality but good to see them both looking so well, and with "all their marbles" at 93 and 88. We will be rapt if we can follow in their footsteps!

Keswick & Birthday

We had hoped to have dinner on Tuesday night in the trip-advisor top rating Thai Restaurant which happened to be part of the B&B right next door to ours! However, being very small they were already booked out so instead we did the short wander to The Dog and Gun, our favourite old Pub in Keswick with all it's character, low black-beamed ceilings, coins poked in the walls and a good selection of real ales which you can try before you buy. It's very dog friendly but all the dogs lying under the tables are always very quiet ad well-behaved! This Pub is famous for it's Hungarian Goulash which 90% of people seem to order so of course we had to order the same - a small for me and a large (which is HUGE) for Len, as well as a pint of Old Peculiar Ale. The goulash lived up to it's reputation and was delicious - meat which fell to bits and a little bit of spice. We were very replete afterwards!

T, The Dog & Gun plus a few dogs!

The next day was my birthday and it dawned a little cloudy but very still - after a nice big breakfast we set off on the anti-clockwise 9 mile walk around Derwentwater which is the Lake that Keswick nestles besides. It was another perfect day for walking and it is all very picturesque - lots of holly, oak trees and others just starting to show their autumn colours, good lake views, some boardwalks and a pretty waterfall, Lodore Falls, just up from the track. It took us just under 4 hours and on finishing we treated ourselves to Cumbrian rum-buttered scones and coffee at the Lakeside Cafe.

View up the Borrowdale Valley from Derwentwater

We popped in to see Harold and June on our way "home" to Wils and Esmes, not only to see them but also to see the renovations to the lovely accommodation, attached to their house, where Harold's mother used to live. They are going to do Holiday Lets and will be a lovely country spot for people to visit with its lovely views of the countryside and horses and sea in the distance.

Esme and Wils had a lovely birthday dinner waiting for us, and for Joan and Norman, when we arrived back to their house - Esme's famous Johnny Mazelli meat and pasta dish and Wils' famous trifle as well as lots of other nice things! We have been so spoilt in every way!!

Whitehaven - Keswick

After helping Wils and Esme to make the big decision to buy new carpet for their lounge we packed them off to Joan and Normans for the night on Sunday so we could empty the lounge of furniture and take up the old carpet for them. The carpet fitters came in yesterday (Monday) and we had time to restore everything to normal (well almost anyway - it was hard to remember exactly which cupboard some of the things came out of!) by the time Joan dropped Wils and Esme back that evening. The carpet looks great and is really nice underfoot with the new underlay.

On the way up Catbells

This morning Len and I have come to Keswick for my birthday "treat" - we have walked up Catbells, the first "fell" that we ever walked up together soon after we first met. It started off quite cloudy and there were lots of walkers on the path initially but they somehow thinned out as it started drizzling and we neared the top which was in total cloud. Several walkers in their tramping boots and with walking poles had turned around and said it was too slippery on the rocks towards the top but Len and I were fine in our trainers and walking sandles respectively as long as I didn't look down!

The view at the top!

A big hand for the birthday girl!

It's one of the lesser fells in Cumbria but has beautiful views over 2 lakes - Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater and also down the green pastures of the Borrowdale Valley. It took us under an hour to do the mile to the top - at 451 metres it's probably about twice the height of the Mount - and then it was a less rugged walk down the other side and down to the edge of Derwentwater which we followed to do a circuit back to the car. The sun came out briefly on the way down and really the walking conditions had been perfect for us going up - no wind and not too hot - just a shame about the cloud on top. We stopped for a beer - John Smiths for Len and a Hobgoblin for me - at the Farmers Arms in Portinscale before coming to our B&B, the Swiss Court, in Keswick which is where we are now. The owner, Connor, has spent some time in Queenstown and has only run the B&B here, with his mother, for 2 months.
Out of our window we have a nice view of Latrigg which some of our NZ friends and family climbed with us when they came over for our wedding!

Whitehaven 2

The 2 weeks in Whitehaven so far have been a bit of a whirl of spending time with family, visiting friends, dinners out and trying to get out on some of our favourite walks.

Norman, T, L, Esme, Joan, Wils & Nic.

Joan and Norman invited us all for a lovely dinner on Esme's 88th birthday night and the next day Len and I took Wils and Esme out for a Sunday Roast at The White Mare, the pub in Beckermet, where Len and I got married over 7 years ago. It was really nice and we could do a bit of reminiscing although it was raining when we came out and we couldn't pause for a photo of the 2 of us!!

Jean and John cooked a lovely "dinner for 8" last Friday and we had some laughs as we caught up with Janet and John, and Doreen and Alan. It has also been good to see John and Ros, Linda and Brian, Alice, Audrey and Ian, and Sally and Dave

Doreen, Alan, L, Jan, John, John & Jean.

Harold & June in jovial mood!

Last night was another fun and laughter night with Harold and June and dinner with them at the Briery Pub in Stainton.

L & Tom @ Talkin Tarn

Last week we visited Tom, who Len used to work with and who lost his wife to cancer a year or so ago. He lives in the countryside near the village of Brampton (an hour or so away) and we met up for a walk around peaceful Talkin Tarn (a little lake) before going to Tom's house which he did such a lot of work on when he and Judith first moved there. After the 3 of us had dinner in a local pub Len and I started to head back home but ended up staying at a B&B not far away so that we could do another walk in the area in the morning. However we woke to the patter of steady rain, and instead, drove through Carlisle and out to the coast passing through Port Carlisle, Burgh-by-Sands, Bowness-on-Solway, Silloth where we walked along the prom to Skinburness, Allonby, Maryport and then on to Whitehaven.

Whitehaven 1

After dropping off the rental car and getting their shuttle back to Heathrow we found our way to Euston via the tube (just needed one change) and managed to get an earlier train to Carlisle than we had

Me & my Dad!

planned and then a subsequent earlier one to Whitehaven. Instead of getting a taxi up to Wils (Lens Dad) and Esmes we found a welcoming Joan (Len's sister) at the station. She just happened to pop in there at that time to check the train arrivals after visiting the supermarket next door so we had an instant lift! Such good timing!

Knit & Purl in the greenhouse!

We had of course seen Wils and Esme for the few days around Matt and Annas wedding but it was lovely to see them again - an inspirational couple at 93 and 88 (as from the 14th September) respectively. Esme is such a whizz in the kitchen - she has produced about 4 different cakes since we have been there as well as bramble jelly and lovely lunches and dinners. When we left for Keswick this morning she was about to make some tomato relish from some of the beautiful tomatoes that Wils is growing prolifically in his beloved greenhouse.

We have now been staying with Wils and Esme for the most part of 2 weeks and the time has flown with lots of people to catch up with. Our first port of call was to see Mark (Len's son), Tracy and the girls, Sian, Kaitlin and Mia, before Sian headed off to Newcastle University for her first year doing Fine Arts - every year the girls are all a bit more grown up and Mia especially seems a few inches taller than last year. Mark has been doing major renovations on the house and the improvements he has done are making a big difference.

L, Sian, Mia, Kaitlin & Mark