A quick trip to the North Island.
Jan 21st, 2012, 08:41 PM
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A quick trip to the North Island.
As usual I've ummed and ahhhed about whether to do this report, this time because we didn't actually 'do' a lot. It was just a week of relaxing mainly, before the New Year kicked off. But we stayed at some great hotels & ate some great food, so I thought I should share.
We are in our late 40's (okay, we turn 50 this year!!!) and we had some Emirates points that were about to expire and the only place we could actually get to with so few points was Auckland. We had only previously only been to the South Island, apart from a surprise anniversary dinner a few years ago in Auckland. So with only a couple of weeks to plan we departed Brisbane for Auckland 30 Dec, with really only a hire car booked and the first couple of nights accommodation booked.
The flight with Emirates (economy class) was a breeze, a quick 3 hours a bit of lunch and a movie and we arrived in Auckland. Picked up our car, dh had a reserved a midrange and was very happy to get a Falcon XR6 sedan, ticked all the boxes.
Drove straight onto Whangarei where we had 3 nights booked at Lodge Bordeaux: a really great Lodge/Motel. I have just reviewed on Trip Advisor but we had a huge room c/w separate lounge/dining area, well equipped kitchen, huge bathroom c/w spa and most importantly a really comfy bed. Oh and we even had a little outdoor sitting area off the lounge. 3 x nights = $554.50AUD
We settled in and then went for a drive around the town and dropped into the TI for a bunch of brochures. Asked our landlord for a dinner recommendation, casual & seafood, he did good, sent us to the Killer Prawn. Great menu and beautiful food, you know you are in for a treat when you just can’t decided what to have.
I opted for New Zealand green lipped mussels
— Provencal with olives, tomato, garlic, white wine and basil
Followed by Twice roasted twelve hour lamb
— pistachio crusted, served on tossed witlof and pomegranate salad
with a caramelised onion jam
All of which was perfection, dh had the Fresh fish and chips
— served with chunky chips, salad, tartare sauce and malt vinegar served in ‘newspaper’.
$77AUD c/w 4 drinks, great value thanks to the strong Aussie dollar. We both decided we would be back the next night to try their signature prawn dish, unfortunately it was New Years Eve and they were closed.
We are in our late 40's (okay, we turn 50 this year!!!) and we had some Emirates points that were about to expire and the only place we could actually get to with so few points was Auckland. We had only previously only been to the South Island, apart from a surprise anniversary dinner a few years ago in Auckland. So with only a couple of weeks to plan we departed Brisbane for Auckland 30 Dec, with really only a hire car booked and the first couple of nights accommodation booked.
The flight with Emirates (economy class) was a breeze, a quick 3 hours a bit of lunch and a movie and we arrived in Auckland. Picked up our car, dh had a reserved a midrange and was very happy to get a Falcon XR6 sedan, ticked all the boxes.
Drove straight onto Whangarei where we had 3 nights booked at Lodge Bordeaux: a really great Lodge/Motel. I have just reviewed on Trip Advisor but we had a huge room c/w separate lounge/dining area, well equipped kitchen, huge bathroom c/w spa and most importantly a really comfy bed. Oh and we even had a little outdoor sitting area off the lounge. 3 x nights = $554.50AUD
We settled in and then went for a drive around the town and dropped into the TI for a bunch of brochures. Asked our landlord for a dinner recommendation, casual & seafood, he did good, sent us to the Killer Prawn. Great menu and beautiful food, you know you are in for a treat when you just can’t decided what to have.
I opted for New Zealand green lipped mussels
— Provencal with olives, tomato, garlic, white wine and basil
Followed by Twice roasted twelve hour lamb
— pistachio crusted, served on tossed witlof and pomegranate salad
with a caramelised onion jam
All of which was perfection, dh had the Fresh fish and chips
— served with chunky chips, salad, tartare sauce and malt vinegar served in ‘newspaper’.
$77AUD c/w 4 drinks, great value thanks to the strong Aussie dollar. We both decided we would be back the next night to try their signature prawn dish, unfortunately it was New Years Eve and they were closed.
Jan 21st, 2012, 11:01 PM
#3
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Melnq8 bear with me, I’m doing this one by memory & checking my c/card statement for Hotel & Restaurant that we went to.I also forgot to mention the weather, overcast and rainy for the first few days. So when we woke the next morning we decided to head towards Russell. The guy at the hotel said we could go the ‘scenic’ route via Oakur, which we did. At one point there was a small line of cars trying to cross a flooded creek, we got across okay thank goodness. The road was very windy but oh so scenic but the thought of turning back didn’t thrill us. I have to admit at one point I had to take a couple of ginger tablets for motion sickness, the road was incredibly windy. But worth it, Russell is a great little town to explore. Had the weather been ‘brighter’ we would’ve done a bay cruise but it was a very dull cool day. Although we were lucky enough to have a great lunch by the water and the sun broke through the clouds, giving us a wonderful view. Lunch was at the The Duke of Marlborough hotel, I had -Marinated white fish w coconut, lime & coriander served on pickled cucumber ribbons , which was lovely and light. Dh had a Thai Beef Salad equally as good.
Drove back to Opua and caught the ferry across and took the more direct route back to Whangarei on the SH1.
As we’d hoped to go back to the Killer Prawn for dinner and it wasn’t open, we were a bit thrown. Nothing much was open, the place was a ghost town, I guess everyone was out celebrating New Years. So we picked up a pizza & salad from Hell Pizza, which was very good, grabbed a bottle of wine and had a lovely dinner in our room. Spent NYE watching a Kenny Rogers 50th Anniversary show which was actually really good (he didn’t do the singing ;-) guest artists did), I know what you’re thinking, “party animals’!!!
Jan 29th, 2012, 06:46 PM
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I'm back and will finish this today!
The next day was again rainy as we set off for the longish drive to Taupo. Enjoyable drive and it was lovely to arrive in beautiful Taupo and see its huge lake. We found a fantastic B&B but unfortunately we could only stay for one night as they were full. www.taupostay.com But we did stay one night. Can't recommend this highly enough, we stayed in the Lake View room, which had a great sitting room, huge bathroom and really comfy bed.
The B&B owners invited us into their lovely lounge with sweeping views of the lake, for afternoon drinks, great views even in the rain. As the weather had really set in, they suggested that we just go next door for dinner, to the Mole & Chicken Restaurant. It was great; we actually found there were ‘limited’ nice eating spots in Taupo. This place is apparently frequented by the locals. Had amazing braised lamb shanks with a really nice NZ wine, which we hadn't finished and they suggested as we were just staying next door, to take it back with us and drop the glasses back the next day. Now that’s hospitality.
We woke to a lovely breakfast with the lady of the house; her husband had left for the day already. He runs a fishing charter business as well. We’d decided to stay in the area for a couple more days and had booked into the Reef Resort, so headed off to check in. www.accommodationtaupo.com
This was a great place; we had a one bedroom apartment which was huge, views over the pool to the lake. My only complaint would be that it’s a very family friendly resort and the noise from the pool was a bit annoying early in the morning. We settled in a bit then went to do the Huka Falls Spa Park Walk, parking in the Spa Park car park. The weather had cleared a bit which was nice. The walk is about 45mins to the Falls, depending how many photos you take along the way. I have a bit of an issue with my ankles and sometimes struggle on walks but this one was okay, very gradual and I was rewarded with the lovely falls. Its funny when you walk up there and then see the car park but we’re glad we walked. I stayed there and took a stack of photos while my lovely dh volunteered to go and pick the car up so we could drive to the Aratiatia Dam to see the water being released. (he made it back in about 30mins) Unfortunately we kinda missed it, we think it was either being left open for longer or more often, due to all the rain.
We then drove to some of the thermal parks in the area and went to check out the Wairakei Terraces. Where we had read we could go to a Maori cultural dinner experience, but there were no answers on the numerous times we called and on driving there it was all closed up. So not sure if this place is still operational. We were really disappointed as the website looked (& still looks) fabulous. We actually drove on for quite a while and ended up in Rotorua, stopping off along the way a various mud pools and thermal parks, such a wild landscape. We hadn’t decided if we would go to Rotorua so this was just to ‘check it out’ and we decided we would go back and stay a night. Dinner this night was bought from the local supermarket, BBQ chicken and salad, very relaxing to have the room to dine in.
The next day was again rainy as we set off for the longish drive to Taupo. Enjoyable drive and it was lovely to arrive in beautiful Taupo and see its huge lake. We found a fantastic B&B but unfortunately we could only stay for one night as they were full. www.taupostay.com But we did stay one night. Can't recommend this highly enough, we stayed in the Lake View room, which had a great sitting room, huge bathroom and really comfy bed.
The B&B owners invited us into their lovely lounge with sweeping views of the lake, for afternoon drinks, great views even in the rain. As the weather had really set in, they suggested that we just go next door for dinner, to the Mole & Chicken Restaurant. It was great; we actually found there were ‘limited’ nice eating spots in Taupo. This place is apparently frequented by the locals. Had amazing braised lamb shanks with a really nice NZ wine, which we hadn't finished and they suggested as we were just staying next door, to take it back with us and drop the glasses back the next day. Now that’s hospitality.
We woke to a lovely breakfast with the lady of the house; her husband had left for the day already. He runs a fishing charter business as well. We’d decided to stay in the area for a couple more days and had booked into the Reef Resort, so headed off to check in. www.accommodationtaupo.com
This was a great place; we had a one bedroom apartment which was huge, views over the pool to the lake. My only complaint would be that it’s a very family friendly resort and the noise from the pool was a bit annoying early in the morning. We settled in a bit then went to do the Huka Falls Spa Park Walk, parking in the Spa Park car park. The weather had cleared a bit which was nice. The walk is about 45mins to the Falls, depending how many photos you take along the way. I have a bit of an issue with my ankles and sometimes struggle on walks but this one was okay, very gradual and I was rewarded with the lovely falls. Its funny when you walk up there and then see the car park but we’re glad we walked. I stayed there and took a stack of photos while my lovely dh volunteered to go and pick the car up so we could drive to the Aratiatia Dam to see the water being released. (he made it back in about 30mins) Unfortunately we kinda missed it, we think it was either being left open for longer or more often, due to all the rain.
We then drove to some of the thermal parks in the area and went to check out the Wairakei Terraces. Where we had read we could go to a Maori cultural dinner experience, but there were no answers on the numerous times we called and on driving there it was all closed up. So not sure if this place is still operational. We were really disappointed as the website looked (& still looks) fabulous. We actually drove on for quite a while and ended up in Rotorua, stopping off along the way a various mud pools and thermal parks, such a wild landscape. We hadn’t decided if we would go to Rotorua so this was just to ‘check it out’ and we decided we would go back and stay a night. Dinner this night was bought from the local supermarket, BBQ chicken and salad, very relaxing to have the room to dine in.
Feb 9th, 2012, 02:46 PM
#9
The removed comment was probably an ad aussiedreamer. There was a barrage of advertisments and spam posted across the forums last month. I was hitting Report Abuse every five minutes.
Please continue.
You're doing this from memory? Incredible. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday.
Please continue.
You're doing this from memory? Incredible. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday.
Feb 9th, 2012, 03:45 PM
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The next morning we went for a walk into town,
<i>(I think I'm going nuts, 'cause I thought I wrote this.........maybe I did and didn't submit....???)</i>
anyway, its a bout a 15min stroll along the lake and it was really lovely, quite overcast but still enjoyable. Even stopped off at a coffee 'van' parked at the lake and had the best cuppa of the trip, go figure.
Headed off for a drive in the afternoon as it was raining. We kinda followed the lake around, stopping off for great views and we watched some guys trout fishing in the rain, magic. Spent the afternoon organising the next few days. Decided to walk along the lake to the Millennium Hotel to have dinner. <i>(now I know I have written this up grrrr ;-) ) </i>
We're not generally buffet style dinner people, but we were there quite early and after a drink or two in the lovely lounge area, watching the rain fall on the lake they offered us an early buffet dinner. So we went for it, boy it was lovely, seafood, salads and as it was so close to Christmas a lovely roast turkey with the trimmings. Perfect really, walked back in the pouring down rain, very romantic.......kinda ;-).
<i>(I think I'm going nuts, 'cause I thought I wrote this.........maybe I did and didn't submit....???)</i>
anyway, its a bout a 15min stroll along the lake and it was really lovely, quite overcast but still enjoyable. Even stopped off at a coffee 'van' parked at the lake and had the best cuppa of the trip, go figure.
Headed off for a drive in the afternoon as it was raining. We kinda followed the lake around, stopping off for great views and we watched some guys trout fishing in the rain, magic. Spent the afternoon organising the next few days. Decided to walk along the lake to the Millennium Hotel to have dinner. <i>(now I know I have written this up grrrr ;-) ) </i>
We're not generally buffet style dinner people, but we were there quite early and after a drink or two in the lovely lounge area, watching the rain fall on the lake they offered us an early buffet dinner. So we went for it, boy it was lovely, seafood, salads and as it was so close to Christmas a lovely roast turkey with the trimmings. Perfect really, walked back in the pouring down rain, very romantic.......kinda ;-).
Feb 9th, 2012, 04:16 PM
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The next day we headed for Napier, this is the only time I wish I'd put a bit more thought/research into the trip. As we hadn't allowed enough time to go visit the Gannet Reserve & Cape Kidnappers.
But we had booked into one of our favourite 'activities', a beautiful winery. We found Napier to be really nice town, loved all the art deco buildings and walking along the shoreline. We arrived late morning and just drove along the water looking for somewhere to stay, wanting to check in before our lunch. We stayed at the Edgewater Motor Lodge WOH, what a great find. I was shown a room before committing, without even asking to. It is an older motel but I was blown away by the cleanliness, it was faultless and the host was very friendly and welcoming. Good spot too, just across the road from the water and a very easy stroll into town.
We booked lunch at Mission Estate Winery, what a beautiful place, from the minute we drove up the stunning tree lined drive we knew we’d picked well. Had a lovely walk around the beautiful grounds, spent a bit of money in the gift shop (beautiful hand painted coffee cups & a really cool hat for dh). Our table was out on the lawn under a huge shade umbrella, there was also seating on the veranda and in a rotunda, I think we had the best table. I will go into detail about the meal as it was superb.
Dh:
Entrée - Anise Roasted Duck Salad, Dressed Leaves, Cranberries, Pine Nuts, Spiced Tomato Tapenade
Main - Smoked Rump of Hawke's Bay Lamb Salad, Giant Cous Cous, Eggplant & Hohepa Feta, Sauce Vierge
Desert - More Red Wine ;-)
Me:
Entrée - Seared Denver Leg of Venison, Moroccan Spiced Baba Ganoush, Sour Cherry Chutney, Dukkah
Main - Fresh Fish of the Day (, Buttered New Potatoes, Peas & Baby Onions
Desert - Summer Pudding, Brioche & Berries stacked with Raspberry Anglaise, Pink & Green Floss
Everything was presented and cooked beautifully and my desert was ‘Amazing’, a really lovely afternoon. We enjoyed the wines so much, we headed into the cellar door and bought some to bring home.
But we had booked into one of our favourite 'activities', a beautiful winery. We found Napier to be really nice town, loved all the art deco buildings and walking along the shoreline. We arrived late morning and just drove along the water looking for somewhere to stay, wanting to check in before our lunch. We stayed at the Edgewater Motor Lodge WOH, what a great find. I was shown a room before committing, without even asking to. It is an older motel but I was blown away by the cleanliness, it was faultless and the host was very friendly and welcoming. Good spot too, just across the road from the water and a very easy stroll into town.
We booked lunch at Mission Estate Winery, what a beautiful place, from the minute we drove up the stunning tree lined drive we knew we’d picked well. Had a lovely walk around the beautiful grounds, spent a bit of money in the gift shop (beautiful hand painted coffee cups & a really cool hat for dh). Our table was out on the lawn under a huge shade umbrella, there was also seating on the veranda and in a rotunda, I think we had the best table. I will go into detail about the meal as it was superb.
Dh:
Entrée - Anise Roasted Duck Salad, Dressed Leaves, Cranberries, Pine Nuts, Spiced Tomato Tapenade
Main - Smoked Rump of Hawke's Bay Lamb Salad, Giant Cous Cous, Eggplant & Hohepa Feta, Sauce Vierge
Desert - More Red Wine ;-)
Me:
Entrée - Seared Denver Leg of Venison, Moroccan Spiced Baba Ganoush, Sour Cherry Chutney, Dukkah
Main - Fresh Fish of the Day (, Buttered New Potatoes, Peas & Baby Onions
Desert - Summer Pudding, Brioche & Berries stacked with Raspberry Anglaise, Pink & Green Floss
Everything was presented and cooked beautifully and my desert was ‘Amazing’, a really lovely afternoon. We enjoyed the wines so much, we headed into the cellar door and bought some to bring home.
Feb 9th, 2012, 04:42 PM
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We didn't really 'need' dinner but we took a nice long walk into and around town and then along the water, buying some fish & chips and eating them in the park.
A very enjoyable day all round. After a great sleep we headed off to Rotorua for our last night in NZ, we'd booked a hotel ahead of time and had asked the host to also book us into the Tamaki Maori Village for the evening cultural experience. They suggested that we try the Mitai Village, so they booked us in.
We stayed at the Regal Palms Resort, another fantastic find. This would be an awesome place to stay for an extended visit. We had a huge room c/w kitchen lounge and a king size bed. Possibly the biggest bathroom I've ever seen in a hotel, it had a door leading out into a small 'private' courtyard. There were swimming pools tennis courts, mini golf a real family feel to it.
Checked in and headed out to the Te Puia cultural village, the day we had driven to Rotorua just for a look, this place was packed with cars and people, so we were pleasantly surprised to arrive on a quiet day. We were a bit taken aback by the price just over $70AUD but figured we 'should' go in and we are glad we did, but I still think it’s too expensive.
We really enjoyed walking around the park, especially loved the geysers, great photos.
We had to be ready quite early for our Maori experience so headed back got ready and went off to reception to wait. There’s a great little lounge area and while we were waiting our host popped his head in and offered us a wine. Great idea, I hadn't even notice the small bar area, so it was very a very pleasant wait for the bus. Even when another couple arrived and the 'gentleman' started chatting and when finding out we were from Australia started going on about how 'crap' (his words) we were at sport, we can't play cricket or rugby etc etc. We're pretty sure he was trying to be funny but was really 'unfunny'. And of course as we'd come from the same hotel, we were seated together all night. But it was fine, dh just ignored him and I let him prattle on. There were lots of other lovely people at our table to make up for him. He was South African and she was Canadian, I believe there were over 20 nationalities there that night.
It really is a great thing to do, touristy: sure is but we're tourists and it’s a great way to learn a little about their culture and our mc for the night was hilarious. So all in all, a great night.
A very enjoyable day all round. After a great sleep we headed off to Rotorua for our last night in NZ, we'd booked a hotel ahead of time and had asked the host to also book us into the Tamaki Maori Village for the evening cultural experience. They suggested that we try the Mitai Village, so they booked us in.
We stayed at the Regal Palms Resort, another fantastic find. This would be an awesome place to stay for an extended visit. We had a huge room c/w kitchen lounge and a king size bed. Possibly the biggest bathroom I've ever seen in a hotel, it had a door leading out into a small 'private' courtyard. There were swimming pools tennis courts, mini golf a real family feel to it.
Checked in and headed out to the Te Puia cultural village, the day we had driven to Rotorua just for a look, this place was packed with cars and people, so we were pleasantly surprised to arrive on a quiet day. We were a bit taken aback by the price just over $70AUD but figured we 'should' go in and we are glad we did, but I still think it’s too expensive.
We really enjoyed walking around the park, especially loved the geysers, great photos.
We had to be ready quite early for our Maori experience so headed back got ready and went off to reception to wait. There’s a great little lounge area and while we were waiting our host popped his head in and offered us a wine. Great idea, I hadn't even notice the small bar area, so it was very a very pleasant wait for the bus. Even when another couple arrived and the 'gentleman' started chatting and when finding out we were from Australia started going on about how 'crap' (his words) we were at sport, we can't play cricket or rugby etc etc. We're pretty sure he was trying to be funny but was really 'unfunny'. And of course as we'd come from the same hotel, we were seated together all night. But it was fine, dh just ignored him and I let him prattle on. There were lots of other lovely people at our table to make up for him. He was South African and she was Canadian, I believe there were over 20 nationalities there that night.
It really is a great thing to do, touristy: sure is but we're tourists and it’s a great way to learn a little about their culture and our mc for the night was hilarious. So all in all, a great night.
