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Photography has changed the way I see the world around me.

Through it I discover new things and rediscover old ones. Like my island, New Caledonia.

This blog is just me sharing my world through my photography.

Hope you enjoy.

Posts tagged New zealand
NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

ROTORUA - AGRODOME

day 6

Welcome back for day 6 of our little trip around the North Island of New Zealand. Today we leave The Coromandel for Rotorua. This video is the first of the two and half days we stayed here.

Arriving in Rotorua, Alain and I dropped the girls at a shopping mall before heading to the Agrodome. They have four experiences you can choose from or you can do all of them if you have the time. Alain and I did two, the Farm Show and the Farm Tour. Before the show started, we were treated to a sheep gathering performance outside. The show itself is entertaining, has a bit of humour, is educational and has hands-on experiences. It is very interesting. I didn’t know there were 17 different types of sheep in the world. The tour is also great because you, not only, visit the farm but you also get to mingle with some animals and feed them. Oh and you get a little tasting of their homegrown kiwifruit juice. Delicious.

After the Agrodome we joined the girls for some shopping and just walk around a little. We ended up wandering down to Rotorua Lake where we saw swans and their cygnets. A beautiful area. Coming down here, we walked through Eat Street where we had a delicious dinner at Mac’s Steakhouse. And I have to give a shoutout to the waiters and waitresses who were just fantastic.

Tonight we stay at a free camper-van parking area near the the Polynesian Spa. Though there were a number of camper-vans, it was very quiet. So I bade you goodnight my friends and invite you to the next video, where we dip our feet in hot water, race, wine taste and visit a small Maori village. Goodnight.

p.s. yes, I’m sure you know by now but I without his photos and videos my story wouldn’t be coherent. Thanks Alain.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

PAIHIA

day 3

Good morning and welcome back for this third video in a long series. I must warn though the quality of this video is… not great. Not as bad as day 1 but not as good as day 2 either. I tried to do slow-motion videos but I just couldn’t stop the focus from jumping around. So you may feel a little queasy sometimes. You’ve been warned.

Picking up from where we left off on the last video, where we decided to camp on a free site which led us to a town called Kaikohe. A town about 45 minutes west of Kerikeri. Today, we were heading to Paihia but I wanted to visit Kaikohe before doing so. I got up early and headed for Broadway, the main road. I bought a cup of coffee to accompany me on my little visit. A charming town and lot bigger than I thought. I saw these beautiful murals in a small alley. There are only a couple in the video but there were a lot more. I had a very nice conversation with a couple of retirees. A Maori woman and a Kiwi man, friends enjoying each other’s company, watching people walking by. They were sitting on a bench and said hello as I walked by. I said hello back and before we knew it, 15 minutes had gone by. Wonderful people and great conversation.

Once brekky was over, it was time to hit the road. We had one stop before Paihia and that was Haruru Falls. Not the largest of falls but worth a visit as the surroundings are beautiful and calm. You can kayak your way up to the falls and have a picnic, if you wish. A lovely little spot and worth a stop over.

We had booked a small cruise/ferry to Motukokako Island from Paihia. We were going to see the famous Hole In The Rock and with a little chance go through it. The return trip takes about 3 hours so we had lunch before the 12:30 departure. On the way up to and back from Motukokako Island, the boat stopped off at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island. A gorgeous little bay with a restaurant. Plenty to do on this little island. As you arrive at The Hole In The Rock, on your left side you can see Cape Brett’s hut and lighthouse. Then you notice the huge rock formation, Motukokako Island. It’s a tight squeeze but once up close and personal to The Hole In The Rock, the skipper will direct the boat through it. Unfortunate, the waters were choppy that day and thus weren’t able to experience that. Unlucky us. The return to Paihia is the same trip in reverse. So we headed back to Otehei Bay and just before arriving in Paihia, we noticed four dolphins afar. Not sure if they were playing or fishing. Lucky us.

Back on land we headed straight for St. Paul’s Anglican Church, just across the road from the beach. I’m not a believer but the stone building is just amazing. I had to photograph it.

Anyway, it was late afternoon and we had about three hours before sunset. We were having problems with our camper-van thus decided to make our way back towards Auckland and stop somewhere halfway down. We were heading to The Coromandel the next day anyway so the extra couple hours would be used to stop at the Camper-van Hire to get some help. We pulled up for the night at the Sheep World Caravan & Camping Park. A wonderful, funny and straight-talking old man was there to welcome us. Very helpful too. I didn’t film anything once there because of the problems with the camper-van and we were just tired from the long day. I got the last photo from my friend Alain. The quaint, little common-lounge. You could even exchange books. What a wonderful idea.

Well that’s it for now and thank you for watching. The next video has animals and… what problems? Goodnight.

Oh before I go, I want to thank my friend Alain for letting me use a couple of his photos in this video. Thanks mate.