HOLIDAY DIARIES: NEW ZEALAND THE NORTH ISLAND PART TWO

As mentioned in my previous holiday post I did a fair bit of travelling by myself in New Zealand and chose to do it with Kiwi Experience - in the North Island I hopped on the Bay of Islands tour to visit the very top of the North Island...

I was picked up early one morning off the street (pre-arranged I wasn't just hanging around the streets waiting to be picked up!) in the middle of Auckland with a feeling of pure terror in the depths of my stomach; not only was I going on a three day tour alone but I had to get on a full bus and find somewhere to sit! I handed in my bags, was ticked off the list and climbed up the large steps to the bus - looking down the isles I noticed everyone had the same idea; sit in a seat alone if you can. So I slowly started walking down the bus and chose a seat next to a lovely girl called Alice and to my relief we became fast friends.

The journey to Paihia was about 3 hours but chatting the whole way with Alice it felt more like 1. On the way to Paihia we stopped at the Manginangina Kauri Walk to see the Kauri trees - "Kauri are among the world's mightiest trees, growing to more than 50 metres tall, with trunk girths of up to 16 metres and living for more than 2000 years." (http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-plants/kauri/) 

All parts of the Kauri trees were used throughout history - the wood for building and the gum for glues and fire starters however due to the immense amount of time it takes for the Kauri trees to grow they started becoming extinct and New Zealand authorities put all remaining Kauri trees under protection in 1987.

We arrived in Paihia dumped our bags in our rooms and went straight out onto the lake to go Kayaking - something I have never done before. We were taken out for about 5hours by a local guy and spent the afternoon intermittently drifting and chatting and paddling around the waters, stopping for tea after we saw this beautiful mini waterfall. It was fabulous if a little tiring!  

Paihia is a very small very quiet little town so after Kayaking and the mixer BBQ the accommodation put on we returned to our rooms for an early night - we had a very early start up to Cape Reinga in the morning. 

First thing the following morning we hopped back on the bus ready for a busy day of 90 mile beach, sand boarding and sight seeing and this day certainly didn't disappoint!

Starting with 90 Mile Beach - we didn't drive along the whole beach in the bus as there is a high change of the bus sinking in the wet sand but the drive that we did was great fun, sand spinning up from the wheels, waves splashing closer and closer to the bus and eventually pulling over and dipping our toes in the water.

Next stop was sand boarding - you probably can't tell from the pictures but these dunes were absolutely humongous! Climbing to the top was an achievement in itself! Once at the top the true height and steepness (is that a word?!) hit you as you were given instructions on how to go down the dunes face first. You lean on your elbows, tuck your feet in and use your knees to steer and slow down. Speeding down those dunes face first was thrilling but unnerving - awaiting at the bottom was a stretch of water and nettles, if you didn't stop in time you were sure to go in! Fear of doing this myself and going to fast meant I spent the entire ride with my knees dug firmly into the sand which resulted in splitting my favourite trousers - that's what you get for being a thrill seeker haha!

After we dusted ourselves off as best we could (we had sand in places you should never have sand) we piled back onto the bus ready for the peak of our day trip - Cape Reinga. There are literally no words to describe how stunning it was there, as we arrived the rain clouds spread and made way for the blue sky and sunshine, the pictures here can do the talking.

Below was the money shot; everyone qued up for a photo on the edge:

The lighthouse and famous sign post stating the distance from that point to popular countries.

How staggeringly beautiful is Cape Reinga? Looking back over the photos I can't quite believe I was there, seems like a dream. 

The following day before we headed back to Auckland we took a quick dolphin boat trip back in Paihia with the possibility of swimming with dolphins. 

Being the animal lover I am I was naturally beyond excited at potentially swimming with these immense creatures but unfortunately the weather turned once we were out there and it wasn't possible. However seeing so many beautiful dolphins swimming next to the boat just about made up for it (just about!). 

As always with my experience of New Zealand on the return journey to Auckland we stopped on the side of the road and saw a beautiful waterfall:

And that concludes my trip to the North Island, next stop the South and the Bottom Bus; see you there!

HOLIDAY DIARIES: NEW ZEALAND THE NORTH ISLAND PART ONE

Hello loves!

(Firstly apologies for the huge delay in getting this post up, I've been incredibly busy with sorting my move to Manchester and my Mums wedding. Anyway without further ado here is part one of my holiday diaries to New Zealand!)

After a long and hungry 26 hour flight (the vegetarian options on the plane were unfortunately lacking) I arrived in the beautifully sunny New Zealand! My lovely school friend Kim and her boyfriend were nice enough to let me stay with them for part of my trip, they picked me up from the airport and brought me back to their gorgeous apartment. The majority of homes are built with wood and tin roofs with inspiration from classic villa style homes.

My first day consisted of lots of chat, laughter and food - the usual catch up scenario after one of your best friends moves away and you see her for the first time in a long time! That evening Kim and Chris treated me to dinner at Mexico an incredible little Mexican restaurant in the heart of Ponsonby where all the waitresses wear Mexican flowers in their hair, it was fantastic! 

I was travellling round New Zealand by myself most of the time so I chose to hop on the Kiwi Experience tour in two separate places to see as much as I could with the little time I had there, because of the dates of the tour I was backwards and forwards from North and South to fit them in. However for the purpose of this post and for ease I am splitting the posts into North Island and South Island.

Kim and I took a road trip to Rotorua to visit the famous Hells Gate hot mud spa and take a tour around a Mauori tribe. It was so much fun at the spa, sitting in gurgling hot mud baths with the sunshine beating down on your skin felt incredible, the sulfur baths you go in afterwards were very relaxing but stank to high heaven!

The Mauori tribe greeted our tour with a traditonal dance and proceeded to take us around their grounds showing us different areas of their lives; tradition games, trades and dances. We were then treated to a special performance, half an hour of traditional dance rituals and songs followed by an out of this world feast consisting of traditional meats, breads, potatoes, vegetables and puddings.

Driving back home the following day we stopped a few times to stand in awe at the beautiful scenery, Rotorua is known for its thermal activity as it lies on Rotorua caldera, the town is covered in bubbling mud pools and steaming lakes. 

Next stop was the Karanghake Gorge - one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever been too, it was so tranquil, the weather was stunning the the scenery was incredible. 

Next stop on our journey home was  a climb up/around Mount Maunganui, you could see for miles and it was littered with holiday makers and sheep!

And finally we stopped for lunch in Paeroa the town where New Zealand's famous L & P lemonade originated.

My first road trip ever was pretty spectacular! Other highlights of my time in Auckland were walking along the viaduct and watching the boats and the city pass us by, the botanical gardens, the fashion exhibition at the local museum, Mount Eden, the beach and my big jump off the highest point in Auckland, the sky tower! 

Mount Eden and The Viaduct - from the top of Mount Eden you can see everything, it was stunning and so interesting to see the city layout, so different to the UK such vast spaces of greenery and fields dotted between high rise buildings and housing estates.

Base jumping off the Sky Tower - I'm not going to lie, I was petrified! It was a beautiful day and I was standing with my toes over the edge of the platform looking down thinking why have I just paid to jump of a building?! They counted down 3, 2, 1 JUMP! and I just stood there, feet frozen to the spot shaking my head and then something came over me and I stepped over the edge and got the most incredible rush it was phenomenal! The jump was over in seconds and I landed on my feet at the bottom desperate to relive that moment, the utter sense of freedom I felt falling from the building with the wind rushing past my face and the array of huge buildings and water around me, perfection. 

The beach, a live band in central Auckland, the gorgeous vintage town Parnell and the Botanical Gardens - beach day was wonderful, slightly hungover from the party the night before we lay sprawled out on the beach for the majority of the day! Parnell is a gorgeous vintage style town with ice cream parlours, fabulous independent cafes and restaurants and a string of (expensive) little shops. The Botanical Gardens we visited on my second day along with the local museum which was so interesting and beautiful, an array of colours, smells and some of the tallest peculiar looking plants you will ever see.

Auckland is such a vibrant, busy, exciting city and one of the most fantastic things about New Zealand is that one minute you will be in the city centre and the next you are on the beach or climbing a fabulous mountain to see the views of the city, it really is the best of both worlds. 

A massive thanks to Kim and Chris for being amazing hosts and tour guides =)

Next stop on my holiday diaries is Paihia and Cape Reinga....

See you there!

MY FLORIDA DIARIES: PUNTA GORDA FISHING VILLAGE

Hello lovelies!

I recently came back from my two week summer holiday to Engelwood, Sarasota in Florida. We did so much there that I want to blog about but thought to make it easier I’d break it down into mini blog posts.

Punta Gorda Fishermans Village is located on the Port Charlotte Harbour and consists of a variety of shops and restaurants overlooking the pier. 

At the end of the parade of shops is Harpoon Harry’s  a gorgeous little restaurant bar overlooking the water. The food is freshly cooked to order and naturally being positioned on a pier the menu is heavily laden with fish.

After eating (the food was absolutely delicious every time) and watching the boats go out to sea for an hour or so we hit the shops. My two favourite shops were The Naples Soap Company and Dana Tyler Jewellery. Now if any of you have visited America before I don’t need to mention the impeccable customer service (if you haven’t it is unlike any customer service you will ever experience) however I felt the service in these two particular shops was above and beyond. 

I mentioned the Naples Soap Company in my previous post about Skin Care as I bought an incredible, natural face cream for $16. Along with the face cream I bought one of their supposedly famous Loofa Soaps  in key west lime. This product is fantastic to have, it smells incredible and is so handy to use on the feet or anywhere on the body you wish to exfoliate. They do wonderful loofa soap bags that you can mix and match the colours that would do perfectly as gifts. While in the shop we also tried their sea salt scrubs - I know there are a lot of these out there but honestly my hands felt like silk once I had dried them!                        I am always on the hunt for a new company that uses all natural products and doesn’t cost the earth I just wish they were here in the UK too! 

Dana Tyler jewellery was a shop that caught my eye straight away - mainly the shiny, glistening necklaces in the window! 

“We specialize in quality costume jewelry featuring high-end cubic zirconia, rhodium and 14kt gold plated collections.  We find great pleasure in sourcing the latest trends in fashion jewelry and we invite you to experience for yourself, our enthusiasm for exciting new styles by visiting one of our three boutiques located in Southwest Florida.” (http://danatyler.com/about-danatyler) 

After learning all about the company from the charming sales assistant I set about choosing my jewellery and I came away with two beautiful pieces.

The quality of these jewellery pieces is stunning, they look beautiful on and wear really well, I have worn the ring every day since I bought it and although I remove it to moisturise any other daily job it has come through unharmed!

I really would recommend this beautiful quaint fishermans village for the stunning views, delicious food (restaurants, frozen yoghurt, fresh icecream, fudge and sweets) and variety of gorgeous shops.

Have you been to Florida? Where are your unlikely finds?

Nicola x

HOLIDAY DIARIES: CORNWALL

Recently I returned to Newquay in Cornwall for a holiday with my boyfriend and his parents, I have to be honest after visiting Newquay at the age of 17 and 18 with a group of friends on a ‘clubbing holiday’ I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to go there for a relaxing holiday (as you will read my opinion changed very quickly! At the age of 17/18 you don’t appreciate the beauty around you but I more than made up for it this time, I think I am slightly in love with Cornwall).

After the 7 and a half hour train journey I pulled into Newquay station in the pouring rain and was driven to our gorgeous apartment over looking Fistral beach. The apartment had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen diner all great sized, very clean, minimalistic and modern (we booked our apartment here: http://fistrallife.co.uk/). We were very comfortable in the apartment and it was in a fantastic location but above all the best part of it was the view (picture below) - absolutely stunning, even on a cloudy day to look out over the sea, see the beach and the cliffs was wonderful and immediately calming - immediately I understand the call of Cornwall. 

We were so lucky with the weather, the rain fell for a little on our second day but every other day was bright, warm and sunny. We spent the whole holiday walking along the various beaches, sitting in pubs, eating some fantastic meals and walking along the cliffs looking at the views. There is something about the air around the coast and being by the beach that is so relaxing and comforting, I haven’t felt that relaxed and happy in a long time.

The food as I mentioned was fantastic - I am a vegetarian and a very fussy one at that, not one that often raves about food but wow I think I was made for Newquay food! I could not fault one meal we had, and for me that is a BIG deal! On our first evening we picked up a takeaway pizza from Rossi’s Pizzeria (http://www.pizzanewquay.com/) - oh my gosh delicious pizza! The base was thick and crispy but not too heavy, the toppings were very generous as was the helping of cheese and the seasoning they used! If you are visiting Newquay at any point I would definitely recommend a trip here, they also have a restaurant at the back of the takeaway.

 On our second day for lunch we visited The Central (http://www.thecentralnewquay.co.uk/) mainly for nostalgic reasons for me, the two years I visited Newquay in the past we spent most of our time here! I ordered a simple jacket potato with beans and cheese and it came with a fresh salad. The salad dressing was insanely good - sweet onion and poppy seed, YUM! Not only is the food good but they have a large amount of various sized televisions inside with comfy seats which we made the most of one afternoon while watching the cricket. That evening we went to a medieval themed restaurant which despite the dark lighting had very good food. 

Now I forget the order of the restaurants visited in the following days but two really stand out to me - Smuggler’s Den (http://www.thesmugglersden.co.uk/) and Lewinnick Bar and restaurant ( http://www.hospitalitycornwall.com/lewinnicklodge/).

Smuggler’s Den first of all - situated just outside of Newquay in a beautiful 16th century thatched pub. The ambiance was superb, exactly what you would expect from a cosy little country pub with loads of history and fantastic food thrown in. I had spinach and ricotta gnocchi with Chantilly carrots, asparagus and rocket salad followed by hazelnut and muscovado torte with vanilla ice cream. There are literally no words to describe how good this food was! My boyfriend (boreddrummer) and his family had the homemade char-grilled burger, the marinated lamb leg steak and the fillet steak again was all delicious.

Now for Lewinnick Bar and restaurant - a short drive or relaxed walk through the coastal paths to one of the most incredible views in the whole of Newquay (photo below of the sunset). The meal was delicious I had the best vegetarian burger I have ever had in my whole 25 years and a scrummy sticky toffee pudding for dessert with clotted cream, but the view was just breathtaking. 

Now I don’t believe you can visit the coast and not experience some cornish ice cream and a cream tea, so here is the one I tried (photos below). I chose cornish clotted cream fudge ice cream while Mr. Predictable chose strawberry although to give him credit it was exceptionally good!

The tea room we chose was a gorgeous little blue and white shabby chic miniature cafe slightly set back from the high street closer to Fistral beach. The homemade scones were huge in size and baked to perfection, slightly squigey in the middle but crisp on the outside and slices like butter - served warm with delicious clotted cream and strawberry jam on a gorgeous, dainty vintage tea set - wonderful. 

Shopping wise Newquay was naturally littered with surfing shops and outdoor, sporty style fashion. The little gems we found were the shabby chic-esq shops between the surf stores - some really cute pieces in there - plaques, models, photo frames and all the touristy tokens you would expect at any holiday destination. 

Although none of us were brave enough the try our hand at surfing the love of the sport is obvious from the minute you enter Newquay, people rushing home from work to surf on a good tide, the shops I mentioned before, the flocks of people walking through the town barefoot clutching their boards was lovely to be a part of for the week. We even wondered down to the beach for the night surfing and watched the fabulous firework display (photo below). 

Like I said before we spent most of the time walking the beaches and standing in awe at the sights so I will leave you with more photos of the spectacular views of my happy and relaxing trip to Newquay. I completely understand why Newquay and all of Cornwall are busy holiday desitinations and I will definitely be visiting more of Cornwall in the future, hopefully with the same people, Debbie, Steven and James Coxon who I would like to thank for making my holiday truly special and completely unforgettable.