North Island Mission Stage 2

On the Saturday evening we found a motel in a place called Kati Kati. After pretty much no sleep the night before we crashed out and looked forward to a day of driving on the Sunday and most importantly driving during the day so that we could see the countryside!!

On the left is a map of the North Island of New Zealand (click for a larger Version).
The red line is the route we took on Highway 1 North, past Lake Taupo and up to Auckland.

We travelled back eastwards via the bay of Plenty and Kati Kati is about where the "B" of Bay is!
We headed East along the coast after stopping in a place called Te Puke(pronounced "Tee-pook-ay") for breakfast. We Drove through the most amazing gorges and forests with roads that just twisted and winded for ages. They were really fast flowing roads and with Ricky Jervais and Karl Pilkinton on the ipod for company we racked up thye miles.
The landscape changed so rapidly. The thing that struck me most was the various types of trees all amoungst each other. There were pine forests with decidious trees together with Palms trees! It was like the enviroment couldn't make up its mind!
You felt that at some point a dinosaur would come wandering out of the trees.

All that you may have seen and heard of the landscape inNew Zealand is true. All the back drops on Lord Of The Rings really are how New Zealand is. The Mountains and the Valleys, the sheep, and there are LOADS of sheep ( steady Matt...! plenty to go round!!!!) the forests and the views are all just breath taking.
I know for a fact that we will head this way again. It has a feel of Canada to it in some parts and then it feels like a greener version of Australia in others.
If you have thought at some point that you may visit NZ and drive around for a month... do it. Its a very special place.


As we headed South back towards Lake Taupo we stopped of at a Maori village near Rotorua.
The area all around Rotorua has loads of natural hot springs. Towers of hot steam coming from the ground are dotted all over the place.

"Rotorua is a smallish city on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The surrounding areas are a geothermal wonderland, with geysers, boiling mud pools, and steaming craters - accompanied by the pervasive smell of sulphur. Rotorua is also a showcase of Maori cultural activities, a centre of tourism and a place of extraordinary natural beauty."

It is a beautiful location thats for sure. Saying that though there is one thing that strikes you as soon as you get anywhere near..."the pervasive smell of sulphur" !!!
Basically ... rotten eggs...! bad ones at that !
You do get used to it but it does make you cough to start with. My eyes started watering but strangley i got used to it quicker than Tim did (?)
We wandered around an old Maori village where the Maori still live and work. The kids were all playing in the hot water of the river while all the tourists threw money into the water for them to dive for.
In the middle of the village the pools are very hot and there are massive amounts of steam that you cant even see through! Now remember that this same steam is sulphur (eggs) and you have some kind of idea what it may be like to walk through a baking hot cloud of stinking steam!

I beautiful place with really friendly people but out 1 hour there was long enough.
Onward South we went!

North Island Mission

With the house sorted and my time at the hotel drawing to a close the next thing to do was buy a car . As most of you know im a VW driver back in the UK. (oh how i miss that car!) So my mision was to spend a weekend looking at Beetles and see if i could find a decent one.
I found a mechanic in Wellington by the name of Lane. Great bloke who seems to do work on VW 's as a hobby rather than a business. He just seems to be doing the "hobby" all the time. a great contact to make even if he does like his later water-cooled models more!!

So i did some digging and i organised to see three beetles over the course of the weekend. all pre 1957 Oval windows and all in various conditions. All based in and around Auckland which is about a 7 hour drive from Wellington !(yeah Right!)
Tim and I set off after work on the friday night and headed north. The roads are a pleasure to drive on , especially in a nice fast hire car! As soon as you leave Wellington you join a motorway. Now most people wiill see in their minds eye the M25 or M1 ... nothing like that.. these are traffic free roads with beautiful mountains on either side. Much nicer driving conditions!
Pretty soon the motorway becomes a one lane fast flowing road that has passing lanes every few KM. You twist and wind through the countryside and along the coastal road as you head Northwards.
Im not sure who told us it was a 7 hour drive. They lied because it took us over 9 hours and we didn't stop on the way exept to refuel! As i got dark Tim and I decided to press on as we were both still very awake and thought it would be a good idea to try and make it to Auckland that night(bad decision right Tim !)
At one point we realised that the stars were really bright. We felt like we were very high up in comparasion to all the valley driving that we had been doing. We stopped and got out of the car and with no artificial light at all we were greeted by the most stunning star-filled sky!
It was pretty amazing!
Constalations that you know and recognise were super bright and the band that is the Milky Way was so clear it was amazing!(Tim says i use that word too often?)
The last 3 or 4 hours drive was done by Tim(thanks mate) and i had a kip ! Who says im like my Dad ??

Auckland is a strange place and not what i expected at all. There is one motorway that runs through the centre of the city and you have to drive if you want to go anywhere. Its a confusing place with little or no sign posts once you leave that lovely motorway.
We found an area with loads of motels but they were all full.! Completely full ! After a short while we realised why... U2 had been playing a concert just down the road and as a result.. yep we could find no where to stay !

Tim said he knew a place out of town and had stayed there before. It was now nearing 4am as we headed NOrth again. We found the area he had previously visited but the story was the same. We ended up sleeping in the car by the beach ! It wasn't too bad but i cant say either of us slept very well. All part of the adventure though i say!

The following morning ( well i say morning ... it was about 3 hours later !!) we headed of to see car number one. Now i wont go into details about the three cars as i will send all of you (except maybe E and Damon) to sleep!
All of them needed work done. One was in top condition but drove really badly, one was in need of work but the guy wanted too much for it, and the last one.. well the less said about that the better!! It had been "restored" a few years ago and one quick look under the carpets at the heater channels made me nearly faint. What was welded must have been done by a blind man or a four year old!! The guy wanted 10000nz dollars (3500 uk) for it !!

Two hopes mate !

Home..

Calling home is something you have to time well. You either get hold of people as they are off to bed and are tired. Or you get hold of them in the morning when they are waking up.
I called Mum and Dad last night to say hi and to see how it was all going.


A small amount of panic rose as I ask Dad " Hows things?" and the reply was a paused..." we're ok..."
"We're fine."
I knew straight away something had happened.

They had been to a family friends wedding and Mum had had another seizure.

Dad explained that Mum had felt a bit odd(no change there then!!!) after looking towards the flashing lights at the wedding disco. Mum said that she wasn't feeling great and needed to get away from the lights. A wise move ther i think!
They were escorted to a room and on the bed , in a controlled enviroment, Mum had a seizure. In comparasion to the other seizures that Mum has had this one was very minor. Thats great news as the drugs to counter act the seizures must be working. Mum came around within ten minutes , knew who and where she was and what had happened.
The ambulance arrived quickly and Mum was discharged after a short while and they then drove back to Fleet and the security of their own bed.
It sounds as if once again Dad has been the tower of strength and a rock for Mum in all this. The outward calmness and positive thinking that he projects can omly be good for all involved , especially Mum. Good work Dad and you know that we are all here for you should you need it.
Mum was up and about the next day and they even made it to Linda and Graham Hix's sunday lunch! A not to be missed occasion so im told as Linda is a Whizz in the kitchen! The fact that they were able to go there the very next day raises a smile on my face and should re-assure everyone that epilepsy is an illness that can be controlled and doesn't have to disrupt the everyday patterns of normal life.
Im so glad you are feeling better Mum and i cant wait to see you at Christmas.

Flashing lights have got to be one of the most common causes of an epileptic fit or seizure for people who have no or little knowledge on the subject. Like me !
I have been reading alot about epilepsy and in particular the connection it has with occuring post-operation.
For a general overview this site has been very helpful.

http://www.epilepsy.com/101/ep101_symptom.html

It talks about how sufferers can feel before a seizure occurs. How they can sense its arrival.
What brings them on and how they can be treated. An informative read and i reccomend it to all.

More on The house

I spoke to my brother Gary yesterday and he said he wanted to see more pictures of the house.... so Gaz... here you go.... more to come as soon as i move in at the weekend.


The last picture is of the view from halfway up the steps to the house. The present owners were in so i had to be sneaky for these pics!


The picture of the road, yes i know its dull, but this is Knoll Street. I'd say its a a 1in2 gradient hill !!! OK, maybe not that steep but crikey its steep!!! I went round there today in my new car (more later on that adventure!) and it struggled to get up the hill ! I nearly burnt the clutch out!

The house itself is stunning. Amazingly decorated with good sized bedrooms and bathrooms.
The kitchen, living room and dining area are all open plan at the back of the property with several sets of glass doors that open onto a huge deck and a beautiful vista over Island bay.

I dont actually have a picture of the view as im waiting to see it first hand as i move in on Saturday.

You can all see it first hand too when you come and visit me and Jo !!

Mr President ?

Arriving in new country is always a bit strange. I remember landing in Canada with Damon a few years ago and we had no idea at all where to go or stay. We did eventually sort a hotel and worked out how to get there from the airport.

Landing in New Zealand was a whole different ball game!!

I had a window seat on the small plane that took me from Sydney to Wellington. An amazing flight was had chatting with the old lady next to me and looking out the window at the amazing landscape as we flew over New Zealand.

From the Air the land is green like the UK. But its rugged mountains and coastline take your breath away. As you bank round to line up for Wellington you fly over the islands at the north tip of the north Island. Put it this way, when Jo arrives we are going there for sure!!!

My flight arrived at 2.30pm and i knew a representative from my new work would be there to meet me. I collected my bags and was quickly through customs after being told that although i was good of me to declare my Jar of Marmite i really didn't need to !
Matty from Weta was there with a warm smile and a firm handshake. We sorted the hire car and he drove me to the hotel.
My friend Pete had told me about the Duxton Hotel. He had nodded in appreciation and said
"ummm.... you'll like it there!"

How right he was !

I was warmly greeted at the 5 star hotels rececption and told i was in room 801.
"They sure are looking after you aren't they Mr Phillips?" said the guy behind the desk.
I smiled wondering how he knew that up to now i hadn't paid for a thing as ALL bills were going to Weta..
"801 is the Presidential Suite Sir!" he continued..
i looked at Matty who raised his eyebrows and smiled.

We headed up in the lift and reached the 8th floor. Directly in front of the lift door is a big board telling you which way certain room numbers are.
There in Big bold Letters..

Presidential Suite .... right...

At the very end of the corridor was a door. Unlike all the others it had a door bell.
In hindsight this should have given me some indication on the size of the rooms (plural!!!) that i was about to enter !
Card in door ... open and in we go ...

"Holy SH*T !" were Matty's first words!

The place was HUGE !
A massive living room, 2 sofas and two arm chairs. Dining table for 6. A bar! Two bathrooms, one with huge shower and jacuzzi bath. A big bedroom and the widest bed i have ever seen!

All in all i was wondering why they had put me in there on my own?
Its been great staying there for two weeks and they really look after you. They park the car, give you a paper every morning. Serve you amazing breakfasts in the 9th floor Club lounge.!

On my last weekend i went away for a couple of days with my mate Tim.(More on that mission Later!) On leaving the hotel i thought i'd let them know that i wouldn't be there for a couple of nights. It was like telling your parents that you are heading off for the weekend!
When i came back it was like i was coming home. Very strange!

So for two weeks i WAS Mr President. Ok , so i got some odd looks from people in the other rooms who would see me coming in and out and probably thought i was robbing the place !
One guy in particular had a huge shock when i opened the door with my crazy morning haircut and in my pj's to get my neatly wrapped newspaper. I m sure he thought someone older and more important looking should be in that room! Very funny.

I have resigned my duties now and have moved into more homely surroundings . The spare room at Tims place.

Island Bay

Wellington is a great place to be.The pace is slower than London. A lot slower !
The air is cleaner. I'm sure on my return to London that will be one thing that i really notice.
Its a clean city and has a North American feel to the place with the cars , road signs and $$'s. The people are friendly and welcoming. When you walk into a shop , bar or restaurant its all really friendly.
The banks are the most friendly.! I'm sure the magic "Weta" word brings out extra helping hands but whatever it is its re-freshing.
Having the sea close by is great.It just makes you feel alive each morning to drive round three or four bays to work with the sun out, the winds blowing and no traffic. !! Yes that's right ... a drive that takes ten minutes ALWAYS takes ten minutes! Whether in rush hour or in the middle of the day its the same. I love that about this place.!



Do i miss the tube and the chaos of getting to Soho?
not a bit !

The city is surrounded by mountains. Not snow capped ones but mountains none-the-less. There are allot of steep hills that's for sure but the architecture is so varied. No two houses are the same and it creates a feeling of individuality. Some are on the beach. Some up on the cliffs, balanced on the edge with their own private cable car that takes the owners to their front door!
Some are in the lower lying areas. Out of the wind and having all day sun(when its not raining!!)

There are so many lovely areas of Wellington it took a while for me to work out where i wanted to live aswell as where i could afford. Jopsy (my friend from London who has also been here before) lived at a Place called Karaka Bay. Lovely place but well out of my price range !! Pete if you are reading this you really should have bought that pad mate ! then i wouldn't have to have gone through all this house hunting crap!!

After looking at several areas i decided that Island bay was the winner for me. Its out of town, on the beach, good shops nearby and a nice little community. Its quiet which is good for the cat (as well as me!) and the drive to work is all along the sea front! Perfect!
Renting here is not cheap. There are no one bed flats. Everything out of town is a house. A three or four bedroom house. After viewing loads of properties with various degrees of living standards i found a gem of a place just up from the sea that was fully furnished.
I went and viewed it and took it there and then. The views are to die for and the house itself is very well decorated. There is also a garage which strangely enough might just fit a VW beetle in it !!

Endless Airtime

Ive done the Australia flight a couple of times and its always been OK. This time i was really nervous. More with anticipation of the whole adventure than just the flight i think.
Mum, Dad, Joanna and my sister Lisa all arrived at Heathrow with loads of time before my flight. Did the usual check in and managed to get my seat changed to a window seat ! Result... or so i thought. the seat of regret i think it should be called!
Flying on your own is always an odd experience. Admittedly it was really nice to stop and do nothing as i had been running around non-stop for the past few weeks but you always hope that you are sat next to someone who you are going to be able to tolerate for the next 21 hours.
21 hours in a chair anywhere is a long time.
21 hours in a chair next to someone bending your ear about everything thats ever happened in their life could be life threatening.
Boarding the plane I am always nervous about my possible future flight partner. With a window seat you will always need them to get up to let you out so you hope that they haven't loaded themselves up with Valium and as a result are comatosed forthe entire flight rendering you trapped.
As i headed up the plane I'm counting the seats. Trying to work out in advance where i am. For a moment I think that I'm on the exit seats ..... leg room for even the tallest of men , no asking every time you need to go to the loo. No chance ! I'm in the seat behind.
Next to me is a gent in his sixties , slim build and looks the quiet type. By the isle is his wife. a larger lady with her hands clasped on her lap reminding me of Les Dawson !~

They seems nice enough but as the hours went on i realized that the odors that i thought were coming from being so close to the kitchen were in fact from my new flight friends!!
I wont go into details but i had two toilet trips in 21 hours of flying!
I just couldn't handle the senses overload that occurred as they vacated their seats!!
The last two hours i actually had to hold my nose!

No wonder the seat was free!

The rest of the flight was fine. Its a long time sat down with crappy films but it was OK. With a stop off in the new Bangkok airport (above) and in Sydney, i felt like i had been flying for three days by the time I landed in Windy Wellington.

Leaving it all....

Im never good with flying. Or with goodbyes. Having both at the same time is just a bit too much .
It had been a very hectic few weeks of constant organisation. Add the 7 days a week work that i was trying to do after a summer of relaxing and it was becoming a logistical nightmare!
"Deligate!" were the words of a wise man. So i did.

There was so much to do but i was well aware of everything that needed to be done and the order in which to do them all. The only mistake i think that i made was to have a Wisdom tooth removed if those last couple of weeks! It needed doing but to say it hurt is an understatment!!

The flat had to be re-funished and i had decided to do alot of re-painting on the outside of the property. All alot of work but well worth it in the end.
THe flat then needed to be rented out and after some sound advice and some thorough investigations a company Called Purple Property took it off my hands and found me the nicest Italian couple to live in my flat and look after it for me.

All of my stuff went into storage. Decks, records, skateboards, snowboard, BMX's (yes , more than one!!) Leaving me with one bag of belongings.
If you have ever had to do a similar thing you will know that you quickly realise how much crap you have accumilated over time and how much of it you never even look at .
That describes nearly all my things!

The beetle ( ahh poor Bella!) got a new winter jacket and a new guardian. Thanks Damon!
The Puck got a home just accross the road from the Bug and has some bikes and furniture for company.

With the teeth fixed and the bags packed we were quickly approaching leaving day. I knew saying goodbye to Joanna would be tough but saying farewell to Mum would be even harder.
Mum has had a really tough year. She's such a trooper its untrue! January last year Mum had a tumour removed from her head. The procedure itself went really well and she recovered quickly. Unfortunatley she had a set back whilst still in hospital as a sezure took hold due to her salt levels being so low. It was a scary time for us all. Mum doesn't remember anything and its probably better that way. Dad found it hard im sure but as soon as he knew she was on the mend and no perminant damage had been done he found his feet and was a rock for us all.
Mum left hospital after a week or so. All was going well until the summer when she had another seziure. This time she was at home. Dad was woken up by her kicking and thrashing. Holding her down, he called and then waited for an ambulance .for 45 minutes he waited with no knowledge at all of what was happening and what was going on.
I still can't quite get my head around how horrible that must have been.