More of Eastcape

Part of itineraries to Eastcoast is to go to the East capeLighthouse. Well, this would be the 2nd lighthouse I have visited in NZ. The first being the Cape reinga lighthouse. Anyhow, we had quite a drive. It was some 22km of mostly unsealed no exit road. We past by more coastal views, and then we saw the lighthouse from afar on the hill. As we drove nearer, we found out that we actually had to climb up. Unlike the Cape reinga, which is just literally a few steps from the carpark, this one is 700 odd steps away! We nearly didn't want to climb but jake insisted we do. So after slapping ourselves with sunblock, we started our climb. Some of the steps are quite steep. We took turns carrying N. He was busy absorbing his surrounding. We had to stop for a few break as we were running out of breath. At some point, I told pinkcocoa, i think my heart is going to leap out ..

The scenery was worth the climb. We see green pasture and sea on our way up...and then it was the lighthouse. I also learn that this lighthouse is the most easterly point of the mainland New Zealand so it is the first place to see the sunrise in the world.

Below were the last 20-30steps to the peak. Jake was pretty exhausted and we agreed to let N did a bit of climbing himself. he was stoked ;)

N climbed for about a minute or 2.



There is pretty beaches beneath; N busy going round the lighthouse (he even attempted to lick it *Yuck i know) ..The lighthouse looks to the 'east island'. On the way down, we saw two butterflies (moth??) flying and N was busy trying to pick flowers from the ground.

laughter is the best medicine

I received my orchid club newsletter today. The editor also our president, G loves to insert jokes here and there in the newsletter. Hope the ones below brings a smile to your face :)


TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

PRISON: The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you
WORK: You must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself

MORE ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
Uncertainty has now hit Japan. In the last seven days, Origami bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank has announced plans to cut some of its branches. Yesterday, it was also announced that Karaoke Bank will go up for sale and will likely go for a song, while shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended today after they nose-dived. Samurai Bank is soldiering on after sharp cutbacks, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

Around NZ - Eastcape manuka

It was a brief stop so we could stretch our legs. Most importantly, it was to let N run about so he would tire himself and then go for another nap. Eastcape manuka sells mostly honey related products besides selling lunch/light meals. We got to taste several types of honey, ie. the pohutukawa, rewarewa, manuka just to name a few.

A bee pollinating the Hebe plant (NZ native).

N having sensory fun. Touching the small stones.

Touching the flower.

Around NZ - driving to eastcape

It was a very scenic drive but it was also very windy. So poor me and N got a little car sick sitting at the back.

We even came across a herd of pig family crossing the road. Pinkcocoa being a pig fan, can't help but photograph them.

More sceneries of the east coast.

Our first stop for us to 'relief' ourselves and N took the opportunity to read the map for us :)

Around NZ - Port Ohope

Whakatane is a beautiful city. There were lots of beaches. (see above) Our task was to find an accomodation for ourselves since we made no pre-bookings. We drove past the motel strip which all showed No vancancy. Someone recommended us to try the Ohope beach area. We went and again, the motels were all taken. We were thinking of driving to the next town to search for our accomodation until we came across this B&B sign. It still has 'VACANCY' sign on.Me and pinkcocoa and N went to search for the house and jake tried ringing the hosts as the house has a hidden entrance from the main road. We were so fortunate for Mary and Barry who took us in. they are the nicest couple. We have our own ensuite and room access and we look outside to the gorgeous gardens (See pic below)

We asked where we can find fish and 'chups' ..hehe. (Still sticking to introducing kiwi things to pinkcocoa).M&B suggested we could try the port ohope F&C. So off we went. the queue was pretty long( above pic)...we had to wait about 20mins for our dinner to arrive.

Our dinner - the fish, the potato and kumara chips.

Port Ohope at dusk. Many people fishing at the jetty. An old uncle was very eager to show N what he has caught. pic was taken before our dinner arrived.

After dinner. The sky has changed colour.

Mary and Barry's garden. It's simply gorgeous. She had mostly NZ natives and also some veges patch(tomato and zuchinni)
and herbs planted in terracota pots.

During breakfast, we had cereals and toasts and tea. Jake had eggs (poached). Jake can't stop praising Mary's poached eggs. they were really perfect. ( not sure if he's hinting for me to poach eggs for him but honey, my poached eggs won't look like Mary's .hehehe.)
We tried some nice jams and it turned out to be home made PLUM jam. Mary had to give us a bottle to take home.

Around Nz - Berry picking

About 30mins away from Whakatane, we stopped by Julian's berry farm. it's a fun time for us. We got a box of mix berries and we get to pick them ourselves. there must be 40 rows of them. We are free to roam and pick them. N had a blast picking them and tasting them. The blackcurrant were tarty though. In fact in my opinion, they taste the worst amongst all the berries on that day.

In the cafe, there's also jam kit , jam and fresh berries etc for sale. Definitely a good little stop if you are on your way to Whakatane.

Around NZ Part 1

After boxing day, we went on a short trip. We were planning to bring Pinkcocoa to New Plymouth but we changed our plan to go to the East Coast instead.

First we stopped by the flea market. Pinkcocoa was quite surprised how much the market reminds her of the pasar back home. We have lots of fresh produce here and there's all sorts of veggies for sale. Round eggplant, taro leaves, you can find almost anything at the market.

There were also stalls selling Pasifika stuffs. And stalls selling GOLD jewellery. It said on the card there's lifetime warranty and it's real gold but would you sell real gold at a market and not worried about getting robbed.



Introduced the fried donut to Pinkcocoa.Besides the hamburger stalls, there's also the Chinese BBQ stall, pork buns and the 'hangi' stall. Hangi is the Maori way of cooking meat and veggies in the ground.





L&P - NZ's national drink. When pinkcocoa asked me to introduce 'kiwi' things to her, I asked her to try the drink. Also brought her to Paeroa where the drink was first manufactured and got her to pose with the giant bottle. Paeroa is also called the Antique town of NZ for their row of antique stores on the main street.

We then went to karagahake gorge by the waihi river. Did a small tramping and N enjoyed the scenery and the plants available. We went on the suspension bridge and also showed pinkcocoa the tunnel which used to transport gold from the mines. The tunnel is not lighted at all so we didn't walk in it this time.

Next was lunch at Millsreef Winery about 10mins away from the city of Tauranga. I tasted
three types of wine before buying a Sauv Blanc. We settled for the mixed platter and chips. Lunch was beautiful..but we couldn't finish the blue cheese. it's just a little overpowering.
Above N having a ball on the grass. There's a group of toddler and kids too around, so the place was quite busy. At some point, N walked to a girl toddler and they were like 2 inches apart. Me and the girl's dad watched and see what they were going to do. It's amusing. The girl's dad got his camera and took some pic. I left my camera at the table so I could only watch. the girl soon turned away:P hehehe.

After lunch, we showed pinkcocoa the city of tauranga, which is famous for dolphin watching and also went to Mt Maunganui which is the 'gold coast' of NZ. (A mini version). The beach was filled with people.

We then drove to Te Puke whe re the giant kiwi is located. If you wonder, the kiwi fruits are planted in rows like the grapes in the vineyard. We wanted to get kiwi fruit ice cream but the cafe was closed for private function. Bummer!So we just spent a bit of time resting before continuing with our journey.

Another 1.5 hours - 2hours drive, we stopped by a Blueberry cafe/farm. This time we get to have the ice cream we were due to have at te Puke. Pinkcocoa had the blueberry ice-cream while jake went for the mixed berries yoghurt. N just wanted to get on the ground to play. Fortunately there's many things to keep him amuse at this little stop.

N probably learned how to "BAAAA" after seeing the little lamb. He also wanted to touch the chooks behind the wires. imagine the free range eggs the owners get to harvest. N then spent a long time playing with the trolley. Took me and pinkcocoa a few tries to coax him back into the car.

To be continued ....

Steamboat

pic courtesy of pinkcocoa
On NYE(New year's eve), we had steamboat again. We had all sorts of fishballs, mushroom dumpling. tofu, salmon etc. and veggies.
we had miso flavour broth. Wondering what everyone uses on the broth?
Do share ...

Christmas Menu

This year, jake decided to have a bbq for christmas day. I told him that Christmas won't be the same without a turkey and ham. So at the 11th hour, we rushed out to the supermarket to get turkey and a tiny ham. We also have invited a friend over and had pinkcocoa staying with us during this festive time. So this is what we had...
For entree, we had Berry Friands and christmas mince pie, and some biscuits etc. The lovely mince pie and biscuits are from my friend M.

The entree

The Lamb shank

Marinated wings - jake has marinated a few flavours.

The turkey

Self-crusting broccoli tart

There's also the simple salad that I posted in my previous post.

Simple salad

pic courtesy of pinkcocoa

This is an incredibly easy salad recipe that I came across from Food Network.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes
Cucumber
Avocado
Olive oil
salt & pepper
lemon juice (I omitted this as I don't have any)

Cut tomatoes into wedges, and slice cucumber thinly. You could choose to deseed or keep the seed. I deseeded mine.
I cubed the avocado and scooped them out.
Mix the ingredients altogether and use Salt & pepper to taste. The creamy avocado realy coats the cucumber and tomatoes well...
It's a really easy dish to whip in the hot summer month.

Mozart in the making?

N playing (more like banging) on the digital piano. He also especially loves playing with the button (to change sound etc).
Pic taken early December.

Manchester part 2

jakes cousin brought us to the Lowry centre, Trafford centre etc..above are just another sampler of manchester, mostly of the Lowry centre.

happy new year , and more travelogue

happy new year everyone from our myself, jake and Noel. 2008 has been great. wishing everyone had a blessed and joyful 2009.

i attached the above photo sampler of our trip to Manchester. we took the train from London to manchester.

Photo sampler from birthday

The Birthday party

We celebrated N's birthday on 15 Nov which fell on saturday. we invited our friends from LG and choir, and jake's colleague and boss who's N's godgrandpa:) and his friends from creche.

Party started at noon time but we started the prepration much earlier than that.

We got a two tiered cake and as you can see, it was a pig cake and it drove the kids nuts.

The theme was jungle party but we've dressed N up in his grandparents present (the tux) so i think the official theme should be james bond in the jungle.

Round and Round

this was taken on late November, a week after N's birthday.

have tried to upload several times, but it didn't attach properly.