Kaiaua Beach Horse Races, Tolaga Bay

Racing this time at Kaiaua Beach Horse Races … Posse won race 2 with Lady Gaga coming home fourth; don’t know about race 1, we were getting the car stuck in a paddock; race 3 was a 22 horse race, our lucky dip pick Sarge came second but first place is the only one that pays at Kaiaua, it was Mac that stormed down the beach to take first and pay $10 the win ….

Time for hot chips and a bet on race 4, Posse took the win again with Lady Gaga in at fourth, what are the chances?; … Read the rest

Happy New Year from the Skinny Dip Capital of the World

NEWS FLASH 😉 – It’s official, Gisborne now hold the Guinness World Record for Largest Skinny Dipping (744 people)! (Update: On 8 March 2015 The Fig Group in Australia set a new world record with 786 people).

People have been getting their gear off around the world to try and beat the skinny dipping world record currently held by 729 people who bared all at a Spanish beach in July. In the naked queue for the record were 805 people who took to the water in November at a clothes optional beach in Florida, but they didn’t have adequate photographic … Read the rest

Agrodome Rotorua – Who Let The Ducks Out?

It’s the odour that hits you first at the Agrodome Farm Show in Rotorua – the smell of sheep replaces the reek of rotten eggs. If you’ve been in a shearing shed it’s a familiar aroma, if not, the smell is soon forgotten as 19 breeds of sheep run on stage and take their places on the podium.

Among them the hardy Merino, a breed that originated in Spain but now roams high country farms in the South Island, and my favourite, the Lincoln, the curly dreadlocks from Lincolns once dressed the wigs of barristers. I didn’t know there was … Read the rest

What does a knitting machine mechanic do in his spare time?

Update: The shop at 10 Wilson Street in Geraldine that housed the mosaic and giant jersey has closed.

One knitting machine mechanic broke the teeth off industrial knitting machine disks until he had 1,500,000 pieces. He then stuck those 1,500,000 pieces down with masking tape until he had a 34 metre metal canvas. Why? He wanted to re-create a mosaic version of the Bayeux Tapestry, and after 20 years of breaking, sticking, drawing and painting, Michael Linton did it!

Given Michael’s dedication it might not come as a surprise that there is more to the mosaic than meets the … Read the rest

Oamaru – where beer was once more popular than water

Prior to 1880 it was easier to get a beer in Oamaru than it was to get a decent glass of water. In the late 1800’s there were a few breweries, 17 hotels and 32 unlicensed grog shops to quench the local thirst.

These days Oamaru’s water supply gets good grades, and although Prohibition stopped the beer flowing for over 50 years, today you can get a beer in two hotels that served the locals in the 1880’s – The Criterion and Brydone Hotel* (formerly Queen’s Hotel).

The hotels are just two of the many impressive limestone buildings … Read the rest

Jaffa racing….sort of

Every year in July thousands of giant jaffas used to race down Baldwin Street in Dunedin as part of the Cadbury Chocolate Carnival, however Cadbury World has now closed. The jaffas raced down New Zealand’s steepest street to raise money for charity, each race had around 25,000 numbered jaffas! We decided to hold a race on a more modest scale – one packet of jaffas.

Media turned out in unprecedented numbers 😉 to record the event. I can imagine the comments from the couch when watching the home video – weird woman, and losing marbles may be mentioned. Although as … Read the rest

Supernatural St Bathans?

Legend has it the Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans is haunted, some say by a ‘lady of the night’. A Paranormal Investigator checked in back in 2011, he checked out with no definitive paranormal proof but was spooked enough to turn on the light to investigate strange happenings before his stay was over.

In 2010 there was a supernatural image in the post office window – or was it a cloud? Who knows, but there may be somethin’ strange in the neighbourhood.

The Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans – raise a glass with the ghosts ….

The man-made Blue LakeRead the rest

Unusual fences

Some of the unusual fence decor we’ve seen around New Zealand ……

Coffee cup fence at Krafty Cups in Rahotu (Taranaki)

Children’s Toy Wall in Eltham (Taranaki)  ….. the toy wall on Bridger Lane is said to have started when Fay Young found a toy car outside her property. She put the car on her garden wall so it might be found by its owner, it was never claimed.

Fay embedded the car into the wall and it started a toy story in cement that grew as children donated toys for the collection. Fay passed away in 2000, she generously … Read the rest

Curiously Cool in Queenstown

Below Zero Ice Bar was a bit like a 3D New Zealand tourism brochure in ice, if you melted the polar bear. Although the polar bear’s handy for holding vodka bottles, and plenty of vodka is needed to fill the ice glasses with Perky Penguin and Chilled Kiwi cocktails.

The ice sculptures have changed since our visit, the jet boat may have gone but the gondola remains. The gondola comfortably seats two, although getting up close and personal isn’t a bad idea. After 30 minutes or so in Below Zero you’ll feel the cold begin to creep under the standard … Read the rest