By us both
Introduction
Trenna and I liked to record information about our holidays. Below is the travel diary Trenna kept on her iPad of a trip to the North Island of New Zealand from 11 November 2016 to 22 November 2016. The only time we went there, and our last overseas trip together.
It was a trip that turned out like nothing we were expecting, due to an untimely and devastating earthquake. I have written a brief account of that part of the trip HERE.
Trenna has obviously used the voice typing facility on her iPad to do the various entries, and it looks like she has never finished going back over it and correcting the many errors that occurred when the machine misinterpreted what she was trying to say.
So in preparing this post in 2024 I have gone over it and made corrections and provided a bit more punctuation than the iPad thought necessary.
Usually I can make a good guess at what it should say, but inevitably there are a few phrases that I just can’t guess what Trenna said originally.
So here comes the North Island Travel Diary. Just a quick bit of background. I had a conference to attend in Wellington at the start of the trip, and after that we were going to have a holiday exploring the North Island. We were flying business class to see if that had less impact on Trenna’s body.
That decision proved to not be such a good one. You can read about that HERE.
Anyway, here is how it all went.
Travel Diary Entries
NZ NORTH ISLAND 11/11/16 – 22/11/16
Depart Perth
ACROD – [disability parking permit] Not available unless done well ahead, at least 1 month & costs about $35 so we didn’t get one.
Thursday 10 November 2016
N.B., day before departure, starting to get gear together, by noon I am almost delirious with fatigue & particularly sore feet.
Fri 11/11
3:30 Hel kindly drove us to the airport.
Same old thing, luggage drop off, customs, security then to business lounge which I was way underwhelmed with. It was functional, small but really had no pleasant ambience. [GM in 2024: We flew Qantas there, and Air New Zealand for the return trip.]
We found seats at the end of the room and so did a group of returning Kiwis who were from Russell Mil Lighting company. They became progressively louder and bawdier as the drinks came.
A couple of Kiwis came to join the already 8 men, one had long hair with a knotted bun, the more senior guys kept shushing him because he was swearing but the other guy was sent on his way because of his inability to stop swearing and keep a civil tongue.
Greg relaxed with a scotch on the rocks and some antipasti, I stuck to the water really wasn’t at all a classy joint.
Sat 12/11
Business class was flash and more personal. We were offered glasses of French champagne or juice when we were seated. Greg took some French champagne.
I was not interested but as the economy people boarded quite a lot of them had looks of envy as we were lounging sipping champers.
The attendants knew our names, and took Greg’s jacket to hang up. A female attendant offered me assistance.
She was aware I had sight problems. I declined extra help, however the layout of the seats had a barrier between Greg and I which meant that we had to lean forward on an angle to speak to each other.
Greg had difficulty hearing me, so it meant each time we spoke he had to walk round the plane to get to my side of the aisle to speak to me.
I got distressed and teary because I wanted the experience to be enjoyable and helpful but I found it just more confronting because I couldn’t see what I was doing in my little nook without having Greg easily accessible. I also felt very uncomfortable which I shouldn’t have.
Our meals were fancy but not particularly what we were looking for. They didn’t appeal.
I found it incredibly hard to try and get comfortable on the bed. Our breakfast was hopefully going to be fruit salad with yoghurt but that was forgotten to be packed onto the plane so we had an egg and spinach omelette with semi-dried tomato on top, neither of us could eat it.
Not long on the plane, a flight attendant offered to make up our beds. OK. She put a thin mattress over our seats which just helps soften them and warm the leather seats. We had a pillow and a duvet.
Later on male attendant who had an infectious, giggly laugh offered us Qantas pyjamas (both M/L size). Greg was given a vanity pack and me a ladies pack.
Greg watched a documentary on his pod’s screen. I found the next series of Suits which I hoped would relax me and maybe help me nod off. That worked but I had difficulty sleeping, though I did get an hour or so when I finally was able to roll onto my left side.
However I did come off the plane with ‘bouncy syndrome’. We had quite a number of bouts of turbulence which wouldn’t have helped. We arrived in Auckland around 6 AM.
We did have to go through customs and pick up our luggage because we were catching another plane at the domestic airport. When we went to check our luggage in we discovered that we had to wait at least an hour – 8am before we could check it in. The attendant did all the other paperwork though.
We went off to find ourselves a cafe where we could get some OJ and yoghurt which we did. We sat in a nook around the corner from the cafe which was quite private and isolated from the main area of the airport, although we could hear all of the loudspeaker announcements and so on.
We were sitting on a very worn, poorly aged vinyl banquette which was heavily split open, like they had been in a few quakes. There was only a very small patch unaffected which we got to sit on (perhaps this was an ominous warning of things to come)!
The passionfruit yoghurt was large and sweet, the OJ was good quality and nice. We sat and relaxed looking out on the enclosed potted palm garden. We had only had about an hour and a half sleep and were feeling a bit tired.
I had uncontrollable “noddy, sleepy head, sore neck”
Finally it was time for check in, that went smoothly enough except that my pendants and sunglasses became entwined so much that I couldn’t get them off to go through the security gates. The guard just told me to come through which was good.
BTW, I had been using my white cane and when we were walking to the passport control area a woman guard opened a rope gateway for us to enter.
Greg also noticed later on that there was a little fluffy hearing assistance dog with one passenger, and then an epilepsy assistance dog.
As we were too early to go up to our departure gate we got to sit on comfy enough, lounge seats. The flight was delayed, more waiting and by this stage I had uncontrollable “noddy, sleepy head, sore neck” but I was extremely tired so continued to nod.
The plane was a Jetstar flight, fairly packed in with no in-flight service but it was only an hour flight and most of that time I just kept on dropping my head and falling asleep, we were both very tired.
We were basically drop-dead falling asleep
It was smooth sailing going through Wellington airport, went to the baggage carousel, picked up our baggage, walked outside, it was raining. We crossed the road and there was a softly spoken Chinese cabby who was very helpful, especially when he saw my cane. About a 20 minute ride to our hotel.
It was about 11:30am when we arrived at the hotel [The James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor]. Earlier, at Wellington airport, Greg had rung to say that we were going to get in early and were very tired because flights are being delayed and could we perhaps get to check-in earlier than 2 PM? The hotel woman had said the room had been used but they would give it a priority clean.
Different story when we got there. We were told that the room wasn’t ready and she would put our luggage in storage. But neither of us were in any sort of state to go walking anywhere. We were basically drop-dead falling asleep. We sat in the lobby on the lounges nodding off until our room was ready which was at 1:50pm.
I don’t know how much priority was given to our room.
We had a corner suite # 2302. Very nice, spacious but we opted to get into bed. We fell asleep until after 4pm.
At 4:30 we went to the Club Room on floor 26. We wanted a cup of tea and a cup of coffee which we were able to help ourselves to. Very nice, no honey but I used Demerara sugar which was okay but not as good as honey.
At about 5 o’clock a hotel staffer came in to set up all the sundowner food. We could get free booze and antipasti and stuff. We weren’t really ready for that so we went back to our room.
We looked up several cafe/restaurant options but as we were still feeling the fatigue we opted for the hotel’s dine-in restaurant. A large space which catered for large tables of people, and tables of two. And then there was a section that was a buffet meal – $49 per person. We opted for the à la cart menu. I had a chicken Rendang, Greg had a chef’s special, steak with mushroom sauce and stuff. Both were large, okay, but nothing really fabulous. Greg had a red wine and I had a Pinot Gris. No desert.
We were knocked around in the toilet hitting one wall, then the other, then back again …
Back to the bedroom watched a bit of TV. Greg did some paperwork then we went to bed.
Sun 13/11
Exploring – Cuba Street, The Old Bank Shopping Arcade, sausage roll & spinach/cheese roll lunch sitting in the sun in the mall. People gazing.
We went into a wide range of quirky interesting shops. Greg bought an amusing T-shirt in Cosmic.
Mon 14/11 am
Midnight, Greg and I had only just hit the sack when we felt our bed starting to shake and within moments more shake, shudder and move. Things started to move more.
We gathered some clothing together and made our way along the passageway, being buffeted from wall-to-wall, into the toilet where we thought we would be safer. We were knocked around in the toilet hitting one wall, then the other, then back again … Little bits of ceiling dust, then chips of ceiling were falling in. The door which was open insisted on being shut.
We don’t know how long it lasted, not like several minutes but perhaps more like a minute. Being on the 23rd floor in a corner suite room meant we got maximum shaking. We’ve been through tremors before but this was quite frightening.
We donned our trackie dacks, grabbed our phones and thought we would go and see what was happening down in the lobby. Other people were leaving their rooms as well, all talking nervously about the status and taking the stairs.
We took the lift and went down to the lobby and were lucky enough to find some lounge suites. We shared a lounge with others who arrived. The atmosphere downstairs was one of anxiety. People were uncertain about what to do but at least it was convivial, all sharing the same problem.
Some people preferred to wait outside. We didn’t like that idea because there was wind and falling glass every now and then. So we just shared a lot of love with the other guests. Management were reassuring and brought out muffins, cheese, coffee, water, juices, fruit salad, pastries. I guess anything they could find.
They assured us that their building code was 100% up to the new standard. They said that even though we had experienced severe shaking in our room that that was not necessarily a bad thing. I don’t know, to get out of our room we had to walk under falling plaster ceiling sheets and over bits of plasterboard and risk our lives. A bit scary! This building is sort of so old it has been refurbished.
We tried to text and call people but my phone was not behaving so we had to rely on Greg’s phone and that was only partially working. After two hours or so downstairs we were so tired we decided to risk going back upstairs. As we went up in the lift there was a huge BANG! and under foot I felt heat. Fortunately it made it to our floor. Scared the shit out of us, and that was the end is that lift – it hasn’t worked since.
When we got back to our room we could see the degree of damage with things scattered everywhere. Both tellys had fallen onto the ground, one worked okay but the other had been smashed.
Everything from the fridge and fridge door was scattered all over the kitchen but surprisingly none of that broken. The things that stayed on benches or benchtops had some sort of resistance. Anything that was not supportive or slippery had gone. Greg’s shaving cream landed in the bin. My hairbrush was heading for the shower. Lamps and paper were all around the place. Curtain attachments were broken off.
Later that day….
It’s gone past 12 noon. The number of after-shocks has declined. We were getting fairly strong after-shocks up until about nine this morning. There are ships in the harbour, but no longer moored at the harbour. Whether because of the quake or not I don’t know.
Today is limited movement. A number of the hotel staff didn’t turn up because they can’t make it into the city. Greg walked up to Starbucks to get us some coffee but that was closed. T2 had teapots and cups scattered and smashed on the floor.
Streets we wandered yesterday have been closed, and the lovely Old Bank Arcade has been closed because the tiles have uplifted and structure of the building is suspect. So today is a very grey and windy day.
Tue 15/11
Leave Welly 3:30 PM. Word came through that the road out of town, which had been blocked by a “slip” was now cleared and open to traffic. The directions from the hire car company were to leave the city via Highway 1, and then go onto Highway 2. At first the highway in both directions were diverted to both go out of town to allow for the huge numbers leaving the city.
The combined Highway 1, for today only, was very disconcerting because we were not really sure which lanes we should be in.
It was a bit of a dog’s breakfast. Eventually we figured out that we had to be in one of the two right hand lanes which basically we were. I don’t know how much time was spent before we actually got through, but perhaps an hour.
There was a river running alongside the highway which Greg pointed out to me. To me it just looked like sandstone or a limestone road area. Greg pointed out it was a fast running river following the route we were on for a long time. We were going no more than a snail’s pace and there were signs of flooding. The road was still being cleared and eventually we caught up a bit of speed and then able to move along.
I rang Gary our host at Napier at 5 o’clock or thereabouts. Actually I rung Peter first and told him that we were running late and didn’t know how long we would be. He told me to ring back at 5pm which I did and I spoke to Gary. He seemed to know exactly where we were. We were at Lower Hutt he said, and yes we were quite a long way off from getting there. [GM in 2024: Looking at the map now that suggests we had travelled about 15km in an hour and a half – and still had about 300km to go!!. And that the very fast flowing river was the Hutt River.]
I asked about food and he suggested we stop at Greytown. He thought we would be there about 6 PM, which might be a bit early but it was very quiet little town and we could stop for a meal.
We did stop for a meal there and it was quiet. We tried the Greytown pub and sitting down and finally relaxing was like an adrenaline cork being lifted from me. It felt quite comfy there being in a pub with the girl who served us who was very pleasant. We ordered some garlic bread which finally came with a drizzle of barbecue sauce, but that was very nice.
Greg ordered a beer, “a yellow one”. I went for her choice of a Pinot Gris. She did a good job because it was very nice. Greg went for the pizza with olives and pepperoni. I went for bangers and mash with peas on the side. The sausages had been made locally and I think they were probably a batch of the best things I’ve ever had. Not a hint of preservative or a non-product in them. But of course I needed only about half of it. It was a very nice stop, I’m glad we stopped early.
When we hit the road again there were quite a few roadworks ahead signs getting us to stop or reduce speed to 30 kph whenever we had a town we had to slow down to 50 or 70 but most the time were travelling at 100kph.
There were some winding roads but mainly they were straight. There was also a period of rain but mostly it was alright, and being daylight saving it didn’t get dark till eight.
When it gets dark tonight around the world the super moon was going to put on a display. We did not expect to see anything with the weather as it was but we did see it straight ahead, like it was leading us to our destination.
We got to our apartment dead tired at 10:40 PM, showered and went to bed.
Wed 16/11
Napier late start Greg went and got some breakfast supplies – yoghurts bread, butter…
Greg called Gary to come up and unlock the safe for us, which he did and we had a chat with him. He was very pleasant and helpful. Before going out we went to reception and he gave us very detailed information and maps on what we could do today or what we might do when we left here, which route we might take and so forth.
We set off along Marine Parade which is where our unit/suite is and found a parking spot and walked around the streets of the city, including the street with a number of art deco buildings. We decided to have a light lunch and we went to the bakery and got a Cajun chicken wrap and shared it sitting outside and then walked around a bit more.
Greg bought himself a tie-dyed T-shirt from the “Ethnic Shop”. We found a place to have dinner, an Italian Trattoria which looked good.
Initially, when we first headed off along Marine Parade we went further along to the marina, had a bit of a look around and when we were leaving the city to come home for a cuppa tea we decided that we go up to the scenic lookout of Bluff Hill.
It was a one lane road winding road up the hill with beautiful walls covered with greenery and flowers sort of arched over the road. When we got to the top of the lookout area there are couple of other cars there. It looks down onto the docks where there was a sea container and are some logs, which Greg was very keen to point out to me. I couldn’t see a lot of it.
We were on a headland and it was very windy. We went for a bit of a walk to another look out area which was surrounded by lovely planted flower beds.
We took a different road down the hill and continued along Marine Parade back to our suite where we made, or Greg made a cuppa tea and we relaxed. I did some Words with Friends inside at the table. Greg went onto the balcony to read some information about accommodation. It was probably the most relaxed I’ve been since I’ve been here.
Afterwards we showered and went into town. Greg found a parking spot on the street and we walked to the trattoria that we had found during the day and ordered a couple of small serves. Greg had fettuccine with seafood of the season and I had potato gnocchi with Bolognese sauce and we shared a mixed salad. It was simple and not overdone and we didn’t eat too much. Greg had a Peroni and I had a glass of Chardonnay.
After dinner we walked towards the car. It was quite cold with a chill wind blowing. As we walked we encountered a woman with her a very flamboyant little dog which look like a girl, though whose name was Bruce. It was a fluffy thing, a lapdog. We had a bit of a chat with her and then drove back to Pebble Beach Motor Inn, changed and sat on the bed. Greg with some wine, me with some water watching TV, Greg using his iPad.
He had considered going into the very large spa tub here but we were a bit ready to relax.
Thurs 17/11
We were on the road today from Napier to Taupo. Checked out of Pebble Beach Motor Inn at 10am. We backtracked to Havelock North and Cape Kidnappers, Te Mata Peak Lookout. Beautiful country some winding roads drove up steep and winding road during rain looked out across the ocean.
Had a bit of a walk along the ocean, went to Havelock North where we stopped, wandered around the shops, and had a hot lunch at a bakery. Greg had the trade special treatment special cheese and bacon pie with a hot drink. I had a potato pie with Earl Grey which we supplied the honey for. It was quite scenic. We had a loo stop at one of those automatic high tech toilets like we were caught in when were we were in Cannes in Europe with the Gale and Russell Jones.
In all, we spent three hours driving today. We arrived at our motel called The Gables on the Lake which was quite a suitable name. It was recommended by Peter who was very helpful in giving us tourist information in Napier.
We, or Greg I should say, brought the luggage in and then we drove several hundred metres up the road and turned right into the main shopping area. We passed the Irish pub along the way. Greg went to the supermarket to get some grocery supplies and then we checked out a number of Indian takeaway stores, shops, cafes, picking the one that we thought would be the best. By then the rain was bucketing down.
We drove back to the motel, I showered and washed my hair. Greg also, but he first had a sit in the hot tub in our enclosed pergola area out the back. He thought it was nice enough and read the paper whilst in there.
Later on we had selected our choices for dinner and Greg went to the restaurant to pick up our takeaway. I played WWF.
I am experiencing considerable bouncy vertigo but also a bit like BPPV.
Fri 18/11
The Gables Lakeside Motel – Day trip we went to some thermal springs 6 kms off the road to Rotorua. Very hot steamy water but nothing pretty about it. Irrigation pipes and taps etc. then on to the Aratiatia Dam for the 12 noon opening of the sluice (flood) gate.
It was very hard going walking and I heard my left ankle snap. I saw nothing but it seems to be painful and walking is not easy. My legs are not supporting me very well.
After having a banana in the car we headed on to Rotorua. Along the way we stopped for a Chicken and Chips lunch. Whilst there I asked Greg if he could feel the earth moving – he wasn’t sure. We did have a laugh, as we left he pointed to a sign and it said “we apologise if people feel the ground shaking” and it was because of the building works next-door!
Was about an hour drive from Taupo to Rotorua so we headed back towards town stopping at the Huka Falls, most famous sites in the region! There were lots of tourists but it was rapids rather than waterfalls. I was a bit disappointed however it was still something.
Sat 19/11
Taupo to Auckland took us about six hours in all with a few detours, 30 km limits and stops for morning tea and lunch. On the road to Auckland we mainly stayed on Highway 1. The sat nav wanted us to continually turn left onto any particular road. We did it once but the roads were small and although a little bit more scenic not really, so we went back onto Highway 1.
We stopped for a break and because Greg had spotted an antique store at a little town called Putaruru, crossed the road to The Wooden Farmer Cafe to get a cup of tea and a flat white. They provided honey on the side however something about my tea/honey caused me to continually dry cough. After the loos then we went over to the antique store. I don’t want to be too critical but it was very pricey.
We left having first had a bit of a squiz at the Poppy cafe and it’s sculpture. We also notice as we drove down the road a very large white sculptures of sheep and a sheep dog made of corrugated iron structures that were the size of houses.
We carried on to the next town Hamilton which was quite busy, we realised it was a Saturday and everybody had come to town. It had very limited parking areas so we had to park in a parking station which was free for people on the weekend.
It was part of the cinema complex and had a ground floor eatery so we took the lift from the 5th to the ground floor where we did the usual tour of the food outlets rejecting each one as we went along until we got to a burger/wrap place where Greg and I had a bit of a tantrum. Next to that was a kebab shop. In the end we got a lamb kebab, it took quite a while to make and they put it into a toaster oven! We asked them to cut it in half and we ate it in the food hall. It was pretty horrible.
We decided to drive on to Auckland as Greg had to return the car by 5 PM so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time.
We didn’t actually have a time when we got to Auckland because it was heavy traffic and reduced speeds. We found the apartments which had a bit of a convoluted system of driving into the car park. It was a bit confusing so we just unloaded and then asked be let in to the building.
We went in and checked in. Took our luggage to the room which required a walk along pathways which were exposed to the weather. The apartment is nice enough but really not laid out well, in particular the bathroom.
Greg headed off to return the car and found the place was shut except he could put the car somewhere behind gates and drop the key off. He was left not really knowing how to get a taxi or how to get home and decided to walk the half hour walk. He only got slightly lost!
Greg bought some potato crisps from a deli on route and when he got home we had some drinks and chips and nuts which was a darn good idea. We did a crossword together both got fatigued brains and then we discovered the joys of the shower.
As it had got quite late and we had enjoyed nibblies we decided to go for the room service. It was okay but I found it weird texting the order. It was quite a big burger and chips.
We started to watch telly, Greg read the paper and stuff on his iPad. I watched the end of a Harry Potter movie although I wasn’t all that interested in it. Then a movie about Alexander the Great was going to commence. It was truly dreadful but somehow I thought it was compelling watching, and we stayed up watching it until about 1 AM.
During the movie I got a couple of Messenger messages from Julie and Helen. I felt I had to reply to both of them.
Sun 20/11
Breakfast in our apartment – muesli, toast. Greg went and bought some coffee.
We got dressed for an early morning start to go to the French markets – yeah, we left at 11 o’clock in the morning! We asked for directions at reception to get to the quay and harbour things around here. A girl with a strong French accent explained how to get where we wanted to go we needed to walk along the street “left then left”.
First stop was to have a look at the La Cigale Markets which was quite unimpressive. Small, French food items. We then spent quite a bit of time checking out eating places in the Wynyard Quarter for possible dinner outings.
We just ambled along. Greg pointing out ships and cafes and shops and then we came across a commemorative mosaic to the Rainbow Warrior.
We carried on. There was lots of music and people and so on and then discovered the reason was The 75th Anniversary of the New Zealand Navy. After many years of not allowing American, Chinese, and other potentially nuclear carrying ships in the harbour the celebrations had American, Malaysian, Japanese, Indonesian and I don’t know what other nation’s naval ships.
There were pipe bands and trillions of excited people – families with children who were allowed to go and look at the war ships. There were queues and queues. We took a breather and sat down in the sun had a banana and Greg got out his binoculars to have a bit of a look at the ships.
By this stage, as there were so many people moving around I decided to use my white cane. What a wonder it is! Mostly people scatter in different directions and a few just totally not aware of it. It was quite useful but it was a very windy wharf and it was hard to hold onto your hat, your jacket and your cane – but we managed.
We finally settled on a place for lunch it was a cool bar where we had a board of antipasti and bread. Greg had a beer “a yellow one”, which he had had before. I had a glass of Pino Gris, no brand but it was very pleasant. We sat on the stools watching passers by.
We walked home taking a slightly meandering route which was pleasant enough but we were getting quite tired. As usual we were looking for places to dine for dinner and noted there was a Vietnamese restaurant close to our hotel and decided that as we had had a large lunch a light Vietnamese meal might be the thing.
We arrived, room thankfully had been serviced today. I’ve been dumped out of the Hotel’s Wi-Fi, something that is happening everywhere we’ve gone on this trip – annoying!!
END of Trenna’s Notes
Greg’s Notes From 2024
Tren refers to “Bouncy Syndrome”. It was a phenomenon she very often encountered after traveling by plane, and sometimes in other circumstances. When she was still her body seemed to be telling her she was actually bouncing around. We assumed it was some inner ear issue.
My tie died tee shirt gets a mention and as Trenna says, I bought it in Napier in a shop called “The Ethnic Shop”. It was a very bright shirt which conjured up good memories for the two of us. That is the reason I wore it when I delivered the Eulogy at the celebration of Trenna’s life. You can see me wearing it in the video HERE.
To clear up a loose end in the story… Yes, I had gone to Wellington for a Mediation conference but when the earthquake hit, the conference venue, the Westpac Stadium, was damaged. The conference was called off and visitors to the city encouraged to leave.
The reference to Assistance Dogs in the Auckland airport was because in Australia at the time they just weren’t “a thing.” Before that, other than guide dogs I had never seen an assistance dog in Australia.
There is mention of Tren’s euphoric state at the Greytown Hotel. It was very noticeable. The earthquake was very scary. During the quake I don’t think that either of us thought it was a certainty that we would be killed, but we both thought it was a very real possibility. Afterwards there were hundreds of aftershocks, some of them very strong. And then there was the horrendous traffic as a huge number of people tried to leave the city all at once. When we eventually got to this quiet, rural town, cozy pub and delicious food it was like a huge weight being lifted from us.
BTW, the Wellington Airport was damaged and closed to all commercial flights.
If you haven’t already I would encourage you to read the separate story on this website about The Wellington Earthquake, HERE.