Owner: Antony Ranger's Travel Blog URL:http://kiwiant.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2007 11:59:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: "The adventures, sites, sounds and tastes of Europe whilst I'm living in The Netherlands". Site statistics:Click here
Farewell Nan, we will miss you 2007-08-16 13:29:12 Just before heading to Slovenia for a weeks holiday I rang my grandfather in New Zealand to wish him a happy birthday. It was anything but, Nan wasn't doing well and he didn't expect her to last much longer. A day later and after 86 wonderful years she left us. For as long as I can remember, she has always been a part of my life spending large amounts of time together when I was younger, for this I consider myself very lucky. I was her first grandson and first generation New Zealander in the family. I am grateful for the family bond and values passed down the generations and will continue this myself with my children and grandchildren. Without her I would not be the person I am today. We found it difficult being on holiday at such a time and wished we could b Read more:Farewell
The mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee 2007-08-16 13:25:43 When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked on
Vierdaagse (Four day walk) 2007-08-03 15:53:03 Every year at this time Nijmegen hosts its biggest event on the years calendar. Much like the Tour de France but on foot, in Nijmegen, and only for four days. People flock here from all over the world to join in for the week of walking and parties with over 42,000 people participating in the walking and everyone else joining in on the fun. Everyone can join in with people as young as 12 and as old as 90 walking 40kms every day for 4 days in a row. If you want there is even a 50km/day walk. This year 63 counties were represented including New Zealand. Some Dutchies do it every year as a sort of holiday with the record being 66 times (that's over 10,000kms which is like walking half way to New Zealand in 264 days). Every day there is a different walk each taking a di
Goodnight Kiwi 2007-08-03 15:51:14 Probably more appropriate for my last days here but here it is both the original and directors cut. For those who have never seen, this clip was played at the end of the TV coverage for the evening in New Zealand before 24hour TV coverage was the norm. Read more:Goodnight
Whirinaki - Auckland Anniversary 2008 2008-03-30 04:59:10 Day 1 - Road End to Central Whirinaki Hut (6hrs) This is one of my favourite areas for tramping in New Zealand which forms part of the Te Urewera National Park. We managed to make good time making it into the forest and to the Whirinaki Falls for a spot of lunch. Here we bumped into a group from the Waikato tramping club who turned out to be our companions for the rest of the weekend. The rest of the day was easy walking and we made it to the Central Whirinaki hut with plenty of daylight and setup out tents in such a way the snorers were at a safe distance. As evening approached we were unable to locate any native Whio (Blue Duck) as we have seen on previous visits. Unfortunately Ish managed to get some stubborn substance in his eye that wouldn't budge no matter what we tried. E Read more:Auckland
, Anniversary
Kayak Waikaremoana - Easter 2008 2008-04-01 04:43:51 Day 0 - Auckland to Waikaremoana 6am the alarm clock sounded and within an hour we were on the road avoiding both rush hour and the Easter
madness on the roads. It was a leisurely trip with a few stops along the way as we were in no rush and needed to pick up a few supplies along the way. Along the metal road a bus pulling over to allow a car to pass went over a bit too far sliding into the ditch so we offered them our assistance and before long we were all on our way. We eventually made it to the camp site at Waikaremoana late in the afternoon and startled the bunnies, perhaps a sign of things to come. We unpacked over a quiet beer welcoming the others as they arrived. Les and Gregor demonstrated how to pack their kayaks for those of us new to multi day overnight missions. Day 1 (East
Leitch's Clearing 2008-03-31 23:19:37 I've never walked in this area before or really knew about it so it was a nice to visit somewhere different. It's an easy overnight walk only 3hrs each way so you really spend more time in the car from Auckland than actually walking but worth it all the same. The track starts off at the back of Pio Pio just to the West of Te Kuiti in the Whareorino Forest on the way to New Plymouth. A gentle uphill starts the walk followed by about an hour flat then a gentle hour down into and across Leitch's Clearing
. It's a nice piece of bush with some streams but no major features like waterfalls. The area is also home to a couple of native frog species. Walking across the clearing to the South we came across the hut hidden in amongst the trees located in a beautiful little spot complete with a rive
Kayak Motuora Island 2008-04-15 03:38:46 A few of us had decided that two nights would be better than one so after a rushed Fri morning of work we were off stopping for a quick bite in Orewa conscious it would soon be dark. We made it to Sulivan's bay in good time with the remaining daylight assisting us making sure we didn't leave anything important behind (as it turns out eggs weren't that important). As the sun vanished over the horizon we set of across the milk pond they call Mahurangi harbour. Due to the small amount of light reflecting off the slither of moon it was easy to see the the phosphorous streaming off the paddles and bows of the yaks. It didn't take more than an hour across the smooth water and upon our arrival a flock of Kawahi freaked at our lights and spent the next 15 minutes mostly out of the water. We kn Read more:Island
Kayak Lake Tarawera (Queen's Birthday) 2008-06-05 06:12:44 Day 1 - Tarawera Landing to Te Rata Bay It was a cold and misty morning but we didn't care (except maybe for Nick). We packed our kayaks with relative ease as the car park allowed us to unload our cars directly into the kayaks before we ferried them back to the Blue Lake Motor Camp. After the usual period of faffing we were off some splitting off to kayak under the Pohutakawa trees and explore Read more:Queen
, Birthday
Mum and Dad in Holland 2008-08-18 01:52:39 Shortly before my original arrival time my parents were due to arrive in Amsterdam. Unfamiliar with the new surroundings Renate and her sister Marja met my parents and helped them to their hotel. They didn't go into the sex museum or wander the red light district but still, they saw as much of Amsterdam in the short time they had available. A couple of days later Renate and I picked them up and t Read more:Holland
Off to the European summer residence 2008-08-17 11:44:20 Despite the best efforts of the weather and the ground services at Shanghai I've finally made it back to Holland. After a busy week I was lucky to have the Saturday to pack and tidy before my flight. My colleague Murray was kind enough to pick me up and take me to the airport in plenty of time. It was a speedy trip through security and into the bar where all the Kiwi's and Aussie's were gathering Read more:European
Winter Kayaking at Sandpit 2008-08-10 16:37:56 The weather forecast didn't look great but it was my last weekend before heading off to Holland and we all know how the weather can change for better or worse. Fri evening I arrived just in time to see the group paddling back across the water (bugger, I was too late for the evening paddle). We stayed at the Sandspit Holiday Park in little cabins right on the waters edge so as well as providing gr Read more:Kayaking
Lekker Stroopwafel Toetje 2008-08-08 13:50:04 What happens when you combine deserts from both Holland and Belgium? Well we decided to find out. Stoopwafels are two pieces of biscuit waffles stuck together with honey (aka stroop). The best ones are the fresh ones from the markets but 10 seconds in the microwave warm them nicely. The Dutch in their wisdom decided to use them as the basis of a new ice cream flavour (Stroopwafel ijs). Mmmm, I th
Marikenloop 2008-08-08 13:49:21 Every year for the past 5 years Nijmegen hosts the "Marikenloop".It's Europe's largest female sporting event with over 7000 runners raising money for breast cancer. This year Renate decided to join her sister and friend Corine in running the 5km track and managed to get a couple of practices in before the race. OK so its not a marathon but a great starting point and for a great cause.
Happy 60th Wim & Almah 2008-08-08 13:47:50 We both had to work so this trip was more like taking our every day lives and shifting them across the world oceans. Once again my bosses found it in their heart to allow be to work for a few weeks on the other side of the world allowing us to spent quality time together. One weekend we headed back to the Island of Vleiland. This time to celebrate the joint 60th birthday or Renate's parents. Due Read more:Happy
Farewell to Nan Ranger 2008-08-07 03:35:00 After a life on the other side of the world I didn't know my Nan Ranger
very well and it was only on her 90th birthday I finally met her and got to know all those personality traits including where my father gets his cheeky nature. It was when I was first born she made her only visit to New Zealand and it took me a while to return the favour. Since then I've popped in from New Zealand a number of Read more:Farewell
6.6 Degrees of Separation? 2008-08-25 15:30:00 We have all heard of the Six degrees of separation to explain how everyone in the world is connected to everyone else but is there any proof? Am I connected get to for example one of the famous Maasai warriors in only 6 jumps? Upon reflection perhaps it is possible. I know some South African's and have travelled to and worked in Africa. Anyway, a bored research team at Microsoft decided to find Read more:Degrees
, Separation
Steppen in Delft 2008-08-25 15:27:31 We started the day by surprising Marcel as it was his birthday a few days later. Jorien made appelgebak (Apple tart) complete with candles and we gifted him his first BBQ. We also decorated his convertible car with a few balloons that lasted surprising well whilst achieving a top speed or over 120kmph an hour or so later. A "Step" is one of those things that until I had been to Holland
Paleis Het Loo (Palace Het Loo) 2008-08-25 15:26:59 Not the most sophisticated of names if you translate directly to English. Until the death of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962, Paleis Het Loo was a holiday retreat for the Dutch royals. She had decreed that upon her death the palace should be gifted the the public and became a museum. At the entrance stood the Oranjeboom (Orange Tree) which symbolises the royal house of Orange. In New Zealand you'll find Read more:Palace
Weekend in Zeeland 2008-09-26 06:29:33 I'm not sure why its taken so long to visit the province of Zeeland after all it is where New Zealand got its name although it wasn't Abel Tasman's doing. He named it Staten Landt (Staten Island). At the same time Hendrik Brouwer on a mission to the gold-rich lands of Peru and Chile ended up naming a bit of land he found Staten Landt. Of course you can't have two places with the same name so upon Read more:Weekend
Gorinchem and Slot Loevestein 2008-09-25 07:19:53 Dion and Anna (friends from England) were recently visiting so we decided to checkout another cute little Dutch village Gorinchem and the nearby Slot Loevestein. Created as a finish village almost 1000 years ago now days its a harbour for pleasure craft. The Dutch tend to use the term castle to represent an old Mansion so they call a Castle a Fort (ie, Fort Loevestein). With that out the way Sl
Emily - Real or not? 2008-09-25 07:17:46 Movie’s like Jurassic Park were once at the fore front of computer animation but you could still see the subtle effects that indicated it was computer generated. With human faces the job becomes far more difficult as we see and interact with people every day. Californian company Image Metrics has further blurred the lines between what is real and what is not. Check it out for yourself. More i Read more:Emily
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