Where are staying, beach or city?
Plenty of things to do in the area but definitely get down to Hoi An it’s amazing.
Hire a driver for the day, cheap and well worth it as PT isn’t great and can get a bit tiring walking everywhere. If flying into Da Nang avoid Vietjet at all costs
I like the West Coast black sand surf beaches for wild coastal scenery - Whatipu is way out by the Manukau heads. Karekare is where they shot The Piano. Piha is well known for surf & alternative lifestylers. Bethels for Gannet colony. Also out West is Kumeu with some decent food & wine options (e.g. Kumeu River for excellent Chardonnay). I used to live in Titirangi which is at the start of the Waitakere Ranges on the way to the West Coast beaches. You can get a decent coffee / brunch there. A boat trip on the Waitemata harbour to Rangitoto (volcanic scenery) or Waiheke (wineries & beaches) is a good option. Waitomo Caves is within reach for a day trip. The Domain Museum (free) is a decent wet weather option in the city. There is good food at The Viaduct. A couple of trips ago we did a 16km Coast to Coast hike across the City which was fun. We often spend a couple of hours at Snowplanet for indoor skiing. How many days are you there?
Leave Thursday
Thanks for the suggestions
1 Like
We love the Bay of Islands area. We stayed at the Kauri Cliffs golf course resort for a few days and it was stunning. I am the worlds worst golfer but playing a round at this place is just magic.
You haven’t seen me play then!
Hit a fairly mean driver but it’s all downhill from there 
Bay of Islands ain’t a day trip tho
thanks Mr Aceman, looking for non touristy destinations please. Any live music venues will certainly be looked at!! Can see many a messy night!!
Edinburgh in September should be fine. The old City is magnificent and you can wander the cobblestone streets and alleys for ages. Lots of monuments and quiet nooks throughout. Haven’t been up in the Highlands or NW Coast that time of year but we have been up there at times when you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and hardly see another tourist. Take a few days to drive the coast road and stay at one of the many little quaint villages or B&B’s.
Some do a day tour, but you are correct it is about 3 hours each way, and you need to spend time touring around the place.
Yep , got a good loop sorted, we are driving ourselves in Scotland & Ireland. The further north we are in Scotland is Inverness and surrounds. Just don’t like doing the tourist food thing in big cities, learnt our lesson in Italy!!
@Bomber_Matriach I/we did Ireland late August last year. We hired a car and drove south down to Galway (watched the Bombers beat Port in the bar at the hotel where we were staying drinking Guinness at 10.30am). Did the Ring of Kerry and the Skye road. Beautiful scenery, great people, we mainly ate at pubs, all were decent.
When we were in Dublin, we used the tram system to get around. It was easy to use. If you have time the Museum of Ireland is worth a look and The Guinness factory was interesting too. The city itself is lovely.
One suggestion, take a warm jacket (I had to buy one when we got there) it was about 14 degrees the whole time we where there.
2 Likes
Have not yet booked accommodation but the idea of driver and day trips sounds perfect. The Wedding is in Hoi An so that’s perfect.
Sydney lounge an absolute zoo this morning, man I miss the first lounge here. The higher lounge access is the thing I miss most since dropping down to Gold
This is an interesting story. Passenger was left asleep in the plane after landing.
Air Canada reviewing how crew left passenger on parked plane after flight to Toronto
about an hour ago
Updated
Air Canada is looking into how crew members could have disembarked from a plane without noticing a sleeping passenger who was left behind.
Key points:
- Air Canada confirmed the incident took place but declined to comment on its disembarking procedures
- The airline said it was reviewing the matter and has followed up with the passenger
- Tiffani Adams said she had been left with “reoccurring night terrors” after the incident
The airline was responding to an incident involving a woman who described waking up “all alone” on a “cold dark” aircraft after a flight from Quebec to Toronto earlier this month.
“I think I’m having a bad dream bc like seriously how is this happening!!?!” Tiffani Adams recounted in a June 20 Facebook post sent by her friend, Deanna Noel-Dale.
The airline confirmed the incident took place but declined to comment on its disembarking procedures or how the passenger may have been overlooked.
“We are still reviewing this matter so we have no additional details to share, but we have followed up with the customer and remain in contact with her,” Air Canada said.
Ms Adams wrote that after she woke up, she called Ms Noel-Dale to try to explain what happened, but her phone died and she couldn’t charge it because power to the plane was off.
She said she was “full-on panicking” by the time she found the “walky talky thingys in the cockpit”, which also didn’t work.
After no-one saw the “SOS signals” she made by shining a flashlight out the window, she claimed to have unbolted a cabin door.
Facing a steep drop to the tarmac, she said she leaned out of the aircraft and called over a ground crew member, who helped her out.
The passenger wrote that Air Canada personnel asked if she was OK and whether she would like a limo and hotel, but she declined the offer.
She said airline representatives apologised and said the carrier would investigate.
“I haven’t got much sleep since the reoccurring night terrors and waking up anxious and afraid I’m alone locked up someplace dark,” the Facebook post said.
Ms Adams has been contacted for comment.
Air Canada said in a Facebook response to the post that it was surprised to hear the story and “very concerned”, asking Ms Adams to send a private message with her flight details.
“We’ll take a look into it,” the airline wrote.
Staying at the Sofitel Viaduct Harbour, any cool joints nearby or in the City to watch the crucket tonight?
Dunno sorry.
I’ve been reading lots of fiction books about WW2 and the Cold War recently, and now I want to go back to Berlin. We had a couple of free days before our tour started a couple of years ago, and did things like visiting the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier (we know it as the Berlin Wall) memorial walking from the Haupbahnhof out along Invalidenstrasse, and other things that were later covered on our tour, but really would like to wander along Unter Den Linden and to Potsdamerplatz and Alexanderplatz where Bernie Gunther’s Kripo was based. No need to go back to some of the other memorials like Topography of Terror or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Been there, done that.
I’ve also been reading David Young’s Karin Müller series. Karin is a police Oberleutnant who constantly runs into areas the Stasi is trying to protect. She just works for the People’s Police in the Hauptstadt (East Berlin). All set mid 70’s.
Thanks to all for the ideas on Auckland. Didn’t manage to do much as it was a short trip but aiming to get back soon hopefully.
Can’t praise LATAM enough, $523 business class special from Sydney to Auckland return the only bummer was the early departure from Auckland this morning but worked out ok as I had to be back in Adelaide this arvo for a job. Comfortable seats, good food and excellent service. Even managed to jag an hour and a bit of sleep.
1 Like
In Seattle and walking along Post Alley (near Pike Market, think equivalent of Vic Market in Melbourne) and I spy on the gum wall Blitz’s own @dingus. And gum wall is just that, walls covered in people’s used gum. A lot of gum.
4 Likes
Story of my life…