22nd September 2025 at 10:37 - Damian

We took a drive down to Tauranga to catch up with friends for lunch and pick up a second-hand Nikon P950 (the camera I really should have had in South and Central America).

We parked up overnight at Tuapiro Point just south of Waihi and explored the spit/estuary there.

Fairly blustery overnight but a nice, quiet spot otherwise with plenty of free parking for campervans.

31st August 2025 at 11:56 - Sally

Yesterday, 29th we went to Hoboken. A very nice place in New Jersey where Frank Sinatra was born.

Also where the first gamer of baseball was played.

Had a very nice roast beef, sweet peppers and Muzz (mozzarella) sandwich from a no nonsense highly recommended shop.

A nice hazy beer, apparently has the most pubs per capita in the US. I find that hard to believe as there didn't seem to be that many.

Nice views of the Manhattan Skyline (where isn't there I hear you ask)!

Today, 30th I am at the airport waiting for my 18 hour flight home. Looking forward to being back in familiar Auckland.

30th August 2025 at 02:28 - Sally

Yesterday, 28th we made the journey to Roosevelt Island using bus, subway and cable car. A lovely peaceful island, named after FDR who it seems was a very nice man.

Also read about Nellie Bly who seems was a very nice lady.

We returned via Grand Central Station where we found that the whispering does indeed work as described.

Bought a ham and cheese ficelle in anticipation of my imminent home time. Not as good as the real thing but quite nice.

28th August 2025 at 11:21 - Sally

Today, 27th we took the bus from our new home into New York. Very easy trip followed up by a quick subway trip down to Whitehall to catch a free ferry to Statten Island with a view of the Statue of Liberty on the way

Had a nice time in Statten Island checking out a few of the outlet shops before returning back to Manhattan.

We found the Charging Bull and Fearless Girl statues as we poked around Wall Street and the Financial District too.

27th August 2025 at 12:33 - Sally

Yesterday, 25th we visited West Village and Greenwich. Very confusing streets but lovely to walk around. We visited the smallest house in the city, where Carey Grant once lived.

Then found the best stir brew coffee in Manhattan, don't have anything to compare it with so we'll take their word for it.

Tried the famous banana pudding from the original Magnolia Bakery and enjoyed walking around looking at the houses parks and shops.

We were back in the area in the evening to visit The Fat Black Pussycat Comedy Venue. Very Cosy venue, the comedians were a bit hit and miss but generally very entertaining. Food was tasty so a great night.

Today was a sad day as we had to leave our fantastic Airbnb in Jersey City. It was a great place to stay and was a short walk to the PATH train which we used to get into Manhattan.

Our new home is in Union City which is more about the buses than the trains so we'll have to learn a new system.

25th August 2025 at 10:27 - Sally

Late start today. We walked down towards the Hudson River again and stopped at our favourite bakery/cafe (Prato) for a coffee and an almond cantucci.

This time we have cloudy weather but better views of the buildings, spot the Edge, the Empire State and the Chrysler. The Statue of Liberty is also visible from here with the naked eye.

On our way home we stopped at the Departed Souls for a quick beer and as we continued our walk home we were treated with a Jazz/Blues concert where we threw caution to the wind and gently seated to the music.

25th August 2025 at 00:30 - Sally

Today i am sleeping in because yesterday 23rd we had a big day in the heat. Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Lovely views of the Manhattan Skyline and lots of ferries, speed boats, yachts, jet skis on the water. Made it to DUMBO to get photos of Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Lovely shady parks and amazing views. A very nice lunch at Dawn's to Dusk and then a walk back over the Hudson on the Manhattan Bridge (inferior to the Brooklyn as there were very long, very noisy trains beside us). Once back we visited the 911 monument. A lot of names so quite somber. We popped into Eataly - what a place! Lots of delicious looking food to buy or eat in. We opted to eat in. My favourite malfadine (fresh) pasta with mushrooms and a glass of red.

24th August 2025 at 11:36 - Sally

Friday night was Moulin Rouge night. Had a bit of a PT nightmare but made it to our back row seats ok in the end. Was very good, lots of well known songs and I always love the chorus numbers.

24th August 2025 at 11:32 - Sally

On the 22nd we visited the Highline. It has been expanded since the last time i visited and also now includes the Hudson yards. The wild flowers are looking great and it is a very peaceful place to be. There used to be some NZ plants there but i couldn't find them this time. I suspect they have reverted to natives only. Last time I ate such a big bagel meal before walking the path so couldn't partake in any of the yummy food available. This time I had a lovely refreshing Mexican passion fruit ice block which was most refreshing as the NYC temperatures had risen again.

24th August 2025 at 11:06 - Sally

Today, 21st the weather had cooled and it was nice to have a break from the heat. We did a cycle tour of Central Park which meant we covered way more ground than we would have on foot. A bit rainy and we thought our luck was in as the queue for Shakespeare in the park was very small. Turns out though, it was opening night and all the tickets were invitation only. Our only hope now is to win the daily lottery. We went to Times Square and booked Moulin Rouge for Friday night as a substitute

24th August 2025 at 10:49 - Sally

It was raining a bit on the 20th so we put on our raincoats and walked down to the Hudson River (NY side). There is a really nice river walk that was well used even in the rain. Found a nice cafe on our way down, Prato. Nice coffee and then back again for lunch. A misty/rainy Manhattan skyline.

23rd August 2025 at 09:38 - Sally

A day at the tennis on the 19th. A new format for the mixed doubles tournament meant the tickets were cheap and the top players were numerous. Highly recommended.

18th August 2025 at 12:34 - Damian

18th August 2025 at 12:22 - Damian

The first stage of the Saturn V rocket is 42m long and has a diameter of 10m. Its job is to lift the rocket to 60km above the earth. Basically it has to throw a HEAP of mass out its arse-end VERY rapidly.

It feeds around 5000L of fuel EVERY SECOND to those five engines and empties itself in a mere 2.5 minutes by which time it's cleared the stratosphere, is discarded and stage two (with its own set of engines and fuel) takes over.

The scale of these things. What a ride it must have been!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-IC

18th August 2025 at 09:09 - Damian

17th August 2025 at 13:36 - Damian

We're in Houston for the night before I head home and Sally heads to NYC with Adrienne.

Where we're staying is beside a freeway near the airport with dire food options. We found a craft brewery (City Acre Brewing¹) a short taxi ride away. What a find. It was off the main road and felt like we were walking into someone's home.

I made the mistake of wearing my knock-off Yankees cap into the bar which earned me friendly scorn and banter. They gave me a free brewery merch cap just to stop me wearing it.

The food and beer was delicious. Our first real taste of Southern hospitality.

1. https://www.cityacrebrewing.net/beers

17th August 2025 at 00:15 - Damian

We saw hummingbirds in Colombia and Ecuador but I never attempted to photograph them thinking we'd have better opportunities in Costa Rica.

I was correct, in a way. But they're really hard to capture as they're quite shy and move fast.

This is one taken by one of our guides with a phone clamped to a spotting telescope (which EVERY guide carries).

17th August 2025 at 00:07 - Damian

12-15/08/2025 - Days 11-14
From Monteverde we descended from the cool mountains south to the Pacific coast to the beachside town of Manuel Antonio where we spent a relaxing four days to end the tour.

We spent a morning kayaking in the mangroves and, on another day, did a final nature tour in the nearby national park with a guide followed by a swim at the beach.

13th August 2025 at 01:42 - Damian

11/08/2025 - Day 10

A day in Monteverde. We did a guided orchid experience, a guided butterfly/insect experience and then a guided night walk in the forest.

The orchids were fascinating and we learnt a lot. They've evolved a heap of strategies to tempt specific animals (mostly insects) to pollinate them and, because they have both male and female parts additional strategies to avoid self-fertilisation.

The night walk was interesting, too. The whole place comes alive at night.

11th August 2025 at 12:04 - Damian

10/08/2025 - Day 9

We relocated from La Fortuna across Lake Arenal to Monteverde which is at 1300m in cloud forest. Much nicer temperature at this altitude.

On arrival we did a three hour walk in the cloud forest and we're heading into town for dinner tonight.