Ginger DJ Rob

This won't appear in cinemas but straight to DVD. The animation isn't brilliant but essential for any fan of RE. RESIDENT EVIL DEGENERATION TRAILER Uploaded by PANZERDRAKO

No, this isn't a new SPAM subject line that I've being constantly deleting from my junk mail but an insight to my birthday surprise on Saturday. All I knew was we were going up to London for an event. The mystery tour started with a drive to Croydon and picked up another ginger legend that is Trev. Were we just giving him a lift or was he part of the surprise? Next we headed further in London and ended in West Norwood, home of Kev and Karol. It was all starting to add up. Viv left me a smelly Lush present, K & K contributed to my wardrobe funds and Steve and Sam finding the grooviest dancing wind-up robot toy (oh, and very handy ninja plasters). After the taxi firm cocked up with the address we arrive late at the old Oblivion bar, Gigalum. Shame the staff couldn't get their act together but at least special guest Sarah arrived (without Paul), all the way from Ibiza with a remote control helicopter as birthday present. As the champers flowed, Kerry gave me her main prese...

I've managed to buy some Mighty Boosh tour tickets for Brighton Dome a day before their release thanks to the Modwolves club I'm a member of. It's finally paid off and will hopefully get front row seats for their live show next November. The same club/mailing list also promoted a great cartoon joke book called 'Don't arm wrestle a pirate' which the above image is from. Perfect as a Christmas present. They also have a MySpace entry which features more drawings.

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Kerry's spoiling me as usual and there's more to come Saturday apparently?! Random entry: Japanese TV Zelda themed dance video taken from this recently found cool website/blog . Has everyone heard that the Mighty Boosh has announced a tour next year? Tickets are on sale this Friday.

As per my last blog entry, in the interest of teamwork I appeared in my work's pantomime. This is probably the strangest employer/work based event I've ever come across and only accepted the task as it was a non-speaking part. To remind you, I work for the Institute of Development Studies , which is like a university offering post-graduate courses but mainly researching methods to improve people's lives in developing countries. All serious stuff and the panto is scripted with interdepartmental jokes and a development sector themed story. My role was to play a bored office worker in a meeting - just to yawn a bit and look at my watch. However, over the course of a couple of rehearsals I was to join in the chorus of the song and dance about. Before the dress rehearsals, it was looking like a complete shambles with people forgetting their lines or fluffing their actions. But it all came together rather well. Even Kerry liked it dismissing my worries of in-work jokes would go o...

Kerry spotted this 'art' in the Guardian and, with a bit of research, discovered a bit of local history which is no longer available to the public. The news-story was the seller's claim that Bonham's refused a £1m bid from Damian Hurst for a piece of Walter Potter's work. Shame we moved here too late to see the stuffed animals in Victorian past-times . If anyone's seen this or know where any of the pieces can be seen please tell me! Tonight I'm taking part in my employer's (real) pantomime. Apparently its a long institute tradition where I have a non-speaking/singing part. Full report later.

This weekend will go down for two memorable events. Tony, Kerry's hairdresser brought his friend down to Brighton to celebrate his birthday. We met them at Legends, an infamous hotel for a certain segment of population (I only realised after I got there) on the seafront. We had high expectations of an expensive night being Tony, hairdresser to many fashion shows and friends of famous people. However, arriving at the hotel bar at 10:30pm brought home the flavour of the evening with a tinge of cheap cheesiness. After Tony and Chris faffed about for a good hour showing off their 6 outfit wardrobe for two evenings we avoided the hotel bar and headed for Dr. Brighton's. Based on a memory 7 years ago, it turned out to be an old duffers pub so turned straight back. Audio was busy and many people taking advantage of the outdoor seating for smoking and braving the gale-force winds. The downstairs club had Andy Weatherall playing that night. Instead we headed around the corner to Revenge...

Bewilderwood - A Curious Treehouse Adventure Park near Norwich, Norfolk Stumbled across this 'curious' place which is in deepest Norfolk. If anyone has been to this please tell me about it.

More f*cking DIY with both B&Q and Homebase knowing me on first name basis. As an antidote to yesterday's Daft film tedium we went to see Beowulf in 3D. Bit more expensive than normal with the cost of the glasses but definitely worth the money. The 3D effect really worked a treat, the graphics and animation were highly detailed, and the storyline kept up you interested.

First of all I need to congratulate myself for getting through the toughest period of my career with the launch of the new website I'd been employed for. The IDS website now looks 100% better. Still no rest at home as another weekend of DIY. More stress ensued as the boiler decided to stop working. At 7pm we were ringing all emergency plumbers and heating engineers expecting to pay £150 just to refill the water. The last call was a saint who charged us £35 in cash with a vital lesson on how to use the refill system. Kerry had ordered Electroma , the Daft Punk non-music video film. I'd tried to ignore the online criticisms but they are all correct. However much you love robots, Daft Punk or arty long shots of American desert scenery, one word sums it up - Boring. It was so tempting to fast-forward in places but respected the Gallic robots for their vision.

The last two weeks at work have been murder by CMS (Content Management System). This web project is going to kill me plus the front room to the house has been without heating since the builders did the damp course (discovering the guaranteed work arranged by the previous owners did a cowboy job). With the radiator out of action we tried the fireplace for the first time. The only thing the previous owners did leave behind was a bag of coal which came in really useful. Buying curtains was the only other highlight of the weekend. Roll on Christmas.

It was the Digitalism gig last night at Concorde 2 in Brighton. First time we'd been there and quite a cosy venue. As we walked towards the place we noticed two blokes loaded up with take-away food. As we over-took them I saw it was the larger half of Digitalism. Support act was okay but didn't get to find out who they were. There was plenty of elbow room before the German duo came on whilst listening to the whole of Daft Punk's second album. But as the tension built with roadies clearing the decks, the aggro loving beer b@stards waded in to block views, spill drink and constant barging past. Kids! Learn some manners for fuxsake. With only one album to their name and with a couple of slow tracks, it was always going to be a short gig but they did well. Quite surprised to hear them do their own singing. Both of them did well with Gareth, the skinnier one having the better talent. Keith, however treated 'Homezone' like a karaoke song which was just funny. They ended t...

Work is winning the war of my 9 to 5 attention so unfortunately, the blog’s been suffering in ignored silence. I say 9 to 5 but it’s a bit more than that with very little lunchtime and working a later than I’d like. With the added stress I was looking forward to Sam’s birthday night in London. After a prep meeting at Kev and Karol’s we met the rest in the Thistle Hotel bar next door to Pacha, our final destination. The posh revolving door, 2 story high ceilings and chandeliers put us in our place as we entered the bar. Next to us were WAGs or wannabe WAGS and in the other corner, a heap of golf bags and MDs celebrating their low score sheets and high salaries. Not sure if it was me drinking slow or everyone wanting to go quickly. As well as Sam’s birthday celebration, we were there to see Keith’s DJ mates perform the early slots. They did a grand job playing some nice electro house or 'fidget house' with even some Detroit stuff which went down well for us. The DJs after wer...

Ok, geek alert! Nerdy news: My boss lent me his Newsweek magazine which featured an article on search engines. Try Quintura.com , a beta version which might speed searching. Haven't quite sussed the cloud bit yet.

Just come across a very useful but random website. Seat Guru helps you chose the best seat on a airplane.

DSC_0055 Originally uploaded by Ginger DJ . Lewes Bonfire night was amazing. I've never seen so many people dressed up in clans, burning crucifixes and generally reclaiming the streets. Poor Kerry battled on through the night with a sprained ankle and later a migraine - not too clever with the amount of walking and the loudest bangers ever. The evening ended with five firework displays each trying to outdo each other. Under the advice of some work colleagues we headed to the Waterloo Society (there are dozens of 'societies' contributing to the processions) display. Check out the photos on FlickR.

Last week was just a blur of coming back from work, having tea, DIY, sleep then repeat so it was a welcome break to see Kev and Karol. We collected them after we dutifully attended our neighbour’s fireworks party. One of the neighbours attending was Mr.Super-fit (not his actual name) who was training for the Iron-man challenge , a triathlon which includes 180km bike ride, 3.8km swim and running a marathon after all that. Good luck mate! Christmas came early as we realised that we’d accumulated over £110 of Nectar points so we bought our joint present early from Argos, a PS3 60GB model with Heavenly Sword and Resistance: Fall of Man . No point wrapping it and waiting for 8 weeks but we managed to get through the rest of the weekend without opening box by Sunday evening when K & K left. Saturday night was an organised firework display at Hove then got wasted with conversation on Blofeld, chairs and whether you could get arrested after searching for terrorist related words – how l...

Check out the video of two mice on a conveyor belt running. One of them is a specially bred mouse which can run for miles. Next we'll need supercats to catch 'em. read more | digg story

I've discovered a fine website which showcases the coolest designs on anything. It seems that anyone can contribute to the NOTCOT website with your hot spot. As you scroll down your wallet and credit cards wil l run for cover or, in a positive, giving way, you might find that perfect Christmas present! Gentleman Pac-man (as pictured) Mario does superman-like comic Manga style Good vs. Evil Table Football Very creepy child abuse adverts

Classic comedy 'Spaced' starring Brit favourite, Simon Pegg will be remade for American TV. read more | digg story

After returning from our NZ trip and facing a £120 mobilephone bill it was nice to finally get some payback from Orange. My contract was up for renewal and I could finally replace my ancient Nokia 6680. Eighteen months is a long time in the mobile world and I’m lapping up the new functions that my new Sony Ericsson P990i can do. I think the best bit so far is the Wireless connection so I can use the neighbours (naughty me), my work’s wireless and any café or pub offering it for free. Plus they’ve promised £100 credit for my old phone. Still Orange is still pissing me off having not reconnected us to the broadband. The other shopping task on Saturday was exchanging my new specs. I love my Danish designer glasses but since summer, the blue plastic bits started to melt near the side of my head/right ear. The only reason for this is my skin/hair/sweat/whatever is toxic causing things to melt. It can’t be anything to do with how I hold a phone as I use my left side so no radioactive t...

Hot Boosh news! Series 3 will be starting on BBC3 on Thursday 15th November at 10:30pm. Apparently the BBC website will have a preview online. New Mighty Boosh website Did anyone see the new Star Trek film news ? Lost director, JJ Abrams behind the revamp with the guy pictured right, Chris Pine as spooky Shatner lookalike. Sylar from Heroes plays Spock which is logical captain, Eric Bana gets in there as the bad guy, someone from Lord of the Rings, Karl Urban plays 'He's dead Jim' Bones McCoy and the Yanks can't get enough of him or his agent is earning his fee, Simon Pegg gets to play Scotty . Get ready to play catchphrase bingo, the Star Trek version next Christmas.

Blog's been quiet due to blogger illness. Picked up some crappy cold from work. I guess my immune system wasn't expecting this lurgy from coughing hell after our holiday/jetlag/moving house energy drainer. It was a pathetic cold that couldn't really be called 'man flu' but persisted for five days. Still it gave me a chance to update the blog with our NZ travels. Hope you enjoy. Paul and Sarah, our Ibizian castaways gave us a flying visit on Saturday. Slightly disappointed to find out their Brighton move won't be until next year. Returned to work on Monday with the Underworld gig to look forward to on Wednesday night. After our scrambled journey to Camden for the Roundhouse, we met the others in the Lock Tavern to the news that Steve had brought the wrong tickets. Slightly annoyed by the casualness of getting to the gig and as we waited in the reception we heard them come on. As I waited for the slackers to sort their tickets out, two gangly suited blokes whisked...

I can’t believe I’m back at work. The past three weeks have rewired me – sitting in an office is alien, I struggled to remember my work colleagues’ names and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. I putting it down to jetlag, an ear-condition picked up from the skydive, a new house full of unopened boxes to get used to and being totally shattered from moving in. We didn’t feel too bad after the flight home on Sunday thanks to Kerry upgrading us to premium economy but the depression of the holiday end and moving in really got to me. Even worse was visiting the new house which looked tiny, old and in need of a modern overhaul. The past owners left us a welcome pack warning us of a frog invasion from the pond and all the plants they planted. Monday was our move in date with help from Chandy, some guy I’d met through Ebay who has his own removals company. It took almost all day to shift our storage stuff and flat contents. I’m not sure if we would have finished by 5pm if I hadn’t of...

Our holiday was nearly over and we weren’t looking forward to the end. James and Emma were ready for us at check out and the weather was behaving itself for once. The only thing left to do in Queenstown was the Sky Gondola and Luge. Kerry did well to control her fear of heights whilst me and James giggled like kids on the luge (a go-kart/toboggan type thing). Our last meal in New Zealand was going to be a good one so we went for the fatboy option of Fergburger , a Queenstown legend in a bap. It was just as good as the Wanaka burger and the Tropical Swine still lingers on the taste buds. There was no option to extend our stay as we had the last flight from Queenstown at 3:15pm. James and Emma dropped us off for a tearful goodbye. The internal flight to Auckland was a chance to review what we’d covered in 2 weeks crossing both islands. Within an hour the heart strings were tugging us to stay. Kerry spoiled us to premium economy tickets for the return journey. Other activities during our...

What should have been a day of extreme highs turned out (for me) a bit of a downer. We had to be picked up for the skydive at 8:30am. Kerry had been building up her nerves all week whereas I was eager to do it. Arriving at the private airfield both me and Kerry would be the second group to go. We both met our tandem divers. Kerry got a friendly, caring ladies man who looked after her, consoling her all the way. I got Chris, a California guy who’s breath stunk of booze and not too chatty or bothered. After the first group had come down ok we packed ourselves in the cramped plane and flew up to a planned 15,000 feet. We were warned we would need oxygen past 11,000 ft. The 2 seconds of actually jumping out of the plane was ok for me but the rest of it I’d rather forget. Either I didn’t have enough oxygen or Chris didn’t warn me properly, I panicked and couldn’t breath gasping for air. Then the pain in my ears built up as the air pressure took its toll. The freefall and picturesque descent...

Mixing the beers and cocktails is not good for me. With my sleep account seriously overdrawn, I needed an easy day. Rain also woke me up and at breakfast a permanent stream was running down the hotel road. Sky dive had been cancelled again until 2:30pm though looking very doubtful. Shopping and complimentary hotel coffees only delayed the expected cancellation; the sky dive was off again. Our back up plan was to book the Canyon Swing at 4:30pm and find something else to do in between. James played taxi driver and drove us to Arrowtown. I’d read in guides the small mining town had some decent clothes shops and quirky stores but had the feeling it was going to be a crappy retail outlet. I was right as it was both crap and a retail outlet dressed up as cowboy town. Even the café for lunch was rubbish with most of the afternoon waiting for the service and food. Back in Queenstown for our Canyon Swing and the preparation involved a weigh in and the reception staff member insisting on drawin...

Yesterday’s snow on the high ground was still evident as we drove back to Queenstown. Loads of drivers including us were stopping to take photos of the white fields. Around halfway back we spotted a beautiful lakeside, snowy mountain view too perfect to pass up. As we set up the camera for a cheesy group shot along rolls up a Welsh version of Phoenix Nights’ Brian Potter with mobility scooter trying to sell us his marmalade and jams. It was almost scenic photo taxation. We checked into our super luxury hotel, the Dairy for the holiday remainder which meant dropping off our mobile home for the last few weeks. We had mixed feelings of seeing it go but looked forward to not having to prepare our bed for 30 minutes and not having to suffer drafty cold showers. As we drove back from the airport we spotted a couple of metal statues for mailboxes. We’d obviously stumbled across the local nutjob artist who’d welded a boozed up tin-man as a mailbox and tin-woman with kitchen sink. As I snapped...

We woke up loads of times to the sound of pelting rain throughout the night. Poor Emma and James were in their tent so were paranoid they would be flooded out. The full day cruise to Doubtful Sound started early so another working day alarm. Real Journeys was the tour operator which consisted of a lake ferry, a coach ride and the main cruise through Doubtful Sound. The first lake we’d seen the day before and apparently was named incorrectly due to a map-maker’s mistake. It was also named after an old Maori name meaning ‘rainy lake’. Bit of an understatement really as not surprising that 2 out of 3 days it rains here. The coach journey on the country’s most expensive road revealed high altitude moss covered trees but the mists had covered the supposedly excellent views of waterfalls etc. The cold rain didn’t let up for the actual cruise which put off the wildlife to exhibit themselves. Only saw the one seal in the distance and no penguins on Penguin Island. The landscape was beautiful ...

Another early rise for the Shotover Jetboat experience. Apparently, Saturday night’s rain cancelled the boats due to too much water and we were warned that it could be a bumpy ride. The weather hadn’t improved with drizzle and cold winds so balaclavas would have been the best idea in an open boat. The jetboat ride itself was crazy, bumpy and friggin’ freezing with cold wetness pelting the face. Luckily it only last around 15 minutes with multiple 360 degree spins and fast turns close to the rocks – basically rally driving on the water. The rain properly came down again as we met up with James and Emma for our road trip to Doubtful Sound, New Zealand’s own fiordland. The journey took around 2 hours playing spot the dead sheep and singing to Rapture songs. We arrived in Manapouri, the starting point of the tomorrow’s tour around mid-afternoon and dismissed the idea of driving up to Milford Sound (another 2.5 hours). Instead we walked along the lake side spotting dead birds and eels (mus...

Woke up with the plan to leave the campsite for a less crowded one but our drinking excess and the Summer daylight savings cocked this up. The 10am checkout had passed so resorted to finding a better spot to park. Skydiving and the Shotover Jetboating were both cancelled because of the weather though with the hangover I was feeling it wouldn’t have been a good idea. We met up with James and Emma in town later for a chocolate based lunch. The guilt of the extra calories and the thought of not wanting to waste a day we hired some mountain bikes and explored the lakeside park. The evening was kept short for the first Shotover slot the next morning so opted for the best takeaway pizza courtesy of Hell Pizza . We loved the creative touch that the box would convert into a cardboard coffin (as modeled by Kerry and a camp James). Sounds like they’ve upset a few Kiwis with their other creative touches as per this Family First website . As this is a short entry here's a summary of what we li...

Our solicitor rang us last night at midnight to confirm the completion of our house which was welcome news. We’re now the proud owners of an empty house on the other side of the world. Wanaka is a poor man’s Queenstown but has its own quirky attractions. One of them I wished we had time for was the local cinema having settees and a car inside. The first we visited was Puzzling World which was a bit rubbish but was cheap to get in. The optical illusions were fun but very busy with kids hogging the activities. The sky dive was still canceled and we realised we bought mutton sausage rolls instead – where’s the pork, dudes?! So bought possibly the best burgers ever from Red Star and had the best picnic view of the lake in the campervan. James and Emma, our other reason in NZ were around the corner in Queenstown and drove over to see us. We headed out of town to try the clay pigeon shooting at Have a Shot which was a good laugh. I couldn’t quite get the hang of the .22 calibre rifles so ...

Our heli-hike wasn’t scheduled until midday so treated ourselves to the biggest, greediest breakfast ever. Whilst scoffing through French toast and yoghurt topped granola I read the local paper, the Greymouth Star . There was one story that really defined the NZ experience for us:- “Farmer finds Ford Cortina Mk3 wrapped round a tree with a skeleton laid out in dying pose trying to escape out of the car window. Police believe it’s in connection of missing man from 1985.” However, I found the real story here so I apologise for the slight exaggeration. The rest of the breakfast was realising how much of a hicktown Fox was with mothers breastfeeding toddlers (too old for that sort of thing) and barking dogs on Utes. The weather was looking very dodgy with clouds near the mountains which could have meant the helicopter tour was off. At the tour desk we felt luck was on our side but it felt every minute one of our party delayed us the tour would be off. The helicopter ride only took 10 mi...

As soon as we got back to Methven we started our long, long journey to Fox Glacier , the other side of the mountain range and opposite coast. We were expecting a 5 and a half hour drive! This was possibly the most breathtaking but demanding journey I’ve ever taken. We really should have driven during the day to fully appreciate the scenery and we couldn’t help stop every half an hour to take photos. Highlights were: A jaw dropping gorge in Canterbury Plains ; A shortcut away from the main highway (from Lake Coleridge to Lake Lyndon) which turned out to be a 24 km dust/grit track through the driest part of NZ vibrating the campervan and us to bits – slightly worrying; Arthur’s Pass was slap in the middle of the highest mountains I’ve ever seen with roads reaching extreme heights; The sunset shadows and last rays of the sun over the peaks; A mad descent reveals a rock shelter like tunnel and a massive industrial size drain pipe to protect the road but trying to avoid sight of the sheer...

We woke up to the most clear blue skies we’ve seen this holiday which was perfect for our Edoras tour . I didn’t really know what to expect on the tour guessing some LOTR stuff would dominate the day. Our Kiwi guide, who bizarrely lived in Lewes last year, turned up in a 6-wheeled off-roader with full-on radio mast at the front and a party of 15 people. After a coffee break we stopped off for a number of photo opps at Lake Camp and Lake Clearwater. There’s a mini-town just for holiday houses/sheds by the lake where no-one is allowed to build or live permanently. The views are perfect today with distant snowy mountains surrounded by light blue sky. The off-roader really came useful as we approached the site where Rohan scenes were filmed driving through rivers and over rough rocky roads. Our final parking place meant a 5 minute hike up the hill to where the Golden Hall was built (in Two Towers). You didn’t have to like LOTR to enjoy this as the scenery made you feel glad to be alive. M...

Another stupid early alarm call for 6:30am (call this a holiday?!) for the whale watching and rang the tour operator to see if it was still on. It was canceled as the seas were too choppy. Obviously whales are bit fussy when it comes to showing off. So we went back to a warm bed for another 90 minutes of snoozing. The weather was beginning to be a major factor affecting our holiday and retrospectively should have stuck to the original plan doing the skydive over Marlborough Sounds or even over Lake Taupo. After a few phonecalls we’re now doing the Edoras tour on Thursday and the Heli-hike on Friday. Thank god for 0800 freefone numbers. We packed in a second breakfast (my favourite, French Toast) in Kaikoura and set off to Hanmer Springs so I could do a bungy jump at the same place as Kerry 12 years ago. Thrill Seekers Canyon had jet-boating, river-rafting, quad-biking but I was here for the leap off the road bridge. I was pretty much pre-occupied by the cold weather than the normal n...

We left the Richmond campsite and went back to Nelson to try and meet Kerry’s old friend, Christine. We’d been told that she started work at midday so tried looking for a laundrette. I wasn’t able to get my undies washed but we were lucky with the old friend reunion. Both ladies were chuffed to see each other again and will hopefully keep in contact. We’ve been putting off the sky dive for awhile now but today we wanted to get down to Kaikoura, home of the whales as soon as possible which was on the other side of the South Island. We drove on the same twisty roads to Picton through the vineyards and through Blenheim. With the Marlborough Sounds behind us the roads got more remote, twisty and very windy. The coastal road was beautiful to see and saw a sign warning us of seals. Normally we’d dismiss this as the rare encounter but there they were sunbathing on the rocks next to the highway. The views just got grander as to the west of Kaikoura huge mountains showed off their snow topped c...

Headache had gone but a 6am alarm wasn’t very enjoyable in preparation for our ferry across to Picton on the South Island. The weather wasn’t all that appealing either rain hadn’t let up all night for our 3 hour crossing. As soon as we boarded, we took some motion sickness pills and booked some cinema tickets for Transformers which turned out to be quite good. Both of us felt ropey a third way through and I had to seek fresh air before returning to the movie. As soon as we docked we headed for Nelson, Kerry’s home some 12 years ago in a convoy of campervans. It was field after field of vineyards of Marlborough country. We stopped in Havelock for lunch, world capital for green shell mussels. All the shops had comedy mussels doing the activity the shop represented. Landscape changed to Twin Peaks like country with hardly any cars around. As we approached Nelson, Kerry’s memory started to activate. Personally, I was surprised how built up the place was from her description and headed out...

Our first task to find a campervan site near to Wellington ready for the next day ferry which turned out to be a motel with a powered carpark. After that we caught a bus into town for shopping then the main reason for choosing this time to visit NZ, the Wearable Arts Show. Wellington had a better vibe than Auckland even though it was raining. A lot of cool shops around the Cuba Street area again set amongst the tattoo parlours and sex shops. With a recommendation from some shop assistants we checked out Fidels for lunch for the best milkshakes. Décor was styled on the bearded dictator’s country. Next we explored the arty dock area where the national museum, Te Papa was situated. It was free entry luckily as only the Maori art and earthquake simulator was worth the visit. On to the main event, the World of Wearable Art (WOW) show was just the other side of the dockside. Wellington is a compact city and easy to get around by foot. The events place was buzzing with entertainers like ju...

We drove all the way down to Wellington via a place called Tai Hapi, the gumboot throwing capital of NZ under the advice of the Brass owner. Before reaching this place, we'd read about a giant carrot statue in a place called Ohakune in the Lonely Planet as pictured. The carrot has something to do with this festival . Tai Hapi turned out to be slightly disappointing and like a lot of small towns, its identity statue made from corrugated metal – a giant gumboot. More amazing scenery along the way with multiple cows and sheep filling the fields. Stopped at Mangaweka which had a café in an old Dakota plane and stocked up on the lovely NZ chocolate and coffee. Another stop at a place called Bulls which it seemed every business used the town name as cheesily as possible e.g. the medical centre is Cure-a-bull. We approached Wellington, the country’s capital without a real idea of where to stay and it turned out to be quite stressful finding somewhere which allowed campervans, close enou...

Couldn’t deal with the coldness of the van so delayed getting up this morning. First on the hot thermal roadshow was Te Puia , a Maori and geyser theme park. Entry was quite steep at $50 but it was the cultural part that was worth it. More smelliness and walking around but didn’t quite compare to the extremeness on White Island. The main geyser was quite interesting but took awhile to really kick off.  The Maori midday ceremony was very special for me the guide asked for someone to act as visiting chief which I volunteered for. There’ll be a couple of YouTube videos of this coming soon but in essence I had to accept a peace offering and rub a few noses on stage. From my ‘throne’ (ok maybe not throne but best seat in the house) we watched the song and dance show which included Poi, the catching sticks game and a few warrior moves. The second smelly place was Wait-o-tapu or Geyserland which had loads of multi-coloured pools with some creative names like Champagne Pool, Artist P...

We’d booked our boat trip to the volcanic island off Whakantane (pronounced Thakatanae) weeks ago but according to the captain, gale forces were on they way. Strange really as it was a beautiful, still day so totally gutted we’d wasted our time. We then looked into an alternative to getting there calling the Vulcan Helicopter tours instead. It was quite expensive at $400 each plus another $400 to pay for the extra empty seat unless another party came forward. We took the chance and were treated to another exclusive trip and have the island to ourselves. It was a short drive outside the town to a toy-town airport and Mark, our pilot dismissed the weather forecast. It was a wasp-like chopper (similar to Magnum PI) taking 20 minutes passing Whale Island. It was certainly windy but the pilot did well to land it on the crater like island. We were given a safety helmet and gas mask in case the volcanic activity misbehaved. The landscape was incredible and felt like walking on the Moon or...

We were on the first Waitomo Caves boat tour as we had to travel to the East coast for tomorrow’s White Island tour. It was quite tame compared to yesterday’s tour but still worth doing and a lot more glowworms. Fact: Glowworms are actually fly lava with glowing poo in their arses. They have spider like threads catching other flies. The caves were spooky and the cluster of glowworms very pretty like night stars. We posed for the end tour photo pretending to be hooded muppets but the camera missed us. We headed for Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty stopping off at a few places en route. First stop was the Otorohanga Kiwi House , a native bird park to view real Kiwis. Taking photos of MC Hammer trousered dudes were quite tricky being nocturnal and housed in a dark room. Outside were other NZ birds just as cute. Keas are parrot-like and just as clever plus we timed our visit for their feeding hour. Left the aviary for more animal filled scenery passing cows, sheep, goats, deer and e...

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr Jetlag strikes back with a vengeance waking us up at 3am and our bodies refused to sleep again. With a couple of weeks without TV we took advantage of the hotel’s facilities and watched the morning programmes. There’s a right character who presents their GMTV equivalent whinging at every opportunity amusing us. The taxi driver for our trip to collect the van was very helpful lending his mobilephone to speed up the Maui van hire process. Lucky really as it took ages setting off a little later than hoped after 1001 instructions on how to use the campervan. The traffic to the main motorway was quite busy by NZ standards but after a few kilometres out of Auckland only a handful of vehicles were sharing our journey. One story suburbs dwindled away for lush green countryside dominated by hills, sheep and cows. We were lucky to arrive on time at Waitomo Caves after stopping for some food and booked into the campsite opposite the meeting point. There was...

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr After well deserved ten hour sleep I left Kerry to enjoy the room’s comforts whilst I went up the Sky Tower to enjoy the city views. Better views than the Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower but only worth 30 minutes ignoring the bungy jump for another day. The Lonely Planet guide recommended ‘K’ Road for some unusual shopping so bought a day pass and headed over. It was a mix of sleezy sex shops, tattoo parlours with cool boutiques, a bit like San Francisco’s The Haight. Lunch was a sandwich in a palm tree lined park on the way back to the main town. The day pass tickets also allowed us to use the cities’ ferry service so explored the other side of the bay for Devonport. Not too much to see apart from cute antique shops and a hilled park for more city bay views. Returned to the mainland and headed for Mount Eden on the other side of the city for more lofty views. Nearly didn’t make it before sunset after stumbling over some really cool clothes shops and off...

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr Landed in Auckland around 9am and were introduced to New Zealand’s paranoid immigration having our hiking boots taken away for cleaning and sterilised. The officials were also keen to know what sort of trainer Kerry was at home, why she was here and how close was Sussex to Surrey where the Foot and Mouth outbreak was. The hotel shuttle bus delivered us to our first stay, the Siebel Suites on the waterside. Our early arrival meant the room wasn’t ready so we searched for a decent breakfast and scoffed some French toast . Gained some nice harbour views and some feathered friends with cheeky sparrows stalking us for leftovers. The Siebel Suite room was amazing with all the modcons you could need like washing machine, dishwasher, DVD player etc. All we were interested was regaining some much needed sleep looking more like a zombie with Rage. With a couple of hours kip we ventured out looking for more grub. Found an Asian mix restaurant called Monson Poo...

Just spent the best US$40 (about £20) at Hong Kong airport. Now relaxing after 15 minutes massage, a decent shower and all you can eat buffet. Still smell like a sweaty bast@rd but feeling so much better. Oh yeah. Flight entertainment was slightly boring with not the expected latest films. Watched Blades of Glory which was quite funny. Otherwise almost zero sleep in our exit door seats. Now taking advantage of the free wi-fi. Couple of observations: Yangtze river in China looked well brown with pollution; and the Cantonese announcer sounded like 'she sells seashells on the seashore' - lots of 'she' sounds.

So I've been doing a million and one things in preparation for the holiday, house move, parent problems ( Orange screwing over my dad's email ) and obviously my 9 to 5 work to stop me updating the blog. Last weekend was just tidying the flat and packing. Watched Bourne Identity and the follow up which we avoided for some reason (Matt Damon maybe), and was pleasantly surprised how good they are. Maybe we'll see the third one on the plane to NZ. Kanye West has wound me up for the third time. The first was his tizzy-fit at not winning best video last year and dissing Justice vs. Simian . Secondly, for stealing Harder, Faster etc., though I should blame the French robots in disguise, Daft Punk for allowing it. Is this his warped sense of respect to French house music? But it's only since seeing the Stronger video was I slightly riled after noticing him copying scenes from Akira . Whether Kanye knew what the director was upto or whether he wanted to break the Japanese mar...

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr Just picked up the latest listing for Komedia and spotted Potted Potter (not the one pictured). Its two blokes acting out all 7 Harry Potter books in 60 minutes. Shame we're on holiday. Not much to report this week. New Zealand holiday is shaping up. The snowmobile adventure trip is off as we arrive too late in the season. Slightly concerned that there'll be a lack of snow for boarding. Capoeira is going okay. This week I went to the slightly more advanced class ending the night with some clapping and singing. I thought I had rhythm but clapping three beats then singing (more like mumbling) to a 4/4 beat is well tricky.