wijomas

IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEE UPDATED INFO IN POST #185


Hi Everybody,

So, I thought it was time we all got together in my home town, Hawke's Bay. Although it's not really designed to handle such esteemed travellers as ourselves (lack of airport lounges, lack of chain hotels, etc, etc), I think we can have a great Do at Waimarama Beach, which is approximately 30-40 minutes drive from NPE airport, which as Kiwi Flyer points out in his post below, you can reach NPE from AKL, WLG, or CHC on Air New Zealand (sorry, no oneworld flights into NPE). I will try to arrange transport, but if you wish to explore a bit, it may be wise to hire a car. Plenty of parking available at the house.

I would like to invite everyone to our beach house there, which is right on the waterfront with direct beach access. There will be quad bikes (ATV's for the uninitiated) and jet skis. The large island just off the coast is known as Bare Island, and is reachable easily by jetski - it's actually green on the other side, and depending on the tide you may be able to actually walk on a small portion of the island.

Of course, being Hawke's Bay, also known as "Wine Country," there shall be much booze involved. There shall also be loud things that go BANG (intentionally, of course! ). There shall also be dinner at Jark's, the local restaurant, cafe, and bar. See www.jarks.co.nz for their menu.

For the adventurous amongst you, Te Mata Peak is a short drive away from Waimarama, heading back towards Havelock North village (where I grew up). I can personally vouch for the truly amazing scenery here - especially when you decide to paraglide off it! Just be careful of the sheep below!

Our beach house there is a large, 4 bedroom house, with one bathroom inside, and another seperate bathroom detached from the main house. There is also another seperate building with two beds, which of course, FlyerTalkers are welcome to use! The bedrooms inside the house are very big, and the lower level is an open plan living room which can house some more people too (we've got plenty of beds around stored around the place! )

There is also a large section which you are welcome to pitch a tent or something if you are so inclined. Quite a few of the local houses are also available to rent on a short term basis, PM me and I will research for you.

I will post some more information shortly, but for now, here are some pictures of Waimarama and Te Mata Peak:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/loririelly/450966776/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwifre...on/2328785122/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwifre...on/2327967969/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikex/306830558/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtveen/2211821603/

I look forward to welcoming you all to Waimarama!

wijomas

When is the Do?

This DO will be held on the weekend of 11-14 December 2009.


Proposed activities for this DO:

As well as a whole bunch of beach activities, such as jet skis, quad bikes, etc, I'll also arrange some other activities around Hawkes Bay.

Some possibilities include:

[WT] Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate tours (approx. $60-$90 pp, TBC)
[PA] Paragliding off Te Mata Peak ($140 pp)
[AH] Arataki Honey Visit (no cost)
[CK] Visit to the Gannett Colony at Cape Kidnappers (no cost)
[NA] Visit to the National Aquarium of NZ ($16 pp)

Of course, we'll also have our own fun out at the beach. There is no liquor ban on the beach except during the New Year period, so we'll have drinks, bbq, and fireworks on the beach (fire permit will be arranged due to the limited fire ban in place.)

We'll also have dinner at a variety of restaurants, one being JARKs, the local restaurant at Waimarama, and possibly one in Havelock North and another near the gannett colony out at Cape Kidnappers.

I've created a poll to find out which of these activities people are interested in, and if any of the locals (or anyone for that matter) have any other activities that I could include, please let me know

wijomas

Attendees

Platinum - DEFINITIVE
anat0l [BNE]
Bundy Bear [BNE]
chchkiwi [LAX/CHC]
Itsalongwaydown [SXE]
jswong [WLG]
serfty [MEL] - Sat
Thai-Kiwi+1 [WLG]
tuapekastar+1 [MEL]
wijomas+2 [AKL]
wandering_fred+1 [PER]


Gold - STRONG MAYBE
nor4 [WAS]


Silver - INTERESTED
AKLDUBFlyer [AKL]
BiziBB [SYD]
BondAir007 [USA]
boxo [USA]
Daria [???]
flashware [PER]
f0zzyNUE [NUE]
halothane [MEM]
Italy98 + 1 [GNV]
lili [SAN]
LLM [SAN]
scoow [STL]
WLG Base [WLG]


Bronze - CAN'T MAKE IT
Fliar [???]
Franny [FLL]
Green Fireflyer [SAN]
JohnK [SYD]
Kiwi Flyer [AKL]
monitor [FLL]
NZ_Flyer [DUD/AKL]
SFOMo [SFO]
SFOTerry [SFO]
Sue Oz [SXE]
szg [SZG]
techgirl [DFW]
TelevisionTdTina [LAX]
To market to market [MEL]






Beds/Bedrooms reserved
anat0l (bed)
chchkiwi (bedroom)
Itsalongwaydown (bedroom)
wandering_fred+1 (bedroom)
wijomas+2 (bedroom)

Kiwi Flyer

I'm interested assuming dates work out.

For non-locals, Air NZ flies to Napier from AKL, WLG and CHC; or it is a half day drive from either Auckland or Wellington.

June or July may be a bit damp and chilly?

wijomas

The weather generally isn't TOO bad out there (to us anyway), but I would certainly advise those from warmer climates to bring an extra jacket or two. The only time in Q2 that I'm not available is the OzFest #6 weekend, May 22-May 24.

I was looking closer to April, but I thought it might also be an idea to time it along with OzFest #6 to make it an extended trip for those from outside of the SWP.

I know as soon as monitor sees wine, he'll want in...

boxo

Thank you for a terrific opportunity, wijomas! I will be going to OZ Fest in May, connecting in AKL, so this may be possible depending on dates and if I can wing a stopover.

techgirl

I'd vote for early March when I'll already be over there but that wasn't in the options.

wijomas

There is also the possibility I could modify my current itinerary a bit and have this Do in late-Nov/early-December if that works better for more people. It will also work a bit better weatherwise, as around Christmas time is the kiwi summer

wijomas

I've created a poll to help decide when this do will be, please look at milepost #2 in this thread for the link to the poll and select which dates you can attend the Do.

monitor

We're on the Doodle for this one. ^ Either later in the year or the three days before the Ozfest.

Thai-Kiwi

It'd be churlish to decline, providing I can get away! I'm definitely not available in Mar as I'm in BKK. Doodle has been doodled.

Cheers, TK

wijomas

Awesome! Look forward to seeing you again TK!

TelevisionTdTina

Sounds like fun!!!!

I'm going to be in AKL from May 16th-20th. A couple of days seem to overlap the possible DO dates. I'll watch this thread for further details on dates.

Tina

wijomas

I'll leave the poll open until Tuesday night (AKL time.. GMT+13), so please get doodlin' if you haven't already. I'd really like to get the dates fixed so that I can begin to organize the Do and my other plans around it.

The link for the poll again is here:

http://www.doodle.com/participation....gpri52dtd3fkq5

^

tuapekastar

Always up for an NZ DO wijomas.

Have voted for the last three dates (December a bit iffy though).

Consider me definitely interested at this stage.

Cheers