Posts made by dogmeat

@Crucial The farm one.

That coast is glorious. One of the great things about Northland being a narrow peninsula is you are never far from a choice of either coast So many great bays.

Stupidest thread ever

@NTA Fuck that

Those guys are fucking lunatics but must have balls the size of a bowling ball

@jegga well originally Barbarian meant not Greek so.....

AARGH This thread is reinforcing for me two facts. I didn't get a winter break this year and I am working through Xmas / New Year. Have had so many great times all over Northland although usually as a long weekend.

Whananaki camp ground (the private coastal one) is one of the best I've ever been to. Iconic beach NZ although it gets booked out over summer well ahead. I went in spring almost had the place to myself sigh

@taniwharugby been there - done that Watered his lemon too...

@raznomore I see today Tremain has previous with a cartoon published referencing Louise Nicholas' sexual assault with a police baton.

He really is a fucking moron. I don't think theres much "un" in his conscious bias.

@Crucial Not stayed there but have at Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 - 5 minutes further up the peninsula which also has cabins if that's the option @voodoo chooses.

Agree the Peninsula would be a great base to explore the top of the north. You can comfortable do the whole of the trip to Cape Reinga as a self drive in a day with side excursions to all the harbours beaches etc or pick up a coach trip from Kaitaia. Also a good base for Whangaraoa plenty of good beaches fishing arts and crafts etc.

Take the coastal route back to the BoI and base yourself there for a few days and sort a similar base on the Hokianga and you are pretty much sorted.

There are a multitude of great places on the east coast and Te Araroa pretty much follows the coast so lots of great walks as well. Could stop in at Whananaki for a wee dram with Winnie … although locals say he doesn't care for visitors.

@booboo Yes Waiwera is closed. As a kid we used to stay for the May and Aug school holidays at the hotel next door (mates of my parents). Was a fantastic place in those days. The adults who we were staying with and who ostensibly looked after us who were old alkies. We saw them about every 4th day. Great days.

Fergburger is crap.

@voodoo Two weeks is comfortably enough to do the top without rushing. All the tourist highlights are worth doing and almost any coast road will reward a meander down it.

There is plenty of accommodation but it will get booked out. It's not impossible to find places at the last minute if you are prepared to be flexible but it'd be a bit of an effort. However its not that big a place that you couldn't find 3-4 bases for a few days each, book ahead and trip off from them

Bulldog Morrison (ex Battle of Britain fighter pilot) in Standard 3 used a barbers strop. Can't remember what for but he gave it a full swing of his arm. It hurt and swelled up enormously.

5th Form Maths Can't remember the name of the teacher but feel a bit bad in hindsight. He had totally lost control of the class - used to foam at the corners of his mouth. Everyone was getting caned except me which wasn't a good look. So I sat at the front of the class, leaned back in the chair and started counting aloud. He asked me what I was doing and I replied that it was a maths class so I was counting the dots in the ceiling tiles.

He didn't have the power of the old Bulldog. He did however have a nervous breakdown within a few weeks. Turns out his wife had left him and he was now a solo parent looking after a quadriplegic son who also had Downs Syndrome. Poor bastard.

@mariner4life I'm guessing no DP...

@Crucial said in The Best ... in New Zealand:

Not everything from the bay of Hawke is awesome

@Nepia said in The Best ... in New Zealand: Wash your mouth out with soap. Although your comments over solidness suggests you've never actually had Rush Munros.>

The worst ice-cream I have ever had in my life was in Napier and I defy anyone to enjoy it.

Was from Pacifica on Marine Parade (2018 New Zealand Restaurant of the Year)

Jeremy Rameka the Chef there is a bloody genius innovator. I eat there regularly although ironically I don't think its a patch on what is was a few years ago - awards notwithstanding.

Nowadays he only does a 5 course degustation but back in the day he did a'la'carte and a 10 course degustation. We had had the degustation with a couple of cocktails and wine. It was getting last. We got chatting to his (then) wife and Jeremy and 10 courses became 13 as he was "trying out a few taste experiments"

Everything was sublime until we got to his last experiment. Truffle ice cream. Made with truffle oil and truffle shavings.

WAAAAAAAAAY too heavy handed with the truffles. Almost inedible. I finished it because of politeness. We had scored three extra free courses but I really wished I hadn't. Wsa still repeating on me 24 hours later and almost soured the whole experience.

So - sorry. Not everything from the Bay is fantastic. Although much is. I'd happily move there except having been there about 50 times in the last decade I have decided its too insular. You see the same faces at every friggin event.

BTW Rush Munro's is massively over-hyped. Just like Mangonui fish and chips.

To return on topic though. You could easily argue for Hawkes Bay having best Farmers Market, Vineyards, Restaurants, Events, Beaches and Fly-Fishing just to name a few.

Trouble with a Best Of is nowadays its hard to find a place that doesn't juxtapose a great café, beach, river etc

Except Palmie of course

so what did the Lions do wrong?

Too many games in Joburg or did the names confuse the schedulers?

@voodoo Not before Breakfast. Otherwise all good.

@Crucial I really wanted Paine to declare when he was in the 390's.....

The rabble that was Oz without Smith would have been a relatively easy contest.

With him back. It's not just his own brilliance its the balance he brings to the side and the rise in confidence he gives them.

I would love to beat those bastards. Too many decades of patronising and cheating but I think it's big ask.

Here's hoping. Bring It On.

@Xpat61 said in Cricket: NZ vs England:

We’re caught in a trap!!!
From my understanding not one of the NZ team contesting this series has played at any of the three grounds!
Oz coming off a Pink ball test into one!
No warm up match?
Feels like Wales taking on The ABs.
Good luck with that.......
However we have the best team we have ever put out against Oz barring one opener who looks like a BC of days of yore!
Should we throw him or someone else to the wolves?
He’s already lacking any sense of confidence so why not chuck someone in who is not totally failing in their role?

Short memory. Rosco completed the highest innings scored by an overseas batsman as he and Kane put on a 265 run partnership

Don't get me started on eyes. I don't mind wearing glasses - certainly prefer wearing them all the tie to the days when I was constantly putting them on, taking them off etc.

I had surgery on my eye lids in October. As we age gravity means everything heads south including your eye lids. I double down with a genetic disorder that effectively meant I was borderline to drive even with glasses because my eye lids had progressively covered a lot of my eyes. I hadn't noticed but I literally could not see anything above or to the side of my eyes until it was within 15 cms.

Relatively straight forward surgery they cut open your eye lid attach it to a muscle in the eyebrow and remove the fold of skin this creates.

Post Op though. I had to ice my eyes with little bags of frozen peas (changing them every 20 minutes) for the first three days. I thought I'd be back at work by then. HA! After a week I looked like Mike Tyson in his prime had used my face as a punch bag.

I still have swelling and itching 6 weeks later and the whole area is still quite tender. Apparently according to Dr Google swelling can last ….. A YEAR!

Colonoscopy's are a doddle by comparison

@taniwharugby - originally called Cock.

So I had my first ever child minding experience ever at the weekend. I have managed to reach my advanced age and never had to do this before but I had to look after a 17 month old boy from Saturday night to yesterday afternoon.

Now I feel old. Really old.

The kid had never been away from his parents before so he would cry unless I kept him entertained. Not having a clue my entertainment involved me doing prat falls leaping about and other very physical "comedy" Every fucking muscle in my body aches today.

How do they manage to have more shit come out than food goes in?

R.E.A.L.L.Y. O.L.D.

I first flew to London 40 years ago last month - that makes me feel old. Four stopovers including Bombay (as then was). A succession of very wizened old Indian guys clad onl in loincloths and turbans walked through the plane on their haunches with a dust ban and brush sweeping the carpet. Each emptied the ashtrays - I was in non smoking.

Smoking when I grew up was everywhere Buses, planes, cinemas, pubs, restaurants. Fucking hate it.