Paeroa Hotel

 In the central North Island is the little town of Paeroa, which has an estimated population of approx 4630 people. On the corner at the incoming intersection is this old hotel. Most towns and cities around the country all have historical hotels like this which double as a drinking/eating establishment and somewhere to stay.

The Paeroa Hotel is part of the historic plates trust being built around 1897. It was relocated to where it now sits in 2 sections when the local railway station was constructed using skids and winches in 1904.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and the Weekend Roundup.

Lemon and Paeroa

 If you haven't seen this before it's a well known icon to us Kiwis. In the small town of Paeroa is this statue of a bottle of the fizzy drink "Lemon and Paeroa" which has a very unique taste. It was created in 1907 by combining lemon juice with carbonated water from this town and is now owned by Coca-Cola.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom's Signs.

Armistace Day in Paeroa

Today is our Armistace Day here NZ also known as Remembrance Day - this symbolizes our thanks for all the men and women who have fought in all wars but especially WW1. The coming of peace was on the 11th hour on the 11th day of 1918 and 2 minutes silence is normally observed in memory of the Kiwis who died while serving their country.

This particular mural in Paeroa depicts the branches of of the NZ military forces, a howitzer and a naval anti-aircraft Oerlikon Cannon.

Linking up with Mural Monday and Our World Tuesday.

Waikino Station Cafe

One place I was itching to visit since we lived in Tauranga was the old Waikino Station Cafe - located within the Karangahake Gorge Region and just off the main highway. I use to think this was still an actual railway station but it turns out it is now a vintage rail cafe.

Unfortunately because it's Winter here the cafe was closed so the closest I could get was taking a photo from the front over the tracks.

The construction was first started in 1900 and was opened in 1905 for goods and passengers. This would've been quite an isolated area, these days it's in the middle of the countryside within the Karangahake Gorge so it would also probably been used to cart stone and rock from the railway within the Gorge itself.

So here's how it would've first looked in 1905. In 1952 the station stopped operating and in 1961 it was closed. Good to know now though that it's been used for something good.

Flooding in Paeroa

The Bay of Plenty has had bits and pieces of rain and bad weather over Winter but last week when my daughter and I drove through the Hauraki District of Paeroa we saw first hand just how much more they have had than us. We stopped and turned off into a side road so I could take this photo. This area, above has the bridge over the water so people can drive to Auckland, usually the river just flows naturally but it looks like it had badly burst - in fact further to the left there was drainage which was bubbling high in the air, I think it was struggling to cope with it all.

And when I looked to our right here is the farmland up next door, thankfully the cows are safe in their paddocks and that the rain hadn't reached them. This area of land is quite flat and is quite prone to flooding.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

The old Paeroa R.S.A. building

There are plenty of old buildings in Paeroa, one of which is the old RSA (returned services association) building which was first established in 1919 after wounded soldiers came home after the 1st world war.

Just a short way up are these rows of lemon trees are either side of the pathway leading to the building.

And this is the building from the look of it, maybe back in the 1960s? Not sure who took the photo so I can't give credit.

Winter skies in Paeroa

Night skies in Paeroa - (pronounced pie-rower) with petrol station to the right. 
Winter 2016

So I'm down with the flu...again! Must be the 4th time in the last few months - the joys of working with the public I guess. And after having my annual checkup at the doctor's last week I was pleased to hear that my blood pressure has gone down since last time I was there, I think it's the fact that I've lost weight that's helped but the doctor did say that going through the dreaded menopause (like I have been for the last 2 years) can slow your metabolism down to almost nothing so it explains probably why I'm so tired alot of the time. I think if it wasn't for the daily vitamins and supplements I take I'd be more worse for the wear.

I did get a chance to try some new chocolate bars by Cadbury - they've put out a larger bar of Picnic, a larger bar of Moro and a larger bar of Moro Gold, not sure what I think of them, they seem a bit rich and overly sweet so think I will stick with my favourites. Anyway...4 working days till I finish work - yay!

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Lemon and Paeroa!

On our trip to the far north a few months ago we stopped at this kiwi icon in the little town of Paeroa - probably an hour or so from Tauranga. This kiwi icon is in the center of town and represents the fizzy drink Lemon and Paeroa which means it's made of lemon and carbonated mineral water in this area. It's truly a refreshing drink - I like it on occasion with a dash of whiskey. This is me with my daughter Renee sitting in front of the big bottle.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Owharoa Waterfalls - Waikato

Today...another tiki tour, this time in the opposite direction to Owharoa Waterfalls - about an hour from home. Just off the main highway and before the Karangahake Gorge. Located in between Paeroa and Waihi we found the water was very heavy most likely from all the rain we had last week. I even managed to get a photo of a couple of tourists getting their photos taken in front of the waterfall.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Seasons change....for many reasons

The times they are a changing and this for me at the moment has more than one meaning. I love this time of year... yellow, golds, bronze, reds are all showing their colours. Autumn for us down under and Spring for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere. This photo was taken in Paeroa about 3 hours or so from where I live.

Its very poignant - I don't normally talk about my personal circumstances on the internet however just this once I will share what's been going on lately. For 4 years I worked in a busy dental surgery - I grew to love my job...the people contact, my work colleagues and it was a chance to learn new skills in something I'd never tried before. Recently due to not enough work I had to make the unfortunate decision to finish there and where I live there isn't much work. The whole of the Northland region is in a bit of a sad state and people are moving where the work is - for me this is something I've had to make the choice to do. I've looking further down the line to a different place with a new partner (who is awesome by the way) and applying for jobs which pay  more and offer better opportunties. Job searching is my role so hopefully I will find something and be able to move.

Hope all is going well for you wherever you are :-)

State Highway 2 - Karangahake Gorge Canyon

I captured this amazing shot recently while driving along State Highway 2 just past the Karangahake Gorge near the Kaimai Ranges. This area of road is between Paeroa, Waikino and  and Waihi. It truly is a stunning piece of New Zealand!