I live in the lower North Island in the Manawatu.  The town where I live is called Feilding which is about ten minutes drive from Palmerston North which is a large city with a university.  Feilding town was named after a guy called Colonel William Feilding who was director of emigrants in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. 

 http://www.webweavers.co.nz/Feilding/

I used to live on the Kapiti coast for three years near Kapiti Island in a place called Paraparaumu which is pronounced para para oomoo.  My Mother still lived there...well it is Raumati actually.  nice coastline and lovely in Summer which it is at the moment.  I go there tonight to look after her dog for a week and the kids and I will have a holiday or sorts...she is off up to Hamilton to see my brother who has just had a baby girl.  She will spend some time with him and help whilst they recover from the birth...

Lord of the Rings was filmed a great deal by the looks of the film in the mountain ranges in South Island and also the actual film set for Bagshot I think was in Wellington somewhere which is where we go for Ashley’s hospital appointments.  I only got around to seeing the first film on video about two months ago and I don’t want to wait that long to see the Two Towers...I was in suspense after the ending of the first film.  I should by rights have been at the pictures to see it when it first came out as I read the books as a child and I think he has done an amazing job because more or less all the characters are how I perceived them in my head when I read the books.  So I may go to see the film when I am holidaying...will still log in and have email as Mum has a connection also..but the PC may be slower and the connection. 

The South Island and the North Island are so different really.  As you get further North the temp rises and the weather is hotter and the grass and trees and hills in Summer get a little brown with the heat.  There are places that I have not been to yet here..but my favorite place was Rotorua because it is geothermically active and so many places to visit..smells like rotten eggs at times due to the sulphur and some of the lakes are not good for swimming in because they are too hot..LOL...but  nice to look at...maybe dip your finger in if your feeling lucky... :)

Oh that and driving through the desert road is particularly nice...Bay of islands looks neat..I’like to go there.

I once took a ferry trip to the South Island but didn’t get to see much as the friend I took the trip over with was throwing up and sea sick, so we just stayed around Picton...but Bruce my x has been and seen a substantial part of the South Island and raves about it.  We will get down there one day for a holiday as I would love to see it.  My Mother has been and she has film footage going over some of the snow capped mountains and the glaciers.  

I don’t like Wellington though or Auckland city centers.  Places are so hard to get to because of the roads and everything is just so spread out instead of being centralised.  I think I am used to the rural areas now and less traffic also.

Cheers

Anne-Marie