history – Page 2 – The Adventures of Elle Coco

Settlers of The Far North

HOUHORA TAVERN

Now for a little history of Northland. The nearest harbour to Ngataki – Houhora Harbour was home to whalers and Dalmatian Gum Diggers (no, not the dogs, but people from the balkan area now known as Croatia, but this is also where dalmatian dogs are from). The old Post Office and Dance Hall next to Houhora Tavern date back to these pioneering days when the Dalmatian Gum Diggers were digging their fortunes of kauri gum burried below the surface of surrounding areas such as Waiharara, where the Gum Diggers Park sits now.

Houhora Post Office

Houhora Tavern

Continue reading “Settlers of The Far North”

Hell Hole of the Pacific

URUPUKAPUKA ISLAND

Next morning, after a much-needed lie-in, we were off on a (very bumpy) ferry ride to Urupukapuka Island. We were warned when we arrived on the island and before we left Russell that due to there being no natural predators or pests on the island could we please help keep the island pest-free by checking our bags for rats, mice, stoats and seeds before disembarking along the litchen covered weather worn pontoon to the shore.

Continue reading “Hell Hole of the Pacific”

Trekking Around Trogir

Using Split as our base camp it was now time to test out the Croatian public transport system, with a self-planned trip out to Trogir (formerly known as Trau, short for Traugurion as it was coined in 3rd BC by early Greek settlers) – one of Croatia’s most famous medieval walled towns, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site to boot.

Continue reading “Trekking Around Trogir”

Sunny Splitska Adventures

Often when you have family spread across the globe it can be hard (and costly) to get everyone together in one place. With a Kiwi boyfriend who’s parents are in New Zealand and sister and family are in Holland, the logical solution for a summer holiday was Eastern Europe…in our case, Croatia.

Continue reading “Sunny Splitska Adventures”

Soothing Sunday Scavenger Hunt

Sunday morning arrived like a freight train full of angry cats. Finding a half eaten kebab on my night stand as I woke up fully clothed made me realise I was about to be struck by one almighty hangover, the promise of healing spa pools was to be the only thing to get me through today. My partner on the other hand, the picture of health and non-hangover wellness, excitedly tells me it’s time to check out and secure our luggage so we can get exploring. Given that our first stop today was 40 minutes outside of Budapest, not part of our Hop on Hop off Bus tour, and I was struggling to string a sensible sentence, we booked a taxi that our hotel were only too happy to help us with.

(Note to self, and anyone reading this: UNICUM is never a good idea, regardless of what the chatty Hungarian bar man will tell you the night before!) Continue reading “Soothing Sunday Scavenger Hunt”

Buda OR Pest?

Want a novel way to surprise a loved one for their birthday or other significant date? Take them on a surprise trip to a romantic Eastern European city, for the weekend. Budapest ticks all your geek boxes, and food related boxes too – history, architecture, politics, bars in tumbling down ruins, chocolate, glorious little unpretentious restaurants and some really awesome heated healing spa pools.

Continue reading “Buda OR Pest?”

Chocolate, Laughter and Haggis

Friday had arrived at last, and armed with a comprehensive list of acts and shows to see, with a light sprinkling of pubs, restaurants and chocolate shops in need of visiting, I crammed onto an Edinburgh bound train from London Waterloo with what seemed like half of London’s sweaty, tired commuters kicking off the August Bank Holiday early!

London Waterloo crowds - why do we do this to ourselves? — London Waterloo crowds – why do we do this to ourselves?

Continue reading “Chocolate, Laughter and Haggis”

An Island off an Island

Having explored much of Malta over the last two days we couldn’t leave without hopping across on the ferry, past Comino, to Gozo – Malta’s even smaller cousin island. Although markedly similar to Malta in terms of style and appearance, Gozo is in fact noticeably different, one of the first differences you will notice is it is much much quieter…well, ok, it’s basically deserted at this time of year!

Continue reading “An Island off an Island”

Silent City or Party Island

If, like me, you are one for a bit of spontaneity and a lover of winter sun, but heavily restricted on time AND money, then late October and November are the perfect time to get away to a tiny island in the Med!

If you look really closely you can almost see it…almost

Continue reading “Silent City or Party Island”

Bring on Brussels

The hotel looked heaps grander on the internet than it was in real life, and the smell of stale cigarette smoke hung in the room, despite the fact I’d selected ‘non-smoking’. The decor looked like it had dropped straight out of a 1960’s Bond movie – plush sofas, curtains made of heavy fabrics and clashing colours – and I was expecting Mr Bond to walk straight through the door…but he didn’t!