Sunrise Beach Noosa & Waihi Beach

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                          
Ali & I went to Sunrise beach, just round the point from Noosa itself, the other day to our favourite lookout spot to see if we could spot any whales that are normally around at this time of the year, No luck but we did see a couple of work ups - probabaly tuna or some thing similar not far off shore.

 We heard an aussie talking to his mate on the phone telling him about the tuna work ups saying get the surf caster out but super man would have struggled to reach them - the closest work up was approx 500 metres from the shore - it was more like a kayak then a fish to us - but thats aussies for ya

Sunrise beach and Castaways beach are much like Waihi Beach - both are part of a long peninsula and in total look approx the same length. Both are white golden sandy beaches and have surf all year round - much like Waihi Beach,

For more information on Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz

The Warriors & The Australian media

We are over in Australia at present and have seen several rugby league preview shows and you would not know the Warriors are in the top 4 let alone playing this weekend with any chance of a win. I know the aussies are one eyed but this is over the top and cynically I am not really surprized- NZ are World cup champions and Tri nation champions but it counts for jack with the aussies!

The Warriors are travelling under the radar and the longer the aussies neglect them the better= bigger fools them.

Great sporting weekend V Australia for the kiwi teams - go the AB's and go the Warriors

Waihi Beach and RWC 2011

Now that the All Black team for RWC 2011 has been named it is important we get in beind our team and give them 100% support. They are our team and they represent us and need our support

With an estimated 95,000 visitors coming to New Zealand we need to show any of them that make to the beach our great kiwi hospitality and make them welcome - we have a special piece of paradise and we can showcase it to the visitors in the only way we lnow - the kiwi way.

We are likely to have guests from all participating countries having a look around our country so its a real chance to leave them with a positive memory that says you need to come back here as this place is special.

We have guests coming from Ireland , South Africa, France, UK and Australia that we know of and we'll be doing our best to make them feel welcome and we 'll show them some great beach hospitality.

For more information on Waihi Beach http://www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/

Waihi Beach - light catching the clouds

Saw this the other night as the light really caught the clouds and set up a stunning sky - just part of the package when you live in our little piece of pardise here at Waihi Beach.

For more photos of Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/photos.html

Oklahoma USA to Waihi Beach

                 Orakawa Beach

Had some guests from Oklahoma USA over the weekend sharing our little piece of paradise here at Waihi Beach. He a hunter gatherer and she a health specialist looking to come,work and live in New Zealand.

They were impressed with New Zealand's scenery - the stunning coast we have,  the quality of our food and here at Waihi Beach our magnificent beach with its many different types of shells and at night seeing all the different stars.

It was amazing to hear hunting stories of animals we only read about- mountain lions, grizzly bears, moose,pigs, elk, wapiti, squirrels  and much more - they eat the lot and don't think twice about it.

I showed him our fishing torpedo - really captured his imagination and attention - never seen anything like it and was keen to hear how they worked.

They headed off this morning for Taupo and more New Zealand exploring

To find Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/map.html

Mike Hill Photography & Waihi Beach

photo credit Mike Hill

Great to see Mike Hill recognized for his efforts at the recent national photograhic awards in Rotorua. He is some photographer with an eye for a great shot.

If you have seen Mike in action he covers some mileage when working a wedding - trying to capture the moment without it being staged so it is very natural.

His shots do capture the moment - a couple of funny ones come to mind - his daughter Chilli captured with her head coming through the cat door - very Chilli, and another a shot of a brother and sister lying together with the brother having his finger up his sisters nose - typical brotherly thing to do and a great shot - not what was part of the original commission but came out amongst the shots taken.

Well done Mike & Andrea - a great asset to Waihi Beach!

For more shots of Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/photos.html

Waihi Beach - winter kicks in- Sleet

This arrived this afternoon at 1 30pm - sleet and ice particles flying through the air - initially thought it was hail but it looked nothing like hail and was a different shape. The grape vine tells me there was snow on the Kaimais this morning a well.

Waihi Beach Fresh Produce Market & Winter

The Waihi Beach Fresh Produce Market continues through the winter on every second and fourth sundays of the month from 9am until mid day opposite the pub.

We are indebted to the stall holders who continue to support the market at the beach through winter. Despite icy cold winds, rain and sometimes wet underfoot conditions there are a core group that keep turning up - a big thank you to them.

Also a big thank you to the wider Waihi and Waihi Beach communities who support our produce market - we still need your support and please note we will be having the market weekly from Labour Weekend onwards.

For more info on activities at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Visitors to Waihi Beach

                                                         photo supplied by Robyn Garth

Look what was seen lazing on Waihi Beach yesterday - just lazing in the sun - what a life.

Hopefully he/she was left alone to do whatever seals do

To find out more of what to do at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Waihi Beach - Technology

I was speaking to Rus Holland our website guru and was mentioning about needing to convert an item on our website into a PDF as we don't have a PDF writer on our computer.He suggested to go to PDF995.com and it was a free down load.

I am computer literate a little and not a computer wiz but the download and application was so easy and now the articles on Waihi Beach on our activities webpage are in PDF - thanks Rus for the tip.

To read the articles on Waihi Beach from either the NZ Herald or the Sunday Star Times check out
www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Waihi Beach - a hidden jewel

Photo  Lisa Braun

Attached are the links to the recent article in the Sunday Star times on Waihi Beach
www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/documents/WaihiBeachpart1SundayStarTimesAugust2011.pdf
www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/documents/WaihiBeachPart2SundayStarTimesAugust2011.pdf

Nancy Wake - RIP

                                                  

All kiwis should take a moment to reflect on what life would have been like if it weren't for the efforts of Nancy Wake  aka The White Mouse during world war 2. Her courage and determination were second to none and her ability to function as a thorn in the side of the Germans under the harshest conditions really makes her efforts stand out as a real acts of heroism.She was the number one enemy of the Gestapo.

Not sure if there are any modern day heroes that would match up as what she did went over and above the  call of duty. She hated what the Nazis were doing and helped the resistance and the many thousands who avoided capture owe their lives to her and the others who were part of the resistance.

Nancy Wake we salute you and are proud that you were a Kiwi

Eden Park ready for RWC 2011 and Waihi Beach

For guests staying at Waihi Beach and going to Eden Park in Auckland for any of the RWC 2011 matches starting on September 9th let me assure you that, based on our experience on the weekend at the Bledisloe Cup game, getting into and out of the stadium is very easy and smooth. Additionally there were plenty of security and police stationed in and around the ground as well as lots of bods in the fluro jackets available to help stadium goers if required.

The stadium itself was awesome- the temporary stands looked imposing but fitted in with the other stands already there and the new main stand (the north stand) impressive.

We left the stadium very impressed with what we had seen and experienced and gave the ground a big pass mark.

For more information on Waihi Beach and the 2011 RWC http://www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/

Waihi Beach - a hidden jewel

Great to see Waihi Beach getting some national publicity on the weekend through the Sunday Star Times Escape section. The article on the beach really hit the mark and the images really helped showcase Waihi Beach for what a great place it is.

Special thanks to Mike Hill for one of the images and Peter Levshin (a visiting guest) for the other - they really capture what the beach is about.

For more info on Waihi Beach http://www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/

Waihi Beach - 1st guests from Luxembourg

Waihi Beach has done it again - last night we had our first ever guests from Luxembourg. Did not really know much about the country  or if  it was a country - thought it was a city in Europe so got the fingers to do the walking and found a very small land locked country in Europe that has their own language -luxembourgish - this sounds a little like german but we were assured it is not.Their population is approx 500,000 and steel is the backbone of their economy.

Fancy them finding little old Waihi Beach - they loved looking at the sea - as they have to leave the country normally to see it - Spain is a favourite destination for the sun and the food.

Our guests loved our winter too - they can handle 14 degress above  and prefer it to their own climate which can get snow and can be very cold.

For more info on how to find Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/map.html

Waihi Beach - 9kms of Beach

Recently a group of us in tourism and hospitality at the beach hosted various media  to showcase the beach and try to help build its profile.It was a very worthwhile exercise and reinforced what we thought - we have own our piece of paradise here at the beach.

It was both humbling and with a sense of pride that we showed the visitors around and heard their very positive comments.

For more info on what to see and do at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html