4 & Rotary Nationals 2014 New Zealand

Well I have had a super busy week getting projects completed and goals achieved!.... and posting my blog update late again. ^^

Last weekend I attended the "V" 4 & Rotary Nationals 2014 in Auckland New Zealand.

http://www.4androtary.co.nz/

Hundreds of cars were on display (Maybe over 1,000?) at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland City. A lot of good examples of show cars and street cars as well as many car clubs were represented at the show. Attendance was not bad... having come back from South Korea where over 1 million people are in attendance at a motor show it is hard to gauge if there was a large turnout at this event. But it looked like a lot of people were there. ^^

The ASB Showgrounds venue was an excellent improvement upon a show I went to maybe 10 years ago in a shed in a paddock between Auckland and Hamilton and felt like more of an international event center.
Now all we need in New Zealand is an international standard Motor Show and an Auto Salon. However we are far removed from the international markets and we don't have a car manufacturing industry so I can't see it happening. Which reminds me...

If you have ever attended an international show of this kind for example in Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Seoul, Busan, Osaka, Beijing..... you will notice the professionalism of the car models or "racing queens". Personally I think New Zealand lacks a sense of pride or professionalism when it comes to promotional models. Yes again I am criticizing my own country but companies employ these girls to promote their products and doing that job means that you will be in the public eye. Smiling at cameras and posing for shots is part of the job. Enjoying what you do should be part of your personality. Looking annoyed, carrying yourself badly and generally giving off a negative vibe is not part of the job. Don't get me wrong, there are 2 promo girls that make an effort... yes 2.

But enough of that. Also there was a New Zealand Model Search competition which had 13 competitors who competed over the 2 days of the show. I photographed the first round (costumes) before I left the showgrounds. Pictures will follow and are also in the YouTube video.

Food prices were similar to last weeks Kemeu show so they were reasonable and if you were resourceful you could find some vending machines. So no complaints here.

Overall a good experience and I am looking forward to a bigger and better show next year!























That's all for this week. I have no idea yet what i am going to post for next week! So it will be a surprise for all of us.

Until then have a fantastic weekend! ^^

Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival 2014 New Zealand

Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival 2014 New Zealand.
Sunday 19 January 2014

http://www.kumeuhotrodshow.co.nz/

This weekend I was able to head out to Kumeu to check out the classic car and hot rod festival. The biggest of its Kind in New Zealand drawing thousands of people from all over the country to exhibit sell and show off their creations. Held in an achre or 2 of paddocks the show consists of car displays, live music, car parts and second hand goods, apparel, new parts, huge range of food stalls, an entertainment area for the kids and a event area for engine blow outs and the like.

Saturday is the day to head out that way as it is the main attraction day attracting thousands of display vehicles and visitors. Unfortunately I had other commitments for that day so Sunday was Kumeu Car Show "Lite" with still an impressive collection of cars but less a few thousand people and a few cars.

I was pleasantly surprised at the cost of things at the event. A $15 entry was reasonable and the prices of food was reasonable as well. For example you could get a pizza for $10 so not as ridiculous as Hamton Downs $6 hotdog. T-shirts etc were also well priced to sell aome I saw 4 for $20!

It was a good day out if you remembered to wear your sunblock and a hat. Unfortunately there seems to be no other venue in New Zealand big enough to hold this event but I guess Kiwi's are used to being out in the sun in a paddock. It goes along with the culture.

Here are a few pictures and a video slideshow:



















Next week I am off to the 4 and Rotary Nationals Show at ASB Showgrounds. Should be interesting... I will have another update for you next week focusing on this event so until then have a fantastic week and weekend! ^^

Tawharanui Beach New Zealand and IPW Wrestling New Years Takeover

Tawharanui Beach New Zealand and IPW Wrestling New Years Takeover 11 January 2014.

Leaving home at around 7am a quick one and a half hour or so drive north from Auckland down a long winding gravel road we arrived at one of the hidden treasures called Tawharanui Beach. Cut into 2 sections by a natural land formation the beaches can be thought of as family oriented on one side and if the weather is right a surf beach on the other side. What makes this a great beach to visit is that it has no strong rips or currents of water that surge outward to the sea. A rip is when the sea water comes into land travels along the beach and returns to the sea at some point on the beach. The currents are so strong that you cannot swim back to the beach and even experienced swimmers have a tough time swimming across the rip to calm water. One infamous beach in New Zealand known for it dangerous rips and just being plain dangerous is Piha but we will visit there later.

Although Tawharanui is a calm beach, good for a relaxed surf or swim, there is always one thing to take note of for most of New Zealand beaches. There is no surf patrol here so taking care of yourself and your friends or family is important as help can be literally miles away.

Having said that Tawharanui has a few things to keep visitors occupied. Swimming and sunbathing the obvious ones but also there are rock pools where you can find native birds nesting or crabs hiding and nature walks where you can see the wildlife of New Zealand. There are always some Pukeko's (Native birds) hanging around somewhere. Speaking about birds watch out for the Seagulls. If you have a packed lunch or snacks and they see it in your bag they will wait for you to go swimming and then rob you of your goodies. That's right they will somehow open your zipper, take out your potato chips, open the bag and eat them before you get back!

Here are a few photos and a video of the beach. I will upload a video of the drive their later as it takes a few hours to upload to YouTube.



















After several hours body boarding and eating and relaxing we left and I headed off to another night at IPW Wrestling. I was curious this time because the event moved to the Mt Albert War Memorial Hall and I thought the lighting would be better for photos. Well not so much. As the sun went down the lighting from the lighting rig washed out the wrestlers again. I did however get a few shots and a video of the main event that will give you another idea of what the wrestling is like here in New Zealand.

 























So another pretty good night for wrestling fans. I may go to a few more this year, I shall see what other plans I have.

Next week I should be at the Kumeu Car Show. I don't think I have been before so it should be a surprise for me as well. Lets see what I can capture photography wise and maybe something on video as well.

Until next week have a great time and enjoy the summer (or winter) wherever you are! ^^

MOTAT Museum of Transport and Technology Auckland New Zealand 2014

MOTAT Museum of Transport and Technology Auckland New Zealand 2014.

This week I had the pleasure of visiting MOTAT in Auckland city.

http://www.motat.org.nz/

I cant remember how long ago I last visited (perhaps 20 years ago...) but there sure was a lot more to see this time around.

Split over 2 locations MOTAT is divided into a village, vehicles and trains while the other location behind the Auckland Zoo houses a huge display of planes and aviation related displays.

A tram runs between the two locations and if you have a ticket to MOTAT the tram ride is free.

It pays to allocate a whole day if you want to see the whole thing and take a bit of time to look at things in detail. There is a cafe and ice cream store in the main area where you can sit outside under an umbrella and enjoy an ice cream, lunch or a coffee before continuing sightseeing.

My favorite part of the day was seeing the old A4 Skyhawk which is one of my favorite airplanes of all time.

You can see the RNZAF Skyhawk in action below:



Prices are fairly reasonable at $16 per adult... for full prices see the below link:
http://www.motat.org.nz/visit/prices

Definitely one of the main attractions of Auckland city and well worth a visit.

Here are some pictures and the mandatory YouTube video of all of the pictures of the day (a whirlwind quick tour).



























Another fine week in the bag. Well I hope your holidays are going well and you have managed to have some fun in the sun. ^^

Upcoming posts: Wrestling (Yet again ^^), A car museum close to Whangarei and the Rotaries and fast 4 car show... So keep a look out for those posts and I will see you again next time. Until then have a great week!