Blogs from Newmarket, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

By the time our Air New Zealand flight was “wheels on pavement”, Gina and I were definitely ready for something more than lounging by the beach on a secluded South Pacific island. The flight crew had dutifully informed us of the strict Customs laws in New Zealand and the hefty fines levied for even honest mistakes on passenger entry forms - starting at $200 and topping out somewhere near $100,000 and a long time with some guy named Bubba. Having declared everything from our hiking shoes and trips to Polynesian villages with farm animals to the various dried goods from Trader Joes, we approached a female Customs agent who proceeded to play twenty questions while scouring our declarations. Several minutes passed until we received a nod and “Line 2.” As we cleared the formalities of entering ... read more

Happy New Year to you all! We've had a sneak preview of 2007 down here already and it doesn't look too bad - so enjoy your last few, soggy hours of '06. The sun is shining, and it is as hot as it's been at any point during the last 3 weeks. We've slapped on the suncream and hit the New Year sales in Auckland for a few bargains. It has been a wonderful few weeks and Tokyo seems ages ago; thankfully so does work! We have not been able to see everything that New Zealand offers, but knew this would be the case. What we have seen, however, has been rewarding, often awe-inspiring and been accompanied by friendliness and hospitality. On the downside I suppose the weather could have been better and we wish we ... read more

Hello everybody! We can't believe another month has gone by! We hope you are ready for this month's killer questions. Goodluck with the following; 1. Apart from the usual types of meat (beef, pork, lamb& chicken) what other type of meat have we eaten during our New Zealand trip? 2. On our current homestay we have to cook for ourselves. How many big sauages have we eaten in total on this homestay? We have spent many days now enjoying Auckland. Auckland is New Zealand's biggest city with a 'whopping' 1 million people living here!?! It is great only having to work 3 hours a day and being able to cook our own food. We are really enjoying our beans and sausages. The motel has a big swimming pool too but we haven't been brave enough yet ... read more

Day 15. Fundraising at the office is going better than expected. I was the only person foolish enough on the fifth floor to participate in Movember. Hoping to get some loving from the states. Thanks for the Doritos, the flatmates loved them and so did I. I should open up an all American shop, it would be a great success. Dr. Pepper is another rare and valuable commodity. ... read more

A plan never goes straight forward when you are travelling. On Sunday I went back into the centre which is totally different to a Saturday as most of the shops do not open at all on a Sunday apart from the tourist traps and one food supermarket that is open 24 hours 7 days a week. There are also the Liquor town shops open. I found the tower open and decided to go up as far as you can go without paying the extra to climb halfway up the spire. You certainly get brilliant views of Auckland from the viewing point, the glass lifts on the way up are something else as they have glass floors. Whilst up there a few bungee jumpers passed on the outside, Yes I only took a picture I would not ... read more