Blogs from Ponsonby, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania
Flight Across the Pacific
Published: January 10th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Ponsonby
January 11th 2012
Left for the Vancouver airport shortly after 3pm on the 8th After taking the SeaBus and SkyTrain we were finally at YVR checking in. Pretty uneventful. We checked in and got through security in about an hour, then grabbed a bite and killed some time watching the giant fish in the enormous aquarium they have at YVR. Way better than TV! Air New Zealand was on the ball and actually loaded everyone up ahead of schedule and we flew out about a half hour early! This is quite a contrast to our Air Canada flight that was an hour late leaving Ottawa due to 'the snow' which they seem to think is an anomoly in Ottawa. Anywho...point for Air NZ. They won a second point after their hilarious safety video. See if you can YouTube it ... read more
England vs Scotland, a trip to Taupo, starting my new job and All Blacks vs Argentina
Published: October 20th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Ponsonby
October 20th 2011
Well seeing as I haven't blogged for a few weeks due to laziness, I am having to cram as much of the last two weeks into this entry...so here goes. It was the match that to be honest I was looking forward to the most and if I had known the effect that it would have on my blood pressure, I probably would have had a few more pre-match beers to chill out. The build-up to the game was spent queuing for what felt like a week to get my face painted, and for the rest of the time in the pub...where else! I met up with Daryl and Byron (whom I had met in Wellington) for pre-match beers, Daryl proudly sporting his Scottish jersey, upholding the Celtic botherhood and myself giving him plenty of stick ... read more
Happy birthday Pete
Published: October 20th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Ponsonby
October 6th 2011
Happy birthday to Petey! I spent most of the week just getting back into being in Auckland. I walked into town and had a peak around the fanzone again now that it was quieter. They big inflatable rugby ball they have set up was sent all over the world over the last 4 years promoting this world cup and New Zealand. You can go inside and watch a bit of a promotion for NZ. I had a wander inside. The show they put on is quite cool. They show videos and stuff all over NZ and a guy does commentary and then he does a haka for everyone. Really cool. Pete didn’t want to do much for his birthday so I gave him his present tonight. I think he really liked it. Not sure when he’ll ... read more
February 3rd 2011
We decided to be big kids today and headed to Rainbow's End, Auckland's theme park. It was an overcast day but still quite warm out and a bit humid. Since it was a weekday the park wasn't as busy so we rarely had to wait in any lines which was great! We went on the pirate ship ride, then went on two different kinds of go-karts which was a ton of fun! No crashing either! So proud of myself for that. Haha. We went to a ride in goldrush town which is cool, you walk through this underground mine then you get into an old mining car and it's a rollercoaster that takes you through a mine haha. Sooo much fun! They also have a log ride but they call it a log flume which I ... read more
February 1st 2011
Pete owed me a day at the zoo from the last time I was in New Zealand so today was the day! We drove over to the zoo and I was really excited. I love animals so much and getting to see them in their habitats. There is a little Aussie walkabout there that you go through and there is kangaroos, wallabies and emus roaming around. That was pretty cool. Pete and I had a good day out at the zoo and enjoyed the sun as it was out. Enjoy the pics!... read more
January 31st 2011
Pete wanted to take me to MOTAT today which stands for the Museum of transport and technology. It reminded me a bit of Heritage park. There are a few old buildings and cottages that have been moved to the site. An school house as well. Some old fire trucks and the first tram cars in NZ. Lots of neat little exhibits on kiwi life. They have an old tram car that still runs and takes you past the zoo to the other part of MOTAT where the airplanes are kept. So we rode that over and checked out the planes. It was a really fun day and because it was Auckland Day we got in for half price. Later in the evening they had fireworks over the harbour to celebrate Auckland day which was really cool. ... read more
January 30th 2011
Pete came and picked me up bright and early to get to the drag races. We had to drive an hour out of Auckland to a place called Meremere where the races were being held at a race track. There were tons of cars there already when we got there at 9:30am. Parked the car and headed over to the track. We stood near the starting point where the cars do 10-15 seconds of burnouts to warm up their tires so they stick to the road better. Then the 2 cars line up side by side and wait for the green light and race down the track. It was really cool to see. Some of the cars were really old but you could tell they have new souped up motors in them. Some cars were top ... read more
Meet the parents
Published: February 8th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Ponsonby
January 28th 2011
After a slight delay with my plane I finally arrived in Auckland. A bit of confusion at the airport but I finally found Pete and we drove to the hostel. Mom was outside when we pulled up and it was great to see her and get a Mom hug. She already had the key to my room so I threw my stuff in and found dad. Great to get a dad hug too. After a quick change Pete drove us down to the skytower. We showed mom and dad around the casino and they we were allowed to go up to the skydeck to have a look around. They have glass floors up there to stand on. A bit freaky but I did it, my legs were shaking though! We took the elevator up a bit ... read more
The last days of New Zealand
Published: June 22nd 2010Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Ponsonby
June 20th 2010
Well, after much debate in my head and heart I have decided to quit searching for a job here in New Zealand and am now focusing my time on heading to Australia a month early. Jobs are few and far between here and I've gotten plenty of rejection letters lately. I feel like it's time to move on and start something new again. I've let all my Aussie friends know my plans and they all seem just as excited as I am. I found a cheap flight to Melbourne on June 29th and will leave New Zealand then. My friend Dorothy who worked at OCH with me came up from Christchurch to Auckland on her way to Samoa. I spent a couple of days with her catching up and then she went off to Samoa. Another ... read more
June 3rd 2010
Well my flight left Bangkok on June 2nd at 7:30pm at night but we were delayed by about an hour as it was monsoon raining with so much lightning that the plane couldn't fly. We finally took off and the plane was half empty. I had a whole row of seats to myself which was nice so I could lay down to sleep. When I woke up we were an hour and a half from Auckland. Perfect timing. As we got into Auckland I could already feel the cooler air and it was like heaven! I waited in line to go through customs all confident that there wouldn't be a problem as I already had a visa and it was all good. Nope. I got pulled to the side and told to wait at immigration as ... read more
