Blogs from Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 332

Well life in NZ continues..... ...my New Year's Resolution is to do something new every week....so lets see how it goes in 2006! First up....AWOL Canyoning.... hiking to the top of a gorge and then abseiling and jumping off waterfalls in the Waitakere Ranges! It was time for a girlie outing and so off Chloe, Gemma, Rachel and I went! Great fun, spectacular scenery and definately a new experience! Although Question: would you rather wear a wet suit for the rest of your life OR lose a hand? Might sound a tad extreme if not a bizarre question but if you've hiked for a good hour or so up a steep gorge in the sweltering heat you night think twice! Anyhoo... Auckland Festival brought the Tall Ships, live music and street performers to town.... and I ... read more

Days 49 and 50 We ventured out and hand a wander around Auckland but not that much was open, so we bought a pot noodle for our gormet dinner (how's that for beginning the new year in style) and went to the cinema to see the Chronicles of Nania. It was cool. The next day we found out some very sad news - that Carly's Grandad had passed away. To try and cheer ourselves up we decided to book a trip to the Bay of Islands to escape dull Auckland so we booked that and had another wander, this time venturing into Parnell which is a really nice rich district of Auckland. Again, as it was a bank holiday there wasn't much going on.... read more

Day 48 We arrived in Auckland where we were delighted to see our bags going round on the carosel. We caught the bus into town and got to our hostel where we were told our room wouldn't be ready for another 6 hours!! We tried to sleep in the hostel lounge and luckily after 3 hours, our room was ready. We went back to sleep until mid-afternoon, it took a further two hours to be able to keep our eyes open before we got ready to go out. We walked down to the harbour and had a yummy mexican meal followed by some drinks in a couple of bars. We saw new year in in a funky little bar and pretty much headed back to the sanctuary of our bed just after 12. Considering New Zealand ... read more

After spending Wednesday recovering from our jet lag and the hamhandedness of Jack Black in King Kong, we spent the next two days exploring the bustling metropolis of Auckland. A city of a little over one million people, or 1/4 of New Zealand's total population, it is pleasant, outdoorsy, multi-cultural, but not overwhelmingly interesting. Kind of like a Southern Hemisphere San Diego. On Thursday, we took a ferry across the bay to Devonport, a quaint village of shops and rich people. We walked to the top of a dormant volcano, which afforded a great view of Auckland and the surrounding areas, including its well-used waterways. After heading into town for fish and chips and a pint, we headed back into the city. Both that night and the next we grabbed dinner at Japanese restaurants. The Asian ... read more

I am finally able to access the server and upload some pictures of my most enjoyable stay at this organic farm. First of all, if you don't know what Woofing is, have a look at the website for the New Zealand organization. Wwoof New Zealand. I became a member of the Canadian organization before leaving, but had no time available to do a week or two before coming to NZ. So I just had my first experience Woofing last week, and it was Faaaantasic!!!! First, see what the host Heather wrote in the book that attracted me in the first place: TARODALE The work: establishing "mandalas" for fruit and vetables. Maintaining existing gardens. Raising miniature cattle and small flock of sheep. As per The Permaculture Home Garden, two mandalas are underway with the possibility of a ... read more