Blogs from Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 337

OK first blog up and running. Well we have done lots so far and lets just say the internet facilities were few and far between. We are now in Auckland and are enjoying the much cooler weather. The hot weather I am refering too is from fiji. Holy crap was it hot there. It was around 30 every day and was still hot at night. We stayed in Nadi the first night after an amazing day trip. The trip consisted of downtown Nadi, The Sanddunes, A local market, and one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen to top it all off. Lets just say we slept well that night. We then went to the island on Mana were we stayed for 4 nights. It seems like a while but it flew by. We ... read more

http://www.travelblog.org/gmaps/map_qD.html Tomorrow I leave for Nadi, Fiji. I fly out of New Zealand, my home in the South Pacific. After a couple of weeks of intense road tripping through the Northland of NZ, including working on an organic farm, and sand boarding in Ahipara, I am now in Auckland, NZ's largest city. I must say, Auckland is not all that it is cracked up to be. If there was a "coolest city in NZ" contest, Wellington would kick Auckland’s butt, hands down. It just seems like any other oversized sprawling; no one is friendly city....kind of like any big US city? The drivers here are mad! I could not wait to hand over my rental car to the agency. In a matter of minutes I was being honked at by NZ drivers, Come ON, I thought ... read more

Since our last update....we then went to KeriKeri which houses NZs oldest building(s) - 150 years old! We also went to matauri bay where the (greenpeace) rainbow warrier is sunk - and now a popular dive site. From there we went to whangaroa harbour and climbed "st paul", which is volcanic plug and a steep 100m ascent up. there is also another one on the other side of the bay called st peter but we gave it a miss!. we then headed to cape reianga which is where you get to the northern most point of the north island, theres a lighthouse and some great views. we could also see to ninety mile beach (actually 62 miles long) and considered part of state highway 1!!! there was also lots of other nice sandy beaches and big ... read more

We're finally here in Auckland! After the loooong flight from Los Angeles, we got our rental car and made it downtown by 8:30 this morning. Our hotel is right next to the Ferry Building, so we walked over and got tickets for the Fuller's volcanic tour of Rangitoto Island. Rangitoto Island - from the Maori words Rangi (sky) and toto (blood red) - was created by an undersea volcanic eruption about 700 years ago. The island is made of black volcanic rock, onto which a number of plant and bird species have migrated and managed to survive. Our tour included a ferry ride over to Rangitoto and a tram up the mountain, leaving us to climb the last few hundred feet to the crater and summit. We'd planned to take the 12:15 tour, but it turned ... read more

hi all- i have about 10 minutes left to write this blog. forgive me if it's a horrible entry. my last morning in auckland was so wonderful. i woke suprisingly early (the night out before had been a late one) and made my way to my favorite cafe, book in hand, ready to sip some coffee, watch people and read. rivet (the cafe) was busy. my coffee took a bit of time to make, but in that time i made friends with a little kiwi girl. blond hair, 6 years old i discovered, and barefoot. i had taken my place on the only couch in the corner of the cafe, she meandered over and perched on the couch next to me. she gave me a curious stare and i gave one back before i said hello. ... read more