Blogs from Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 343

Hi guys , Dave here - well we arrived in Aukland - another 5 star HOSTEL! note superman senior that thats not the same as a 5 star hotel, it just means you get a bit more for you 8 pounds a night - like a clean toilet for instance. Anyway it was a nice day and i thought to myself 'why not go and throw myself of the highest tower in NZ i mean whats the worst that could happen?????'. So i did a base jump of the Sky tower.........twice. Pretty amazing experience and after watching spiderman the night before i now know how my childhood hero feels!? Id say the worst part is the first step off the platform, after that its a one way ticket with a great view. Gem manage to take ... read more

Good evening all! We have arrived in New Zealand, Auckland! The weather is spring like, slightly damp in the air but comfortable (not cold!) The flight was crazy, left the UK at 4.00pm Sunday, arrived here Tuesday at 5.15am! Crossing time zones all over the place, we were finger-printed in LA, along with everyone else; while the plane was refuelled. However we did get free Tea and snacks. The trip added up like this: 10.00am leave sunny Ashford, 4.00pm leave UK = 10hr flight. 2hr stop over in LA. 15 hr flight to Auckland. 2hr bus ride on shuttle bus to hostel (crazy taxi driver!), due to heavy traffic in the city. We have both decided that we wouldn't want to stop over for a night in LA, as it would have made it far longer, ... read more

Okay where did we leave you? Think our last blog was to say that Elinor, Laura and Simon had arrived safetly and that they were coping with jetlag well. So 1st day in Auckland on Tuesday and the travellers managed to get down before 9amm to get breakfast, very impressive. We headed out into the town centre and straight for the sky tower, which just dominates the sky line. Spent some time viewing the whole of Auckland and beyond from the different level platforms and watch some nutters jump off on the bungy they have there. Very sunny day so the views were spectacular. The glass walkway reminded me of blackpool towers although slightly different view?! Took the free bus (big reed one) to the port and hopped onto a ferry to waiheke island. Hired a ... read more

Hi there, gem again, well early in the morning here in Auckland. We picked up my friends Elinor, Laura and Simon yesterday and yes there was some tears at the arrivals gate. Lovely to see them, feels very strange walking down the street and them being there. Their journey was very long as they have to be and they only managed 4 hours sleep and so were walking zombie all of yesterday. But they managed to stay awake till 9 so did better than me. We managed to navigate our way to the hotel through the maze of Auckland traffic. Think London but not recognising anything and no congestion charging. The hotel is clean, smart and has a fab shower and lounge area. Was getting panicy that it would be a horrible place due to the ... read more

Home Well after about 4 and a half months I’m back home. Really great. First thing I noticed is that people seem more friendly. Don’t know if people really are friendlier here in NZ, perhaps it’s just that you always feel more comfortable at home. You know how things work etc, so you perceive that things are easier and more friendly. Having said this, just after the SMILING NZ immigration officer had checked my passport at Auckland Airport, he said “Welcome Home”. Awesome. What now? Arggggh! Back to the grind, looking for a new job. However I will try and take a few photos of Auckland and post them here ... Hopefully will get around to making a website with more holiday photos ...... read more