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Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 11
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First seven days in New Zealand - we’re exhausted!
Published: April 11th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island
April 10th 2013
Wow - being with a tour company that has up to three events often scheduled on the same day is exhausting. However, it’s also wonderfully interesting, informative, adventurous, exciting and fun, but still exhausting. I think this is the first evening that we’ve had a bit of down time, so here it is already a week later and I’ve hardly got started telling you what we’ve done. It’s already Wednesday, 10th April but the day of the week doesn’t mean much to us any more. The thing is, we don’t keep up this hectic pace usually and having an 08:00 briefing on driving days, or going out to eat in the evening after a day’s outing takes some energy. It’s keeping us fit though, which is a real bonus. It’s not just about what we do ... read more
Cleopatrah Pools and more kayaking
Published: April 23rd 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Abel Tasman National Park
April 10th 2013
Have an amazing sleep on the boat, and manage not to bump my head on the ridiculously low ceiling when wake up, by putting my hand on the ceiling – so when I go to site up, I look at my hand and remember why it is there! Have a nice breakfast of toast and cereal on the boat, and get Rochelle and I get dropped to the shore at 9am. We are both have the morning free, and start our kayaking this afternoon, so we go on one of the walking trails to see the Cleopatra Pools. It’s a nice walk through the forest, and good to get a comparison and see the park on foot, but I am very glad to have a change and admire the beauty by kayak. We reach Watering Cove, ... read more
Abel Tasman Kayak Adventure
Published: April 23rd 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Abel Tasman National ParkApril 9th 2013
Although a lie in is much needed, I am picked up at 7.10am by a minibus, so with a small backpack of different items from the last few days in toe, I head to Marahu where my kayaking starts from. At the base I meet some lovely people who are also doing kayaking trips – a Dutch mother and daughter, and an English couple (Jo and James), we then jump in another minibus and are driven 20minutes to the coast. Here the Dutch leave us, but we gain an American couple and a Swiss couple and our adventure and first glimpse of the Abel Tasman starts with a 25 minutes power boat through the national park waters to Oneathuti. At Oneathuti we are joined by our last person, David, who is Spanish, who has a large ... read more
Lazy Bones Cafe on the way to Queenstown - a steep Gondola ride and thrilling luge run on Bob’s Peak
Published: April 20th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown
April 9th 2013
Tuesday, 9th April - Day Six: from the Top 10 Holiday Park at Te Anau (pronounced Tee Anow) to Queenstown, 173 km (104 mls). Most of us stopped at Lazy Bones Cafe, an unusual cafe and craft shop about half-way to our destination. The owner and his wife were both truck drivers and had driven huge trucks thousands of miles in New Zealand and the USA. Barry was a real character and full of great stories that he told us while we were eating toasties for lunch. In order to visit the Grand Canyon, he had to unhitch the trailer from the fifth wheel and drive his luxurious Peterbuilt truck to the entrance where the gate attendant didn’t know what to make of this huge vehicle. So Barry, (the Kiwi), told him it was a car ... read more
April 8th 2013
This blog is going to serve no other purpose than to brag endlessly about my country, and allow me to reminisce about my favorite places from my homeland. Also I am going to have a little laugh at the hilarious misguided impressions that I have come across in London, and during my travels. I’m a New Zealander. A Pakeha. A Kiwi (not the fruit). You can call me whatever you want (within reason), but I come from the land of the long white cloud. Not the land down under; that refers to Australia. Big mistake. I am easy-going, yet adventurous by nature. A typical Kiwi attitude that is extended into the culture of New Zealand. Contrary to popular belief, we Kiwi’s don’t actually live in hovel holes in Hobitton, nor do we have over sized, hairy ... read more
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April 8th 2013
Cook Strait Crossing, Taihape, Taupo, Orewa, Paihia It was time to say goodbye to the stunning South Island as my dad and I boarded the Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington. The three hour journey took us through the Marlborough Sounds and out into the Cook Strait, where the conditions were calm. My dad had pre-booked three nights in what he described as "luxury accommodation" at Paihia, at the northern part of the island, starting on the Friday, which gave us just three days to traverse the North Island. We therefore decided to skip the country's capital, Wellington, and make some headway up Highway 1 in our hire car, which had 160,000 km on the clock and an incessant rattle. We made it as far as a small town called Taihape, where we stayed at a ... read more
There and back on the only road to Milford Sound
Published: April 18th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Milford Sound
April 8th 2013
Monday, 8th April - Day Five: an incredible journey through the Southern Alps to Milford Sound (originally incorrectly named, as it’s a fiord) with a “coach captain” full of humour and amazing facts about his country. As we ate a buffet lunch on board, the boat took us along the fiord to the mouth of the Tasman Sea and included a stop at the scientific underwater observatory. It was glorious weather and as rainfall usually occurs three out of 4-5 days - we were incredibly well blessed. Leaving at 08:00, our driver, Craig, talked almost non-stop about his country and we could understand all he said, which is often not the case, as we have to listen hard to the different vowel sounds that are voiced here, as in the word “taste” becoming “tyste” e.g. “would ... read more
April 8th 2013
After an amazing night’s sleep I wake up, and lay on the double mattress watching the sunrise over the lake. We are up, breakfasted, the hut swept and on our way by 8.30am. Today’s walk is a nice easy three hours around the lake edge, with a quick climb at the end to reach the car park. Joan asks me to drive down the half hour or so down the part sealed mountain road back to the village, its great fun! In St Arnuad we pick up Ana’s car and then all head to the only establishment in the area to sell drinks – the hotel, where I enjoy a lovely 3 berry cider – with berry names I have never heard of before, but it sure tastes good! After we say our goodbyes and Ana, ... read more
Cruising the Inland waterway of Milford Sound and weird underwater creatures
Published: April 20th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Milford Sound
April 8th 2013
Seeing the Tasman Sea for the first time, I feel elated to realize that we are so far south in the Southern Hemisphere. The vast Fiordland National Park was created in 1952 and is one of New Zealand’s largest untamed wildernesses of which Milford Sound is a part. It was first discovered by a Welshman in 1809 who named it Milford Haven, but in 1851 this was later renamed Milford Sound by another Welshman. The floating Underwater Observatory, along the coast of the Sound, was a fascinating stop on our cruise. It was so interesting to see the fish underground in their natural habitat. The black coral is white while it’s alive and is hard to believe it’s made of such minuscule animals that create these exquisite tree-like branches. Many of the corals, fish, sea urchins, ... read more
April 7th 2013
April, April, das Wetter macht was es will - und es wird eben mal kein Herbst in diesem Jahr! So. Dieses Ostern sind wir sehr früh aufgestanden. Naja ich und Tim jedenfalls ... Mama war im Bett bis um 10 Uhr! Ungefähr um 10.30 Uhr hat Mama die Osternester versteckt. Ich hab geguckt und geguckt, aber ich habe das Nest nicht gefunden. Ich hab fast aufgegeben und dann habe ich hinters Haus geguckt und es gefunden unter einer Box! Tim hatte da immer noch nicht sein Nest gefunden. Zuletzt hat er in den Schuppen geguckt und da war es hinter unseren Bodybords. In unseren Nestern hatten wir jeder einen grossen Hase aus Schokolade und da waren auch viele kleine Ostereier und Lutscher. wir hatten auch jedereinen grossen Schokoriegel. Wir hatten sehr viel Spass und nach den ... read more
