Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2320

Had a great brunch in a bar called 'The Art and Craft of Food and Drink'. Drove along Otago Peninsular up to Taiarora Head to see the Albatrosses. Caught a fleeting glimpse over the reserve walls (saved ourselves 33 bucks each on the entrance fee!) Then drove to Sandfly bay, which is home to some of NZs rare Yellow Eyed Penguins. After being blown to bits in a mad sand storm, we continued along the beach to the observation hut in the sand dunes, where late afternoon, you can sometimes spot the penguins making their way out of the sea and back to the beach. As we were walking along, we came across a lone penguin, just stod on the beach. There was only us two on the beach with him and we got prety close ... read more

My first week in New Zealand has been spent very pleasantly hanging out in Auckland and staying with Tim and Ness (thank you guys!) I have been all over the place, taking the ferry to Devonport and wandering round Mt Victoria; hiking up Rangitoto (Auckland's currently sleeping neighbouring volcano); little trip to Takapuna on the North Shore and chilling out on the beach; another little trip to Piha beach (close to the Waitakare Hills), a bit more blustery this time and watching the dangerous waves roll in from the Pacific Ocean; a very sedate wander around the Lion Brewery, home of Lion Red and Steinlager (sponsors of the All Blacks) where I learnt some very interesting facts concerning beer (always useful for pub quizzes); catching some Super 14 rugger on TV (aiming to get to a ... read more

In the morning we went to view Purakaunui Falls in the day light - which were nice, however, Spen reckoned that he had seen better in North Wales! Drove to Dunedin (which is gaelic for Edinburgh) in driving rain. The town was established by a Scot, hence lots of Scottish references around the place (i.e. kilt cladded bag pipe players/references to Burns etc). Stayed at Hogwartz Backpackers. Explored town, the shops etc. There's plenty to do by day and night, and it's all pretty compact. The area where our hostel was was reminiscent of San Fran as the streets were really steep and lined with those big whitewashed town houses. Also, it's nearby peninsular is a stunning drive out of town, with loads of sandy beaches and wildlife. ... read more

Back in Wellington after crossing from South Island on the ferry, we picked up Erin and stayed in Lower Hutt at first, but had a family with a young whiny toddler next door the first night. The child had a persistent cry which he used instead of talking, so it was on the CONSTANT side of frequency. So we moved to the only other available cabin in the Wellington area that weekend, in Poirirua. I would not recommend the Elsdon holiday park to anyone. For more money we were squashed into rather cramped and old quarters. And there was a bug waiting on the wall for us. Not unusual in New Zealand, actually: we have yet to be in a building that has screens. Everyone leaves their windows and doors open during the day. If blow ... read more

While New Zealand is famous for great nature in general, the North Island is known for its strong vulcanic and thermal activity. The scenic route, the "Thermal Explorer Highway" passes by Roturua, at Lake Roturua. Here the nature of the underground is omnipresent. Dozens of places have steamy holes, sulphuric smell, mud-bubbles, boiling pools and warm ground. Even in the city center you can smell it everywhere. Many of the locals are Maori and a Christian-Maori community has build an impressively nice church at the lakefront near their traditional assembly hall. Both show lots of traditional wood carvings. The power of the underground is used by the locals in many ways. Not only exist thermal power stations to produce electricity but the steam from drillings into the ground is also used in private households diretly. A ... read more