Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 2333

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands February 24th 2006

A few photos from the bay of islands for you to enjoy, I do have more but I'm being a bit rubbish today so thought I'd give you the best of the bunch! Enjoy, Lau xx ... read more

Franz Joseph Glacier Trekking

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Franz Josef February 24th 2006

Backyard Adventurer Gone Global

Well as luck would have it I managed to get a rental car the day I left Kinloch lodge. I'm probably one of the few people who was able to get a car in Queenstown. Timing is everything. Anyway after pondering the limitations of taking the bus I thought I'd just check. I didn't really expect to find one. So I've traveled by plane, train, bicycle, bus, and now automobile. I would have liked to continue to cycle up the west coast but I just ran out of time and there were a few things on my list that I just had to do. One of which was glacier trek on the Franz Joseph Glacier. I left Queenstown and drove over Haast Pass to the coast. I stayed at the motor camp, pitched my tent and ... read more

A little Doom and gloom

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Tongariro National Park February 23rd 2006

Red Crater

Martine

Tongariro Crossing Peter Jackson was insistent that LOTR be filmed in his homeland, and having completed this 17k one day hike, it's easy to see why. Billed as the finest one day walk in New Zealand, the track winds through a varied volcanic, alpine and bush terrain, representing not only middle-earth but a healthy dose of upper and lower. A fact to which our thighs still attest! For the first time on our NZ travels however, the weather was not favourable. The wind howled and the clouds kept rolling in making the climb up the shingle paths somewhat tricky. It also meant that a possible side trip to the top of Mt. Ngauruhoe (better known as 'Mount Doom' to the hoardes of LOTR pilgrims that make the trail) was not advisable. Even in good weather, it ... read more

Finally here in Opua!!

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands February 23rd 2006

My plane to New Zealand from SFO

TigerYuri

Wow! What a trip! It was amazing - delay after delay after delay, but thru it all such grace under pressure, if I do say so myself! I am rather proud of myself, since patience is not exactly my strong suit. The journey door to door (or rather door to dock) took 32 hours!!! Some highlights: G was AMAZING at helping me get ready and pack - truly deserves the Most Amazing Person and Partner in the Entire Universe by A LOT Award!!! Especially as I got really ill and lost 24 hours right before I had to leave (and she was amazingly wonderful at taking care of me too). Not only did I have all my stuff for a three week trek across New Zealand, but also all the stuff for Mom and Brian too! ... read more

New Zealand Part 2

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago February 23rd 2006

Dancing in Dunedin

Bens Travels

Since the first Kiwi entry I have driven around the south coast stopping along the way to see some of sites. Dunedin (done-nee-din) is a large university town and is much livelier than Christchurch. We arrived tired and in need of a shower. After looking in every hostel in the town we found a campsite with good facilities and pitched up for the night. Despite the fact that we were all shattered we went out for the night to sample what Dunedin had to offer. We got the bus to the Octagon, which is the centre and went to the first bar that w4e found with live music. The band was really good and so we got our funk on! The two girls got dragged up by two really drunk Norwegians that had trouble holding there ... read more

Nu huserer vi paa Sydoeen

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown February 23rd 2006

Cable car

Mads og Andreas

Hey allesammen. Som vi fortalte sidst ankom vi til Wellington som er hovedstaden i NZ. Da vi var kommet os over det blaesende foerstehaandsindtryk udforskede vi byen. Vi provede den beromte "cable-car" som transporterede os til det hoejeste punkt i Wellington. Fantastisk udsigt. Saa nogle der spillede crocket (ikke cricket). Det var ogsaa heroppe, at man ku' vandre i deres botaniske have som endte ud i den prisvindende "Lady Norwood's Rose Garden". En rose bar navnet "Royal Dane" og det gav lidt patriotisk kriller. Mens vi noed en Steinlager (lokal oel) i parken henvendte en New Zealandsk graeker sig til os. Han fortalte os om hvad der var godt og daarligt i Wellington (mest godt). Pludselig blev samtalen afbrudt af et par danske toeser, som paastod, at de kunne genkende os. Vi sad noget maaloese og ... read more

Ups and Downs of a Tiki Tour

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Fox Glacier February 23rd 2006

Serene Sheep

Bryan and Mindy

While still in her work uniform, Mindy jumped into the back of the Honda for a relaxed trip to Queenstown. However, as soon as we hit 100 kph, the super “air-conditioning” system (aka: windows down) kicked in, making the back seat an icebox. After a brief stop for dinner, we rotated seats and headed south on our high-speed tiki tour of the South Island. After all, Brian Gonci was only in New Zealand for a short stay. Night had fallen by the time we arrived at Lake Tekapo, a highland lake in the heart of the South Island. Fittingly, the name Tekapo is derived from Maori words Taka (sleeping mat) and Po (night). The night sky was unforgettable as we gazed up from our tent site in the pines. While admiring the Southern Cross and Milky ... read more

We are ready to leave

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland February 23rd 2006

Last Drink

Scuba Steve

I might Just mention here, that my sister and I took turns writing the blogs, so some are more indepth than others (needless to say which are better :) You may want a run down of the trip so here goes; We are travelling to the US for a few days to visit our Aunty in LA and then travelling on to Costa Rica for two days as a long stopover, then on the 2nd of April we land in South America in Peru to start a 2 month journey of Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. In South America the only firm plans we have so far is to do the Inca Trail, there are heaps of things we wish to see but we are not going to tie ourselves down to anything so that we ... read more

Escaping the English Winter In New Zealand

Oceania » New Zealand February 23rd 2006

Fim Toat

As the end of my work year approached I realised that I still had a whole load of annual leave to use up so I thought what better way to use it than to fly down to New Zealand to visit my sister and get some much needed sun. I booked up a four week trip and decided to split it into three sections: one week or so around Auckland catching up with the family, eight days on a tour up the west coast of the South Island and then and the remaing time doing a bit of sailing and sun bathing. ... read more

Shark Diving?!?!

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Abel Tasman National Park February 23rd 2006

Nutter!

Sharky and Wendy

After catching the ferry at Wellington we went back to the South Island and moved onto the Abel Tasman national park. This is a lovely area with forests and some of the best beaches in New Zealand and a lot of it is still untouched. This is where we did some more Kayaking, but this with a guide and proper equipment. Our guide was a Maori who educated us all on a few Maori customs (nose touch greetings) and philosophies. Jason loved his views on the fact that London is so over populated but there are still so many lonely people. The Maori way is to speak to everyone, just like J's. We had an excellent time kayaking. We paddled up to a point called split apple rock (see photo). We got to swim a an ... read more

Brief history of New Zealand

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year...more history

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