Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

It's been three weeks and I had the beginning of a new psts sitting in my drafts for like half that time. Anyway here a rundown of the things that happend since the Milford Sound cruise: I lost my wallet in Milford Sound and only noticed after we had driven two hours out of the national park. 16 hours later I got it back thanks to really nice Australiens that brought it to the next Police station. Another day later we made our way to Queenstown. Ina spend thursday afternoon charging her portable charger in a cafe for her hike and I walked around Queenstown. In a bakery I found german multigrain bread that after two months of toast almost brought me to tears. Besides that I won a 50 dollar discount for indoor skydiving, which ... read more

Tour Day 47, Cruise Day 47 – Day at Sea Cruising the Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula – I was so unimpressed that I didn’t take any photos. Perhaps it was the weather, perhaps the landscape, perhaps my frame of mind; however, the crew was busy assembling the first suggestions of the Christmas season. Tour Day 48, Cruise Day 48, Auckland, New Zealand Day 1 – Arrival and My Introduction to Auckland, New Zealand Sunday, November 26, 2023 – My arrival in Auckland differed from other ports of call on the cruise in that it was time to pack my bags and get off the ship. I had a solid breakfast and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. First, my call for departure was well past the time I was assigned the previous ... read more

On Sunday we left Hamilton and drove the beast to Auckland. It rained all the way but we made good time. We had to go looking for a petrol station as we couldn't see one at the airport. Finally drove out to a BP and filled up. Interestingly diesel is much cheaper here than petrol. Once we returned the car we went into the terminal and waited to board our plane to Christchurch. The flight lasted just over an hour and we disembarked and picked up our car. We drove into the city and found our hotel, Quest on Cambridge. This was very close to the main shopping area. Once we had checked in we walked up to the Bridge of Remembrance over the Avon River. It has been at least 25 years since I had ... read more

Tour Day 43, Cruise Day 43 – Christchurch by Double-Decker Bus (3.5 hours) - Cross the port hills to the village of Sumner and head into the city center of Christchurch. Here you'll board an open-air kiwi double-decker bus (weather permitting) for a fun and informative 45-minute tour of Christchurch. You'll discover why Christchurch is known as 'the Garden City' and is considered one of the most English cities outside of England. Learn about Christchurch's fascinating history from pioneering days through modern times. View some of the areas affected by the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and learn how Christchurch is now preserving some of its iconic heritage buildings. Your guide will share aspects of the exciting vision and plan to rebuild and restore the inner city, and will interweave the experience with stories and up-to-date information ... read more

Tour Day 42, Cruise Day 42 – Alpine Lakes & Mountains Scenic Drive (8 hours) - Travel by coach through a landscape of crop, sheep and beef farms en route to the Mackenzie Basin. Here, the landscape and farming change dramatically. It is the domain of merino sheep and iconic high-country stations in a landscape dominated by the Southern Alps and glacial lakes. Pause at Lake Tekapo -- a remarkable turquoise lake with brilliant views of the glacial valleys that feed it. Don’t miss the beautiful Church of the Good Shepherd (1935), whose altar window frames a postcard-perfect view. Traveling to Lake Pukaki, you cross one of the many bright-blue hydro canals crisscrossing the Mackenzie Basin. Lake Pukaki is surrounded by big country and borders the eastern slopes of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park – named ... read more