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Blogs from New Zealand, Oceania - page 6
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April 15th 2013
Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Mount Maunganui I resumed life as a backacker after just over two weeks with my dad, spending four nights in Auckland. Containing almost a third of the nation's inhabitants, the city is by far New Zealand's biggest and offered the rare experience of being in and amongst shiny skyscrapers. It also had the kind of social (drinking) scene only matched by Queenstown, as our hostel held events every night. I made it out on a couple of pub crawls and met some nice people, including Kieran and Kelly from the South West of England, who were looking to work in Auckland before travelling around the country. I managed to get a good view of the surroundings from Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and from Mount Eden, one of ... read more
I'm just about out of here
Published: April 15th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington
April 15th 2013
Well everything is ready to go, only two weeks to go then I'm out of here for six weeks of adventure... read more
April 15th 2013
Another lovely lay in (I am clocking up some sleep hours in the sleep bank for the next few weeks) before some climate change discussions with Mike over breakfast. This morning I walk down the ferricous hill and into Petone which takes around an hour. I spend several hours wandering on Jackson street (the high street), observing again, the eclectic mix of shops. Its very undeveloped, which is nice, I enjoy seeing the real side of New Zealand, so you get the odd posh high end boutique, followed by a odds and ends shop, an second hand shop, the Dutch shop, the British shop, all dispersed with several query really nice coffee houses. After trying one out (for an fresh apple juice I have to add, I haven’t started drinking coffee), I make a cute little ... read more
April 15th 2013
Monday, 15th April - Day Twelve: Hanmer Springs to Picton 289km (174 miles) along the Alpine Pacific Triangle Route to the terminal for the ferry across the Cook Strait to Wellington on the North Island. We come across a NZ traffic jam - sheep filling up the highway as they move from one field to another guided by several sheep dogs. We wait for them to pass and travel on. Our climb is long and steep through the high country with plenty of 35-55km curves uphill, one way bridges around curves and more curves downhill for 3km! Along the Inland Scenic Route 70, we arrive at Mt Lyford ski area and Lodge to stop for coffee, but the Lodge is closed and now up for sale. We drive through the town of Mouse Point, enter the ... read more
Kaia's Week 2 Summary - Paekakariki & Queenstown
Published: April 15th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown
April 14th 2013
Saturday, April 6th-The focus of our day was Jim, Kelly, Opal, Mom, Dad, Quinn & I took a boat to Kapiti island. Kapiti Island is a nature reserve on the coast of Paekakariki. It is home to many birds of all shapes and colors. In the past few years Kapiti Island has been rid of all pests that hurt native birds. The part of the island we were on is one big mountain. We climbed half-way and had a picnic, then climbed to the summit. Once we got to the bottom we took a boat back to the mainland. On the way home we stopped at a little ice cream store. They mix whatever fruit and ice cream you wanted in a special machine. I had strawberry and raspberry with chocolate ice cream. We also stopped ... read more
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Quinn's Week 2 Summary - Paekakariki & Queenstown
Published: April 15th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown
April 14th 2013
Friday, April 5th- We woke up later than usual, and headed over to Jim and Kelley's house to make crepes for brunch. I had been having some bad allergies in the morning and they weren't fun. We ate and made crepes for about an hour then decided to take a walk around the area of their house. At this point I couldn't breathe through my nose and I was pretty miserable, so I don't think enjoyed the walk as much as the others did. To make matters worse, after the walk we went to a nature reserve which was almost like a rainforest filled with tons of pollen and mold which happen to be two things that I am allergic to. The nature reserve was cool despite the fact that I felt sick. We watched an ... read more
April 14th 2013
Still feeling heavenly after my pampering yesterday, we all have a nice lazy Sunday morning, tucking into the freshly baked break Mike has made. We all head into Wellington at 10.30am and up the incredibly windy roads to Mount Victoria look out. With the sun shining and limited cloud, we are rewarded with the most fabulous views of Wellington, all the suburbs, the bay, and out to sea. Mike and Caroline then drop me in the city so I can have a wonder round – as its sunny I explore the doc area which has been redeveloped and is lovely, with some nice buildings and decking/path all around the whole of the bay – stretching as far as the eye can see, most of which I walked. I then wonder through the fresh produce weekend market, ... read more
“Town of Light” and wallowing in hot thermal pools
Published: May 6th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island
April 14th 2013
Sunday, 14th April - Day Eleven: Westport to Hanmer Springs, 220km (132 miles). Today as we cross the centre of the country, we see tiny birds flying in an out of the ferns along the roadsides. There are numerous creeks, many of them named, such as “Frying Pan Creek or “Cockney Creek”. The roads are narrow with many switchbacks up an down the mountains, occasionally going into one lane as we pass under Hawk’s Crag, a huge rocky overhang. There are valley settlements, mixed breeds of cattle grazing in the green, green grass and great lakes for trout fishing. In NZ, trout can’t be found in restaurants. It’s illegal to buy and sell and can only be caught if you or your friends like to fish. We pass Reefton, the first place in New Zealand to ... read more
If you love green jewels, riding an old steam train and rocks that make your pancakes look small
Published: May 4th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Hokitika
April 13th 2013
Saturday, 13th April - Day Ten: Franz Josef to Westport 281km (169 miles) continuing up Hwy 6 along the Tasman Sea coastline where vast and muddy deltas head out to the Tasman Sea, past Hokitika, the “Jade Capital of the World” and a delightful tourist town with Opossum and Pauna shops (known elsewhere as abalone shell). This is also dairy country where a high percentage of dried milk product goes to China. Shantytown Heritage Park Howard and I were the only couple to stop at Shantytown, where we had a delightful short rail trip on an old 1887 steam train, which used to serve one of the old sawmills during the gold mining era. More rivers, creeks, narrow bridges and several scenic reserves, a few town with wide streets. ... read more
April 13th 2013
Saturday 13th April - late afternoon We see tall ferns growing by the wayside, snow on mountaintops, very low-lying clouds and strange birds. On to Dolomite Pancake Rocks and blowholes lying between Greymouth and Westport. This is a sight not to be missed where the waves have created amazing blowholes and flat, pancake like rocks have formed in the limestone and sandstone; where the waves crash into them with such force you wonder what’s causing the sound like cannons booming every few moments until the moment you see the waves rush through a tunnel and up through a blowhole. It’s an awesome spectacle.... read more
