http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , North Island , Wellington en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 04:14:43 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 04:14:43 +0000 It is time for me to get myself sorted in preparation for another adventure into the northern hemisphere. In 5 weeks I39m off to England for 9 days then France for 14 days up to Norway for 26 days and then I finish up back in Turkey and the Creek Islands on the yacht with Martin and others for 31 days. When I get back daylight saving will be just around the corner and it will be summer aga http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-785436.html Tuesday 16th April Day Thirteen now in the North Island and a trip to the magnificent Te Papa Museum in Wellington capital of NZ and onto Upper Hutt a short distance but we get lost in Wellington during the rush hour and arrive after dark. I am somewhat appeased to hear that several other couples also misread directions and got lost too.The Bluebridge Interisland Ferry left at 1030 on its http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-785082.html Hey Ihr Liebennachdem bei mir im Mrz ein Stimmungshhenflug den nchsten gejagt hat und ich mich vor Glckseligkeit und Dankbarkeit oft innerlich berschlagen habe musste ich im April leider feststellen dass es in Wellington wirklich auch echt graues Wetter geben kann und Neuseeland fr mich doch nicht automatisch immer mit drogenhnlichen Glckszustnden verbunden ist ... ja ungl http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-784289.html This morning all three of us head out together Mike dropping Caroline off at a course and then me outside the Te Papa museum in Wellington. After a quick wonder and a hot chocolate stop in a lovely little coffee house to shelter from the chilly weather I head back to the museum for 10am.David who came walking with us in Nelson Lakes in also now in Wellington so we have planned to meet to go ro http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-782448.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-782446.html 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 Carol http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-782411.html What a way to wake up on your birthdaytotally refreshed after an amazing nights sleep in not only your own room but a double bed as well Luxuries I dont even have at homeI then read the several text messages which have appeared on my phone overnight including one informing me to be at 30 Knights Road Lower Hutt at 9am. Luckily I didnt sleep in and after some breakfast we all head http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-782409.html Goodbye to the South Island the hostel offers a free transfer to the ferry terminal very handy and I am checked in and relieved of my bags by 9.30am. I wander to the bakery in town to pick up a nice fresh roll to accompany and pad out my left over tuna and vegetables from yesterdays dinner.The ferry departs at 10.30am and the crossing is stunning cruising through the Marlborough Soun http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-782408.html Well everything is ready to go only two weeks to go then I39m out of here for six weeks of adventure http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-781223.html After 5 months in Asia we arrived to we would call civilization. English speaking radio radio advertising road safety supermarkets and people mostly concerned with the weather we are nearly home Within 24 hours we had managed to secure a caravan and drove 3 hours over to the Coromandel Peninsula on the North coast of the North Island. Once we reached the coast line we were met with what can http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/Greytown/blog-779514.html Wellington lived up to the windy description but the sun was shining with blue skies.The cable car trip up the hill and a visit to the Botanic Gardens was very enjoyable.The city was full of life and it was easy to walk around the shopping area and the harbour to enjoy the sea views. There was a good choice of restaurants and bars to suit all tastes.We watched the cricket at the lovely Basin http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-779040.html Auckland Take 2We headed back to Auckland from Lake Taupo not your average route for travellers ultimately heading south to watch the Vodafone Warriors face off against the Sydney Roosters at Eden Park. We stopped off for the day in Mt. Eden a quaint little suburb town of Auckland with several nice coffee shops bars some unique shops and a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Rach was somewhat d http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/Eastbourne/blog-778806.html Hallo all ihr Lieben.Puh.. ganz schn aufregendes Gefhl all das Geschriebene hier gleich an eine groe Menge von wundervollen Menschen gleichzeitig zu schreiben und fast schon zu verffentlichen Aber.. da ich der festen berzeugung bin dass ich insgesamt in der Lage sein werde mehr von mir hren zu lassen und Euch ein bisschen mehr von meiner Zeit hier am anderen Ende der Welt zum http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-777624.html Bus to Picton then the beautiful ferry across to windy welly managed to get the last bed in base backpackers and met some lovely people over the 5 nights spent in the room. Learnt a lot from them about travel in Australia and some of the places in New Zealand as well.Only planned to spend a couple of days seeing the sights of Wellington but a bit too much fun in the first couple of nights meant n http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-777602.html We managed to get out of bed a little earlier and headed into town for a smooch around. Although Wellington has the nickname Windy Welly the weather has been superb apparently this had been the case since Christmas. Our first stop was the Te Papa museum which houses a diverse selection of exhibitions about New Zealand. Odd yet rather interesting was the preserved Colossal Squid accidentally br http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-776325.html Ahh no noise all night no snoring and no noisy drunk travellers We had a great nights sleep and treated ourselves to a fairly relaxed morning in the apartment. After lunch we headed out towards town and decided to climb Mount Victoria to see the views of Wellington city. The city is clustered around the bay and there are some pretty suburbs just outside. In fact that evening we headed out to wa http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-776324.html We had the morning to ourselves at River Valley and so James went for a run and a swim and I had a tootle around the grounds and along the river. It really is in the middle of nowhere but it has a nice homely feel to it. They were looking for travellers to stay there and work in return for free accommodation food and horse trekking. I have to say I was tempted We were on our way to Wellington b http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-776323.html Auf 4.50 Uhr ist der Wecker heute gestellt. Nur leider ist diese Zeit auch dem Wecker zu zeitig und so bin ich ganz froh dass ich kurz nach 5 auf mein Handy schau und schnell aufspringe. 5.30 Uhr bin ich dann pnktlich an der Rezeption. Heute steht Delphinschwimmen an Wir bekommen warme Neoprenanzge Flossen und Schnorchelset. Nach einer Einweisung geht es mit dem Bus zum Boot. Dieses legt http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-775568.html Today we decided on a leisurely breakfast and planned to meet about 930. Our first stop was to go to the Botanical Gardens which we planned to take a cable car to but we couldn39t find it so we drove up to the Gardens and walked down from there planning on taking the cable car back up once we reached the bottom. We had plugged the meter to allow us an hour. The Gardens had many species of tree http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-775386.html This morning we head north to the capital of New Zealand Wellington but first we must navigate once again through the mountains on some of the most winding roads that I have ever encountered. Greg did a fabulous job of driving and within 2 hours we were at the Ferry terminal in Picton. We returned our rental car and after a short time we were boarding the ferry. Thanks to Deb our crossing includ http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-775273.html