http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand en-us Sun, 08 Nov 09 12:45:24 +0000 Sun, 08 Nov 09 12:45:24 +0000 Today we arrived in Auckland Zealand After a 3.5 hour flight from Melbourne we landed in Auckland New Zealand. NZ is the furthest point from anywhere and we couldn't believe we were here. After an uneventful customs exit there was Jared greeting us It was so good to see my buddy Jared after not seeing him for over 6 years since living in NYC Oh the days of Hell....As we left the airpor http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Waiheke-Island/blog-451595.html Notre trajet vers Urenui et les deux semaines passee avec Maria et Molly nos Hotes ...Our journey to Urenui and the two weeks spent with Maria and Molly our wwoof host ... http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taranaki/blog-451553.html Kaikoura Nov 6 11Swimming with dolphins is something I have wanted to do ever since I can remember and today we did it. What an experience... Our day started at 4.45am as we had to be at the Dolphin Encounter office at 5.30am. We are not used to getting up so early but soon woke up when it was time to wiggle into our wetsuits another great fashion moment. During our briefing we were told to s http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Kaikoura/blog-451473.html Here are some photos http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Abel-Tasman-National-Park/Marahau/blog-451293.html Hi allAfter spending a great night at a spot called Murphys Park and watching the sun come up on the beach with only a few other people in the park the first time we have seen the sun without clouds we made our way to Rotorua. It really does smell like eggs said Serina we viewed some hot springs at the Govt Gardens and the kids played on swings while Ness got a massage at the Polynesian Spa http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-451119.html Greetings.Our last day with Chad we hiked two glaciers. Fox and Franz and drove to the pancake rocks and blow hole All of us loved the hikes but the hightlight was watching the sunset over the Tasman Sea and the pancake rocks. We camped on the West Side and watched the ocean beat the shore we woke to our new neighbors the Kewa birds. They do not fly and are very curious. We sadly dropp http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Motueka/blog-451110.html Ok so we've been a bit well VERY lazy about this whole blog thing...apologiesWe arrived safely in Auckland you will be pleased to know unfortunatly to rain something we are no longer accustomed to after the likes of Australia So heres a summary of the rest of our australian adventureAfter Byron Bay we headed to Surfers Paradise and we arrived at the hostel just in time for the bbq bi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-451105.html Well wow what can i say for once i'm bordering on speechless. You see 8 months ago i had an idea well more like a thought about venuring further than i'd ever journeyed before. I suppose in truth the thoughts of travelling have been there since i left to join my first ship when i was 17.So here is the break down for those of you who didnt know realise or actually care that i'd done 10 years at http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-450965.html October 31 Nov 2Don't be alarmed by the title of this entry. We aren't depressed no work lieins amazing experiences we have no reason to be blue. Unlike Lake Tekapo. The lake is fed by glacial melt waters that contain finely ground rock particles which give it the most amazing colours something to do with refraction of the light. The lake contains the bluest water we have ever seen tha http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Lake-Tekapo/blog-450850.html The search for a real latte ended in failure. But the day was not ruined. By late afternoon I reached a stunning DoC campground at a place called Mimiwhangata. The last few kilometres were along a gravel road with a steep climb and final descent. Best Kept Secret Mimiwhangata has to be one of the best kept secrets. It's a beautiful sheltered spot with bush and farmland behind it. The camp http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-450825.html Heading NorthWe left for the east coast and after another fantastic drive through the countryside we arrived at Kaikoura where we had booked ourselves on a dolphin encounter for the following day but as it was such nice weather as we arrived at midday we decided to move the encounter forward to that afternoon which worked out perfect weatherwise.As it turned out there was a pod of over 700 dol http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-450822.html One more cup of coffee for the roadOne more cup of coffee 'fore I goTo the valley below Bob DylanIt was a perfect morning and I was in the perfect mood to enjoy it. The sun was shining but the day was still cool and with no overnight dew my tent was dry when I packed it up. I was fed and watered and the road lay before me full of promise. What more could a person want Coffee Even before I' http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-450789.html This morning we were all set to go. I think I forgot to mention that Charmaine kindly made us sandwiches and we sorted out some little bits to eat for the whole day out at sea.We set off at 9.30 and by about 10am we encountered somethinghellipAn orca whale. Infact it was a whole group of them there must have been 10. Now the guy that was the captain had been doing it 26years and he said he had http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/blog-450769.html Today after having a mammoth 12 hour sleep we wanted to do something todayhellipsomethinghelliplike an activity or just something so we arenrsquot wasting the day. We got up around 11ish and went to make some breakfast. We spoke on skype and then decided to walk to Paihiarsquos little town to book a trip. We decided that instead of just going to dolphins and doing the half day trip for 89 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Paihia/blog-450765.html Oct 2629 Labour Weekend continues... MondayThursdayAfter saying goodbye to the Woods and Sydney who had to return to Timaru and to school we headed to Nelson. Wow were we lucky with the weather. It was sunny all morning became overcast late morning and basically rained the rest of the day and night. We drove through Nelson which looks like a lovely sailing community and to the Worl http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Abel-Tasman-National-Park/Kaiteriteri/blog-450752.html Hej.Med denne rejseblog vil vi prve at fortlle lidt om vores tur til New Zealand og smide nogle billeder p.Vi rejser fra Danmark d. 30 November og vil s kre rundt i New Zealand en mned i en autocamper fra nord til syd.P hjemvejen har vi lige en uges stop i Californien hvor vi krer fra Los Angeles til San Fransisco.Kommentarer udfald og indfald er meget velkomne.Mange hilsnerHella Bert http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-450700.html Hi EveryoneWe are travelling fine at the moment. The girls saw a butterfly house at Dickson Caravan Park in Thames and loved it and then we took them to Waihu beach which they also enjoyed. The roads here are easy to travel and we have had no problems with the motorhome. Had a steak tonight which was yum. We all swam in a heated pool tonight just before tea which a nice way to relax. Serina says h http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-450630.html We left a very sunny Napier and made the drive of a few hours to Taupo stopping off for a peppermint tea and bacon sarnie All made in A Hole of course I love living in a camper at Huka falls which were very beautiful. From here we went to the Craters of the Moon Geothermal park but the rain started lashing it down so having bought a ticket and being allowed to come back the next day we se http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-450402.html We left Golden Bay and prepared ourselves for the twisty turny two hour drive to get back on the main drag to Nelson I am such a rubbish passenger especially on hairpin bends We stopped off in Nelson for a mooch about nothing that exciting there really so we moved on to Havelock for lunch capital of the Green Lipped mussels and boy were they good From here we went for a bit of a drive th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Marlborough/Blenheim/blog-450395.html With the amount of time and effort it takes to write these blogs I've decided to just keep it simple and use captioned photos. If I get the time I'll put in more detail but for now I'll just keep it briefKey eventsCurlys Bar truly awesome bar at the youth hostel everyone got completely bladdered and the barmaid let us pour our own drinks for freeCavingblack water rafting Abseil zipline http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Waitomo/blog-450392.html