http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , North Island , Auckland en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 22:10:26 +0000 Tue, 21 May 2013 22:10:26 +0000 Here is a snippet of our New Zealand trip...New Zealand 2013 from Charles Green on Vimeo.Or go to this link httpvimeo.com65503658 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-784368.html Well it39s time to dust of the old travelling shoes and get the packs out of the wardrobe. It39s just over 12 days until we set sail for Africa for another adventure. We started talking about the possibility of this one while sitting around a campfire at Yosemite National Park one evening nearing the end of our American trip. We first ventured to mention it in company the day after Liz and T http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Howick/blog-784282.html Let39s start this blog with a spoiler I got a carSorry couldn39t restrain myself. So yesterday was an interesting day Got up early in order to get some money out of the bank and then we went to the car auction to get me a car We arrived later than expected so we didn39t have time to check out all the cars. There were basically 3 that had enough space in the back for me to put my bik http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-783977.html If youre coming for a holiday in New Zealand chances are youll be landing in Auckland. Its New Zealands biggest city but not the capital thats Wellington. Auckland is where I live where I chose to come for university and Ive spent a lot of time exploring it.The free parts of course.Where to start Well you could take a walk down Queen Street the main street n http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-783746.html So I39ve decided to start my own travel blog I went to Hong Kong and London last year 2012 and as soon as I got back to NZ I wanted to hop back on a plane and go travelling again. It was my first time travelling as an adult last year and I absolutely loved it. My Uncle is a pilot so I followed him to Hong Kong and London on one of his trips.Last year I decided that I would go to Italy and th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Waitakere/blog-782391.html You often hear New Zealand weather described as four seasons in one day and Im sick of it. Not the weather the saying. Yes its true the weathers changeable my jackets on and off like a Game of Thrones costume but the prevailing conditions are usually sunny and winter never seems to come except in the south of the South Island. Let me put it this way in Britain you c http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-782138.html Blog 8th 20th April. New Zealand Part II Fush an chups As we neared the end of our South Island adventure we made time for one last excursion or two before moving on. Following a wonderful evening with Jo39s family friend Jessy in Christchurch we headed north. The van was packed with damp but freshly clean clothes hanging on make shift dental floss lines in the back I knew that stuff woul http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Mission-Bay/blog-781919.html I literally cried for hours on the plane. I think it just hit me all at once. I was leaving behind both my parents two people who had just finalized a divorce and were probably going through one of the worst times in each of their lives. My younger brother Ryan a kid who has so much passion and love for this world but doesn39t know what to do with it all. I said goodbye to a man who I was wi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-781849.html Let try interesting features about New Zealand that is throughout choked with tough strike of travelers. Some thought that Auckland is place that only suitable for one night stay and straightly next day early in morning take a flight and avoid this city. But these people are going to miss actually an entry gate for fun and enthralling activities along with some peculiar species of birds.Let me sh http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Albany/blog-781557.html One of the first things you notice about New Zealand wildlife is a distinct lack of mammary glands. The only native land mammals are bats and Ive never seen one. They were apparently common in the nineteenth century but now theyre almost extinct. Blame nasty humans cutting down trees and introducing foreign predators like rats and cats although my cat would never be clever enough to ca http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Tiritiri-Matangi-Island/blog-781092.html AucklandThe City of Sails and New Zealand39s biggest city offered the welcome relief from the humidity of Cairns and a place to organise and plan our trip around New Zealand but not a huge amount else. Often called a bit of a boring city with not much to do even by a travel agent in STA travel she was enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed her job we spent a lazy few days trying to secure a ca http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-778802.html I love cruise boat travel its stunning. And what i thought when i arrived to Auckland was to go on a private tour met from the cruise boat.Aghast to my dismay when arriving there was no one there.I went around looking for my driver and even when i approached other companies they helped me in part.Thankfully when i found one company they actually had to call my provider.Despite the proporg http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-778789.html So finally I have got around to doing our blog from the North Island of New Zealand its only a month late After having such a great time on the South Island and meeting lots of great people we were back to travelling alone for the north. We arrived in Wellington late at night with the rest of our flying Kiwi group once we had disembarked the ferry we caught a taxi to the hotel where they were st http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-777910.html Woke to a message from Singapore Airlines saying my flight39s been delayed by nearly four hours so a morning of relaxing and watching the England batsmen exhibit admirable patience as they try to bore New Zealand to a stalemate. I39ve avoided the temptation to dash in to town and catch an hour or two of the match. If the new flight time proves real then it39ll chop my transfer time in Si http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Mangere/blog-777906.html Long drive to Christchurch to return the van it39s a relief to be free of it and then to the airport for the flight to Auckland.Cloudy day down below but a few snatched sights of Marlborough Sounds and Taranaki hiding under a cloud.Typing from the plush relaxing bar of my overnight hotel near the airport. Lazy start tomorrow to catch lunchtime flight to Singapore and from there on to the fro http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Mangere/blog-777815.html Two drownings at Piha and a fatal shark attack at Muriwai a couple of weeks ago might tend to suggest that Aucklands West Coast beaches are a place to avoid. No such thing. Shark attacks are rare in New Zealand. There have only been 11 fatal attacks since 1852 and this in a country where swimming in the sea is a popular recreation. Piha Beach But the drownings are a different story. We http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Waitakere-Ranges/blog-777735.html After being in Auckland for a few days we wanted to begin doing some more adventurous activities. I39ve always wanted to dive in with sharks but not inside a cage so when I saw the diving possibilities at Kelly Tarltons Aquarium it sounded amazing. We got to the aquarium and was put in our wet suits straight away and taken into the training pool to do our skills. Although we39ve done three d http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Orakei/blog-776903.html Today after breakfast we were picked up promptly at 900 by our Coast to Coast Tour bus driver. We were the first couple to be picked up. After picking up 2 more couples in the city also from the US we were on our way. It wasn39t long before we realized that we were on an exceptional tour. Our host Stu was knowledgeable about New Zealand and gave us a wealth of information as well as anec http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Beachlands/blog-776098.html We have gotten into a routine of having our continental breakfast in our room and then walking a short distance to catch the GREEN bus into the center of the city. Today we went on a City Highlights Tour a lot of which we had seen on foot the day before. We went over the Harbor bridge which when it was built increased traffiic so much that there were not enough lanes. They needed to add 2 more l http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Mount-Eden/blog-775987.html Another beautiful day in Auckland. Blue skies temperatures in the high 70s. We had a nice continental breakfast of croisssants cheese ham muesli and fruit. We left Ponsonby House at 830 to give us plenty of time to get to the pier to catch our ferry to Waiheke Island. The cruise took about 35 minutes and then we boarded a bus for a tour of the island which has a population of 8000 but in the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Ponsonby/blog-775757.html