Blogs from Central, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

Kia Ora! It's been a crazy couple days. Having so much fun in Tasmania, saying bye to the people I met there, leaving Australia after being there for 10 weeks, the excitement of coming to New Zealand. It's been quite the roller coaster ride, but here I am in Auckland. It's not the capital of NZ (Wellington is), but it's the biggest city. I'm only 4 hours behind Calgary now. Well, I guess technically 20 hours ahead. NZ only has one time zone, so it'll be the same for the rest of my trip. Today I climbed Mount Eden, the biggest hill in Auckland. It actually felt like I was in the shire of lord of the rings. Lots of green, grassy hills. The lookout was pretty nice. I'll attach some pictures. Tomorrow I'm starting my ... read more

After much needed rest and recuperation at our friend's house in Birkenhead following our cycle ride around Northlands, we commenced the second leg of our New Zealand cycle journey, this time from Auckland to Wellington. Setting off on a fine winter's day we took the ferry to the Central Business District from where we headed east along the northern coast line witnessing what appeared to be the whole of the city out running, cycling or walking their dogs. It was fascinating cycling through the affluent neighbourhoods and I wondered how many of the properties belonged to Kiwis. Recent news coverage has spoken of the number of Auckland apartments and houses being bought up by foreign investors for investment purposes and it appears to be ruffling some feathers. As we started heading inland we were quite surprised ... read more

Hi All, We woke up nice and early and headed out for a quick breakfast before heading down to the ferry terminal to pick up the airport shuttle. (If you have used the naked bus you can get the airport shuttle for free if you show your number!! Saves you $16!!) Once there the bus quickly arrived and we were heading to the airport. The drop off is right outside the departures gate; after talking to the guide office we then had to pick up our campervan, we took had get a free bus to the Britz office about 10 min’s drive away. Right let me start, people who book up a campervan with STA travel, this is what they don’t tell you!! · You have to pay either $7500 dollars deposit or a daily fee ... read more

Hi All, We woke in the morning, it seemed so early, probably because it was still dark outside. Jade’s car had trouble starting for about 20 minutes, her security lock on the car keys was malfunctioning, so Neil took it apart but it still wouldn’t work. When we decided to take the train we all got out of the car, at which point she said lets try the button one more time and it thankfully worked. I think it must also have a sensor on it…. We still got to the airport in plenty of time, but it did mean Jade was a little late for work (sorry Jade). We walked around the shops at Sydney aiport, but they were doing refurbishments so there were no clothes shops (disappointing). Our flight was delayed an hour too ... read more

Notre séjour touche bientôt à sa fin et nous voulions écrire un article spécialement pour les personnes rencontrées sur le territoire Néozélandais avec qui nous avons passé des moments inoubliables. Nous espérons sincèrement vous revoir dans le futur et garder contact avec vous... Ce fût un réel plaisir de rencontrer Arnaud, Sandra ainsi que leurs enfants qui nous ont fait partager leur joie de vivre, leurs expériences sur le territoire et de succulents repas (très bonnes les moules Superman!) Des rencontres incroyables, des amitiés sincères et fortes ont été liées grâce au travail: Enrico et Taru (oui oui, on sort JUSTE pour une bière): super journée à la plage, pour noël et nouvel an, que de souvenirs! Bendon (Heidi Klum, non je plaisante), Mike ainsi que sa femme Helen qui nous ont gentiment accueillis chez eux ... read more