Blogs from Ponsonby, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

After leaving Hastings the skies opened and revealed a rather concerning leak in the back door of Big Blue! Boo! First day back on the road and we had a soggy bed. We were headed up the Eastern Coast of the North Island in search of surf and a bit of true Maori culture on the East Cape. The East Cape is one of the few places where they did not sell (or were not forced to sell) their land to the European settelers. As such it has retained a definite Maori heritage. There are lots of Maraes which are the traditional meeting houses and have lots of spiritual significance. Very underpopulated area and beautifully rugged coast. We rounded the East Cape and into The Bay Of Plenty. Named by Captain Cook when he found the ... read more

Flying into Christchurch was amazing in itself with fabulous views of the Southern Alps beneath us. This was going to be good. We only had 1 night in Christchurch when we first arrived as the next day we were bound for Methven in the Canterbury Plains where we stayed in a great YHA and woke up at 5am the next morning to go up in a hot air balloon! This was a wedding gift from Roger and Diane, and was absolutely brilliant! Thank to David's lucky round face (well, that's what he was told in India!) we had the perfect weather, a clear day with not a cloud in sight. It was absolutely breathtaking floating silently above a patchwork of fields with the Southern Alps and the snow covered top of Mount Cook in the distance. ... read more

EL Jueves 13 por la tarde nos fuimos a otra playa, carca de la anterior pero más linda.... llamada Karekare. Hacia una de las puntas hay unas piedras gigantes que dan a mar abierto donde habia un grupo de pescadores. COmo ya les conté, obviamente Joaco TIENE que ir a donde estan lso pescadores... asi que allá fuimos; a pararnos sobre las grandes rocas... Ninguno tuvo la amabilidad de decirnos ahi pueden mojarse.... Segundos m{as tarde una ola nos empapó (ropa, bolso de mate, camara,TODO) y ahi sí nos dijeron: "Ahi llegan las olas"..... Pero bueno, pasado el empapado la vista es espectacular. Ahora veran algunas fotos. Luego comimos los acostumbrados sandwiches en la playa y nos "mojamos las piernas en el agua", porque como sigue nublado y hay viento, para nosotros esta fresco. POr la ... read more

On a warm morning in Auckland we ventured out, through the Central Business District, by-passing the shopping Mecca that is Queen Street, past the Ferry Terminal to an area of poster plastered adult shops and fusty strip bars next to the docks. Our search for a place to call home for the next four months had brought us here. I have to say, that with the benefit of hindsight, it was an inauspicious beginning. We stood outside the building frowning at the number above the door. “Yup. This is it.” “Are you sure?” “I think so.” In my text message contact with Jane, she had omitted mention of any distinguishing features of the building that might aid us in locating it. Other potential landlords or flatmates we had contacted had been clear in letting us know ... read more

Carrying on the magic bus the route was: From South to North Island FerryWellingtonNapierLake TaupoMount MauganuiAuckland (where I fly to Fiji). Arrived onto the North Island by Ferry into New Zealands capital Wellington. Was a very picturesque ferry journey of about 4hrs from the south island to the North, arriving in the ferry port of Wellington near the city centre. Wellington was one of the few places in NZ that I had the luxury of staying for more than a night. Wellington Next day headed first "Te Papa" which is the Museum of New Zealand, this was an impressive museum with loads of interactive information and videos. Would have been easy to stay here for a whole day but after looking around the 6 floors for a couple of hours I headed out and onto Wellington's ... read more