Blogs from Paihia, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 18

15th May 2009 We began touring New Zealand the way it is meant to be seen today, after picking up the campervan. Equipped with a fan heater and a bed, we left Auckland for the Bay of Islands. Elaine, a little unsure of the roads, navigated, whilst Alex took the wheel. It took us around 4 hours to get there and after finding a campsite for the night and stocking up on food, the day was pretty much over, leaving us to enjoy our first nights camping. 16th May 2009 What better way to start a visit to a country than learning its history? So today we explored the Meeting House where the agreement between the Maori People and the British Government was signed. The Meeting House was beautifully carved with intricately designed figures on the ... read more

Hello again, is the weather still nice over there?:(:) We've ended up driving 4163 miles (over a 1000 miles a week!) between and around Melbourne to Cairns settling into fine sunny dry weather by the second half of our journey and now (via a 4hr flight) have been put back right where we started or so it seems! Auckland, like Melbourne can't make up its mind between being sunny and overcast or wet and is nearly as cold (about 15 degrees). What's more we're travelling south from here (rather than north) so it will get even colder. Oh well it's hard to get everywhere at its best time of year when you're going to so many places. You can't get everywhere at once in Australia alone at its best time of year! Despite being a bit ... read more

Hey Everybody! I'm really sorry about the delay in my Blog entry. I hear some people are worried sick about me. Well, first of all let me ease your mind. I am perfectly well. Furthermore: There is no need to be concerned! NZ has next to no crime rate and Backpackers are taken care of by pretty much everyone because 18% of the money going into NZ is through them. So don't worry. In case you think I might get lost or whatever you should know that there's hostels everywhere and people driving around in cars who will happily give you a ride (so I"m told anyway). So now after that let me get to describing NZ. Personally I think that Auckland is a fairly bad place to start your journey here. You get there and ... read more

...That's what all the New Zealander's are always saying. And that's pretty much what I think of this country so far! I've pretty much sorted out some kind of schedule for travelling round the country, which makes me happy, and I've had a brilliant last few days. After writing my last blog I watched a film late in to the night to try and cancel out the Jet Lag. I thought it had worked as I slept soundly until 12pm. whoops, as I meant to get a tour of Auckland but missed the bus. Never mind, I went to the Auckland Museum which is very interesting, and worth a visit if you're ever in town. Then I went for drinks with two people who moved into my room. I tried to still get an early night ... read more

I´m only joking Mum, that´s not me on the main photo . . I haven´t turned into a Maori Warrior! After the excitement of Queenstown decided to chill out and do some normal sight seeing . . went on a night cruise through Milford Sound on the west coast - beautiful fiord national park area and as it has 10 metres of rainfall a year the mountains have an abundance of waterfalls, it seems as though everywhere you look you see a new waterfall flowing from 100s of metres above. It rained quite a bit and with the mist rolling down the hills, calmness of the water and sound of the waterfalls it gave the place an eerie feeling during the night. Boat was an old steam ship with about 30 people on board . . ... read more